EHuman Dawn

by Nicole Sallak Anderson

  “Did you note the hint of fear in her laugh?” he asked.

  Dawn smiled. “Oh yes, indeed I did.”

  Dawn sat down and Origen addressed the Council.

  “Obviously, they have a weapon of mass destruction,” he began, “We must empty the arsenals in all RCCs across the globe, and surround our cities with every drone, SpiderScout, transporter and any other heavy artillery in our stockpile.”

  “That’s my department,” Cane offered.

  “Move all forces out of the city to the perimeter as well. Now that Neuro is up and running, the citizens themselves won’t need guarding,” Origen continued.

  “They’ll need to be informed of this turn of events,” Dawn added.

  “True, a public relations Newsreel must be sent out via all devices. We need to let them know of the danger and what steps they can take to protect themselves. In addition, they need to be encouraged to take up arms and defend their city by our sides.”

  At that moment, a second TeleConnect request came in, causing the inhabitants of the room to jump.

  “Alrisha requests a communication,” the EC announced.

  “Granted,” Origen replied.

  The purple Hacker’s excited face appeared on the EC.

  “Emergency update!” she cried.

  “Yes?” Origen asked impatiently. After the threat from World Leader Donahi, he hoped Alrisha had good news.

  “Evelyn has revealed the location of Neuro’s heart!” she answered.

  “Wonderful!” Adam cried.

  “The server that houses the source code for Neuro is called Archion—a supercomputer located on the island of New Caledonia,” Alrisha said.

  “—Under lock and key at Guardian Enterprises Headquarters,” Dawn finished for her. Damn, why hadn’t she thought of that?

  “Yes,” Alrisha confirmed, “Evelyn has downloaded the coordinates of the island, as well as architectural maps for all of the buildings. It seems they have quite a compound going on there. Archion itself is guarded by tons of Guardians—as well as a MICE Tower with one hundred individual Lux registered to it.”

  “Hmm,” Origen grunted. “And how does she suggest we hack into this supercomputer?”

  “Evelyn advises her brother to pay a visit to Dad,” Alrisha replied.

  “And exactly how do I do that?” Adam asked.

  “Well,” Alrisha answered, “That’s your job. Figure it out. Evelyn says that if you can get to the island and plug directly into Archion, she can download the Trojan Horse from your database. It’s a simple piece of code that will grant her control of the Archion MICE Tower as well as root access to the entire operating system. She promises to transfer control to the Resistance as soon as we give her an eHuman body.”

  Ah, the catch. To give Evelyn Prince control of Neuro before Marcus had figured out how to Jump her out of the MICE system was a huge risk. No one, not even Adam, was comfortable with the idea.

  “I trust Marcus,” Dawn finally answered out loud, “He’ll find a solution, he always has. And when the time comes, we must trust Evelyn. She’s right. It’s time for Elijah to give Dad a call and finally put the brother and sister’s plan to the test.”

  She turned to look at Adam. He felt her gaze penetrate his very being.

  “Yes,” he agreed, “The Prodigal Son must return home. And—I want you at my side, Dawn.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The Office of the Magistrate had TeleConnect capability to any WG official in Gemetria. All Magistrate Walkin had to do was think of the person and the EC would request a secured call. Technically, Edgar Prince wasn’t an official WG member, but when Alrisha uncovered an entry in the Magistrate’s contact list for Prince’s office at Guardian Enterprises, Dawn and Adam weren’t surprised. Nothing in the eHuman world was untouched by Edgar Prince.

  “Since I’m the one his staff will recognize,” Dawn suggested, “I’ll issue the request.”

  “That makes sense,” Adam agreed. He was awash with feelings—excitement, rage and nervousness. At the bottom of it all was fear of meeting the man who had granted him life: once as a mortal child, and once as an immortal eHuman.

  As the EC came alive at Dawn’s command, Adam gripped her hand tightly and stared blankly at the screen. He tried to push all his emotions down, where he could hide them from his father.

  “TeleConnect request with Edgar Prince,” Dawn announced to the EC.

  “Who may I say is calling?” the EC asked.

  “The Dawn of eHumanity,” she replied, sarcastically.

  “Attempting connection with Guardian Enterprises,” the EC monotoned in reply.

  Dawn and Adam continued to grip hands as the EC delivered the request to New Caledonia, seven thousand miles away. Each millisecond felt like a lifetime.

  After a brief moment, a pretty blonde girl’s face appeared on the EC. She was sitting at a large oak desk. A green curtain, upon which the Guardian Enterprises logo was proudly centered, draped behind her.

  “Hello! Welcome to Guardian Networks. How may I help you?” she sang, her red lips pouting with every word. She looked like a movie star from the twentieth century. Her pale skin was the color of milk, her green eyes stared at them seductively from under thick, dark lashes. It was a classic beauty—but one that had gone out of style ages ago.

  “I asked for Edgar Prince, not his assistant,” Dawn replied impatiently.

  “I’m sorry, miss,” the girl behind the desk answered, “But Mr. Prince doesn’t accept calls directly. I need to clarify a few things. The link you’re using is Magistrate Walkin’s. Has he given you permission to use it?”

  “No,” Dawn answered, completely astonished with the line of questioning, “He’s not conscious at the moment.”

  “Excuse me?” the girl asked with a blank look on her face.

  “Enough chat,” Dawn growled, “I want to speak to Edgar Prince. Tell him the Dawn of eHumanity calls on him!”

  “The Dawn?” the girl asked, pouting and gazing out at them from under her bedroom eyes, “I’m sorry, miss, but the Dawn no longer exists in the mind of Edgar Prince.”

  “Well, do you see me?” Dawn challenged.

  “Of course, miss, but you could be an imitation,” the girl began.

  “No! I’m not,” Dawn interrupted her, “I’m the one. So please, if you would be so kind, pass me on to Edgar so that I can give him a message.”

  “A message from whom?” the girl asked.

  “A message from his son, Elijah Prince,” Dawn replied coolly.

  The girl’s blank face became alert. Dawn was making progress.

  “His son?” she whispered, “Elijah? But—Elijah is dead.”

  “Get me Edgar Prince, now.” Dawn demanded.

  “I’ll try, miss,” the girl replied, “Please hold.”

  The EC displayed nothing but the Guardian Enterprises logo. Time seemed to stretch out in both directions. A few seconds passed, but it felt like an eternity to Adam.

  And then, he appeared.

  The hologram image of Edgar Prince materialized before them. He wore a dark suit and black tie. His coal eyes glittered from his perfectly chiseled face. Adam noticed the man had taken an eHuman form that matched his original body in every way—minus any wrinkles, facial hair, freckles, blemishes and uneven skin tones. Essentially Prince had created an immortal carbon copy of his thirty-year-old self.

  As his digital image glided across the room to meet her, Edgar Prince smiled at Dawn. The two stood and stared at each other, taking in the fact that they were once again face to face. Dawn trembled.

  When she first became eHuman, Dawn wasn’t aware of the deception that had led to her birth. Instead, Dawn thought of Edgar Prince as the giver of life, immortality, and everlasting beauty. She’d spent many years by his side, enjoying his company and indulging in his affections. The revelation of his true self destroyed her. In many ways, it left her emotionally orphaned. In reality Edgar Prince had betrayed her twice: firs
t when she was Sophia, and again when he enslaved the world right before her eyes.

  She looked at him now and suddenly felt weak. What had she been thinking? There was no way she could defeat this man. His power was too great. His cunning was absolute. Fear and anger began to consume her.

  “Dawn,” Edgar began, his voice smooth and calm, “How wonderful to see you! Whatever would drive you to reveal yourself to me in this way, after all these decades of exile? Have you finally come to your senses and wish to return to my side?”

  Dawn couldn’t reply. His greeting only made her silent anger grow stronger and take root even deeper in her being. Adam noticed the shift in her confidence. He realized it was time for him to come forward. This wasn’t meant to be a meeting between Edgar and Dawn. It was a meeting between father and son. Adam squeezed her hand and then addressed the man.

  “It’s not Dawn who wishes to return to your side, but I!”

  Edgar turned to look at him, his emotionless black eyes searching Adam up and down.

  “I’ve never seen your face,” Edgar lied, moving closer to Adam as if to get a better look, “So tell me, how can you wish to return to my side?”

  “You don’t recognize your own son?” Adam asked.

  “My son? My son is presumed dead.”

  “It’s me, Father. It’s Elijah,” Adam answered, almost choking on each word. Admitting his lineage brought him a sense of shame.

  An intense look fell across Edgar’s face. So Dawn thought this Candidate was Elijah? What was her evidence?

  “Yes father, it’s me. Elijah. As you can see, I’ve found Sophia once more,” Adam spoke confidently as he nodded to Dawn. She smiled at Adam and he knew that he’d broken the spell of despair that had befallen her.

  “Yes,” Edgar replied with growing confidence, “I can see it in the way she looks at you. Elijah, my son. How many years has it been?”

  Dawn released Adam’s hand and moved to the periphery, leaving the two men alone to circle one another, sizing each other up. Adam was trying to recall his father, trying to reach back to some memory, anything that would trigger a connection. But the only thing his database would reveal was his own video feed, memories planted by Dr. Neville—not really his own.

  “Shake it off,” Dawn suddenly said via TeleSpeak, “Focus on the mission. Tell him the story we agreed upon.”

  “Too long,” Adam replied, “I’m not sure how long actually. I’ve been Adam Winter for quite some time, but only recently became aware of my true heritage.”

  “Really? Adam Winter is the eHuman name you chose?” Edgar asked. Adam nodded.

  For his part Edgar had always had a suspicion that his runaway son had Jumped. He’d searched for him in Neuro, of course, but Elijah’s name wasn’t listed among the 7 billion people who took the eHuman form during the ten years of the Great Shift. None of his Guardians had found the trail.

  But Dawn had pursued Elijah as well, and when the Guardians intercepted a copy of her list of Candidates, Edgar took the exercise seriously. For decades he clung to that list, tracking each and every one of them. In reality, he’d known Adam Winter for far too long.

  But was Adam Winter really Elijah? Dawn seemed to think so, but what made her so sure? Nothing in his own research had ever led him to believe the Newsreel host was his son. Edgar Prince regarded the handsome man before him, staring deep into his dark eyes. He sensed anger and a deep, cold detachment. Yes, this could be his son. In those last days before he fled, Elijah had often glared at his father in a similar way.

  “Adam Winter,” Edgar said out loud to no one in particular.

  “Yes,” Adam answered, “I’ve lived by that name for a long time.”

  “Then how is it that you now claim to be my son?” Edgar challenged.

  “It was Dawn’s people who informed me of my origins,” Adam began, “It seems that one of the first actions the Resistance took after it was founded was to seek out your heir. When they found me, they took me into their custody. When they realized they couldn’t get any useful information out of me, they had planned to kill me.”

  Focus, Dawn advised him cautiously, Keep true to the story.

  “But Dawn wouldn’t let them,” Adam continued. Edgar raised an eyebrow and glanced at Dawn.

  “And why was that, my dear?” Edgar taunted, “How in the world could you have had any attachment to Elijah—since we all know you lost him the day you lost your memories of your life as Sophia?”

  “Dr. Neville informed me of your betrayal before he died,” Dawn replied huskily, “Besides, love never dies.”

  Edgar remained quiet. Dawn stood staring at him, arms crossed, blond hair plaited high upon her head. She was the true Leader of the Global Resistance. In that moment, Edgar was proud. Dawn was still his finest creation.

  “She’s right. Love never dies,” Adam agreed, interrupting Edgar’s thoughts, “You may have forced her to become an eHuman, but you couldn’t destroy the connection. We both felt it. When her colleagues suggested disposing of me, she begged them to make me an eHuman instead. To allow me to live out my life as Adam Winter, planted in New Omaha, oblivious to both the Resistance and my father.”

  “And so they Jumped you and set you free, in a city near their Headquarters?” Edgar asked incredulously.

  “Yes,” Adam replied.

  “You wanted to keep an eye on him, didn’t you?” Edgar asked Dawn.

  She nodded fiercely.

  “Wouldn’t you?” she suggested.

  “Oh—that’s too sweet!” Edgar laughed. In spite of all the trouble she’d caused him, he found the entire situation amusing. The “list” of Candidates must have been created to throw him off. Yes, Dawn was a much more capable leader than he’d given her credit for.

  “You mock our pain,” Adam cried out, forgetting his composure.

  “No, really my son, I don’t mock your pain. I just find it touching that after two hundred years, the two of you would be reunited! It’s simply divine!”

  Adam knew that Edgar was trying to provoke him. He prevented himself from speaking the angry words forming at his lips and instead smiled at his father, continuing his act as the penitent son.

  “And what do you want now?” Edgar demanded.

  “I want to come home,” Adam admitted. It wasn’t a lie. He did want to come home and reunite with Edgar. There was no other way to get near Archion—and ruin his father once and for all.

  “And what about your lover—the greatest terrorist of our times?” Edgar thrust his thumb in Dawn’s direction.

  “She wants to come home, too. We both want to return to your side,” Adam explained.

  “In exchange for what?” Edgar asked suspiciously.

  “That all charges against Dawn are dropped. That we’re allowed to live in peace together in your compound,” Adam suggested.

  “And why would I do that?”

  “Because I’m truly sorry,” Dawn explained, “I only formed the Resistance when I learned of how you’d betrayed Elijah and me. For all these years I’ve been completely dedicated to destroying you, marching to a song of personal revenge. I had my troops descend on New Omaha so I could finally retrieve Adam and reveal the truth to him. Now that I have him back, the Resistance is nothing to me. Adam, I mean Elijah, is all that matters and I want nothing but to be by his side.”

  “And I want nothing more than to be by your side, father,” Adam added, “It’s my rightful place.”

  Edgar glared at the lovers. He’d always known that if Dawn’s search had been successful, if Elijah had been found, the boy would eventually come back to him. But he had never expected Dawn to be at his son’s side. She had a Resistance to run. Had Dawn really gone through all the trouble of finding Elijah just to have him back as her lover?

  To have the pair under his control was a dream come true, a dream he had long ago deserted. The Resistance would crumble with Dawn out of the picture. She was their rallying point. That she would give that up for love was
suspicious at best. But what did that matter? Whatever their motives, Adam Winter and Dawn could not bring any harm to Edgar in New Caledonia. They could only bring him more power, if he played his cards right.

  “I accept your offer, my son,” Edgar replied in a voice so low and soft, it seemed a whisper. “Come home. It’s time. I’ll send a HyperPlane to New Omaha. Have those heathen rebels hold their fire and allow it to land on the airstrip. It’ll be there tomorrow at three in the afternoon, Global Standard Time. Don’t be late. Only once shall I show my mercy.”

  “Thank you father,” Adam replied, forcing a look of relief, rather than fear, onto his face.

  Edgar paused for a moment. Had he noticed Adam’s insincerity?

  “It’ll be good to meet you, Adam Winter,” was Prince’s crisp reply.

  Edgar released the communication connection and his image vanished, leaving Adam and Dawn alone, wrapped in an eerie silence.

  She ran into Adam’s arms. The couple held each other, shaking with the knowledge that the deed was done. They were on their way to New Caledonia, directly into the heart of evil.

  They would most likely risk death, but they had crossed the Rubicon yet again. There was no turning back.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Origen stood in silence.

  Dawn had just given him a full report of their TeleConnect with Edgar. While the pair had managed to convince the man to allow them access to his compound on New Caledonia, Origen wouldn’t necessarily call the result a success. What plans Edgar had up his sleeve, Origen could only guess. Throughout the entire Uprising, Origen had dedicated himself to Dawn’s safety. With her agreeing to join Adam, she was now out of his control. And knowing Edgar the way he did, Origen was quite sure that safety was the last thing that Edgar had in mind for her.

  “We leave tomorrow,” Dawn said, a note of wistful finality in her voice.

  “Fine,” Origen replied gruffly, “Then there’s only one thing to do. Get your asses to Marcus for the proper upgrades and security enhancements. I need to know we’ve taken all precautions for your safety.”