Paradise of Lead Trilogy

  "We should activate W.A.N.D. to be safe." Monroe says.

  "I don't have the codes for W.A.N.D. Damien does."

  "So does Isidore. If you activate the alpha code, W.A.N.D. starts automatically."

  "I can't do that, Monroe." Blice says. "I can't do that yet. There's still time."

  "There's no more time, sir. Isidore was made for this. Let him carry out his final mission."

  Never. "I don't have the authority to do that."

  "You're the president-"

  Blice turns around as he interrupts him angrily. "I don't give a damn who I am. When the time comes, it won't be me or any other human making the decision to start that program. It will be in Isidore's hands. I give him all power over that. What happens from here on lies with him."

  "Sir, you can't do this."

  "Don't tell me what I can or cannot do."

  "You're sentencing us all to death." Monroe says.

  "Then start praying to whatever god you believe in. If Isidore goes down, Paradise is going down with him."

  "You can't do this, Blice. What about the citizens? They're innocent."

  "Innocent?" Blice laughs. "Innocent people don't treat even androids the way that they have treated Isidore. No. There are no more innocents."

  Agent Monroe draws his silenced pistol and holds it up. "Activate the alpha code, Mr. President."

  Blice looks at the man across the desk. "Or what? You'll shoot me? Then what? Who will activate W.A.N.D. then? The only other person who knows the access codes is Damien Montgomery and I know all too well that he will love to see this country go down in flames. Go ahead and pull that trigger. No one will hear it. I know the kind of silencer you have on that gun. It's the most up to date and advanced technology. You can thank the Inquisition for that."

  "This isn't the time to be playing games. I knew it was a terrible decision to put someone so young and inexperienced in office. How dare you play with the lives of millions of people like this? Do they not matter to you? Or have you become so blinded to the truth in that drug controlled mind of yours?"

  Blice points to the door. "Leave my office immediately."

  "No. This country will be saved one way or another. And if that means taking down a tyrant like you, then so be it."

  Insolent bastard. "Strong words. But tell me, Monroe. Do you have the balls to back them up? If you want to take me down, do it like a man. Don't stand there with a silenced pistol and threaten me in my own office. That's the coward's way."

  "Then do something." Monroe shouts. "The people trust in you."

  Trust? This is the Unified State. If they wanted to trust in something, they should have gone elsewhere. "Then their trust has been misplaced."

  "What happens, then? Huh? What happens when the bombs fall? We're vulnerable and we have no protection. Will you be the one to bury the children? Will you be the one to console the widows and the weeping mothers who hold onto what's left of their families? Will you take responsibility for all the lives that will be lost?"

  Blice has already been preparing for that eventuality. "If that happens, then yes. I am fully prepared to take that on my shoulders."

  "You're a fool, McSage."

  "Call me what you will." Blice says. "I don't care anymore. I say to hell with it all. Let the bombs fall and wipe humanity away as the blight it is. We need to be eradicated for our sins. Let a superior race . . . a technological race . . . take my place. I welcome it. Let androids and computers make the laws. At least then they can thrive in their vindication. Haven't we done enough terrible things in this universe? Does history not speak for itself? How long are we going to keep dragging this out, scraping the bottom of humanity for the few who can make a difference? Well, I say the time has come to end it all. No more struggling to save what shouldn't have been created in the first place."

  "You can't talk like that. What has gotten into you? What happened to your ideas about saving the world? Don't you want that? What about your mother?"

  "My mother? Who knows? She's been gone for years. Only Byron was ever close to her. She wouldn't have anything to do with me. She told me I was evil because of my purple eyes. She refused to even breastfeed me or hold me for fear I would hurt her. Then after Byron was born, my father sent her away. I never saw her again."

  "She's alive." Monroe says.

  "I couldn't care less. If she cared she would have contacted me by now. Let her keep her favorite son. I'm sure Byron has plenty of good memories."

  Monroe sets his gun down on the desk. "Is this what has made you so bitter? Why do you hate everyone?"

  "Because everyone hates me. The only thing I ever got from anyone was hatred. There's not a single human soul worth saving. The soul of my android is the purest soul on this planet and I'll be damned if I let him die to save anyone. They don't deserve that sacrifice."

  "Don't let your hatred cloud your judgment."

  Blice turns back to the window and runs his fingers through his hair. Then he has the terrible realization that he's crying. He bites his lip and tries to focus on something else, but he knows it's impossible. What can he do to solve a problem like this? He's just one man, one pathetic and worthless man. Giving Isidore to Leblanc would solve so many problems, but surely it would be only a temporary fix, like putting duct tape around a broken water pipe or a tissue on a gunshot wound. Activating the alpha code would be an immediate and permanent fix . . . until some new crisis plagues them.

  Thanks to some hidden information Damien left on the network, Blice knows the contingency plan for W.A.N.D. now. It's not pretty and it's not the ideal situation, but it is a viable option in the worst case scenario. So what happens now? Does Leblanc continue to bomb and destroy the country until nothing's left? This is in direct violation of the agreement they both signed right here in this office. Sure, it's a cause for war, but war is the last thing Blice wants to get involved with. He can barely keep this country running when there's not an international crisis. Not to mention that any scrap of credibility he had is long gone after the trial.

  "Sir, I need something to tell the press." Monroe says.

  "Tell them that I will have a concrete plan in place within two weeks. For right now, I need troops sent up to Eden to survey the damage and report back with details. Gather refugees from the surrounding wasteland and give them shelter here in Paradise. I will speak with them."

  "Yes, sir."

  Blice lights a cigarette and holds it between his shaking fingers. "One more thing, Monroe. Pull a gun on me again and you won't be alive to tell the press anything."

  "Yes, sir. Understood. Do you need anything?" Monroe asks as he holsters his pistol.

  "Summon Kazimir Dark here. I need to speak with him urgently."

  The door to the office opens and Byron steps inside. His face is covered in sweat as he tries to catch his breath.

  "What's wrong, Byron?" Blice asks.

  "Blice, we found Clara unconscious in the garden. Katarina is missing."

  18

  Blice paces back and forth in front of the wall where Isidore's dark matter is slowly eating away at it. Now they'll have to get an entirely new wall. Oh well. It's not the first time that's happened in here. Besides, he has much bigger things to worry about now. He picks up the phone on his desk and calls for Agent Monroe. "Monroe, is Isidore locked in the bedroom? I can't have him finding out about this. He's already an emotional wreck."

  "He knows, sir. Strange thing is . . . he has no emotion. Clara woke up, but she no recollection of what happened to the baby. She tried to talk to Isidore, but he ignored her like she wasn't even there."

  "Okay. Keep me posted. And if you value your life, you won't let him hurt himself again. Is that clear?"

  "Yes, sir. Anything else?" Monroe asks.

  "Where is Kazimir Dark?"

  "Looks like he's arriving now, Mr. President."

  "Good. Send him in." Blice ends the call and looks up as Kazimir steps inside and closes the door. "Have a seat. I
'm getting answers now."

  Kazimir rubs his thick brown beard and smiles. "What could this possibly be about? Eden, perhaps?"

  Blice leans over his desk and glares at Kazimir. "What did you do to Isidore?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "He had a mental breakdown this morning. He's covered in bruises and he keeps saying that he's done something bad. Then he told me that someone hurt him last night."

  "It wasn't me." Kazimir says as he tinkers with a tiny robot of some kind in the palm of his hand. "I've been working on some programs in the technology lab. Is Isidore okay?"

  Blice sighs and sits in his leather chair. "I honestly don't know. Tell me one thing. What is Isidore's defect? He said that he inadvertently started another world war. What did he mean by that?"

  Kazimir sets the black robotic caterpillar down on the desk where it starts to crawl onto a stack of papers. "In times of severe mental distress, Isidore can trigger a defense system linked directly with both the Unified State and Common Ground. Whoever attacked him knew about the defect and used Isidore's defensive nanobots to destroy Eden."

  "Oh my God. Isidore did that?" Blice asks.

  "Not on purpose. You can't blame him. Whoever did this knew that they had to beat Isidore down until he broke. At that point, the only other thing needed to activate the nanobots is those numbers on his arms. As you probably know, they are directly linked to the Paradise security system. They are Isidore's own personal launch key that can only be used when he is in severe distress."

  "Goddamn it. Why does the world hate him so much? I've never been able to figure that out."

  "Because humans are afraid of technology." Kazimir says. "While many of us have embraced it and look to new advancements to enhance our lives, many people fear it will replace humans altogether. The extremely religious types sometimes look down on things like genetic research because they don't want us to play God. I say if God exists and he gave us the ability to do this, then we should run with it."

  Blice lets the caterpillar crawl onto the sleeve of his blue suit and he holds it up in the sunlight coming through the window. "Isidore is religious."

  "He was religious. Now he's conflicted."

  "True. I can't say I blame him, though." Blice says. "From what I've learned about those couple of years he was out in the wasteland without me, he was a priest. Religion was his life and now he finds out that God might not love him as he thought. It must be crushing."

  "There's a reason I only worship what I can make with my own two hands."

  "So what do you believe in?"

  "Technology." Kazimir says as he takes the caterpillar away from Blice and walks to the window. "I have faith in Isidore as if he was our savior. He is a miracle of science and technology that will save the human race from the wars brought about by our sins. He is the Created One who will cleanse this world and bring about a rebirth."

  "So you view him as a god?"

  Kazimir slides the window open and tosses the caterpillar out into the air. "I guess you could look at it like that."

  "So are you pissed off that I did those things in the past to your god?"

  "Jesus went through trials, did he not?"

  "Isidore isn't Jesus." Blice says. "Don't even try to put them in the same sentence."

  "Don't have any faith in Isidore's kind heart?" Kazimir asks.

  "He has a kind heart. He's just not . . . he's not a god, okay?"

  Kazimir shrugs his shoulders. "Fine. You believe what you want and I'll believe what I want. Now, back to the world ending. Face it, Blice. Isidore has to be guarded more closely or things like this will continue to happen. What happens next time? Paradise could be the next target. What are you going to do about it?"

  "I don't know." Blice didn't think it was this bad. So Isidore really did start this. That means that Leblanc or someone working for Common Ground was here and abused Isidore to get that to happen. That's what Isidore was trying to tell him.

  "Why hasn't he been taking his clear pills?"

  Somehow Blice knew this was going to come up. How could he have been so stupid? "I . . . I forgot."

  "You forgot? This is more your fault than his. What kind of owner are you?"

  "An awful one. I know that."

  "How could you?" Kazimir asks. "That's like forgetting to feed a goldfish."

  Blice grins and places his feet up on the desk. "You realize you just called your god a goldfish."

  "Shut up, McSage. You know what I meant. He has been wearing his slave collar, right?"

  "Yes."

  "Then why don't you program it correctly?" Kazimir asks, still looking out of the window.

  "Correctly? And what would I program it to do?"

  "Shut him down if someone tries something like this again. That way the activation won't go off."

  "That could kill him." Blice says.

  "It will kill everyone if this gets into the wrong hands. You make your choice. I would just tell you to use the T.I.M.E. control program to take away his freewill in the event of an emergency that way you could have some buffer between the trauma and his emotions. But no. You went and gave him control of everything."

  "What was I supposed to do?" Blice asks. "It was either that or he was never going to wake back up."

  "Stop and think about who told you that."

  "Damien."

  "Exactly."

  Oh. Well, looking back . . . all of that was probably lies. "He's my father."

  "Damien is your father?"

  "My father is Damien. It's a disguise."

  Kazimir places his hands on his hips. "Oh. I see. Well that explains everything, doesn't it? How was it to see your dear daddy again?"

  "I'm not discussing this with you."

  "So how is Isidore right now?" Kazimir asks.

  "I don't know."

  "You don't know? He's your property. You're his owner for God's sake. He should be at your side or at the very least a button press away. Bring him in here. I want to talk to him and figure out how bad he's hurt." Kazimir holds his hand out of the window as a mechanical butterfly flitters through the air and lands on his fingertip. "I will see if there's any way to save him."

  "Save him?" Blice asks. "What are you talking about?"

  "Do you still have the rejuvenation ring?"

  "Not on me. Clara Lifestone has it. It's her wedding ring."

  Kazimir shakes his head then folds the butterfly's wings onto its back and slips it into his pocket. "Unless you want the alpha code to go off, keep that thing as far away from Isidore as physically possible."

  "You're joking. All that ring does is make flowers and grass. It's harmless."

  "It's so cute when you think you know what you're talking about."

  "Fine." Blice stands and goes to the door. "I have to know something first. You're a T.I.M.E., right?"

  "You didn't already know that?"

  "Why is your hair not silver like the other T.I.M.E.s?" Blice asks. "Besides, you don't look like you've stopped ageing."

  "While Isidore has already stopped ageing and will forever look the way he does now, I am not so lucky. Call it an experiment in regeneration gone wrong. Funny you should bring that up because it's the exact reason you can't let Isidore find out how to use that ring. Want to know why I don't look like the others? Nanobots. During the T.I.M.E. rebellion, I attempted to use nanobots to alter my appearance. Needless to say, when paired with regeneration magic, the nanobots still got into my bloodstream. The only difference between me and the two million dead in Eden is that the regeneration magic that I imbued the nanobots with keeps them from killing me instantly. I know my time on this earth is limited. I grow weaker every day as the magic fades and the nanobots multiply. Eventually they will eat enough holes in my brain to kill me. I aim to save Isidore before then so he can find a cure."

  "You're using him to develop a cure?"

  "In my opinion, every deadly force should have an antidote." Kazimir says. "Now go get my little in
vention and bring him in here."

  * * *

  "Sit down, Created One."

  Isidore has nothing to say to his creator. He has nothing left to live for, but he knows that Kazimir won't let him die. He sits down across the desk from him and pulls at the frayed threads of his jeans. He wants to be anywhere else but here.

  "You're not doing well, are you?" Kazimir asks.

  "No, sir."

  "Answer some questions for me, please. Do you feel like a man, Isidore?"

  "What do you mean?" Isidore asks.

  "Think of the manliest man you know. What makes him that way? What characteristics define masculinity?"

  He knows that Kazimir won't let him get out of this so he says the first things that come to mind. "Bravery. Being strong. Never being afraid of anything."

  "And who would that be in your life?"

  That's obvious. "Byron."

  "Do you feel like that?" Kazimir asks.

  "No."

  "Why don't you feel like a man?"

  There are so many reasons. Isidore could fill a book with them. "A man is independent and able to provide for those who depend on him. He protects the ones he loves."

  "Who do you love?" Kazimir asks.

  "Clara and Katarina. Most of all, I love Blice."

  "Do you not remember how you almost died to protect Blice? You were fully prepared to give your life to ensure that he could go on living the best life possible. That is very admirable. Do you not see the things you've done for people?"

  Isidore only lays his face on the desk and covers his head with his arms.

  "Okay. Next question. What do you believe in? Do you consider yourself to still be a Christian?"

  "I don't know." Isidore mumbles.

  "Do you believe in anything?"

  "I don't know what I believe anymore. Maybe I don't believe in anything."

  "If you don't believe in anything, then why bother being a good person?" Kazimir asks. "Why put yourself in harm's way for other people if nothing matters? Surely you have to be alive for something."

  None of that matters. Perhaps in a different time with a different owner and programming, Isidore could have been a bad person. It's all dependent on what he's been taught. Does he even truly have a voice in the matter?