New Earth One

by Lance Powers

  “Meal time, inmate XDS-119-035.” A voice announced through the cell speaker and a panel parted in the wall allowing a small tray to slide in. On it, a dark red square represented the protein, a mild yellow the carbohydrate and a green square the fiber. A small flask of blue liquid accompanied her triple square meal. She stared at the tray and its frugal contents in alarm. Was that all she would get to eat everyday, as long as she was incarcerated? She was sure that treason was a life long sentence, since it also made her an accomplice to the attempted assassination on the President.

  The President! She shuddered with loathing at the thought of that overbearing man. She had always suspected something not quite right about the man, from the way he made his speeches on the hype box, and also the way he smiled at all the wrong times. It was entirely possible that he had much to gain from the way things were, and would do anything to keep it all as it was. That included framing someone who could be considered a threat to that, like she now was.

  She poked at her dismal meal with the plastic fork provided wondering if it was poisoned when the speaker in the cell crackled again. “Inmate XDS-119-035, you have a visitor.”

  “A visitor.” She sat up. Who could it be, surely not her father, or was it someone from the Science Division. A faint glimmer of wishful thinking made her consider Colonel Garth Evans. But what would he be visiting her for. To tell her this was all a mistake and she was free to go, and resume her research. Oh, she could dream.

  “Good morning, Doctor Scott.” Leland Roberson’s hateful voice made her jump. “I trust the accommodation is up to your usual high standards.”

  What the fudge did he want now, she wondered, giving the large man standing outside the plexi-glass walls of her cell a clouded look. The President’s dark beady eyes didn’t even bother to hide the glee he obviously felt to see her in there. He was alone and seemingly unarmed. He certainly wouldn’t try to harm her in there, would he? She felt the cold grip of panic begin to tighten around her. Whatever he tried, she would give him the fight of his life.

  “May I come in, Doctor?” Roberson continued to leer at her. “I have much to discuss with you concerning the current state of affairs.”

  “You have power over all, you don’t need my permission.” She told him haltingly, steeling herself for anything.

  “You seem tense, Regina… oh, may I call you by your first name?” He grinned as the cell doors slid apart to let him in.

  “That’s your prerogative, Mister President. You can do whatever pleases you.” She stepped back and pressed herself against the far wall, on the other side of the bed. Her hands shook and she gripped the plastic fork tight.

  “Thank you, Regina.” He nodded and sat down on the bed as the cell door slid shut. From his jacket pocket he fished out a small cube and press on the top of it with his thumb. A green beam of luminosity projected from the cube and scanned the cell. She guessed he must have activated a transmission disruptor field to keep everything they said or did in the cell private. Roberson pocketed the device and gave her a little smile. “And have no fear, I mean you no harm… at present.”

  “What’s all this about?” Regina remained pressed against the wall, ready for anything. “What have I done… what the fu-fudge do you want?”

  “All in good time, my dear.” Roberson ran his large hand over the coarse material of the sheet coving the small bed. “Take a seat, relax and enjoy your meal.”

  Regina remained where she was, frowning irritated. He was up to some kind of game here, maybe trying to trick her into admitting something she never did and getting it on his private record. If she had her guard up already, she tripled it now. “What do you want, sir?” She gritted her teeth at him.

  “I have everything that I ever wanted, dear Regina.” He nodded at her smugly. “What I want is not to lose any of it.”

  “And what does that have to do with me?” She glared.

  “Dear sweet Doctor Regina Lauren Scott, must you play dumb?” He chortled aggravatingly, making her skin crawl. “Certainly not with that 250 plus IQ of yours.”

  “Are you telling me that what I discovered is a dark and deadly secret that could upset your applecart?”

  “There, see, was that so hard?” He grinned wide. “What you discovered will undo years of hard work.”

  “Hard work?” She spat in disgust. “You have a very warped sense of work ethics, Mister President.”

  “Yes, so I do.” Roberson nodded his large head. “But I must give credit where it’s due, Doctor. You certainly are a persistent one, making one alarming discovery after another. Why at the rate you were going, My Earth Gov would become a thing of the past.”

  “Just as you made what once was a wonderful world for all mankind a long lost memory.” She twisted her mouth with distaste. “For your own selfish profit.”

  “Well, Regina, we all have our dreams and ambitions, and mine was to rule a world.” He said as if he was the Sovereign of New Earth One instead of just an elected President. “And what better than one in its infancy waiting to be taken over, shaped and governed.”

  “So for your own petty and personal gain, you’ve endangered humankind.” Her anger pulsed hot behind her ears. “That is beyond forgivable.”

  “You of all people should understand, dear Regina.” Roberson feigned sadness. “Humanity has always needed and will continue to need macro level shepherding… it has been evident all though human history, here on New Earth One and in the millennia old history of the original Earth. People need guidance or there will be anarchy and chaos.”

  “So you are the shepherd.” She raised an eyebrow. “And to be a shepherd that benefits, you need the wolves to roam free and terrorize your sheep.”

  “Very astute, my dear.” The President leaned back on the bed. “Yes, the need for keeping safe and sound requires an element of danger to be present.”

  “So how did you go about creating this danger all by yourself?”

  “Ah, I wouldn’t be where I am today, Doctor, if I were prone to giving away my trade secrets, now would I? But then I am a generous man, and I can humor you for a little while.”

  “It’s freaking mind boggling that one man manipulated an entire planet so he can rule over his own fellowmen.”

  “It is, isn’t it?” Roberson blinked at her patronizingly. “But flattering as it may sound, I must be honest here. I have had a little help… from some special friends.”

  “And what price did you pay for that help?” She cried, wishing she could burn him with the hatred he was bringing out in her.

  “A fair share of this planet, a rather prime piece of real estate in this sector of the galaxy.”

  “You’ve made a deal with… aliens?” She felt her heart skip a beat there.

  “If there are such things in existence, then yes.” His indifference rankled her further.

  “That’s utterly insane.” Regina almost shouted. “You’ve doomed everything.”

  “Not bloody likely.” He laughed, almost in her face. “Those ugly critters can get what they need from here only when I’m around. They’ve haven’t got a chance without me.”

  “Or so you think, Mister President.”

  “Oh, I hold my cards pretty close to my chest, my dear.” Roberson’s smug face forced her to look away. “And in this game, I’ve using my own deck.”

  “You’re riding your luck with the entire human race on the line.” She gritted her teeth, looking the other way. “And that’s a pretty big bet.”

  “Yes, I am. And I know this game best because I invented it, missy.” He puffed his chest like a schoolboy would after winning a footrace. “The planetary record for the highest IQ that you broke, Regina Scott, who do you think held it before you?”

  She remained silent for a while, letting the gravity of this insanity sink in. She was sure now that Leland Roberson had let all the power of his position go to his head. And it wouldn’t have really mattered, Presidents came and went. But he was playing with th
e lives of every single human on New Earth One and the future of humankind itself. Someone had to do something to stop this mad man. But who?

  “Ah, your silence speaks volumes. Yes, I, Leland Michel Roberson, was the smartest being on New Earth One until you came along. But did I mind? No. I was the President of an entire planet by then. Why should a little girl and her great gift affect me? Well, it didn’t. It didn’t until you started making all these wonderful discoveries and getting fools like Hartman Keller and Delmont Lewis all excited about saving the world.

  “Saving it from what? Hadn’t I kept New Earth One all safe and secure, with my grand plan of self preservation? What more did those fools, and this includes your dear old father Milton, want from me? Did they know that these aliens were going to wipe us out when they found us here on New Earth One forty years ago? They didn’t know, and they also didn’t know that I, with my superior intellect saved us all with a clever deal I made with this alien scum.”

  “But you weren’t President in 2485.” She eyed him with derision.

  “Of course not.” He snapped back. “I was only eighteen then. But I saw opportunity and took it. With my high IQ, I was a shoo-in at the Science Division. That’s where I met Milton, your father. He was another one with a smarter mind than average and we worked together on many areas. I made my deal with the aliens then, promising them everything they needed, and together with them I devised a plan and put it into action. The plan that eventually let me take over as President of this planet in 2305. Yes, yes… I probably deserve that look of contempt you’re giving me, Regina. But I did what I had to do to keep humanity alive.

  “Though the plan needed to poison the entire planet’s atmosphere, I devised ways and means to build protective zones so we could survive under a controlled environment. But we had to leave some pockets out in the wild free of the contamination so we could work there whenever things needed to be fixed. And you, dear girl, made your remarkable discovery of one such pocket in sector PDZ-18 and nearly ruined everything I built so far. I should have had that fool Ness fired for putting someone with your smarts to sweep that region. Maybe I still can fire that imbecile.”

  “Why are you telling me all this, Mister President?” She gave him a bored look. “Should I take it that I may never see the light of day again after this villainous soliloquy of yours?”

  “So very clever of you, my dear.” Roberson gave her a sardonic smile. “That’s why I am here now, to make you an offer of a lifetime.”

  “To join you in this great façade and keep fooling the people of New Earth One?”

  “You are an impressive young woman.” Roberson’s eyes went wide in mock awe. “Impress me further by accepting the offer.”

  “I’d rather rot here for eternity.” She laughed scornfully, still pressing back against the wall. “…than have anything to do with you and your self-indulgent agendas.”

  “A notable consideration, letting you rot here for eternity.” Roberson grinned lasciviously. “But my plans for you are far more imaginative than that. You see, my friends from the other side of the Milky Way have a liking for pretty little human ladies like you, for whatever modest needs of theirs and I just couldn’t resist striking another bargain.”

  “You are the most despicable human being, Roberson.” Regina seethed, and almost hurled her uneaten tray of food at him. “I am ashamed of being the same species as you are.”

  “Well, so would most if not all of our fellow humans if they got to know of any of this, except those of similar scruples as mine.” He stood up to leave, much to her relief. “So you will tell of this to no one… and even if you did, who would be crazy enough to take the word of a condemned rebel over that of the President of New Earth One.”

  “Don’t I get to see anyone before I get sentenced?” She asked with a deep sigh.

  “Yes, you do.” He nodded and stepped toward the cell door. “I’ll have security arrange a visit for Milton here. But be warned, if you divulge any of this to your father, I’ll have him put away as a co-conspirator.”

  “No, I don’t need to see my father.” She looked away, biting her lip. “I’d like to talk to Colonel Garth Evans one last time.”

  “Colonel Evans?” The President sounded surprised as he stepped out of the cell. “I can’t imagine what for… but I’ll have word sent to him.”

  “Thank you and good bye.” She turned her back to him.

  “You would have made it in this big bad world, Regina.” His mocking voice grated her ears. “If only you could see things the way they were meant to be.”

  “Like you see them.” She did not turn to look at him. “No thank you, I’m not that twisted in the head.”

  “That’s your loss, dear girl.” She heard him laugh and start to walk away. “Enjoy your stay for the next few days.”

  The next few days; so whatever Roberson was planning now would give her a few more days on New Earth One. But what could she do? The despicable man was right about her word against his. No one would want to stand up to the President, and for what, an unknown like her, already labeled as a sympathizer for the tiresome rebels. She wished Evans would get there soon. Seeing him again would at least make her misery ebb a little.

  But would he come? What would a highly decorated Colonel have to gain from visiting a rebel accused of attempted assassination on the President? Evans was a hardcore career soldier, and unlike any man she had ever met. She could tell from the little time she had spent in his company that he was a man of honor and rigid values. But he was also a soldier who followed orders from a corrupt system. Whether he could do anything to help her or not, she would be glad just to see him again. That was if he would even come to see her, regardless of the President telling him to or not.

  She contemplated on that for some time and the hours passed. The mid-afternoon meal tray slid out before her. It has the exact same fare as the breakfast tray. Her heart felt weary and she decided to stop fooling herself. Garth Evans would never betray his code of honor for her, not even to come and see her there in her containment cell. She stared blankly at the two identical food trays, untouched and unappetizing. Well, at least she would have to endure this for only a few more days, and then she’d be some alien’s slave or better yet its dinner; if that lying son of a bitch, Roberson, could be believed.

  “Inmate XDS-119-035, you have a visitor.”

  “What? Who?” Regina jerked up. The monotone of the crackling speakers had startled her. She looked at the cell door with blurry eyes. A tall dark form was waiting outside the door. She could hardly believe her eyes. He had come, for her. Well, at least to visit.

  “You wanted to see me?” Garth Evans asked her in his usual calm baritone as the door panel slid open.

  “Yes.” She told him. He still stood outside, looking a little unsure. “Please, come in.” She almost implored.

  “Doctor Scott.” He said as he stepped into the little cell and stood by the door. “You should have asked for a family member to come. You only get the one visitor, owing to the severity of the charge against you.”

  “I know, Garth.” She told him, gesturing at the bed for him to sit. “But I wanted to see you.”

  “Why?” He remained standing by the door.

  “Do you have that special cloaking device you used in the docking bay the first day we met?”

  “No, it’s not portable.” He looked at her with concern. “Why do you ask?”

  “Garth, do you believe that I am capable of what I am being accused of?”

  “The reasoning behind the charges…” He paused for a moment as if to consider a justification. “…is substantial.”

  “But what do you believe?” She clasped her hands together under her breast and stared at him wide eyed.

  “My thoughts are of little relevance, Doctor.” He exhaled, staring blanking at the wall before him.

  “Yes, be that it may… but what does your heart say, Garth?”

  He turned his head and looked at h
er in silence, every moment passing she could hear her heartbeat pounding against her ears. She walked up to him and took his hand. He did not resist as she drew him into the cell. She sat on the bed and he took the chair and sat opposite her. At long last he replied. “I don’t know you that well, Doctor Scott, and I am not a man who makes judgment from brief encounters. But in this case my gut feeling is that you are innocent.”

  “Thank you, Colonel.” She sighed deeply, letting the relief she felt run its course all through her.

  “I am not the one who can prove your innocence however.” Evans looked deep into her eyes and she caught a hint of the ice wall there melting a little.

  “But you do realize that when you find me innocent, then the one accusing me, President Roberson, has something to hide.”

  “What you’re saying is treason.”

  “I know you are a man sworn to do your duty.” She looked deep into his eyes. “But if the very core of that duty is corrupt, you are no better than the one you are serving, no matter how noble your intention is.”

  She heard him exhale deeply and for the first time she saw uncertainty in his cold gray eyes. Garth Evans was fighting a war inside his head, a war that she had to make him win in her favor, if she wanted to get herself out of this life threatening situation.

  “I can’t oppose the President. I am duty bound to serve Earth Gov.” He said with some effort.

  “What if I told you the President was here this morning.” Regina said haltingly. “He told me that everything we suffer in this existence was of his making, and my only crime is to have stumbled upon and exposed his scheme.”

  “More treason.” He whispered slowly and stared down at his booted feet.

  “He made me an offer to join him in exchange for my silence and cooperation.”