by S. S. Segran
“You must understand that this is simply penance, and that my disappointment stems from the fact that I expected more from you. You have been a committed champion for our cause and I would hate to lose you. Just do your job right and know that your spot up here awaits you once you’re ready.”
Tony bowed his head, deep respect and adulation rising within him. “I will do my best to return to your side.” His lip curled impishly. “My liege.”
The Boss let out a short chuckle. Considering how seldom that happened, Tony took great pride in making his superior laugh when he could. Third time in four years, he thought. I’m getting good at this. He leaned back in his seat. “Dr. Nate told me that you might visit,” he said hopefully. “Is that true?”
“I’d considered it, but I thought it best that I visit sites elsewhere that are dealing with inefficiencies.”
“Of course.” Tony swallowed his disappointment. “So… did Phoenix find out who was masquerading as the supervising janitor at the HQ?”
“No. The man seemed to know what he was doing and kept his face hidden from the cameras. You said he was in your suite?”
“Mmhm. He told me he was cleaning. As far as I could tell, nothing was out of place.”
“Security insists the same about the office, except that the real supervising janitor had been knocked out. They’ve been instructed to keep digging.” The hologram looked slightly upwards, then back at Tony. “The Inner Circle meeting will be starting soon. I wanted to speak with you briefly before we began the meeting, seeing all that’s transpired lately and the fact that this will be your first rodeo as the Head of a Sanctuary. They are waiting for us now. Are you ready?”
“I am.”
“Good. We’ll be connected in five seconds.”
Tony quickly fumbled to sit upright and adjusted his tie just as the large screen beside the Boss’s hologram turned on, revealing a six-way conference with the other Heads of Sanctuaries around the world and Phoenix Corporation’s CEO, Adrian Black, who was flanked by the bowtie-loving Jerry Li, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, and Dr. Albert Bertram, the Chief Scientific Officer who resembled an intimidating, and grouchy, Santa Claus.
Tony frowned. Where’s Dr. Nate and Vladimir?
“Greetings.” The Boss’s voice resonated through the speakers. “Thank you all for your attendance. I don’t wish to tarry, so let’s begin with the Sanctuary updates. The American Sanctuary in New Mexico, which, for the time being is under the command of Tony Cross, is approaching full operational capacity.”
Tony, flustered about his new position, toyed with his pen.
“The Sanctuaries in Mali, Brazil, New Zealand and the Heart are also progressing as scheduled,” the Boss continued. “As much as I am pleased with the development at these sites…” The metallic voice turned acidic. “There is a thorn in our side that needs to be dealt with immediately. I am, of course, referring to the Sanctuary in Kazakhstan.”
Tony noticed that one of the two women on screen, a blonde in her forties, was picking invisible lint from her jacket, keeping her gaze averted. He leered, knowing what was coming.
“A series of delays due to sheer incompetence has put that project way behind the other five Sanctuaries. In view of that, I have decided to visit the Kazakhstan site to see what I can do to help accelerate progress there.”
The blond woman froze mid-pick and her head snapped up, fear painted across her face. The rest of the Inner Circle fell silent, no one daring to utter a word.
“Zarya.” The Boss addressed the terrified woman. “Expect me seventy-two hours from now.”
She jerked her chin in an attempt to nod.
“Continuing on. As stated in our last meeting, the test results from the DRC were positive and we have since started dispersal of the pathogen in Europe and Australia.”
“What about North America?” Tony asked.
“Inevitably some cases will appear but the plan is to let them watch the world burn, and then we’ll bring the virus to their shores. Thanks to the brilliant work of Dr. Bertram, there are now reported cases on every continent on the globe. His countless days and nights spent perfecting the bio agents EVO-1 and EVO-2 have ensured it is spreading at the rate we projected.”
There was a polite round of applause for the tall, tubby, white-haired CSO. The man smiled and said modestly, “It is an honor to be a part of this global undertaking to restore our world. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the crucial role played by Dr. Deol at Quest Biotech in the success of this project. Her dedication has been exemplary. From creating the Marauders to producing the EVO pathogens, she has proven to be quite a visionary.”
“And your services are indispensable,” the Boss acknowledged. “The Arcane Ventures will indeed reorganize and revolutionize the world as we know it, but at the heart of this endeavor lies the near-impossible task of eliminating the most destructive life form this planet has ever known. Humans are adaptive, intelligent—hence their dominance. Commendable qualities, really. But humanity has failed to live up to its higher purpose and, instead, devolved into a pestilent, self-obsessed and corrupt species that has done nothing but wreak havoc on the planet. Tell me, before we launched the Ventures, how many times would you watch the news only to despair at the state of humanity and the world? The people are unified only in their division.”
The Inner Circle members nodded slowly. Tony noticed several of them had glazed expressions tinged with of sadness. Harden your hearts, he advised them silently. This is a battle for the soul of the planet. We will create a new world. Harden your hearts. It’s the only way we can make it through this.
“Humans are on a path toward a cataclysmic end,” the Boss continued. “All we are doing is mercifully accelerating their demise. Elimination, although difficult, is not impossible. It requires a multifaceted strategy that is precisely-timed. With the Arcane Ventures, we successfully launched the REAPR incursion that has strangled global grain supplies and exposed the baser elements of this species, easily sending them into riots and war. With the EVO project, we have begun to strike the species directly at its root, its very existence. Morale, which is already in short supply, will be devastated. In due course, we will follow up with another lethal blow aimed at crippling them completely.”
“If you didn’t care so much for the planet,” Tony cut in, “we could nuke them. I’m sure we have the capacity. Better still, let them do it to themselves. Russia’s probably on track to launch one anyway.”
“I have discussed this with you many times, Tony. I should hope you understand this sooner rather than later, or we will have a problem. Earth is our home. It has done us no wrong. Nature has given us much, but it is man that corrupts all it touches. We cannot, under any circumstances, harm it. Why do you think we went to such extensive lengths to ensure that the animal carriers of the disease are not permanently harmed? When we want to be rid of pests in our homes, do we burn the house down?”
Tony stifled a sigh. “No, we don’t.”
“Good. Now, I have said that we—”
A jarring crash followed by yells outside the administrative building made Tony jump. He gripped the edge of the table and cringed inwardly. Oh, come on! An accident during my first meeting as Head of Sanctuary? This is bull!
He righted himself and said through clenched teeth, “Excuse me. Unfortunately, I think I may have some matters to attend to.”
The Boss gave one wave of a hand. “Take your leave. Adrian will fill you in later.”
Tony swiped across on the touchscreen tablet built into the table and both the screen and holographic projector shut off. He yanked off his tie and stormed out.
The moment Victor heard the crash, he flattened himself against the wall of the administration building that he’d been painting, keeping out of view as the door around the corner opened. Tony’s furious shouts filled the cavern as he charged out to investigate the source of the din. The Sentry waited until he was sure Tony had passed beyond the
large workshop directly in front of the administrative building before confirming the coast was clear. He didn’t want to risk accidentally bumping into Tony while sneaking away. I can probably go around the other side of the workshop, he thought.
A strong hand gripped his shoulder. He whirled around and reflexively jammed the heel of his palm into his assailant’s face. As he drew his arm back for a surer strike, he suddenly stopped.
The silver-haired boy in front of him stood a head shorter, was most likely in his late teens, and had blood trickling down his face that lightly flecked his bright orange coveralls. The boy pinched his nose, groaning. “I’m not gonna hurt you or rat you out, man!”
With his free hand, he grabbed Victor and pulled him around to the other side of the workshop, directly under a lone camera planted on the cave wall so they were safely out of its field of view. “Follow me. I’ll get you someplace safe. Trust me, okay? I’m not one of these people, I swear.”
“How’d you find me, kid?” the Sentry asked, eyes sweeping around guardedly. “I thought I had a good cover.”
“I’ve been watching you since you got in. Been here long enough and I never forget a face. I’ve never seen you before, so I got curious.” The teenager peered around the workshop. “The forklift that dropped its load is on the far side of the Sanctuary, so we’re good. Walk with me like you belong here.”
Victor followed the boy’s lead, head low. Several paces down, they passed a wooden structure the size of a tennis court; the sound of chickens clucking surprised the Sentry. The silver-haired youth saw the look on his face and gave him a half-grin.
Just past the poultry barn was a lush, open space filled with shrubs and small colorful plants set on a gently undulated terrain of grass and pebbles “What’s this?” Victor asked.
“We call it Eden. A lot of us come here after work.”
The Sentry could almost feel the thick, verdant grass through his boots as they traversed the garden. The sweet fragrance of jasmine filled his nose, putting him at ease despite himself. To their right, a long brick wall came into view, covered with vibrant murals of George Washington, Socrates, and Lenin.
“That’s an impressive piece of work,” he said.
The teenager looked irritated. “Not all that glitters is gold. You see that door right there, in the middle of Lenin’s face? That leads down to the CUBE.”
“Care to give me more than that?”
“It stands for the Centre of Understanding, Betterment and Enlightenment. Pretty words for indoctrination chambers where cerebral reprograming is carried out. Like Project Monarch, except this one’s on steroids and uses high-tech tools. Every person you see here is a victim of the God-awful procedure.”
“But not you, right?”
“Right. You, uh… you don’t seem too surprised about any of this.”
“That’s because I’m not.” Victor’s used a tone that said not to push the topic further, and the boy smartly obeyed.
They left the garden and weaved between two rectangular buildings that were, according to Victor’s young guide, the Seed Bank and the Recreational Center. It’s not exactly a prison camp, he thought, but it’s definitely not a resort either.
“What’s your name, kid?” Victor asked.
“Kenzo.”
The boy came to a stop in front of a group of honeycomb-shaped structures, looked around, then led the Sentry into the second one. They hurried down a hallway lined with doors before Kenzo suddenly turned at one, punched in a code on a keypad and ushered Victor inside.
The living quarters were decent in size, just slightly smaller than a studio apartment, and consisted of a bed, a nightstand, a kitchenette, a small bathroom, a desk, and a flat-screen TV.
Kenzo rushed into the bathroom to wash off the blood from his now-swollen nose. “So tell me,” he called, “how did you get in here?”
Victor shrugged as he took stock of the room. “Got into the mining site above as one of the truck drivers, knocked out a guard at the entrance to the Sanctuary, and entered.”
“No, come on.” Kenzo walked out, clean-faced, holding a red-splotched tissue to his nose. “First we had two girls break out of here, now you trespass after they’d tightened security. How’d you do it?”
The Sentry regarded the boy for a while, considering his question. “As I said, I hijacked one of the trucks, knocked out a guard at the entrance, and got in.” He didn’t figure that it was the best time to tell Kenzo that he’d rendered the guard unconscious with his sonokinetic ability and used a special tape to lift the man’s handprint for the scanner at the Sanctuary entrance.
Kenzo tilted his head. “You didn’t even blink when I mentioned that two girls had broken out of here.”
“I know they broke out. I’m here looking for the person who had them abducted in the first place. I actually spoke with them and they told me to keep an eye out for a guy with”—Victor motioned at the boy’s silver hair—“who helped them escape.”
Kenzo, wide-eyed, stuttered for a bit before catching himself. “What’s going on? Who are you?”
“Let’s just say that the world is spiraling into a void and the individuals setting up these Sanctuaries are behind it. Some people and I are trying to stop all of this. You’ve figured out that a form of indoctrination is happening in here. And I’m sure you know why.”
“Yeah. We’re meant to be stewards to the planet once the Paterfamilias has, and I quote, ‘hastened humanity’s demise’.”
“Paterfamilias… is that what you guys call your leader?”
Kenzo got a bag of crushed ice from his fridge. “Yup. Head of the house and family, or in this case, Sanctuary and SONEs. No idea what this person’s real name is, and I’ve only ever heard the higher-ups refer to them as the ‘Boss’.”
“It’s probably best if you don’t know. So who are the sons you mentioned?”
“SONEs. Stewards of New Earth.” Kenzo lay on his bed, keeping his head elevated, and placed the ice pack on his swollen nose. “All of us in the Sanctuary, the kids, the guards, the electricians, whoever.”
“I see.” Victor paced at the foot of the bed. “So, what? These kids are zombies with no memories of their past?”
“Oh, they have their memories, but their minds have been repurposed. For them, those memories have become a kaleidoscope of meaningless events.”
“Jeez. All right, tell me more about the Boss.”
“We really don’t know much,” Kenzo said. “We’ve only ever been addressed once via a huge screen. The Boss used a voice modulator, I think, and had a hood on, and was rolling this purple sphere in one hand. The speech was about our roles and—”
“I know. I was given the details.”
Kenzo eyed him. “Was it the girls?”
“One of them. Soon after escaping here she was caught again and forced to watch the address as it was broadcasted to all the sites.” Seeing the look of concern on the teenager’s face, Victor added, “But she’s safe now. They all are.”
“All? There’s more than just the two of them?”
“It’s a long story. All you need to know is that we’re the good guys. There are more people like me out there, and the girls and their friends play an important part in this as well.”
Kenzo chucked his ice pack aside and sat up. “Look, I’ve been stuck in this place for a year. I’ve had to walk around pretending I’m one of them, scared that if I do or say something even remotely off, they’ll throw me back into the indoc chamber and repurpose me—properly, this time. Or maybe kill me, who knows. They’ve got the beasts—the Marauders—for it. Those who’d tried to escape early on were hunted down. We watched the kids get torn to shreds.” His breathing was labored with emotion. “I have never been so alone in my life. My only family here, my cousin, she’s one of them. I can’t talk to anyone. And I don’t want to escape without her. So all I’m asking is that you tell me how screwed up our situation really is and if there are any plans to get us out of this
mess and what I can do.”
Victor glanced up at the ceiling briefly, then sat on the edge of the bed. “Why do you think you have a role in this?”
“Because… because…” Kenzo threw his hands up exasperatedly. “I don’t know! Look, I need to do something before I go insane. You’re here to help, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but we have to tread carefully. There are forces at play that are… inexplicable… to society at large. This is why we haven’t gotten the authorities involved. They have no idea of the existential threat that’s hanging over humanity’s head, and they are not equipped to stop it.”
“Look, I’m not gonna pretend that I understood everything you just said, but at this point, I don’t care. I want an end to all this. I want to help end it. Just, please. I feel like I’m going to go out of my mind soon if I don’t do something.”
Victor reached into his pocket. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He pulled out a small smartphone. “Here.”
Kenzo took it from him. “What’s this for?”
“To stay in contact. It’s been reprogrammed to securely call only two people. I’m one, and Tegan is the other. She’s one of the girls who was here. Dark-haired. Also, the phone’s prepaid and set up for automatic reload.”
The boy ogled the device. “You… you came prepared.”
Victor smiled a little. “Truth is, I was hoping to run into you, kid. The girls told me to keep an eye out for you, said your sympathies may not really be with the people running this place. I think their intuition was right. And they asked that I thank you on their behalf for taking the risk in helping them escape.”
Kenzo, stunned, appeared to be at a complete loss for words.
“So,” Victor continued, “if you’re ever on the verge of committing murder, just message me, eh?”
The teenager met the Sentry’s eyes, his own conveying gratitude. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” Victor tilted his chin toward Kenzo. “I do have an assignment for you, though.”
“An assignment?”