by Vee Bosse
The New Resistance
Written by Vee Bosse
It can be said that we will truly be lost
when we withdraw all faith from ourselves in favor
of those who stand above us.
For Deloris – I’ll find a way.
Cover illustrations by Gabe Maurer
Editing by Vee Bosse and Thomas Cantrell
Chapter One
Awake
The masses were under the water. All of the students at the Haven Island Military Precinct lived in what they called the ‘Glass Submarine’, and while this underwater construct built into the meagerly-sized island had a picturesque seascape that only an exotic five-star hotel could match, a very small number of its inhabitants wished that it could detach from its earthen bay like a real submarine could. Perhaps there was something more in the distant waters that awaited them.
The inhabitants mostly ranged in age from 18 to 22, and all of the 3,000 precinct subjects had one thing in common that would have startled someone from the New Millennium Era some 80 odd years ago: these young adults all lacked even a small recollection of their lives before suddenly showing up on the island. It was a universal rule: waking up inside of a Diamond Radiance room meant that remorse for loved ones left behind was impossible. The only thing that could be conjured is a crippling perplexity when the urge to ponder one’s identity suddenly arose out of the blue.
However, there were a select few that had dreams. Flashing behind their perceived eyes in their strange dream worlds were people. Their names and identities were a hopeless mystery, and the subjects found themselves perplexed when waking into the real world once more.
Two weeks went by, and the usual routine for the thousands of emotionless ghosts was like clockwork. They made their way out from their top-quality beds to take to their usual daily tasks. These tasks were their mantra, and their only reason to exist. Without the daily assignments, they truly were nothing but ghosts. After a unique announcement, automated doors opened in the rooms that emitted a dull blue glow, which always had the ability to make them tranquil and pacified. Down the hall they marched in effortless synchronization, proceeding up the stairs to the second level of Glass Submarine.
The staff made sure to remove any sense of the subjects’ identities that could cause certain trouble on their precious island stronghold. Names had been replaced by four-digit numbers, and the way they were assigned to their human hosts was by that of a daily brainwashing. The announcement that signified the rituals came in the form of a simple audio message played over the building’s intercom system at noon sharp.
Number 2118 heard his own number ring out in his room as the door opened. He knew that exercise sessions and nutritional intake awaited him before marching unquestioningly back to his gallant quarters for more oblivion. Everyone’s doors remained open while out of nowhere, this mindless drone found a plethora of memories rushing into his head out of nowhere. “My name is...Christian.”
He heard the marching in the hall begin to get distant as the exercise machines commenced their usual cycling. The images of his complete life paralyzed him, rendering him unable to move off of his bed. He regained his composure for a split second, noticing the surveillance camera in his room activated and panning straight towards his near-lifeless body as his reflection stared back at him with a purpose. He didn’t recognize the blue-haired image of himself dressed in the traditional white shirt and pants that made up the official uniform of the inhabitants of the Glass Submarine. Reason somehow found a way to the forefront of his newfound mind as he realized that the authority figures would soon march into his quarters to escort him into obedience. With weak limbs struggling to comply, he managed to stagger out of his abode to make his way to the ritualizing floor above.
After exercising and holding back a raging urge to vomit out of disbelief towards his situation, he sat down in the large and dimly-lit chow room. He caught a glimpse of a distant orca through the impenetrable and transparent walls, only before realizing the multitude of guards suddenly gazing his way. He studied the looks on their faces, noticing that it was one of calm collectivism with a hint of animalistic fear imprinting itself in their eyes. He slowly turned back towards his bowl of white nutritional chow, which oddly enough always made him tired and ghastly after eating it.
At that moment, he saw the untold and innumerable instances of his long repeated daily routine coming to him like a crippling revelation. He knew it all at that moment: that he was 21 years old and from the Principality of Idaho in the hemisphere of the Western Latitude. He remembered his dreams in vivid details, and the faces that he recognized as his parents and sister. He remembered how they both screamed in terror as he was suddenly abducted by the Police Force of the Western Latitude. He remembered how his eyes widened in disbelief as a group of masked men held him back as he was tossed into a high-level security van to be whisked away into unending oblivion.
He now remembered being injected with an inane substance that had a dim, blue glow as his life became a jumbled blur of routines and scrambled thoughts. But above all else, he suddenly remembered his sister’s terrified gaze as he reached out in helplessness, praying that she or his parents could somehow summon a rescue for him in the desperate situation. He looked around the room in the present moment; he could see not only the multitudes of guards throwing death stares his way as they whispered into their tiny communication diodes in urgency, but he also saw the dozen or so fellow subjects staring back at him as his tears fell to the cold, unrelenting floor.
He choked back his emotions because he knew that deep down, he had to. He wanted nothing more than to scream for the apparent loss of his life. While the guards began to approach him with a few in the distance pulling out tranquilizer darts (glowing that all too familiar blue shade that he had come to know). But something else caught his attention more than any other sight in the mess hall: the fact that out of all his fellow subjects who kept eating their chow in silence, there was a dozen or so that were quite aware of his abnormal behavior. He studied the faces of the others staring at him with the full mental faculties of regular people, and he noticed that their expressions were mixed. They were stunned at first, but horror soon crept upon their faces.
“How many decades has it been since any human has even shown tears?” he heard one of the guards ask another as they mounted their dart guns in haste.
“It’s been decades, at least...these ones are dangerous. The ones that are standing up need to be taken in for reconditioning, now! Fire at my mark!”
The group had indeed stood up, staring at each other in a state of speechlessness. They knew the guards would be taking immediate action as the lulled masses amongst them finished their meal without an inkling of their surroundings.
“Hey, all of you, my name is Christian,” said the one who seemingly set the few surrounding prisoners on the path towards awakening their memories and minds. They decided that everyone who was to begin introducing themselves might bring them all to a state of comfort, despite their desperate state.
“My name is Andrea, but if you’re chill, you’ll call me Dre.” said one girl who was lightly heavy-set, with long blonde hair and an expression of calm determination.
“I’m Westin. Does anyone know where and what this place is?” said an also young guy who looked to be about 18 years old. His hair was dark brown, and he had a strong look of endearment.
“This must be the place where ‘those that disappear’ head to. I’ve always read about accounts of men and women who disappear after being abducted by policemen in dark clothes and vans, but I never imagined that I could possibly be one of them,” said a
boy who was about 20 years old, and who was the thinnest out of all them. He had long brown hair and thick glasses that surpassed any others when it came to computer nerd-like quality. He finished his quandary by stating his name in similar fashion: “I’m Haynes, by the way.”
The one who declared to the sniping guards that his command would be the one that launches the darts into their prey was a stout man who looked to be in his late 20s. His hair and eyes were pitch black, and he wore a black Army uniform decorated with one golden sash over his right shoulder. His posture was unforgiving and serious, and he stared at the targets with complete awe.
“How fascinating, they seem to have somehow retrieved their memories, and are now conversing with each other. Almost as though they think that they are complete beings like we are. Well, most of us.” He corrected himself right after this observation, as his gold-plated nametag shone against the bright fluorescent lighting above: ‘Commander Revenant.’ He felt compelled to observe them a little longer to discover the true extent of the anomaly while the guards he commanded became nervous to the point of shaking, almost pleading for their superior to give the order to subdue them into submission.
“My name is Winkle Ramsay, and I really need to find my gemstones. Crap, where are they?” she said in an irritated, yet cordial manner as she rummaged through the uniform pockets that existed for no real purpose. This girl was considerably shorter than the rest, and her sandy blonde hair was tied into a ponytail as a show of playfulness.
“Complete BS anyway. How the heck do we get out of here?” said Dre, seemingly announcing the next step for the group of subjects who somehow revived themselves.
“If we are going to survive whatever is about to happen to us, then we have to find a way to stay together. I imagine those darts that the uniformed people over there are pointing at us will take us out of our minds again. Oh, and I am Doctor Jassa Nava. That’s pronounced ‘haas-ah’.”
They all turned their attention towards this girl who had long black hair and glasses that gave her a look of intelligence, mixed perfectly with the compassion of a doctor.
“Really? How old are you?” said a girl who looked to be the oldest out of all of them who sported a vibrantly maintained image of long brown hair that spiked out in volume and definition. After posing her question to the doctor, she identified herself as Milli.
“I am 22 years old, and I just recently graduated from one of the Western Hemisphere’s top medical schools. People say I’m a prodigy, but I tell them to stop. I’m not that great,” said the doctor.
The rest of the group stared at her for a second, taken aback by her unexpectedly poor self-image. Westin couldn’t help but want to comfort everyone despite everyone else’s silence.
“Well, I think you’re just great. High five!”
Haynes let himself smile as he used a finger to slide his glasses closer to his face. Jassa, who was also showing a warm smile, obliged without hesitation as she made sure not to show any force in her returned 'elevated hand slap'.
“I need a cigarette, badly,” announced Dre as she playfully leaned in closer to another one in the group. “Hey. What’s your name?” she asked the tough-looking African guy who gave off an air of silent confidence and wisdom.
“My name is Dee King,” said the quiet kid who looked to be only seventeen as he refused to return Dre’s sudden curiosity. “I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t even fathom why this is our reality.”
His words hit the group, who in their early minutes of being awake once more found a completely unexpected camaraderie with one another, that formed simply out of being a dozen in the thousands. Their sorrow collectively turned into a moment of happiness in not being alone in that isolated prison stronghold, but that moment was gone upon the reemergence of the memories of their lost family and friends.
“Yeah, let’s escape. I don’t want to lose anyone else again. I’m not letting it happen.” Announced Christian as he turned his attention towards Commander Revenant, who suddenly began to laugh with a hysterical overtone of newfound invigoration.
“Oh yes, YES! In the half century that this stronghold has operated, never, not even once has anyone shown even a hint of what you subjects are displaying.” The new friends all turned their attention at the commander, with a sudden realization that they would likely soon be soulless zombies once more. Numbing fear hit them, like the pressure at the bottom of the ocean that they seemed to be in the middle of. However, the only exception to this rule of panic was Dre. She walked forward a couple of steps, ahead of the group which had been standing in the amidst the mass of tables and mindless subjects chowing down on their mush.
“I admit that it is daunting and even intimidating standing here, witnessing a first in the history of this institution, but this is an opportunity to progress further ahead into this island’s mission of creating the ultimate super-soldier.” These words from the Commander began to help the group get a sense of why they were there.
“Would you please divulge to us: the reason that we were your chosen subjects for super-soldiers?” asked Haynes, who seemed to possess an intellect of astounding proportions. The commander let a sadistic smile creep on his face.
“Since you will soon be mindless once more, I suppose I’ll let you special cases in on some more knowledge that the world populace needn’t know.” Revenant broke into an uncontrollable laughter as his mind pondered the gravity of his statements, all while he and his soldiers stood above on the catwalk perch, overlooking the chow hall. “You see, you are all our worst enemy.”
The group stared at each other, in awe of Revenant’s claim. In their heads, they attempted to recount every moment of their lives that they could, desperately looking for the answer that would reveal why their government would single them out as an enemy to be isolated and contained.
“Laran? Laran is that you?” Milli’s regression through her memories came to a sudden halt, when she recognized a face that was two tables ahead of her. She darted away from the others, desperate to reach this boy who sat soulless, eating the last of his white glop. Milli reached him while taking his bowl and spoon, and tossing it down to the floor amidst the other subjects who remained mindless as they finished their chow. This boy, named Laran, looked to be about 19. He was as short as Haynes was, who stood at about 5 feet, 7 inches. He had black, smoothed, and well-kept hair, and a face that made Milli melt to her core as she put her arms around him, refusing to break the hold for anything.
Her mind had repeated the events of her abduction repeatedly, and she could recall sitting in her house while the doors and windows were unexpectedly blown away with an ear-piercing thud. The masked intruders that wore black had whisked her away as she was helpless to resist, but even then, it puzzled her that her boyfriend was whisked away along with her. She would likely never forget the feeling of holding his hand as they injected them with glowing blue syringes, shortly before losing consciousness for good.
Yet, here they were together once more, as the other surrounding subjects seemed to regain consciousness thanks to Milli’s display of affection. “Milli?” The tears streaming down her face had suddenly stopped as she realized that Laran had turned around, now staring right back at her. “Wh...where are we?” he questioned, as he also recalled that same moment: when they had lost each other's embrace. Milli smiled as they stood up, and Laran also smiled for the sake of reciprocating her affection. But, when they had noticed that three others around them seemingly had awakened by witnessing their embrace, the group heard what was coming.
“Fire now!” Commander Revenant’s order came as a sigh of relief to the soldiers who had grown weary of waiting. “After all, we can’t have an uprising on our hands. The world is counting on us to suppress their abilities.”
Suddenly, Andrea felt something awaken inside of her that she had never felt before. It almost seemed as though the blood in her veins had caught on fire at the sight of the tranquilizer projectiles coming their way. She felt
her sense of time slow tenfold, to the point where her mind was processing the movement of the approaching dart in slow motion. An odd aura had circulated out from her body, able to keep up with every one of her superhuman commands while her body was not. She was somehow able to command it at will, staring in awe at its white, glowing luminescence. Without any hesitation in her mind, she commanded the psychic energy to take the form of a dome as it expanded outwards, enveloping her reawakened group.
Revenant’s face turned from an expression of amusement and curiosity into one of bewilderment. He stared in awe at the syringe whose metallic tips had been smashed and impeded against Dre’s psychic wall. “I’ll be damned,” he managed to say, before impulsively and frantically pulling out a tablet device from his military jacket. Dre smiled at the commander, as all the guards that were surrounding let out a collective gasp of terror and astonishment. Her psych energy collected outside of the dome as she commanded it to take the form of a protruding arm, molding the energy to point a finger at Revenant as her smile roused the new group of rebels. “Enough, you silly child," he announced, as he pressed a button authoritatively on the tablet.
The group who found themselves staring back and forth between Dre and Revenant suddenly noticed the ceiling above them had opened up. With hundreds of sprinkler heads emerging, the lights in the room all turned red alongside a blaring alarm on the intercom system. A computerized voice declared ‘Code Omega’ as the guards watched their full proof system come into action.
“Damn, this is it! We’re going under again!” announced Westin, as they observed the glowing blue liquid showering down on the entire chow hall.
Dre confidently retorted, “Nope! I need a cigarette, way too damn badly.” With a careless defiance, Dre made an attempt at trying to use her psych energy to shield the entire mass of subjects who seemed like they were being forced back asleep. She shielded her new group of allies in a desperate attempt to keep them all awake and alive.