“Well, I’m glad none of you were hurt and you were able to deport four illegals.”
“Ma’am, I’m glad no American citizens got hurt either, we’re just trying to do our part and help keep America safe.”
Sue walked out of the living room and grabbed her phone off the wall. She dialed her friend Kate.
“Hi Kate.”
“Hi! How have you been?”
“Great and you?”
“Me too. Did you hear about the Anderson’s?”
“No. But I really don’t know the family that well.”
“They own a landscaping business and hired a lot of illegals. When deportation was announced they said they wouldn’t make any that worked for them leave if they didn’t want to. They could stay and keep their job. Well, of course with a state of emergency some jobs were stopped temporarily while others haven’t gone back to work. The biggest hit was in construction and landscaping. As time has moved on, and some neighbors have lost their jobs, to see those here illegally making money irritated them.”
“Well, I have to admit that if I were going hungry and saw illegals doing work I could be doing, it would make me mad too. With the President giving us permission to apprehend them I can’t believe any are still around.”
“Yes, me too. But there were about fifteen neighbors that got together and decided to do something about it.”
“Were you in on it?”
Kate laughed. “No, I just watched the show from inside my house. The Anderson’s had the illegals staying in their home, there were about ten people living in the house. The neighbors all walked up to the house and knocked on the door, I didn’t think anyone was going to answer, but eventually Missus Anderson came out. They talked for a bit then her husband came to the door. I don’t know what was being said, but I could see by those further back that it wasn’t going as well as they had hoped.”
“Why?”
“Well those further back began to push forward while those in front were trying to talk. All of a sudden there was a rush into the house. The next thing I know people are coming out through the door and windows. They were being pushed and thrown out, whichever was easiest I guess. It spilled out onto their yard then other neighbors began to join in. Anyone who they thought was here illegally was handcuffed. They had everyone, including the Andersons handcuffed.”
“What did they do?”
“They put the illegals and the Andersons in a small school bus and left.”
“I wonder what will happen to the Andersons.”
“As far as I’m concerned, they should send them with the illegals.”
“You know that won’t happen, Kate.”
“I know, but it would serve them right.”
The two women talked a bit longer before Sue looked at the clock. “Well, I’d better go. I have to get supper going.”
“Okay, it was great talking with you Sue. Keep in touch.”
“I will. Bye.”
Chapter Ten
Monitoring Chips
“You mean he has developed a chip that can hold information about each individual?”
“Yes, it could be implanted on each person with all the information embedded.”
“Do you know who the guy is?”
“Ya’, his name is Gary Bomman.”
“Thanks for the info.” Austin rushed straight to Irene’s office and knocked.
“Come in.”
“Hi Irene, how are you doing today?”
“I’m doing well, how are you holding up?”
“I’m doing all right, thank you for asking.”
“So, is there something I can help you with today Austin?”
“Yes, I came to see you because I’m looking for a scientist by the name of Gary Bomman. Do you know where I can find him?”
“Just a minute, let me look through my personal files, oh there he is. You can find Gary on the eighth floor. If you don’t mind me asking Austin, is there something in particular you need to speak with him about?”
“Yes Irene, I wanted to talk to him about the ID chip he invented.”
“Okay, does this have anything to do with how to fix the virus?”
“No, but with everyone looking exactly the same these days I thought it might be a good idea to talk with Gary and see if his chip actually works. If it does instead of everyone running around getting tattoos and crazy hairdos they could get this chip.”
“Well normally I would say absolutely not, the American people would not stand for it. Due to the circumstances we’re in now they might embrace the idea. To be quite honest with you, even if they don’t like the idea we might have to force it on them just so the government will be able to identify one person from another.”
“All right, let me go talk to Gary and see if this chip even works. After I talk with him I will come back here and brief you.”
“That sounds great, I’ll talk to you soon Austin.”
Austin went to level eight, as the elevator opened he saw a large group of people standing around. “Excuse me every one, is there a Gary Bomman here?”
“Yes, I’m Gary, can I help you with something?”
“Hello Gary, my name is Austin. Can I speak with you in private for a moment?”
“Sure.” Austin followed Gary to a private conference room.
When they reached the conference room Austin opened the door and held out his hand, “After you Gary.”
“Thank you Austin.”
After Gary walks in Austin closes the door behind him and says, “Have a seat Gary.”
“All right.”
“Gary, I’m going to get right to the point because I can tell I have made you a bit nervous. I brought you here to talk because I have been informed that you created a chip that can be implanted for identification purposes, is this true?”
“Well yes, you have the right guy, but I can already tell you that no one will use it. You see, after I spent a decade perfecting this chip and was able to prove it worked with no side effects, the government decided to shut the project down because they knew American citizens would not allow them to implant a chip in them.”
“I get what you’re saying, but if you don’t mind could you tell me a little more about this chip and exactly what it can do?”
“Austin, I think you’re wasting your time here, but if you want to know I’ll tell you.”
“Yes, please do.”
“We load the information into it about the person who will be getting that particular chip such as hair and eye color, height and weight, gender; first, middle, and last name and their social security number. Basically all the information that would be on a state or Federal ID along with if they possess a concealed carry permit and their complete driving and criminal records. I created a watch that government personnel or police officers could wear and when they came within thirty-feet of the chipped person it would bring up all that person’s information right on the watch. I think the one thing that would have scared people the most is that it could be tracked by satellite. The chip gets implanted just underneath the skin, it’s kind of like getting a shot, it hurts a little but that’s about it. Originally I created the chip for prison inmates and those out on probation and parole. The government felt that even though it was an extraordinary tool I had developed that a lot of people would say that the inmates’ constitutional rights are being infringed upon if we were to force this on them.”
“Wow, Gary, that is impressive.”
“I’ll have to say I was pretty proud of it, but then having ten years of work flushed down the toilet upset me a great deal.”
“Let me ask you this, do you think there would be a way for civilians to have this chip implanted in them and everyone gets a watch so people could tell who is who?”
“Well it really wasn’t designed for that, I mean you’re talking a lot of information that would have to be transmitted to each watch. With that being said I think was some minor tweaking it could be possible.”
> “That’s great to hear Gary. I —”
Gary cut him off, “Hold on a second, are you trying to say you want to use my chip so civilians can identify who is who since everyone looks the same?”
“Well that was kinda’ my thought process.”
“While I would love for my work to finally be put to good use, do you really think American citizens will allow it? They are already doing all kinds of weird things to themselves so that their family members can recognize them.”
“What I’m looking for is a better way for parents to be able to find their children. If all they have to do is look at their watch and see where their child is, well, I thought that might be a better way.”
“I see what you are wanting, and yes my chip, with a bit of tweaking, will work. I’m just not sure, even now, that people will want a chip implanted in them.”
“So I take it, you would be willing to make the adjustments needed for this to work?”
“Absolutely, oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is actually happening.”
“Don’t get too excited. I still have to get this cleared, but I knew before I even started that battle I needed to make sure your chip could do what I need it to do. It sounds like you can make it work so I’ll go talk with the powers that be. As soon as I hear something I will let you know, okay?”
“Sounds great, I just hope they don’t shoot it down again.”
Both men got up from the table and Gary went back to his work station while Austin went directly to Irene’s office.
“So what did you find out?”
“Irene, the chip that Gary developed is everything I was hoping it would be. He said it would take some minor adjustments to make it work but he most certainly thought it was doable.”
“Wow, that’s fantastic news, probably the best news I’ve received since this whole thing started. People out there are worried and scared because, in a group of people, they can’t figure out who is one of their family members and who isn’t. When parents go in to a school and can’t tell which child is theirs, you know you are in trouble. I know not everyone will be happy with this solution, but I think it’s necessary. Austin, could you excuse me for just a moment?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Just wait outside my office and we can finish talking after I make a phone call.”
Austin closed the door behind him. Irene immediately picked up the phone and dials the President of the United States of America.
“Hello.”
“Mister President, this is Irene.”
“Irene, I hope you have some good news for me.”
“Well, we don’t have a cure for the flux yet, but I do have a solution to another problem.”
“I’m listening.”
“With the American public growing anxious over the fact no one can tell each other apart we have come up with a solution for that. One of our scientists had developed a chip over a decade ago that gets implanted just underneath the skin surface. This chip contains all the information about the person that it gets implanted into. Along with the chip there’s a watch that was created and once you are within thirty-feet of the chip the watch will read off that person’s information. We believe, with some minor adjustments, families can have full information on each other while strangers will only get the other person’s name. I believe most American citizens will embrace this do to the fact no one can tell each other apart. Sir, I think the easiest way to get this done is to start in the schools, we will implant each child with a chip and once we have done that, whether the parents agree or disagree with what we have done ,they will probably fall in line and get the chip as well.”
“Irene, this is an extremely bold maneuver and I must say I’m very concerned that this will push people into major riots.”
“Mister President, I completely understand your concerns, but the United States is still under martial law and we could use that to keep people under control.”
“Okay Irene, while I am still a little apprehensive about doing this, I can see the benefit. At the very least the police or military will know who they’re dealing with. All right let’s move forward in the schools. I don’t want a move made until everything is set up so that all public and private schools can be completed in one day without fail, do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Once all the children have been implanted with the chip I will need to be notified immediately. At that point and time I will address the nation and make them aware of what is going on.”
“Yes, Mister President, I will get on this right away and I will call you immediately after all the children have been implanted with a chip.”
“Very good, I’ll talk to you soon.” With that the president hung up the phone.
Irene hung up the phone and called out, “Austin can you come back in my office please.”
After they both sat down Irene smiled at him. “I just got off the phone with the president.”
“What did he say?”
“I explained to him everything we had talked about and he told me to move forward. We’re going to start with the schools and put an implant in all the children first. He wants all public and private schools done on the same day. Once that is done I will call the president and he will address the nation in the hopes that since the children already have the implant the parents will follow suit.”
“Oh my, that’s a pretty aggressive move, but it just might work.”
“I think it’s our best shot of making this happen, just so we are prepared, we will tighten up security and have the military on standby to shut down any one trying to start trouble. I need you to go talk with Gary and have him get started on fine tuning his chip immediately. I need this ready to go in two weeks. Tell him anything he needs and any personnel he needs will be at his disposal, I don’t care how much it costs! Just get it done in two weeks.”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m on it.”
***
When Gary saw Austin approaching, his eyes got wide, the look on his face was like a kid at Christmas time. “What did they say Austin?”
“Well, they decided to use your chip. They want you to get started immediately on the upgrades and it must be completed in two weeks.”
“Are you serious? Two weeks that’s crazy, first they didn’t want my chip now they want it with upgrades in two weeks.”
“Listen, I know this is a lot to put on your plate and you were not prepared for this but this is your opportunity to see all your hard work put to good use. Any personnel you need any equipment you need, no matter the cost, you just tell me and you will have it. The only thing that matters is that this chip and the watch work correctly and it’s done within two weeks.”
“Okay, I understand. I’ll get started right now.”
Gary sat down and began to make a list of all the personnel and equipment he would need to complete the project in such a short amount of time. He knew he would need the best of the best when it came to the GPS and satellite tracking personnel. The computer programmers would also have to be the very best at what they do. He finished his list in just a few short hours, picked up the phone and dialed Austin’s extension.
“This is Austin, how may I help you?”
“I have finished the list. Would you like to come get it or do you want me to bring it to you so we can get started.”
“Wow, that was fast. I’ll come and grab it right now.”
Austin arrived at Gary’s office a bit out of breath.
With a chuckle Gary looked at Austin “Well you didn’t have to sprint down here.”
Gasping for air Austin nodded. “Oh yes I did. Now I have to run this up to Irene.” He grabbed the list and headed for the door.
“I’ll call Irene’s office and tell her to make sure she has the defibrillator ready to go for you.” Gary laughed hysterically.
With a disgruntled look on his face Austin looked over shoulder and with his left hand waved off the comment as he rushed out the door. He a
rrived at Irene’s office, once again out of breath, with his left hand on the door jamb to hold himself up he knocked on the door with his right hand.
“Come in.”
Austin walked into the office and to his surprise there was a defibrillator lying on Irene’s desk. Irene was lounged back in her chair with a smirk on her face.
“Ha ha… looks like we have a bunch of comedians around here.”
“I’m sorry Austin, but Gary called me and I just could not pass up the opportunity.”
“Okay, okay, you guys got me, very funny. Just remember what goes around comes around, here’s the list Gary put together for his project.”
“Very good, I will get on this right away so he can begin working tomorrow morning.”
“All right, I will let Gary know.” With that Austin headed for the door.
“Hey, Austin?”
“Yes.”
Irene was holding the paddles to the defibrillator, “Do you want a quick shock before you go.”
“I’m never going to live this down am I?”
“Probably not any time soon.” Irene began to laugh even harder.
Austin threw his hands up in the air and walked out of the office. Austin went back to his office, sat down and picked up the phone to call Gary.
“This is Gary.”
“Hey Gary, its Austin.”
Gary cleared his throat. “Well hello Austin. I must say you sound a lot more energized than you did when you were in my office. Did you get a couple jolts when you were in Irene’s office?”
“I’ll tell you what, you two think you are so funny, don’t you?”
“Sorry buddy, we have to do something to entertain ourselves around here.”
“Ya, ya, ya, whatever. Listen, I called you because Irene has your list and she is already in the process of setting things up for you. She will have everything set up and ready to go for you by tomorrow morning.”
“She doesn’t mess around. I heard she gets things done quickly, but my gosh, I have to admit that’s a lot faster than I was expecting.”
Genetic Flux (Phase One Book 1) Page 10