Perfect, Jules thought. He then limped back across the room and attached the other two straps to the second guard’s wrists. Ignoring the pain from his broken ribs and bruised body, he then dragged the man towards the doorway and positioned him next to the other guard in the same position.
“Let’s go,” the intruder said, throwing Jules a silver pistol. “Take this electric pulse gun and shoot anything that moves.”
Jules gladly caught it in the air, looking eager to repay everyone here for the injustices committed at this site.
“Follow me,” the intruder signaled as he hopped over the guards.
As Jules followed, the two guards began to awaken and immediately attempted to free themselves from the wrist straps. However, the straps’ magnetism had grown so powerful that the strong guards were unable to remove their wrists from the doorframe.
As Jules stepped over the guards, he looked down and asked, “You two fine chaps remember what I promised to do when I got out of here?”
“Join us for a beer?” one groggily responded, attempting to free himself.
“Guess again,” Jules said, opening the control panel next to the outside portion of the door.
“No!” the guards began to scream. “Please!”
Jules then pulled a red lever inside, instantly materializing the door. With the guards sprawled out in a crucified-like position, their hands severed from their wrists as the door solidified on them.
The two began to shriek in horror as blood pumped from their stumps. Jules left them to their painful demise and limped towards the man who had freed him from imminent death. Looking ahead, he saw the guard signal that he should press his body against the wall.
Jules complied as he watched the man place a brown putty in the center of an iron wheel that attached to a large, semicircular metal door in front of them. Once in place, he then slammed his fist against it and joined Jules in position.
The putty began to glow red and within a few seconds started to sizzle. The guard then removed a disk from his belt and held it overhead, readying himself to throw it.
As Jules watched the putty change colors, he caught two figures from the opposite corner of his eyes rushing towards their position. As a former hunter before the sport was outlawed by The New Reality, Jules was adept with most firearms and projectile weapons. Taking aim, he fired two shots in quick succession, hitting both guards in their chest. Upon impact, their bodies were engulfed in electricity, and they fell to the ground, paralyzed by the assault.
Jules stumbled to the side as the putty exploded. Startled by the noise, he took a moment to regain his composure. The quick jerk of his body only proved to exacerbate the pain inflicted by his former injuries.
The wheel to the door then fell to the floor, creating a large clanking noise in the process. The guard slightly opened the door and threw the disc in his hand into the adjacent hallway. He then went back to Jules and counted to three with his fingers.
“Let’s go,” the man said kicking the door fully open. Multiple guards lay on the floor, some still twitching after the disc’s detonation. He then hurtled one of the fallen guards and ran down the hallway.
“Do you want me to take a key?” Jules asked standing over a guard.
The intruder waved for him. “No. Leave it. They track the keys.”
Jules felt that he should have known that fact. However, because The New Reality could also track his biotag signal, the man’s reasoning seemed counterintuitive.
The guard then hit a button on a doorway in front of them and pulled down on a red lever next to it. The door failed to dematerialize. The man attempted pulling the lever once more but the result only proved the same.
Taking out what appeared to be a pocketknife with a sharp screwdriver protruding from one end, he placed it to the control panel to the side of the lever. With a twist of the wrist, the panel popped open as the metal plate concealing it fell to the floor. He then began to manipulate the circuit board with what Jules recognized now as a pocketeer. It was an ingenious device outlawed by The New Reality and utilized by many of the world’s top spies for covert activity.
Is this man a spy? Jules contemplated.
The door suddenly dematerialized, and Jules once again followed the man down a long hallway.
At this point, Jules cared little about the guard’s identity or his intentions. Obviously, he knew much more about this facility and its layout than Jules. Although never one to follow, he had little option but to shadow the man, at least for the moment.
The guard then ran up to an open doorway in front of them and pulled down another red lever next to it. This door materialized behind them without any other coercion. He then grabbed his pocketeer and began to manipulate the circuit board next to it until the whole thing began to smoke.
“That’s going to do it,” the intruder said aloud.
Jules turned and pointed his gun towards the door that just materialized behind them. Through a clear aperture in its upper portion, he could see a few guards approaching on the other side. Some began to pound on the door on arrival while another attempted to work the circuit board in an attempt to open it.
Other guards approached behind them. They too began to pound on the door on arrival, hoping that it would dematerialize as a result.
Trapped! Jules thought.
The intruder then began to knock against the lower portion of the wall next to them until he heard a hollow sound. “This is it,” he said as he slowly slid his fingers around a barely visible horizontal crack in the wall. With a little manipulation, he widened the crack to reveal an air duct behind it. Moving his fingers further around, he pulled off a metal panel, hiding this duct.
“Let’s go!” he said, while crawling on all fours through the wall.
Jules followed. In almost complete darkness other than a dim light emanating from the man’s helmet, they crawled for about a minute until the shaft ended and became vertical. The guard then stood up and helped Jules to his feet. A rope hung down from the top of the duct.
“Are you well enough to climb?” the intruder asked.
Jules confidently shook his head yes, despite serious reservations about this assertion.
Behind them they could hear guards now scurrying down the shaft. As they began to climb the rope, the area beneath them suddenly became filled with smoke.
“Don’t breathe,” the intruder gasped. “They’ve gassed the area. Just one breath and you’ll be unconscious for hours.”
The intruder then placed both his legs on opposite sides of the vertical duct. Stabilizing himself, he pushed up on a panel above his head. Sunlight gleamed into the shaft, as gas billowed out around them.
Jules and the intruder climbed out of what appeared to be an old ventilation shaft. Now on top of the facility’s roof, they took a deep breath, avoiding contact with the smoke.
Jules crawled on his knees, attempting to gain his footing. His muscles were tight and extremely sore, making the task more difficult than it should have been. While he attempted to stand, the intruder appeared to be grasping at nothing but air in front of him.
“Are you alright?” Jules asked, hoping the man hadn’t been somehow poisoned by the gas.
Just then, a transparent blanket began to flow off an aero-bike concealed underneath it. The intruder grabbed a helmet and handed it to Jules. “Quickly. Put this on.”
Jules hastily complied as the guard removed his helmet, exchanging it for a flight version.
Jules caught sight of the man’s face. Suspecting it would be a stranger, he momentarily stood dumfounded looking at the man. His savior’s identity both perplexed and intrigued him at the same time.
“Why?” Jules asked.
Chapter_10
Myra Keres stood proudly behind a glass lectern looking out into a small crowd of reporters. Wearing a blue, pantsuit combination and a large diamond ring with a gold nugget in the center representing The New Reality logo, she appeared presidential and commanding. Des
pite her average height, the podium produced an optical image that made her appear over two feet taller.
“I’d like to begin with a brief statement,” she said matter-of-factly.
She made a dramatic pause while looking out into the courtyard of The New Reality’s international headquarters.
Serving as the centerpiece to this globally operated business, the enormous structure was 30 stories tall and built as a precise replica of the company’s logo—a diamond with a golden circle in the center. With shimmering windows representing the diamond potion around the perimeter and a large golden dome covering the vast courtyard in the center, the building was an unequivocal testament to modern architecture.
Located in Elbert, Georgia, the building was erected around a massive granite edifice built more than a century before, known as the Georgia Guidestones. Created from six large slabs of stone with one positioned in the center, four arranged around it and a final capstone on top, it stood boldly at over 19 feet tall and provided a dramatic backdrop to the President.
Inscribed in nine languages including English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic Chinese and Russian, the Guidestones each conveyed the same New World Order message. Ranging from population control and social duties all the way to reproductive responsibilities, it outlined the crux of The New Reality governing philosophy.
“My grandfather once told me that we enter the world crying and leave it the same way,” Myra went on to say. “That’s no longer the case. The New Reality, as you all know, has restored dignity to the dying or physically impaired by eliminating the pain and suffering!”
The crowd burst into applause. The acoustic amplifiers, placed strategically upon her request, magnified the sound to make the modest-sized gathering seem like a crowd of thousands. She clearly understood the concept that perception was more important than reality.
“Until now, the gift of a New Reality was only possible for an adult. That was then!” Myra trumpeted.
“Now is the dawn of a great new day,” she added with her arms spread wide. “The New Reality has partnered with The Dignity for Children Foundation to bring our gift to those who need it most… the children!”
The crowd of reporters once again erupted into applause. Because the entire media had become nothing more than a propaganda tool for The New World Order, they appeared more as adoring fans than objective journalists.
She went on to reiterate and remind the reporters in a carefully orchestrated and well-rehearsed dialogue about the options originally offered by The New Reality. Beginning by speaking about the magnificent and completely realistic virtual reality worlds created by her company, she then went on to elaborate how some choose to engage on shorter tours lasting two to three weeks in this virtual world while others entered for months or even years.
Holographic images appeared throughout the courtyard as she spoke. Depicting what she described, they provided visual emphasis to each of her statements.
“You can pick and choose from whatever reality you wish,” Myra proudly continued. “Some choose a quiet and serene life of fishing on a beautiful yacht while others choose a more action-packed adventure.”
Holographic images of a man fishing off a pier and of a woman in mortal combat with a masked figure appeared. The reporters watched in amusement and awe.
“And then,” she added with a grin, “some choose an alternative lifestyle.”
The crowd erupted into laughter as the image of a cat began to pounce gleefully on top of a ball of yarn.
Myra quickly cut her speech short as her jovial demeanor turned sour. Myra looked down at her lectern in disbelief at the bold, red message flashing on top of it.
“I want to—” she began to fumble. Without any prepared script to elaborate on the urgent circumstances now at hand, she had no other choice but to end the press conference. “All further questions will be handled by the Holo-Projectors. That is all for today.”
The podium then withdrew down through a hole that opened directly underneath it. In no time, Myra was out of sight. A metal clink confirmed her final exit.
The crowd was left dumbfounded, exchanging stares of confusion. The large Georgia Guidestones situated in the center of the courtyard along with the beautiful fountains and shrubbery arranged around the perimeter were all that was left to hold their attention.
The reporters instinctively made their way to one of the diamond-shaped stones lining the courtyard. Whenever anyone approached one of them, a lifelike holographic image of Myra Keres would appear from it. With her premature departure, these holograms were all the reporters had to interview for their stories.
One of the reporters asked a hologram, “How have you overcome the technical difficulties of bringing a growing child into The New Reality’s virtual world?”
In response to the reporter’s question, Holo-Myra stated with a smile, “I have devised a way to halt the child’s growth so that he or she need not be taken out of The New Reality when they outgrow their suit.” The image gestured in a friendly manner.
The reporter replied, “Are there any long-term side effects from this procedure?”
Holo-Myra gave an inquisitive look. “That is a great question, and the answer is yes. As a result of the operation the children would grow at a mathematically insignificant rate the rest of their life.”
A different reporter asked another hologram, “Why The Dignity for Children Foundation?”
The holographic figure responded, “Sadly, these children are not long for this earth. What my company and I want to do is to make their last days, months, or even years happy ones, free of sorrow and pain. Crying will be replaced by laughter. Pain will be replaced by happiness.”
During the interviews, each reporter held out his or her silver minicorder. Shaped like a silver pen, it enabled them to record and make notes for the entire interview in digital form. Originally made popular by college students for recording their classes, reporters soon adopted this technology as the industry standard.
A reporter standing near one of the fountains asked, “Can any child get this procedure?”
“No,” responded the hologram. “It’s reserved for those with terminal diseases. The operation that enables them to enter The New Reality virtually curtails growth and maturation. Ethically, The New Reality believes it would be wrong to offer this technology to any healthy child or adolescent.”
Once the questioning ended, the reporters finally began to disperse, and the holograms in turn vanished one by one. All that could be heard in the courtyard was the soothing sound of splashing water from the fountains and the synthetic melodies of chirping birds.
***
Though Myra wished she could have finished her elaborately polished speech, she felt the weight of the problem at hand. As her advisor began to illuminate the conundrum she now faced, Myra hoped the problem would be solved swiftly before it led to more dire consequences.
Chapter_11
Jules almost fell off the aero-bike upon landing. He never had been fond of flying, especially now after the physical ordeal that he had just endured. Taking off his helmet, he rested his head against a fallen log. For the moment, he felt at peace as he looked up at the trickle of sunlight attempting to penetrate through the thick canopy of trees above him. He reasoned from their flight trajectory that they were most likely somewhere in Oregon or Washington.
The man who had saved him exited the aero-bike after making a few adjustments to the vehicle’s front control panel.
With little true appreciation in his voice, Jules turned to him and said, “You shouldn’t have bothered yourself. I had things rather under control at the time.”
The man took off his helmet, again revealing his identity.
“I then stand corrected,” Alex Pella amusingly responded while propping Jules’ head up on a pillow that inflated upon contact. “It almost seemed to me as if you were moments away from losing your head.”
“Plus,” Jules went to say, “why go thr
ough all the trouble when they can easily track our biotags? This forest will provide no more camouflage to either of us than would a paper bag over our heads.”
Wow, Alex contemplated. And I thought Samantha was a handful. “I have us both covered. My aero-bike here is jamming the biotags’ signals, making us at least momentarily invisible to The New Reality’s all-seeing eye.”
“We can’t stay next to that God-awful vehicle the rest of our lives,” he rebutted. “Now can we?”
Alex took out a circular sphere from his belt, separated it into two halves, and placed them on Jules’s neck. With little protest from him, they instantly absorbed into his skin, leaving no evidence of their presence.
Before Jules could complain, Alex said, “This will rid your body of all the biotags and destroy any new ones that enter your system. Just lie back for the next hour and relax as your body slowly adjusts to the treatment.”
Jules sat up a little on the log. “Are you crazy? You can’t rid the biotags without completely destroying all my red blood cells.” Though he fully appreciated Alex’s neuroscience expertise, he still questioned his medical acumen.
“Don’t worry,” Alex responded. “I’ve done this before.”
“On who?” Jules indignantly rebutted, raising a suspicious eyebrow. “A dog, perhaps a cat or some other lower mammalian life form?”
Though his skin grew pale, the effect of the treatment did not seem to cause him any added discomfort or lethargy at the moment.
“On myself,” Alex quipped, curtailing further rebuttal.
Alex then went back to the aero-bike and took out a small black bag. Rummaging through it, he grabbed five vials of differently colored syringes and brought them over to Jules. “This will help your body heal faster from your injuries and prevent any infection,” Alex said, kneeling down next to him. “As an added bonus, it will provide a little boost of energy.”
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