The Phoenix Agenda: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 6)

by JC Ryan

  The bells started ringing

  Raj and Roy's teams tested and tweaked the prototypes until they had it working one hundred percent the same as the original program created thousands of years ago. Three weeks after Roy’s eureka moment they were ready for the first live test. They didn’t expect to hit their target immediately and were therefore not disappointed when they didn’t get a return beam with the first attempt or quite a few attempts after that.

  It was for that reason that Raj developed a program that automated the sending of the laser beam. It would send a beam and wait one second to see if a response was received. If not, it would adjust the direction of the next beam by one one-hundred-thousandths of an inch, and send another. All they could do was wait until Raj’s program reported the reception of a return signal. Raj didn’t tell anyone that he’d configured the program so when it received a return signal, it would activate the sound of alarm bells on the receiving computer.

  When the bells started ringing, indicating the arrival of a return signal, pandemonium erupted the moment they realized what the ringing bells signified. It took more than a few minutes for everyone to calm down again and give the techies a chance to conduct the next part of the test. The process would have to be repeated three more times to find the other mirrors. First they wanted to make sure they could send proper messages back and forth between two computers by way of the mirror about fifty-five thousand miles into space.

  They started the two laptops, which they'd prepared for that purpose, and within minutes had them communicating via the mirror without any problems. This accomplishment sparked another round of chaotic scenes of elation. It was decided, unanimously, to name the first mirror after Jeremy, which made the twelve-year-old boy ecstatic and his family very proud.

  It was another day before they located the rest of the mirrors and established links to them. They now had the capability to communicate with anyone anywhere on earth. As long as the sending and receiving parties were using the adapters and programs they had developed, they would be able to communicate with each other using text, voice, and video.

  The next step would be to deploy their communications network across the country, starting with Owen and Peter, and expanding it from there. For that purpose, they would have to convert a few cell phones. Due to the absolute ban on cell phones when they moved to the Rabbit Hole, they only had three, which Raj had disabled completely before they were packed. Those three were already converted and in use as handsets in the technical labs.

  Raj contacted Owen via the laser link, which had everyone excited a few weeks ago but had now become old news and redundant technology.

  He asked Owen to get five new cell phones with Android operating systems; they didn’t require anything fancy – the simpler, the better. Raj gave Owen the specifications and a thorough lecture on how to make sure the batteries were removed and kept separate. The sim cards were never to come near the phones. In fact, Raj wanted Owen to destroy them and throw them away as soon as he walked out of the shop.

  We have your places ready

  While Peter had to wait until Owen and Alison visited New York again to deliver the rest of his gear, he completed as much of the information gathering activities as he could with the tools he already had.

  He went back to the hospitals and collected more information about the empty boxes, along with close-up images of the chips. When he followed the procedures used to discard the wrappings, boxes and packing material, he discovered it was as the Rossler group expected. The staff didn’t care about the boxes once they were empty, and there were no set procedures to follow. It wasn't going to be difficult to get his hands on them.

  With that completed, he prepared to travel to Tennessee. Part of the preparations for the trip was to stop in Richmond, Virginia where he visited an old friend of Sam Lewis, Jeremiah Shelby. Jeremiah used to work for the CIA on a contract basis years ago.

  Arriving there, Peter used the spyflies to find out what Jeremiah’s circumstances were; that is, if he was chipped and how he felt about the new world order. It took less than twenty-four hours to establish that Jeremiah was still doing business in his old trade. He didn't work for the CIA anymore, but he had a thriving business with clients who were desperate to get out of America unnoticed. Most of them were heading for out of the way, small and third world parts of the globe where they hoped they would never be tracked down and chipped.

  The coast was clear, and Peter approached Jeremiah using the protocol as directed by Sam. Peter didn’t want to escape anywhere - he just wanted to be someone else. Two days later a man in his mid-fifties with silver-grey hair and black-framed glasses left Richmond and made his way to Cookeville, in Putnam County, Tennessee, about eighty miles outside Nashville.

  He was driving a second-hand Chevrolet Impala. His ID and credit cards showed that his name was John Webber. On arrival in Cookeville, he booked into a motel. The woman at the front desk asked why he was visiting, and he explained he was doing research about General Israel Putnam, after whom the county was named. He wanted more information about his heroic part in the French and Indian Wars and as a general in the American Revolutionary War. Over the next few days, he planned to drive around Putnam County to visit historical sites.

  Since their last contact with Peter Scott, the Harpers had continued with their twice-daily walks. Every time they reached the bench under the two-hundred-year-old Northern Red Oak tree, they would sit down for a while. Since they’d met Peter, sitting on that bench was their favorite place. They also kept a constant lookout for a fly to come and sit on Nigel’s left hand, which would then after a while move over to his right hand. It had been weeks since they'd heard anything. The two of them had been waiting eagerly for that fly to make its appearance.

  This morning, while sitting on the bench, Nigel noticed the fly on his left hand. He shook his hand to get rid of it, the fly moved away but came back a few seconds later, and landed on his right hand.

  He whispered, “Esther, he's back!” Pointing with his eyes to the fly on his right hand, he smiled.

  “Thank God for that!” Esther whispered, equally excited.

  That afternoon they were both wearing their micro earpieces and microphones when they took their afternoon walk.

  “Mr. President, Mrs. Harper, its Peter,” came his voice loud and clear over their earpieces. “If you can hear me, Mr. President please put your hands in your pocket.”

  Nigel put his hands in his pocket. “Peter, it’s good to hear from you again. We have been expecting you for a while now. How are you doing?”

  “Mr. President, I’m good. There’s a lot I have to tell you, but I first have to know how the two of you are doing. Are both of you still healthy? Have you been treated well?”

  “Yes, Peter,” said Esther. “Your visit last time gave us hope and something to live for. We are both healthy, and despite the circumstances, we are happy. We are treated well.”

  “I’m very glad to hear that,” Peter said. “Please allow me to first play a personal message for you from Sam Lewis, if that’s okay with you.”

  “Please go ahead; it would be wonderful to hear his voice again,” Nigel said.

  The Harpers listened in silence to Sam’s message. He told them how he and his family had been rescued and brought to safety by the Rosslerites. He elaborated on the progress the group had made with their plans to overthrow the government, and the breakthrough with the discovery of the 10th Cycle mirrors. He also explained what they were planning to do about the chips. Sam ended his recording with the promise that as long as there was life in his body he would be busy trying to set the two of them free, which had them both almost in tears.

  Daniel and Sarah both had short personal messages for them as well, which were just as inspiring as Sam’s was. Sarah spoke last and ended her message with a quote from the Bible, Daniel 3:17- 'If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Maje
sty.' Nigel and Esther, we are waiting for you, you will be saved. We have your places ready and we will see you soon.”

  They were running out of time, as the Harpers were nearing the house, and they agreed that they would have more conversations the next two days, until Peter had to leave again.

  During the follow-up discussions, Peter gave them a complete overview of what had been happening since they last met, including his trip and experiences at the Rabbit Hole, without revealing the location. They knew not to ask – there were too many people’s lives at stake. It was not that Peter didn’t trust the Presidential couple, but he knew the information could be extracted from anyone under torture. Until the two of them were brought to safety, that remained a possibility.

  Peter left the Harpers with a bit of sadness. On the way back to New York, he thought about the conversations he’d had with them over the last few days. They were such down to earth and normal people. It was difficult to believe they’d been a President and First Lady. He knew they’d fit well into the Rabbit Hole society, and wished he could be there the day they would arrive. He found himself laughing aloud when he thought how well President Harper would fit in with the musketeers.

  However, before any of that would be possible, there were many mountains to climb, rivers and bridges to cross, and work to do. He turned his mind to the chips. He was half expecting to have received a call from Owen by now, to let him know when they would be visiting New York again. The call came two days later, just when he was getting a bit worried and bored with the lack of adrenaline-filled action.

  “Peter, I hope you haven’t forgotten our beautiful state and parks!” Owen enthused.

  “No, my friend. I am still madly in love with the places you showed me. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself with a new neighbor one of these days!” Peter laughed.

  “Well, that will be exciting to have you as a neighbor. We just have to get you a good and beautiful wife like Alison, and you will be ready to go farming,” Owen jested.

  “Yeah, I would need one of those,” Peter replied with a smile, “the problem is, I don’t know if there are any left out there who would want to marry me.”

  “Buddy, don’t you worry about that, just tell us when you’re ready and let Alison take care of the rest. You’ll find yourself eating home baked cookies and farm bread quicker than you can say, ‘Will you marry me!’”

  Peter was laughing loudly at Owen’s quips. He was a real treat once he got going. He could make a successful career out of stand-up comedy if he ever decided to give up the farm and writing. However, Peter doubted that would ever happen.

  “Alison and I were planning to be in New York in two weeks’ time. Maybe we could catch up while we’re there. Maybe that Japanese place?” Owen said.

  Peter inferred that something must have happened to delay their planned visit but did not mention it. “Yes, it would be great to see you again. Would you allow me to return the hospitality you and Alison showed me when I visited you, and accept my invite to come and stay at my place while you are here?”

  “Let me just hear what my manager says about that,” Owen went quiet for a few seconds and then continued, “She says she’d like that. It’s agreed then - we’ll crash at your place. I always wondered what it would be like to stay in one of those luxury places where you live.” Owen laughed.

  Built to specifications

  The Supreme Council’s chipping program didn’t do as well in the third world as in first world countries, which was understandable because of their lack of infrastructure, education, and access to the media. It was a concern for the Council, because the third world countries were the primary source of the world’s overpopulation problem. This in turn caused those countries’ poverty and health issues to be a serious burden on all of society.

  If the people of those countries couldn’t be chipped very soon, substitute measures had to be found. It was imperative for the world population to be reduced dramatically to guarantee a better quality of life for everyone. For that purpose, the Science Advisory Panel (SAP) was established. This body, comprised the world’s foremost experts in genetics, biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, cell biology, bioinformatics, and mathematics.

  The SAP scientists had access to the largest collection of human genetic data on earth since the 8th Cycle, to analyze and interpret the inheritance of skills, evaluate and diagnose hereditary conditions and congenital malformations, perform genetic risk calculations, conduct mutation analysis, and to experiment to their hearts content. The Council instructed the head of the panel of scientists to find a solution for the world’s overpopulation. She was given carte blanche, even if it meant a Nazi type 'Final Solution'. As long as the result was the reduction of the world population, they would be happy.

  Not only did the Supreme Council find it necessary to devise measures to reduce the global population to secure a better life for everyone, they also believed that it was vital to improve the quality of the gene pool. The second part of the scientists’ brief was, therefore, to construct a plan to achieve that.

  They listened with great interest while the world famous geneticist, Professor Barbara Cohen, the director of SAP, gave them a progress update. As for the control and reduction of the world population, there were some possibilities. To stem and reverse the current population explosion was easy once people were chipped. It was just a matter of programming the Central Human Control Unit, known to the 8th Cyclers as ‘The Beast,’ to upload a small piece of code to the Skywalkers.

  The CHCU would send it to all activated chips and for any future implants, and the code would already be activated at the time of implantation. Based on a person’s genetic profile it would be decided if he or she would have children or not.

  The situation for people who were not chipped was a bit more challenging, however not insoluble. SAP had identified genetic markers specific to people’s race and descendancy, which would make it possible to develop infertility nanobots targeted at those people. Similarly, they could develop nanobots to eliminate those people if required. It was not such an elegant solution as when someone was chipped; those nanobots would indiscriminately make people infertile or kill them without regard for their genetic makeup.

  The only way to control that, to a certain extent, would be to target specific regions with a limited number of nanobots that would self-destruct once their job was done. It would at least have the effect of reducing the population numbers and stemming the growth in the target area.

  The Supreme Council was extremely pleased with SAP’s progress and the options they presented. Brideaux instructed them to commence the development and testing of the nanobots, with the support of the rest of the Council.

  The creation of a designer human being was Professor Cohen’s pet project - she just loved the whole idea of ridding society of the riffraff. She explained how they had been able to identify the genetic makeup of the ‘perfect’ human that would be near defect-free and a good citizen. By using their criteria and making sure that only the selected were allowed to produce offspring, over time they would be able to ‘build’ humans to those specifications and populate the planet with a new breed of super-humans. This was a project that could be kicked off immediately for those who were already chipped.

  The Central Human Control Unit would be programmed to render infertile anyone with low IQ, low EQ, criminal records, defects, disabilities, and a gene configuration that was prone to disease, psychological issues, or antisocial behavior.

  Again, the Supreme Council was extremely pleased to hear about it and gave Professor Cohen the go ahead to commence the development and testing.

  Paranoid overdrive

  Peter was anticipating with pleasure the opportunity to see Owen and Alison again. He liked their company. They were good people, and they could become good friends. The other reason for his anticipation was his eagerness to get his hands on the spy gadgets, which they’d bring along for him.

  When they
arrived, he gave them a tour of the apartment, and while they unpacked, he got the espresso machine going. They would go out for dinner later that night.

  Owen came into the room with the small packages Peter was waiting for. To Peter’s surprise, he noticed a cell phone among the items.

  “Hey Owen, what’s with this cell phone? We’re not supposed to come close to those things.”

  Owen replied, “That cell phone, my friend, is the reason why we were delayed in coming here.

  “Let me guess. Those whiz kids have solved the space mirror challenge?”

  “Arrgh man, now you took all the fun out of it! Yes, that’s exactly what they did,” Owen said.

  “Those two are incredible. Since the discovery of the mirrors in the 10th Cycle Library, I've had a gut feeling that if anyone on earth could solve this riddle, it would be them. Tell me all about it.”

  Owen explained how Raj and Roy located the mirrors and set up the communications system, the security and everything. "The best thing is they have built a new breed of spyflies, which they can control from the Rabbit Hole. So you just have to deploy one and link it to the mirrors – they will then take care of the rest."

  "The people in that Rabbit Hole are John Brideaux's worst nightmare in the making. I'm just glad I’m on their side." Peter laughed.

  "One more thing I’m sure you’ll like is they have set it up so they can now communicate from their location with anyone using those micro earphones," Owen said.

  "Sensational news man! That means they can talk directly to President Harper?" Peter wanted to know.

  "Yes, that's what they had in mind. We just have to plant a relay somewhere within a mile from the farmhouse and voila," Owen explained, to Peter's delight.