Despite understanding where Will was coming from, I wanted to play devil’s advocate. Even if I couldn’t dissuade Will, I wanted to clarify my own thoughts and feelings on the matter. “Is this—what we have now—the present, past, and future?”
“Huh?”
“There is no forward motion; it’s like the whole of human civilization has been frozen into a single state. The people change, but the system doesn’t. The wars continue, each superpower continues, but progression never happens. Inventions are stifled. The human race has come a long way from its beginnings as single-celled organisms—is this the end of the road?”
“Better this than the end of everything. Better this than nothing,” Will said.
“The situation Burnett described to us was bleak, but it didn’t mean the worst was going to happen. Maybe there would have been new inventions to stave off disaster. Perhaps people would have banded together and changed their ways before it was too late.”
“And if they didn’t? What if annihilation was inevitable without the solution provided by INSH?”
“In the distant future, if the planet is destroyed, maybe mankind will take off to the stars. Heck, perhaps mankind will die out and a new intelligent species will come to dominance on the planet. I’m not saying that these possibilities are good ones and that we shouldn’t strive to avoid them. But not like this. Not like this.”
I had started out my argument unsure of which side I was on, but no longer. Even if I hadn’t convinced Will, I had convinced myself. I didn’t know what would happen to me next, but I wouldn’t be able to just live out my life under INSH control. I finally understood why Zirconia and Darius had dedicated their lives to the rebellion.
Will looked uncomfortable. “I’m just a soldier, Jordi. We do our duty and leave the philosophizing and decision-making to others. That’s the only way an army can function.”
“And should a society operate the same way?” I asked.
Will shrugged. “We’ve reached the control center.”
Chapter 6
The doors flashed open, and we entered. I’d thought I knew every part of a devastator, but I had never heard of a control center, so I didn’t know what to expect. A giant screen covered one wall, currently showing the forward view of the devastator as it sped across the Atlantic Ocean, heading for the meeting with the other superpowers. Various consoles were scattered throughout the room, with three central consoles more prominent than the rest.
The whole place looked very similar to the devastator’s bridge, except it had no crew. In the control center’s equivalent of the captain’s chair sat Burnett. He swiveled around to face us. “Major Saunders, how’s Captain Hollister?” he asked. “Is steam still coming from his ears?”
“He’s still upset that you took over, sir.”
“The mission was a complete success.”
“That’s beside the point, sir,” Will said.
“He’ll get over it. Not like we often take direct control from the captains.” Burnett stood and walked toward me with a bright smile. “Ah, Jordi. I have to commiserate with you on the loss of your brother for a second time. But the ends justify the means, I’m afraid.”
Arianne turned and glared at me. “Was that a code? I thought it was weird when you said that over the radio. Have you been deceiving me all along and secretly working with Burnett? Was it you who betrayed us? If my hands weren’t tied right now, I’d be beating your skull in with my fists.”
“It’s not exactly like that,” I said.
“What’s it like?” Her green eyes flashed angrily.
I had hoped that Burnett would look favorably on me if things went wrong. Although I knew I would never be on the side of INSH, Burnett didn’t have to know that. Perhaps he would still give me another chance. That didn’t seem likely after what had happened. But why else would he bring me here?
I faced Burnett. “I watched your hologram, and I’m willing to join you. But only if you let Arianne go free.”
I had thought that Burnett was the only one in the room when we entered. But a second chair swiveled around. Mari Larsen’s smile sent a shiver up my spine. “You had your chance, and you threw it away. Now you’re mine.”
“It’s a bit too late for talk of joining INSH, I’m afraid,” Burnett agreed. “The offer was from before you decided to attack us.”
“I thought Mari Larsen wasn’t a part of INSH,” I said.
“The circumstances of the latest crisis dictated that I had to bring more people into the fold, notably the Bureau Director here and Major Saunders,” Burnett said.
“So you’re just going to hand me over to her?” I asked.
“He should be court-martialed and shot,” Will said.
Thanks friend. Though in truth, being shot was likely better than whatever Larsen had planned for me.
“He was already court-martialed and kicked out of the ACM,” Larsen said. “He’s now a civilian and under my jurisdiction.”
“How nice to have people fighting over you,” Arianne said to me. “Still glad you surrendered instead of going out fighting?”
Kolette, who had moved over to one of the central consoles, interrupted us. “Sir,” she addressed Burnett, “we are receiving a transmission from Celeste.”
Burnett sat in his command chair. “I’m going to enjoy this. Put it on screen.”
“What about the prisoners?” Kolette asked, nodding at Arianne and me.
“Leave them here for this. Jordi will want to see his mother begging for mercy, I’m sure.”
A giant version of Zirconia’s head appeared on the screen. She said something, but her words didn’t come through clearly.
“You were saying?” Burnett swung back and forth in his chair. “Something about capitulation, I believe.”
“Your hearing is clearly as defective as your intelligence,” Zirconia said. “I demand that you give yourself up for arrest immediately. If not, you will be declared a traitor to the American Conference.”
Burnett’s wide smile stayed fixed in place, but all humor went out of it. “Is this some kind of joke? We discovered your plan to disable our defenses, and we circumvented it. Your attack force was routed.”
“That was the diversion,” Zirconia said. “You think we didn’t know that you had undercover agents? Only a handful of the most trusted of us knew the real plan. Turn on the news network, and you’ll see I’m telling you the truth.”
Burnett nodded to Kolette, who pressed a few buttons on her console, and Zirconia’s face was replaced by an empty chair sitting in the middle of a darkened studio.
“What’s going on?” Burnett asked.
“Not sure, sir,” Kolette said. “I’m trying to contact the network to find out. It seems that the normal feed has been interrupted.”
Then Darius walked across the studio and sat down in the chair. “It must be prerecorded,” I said to no one in particular.
The camera zoomed in on his face. Had Darius cheated death again? He was no longer dressed in a jumpsuit. Instead, he wore a sharp suit and the presidential seal around his neck.
“No doubt the people of the American Conference are surprised to see me alive,” Darius said solemnly, looking straight at the camera. “I’m here to tell you that Chief of Staff Samuel H. Burnett is a traitor who will destroy our great nation if we don’t stop him.”
“You fucking liar,” Burnett screamed at the screen.
Will touched his arm. “Just listen to what he has to say, sir. We need to find out what they are up to.”
“I know this is shocking news to all of you,” Darius continued. “No one was more shocked than I was when I first found out. I wasn’t strong enough to stop him at first. Which is why I let him think that his assassination attempt on me succeeded. Yes, it was he who conspired with the Latino Territories and had them betray us. He arranged to have me killed. He has taken drastic measures in trying to achieve his dream of having complete control of the Conference, but now, he has gon
e beyond even that, threatening the whole world. I have to make a stand now, knowing that he aims to sabotage the upcoming peace summit and send us back into a war that no one wants.
“Right now, the chief of staff is on board the Roosevelt on the way to the meeting with the other superpowers, so I have gathered those close to me and retaken control of Under Nyork. I have communicated with the leaders of the undercities and with the captains of the devastators, and I hope that the Conference leaders will trust in their democratically elected president rather than the longtime chief of staff. I will have further updates during the course of the day. I know you wish me luck on this important day for all our futures. For now, President Roberts out.”
The screen went blank, then a logo of the News Network appeared. A voice said: “That message interrupted our normal broadcast. We now go to Adam Levitt to discuss what we have just heard.” The picture switched to the news anchor, who looked unusually disheveled. “We have no confirmation that the message you have just seen is genuine.” Adam brushed his hair back with his hand. “We are doing our best to find out exactly—”
“Get me the terrorist leader again,” Burnett said.
Kolette nodded, and a moment later, Zirconia reappeared on the big screen.
“What kind of game do you think you’re playing?” Burnett demanded.
“I don’t play games,” Zirconia said. “We have gained control of Washington District in Under Nyork and, as Darius just said, have contacted the other cities and devastators. If you surrender yourself to the Roosevelt captain and instruct him to follow our orders, things will go better for you.”
Mari Larsen went to stand beside Burnett. “It’s a bluff,” she said. “It’s not possible that they have taken Washington District.”
“Most of the security forces who weren’t loyal to us have taken to the bars for the day to celebrate the peace. And we have the president giving orders.” Zirconia allowed herself a satisfied smile. “It was surprisingly easy.”
“I haven’t been able to make contact with anyone of authority down there,” Kolette said. “It’s possible that she speaks the truth.”
“I have a hostage.” Burnett gestured to Will, who took me roughly by the arm and pulled me forward until I stood beside Burnett, facing the screen. “Your firstborn son.”
“I thought he was already dead.” Zirconia shrugged. “He was the distraction.” She looked at me. “Good job, Jordi. You did well.”
That was the first time I could remember her complimenting me, and it had happened while she was offering me up to be sacrificed. Nice. I had no doubt she was serious and would give up nothing to save me—I was unimportant next to the cause, especially if Darius was still alive.
“Switch off the transmission,” Burnett ordered, and Zirconia’s face disappeared. “Major Saunders, send instructions to the bridge to turn the Roosevelt around. We are heading back to Under Nyork.” Will moved to a console by the wall, and Burnett turned toward Kolette. “Set up an emergency videoconference with the other leaders of INSH.”
My mind was racing. Darius must have pulled the same stunt as before, controlling his plane from the ground. The whole mission had been set up to fail, and I had just been a stooge, expendable in the cause of Celeste. Darius and Zirconia had never had any intention of trusting me with the real mission.
“Captain Hollister has received instructions from President Roberts, and he isn’t sure whose orders he should be following,” Will said. “He’s also in contact with the rest of the fleet. He wants to meet you.”
“You’re shitting me,” Burnett said. “Devastator captains are yellow-bellied pond scum, the lot of them. I can’t believe Hollister believes the terrorists over me. Cabbage-fucking-brains. Not one of them has done anything that a computer pilot couldn’t do better all their lives, and the one time we need some fucking intelligence, this is what happens.”
“Maybe if you treated them like adults and gave them all the information, they would make better decisions,” I said.
Burnett looked at me darkly. Then he snapped his fingers. “Larsen, Saunders. Get the prisoners back out of the way and guard them. The next time either interrupts, feel free to shoot them both.”
Larsen grabbed Arianne’s arm and dragged her toward the side wall. Arianne, with her hands cuffed behind her back, just managed to stay upright, staggering backward. I charged at Larsen, and she drew her gun and pointed it at my forehead. I stopped myself, taking deep breaths, forcing my anger down. This wasn’t the time. I didn’t want to give Larsen an excuse to kill me. I stood beside Arianne by the wall. Will went to stand on the other side of me.
The second technician took his place at the third central console.
“Right, we are taking command of this ship.” Burnett typed into the console in front of his chair. “Prepare to receive my override codes.” A frantic energy filled him—he was far from his usual controlled and composed self.
“I’ve never had control of a devastator before,” the technician said.
“Figure it out.” Burnett swiped along the top of his console. “We don’t have to do any sophisticated flying. Turn around and redirect us back to Under Nyork.”
Vibrations traveled up my legs, and the floor tilted slightly as Burnett’s technician took control. Usually, the giant ship’s movements couldn’t be detected by those on board.
“The ship is coming around now.” Creases lined the technician’s face as he fought to keep the ship under tight control. “I’m not sure how much rotational speed a devastator can take.”
I leaned close to Will’s ear and whispered, “A soldier’s job is to follow orders, right? Even if those orders come from someone unbalanced.”
I gave a significant glance at Burnett as he screamed at the technician, “Just figure it out, I said.”
“I have the Grand Council online,” Kolette said.
The giant screen at the end of the room was split six ways, with the other five INSH leaders each taking up a section. The last section was black.
“What have you gotten us into now, Sam?” Ulrika Eshenback asked.
Although I didn’t recognize the faces, I knew her the instant she spoke.
“I underestimated Celeste,” Burnett said.
“You don’t say.” Ulrika glared down at him.
“I thought I had it under control. I had agents inside the organization. Well, it doesn’t matter now. They have gained control of Under Nyork.”
“And you need time to regain your capital city?” the Territories leader asked. “You want to postpone the peace summit?”
“It’s worse than that.” Burnett wiped sweat from his forehead. “Our old president—the one who was a member of Celeste—is still alive. He claims I’m undermining the peace, and many of the non-INSH leaders in the Conference believe him. We need to act now before it’s too late.”
“And what do you suggest?” Ulrika asked.
“There’s only one possibility. And I need approval from each of you. That’s why I called this emergency conference.”
A horrified look appeared on the Chinese leader’s face. “You can’t mean…”
“I do. It’s the only way.”
“If you are going to make the request, say it plainly,” Ulrika said.
“I formally request permission to activate the devastator’s nuclear weapon.”
I took a step forward then returned to my place. There are no nuclear weapons anymore. I would have blurted the words, except Larsen stood beside me with a cold smile and an eager trigger finger.
“And what do you intend to use the weapon for? You mean to destroy Under Nyork?” the Territories leader asked.
I shook my head as Burnett nodded. “If need be. I hope to persuade the terrorists to surrender in the face of it, but if not, I fully mean to deploy.”
“That’s a bit drastic, even for you, Sam,” Ulrika said.
Burnett shook his head furiously. “No. It’s the only option right now. I’ve conside
red every angle. The world is at peace. Are we going to allow these terrorists to rule the Conference until the next world war breaks out? And then, INSH will have no option except to destroy them. It’ll be the Australian Colonies all over again, only worse. I’ve no desire to destroy my capital city and everyone in it, but the alternative is the destruction of the entire Conference. We have to look at the bigger picture—the greater good.”
Burnett seemed capable of any kind of madness in the interest of what he saw as the greater good. But surely the other INSH leaders won’t go along with him. Though he spoke with cold logic, his face was flushed, and his hands moved jerkily.
“There’s something you should know.” Ulrika didn’t seem horrified by what she had heard. She showed the same icy disdain toward Burnett that she always had. “I have been contacted by these rebels. I believe that they have contacted all of us.” There were nods from the other INSH leaders.
Burnett’s eyes bulged. “What could they possibly have to say to you? How did they even know who to contact?”
“How do they know about us? I’m not sure, but these rebels seem remarkably intelligent and resourceful. If only everyone was as competent.” Ulrika looked down at Burnett. “The leader of the rebels, some woman…”
“Zirconia Roberts,” Burnett said.
“Yes, Zirconia. She tells me that they have no trouble with INSH and their goals. They just think that the INSH leadership in the Conference—that would be you, Sam—needs to be changed, and they want the local non-INSH leadership to have a bit more autonomy. She didn’t seem unreasonable.”
World War 97 Part 5 (World War 97 Serial) Page 4