Paradise of Lead Trilogy

  A loud alarm sounds in Paradise and Blice jumps up. "That's the missile alert system. Something is coming this way."

  "There's nothing we can do about it." Kazimir says.

  "Like hell there isn't. Stand back. I'll take care of this." Blice goes to the door.

  "What are you going to do? Don't be stupid."

  "Oh, please. I'm never stupid, Kazimir."

  "Famous last words?" Byron asks.

  "Get over it. I have a plan."

  "Don't do what I think you're going to do. It won't work. I'm warning you." Kazimir says.

  "Shut up, all of you." Blice steps outside and raises his arms to the sky as his arms swirl with the black and purple of his dark matter. There is a surge of power around him as the ball of dark matter shoots up into the sky.

  As far as they can see, a glittering membrane of swirling purple dark matter stretches over the sky. It blocks out the sun and sends Paradise into an unnatural and foreboding night. Just as it does, a large field of fire collides with it up in the atmosphere and the alarms die down.

  Kazimir grabs Blice's arm. "What have you done?"

  Through his hard breathing, he wipes the sweat from his face and smiles. "I created a shield."

  "You idiot! Ever heard of the ozone layer?"

  Blice shrugs his shoulders. "Who hasn't?"

  "Well say goodbye to that." Kazimir says. "What do you think your hungry nanobots are going to do up there?"

  "Oh shit. I didn't even think about that."

  "You never think, do you?" Kazimir asks. "I always knew dark matter manipulators were dangerous. 'No,' they said, 'Blice is intelligent enough to not destroy the entire planet!'"

  He pulls away from him and comes back inside. "Shut up. At least I did something."

  "Yeah. You just doomed everything above ground." Bryon says.

  "Then I guess it's a good thing humanity will be living underground." Blice says.

  Byron claps his hands sarcastically. "Good job, Blice. Once again, you're the one to screw everything up. Surprise, surprise."

  "Shut up, Byron. If I didn't need you alive for your blood, then I would kill you right here."

  "I'd like to see you try, pansy man." Byron says.

  Blice crosses his arms. "Pansy man? How am I a pansy man?"

  "Why don't we ask Miss Lavender?"

  Blice's glare could bore through stone. "Don't mock me, Byron."

  Byron grabs onto Blice and shakes him. "Fine. Then admit you messed everything up."

  "Never." Blice punches Byron's arm.

  Kazimir pries them apart. "Would you two stop it? We need to be working together, not trying to kill each other. You can fight it out when we get down to the new Paradise. Until then, I need you two to be close like the brothers you are. Now, behave, children."

  "Who are you calling children?" Blice asks.

  Kazimir aims his AK-47 at them. "I said behave. Don't talk back to me. Go to your windows and sit down. Follow Isidore's example and do as you're told. He's the only one here who is not being moronic. If you are good little children, I might share my chocolate bar with you. If not, then you get some lead in your worthless bodies. The choice is yours. You're all in time out. I'm sure Isidore has introduced you to the quiet game. The first one to talk gets a bullet to the head."

  With one last death glare, Byron and Blice go to their corners and grumble under their breath.

  As the hours pass by until the streets of Paradise begin to quiet down and the gunfire tapers off, everyone goes to their separate corners of the room to gather what little sanity they can still muster. They have no beds to go back to, no home now. What happens from here on is in God's hands. Isidore truly does believe that now. In these last few hours of his life, he finds himself clinging to anything that can protect him to calm his mind. His faith is the one thing keeping him from breaking down and losing it all right here. He knows he has to be strong and vigilant through this night and carry out his purpose. If God wants him to sacrifice his life for humanity, then he will do it with grace and understanding. He will be content that the one being he has ever prayed to has entrusted him with saving everyone. Maybe Isidore has done something right in this bundled, tangled mess of emotions and pain they call life. He doesn't want anyone to honor him for this. They never will understand what it was all about, anyway. To them, Isidore was never alive to begin with so his sacrifice will go unnoticed. A dark question bubbles up in his mind. Why should he give his life to save those who condemn and hate him? He thinks about this, pondering and searching into the deepest recesses of his mind until he finds the one answer that he has. Because he was told to.

  Isidore owes this to Blice. He would have gladly done it without hesitation for Katarina, but she's gone now. The only thing remaining for him to protect with his life is Blice. He can't let him down. Years ago, Isidore swore to Blice that he would do everything in his power to defend, protect, and obey him. Now on the eve of his last breath, Isidore vows again to make this right. No matter what has happened between them, he belongs to his owner. He will make his owner proud because that is why he was created.

  With his world ending tomorrow, Isidore takes inventory of the lessons he's learned and compiles all the data into a folder that he will transfer to Blice in the morning. It has all of his most important memories, the places and things he holds dear, the songs he used to play on his harmonica when the desert nights were too cold to sleep, and the emotional musings of an android's heart. It will be his final gift to Blice, as a farewell. Hopefully he will carry this with him and never forget. That is Isidore's worst fear at this point. It's not dying. He is terrified that Blice will forget about him after he is gone. After they go down to the new Paradise without him and Blice goes back to being president with all of his daily meetings and politics, will Isidore cease to exist to Blice? After all they have been through together, all the sleepless nights they've kept each other company, the long road trips to the coast to see and smell the ocean, the secrets and tears they poured out to each other . . . will it all vanish from Blice's mind?

  Perhaps the life of an android was never meant to be remembered in the first place. Created as a slave, to live as a slave, then to die as a slave, all to please his owner. He knows that Blice values him more than that, but it might not be enough to keep his memory alive. The thought of slipping from existence and history only serves to make him colder inside. The one spark of hope he can see in this darkness is that maybe he was able to do something great enough to make someone remember him. As long as one soul was helped or inspired by him, then Isidore can die with the knowledge that he did all he could for this world. That's what really matters in all of this. He will give his life to save the lives of millions of humans. It will be worth it. He will be their savior. Blice was right. The one to save humanity is the one who was never human to begin with.

  Someone warm moves up against Isidore in the dark and holds him. From the scent, he knows it's Blice.

  "Hey. Are you doing okay?" Blice whispers.

  "I will be, I guess."

  "Listen to me. I know this is hard for you to cope with right now, but I promise that things will work out one way or another."

  Isidore shivers as he lays his head on Blice's chest. "That's easy for you to say, Blice. You will be alive tomorrow and going down to your new future to start all over again with a newfound hope. I won't be. I know that and I've accepted it. I want you to promise me one thing."

  "Anything."

  "Don't forget me."

  Blice kisses Isidore's head. "Never. I swear to you that I will never forget you, Niko."

  31

  Everyone looks up as the back door to the warehouse slides open. Byron holds up his shotgun as Blice's dark matter dances in the palms of his hands. Kazimir readies his AK-47. Isidore steps forward into the shadows between the tall wooden crates.

  "Get back, Niko." Blice orders.

  "Hold on. Don't shoot." Isidore holds out his hand and someone takes it.
He steps back into the light and gasps when he sees the little boy with a red beanie holding onto him with tears spilling down his cheeks and a baby in a sling on his back.

  Zach clings to Isidore and wraps his arms around his waist. "Don't kill me."

  Isidore leads him into the main area and kneels down in front of him. "Look at me, Zach."

  He does then unties the sling and holds out the baby. "This belongs to you. I didn't hurt her. I swear."

  As soon as Isidore takes the baby into his arms, he knows. "Katarina . . ." He smoothes her black bangs and she makes a cooing sound at him as he kisses her cheek. He nestles her to his chest and she touches his face. It is the most beautiful thing he has ever experienced, to have his daughter safe and back in his arms one last time.

  Blice doesn't sound as happy. "You little brat. I'm going to kill you."

  "No!" Zach tries to hide behind a crate, but Blice is on top of him, knocking him to the floor and choking him.

  "Let him up." Isidore says.

  Blice hits the boy as he is squirming to get free. "Are you malfunctioning? You told me yourself what this creep did and you want to let him go?"

  "Why would he come to us out of everyone else?" Isidore asks. "More importantly, why is he not with his father anymore?"

  "I could snap his neck right now and be done with him."

  "Let him go, Blice." Byron says. "He is our half brother, after all."

  "You are all insane." With one last hit to the face, Blice stands up and lets Zach crawl away.

  Zach coughs and cries as he huddles in the corner as far away from Blice as he can get. "My daddy is leaving me here so he can go up into space with Clark and the androids to their moon colony. I wasn't invited. I'm scared."

  "I don't trust him." Blice says.

  Isidore looks down at his daughter and back to Zach. "Well I do."

  "Don't be stupid, Isidore."

  "Are you a father?" Isidore asks.

  "What does that-"

  He interrupts him. "Do you have a child, Blice?"

  "No."

  "Then don't call me stupid. I can sense that he doesn't mean us any harm. Look at him. He's so young. Let me talk with him. Byron, be a good owner and take Katarina." He hands her to him and then goes over to Zach who is whimpering and wiping his nose on his jacket. "Give me your laser pistol."

  "Okay." He reaches to his belt and hands it to him.

  "Why are you here? Don't you hate us?"

  "Not really. I thought Daddy was proud of me, but he left me here. I don't have anyone else to go to and you're the bravest guy I know. I thought you could protect me. I'll help you fight."

  Isidore sighs and sits down next to the boy. "How did you get my daughter?"

  "I stole her last night . . . good thing I did, huh?" Zach asks.

  "You stole her?"

  "I sneaked into your room and took her while you were asleep. Then Daddy found out and beat me pretty good. I guess I wasn't supposed to do that, but I wanted to get her out of there before the planes crashed."

  "Well, I thank you for that." Isidore says. "But that doesn't excuse everything else you've done. Do you realize how much you hurt me and Clara?"

  "I didn't know Daddy would kill Clara. I was doing what he wanted me to do. I'm sorry. I miss Clara."

  "Well it's too late for that. Not only that, but you tortured my friend until he was broken beyond repair. He's dead now."

  He dries his face and looks up at Isidore with large pathetic green eyes. "Your butterfly?"

  "Yes. His name was Yuri."

  "He wasn't just a robot to you, was he?"

  "He was my friend and we shared so much together." Isidore says as he remembers him fondly.

  "Why are you crying?"

  He hadn't realized he was tearing up. "Because I'm sad."

  "Why can you feel emotions?" Zach asks.

  "I've always been able to."

  "I'm sorry."

  Isidore puts his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're forgiven."

  Byron calls over from one of the windows where he is looking through the scope of a sniper rifle. "Hey guys, I see Damien outside of the technology center and there's some kind of really tall woman following him."

  Zach stands and goes over to him. "Watch out. That's Eve."

  "Who's Eve?"

  "An android that we removed from a male android a few days ago. Daddy has been accelerating her growth."

  "I can see that." Byron says. "So she was a baby not even a week ago?"

  "Four days."

  "Good God." Kazimir says as he looks as well. "Wait. You said that you removed her from a male android. What do you mean?"

  "44 wanted to reproduce so he altered his body so he could. He was essentially pregnant with his own baby."

  Byron places Katarina down on a blanket then stands and slings his backpack over his shoulder. "I'm going to go meet with my father."

  "Don't. Damien will kill you. You're not strong enough." Blice says.

  "I have to tell him how I feel."

  Kazimir laughs. "Since when does Byron Erikson care about feelings?"

  "Since my feelings for him have turned to pure hatred. I have to kill him."

  "Don't do this." Blice begs.

  "Too late. I've set my mind to it so I have to follow through. If I don't make it out, have a drink in my honor." Byron slams the door behind him as he leaves.

  "Cover him from the window." Blice orders. "We can't have him going down now. He's one of the best fighters we have."

  "Not to mention the omega code." Kazimir says.

  "Oh yes. There's that. Do you think he knows what it's for?"

  "It will have to wait until we're underground. Then the process will begin. It is crucial that he lives so he can jumpstart the biogenesis spheres."

  Isidore turns to them. "Biogenesis spheres?"

  "Artificial ecosystems encased in glass that will produce all the food and agriculture products for the new Paradise. We have almost everything in place. We just need the omega code and the rejuvenation ring to start them all."

  "So it's like creating life?" Blice asks.

  "That's exactly what it is. That is why Byron has been so important to all of this. The funny thing is that even he doesn't know it."

  "Then why are you letting him go confront Damien who will more than likely kill him?"

  "Damien won't kill him." Kazimir says. "He wants the omega code for himself. He has biogenesis spheres up on the moon base ready to provide the same kind of food and products for his colonies. It's all about who gets Byron after their confrontation. That's why we need our best shots on these rifles and ready to take out any threats. If Damien tries to get Byron onto that space transport and take him with him, then we're screwed. Our number one priority is keeping Byron down here on Earth. As for why I'm letting him go confront Damien? I'm hoping that what I gain by giving you two some time to cool off and not kill each other will outweigh the risk."

  Blice calls for Isidore. "Isidore, get over here."

  "He's gone." Zach says. "He went after Byron."

  Kazimir turns around. "What?"

  Blice gasps. "He's following Byron. If Damien gets him-"

  "I know. If you can get your sights on Damien, take the shot. I don't care what Byron needs to say to him. We can't have Damien killing Isidore."

  "I see Damien and Byron inside the technology center though a window."

  "There he is. Take the shot."

  "I can't."

  "Take the fucking shot!" Kazimir shouts.

  "No. I can't shoot as well as Isidore. Look." Blice holds up his hands. "I'm shaking. I'll hit Byron or miss and give up our position."

  * * *

  Byron dashes across the streets where fires blaze and injured people scream, begging for help that he can't give them. He has to do this. As more planes fly in under Blice's dark matter barrier and drop enemy soldiers in by parachute, Byron knows he has to hurry. He pushes open the doors to the technology center a
nd the few employees run out of the building. "Where is he?"

  A terrified receptionist points to a large room before ducking behind her desk and covering her head.

  Byron goes into the room that is empty aside from some computers lining the walls. There he is. He holds up his shotgun. "Montgomery!"

  Damien stops where he is and turns around to meet Byron with a grin on his face. "Well, well. I didn't expect to see you over here."

  "I know you're behind this attack. Do you know how many people you have killed?"

  "Does it really matter?" Damien asks. "In the end, they're only humans. That's the sad reality of it all. Humanity is fleeting and worthless. The true power, the power of technology, will lead us into the future. Only those who embrace it will survive. And from the looks of it, you're just one of the excess. We should be rounding up all the weak little humans and execute them then toss them into mass graves. But now that I think about it, they're not even worth wasting that precious lead on. Don't you agree?"

  "How could you think like that? I trusted you. I believed in you. We were so close. You were my partner!"

  Damien holds out his hands and laughs. "I killed my partner. Yes, I killed Seth Thompson. You were just too stupid to see this coming."

  "You're my father."

  "Took you long enough, boy."

  "Why did you abandon me when I was little?" Byron asks.

  "I didn't want you. No one wanted you, Byron. You're just as worthless now as you were back then. I knew you could never be as good a son as Blice."

  "What's so special about him?"

  "He had so much potential to be great before he spiraled out of control."

  "You did that to him." Byron says, actually feeling some compassion for his brother. "Don't you understand that? He became addicted to drugs because you were using them to experiment on him. He continued using them because he couldn't live with the loneliness and rejection. You then made him beat and torture his best friend all because you just couldn't see Blice be happy. That's why you gave Isidore to him. You wanted Blice to dominate him and hurt him. What kind of demented lesson is that for someone to learn? You waited until they had grown close just so it would destroy Isidore more when the one person in the world that he loved and trusted turned on him. What gives you the right to ruin the lives of those around you?"