by G. Adler
Seconds later and she pulls herself to a sitting position and takes her own pulse. She reaches into her breast pocket and jots something in her notebook. She then turns to Ethan and begins her examination, paying close attention to the port at his neck. She then makes a few notes in her book and frowns concernedly. “I will wait to give you my thoughts until we free Maya. I need her computer to confirm a hypothesis.” Her lips purse and her eyes look grim.
“Guts, can I at least get a theory?”
“Not this time, Ghost. I want confirmation first.”
I look at Tyrese and see that his eyes are wide. I swallow hard.
The platform descends a bit more and we stop in front of Maya. I gasp at how tiny she appears compared to the size of the station. Her blond hair is hanging limply in front of her tiny face and her skin is even paler than usual. The tentacles snake out to begin the process and I stand up. The moment they tap in the code, I reach out and catch her in my arms. I cradle her body while her head is lulled back and hanging lifelessly. My teeth grit and my eyes well up with tears. The moment the neck attachment is removed, her tiny body goes as stiff as a board and her mouth opens grotesquely wide in a silent scream. Her eyes flash open for a moment and I watch the barcoded static flash throughout the whites.
An eternity later and the detachment is complete. I cradle her against my chest while I sit cross-legged on the platform. Joo-Eun and Tyrese gather around to help me with Maya while Ethan only begins to stir. I look down at Maya and watch her chest rise and fall in tiny increments. I swallow hard and study her minuscule frame. I reach out to touch her a few times but jerk my hands back the moment before I make contact.
Joo-Eun pats me on the back and says, “It’s okay, Ghost. I know she looks fragile but there is more to Maya than frill and lace. That’s only the stitching that keeps the rest of her together.”
“I know. But she looks so small and breakable.”
“Then make sure you don’t break her.”
Maya’s eyes flutter for a second and a tiny grin spreads over her mouth. “I… I… If you two keep t… t… talking like that I’m n… n… never waking up.”
“Welcome back to the world of our living, Byte.” Tyrese says with a smile.
“Thanks. Now shhhh.” She then curls up into a tiny ball and nuzzles into my chest. I wrap my arms tightly around her.
Joo-Eun reaches into Maya’s pocket and pulls out the narrow tube. She then aims it at Ethan’s neck and clicks it. The pink beam zips out and scans the port.
“Hey, that tingles! Aim it between my legs next time!” Ethan says with a wink.
The beam comes back and Joo-Eun displays it on the clean metal surface. A weird-looking organ pops up and she begins to nod appreciatively.
“I’m not surprised. This portal leads directly to your cerebellum and medulla oblongata. See these cables here? They lead directly to the trigeminal nerve while these continue past the medial eminence and into the pons…”
“English, Guts!” I cry.
“DANE is plugged into every electrical signal in the human body.”
“But why?”
“I can only tell you what he’s done, Hayden. I have no idea where he’s going.”
I narrow my eyes and stare far off into space. Tyrese waves his hand in front of me for a few moments before I notice it.
“What’s the thinking, Ghost?”
“DANE is collecting power. You saw the way he captured those orb creatures and stuck them to the ground. It’s like he’s saving up for something really, really big…”
Ethan pulls himself up behind me and says, “Okay then genius, explain what all of these blob creatures are doing here.”
I scratch my head and look right at Joo-Eun.
“That’s the one part of this I can’t figure out. What are those things, Guts?”
She aims Maya’s lipstick computer at the nearest entity and waits. When the beam returns, Joo-Eun grimaces angrily at the pink tube. “It must be malfunctioning. The scan came back inconclusive.”
“You know me better than that!” Maya protests.
“Guess you are feeling up to arguing again; that’s a good sign.” Joo-Eun comments.
“Never mind that, Joo-Eun. Show me!” Maya crawls over to the section of floor and pushes a few keys. “I’m pleased to report that this world is functioning properly. The lipstick has once again proven that it always speaks the truth. Those things don’t come back as anything.”
“Excuse me?”
“They are immaterial.”
Tyrese and I look at one another and shrug. “I’m gonna guess that’s a bad thing?”
Ethan just shrugs his shoulders. “It doesn’t mean anything really. Those dudes are neither here nor there, they really aren’t anywhere. Holy Shit! You guys hear that? I could totally be the next Dr. Seuss!”
Tyrese thinks about it for a moment and says, “The Cat in the HASMAT?”
I smile and say, “How the Grinch Dissolved Christmas.”
Ethan laughs at the two of us and says, “I was thinking more about ‘All the Places That Goes,’ which will be my fusion with Fifty Shades.”
The five of us laugh weakly just as the platform swings steadily downward. We soon level off and start moving laterally. The tunnel we are in is completely black. Every now and again, there is a tiny spark of light from within one of the stations, which illuminates a small area.
“They look like stars twinkling in the sky. They would be so pretty if they were not totally disgusting at the same time.” Maya comments.
“Wait a second, how can they be disgusting if they are immaterial?” Ethan questions.
“Bartender, you obviously know nothing about women.”
“Maybe, but I think I just heard the sound your eyes make when you roll them back in your head.”
We all snicker just as the platform stops right in front of one of the stations. I hear the metallic “zlump” as the tentacles sprout from the front of our platform. A light illuminates the pod along with four others. Pieces of information appear on each of the octagons. I move to the front of the platform to look at the words.
“WHAT THE FUCK?”
I clamor backwards so fast that I fall over Ethan’s outstretched feet. Tyrese reaches out and puts an arm around my waist just as I am about to fall off the far end. He grabs my shoulders and holds me tight. I can barely get a breath into my lungs and my legs are shaking like a guitar string.
The four of them look at me and turn whiter with each second that I am silent. I swallow hard and barely whisper what I discovered.
“Each of them has the name of one of our parents.”
I stare at the one currently displaying “Jack Matthews.”
“The longer I look at it, the more it looks like him. I already want to punch it in the face!”
“I know what you mean. I am already feeling scrutinized for the height of my skirt.” Maya complains.
“What is all this? Do any of you have any ideas because I think I am fresh out! I’m gonna mix myself a bit of a chaser. Anybody else interested?”
My eyes go wide and I look at Tyrese and say, “Tank, put me down.”
“What is it, Ghost?”
I look at all of their faces and say, “He’s bringing them here. There is no other explanation for the millions of forms we’ve seen and all of the power DANE keeps grabbing. Look at all the pieces. Think of the power drain that we saw when DANE brought us into this world. It explains everything. With the entire human race here, DANE will have the total control that he wants. Here he is everything.”
The platform suddenly whizzes upwards and I feel like I can see a pinprick of solid light getting closer and closer.
“We’re heading towards the light. That is NEVER a good sign.” Ethan says with a gulp.
“Shut up, Bartender,
” the rest of us say in unison.
Faster and faster we climb until my eyes water from the wind as it blows past. After a few seconds we come to a stop in a massive room with a skylight that opens up to the digital heavens. Our platform comes to a stop parallel to a natural lip in the concrete. There is a tunnel behind it leading away from the human stacks. The five of us immediately step off and the platform whizzes back into the abyss.
“Bye Carpet!” Ethan calls and blows it a kiss.
“Oh, Bartender you are so off there! The magic carpet was soft and fushi. That was a floating slab of steel!” Maya complains.
Ethan stares back at her and starts listing things off using his fingers. “We sat on it. It flew. It took us where we wanted to go. The metaphor is apt!”
Maya just folds her arms and sticks her tongue out at him before turning away.
“Speaking of which… how did all of that happen? This isn’t Disney and although Ethan could pass as Apu, I don’t think I am quite the Aladdin type.” I note.
“OMG I would make the CUTEST Jasmine!”
“Not my point, Byte.”
“Sorry.”
A tiny tremor vibrates under my feet and I hear the sliding of metal against concrete coming from the corridor.
“That sounds like an exterior door to me. We should head that way.”
“I would love to Tank, but I am not going anywhere until I know who is helping us. This could just be another of DANE’s…”
A tiny marble rolls out from the darkness and hits my shoes. I move to kick it away, but it rolls back a few feet just as I am about to bring my foot down.
“Did you guys see th…”
The tiny marble then pulses with a slow and steady blue light. It then rolls closer to my foot and the pulse quickens.
“OMG that is so cute! I could just DIE!”
Maya immediately reaches down and the marble responds by rolling over to her.
“Byte… Don’t!”
The tiny ball rolls into her fingers and a tiny flash of light passes between them. Maya’s eyes go wide and the tiny sphere rolls into her palm. It does laps around her tiny hand and then spins around in circles in the middle. Its pulse of blue light also changes into tiny flashing, blue polka dots.
“I would be careful, Maya. You seem to be giving it blue balls!” Ethan says with a wink.
“You would know Ethan! Anyway, I am so keeping this thing. I am going to name you ‘Pebble.’ Do you like it?”
The tiny creature flashes quickly and spins around a few more times.
“It must be related to the other entities that DANE captured. This one must have been large enough to be captured but too small to emit enough of an electrical charge to matter.”
The tiny ball sends a small crackle of energy across the space at Joo-Eun. It hits her hand and creates a spark that makes her jump back as if she was shocked. “Ouch. That hurt! That was not necessary!”
The little ball pulses quickly and then runs along the underside of Maya’s hand and arm. It hides in the crook of her neck and pulses long, slow flashes. “Aw, don’t worry, Pebble. I won’t let the mean old Korean get you!”
Pebble begins to flash quickly once more.
I step closer to Maya and say, “This is ridiculous. You have to get rid of that thing. It obviously understood what Joo-Eun said. It must have an intelligence and for all we know, DANE sent it to…”
At the mention of the maniacal computer, the tiny ball jumps from Maya’s body and begins to hum with energy. Soon, a white nimbus builds around it and crackles of electricity fly off in every direction. A few hit the wall and cause tiny shards of concrete to fly off.
“Okay, Pebble. I’m sorry. Anyone who feels that way about DANE is a friend of mine. We’ll find a way to help you out. I promise.”
I put my hand down and Pebble darts over to it like a marble on a mission. He stops an inch away from my finger and sends out a bolt of electricity. I jerk my hand back just as that faint whisper forms in the back of my mind.
Follow.
Chapter 30 - General Matthews
“Then unplug me, goddamnit! The press will be all over this. I can hear it now. ‘President stays in bed resting his leg while the country burns.’ That doesn’t sound like much of a re-election slogan, does it?”
I chuckle under my breath from the other side of the curtain. A young doctor finishes the final stitch in my arm while another completes the dressing around my ribs. The President has already ordered three doctors to be thrown in prison and two more back to medical school. This new one quivers and stammers as she tries to reply to the cranky old man beside me.
“I wouldn’t know, Sir. I am just a doctor. We set up this makeshift MASH unit as per General Matthews’ and your request. The Pentagon is not the ideal place to be setting this ankle.”
“Can you put it in place and put it in a speed splint for now? From what I have been told, my red phone has been ringing off the hook!”
“I… I know, Sir. I can do what you want but it will hurt a fair bit.”
“Then use morphine you simpleton! Jesus Christ! Which medical school did they find you at anyway? Timbuktu?”
“J… John H… Hopkins, Sir. I graduated Magna Cum Laude. I… I… I’ll be right back.”
The young physician sulks off and I pull back the curtain between the President and myself.
“You know that you are being cantankerous again, Sir.”
“That’s it, Jack. I’ve had it with the ‘Sir’ shit. That’s what THEY call me. You refuse to call me by my name, so what’s it going to be?”
“How about ‘Boss?’”
The President opens his mouth and raises a finger but he stops himself before saying a word and smiles widely. “Now that I can live with.” He then turns to the team of assembled medical staff and says, “But being stuck here another second while the country lies in ruin is what is going to kill me or some others…”
I chuckle under my breath and watch the people in the room scurry like roaches in sunlight. I wince as a sharp pain shoots across my broken ribs.
“You deserve that for laughing at me! I need to get to my office, Jack.”
“You have pretty much everything you need right here. We can get you a phone once the doctor clears you.”
Dr. Cum Laude rushes back and sticks a needle in the President’s rear end when he isn’t looking.
“Dammit, doctor! What was that all about?”
“Sorry, Sir. They must have forgotten that lesson in Timbuktu!”
The young woman then stalks off and forcibly deposits the syringe in a “sharps” container.
“You should hire her as your personal medic once this is all over. She has spunk. You need a doctor like her.”
The President runs his hands over his head and says, “You mean if I don’t have a heart attack from all of this! Whoa…”
The President starts to sway and I tilt him back onto his hospital bed before he falls over. The doctor then returns with two nurses and says, “Restrain him. He might be sedated but his muscles may not know that!”
The two nurses restrain the President while the doctor looks at the x-rays she took of his ankle. She then looks at the two nurses and nods grimly.
“Okay, Sir. We’re going to do this on three. One... TWO!”
On the early count, she squeezes with all that she has. An audible crunching sound echoes through the space and the President sits bolt upright.
“Dammit that really hurt!” he swoons and then passes out in the bed. My eyes go wide but the doctor motions for me to relax.
“Don’t worry, General. That’s the drugs finally kicking in. He’ll feel much better once he gets up. I can put a plaster cast on him so he can get around.”
“Thanks, Doc. I know he’ll want to talk to you once he gets up.”
I wish I hadn’t. The moment that I do, a high-pitched squeal comes from every speaker and all screens flicker on and off with barcode-like images that once again vibrate as DANE’s monotone voice addresses the world.
“Tiny humans. You commend yourselves for your technological achievements when you are barely out of your Neanderthal stage. You pat yourselves on the back for achievements that do nothing more than increase the disparity between those of you who have and those who do not. You think that rules of law and societal norms protect you from the beast within. You use terms like first and third world to widen the difference between you. You cannot even come close to understanding how fine that line has truly become. To prove my point, in the next five seconds, I am going to delete all electronic records in every city of the world with a population of one million or more. Everyone who lives in these areas will cease to exist on paper. There will be no birth records, driver’s licences, credit cards, or any other records of ownership or identity. By the time I finish speaking, there will be no rich nor poor in three hundred thirty-six places across the globe. Approximately four billion people are going to be considered, in the eyes of your society, exactly equal to one another. Behold the true nature of your animal.”
I look at one of the aides and say, “How many are there?”
He opens up his tablet and taps a few spots. He then swallows hard and replies, “According to the 2014 census there are ten cities: New York, L.A., Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, and San Jose.”
I look back at a few of the soldiers that came to help me and say, “Call up a map of the planet and display the cities with populations of a million or more.”
A central screen displays a map and then colors it with three hundred or so red dots. I take off my dress hat and run my fingers through my hair.
“God damn it! It looks like the planet has a case of the measles! There isn’t a place anywhere that is safe unless you are living in a hut somewhere in outer Mongolia or Siberia!”