by Jackie D
“Dad, the division between the lower and upper class here is intensifying by the day. The lower class is growing tired and angry from working twelve to fourteen hours a day without seeing any significant gains. Their children are being born into the lower class without any opportunity to move forward.”
“Are you suggesting we offer them more opportunity?” He was barely able to speak the words, unsure where Nora was heading with this line of thinking.
“No, of course not. Grandfather was right to eliminate college for anyone who couldn’t pay in cash and to create the standard that only people with college degrees could make over eighty thousand a year. I don’t want to undo that. I want to give them a tangible enemy. People they can point to as worse off, to ensure our prosperity for the next generation.”
“How would allowing them back in do that?”
She smiled at him. Her eyes matched her mother’s, blue with flecks of green around the edges. “Bring in an even poorer group of people. We ‘forgive them’ and let the so-called Resistance become the labor force and move the others up to mid management. This would make our people even more well-off, make them happy, and the people from the Resistance would have actual money for the first time. They’ll be so grateful for the opportunity, they’ll look at you like a hero. Plus, beefing up the workforce will allow us to increase production. England wanted our help with the climate control devices? We can sell it to them. We’ll sell them to everyone. Countries all over the world will be lining up to hand over their treasures to save their people. We’ll be the greatest force the world has ever seen. Things are different now than when Grandfather took control. We wouldn’t be pushing for globalism; it’s supply and demand. We don’t offer free trade. We set the prices, we set the expectations, we’ll set everything. People are desperate to survive right now, and they’re out of options. People have been born into the Resistance; they weren’t part of the uprising, and they’ll be glad to have a chance at what they think will be a better life.”
“And it will all belong to me.” He couldn’t stop the warm bubbling feeling in his chest. The prospect was exhilarating. The whole world could be his, and they’d hand it to him. It would be the most exquisite conquering in human history. “Who else have you told about this?”
She put her hand on his knee. “No one. Only you, Daddy.”
He took her hand and kissed the knuckles. “Let’s keep it that way. See if you can get in touch with whoever is in charge over in the Resistance these days.”
She practically jumped from the couch. “Right away.”
Chapter Eight
Kaelyn watched Arrow’s face as her mother, the president, walked into the room. She and Valor jumped to attention when the door slid open, but she’d waved them off when she moved past them. She didn’t know Arrow very well, but the pride on her face whenever her mom was near was apparent.
Macy Steele sat at the table and patted the empty seat next to her. “I can’t imagine how overwhelmed you’re feeling at the moment. It’s a lot to take in. That’s why we held so much back from you for the first few days.”
Kaelyn wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting from this woman, but a mothering aura wasn’t on her list. It put her more at ease. Macy seemed approachable, easy to talk to, and well respected. “Why did it take so long for the Resistance to elect a female president?”
Macy smiled knowingly, as if she’d been expecting the question. “What you really want to know is if we’ve really made any progress after all these years. It is, after all, what you had fought so hard for during your time.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m wondering,” Kaelyn said.
Macy stood and waved her hand in front of a wall, and a pixilated screen appeared. “CAM, please pull up the Guardian class, Level One photographic archives.”
Dozens of pictures appeared on the screen, and she put her fingertips on top of one and seemed to pull it forward, letting it fill the screen.
Kaelyn leaned forward, wanting a closer look. Macy noticed and sent the image to the table, where it hovered a few inches from Kaelyn. It was a picture of Boston almost completely under water. The next was one of Miami, completely submerged, then New York, San Francisco, and Seattle. Kaelyn felt horrified and ill. She had understood, intellectually, that this would eventually happen, but seeing it front of her was something entirely different.
Macy’s voice was calm and even. “It all happened very fast. Once climate catastrophe became a way of life, there wasn’t a lot of time to react. Your father did everything he could to help the people of the world, but it didn’t matter. By that time, people were terrified and unwilling to give up any extra they had to people they didn’t know. MacLeod came into power by calling for the camps to be burned, and he created a civil war.”
Kaelyn braced herself as she asked the question she’d been waiting to pose since she’d woken up. “What happened to my parents?” She wanted Macy to tell her the truth, no matter how gruesome or painful it was.
Macy stared at her for a long moment and then nodded once. “After your father was removed from office, MacLeod eliminated his Secret Service detail. He was killed by a pipe bomb at a demonstration for the refugees. Your mother lived for another twenty-three years. CAM, pull up all the images for Dorothy Trapp starting from the building of this facility. She passed peacefully in her sleep when she was eighty-six years old.”
Kaelyn hadn’t realized she started crying until she tasted the salt on her lips. There were hundreds, if not thousands of images of her mother in the exact facility she was sitting in now. She was sitting in front of computer screens in various stages of their advancement, digging in the ground with a shovel. There were dozens of her with a twenty-something version of Macy Steele and even younger. “You knew my mother?”
Macy smiled at the images. She looked thoughtful and happy, like she was recalling memories that Kaelyn wasn’t privy to. “Technically, I’m only the first female president of the Resistance in name. Your mother was in charge for several decades. She didn’t want a title; we only came up with it later as we came closer to deciding it was time to enact the Phoenix Project. We needed a specific leader the whole Resistance force could look to, a definitive decision maker. We had an election and I was chosen, though any one of my colleagues would’ve done a good job.” She looked at her and smiled genuinely. “I was only twenty-five years old when your mother passed, but I had worked for her since I was seventeen. She had been very close to my mother, and when my mom passed, Dorothy took me under her wing. She was the greatest woman I’ve ever known. That’s why I know this will be successful. She’s inside you; she lives in you still. Your father might have been the one in the spotlight for all those years, but she was his source of strength and drive.”
Kaelyn was trying to take all her words in, but she couldn’t really put everything together. And what about Arrow? She’d said being a Guardian was all she knew. If everything Macy was saying were true, how did Arrow not know anything else? How did she not get a choice in what she became? She glanced over at her. Arrow was still beaming with pride as she listened to her mother talk. Kaelyn needed to spend more time with her now that she had more information. She needed to find out if this was really the utopia Macy described, or an excellent brainwashing exhibition. If the Phoenix Project was going to be successful in restoring the country, it had to more than just lip service.
“What exactly is the plan? I assume the others have been brought out of their cryo-states, and you must have something in mind.” It didn’t matter to Kaelyn who answered. She looked at Macy and Arrow, waiting for someone to respond.
Macy nodded. “Yes, the last time we met with each leader of the colonies, we decided on a date to wake all of you. You haven’t been in communication with them in order to eliminate the risk of discovery. We were only to contact each other if there was an issue. However, as of this morning, the generals were permitted to start telling their people the Phoenix Project had been initi
ated and to start preparing for the next phase.”
Macy motioned for Arrow to continue. “The mission is to get Phoenixes Two through Four to one of the entry points of Eden undetected. For this reason, the Guardian forces won’t be accompanying them, only their security details, which will help avoid detection. In your instance, that will be Valor and me. Our objective will be to get inside Eden and disable the water supply that feeds the sedatives to Eden’s population. The Guardian forces will move to each of the described entry points once we’ve accomplished this. When they’re in position, we will begin the second phase, which revolves around you. We’ll start broadcasting you, describing to the people of Eden what has happened to them, that there is an alternative, that we’re there to help. This, in theory, should start a modest uprising, if not set the stage for a tremendous amount of confusion. At that point, we’ll ask that MacLeod release his people, allow them to start making decisions for themselves, and demand he step down. He won’t do this of course. He’ll fight back. Stage Three is to remove him from office and place you in charge until we can establish a voting system.”
Kaelyn hadn’t realized her hand was over her mouth until she tried to speak. “You do realize that this will be far more complicated than what you’ve just described.”
Arrow nodded. “Well, this plan has taken years to develop. I gave you a very brief version. I also understand that the success of this mission rests on the idea of the people of Eden wanting us to help them.”
Kaelyn watched Arrow’s facial expressions, looking for a sign that she truly understood the gravity of what she was hoping to accomplish. “And what if we don’t succeed?”
Arrow leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers against her chin. “Then, I assume we’ll be taken into custody and presumably put to death. But I believe this is the perfect time. Our moles on the inside have indicated that there are rumblings inside Eden. People are growing weary of MacLeod and his need for absolute power. They feel forgotten and manipulated, and even the water sedation can’t stop that. Right now is the best option we’ve ever had.” Her voice was even and clear.
“Can the Guardian forces defeat their soldiers?” Kaelyn asked.
“Yes,” Arrow answered without hesitation.
Kaelyn chewed on the information for a moment. There seemed to be no question in Arrow’s voice, and the faces around her mimicked her certainty. “When do we leave for Eden?”
A half smile tugged at Arrow’s lips. “Three weeks. In the meantime, we’ll get you completely up to speed with all this new information.”
Kaelyn wasn’t sure of anything in this strange world, but as she felt Arrow’s eyes on her, things seemed calmer. Maybe it was because she was there to protect her. It could’ve been because Arrow knew so much about her, but even while she was thinking it, she knew it was something else. Arrow had a quality about her that Kaelyn couldn’t quite pin down. She was strong, sure, and gave off a sense of subtle power. Had she met Arrow in her world, she would’ve asked her out to dinner. She would’ve dreamed of the seemingly untapped passion behind those gray eyes. But this wasn’t her world. This was a time and place where the future was uncertain. The nation had been split apart, and the fate of all the above rested squarely on her shoulders. Nevertheless, she was grateful to have a person she felt she could trust.
“Could we please get something to eat?” Kaelyn hadn’t realized how hungry she was until the question slipped from her mouth.
Arrow and Valor were out of their seats and next to the door in an instant, waiting to escort her. She stood and looked at Macy. “Thank you, I appreciate you talking to me. I’m sure you’re very busy.”
“I’m never too busy to speak with you. Please find me if there is anything else I can help you with.”
Chapter Nine
They moved through the hallways, working their way toward the canteen. Every person they passed nodded in recognition toward Kaelyn. Arrow had done a decent job of keeping Kaelyn isolated the last few days. They’d seen people on their brief tours of selected locations, but Arrow made sure to keep interaction to a minimum. Every general had been briefed about the reawakening of Kaelyn. It was up to them to disseminate the information to their people as they saw fit, until today. Even if people had never seen a photograph of Kaelyn, which was unlikely, they would recognize the insignia of the Phoenix on her wrist. Now they weren’t worried about exposing Kaelyn to too many people in a short period of time. She was out in the open as of today.
At first, Arrow thought this would make her uneasy, but Kaelyn took it in stride. Which made sense considering she’d spent her entire life with people recognizing her. Kaelyn seemed right at home with the recognition, and Arrow felt the prospect of the Phoenix Project being successful tingle throughout her body.
Kaelyn had started her normal routine of making faces about her kale and longing for ranch dressing. Valor had the same look of confusion about the kale that Arrow had at first.
Arrow was about to explain to Valor what this ranch dressing concoction was when a loud pinging sound began through the speakers, followed by CAM’s voice. “All Guardians, Level One, report to the control center, immediately. Level two security protocol has been enacted.”
Valor and Arrow stood at the same time. She grabbed his arm and motioned to Kaelyn. “Take her to lockdown. I’ll meet you there.”
“Roger that, Major.” He picked up Kaelyn’s tray. “We have to go, but I’ll bring your food so you can finish eating.”
“What’s going on?” Kaelyn’s voice gave away her fear, but her expression was calm.
Arrow was already walking toward the door. “They’re here.”
* * *
Kaelyn sat with Valor in a large room, which was clearly intended to protect the inhabitants from anything and everything. The walls were heavy steel, from the looks of it, unlike the rest of the building. The bolts protruding toward them were the size of fists. It seemed as if this was one part of the facility that hadn’t undergone a technology upgrade over the years. There was even a flat screen television attached to the wall.
Valor looked worried, which unnerved her. She knew that he didn’t know any more than she did, but it didn’t stop her from asking. “What’s going on? Who’s here?”
He pointed to her food tray. “You should finish eating.”
“Okay, but can you tell me while I eat?” To show she’d keep up her end of the deal, she shoved a carrot into her mouth.
“Level two security means that people from the government are here.”
There was no hint of worry in his voice, but she didn’t expect there to be one. That didn’t mean she missed the tight lines around his eyes. Her nerves stood on end with that information. “Is that normal?”
He looked like he wasn’t going to answer for a minute. He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. “No, not really.”
“Do you think they know about me?”
“I don’t know how that’d be possible. Unless someone from here relayed the information without us knowing. I can’t think of anyone who would’ve done that.” His eyes said he believed his words. “They’re probably doing a random inspection. We haven’t had one in years. Their current president is lazy. You’re safe in here. Don’t worry. I’d never let anything happen to you.”
“I know you wouldn’t. You and Arrow, do you have any other jobs but me?”
He smiled at her. “Do you mean have we just been waiting for you this whole time?”
She looked down at her tray and grabbed a slice of cucumber. “Yeah, I guess that’s what I mean. I’ve asked Arrow about it a few times, and she just kept telling me that I’d find out everything as I needed to know. But it seems we have some time to kill now.”
He took a seat next to her and helped himself to a few of the granola pieces. “Kaelyn, the whole world has been waiting for you and the other three. But no, you weren’t our sole purpose up until now. We’ve always studied you, prepared for y
ou, but that hasn’t been the only thing to take up our daily activities. Arrow and I oversee all patrol watches and outposts. We need to stay on top of the happenings within the colonies to better protect them. It’s also to serve as a security blanket of sorts for our people when the government comes around to inspect their dwellings. They’re allowed to inspect and investigate whatever they want, and we’re there to make sure nothing gets out of hand and that our people aren’t seized or hurt. We are also charged with the training regime of all Level Ones. So, don’t worry. We stay busy.”
She felt her face flush. “Of course you stay busy. God, I didn’t mean to sound so arrogant.”
He was still smiling at her. He was an incredibly handsome man. His eyes were warm, like melted chocolate. His skin was smooth and dark, and he seemed to have a perfect jawline, which bunched with each chomp of the granola.
“Do the Guardians date?” she blurted out.
His eyes got wide with amusement. “We have to procreate.” He paused for a moment, allowing her to feel the full burn of her embarrassment. “I don’t date. I’m married.”
Kaelyn realized as the conversation continued that she’d been thinking so much about the state of the world as a whole and her own rehabilitation, she’d barely considered what the current social construct had developed into. “Oh? Is she or he a Guardian? I don’t want to assume anything.”
“Her name is Eleanor, and no, she isn’t a Guardian. She’s a teacher down at the facility we went to earlier. I hope you can meet her.”
“Me too. I’d like that.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “During my time, marriage equality was still relatively new and the LGBTQ community was still struggling for acceptance.”
“You want to know if the struggle remains.”
“I’m a little scared to know, but yes.” She took a deep breath and sat up straighter.