The Dark and Shining Future

by P. F. White

  “Big monkey indeed!”

  # # #

  Adriana got to the top of the building as quickly as she could. The elevator was fast, and smooth, but right now it seemed absurdly slow. She ran through the opulent upper floors without care and threw open the door to the roof-top garden. They would have locks, she thought, and those locks will close the moment the newcomers get here. She looked around for something to brace it open with but all she could find were sculptures, art, a piano and- there!

  She ran to one of the stone benches heaved on it. It was heavy, but she could drag it with a great deal of effort. Eventually she managed to brace it in the doorway. She hoped it would hold, it looked solid enough, but she simply wasn't sure. She knew she had to save these people though. She simply had to.

  Adriana ran to the side of the building and looked down. For a moment she was overwhelmed by a sense of vertigo, but it passed easily enough. She saw the climbers now, strung out on two lines that were slowly making their way up the side of the building. It had been so long since she had done any climbing herself. It had been a passing fad in college, nothing more. She had never even really gotten over the vertigo. No time like the present, she thought to herself.

  Adriana called down to the climbers, but knew it was too far for them to hear. Then she heard it. The noise of the creature's roar reverberated inside of her skull, drowned out her thoughts and nearly brought her to her knees. It seemed to carry notes of something not quite sound, but similar to it. It seemed to scramble portions of her thoughts, turn her bones to jelly and make her blood race.

  She couldn't resist but look over at it.

  Her heart leapt with joy, quite unexpectedly.

  A forced perspective, she suddenly remembered, that bastard isn't even CLOSE to as big as the entire building!

  She laughed out loud. The creature before her was probably only about forty stories tall! If the people climbing could get up here to the roof: they would be safe!

  ...assuming, she thought, that any of them were safe in here.

  It was just a risk they would have to take.

  Chapter Fourteen:

  Hank made it back to the security office just before the guards there pressed a sinister red button on the console.

  “Whatever the hell it is you are about to do: stop it and let those people in,” Hank said as calmly as he was able. He also tried not to gasp for air. Running can often ruin one's dramatic intent.

  Allyn just looked at him expressionless. John sighed and leaned back. They didn't press the button though, that was a start.

  “Do we really have to go through this again?” said John, “We can't let them in. We-”

  “They are going to die out there!”

  “And?” asked Allyn. Hank looked at him. He considered his options. He could try and kill the guard, certainly, but where would that get him? At best he would be branded a murderer, have to kill other guards, and end up having forced his opinion against the majority of the tower. Those who had survived here weren't exactly enthusiastic about not letting others in, but many saw it as the necessary evil that had allowed them a chance at survival. Hank knew all about such things, but he also knew when to draw the line...or he liked to think so. There had to be another way. He took a moment to re-examine exactly why he wanted to let these people in so badly.

  There was a basic humanity to it, he supposed, and they weren't exactly short on space or resources here. On the other hand: even one really bad set of genes let into the tower at the beginning would probably mean generations of whatever problems that specific person entailed. He had no way of knowing what these people were carrying, either genetically or simply disease wise. His train of thought slammed to a stop.

  That was exactly why they needed them here.

  “Diversity,” he said to the Guards.

  “Excuse me?” said John.

  “If you mean genetic diversity: then we already have more than enough-”

  Hank cut off Allyn before he could continue.

  “I'm not. I'm talking about social diversity. Right now we have a society of smart people, healthy people, and people with really good skills or genetic traits. That sounds like the ideal way to run a society right?”

  There was another impact tremor, he would have to make this quick.

  “-But it isn't. Time and again history has shown us that elitism does not make the most successful societies, nor the most stable over the long run. Revolutions, class warfare, prejudice, these are all things that come from isolation. We need to have an inclusive society, because the perspective of the elite always becomes stagnant over time. Eventually we would create an organic class of non-elite here, it's inevitable, but that won't be until too late.”

  He glanced at the monitors. There was a group climbing the wall! He had to focus though. John was listening. Allyn was- well who really knew with Allyn?

  “-We need to include these people from the start so that our society here becomes used to including others who aren't like us. The damn list had a purpose, I will grant you that, but right now it is pretty damn unlikely another well prepared group like this is going to come here. Most people out there are probably dead or in such permanent hiding that they aren't going to be doing anything socially significant for a good long while. That means this may be our last real chance to start an inclusive society here and not just another gentleman's club for the rich and privileged!”

  He stared at John as hard as he could.

  “Come on John you know that is what is going to happen! You have to trust me!”

  John didn't say anything. He seemed to be considering Hank's words. Allyn though, he was about to push that sinister button.

  “Stop,” said Hank forcefully, “What are you doing?”

  Allyn just looked at him without saying anything. John shrugged.

  “We were about to shock them off the exterior of the building. We have an omni-directional lightning projector hooked up to the lightning rods on top of the building. It should be painless. About a hundredth of a second and they will be dead.”

  Hank opened his mouth to say something, but another impact tremor made everything shake.

  “Jesus...” he breathed as he saw the giant monster step further into view. It was a good thirty stories tall, at least. It looked unstoppable. It also didn't look particularly bright. It was watching those in the parking-lot, seemingly oblivious to their attempts to kill it. The creature might not even feel pain.

  “What about that?” Hank asked, “Shouldn't we deal with that?”

  Allyn looked at the monster in the monitor.

  “I doubt it can hurt us,” he said.

  John nodded agreement.

  “Can we do anything about it?” asked Hank. Every moment he kept them talking at least gave those people climbing the wall outside time to get a little further up. He didn't have a lot of options right now and he wanted to do what he could. The more he thought about it the more right it seemed. These people, whoever they were, were obviously resourceful, organized, and had an incredibly strong survival instinct. There was a good chance that if they survived this encounter, but didn't get into the tower, they would be exactly the sort of people to cause trouble for the towers later. This could be the start of countless wars and strife, many generations down the line.

  “We could blast it with the lightning cannon,” said Allyn without emotion, “I don't know if it will do anything though. The creature appears quite impervious.”

  “If we hit it in the eye it might do some real damage,” suggested John. Hank looked at them again. They were in the same relaxed poses they used daily. John was leaning back, Allyn sat poised but without direction. This was just another day for them. Outside, Hank could see the machine gunners opening fire in bursts, their bullets disappearing without apparent damage into the beast above them. The monster was almost close enough to attack them, they had to know that, yet they stood their ground. They were determined to give those still climbing all t
he time they could.

  If those men could sell their lives so dearly: Hank knew he could do something to help them. They may not be the best or the brightest humanity had to offer, but they were the ones willing to give it all. That had to count for something.

  “What about this,” suggested Hank, “If the climbers get to the top they get to stay.”

  John shook his head.

  “Not unless they are on the list.”

  “What about-”

  There was a flash in one of the cameras. The monster had reached down and scooped up the tank. The tank fired its' cannon into the beast's hand and the resulting explosion had mangled the tank's chassis, but done no apparent damage to the hand that held it.

  The beast threw the tank down onto the ground anyway. It crumpled into a useless slag of metal as it struck the ground. Concrete and metal shards flew everywhere. There was another impact tremor as the beast took a step closer to the tower.

  Hank simply didn't know what to do. He was lost. They simply weren't listening.

  # # #

  “Climb dammit!” shouted Adriana down the side of the building. Here at the top every impact tremor shook the building far more than at the bottom. She could feel the struts in the building swaying. It was almost like being on a ship at sea. The two tiny lines of climbers continued their ascent, oblivious to her and seemingly oblivious to the monster approaching them. Even at this distance Adriana could see they were heavily laden with supplies, and that some of them had babies strapped into carriers on their chests or back. They were moving as quickly as they could, but it was obvious it wouldn't be nearly fast enough.

  It wasn't even close.

  Adriana felt like giving up, she felt like breaking down and crying. It was all so terrible, so hopeless. She had nothing she could do. She felt like she had no say in her own destiny, let alone anyone else's. Tears began to flow, gently, as she watched the people struggling desperately for survival. That could just as easily have been her. She knew that. She didn't want to think it, but she did. Whatever happened: she knew she would probably be safe. Safe for the rest of her life. Good for her. She felt sick just thinking it.

  Then someone shouted from somewhere behind her:

  “There! They are at that edge! Move!”

  Adriana turned around to see a few dozen people emerging from the building. The people were scrambling over the concrete bench she had dragged to block the door. They were heavily laden with ropes, harnesses and what looked like hauling machines. She didn't recognize nearly any of them. Even in a complex this small there were still a lot of people she hadn't even met.

  Yet here they were, hurrying towards her as if by magic. They had the same idea that she did. Somehow they had gotten it all together. Somehow they knew they needed to save these people. Being human meant more than just survival.

  A black man with a shaved head got to the edge of the building first.

  “I need at least seven hundred feet of rope to let down onto them!” he called out to the others. He pointed at some of the men hauling the machines, “Get those winches hooked onto whatever you think can hold the weight. There: those big trees-”

  Adriana saw the ones he was pointing at and shouted:

  “No! Not those ones!”

  The man looked at her like she was crazy. She quickly explained:

  “Those are oaks. They look impressive but the roots come out really easily. It's why they blow over in hurricanes and-”

  The man interrupted her.

  “What are the strongest points to secure to?”

  Adriana looked around. Her eyes settled on the little gazebo next to the pond where the water came out. She knew it was built right into the building itself, so most likely it would have the strongest connection. She wasn't sure though, but it would be better than tearing out any of the trees from the loose soil.

  “I think the gazebo probably-”

  The man nodded at that and was already shouting orders. She watched as he directed teams to attach primary lines to the gazebo and support lines that ran deep inside. Whoever they were: they seemed to know what they were doing. They moved with efficiency, urgency, and intelligence. A few asked questions of the others and got short informative answers. They were clearly a team of some sort, but a team of what?

  “Who are you?” she asked the Black man. He glanced at her and in a second he gave her a dizzying smile.

  “Who else? Tech Support. We were watching the feeds and then Kyle there said: hey, let's go help those folks climb the building. So we went. Simple as that really.”

  Adriana realized she was smiling right back at this man. Hope had somehow filled her even in this dread time. Tech support, she thought, in the weirdest possible way: that makes perfect sense.

  Then she thought of the stupid goddamn list and her heart fell. Even if they got the lines hooked up, the guards would never let these people stay. One problem at a time, she thought.

  “Do you have any of those harnesses hooked up yet?” she asked the black man. He nodded curtly at her and gestured. Adriana could see where one of the human harnesses had already been secured to a long line. She hadn't climbed in forever, but she still remembered it well enough...or at least she hoped she did. Still: she had no time, so it was sink or swim. Adriana grabbed the harness, secured the first strap before anyone saw what she was doing, got the second one on just when someone was starting to wonder what the woman in the bikini was doing, and then without time to think about it, or time to get really really scared:

  Adriana grabbed the line and jumped off the side of the building.

  # # #

  Claire was in a ball on the floor. She was crying harder than she had ever cried in her life. Her throat hurt from the sobs. She was having a hard time breathing. Someone, somehow, had moved her back into the apartment. She didn't even remember that part. There were other people here, talking and shouting and worrying. She couldn't hear them though. Her head hurt. She felt sick. She couldn't seem to focus at all.

  It was all simply too much.

  Sven was on the ground next to her, trying his best to comfort her, but without really knowing what that entailed. He had no idea what to do in a situation like this. His gaze kept being drawn to the little cartoon people by the window sill. They were in all shapes and colors. Most were roughly the same: some sort of 1950's idealized cartoon man. There were also women though, and even a few in different colors. Some were obvious caricatures of national stereotypes. Some were pretty unrecognizable. There were dozens of them he realized. No one else seemed to be paying attention to them, yet he couldn't seem to look away.

  There had been tales of the little men who lived in the walls ever since he had come here. Some claimed they were the same people that lived in the interactive city projection downstairs. Some claimed they were fairies or gremlins. A lot said they didn't exist. Sven always suspected there was something to the rumors. He had felt too many eyes on him late at night, had seen too many things moving just at the corner of his vision. Now here they were. They weren't much to look at, but there they were.

  Sven was scared. So was everyone else though. Those who had helped him and Claire back into the apartment were all arguing, shouting, crying and in various states of panic. None of them were being very helpful. None of them knew how to deal with what was happening. The only one who wasn't scared was the baby.

  The baby just stared at the approaching giant monster, then looked back at his sister. Then he started staring again. The baby sat up with a look of abject determination. He grabbed the side of a dresser. No one was watching him. He stood up unsteadily on his shaky little baby legs.

  This looked so easy, he thought.

  The baby toddled over to the window, his first steps hampered by the shaking of the building as the monster drew ever closer. No one saw those first steps, but he didn't care. Every wobbling little step carried him closer to the window, and closer to the thing outside that was causing everyone such problems.


  The baby frowned at it.

  My sister doesn't like it, he thought. He knew the cartoons would hear him somehow.

  What should we do? He could almost hear them respond.

  The baby frowned ever deeper, trying to think.

  We have to get rid of the big monkey, he decided.