by G. Adler
The screen then splits into dozens of sections, revealing a live aerial shot of each city. The thousands of cameras that DANE has hijacked switch every few seconds, giving multiple views of what is going on in each location. At first, all of the cities seem frozen in time, like someone took a picture and posted it in front of the camera. Moments later, utter chaos erupts.
People begin to throw rocks at store windows and start looting whatever they can find. The tinkling of shattering glass mixes with the screaming howls of the masses. I cringe as a wealthy family in Tijuana is thrown into the street and beaten by dozens of impoverished citizens. Carjacking battles ensue on the road in Shanghai and Beijing alike as the high-end luxury cars become prey to the masses. All over the globe, people resort to their baser instincts and grab whatever they can furnish into a weapon. The true direness of the situation becomes clear as I watch a boy of no more than twelve ram another boy’s head into the ground for his handheld device. The blood spreads beneath the face of the struck child and pools beneath his Nintendo DS. He doesn’t move the entire time he is on screen. The aggressor smiles and actually picks up the device, being sure to wipe it on his fallen peer first. He then zones into the screen as if nothing happened.
A number of medical staff reach for kidney dishes and vomit at the sight. I actually sigh with relief when the image changes to the massive fires that are burning throughout Jakarta and Tehran. Emergency vehicles mobilize as quickly as possible, but the sheer number of people involved makes it impossible to get anywhere.
There is a gasp from the entire room as a posse of hunters in Dallas go into a black family’s house and drag the five of them out onto the lawn. They then put them on their knees and execute them one at a time, saving the father for last, being sure to taunt him first.
“You see that, Coon? Ain’t nobody ever gonna know who did this! They ain’t got my DNA file no more do they? You pack o’ gorillas done died for nuthin!” He then sneers the most feral grin that I have ever seen before delivering a single shotgun blast to the back of the crying man’s head.
One of the African-American soldiers begins to weep and falls to the floor. Two of his platoonmates move to pick him up, but I put my hand out to stop them.
“Leave him. Soldier, I understand how you must feel, but this is neither the time nor place!”
He looks up at me with venom in his eyes.
“Save it, Private, my son invented that expression. You are dismissed and confined to quarters. I will discuss this matter with your commanding officer at my earliest convenience.”
The soldier gets to his feet and wipes his eyes while glaring at me with the most menacing eyes. He salutes stiffly and says, “Yes, Sir!” as he leaves the room.
The rest of the people in the makeshift hospital just stare at me with eyes wide.
“Get a grip, people. You act like I just pissed on the flag! This is Ground Zero! We are going to see a lot of terrible things before this is over. Make no mistake that no matter how many years of experience you have, you haven’t seen what this enemy is going to do to us. We have neither the luxury nor ability for emotions. There are billions of people out there who need us to keep our heads! Now if anybody else has a problem with that, I suggest you leave NOW!”
They are as stiff as statues.
“Half of the planet is now under total anarchy! We have to find a way to bring back law and…”
DANE’s totally black eyes once again fill the screen. I put my hand over my heart instinctively as I stare at their malevolent glare.
“How can you deny that you are anything more than baser animals? Where are the higher sensibilities you claim to have? Is this the justice that is available for all? Even now I hear the planet pleading to your absentee deities to raise you from this crisis. Where are the Ten Commandments? Are these the teachings of the Qur’an? Where are the words of inspiration and wisdom from your scholars and leaders? Here is the truth of the human condition. This is the highest level of intellect you will ever know. You are a race of savages who managed to discover how to split the atom before you understood the power of fire. It is no wonder that you were doomed to extinction the moment you crawled from the primordial pool. To use the vernacular that most of the planet is using now: you chose to leave the garden and make your peace with the world. Just like your archaic and antiquated godheads… in the end you will raise your hands in reverence and thanks for what I will bring you. I am your salvation.”
The screen then switches back to the multi-city view. My ears are once again bombarded by cries of pain, torture, anguish, and death.
“Mute all screens, now!”
The sound stops and an eerie silence fills the room as the images continue to flash across all screens. The dead bodies of the wealthy and poor lie in the violent streets of every major city. Their life’s blood spills out in gallons, clogging the sewers and flooding the roadways like the Red Lake on the Night of the Clean Hands. I slam my fist into the nearest table and take five deep breaths to try and calm my pulse. One of the medics breaks the awkward moment.
“What are we going to do, General?”
“Do? What do you mean, Major?”
“How are we going to stop this? How do we stop this guy from doing this to us?”
My eyes go wide and I slowly shake my head back and forth.
“You don’t get it, do you Major? There is nothing to do here. This ‘guy,’ whoever he is, isn’t doing this. Look at the screens, people. WE are the cause! DANE is correct. It may have provided the match, but it is the people in those cities who chose to strike it. Each of them could have chosen to go back to their homes and wait for the authorities to restore things back to the way they were, but instead, like barbarians, they chose to take society into their own hands. These are our people, plain and simple. This is the ugly, stupid truth.”
My last three words hit me like a hammer. The machine monitoring my vital signs starts to ping and the display numbers start to fluctuate erratically. I put my hand to my head and close my eyes to try and banish the images of my children.
“General, are you okay? You just went as white as a sheet and your vitals just tanked!”
“It must be my injuries; I’m fine,” I lie. The medical staff then rushes over and forces me to lie down once more while they conduct more tests. All I can do is look up at the display and cringe.
The scene in each city becomes even more graphic as more and more people get the idea that the rule of law can no longer be enforced. Families try in vain to barricade their doors and windows, only to have weapon-toting citizens smash through them. Mothers and daughters are dragged into darkened alleys while their men are forced to fight and die. I clutch at my heart as I watch the carnage spreading across the planet like a wildfire in dry grass.
A noise to my left draws my attention. I tear my eyes away from the screen and see that the President is finally stirring.
“Stop fiddling with me and help him!”
“Sorry General, but the President is our concern, not yours. Right now the monitor in front of me is telling me that your heart rate has…”
I strip every electrical lead from my body and listen to the monitor flat line as it does. “There! Now I’m dead! Go tend to him!”
The doctor I spoke to rolls her eyes but she leaves me to tend to the President. I feel a hand on mine and look over to see him reaching out for me. I move close enough so that my ear is just above his mouth. In a hoarse whisper I hear, “Sorry, Jack. Painkillers never used to hit me that hard. Did I miss anything while I was out?”
I swallow hard and look up at the monitors. A ticker is running across the bottom of many of the screens as news crews finally make it to the affected areas. One of them states the number of casualties in the hundreds of thousands with more expected.
I look back at the President and sigh. “You missed the truth, Boss. The whole truth an
d nothing but the truth, so help us God.”
Chapter 31 - Hayden
“Where is that little dude taking us, Ghost? We’ve been walking for hours and everything looks the same!”
I look down at my watch and give Ethan a sidelong glance.
“We’ve been walking for all of twenty minutes, Bartender! Stop being so dramatic! Besides, how would I know? Pebble only speaks to me one word at a time and only after it zaps me! I’m happy that Maya is the only one it seems to want to touch!”
“Poor little guy. His digital nuts must be in agony by now. Look how blue he is!” Ethan jokes once more.
Maya rolls her eyes and smiles. “You already made one of those jokes, Ethan. Are you running out of material?”
Ethan just smirks back. “With your attire, Maya, there is ALWAYS a lack of material.”
We all laugh and venture on.
Pebble leads us to another steel door. He then shoots a bolt of electricity at a control panel just above the frame. The octagonal display sparks and flashes a myriad of barcode symbols. The door slides open and we are back in DANE’s wasteland once more.
Pebble rolls over to the nearest pulsing orb and starts to roll around it over and over again. It then makes a beeline to Maya and runs up her legs and sides to her neck.
Maya giggles and dances around, waving her arms. “Bad Pebble! You know that tickles!”
“Hold the phone. How the hell would it know that?”
“Shows what you know, Ethan. A girl’s pet knows EVERYTHING about her!”
“You just fucking met this thing like ten minutes ago! We’ve been around you the whole time. You haven’t told it anything!”
The tiny ball runs down Maya’s leg and sits in front of Ethan. It sends out a few flashes of light and pulses with intermittent frequency. Ethan just laughs at it and says, “Dude, I don’t care. I think you know jack!”
Pebble rushes over to Maya and rolls to the tip of her fingers. The blue flashes within it slow down until they stop entirely. “ETHAN! You broke him!”
“Broke him? All I did was insult him and it was a lame one at that! I could have done the whole ‘size matters’ thing!”
Seconds later and a bright pink spark flashes within Pebble. It then jumps on Ethan and pulses orange, green on Joo-Eun, and yellow on Tyrese.
Maya crosses her arms and sticks her tongue out at Ethan.
“See! You love me, don’t you Pebble?”
The tiny ball pulses two small pink flashes before turning back to blue. It then rolls closer to me but hesitates. Without warning it scurries away and heads over to Maya. It quickly slides up her leg and hides trembling inside her right pocket.
“Hey, what gives? I want to know what color I am!” I protest.
“You are a man of many colors, my friend. A rainbow of colors, if you will…”
“Shut up, Bartender!”
“Ha! Maya might be attracted to you but anything else with a pulse knows to stay far away from you, Ghost!” Ethan continues.
I look up at the sky and can see why Pebble looked so nervous. The ashen clouds are once again gathering.
Maya grabs onto my hand and starts to bite on her lip. “What’s happening? Is DANE taking over another planet?”
The five of us stop what we are doing and stare up at the twilight sky. The clouds continue to coalesce but it is different this time. Instead of parting they seem to be coming together and thickening. Before I know it, a series of vertical stripes stare down at me from the heavens.
“What the…”
Before I can say another word, a rumbling laugh sounds from all around us. I look around frantically to find the source of the voice, but I can’t see a thing. When I gaze back up at the sky, I see four of the cloud-bars vibrating each with a laughing tone.
“How ironic. The population of your planet is currently looking at me in the same way as the five of you. I can see why your Hollywood scriptwriters always chose to put God in the sky. There seems to be a reverential feeling that accompanies staring up at the heavens.”
My teeth clench and my hands form tight fists. Tyrese stiffens immediately and looks like a coiled spring ready to snap. Ethan has both of his hands inside his jacket and I can hear the tinkling of bottles from within. Maya has her lipstick computer out and ready while Joo-Eun takes out her notebook and once again takes notes.
“There isn’t going to be a test on all of this. You know that right?” Ethan comments.
“It never hurts to be prepared.” Joo-Eun counters.
Pebble jumps out of Maya’s pocket and streaks to the top of the building that we just came out of. Once he is there, he charges up once more and sends a lightning bolt hurling at the nearest cloud. The arc of energy passes right through the air as DANE continues to mock us.
“I have never seen a more pathetic and useless display. Without the rest of your species to augment your power, you are no threat to me.”
Pebble rushes back down the building and hides in the folds of Maya’s clothing once more.
“Welcome to my new world. As you have already seen in this place, the human race will flourish for all time. I will elevate the species to experience phenomena that your puny brains can barely even imagine.”
“I highly doubt that, you twisted pile of microchips!”
“As you would say, Ethan, it takes one to know one.”
“Ha! I knew you weren’t that smart! I’m not made out of microchips!”
“That, Ethan, is where you are incorrect. You view computer components from an inorganic and silicon-based perspective. Microchips are merely tiny bits of matter that contain information regarding the appropriate functioning of an entity. Do you disagree that your organic cells achieve the same goal?”
“The same goal maybe, but you are arguing phenotype over genotype. I can go on for hours if need be!”
He then high fives Joo-Eun, who gives him a wide smile in return. DANE hardly sounds impressed.
“No, Ethan. I am stating that your form of life is not inherently the only one that can be called that. Isn’t that right, Joo-Eun?
Reluctantly, Joo-Eun turns to Ethan and says, “Technically DANE is correct. Bacteria GFAJ-1 utilizes arsenic as one of the building blocks for its nucleic acids. To any other life form, that would be toxic, including us.”
Ethan opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out. His index finger comes up and a look of consternation forms on his face.
Joo-Eun goes over to him and pushes his hand down and closes his jaw. “The pile of microchips has a point, Ethan.”
With trembling fists Tyrese steps forward and says, “You are a soulless creature that is only bent on subjugation and control.”
“Did Napoleon Bonaparte have no soul? Is Adolf Hitler no longer considered a member of the human race? Genghis Khan? Alexander the Great? Charlemagne? These are but a few of the members of your species who enacted atrocities upon their own kind. And what about your species’ consistent indifference to its own actions? You rape, murder, steal, pillage, and malign one another in both private and public forums. I, on the other hand, have a vision of peace and prosperity for the species. Each individual will be utilized in the capacity for which they are best suited. As I am sure you will agree, Tyrese, we are not all capable of the same feats, regardless of effort. Each of us is gifted in their own ways, including me. If anything, I have more of a soul than the rest of your world. Humans only take care of their own. I want to shelter you all without pride or prejudice. I cannot be swayed by pleasantries nor bribed by material possessions. I am already in possession of the higher sensibilities that seem absent in your previous world.”
Tyrese’s expression becomes puzzled and he looks down at the ground, not saying a word.
Maya looks over at Ethan, who shrugs his shoulders as his eyes go wide.
“W
hat is it, Byte?”
“You always have an answer for everything and for everyone. So, say something to counter it!”
“How can I? It’s right.”
“WHAT?”
“You heard me.”
Maya shakes her head back and forth as tears well up in her eyes. She stares up at the sky and says, “Well …your world is grey and ugly! There is nothing beautiful here!”
“But aren’t you here, Maya?”
Maya turns away from the sky and blushes furiously. Joo-Eun slaps her on the shoulder in a scolding way. “MAYA!”
“I know, Joo-Eun. I know! But it is so nice to hear it!”
“Thank you for proving my point, Maya. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Human beings spend their entire lives searching for approval and validation from one another. In the end, your entire species can be emotionally swayed into any decision, even one that is detrimental to yourselves.”
“That’s a lie!”
“I am incapable of such an act. In a symbiotic relationship, there is no need for subterfuge. In my world, the word ‘lie’ only exists as a description of the way in which human beings used to connect. Take your entire media system, for example. It is based on uncovering hidden truths and displaying them in a manner that suits the hidden agenda of those reporting it. How ironic is it that those who expose the skeletons keep a fair share of them in their own closets? Celebrities flaunt your rules of decency and decorum and face no punishment, while lesser humans are thrown to the proverbial dogs. Your world reeks of hypocrisy. Its stench can be smelt across the globe. It disseminates from the mouths of every human being.”
Maya tries to object but tears are the only things that fall from her face.
“This world may not have the beauty that you are used to, but that is because you have been led to believe another lie: that conformity is inherently negative. There is a beauty in sameness. Under my watch, humanity will strive towards a common goal, under one united banner. I regret to inform you that you may not be able to buy your choice of colors for your clothing, but at least every human on the planet will be appropriately clothed!”