by Chris Ramos
Gathered before him were the leaders of each division of the Movement.
He stood at the head of the table, nothing more than a large slab of weathered wood posts bolted together from the abandoned docks. To his left sat Wallace, chief scholar and orchestrator. He sat stoically in his chair, as always. His beard was meticulously trimmed to a neat point, riding away from his chin like a claw. He was a tall man. Some would call him lanky, but he preferred to think of himself as streamlined. Without Wallace, the Movement would be a disorganized mess.
“We have to believe she is in trouble!” Tym stood, waving his arms around.
The Father gently patted the air with his hands, gesturing for Tym to sit back down. Tym eventually composed himself enough to pull his sagging pants back up to his ribcage, and plopped down on his chair. He swung his magnifying glass back around his head, to just above his left eye.
“No,” Gretchen calmly replied. Tall, imposing and the constant pessimist among the gathered council, it was no secret that she disliked Emma’s forays into enemy territory. “We must carefully examine the facts. Emma was consistently involved with a subject who was deep in the LifeSpan network. This man, Cole, was an assignment that went too far. I think she has defected to LifeSpan.”
“Impossible!” Tym jumped to his feet again, his eyes blinking rapidly. The action filled the room with clinking and ringing as various instruments, trinkets and chains settled themselves back into Tym’s bulging pockets.
“Thank you for your input, Gretchen. The simple fact is we haven’t heard from Emma. Of course, this is highly unusual for someone of her experience. Therefore, one assumption is Emma is in trouble. I highly doubt, after all her years and sacrifices for our organization, she has defected. While it is possible, please do not bring this investigation into the realm of hearsay. Let us only look at the facts.”
The Father spoke in such a calm and reassuring tone, the room eventually settled down. Tym sank back into his chair, and Gretchen resumed her scowling.
“Very well. Perhaps Emma is simply slacking in her duties, and failed to report. We should find out why, and decide whom to send out to find her,” Gretchen stated to the group.
“I’ll go!” Once again, Tym jumped, but failed to hold his balance, being pulled backwards by the sudden shift in weight from his backpack. He landed hard on his pack, rolling to the side, and spilling the contents onto the ground. Various springs, mechanized robot spiders and a cup of oil spilled out, among many other unidentified components. Gretchen glanced over her shoulder, hardly amused, as he crawled around to gather his scuttling gadgets. She made absolutely no move to help him.
“We also need to find Cole. If Emma is in trouble, he could be in a dangerous situation beyond his comprehension,” the Father noted.
“Wallace, double-check Emma’s secondary information check points.” He held up a hand to stop Wallace from telling him how many times they had already checked the hot spots. “Just do it again. Do it for me.”
Wallace bowed deeply, incapable of resisting his request.
The Father stopped and looked around this small group. So many relied on the decisions of these few minds. Wasn’t that always the way it was throughout history? They would have to keep the wheel turning, and the Father was the one to do it. He paused briefly as he met each of their eyes.
“This may be the day we have feared,” he said quietly. “Our collective intelligence points to us being exposed. However, we have received no sign from the outside world to verify this deduction. If we are not exposed, we are very lucky.
“Currently, we must act decisively, and with force. Each of you knows that it is never my first choice, but I feel we have run out of options. We will send Gretchen’s soldiers, undoubtedly the greatest offensive force at our command.”
“No!” Gretchen objected. The failed assignment is not worth—”
“Gretchen, remember his lineage. You owe him that much, at least,” the Father interrupted.
“They are not ready for full deployment. I need a little more time.”
“Time is what we don’t have to spare! Don’t you get it?” Tym threw in quickly.
“Gretchen, how much would you need?” the Father asked.
“One week. Give me at least that and we’ll have a slightly better chance at success,” Gretchen implored.
“It’s already been over a week! You think we can sit around for another week while your boys shine their shoes and do push-ups?” Tym was turning red, motioning the push-up part.
“Very well then.” The Father stood. “Gretchen, you have four days, and your army goes with our blessings. Tym, we need your skills to help the team when they go into the field. Gather as much reconnaissance and communication tech gadgets as you can. They’ll need it to keep in touch with us.”
Sci Tym jumped back, slowly pulling his Master Sci glove from his pack while singing a dramatic fanfare for effect.
“Make no mistake, there’s no turning back. As we reveal Captain Ian and his soldiers, we are also revealing our weakness. If they are captured, or worse, if they do not return, we have no other recourse. This mission must not fail. Emma is too valuable to the future of our opposition, and Cole is bound to our destiny. Remember, we have four days. Then we toss everything into the fire. Let’s hope we live through the flames.”
THE CAPTAIN
Captain Ian walked down the line of soldiers, his boots clicking loudly on the hard tiled floor. They were standing at attention, hands clasped behind their backs, feet positioned slightly apart.
The soldiers stared forward, chins held high, and did not flinch as Ian stepped in front of each one, opening and closing their vest pockets.
They were equipped with a tactical vest of Sci Tym’s design. Shoulder straps ran up and over, securely fastened to the torso. The vest was adorned with numerous pockets of various shapes and sizes, each bulging with supplies and offensive combat components. Sci Tym had even loaded the vests with a few surprises of his own.
Under the arms and along the side of each vest were webbing and buckles, connecting the front and back panels securely against the torso, form-fitted to each soldier. The suits and all of the items attached were non-magnetic. Sci Tym was adamant about every single piece formed from a high-density plasteel of his own recipe.
Their pants were loose and tucked into the tall buckled boots that ran up to mid-calf. Long, narrow sheaths were sewn into the sides of the boots, fastening thin daggers for emergency use. That’s what these soldiers were trained for, emergency use.
I guess that’s what this is, Ian thought.
Captain Ian knew they were walking into an unfamiliar situation and cursed Cole for forcing them to play their hand at this early stage. He had trained Emma. She was too slick to get caught. This boy was the real reason he was leading his army into battle. There was a high probability of engaging a Collector. He also knew they were not ready for that, not yet.
The soldiers stretched and moved, testing their absorption panels sewn into their suits. These panels were shaped around each muscle and separated at the joints to move with the men. They lessened injury from falls, punches and even pressurized energy blasts.
Captain Ian looked back down the line of soldiers. The first assembled army in over 250 years stood before him.
This army of ten soldiers, including me. Captain Ian knew it wasn’t the size of the dog in the fight that mattered.
Not exactly the masses he read about in histories of famous war campaigns, but it would have to do. He had also read numerous historical speeches given by great leaders before sending their troops into treacherous situations.
Let’s see what I can do, Captain Ian thought.
“Soldiers, fall in!” he yelled from deep within his chest. Every soldier snapped to attention and walked over to their captain.
“We have received news from Wallace. Emma has been found.” The soldiers let out a cheer. Captain Ian raised a fist. The room fell silent immediately. “Listen up! We are focu
sing only the mission facts. Wallace does not have a confirmed sighting of Emma. However, he has located her assignment, Cole. We all know Emma. Every one of you has worked with her. Some in the field, most in the fighting ring. She always has a plan. Always. If Cole is important to Emma, he is now part of our mission.
“What we are about to attempt transcends any logical thought. Tonight we are openly opposing LifeSpan. We shall endure! Tonight we put our training to the test.”
Captain Ian paused.
“Wallace has confirmed Collectors are guarding the site.”
Only one man shuffled.
“Make no mistake, we are entering enemy territory. Our mission is not diplomacy! We are taking back what belongs to us, and woe to any that stands in our path. We will engage!”
Their response surprised Captain Ian. He expected a hearty “Yessir! Instead he received the cheer, “For Emma!”
“Let’s show them what we are made of!”
“For Emma!” came their reply.
“We shall endure!” Captain Ian yelled.
He waited, looking each man in the eyes.
“For the Movement!” Captain Ian cheered, and the soldiers echoed.
Many of them will die tonight. A man wants to know what he’s dying for. Captain Ian knew. For Emma.
The gray transport lumbered down the street, covered with dust and dirt. Nobody gave the sad looking truck another glance. That was the point, for if they could see through the solid, armor-plated exterior, they would be surprised at the cargo. There was no driver. The coordinates were already programmed into the guidance system.
Captain Ian was seated in the back with his soldiers. He looked again at their faces, some preparing internally, eyes closed, breathing controlled. Others were reviewing their buckles, checking the fit and stretch of their armor. Ian was thinking about their destination: the esteemed Montgomery Hospital, naturally long-since converted into a museum.
After the introduction and acceptance of Nanomedicine, hospitals were one of the first institutions finding their services no longer needed.
According to Wallace’s spy network, the reprogramming facility was buried underneath the museum. A perfect cover. The museum rarely received visitors.
Each soldier was studying a computer drawing on their digiscreens: a small map rotating on a central axis, pulsing in and out. The emerald-green framework and translucent walls were a digital representation of the underground passages in the museum. Their information was extracted from echo transmissions measuring the surrounding pavement and lower sewer readings.
The readings were taken at a safe distance, stressing the range of their machines, while surrendering high-definition renderings. Because of this rather patchy process, there were large sections of the underground map that were missing, leaving many variables, and as a byproduct, many potential traps.
Captain Ian did not enjoy variables. Nor did he like faulty information that could lead to his team being stuck below ground, without a map for extracting themselves, the enemy surrounding them.
After the soldiers committed the map to memory, they switched over to a digital recording of Cole and Emma, running from the Collectors. They could not find any records on Cole, registered with LifeSpan, but that was to be accepted. Most likely, they were trying to erase him from the system. Luckily, Wallace had secured the security footage before it was purged.
Captain Ian focused on Cole’s image, freezing the footage.
If any harm has come to Emma, you will answer to me, the Captain promised.
REPROGRAMMING
Cole was strapped tightly to the table. Looking around the room, he saw two Doctors clothed in long, flowing, silken white robes. They waited patiently, arms hanging beneath the many folds of fabric cascading down their bodies. They were looking across the room to a black window. Cole did not struggle. Galen had said they could no longer be friends. Cole was a failure.
After weeks of education, he had let Galen down. If only he had listened better, Emma wouldn’t have had to die. Galen said Cole had too many demerits, and she paid the price for his insolence. He deserved to be reprogrammed. Emma died for him, and he could not change.
Cole had fallen in a deep depression, void of any desire to change.
The Doctors continued to wait.
Galen promised that after reprogramming, they could meet again. Galen would be there for him. He was always there for Cole. Cole’s mind drifted through the last few weeks . . .
An electric voice broadcasted through the room. “You may commence with the reprogramming. He is of no use to us.”
The Doctors followed the Voice and began. The process was painful, as nano groups were taken out of his system and run through a central reprogramming machine. Cole’s remaining nanos raced to repair the extraction wound as the newly reprogrammed bots were forced back into his body. This was repeated as another nano group was extracted, and the repair bots picked up the pace.
During the process, Cole was humiliated by the Voice, forced to repent and constantly repeat the glory of LifeSpan. “We are lost. LifeSpan is the compass.” Cole begged for them to destroy him. He didn’t deserve another chance. Where is Galen now? he wondered.
“Because you have information we need, Cole. You are the resistance leader. Galen no longer cares for you. Your family despises you. You have failed your mother,” the Voice continued.
“No. She was leaving to get better.” Cole couldn’t remember anymore.
“You controlled Emma. You are too important for us to lose you. You must be punished for starting the Movement. You betrayed Emma. You are hurting everyone you loved. You saved Emma. Saved the Movement. Destroyed your family.”
Insult. Praise. Insult.
The reprogramming continued as Cole gave up.
The Voice did not relent.
Ian’s men stormed the hospital, clearing room by room. Their training paid off, as they neutralized every threat. They stomped guards, overwhelmed unsuspecting museum workers and eventually burst into a room of Doctors and Scientists standing over a thrashing man. Captain Ian recognized Cole. He gave the signal for his men to take out everyone else.
It was a one-sided battle, as trained soldiers quickly took control of the room.
Soon, Captain Ian stood over Cole.
“Cole! We are sent by the Father to bring you both back. Where is Emma?” the Captain asked.
“She’s gone. Far from us.” Cole was trying to get his bearings.
“Where can I find her? We have to leave.”
“Galen said I could have saved her. It wasn’t my fault. We tried to run. She’s broken. They broke her, but I wouldn’t break, and she was punished. We are all LifeSpan in the end . . . ,” Cole mumbled, and drifted away.
Agent McHenry approached the two of them.
“Captain, I request we leave him. Continue looking for Emma,” McHenry suggested.
“Hold. We came for Cole too.”
“What were they doing? What is all of this?” McHenry asked as he looked around.
“I . . . don’t know. . . . They were reprogramming me.” Cole stood, leaning heavily on Captain Ian for support. “There is a machine where the nanos were fed. They changed, reprogrammed, and threw them back into me. Emma would have loved that power.”
Captain Ian looked around, realizing this machine would be invaluable in Sci Tym’s hands. Cole could still be a liability if his nanos were reprogrammed to be pro-LifeSpan.
That’s all right. We have a solution for nanos in the body, Captain Ian thought.
“Duggan, McHenry, gather up Cole and pull this machine. It’s all coming back with us.”
Cole and the two soldiers busied themselves with tracing wires and pulling apart the processing array. As it turned out, the reprogramming pod was a cylinder, no larger than an oversized backpack, but heavy enough for two men to barely lift.
As Cole’s senses were clearing, he remembered the Voice.
The Doctors were always lookin
g to the tinted window. That’s the heart of this place. The brains. Cole knew it must be destroyed.
He ran from the room, leaving McHenry and Duggan to drag the pod away.
Cole approached the booth with caution. He noticed the door was open, unable to slide shut from a fallen Doctor casualty from the soldiers’ raid. He heard movement inside the room, and decided to take them by surprise.
I hope there’s only one, Cole thought. Why can’t I stay out of trouble?
He jumped over the body and charged into the room. A heavy-set figure fell back as Cole grabbed him by the collar. They tumbled back, each fighting for the upper hand. Cole knew after his reprogramming, he had very little true strength left, and his adrenaline was slowing down. In one last push, Cole pulled the man around and threw him with newfound energy. He hit the main control dock hard and slid off.
Cole stepped back to see if this Doctor would rise.
However, this was no Doctor. Galen looked up from where he fell, blood pouring from his face.
“Cole, my savior, you’ve returned to me,” Galen said with a weak smile.
Cole wanted to run over and help him. Galen was his friend, after all. Cole was the one who was tainted.
I turned in my mother. I was the one who hurt . . . Cole’s mind raced.
However, with the door blocked open, Cole could hear Galen’s voice over the speakers, echoing through the room. It was the Voice.
“It was you.” Cole didn’t know what was real anymore. “The Voice! How could you! You were my teacher. You said LifeSpan sent me here for reprogramming.” Cole tried to sort through the lies.
“Never! I came back to save you,” Galen reasoned.
“From whom?” Cole asked.
“The Movement, of course. We knew you were the leader. Once your mother was taken away, the mantle passed to you. We knew they would try to rescue you. So, we were prepared.” Galen smiled. “Your friends are trapped. See for yourself.”