by Drew Avera
"Of course I am, but this is why we plan for these attacks. Ten years ago this city would have been wiped off the face of the earth. Because of our planning we are able to preserve ourselves. I understand if this is shocking to you, but most people here have grown up with these attacks being a normal part of life. It's a danger we have grown to live with, nothing more."
"Something must be done," Laurel said. "If Treston's army were to get their hands on weapons like our gauntlets, your city would not have any safeguards to protect you." I had not thought of that. I had been in awe of their weapons, but the truth is that our gauntlets could be much more lethal in the wrong hands.
"If those weapons are as powerful as you say, why don't you use them to help us fight the Faracon army?"
I looked down at my gauntlet as the mortar blasts sounded outside of the city. Fear trickled through me as I thought about returning to the battleground. I had been disoriented and out of my element as a fighter. That fear had crippled me out there and left me as a wandering target, but if we could defeat the Faracon army now, then they would be weakened before gaining access to the gauntlets controlled by The Syndicate.
"Alright, count me in," I said as I turned on my gauntlet. Kara and Laurel did the same, and we stood beside Harris.
"Alright, let's go," he said, turning towards the gaping hole in the wall and running out towards the menacing sounds of the Faracon army.
Chapter 10
The light of the sun was blinding as we followed Harris across the unusual terrain. I stumbled over debris as the ground continued to shake. Harris came to a sudden stop at the tree line and used his arm to hold us back, out of sight from the enemy scouts. The sounds of explosions were not as frequent now, but the threat of detection was closing in around us. I could hear some other men discussing their plan to fall back, now that they were low on ammunition.
"This was just a small raid, like we have been experiencing for years," Harris said. "See that—they're falling back into the rank and file." I looked to where he was pointing and could see large machinery being pulled behind the tree line and onto the main road that led to Faracon. "They are running low on ammo, but they still have their rifles."
"What's a rifle?" Laurel asked.
Harris looked at her, puzzled. He lifted his weapon, "This is a shotgun. The weapons that they are carrying are called rifles. Those are fully automatic rifles, which means they can shoot more rounds quicker than I can with this," he said.
I was mesmerized by the array of weapons available to the civilians here on Earth. The only people armed back home are policemen, like myself, who keep order and kill in the name of The Syndicate. The people here seemed to kill just as a show of power and dominion over another city. It was very disturbing to me what this kind of freedom would mean if this culture was on Mars. Perhaps The Syndicate never would have been in power if men like Harris were there. I looked up to see the road begin to clear.
"Are you ready to do this?" Harris asked.
"I'm not too sure what 'this' is," I responded.
"I want to kill as many of these men who are straggling behind as possible. Those weapons you carry are silent aren't they?"
"Yes, at least compared to those rifles you were talking about," I said.
"Alright, I suggest that you and Laurel take this side of the road. Kara and I will take the other side. Try to keep the cover of the trees between you and the road. If you can get a clean shot, take it. Also, as a safety precaution, I suggest we hang behind the army a little bit so we don't hit each other by accident," Harris said.
I knew exactly what he was trying to do. This was a tactic that I had used during a riot when a few rogue agents had started an uprising with the citizens of Archea. The matter had resolved itself fairly quickly then. Of course it ended with the rogue agents and a few fellow policemen killed, but The Syndicate was pleased, and that was all that mattered then. "Alright, we're ready," I said.
Harris led Kara across the street and they sank into the cover of the tree line. Laurel and I began walking towards the army. They had about a three minute head start on us, but they also had all of the heavy equipment they had to carry. I looked back to check on Laurel, she smiled at me, excited at the adventure. I honestly had been terrified earlier, but now I had gained my wits and understood the kind of army we were going up against. I felt we actually stood a chance against that kind of fire power.
It did not take long before I had a good visual on the straggling soldiers. They were going around a bend in the road, and were spaced a good distance from the rest of the group. I hid behind a large tree and went to take aim at them when I saw a laser blast hit a man in the head from the other side of the road. It was Kara who had taken the first shot. Another soldier had witnessed what happened and looked back to see where it came from before alerting his friends. I took the shot and hit him in the chest. The sound of his body hitting the gravel road must have caught the attention of the other soldiers, because a group of about seven of them came running around the bend with their weapons at the ready.
Laurel took the next shot, with a blast from Kara immediately taking another soldier's life. From their position the soldiers could not see where our silent laser blasts were coming from. The confusion on their faces reminded me of the first time I killed for The Agency. The look on another person's face when life and death were completely out of their own hands, but total control was in my own hands, was satisfying. I suppose I should have felt remorse for what we were doing, but honestly I felt vindicated by our actions. This was the army of Faracon, the same army that soon could be under the influence of The Syndicate.
Once all of the soldiers who came back to fight were dead, I began walking forward with Laurel right on my heels. "Are you alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine," she said. "I will admit, though, I feel a little bad about killing another person, but they would have done the same to us. I guess that's just the way it is."
I didn't know whether I should be relieved or appalled by her words. She was right that they would have killed us had it not gone our way. We walked until we caught sight of the rest of the army about half a mile or more ahead. Harris stepped out onto the road about two hundred yards behind our location, and I motioned for Laurel to follow me out onto the road once I saw Kara standing next to him.
"That was very impressive," Harris said, as we arrived within ear shot. "Thank you very much for fighting for us."
"Thank you for your protection," Laurel said before I had a chance to respond.
"I think we make a great team, Kara and I," Harris said, as he smiled at Kara. She blushed and returned his smile. I felt a little awkward witnessing the exchange, so I looked down at my boots, which were covered with dust. "What do you say we go ahead and head back home?"
"Alright," I said, eager to get off the road and back to the relative safety of being surrounded by four standing walls. We followed Harris as he led the way back to Midican. I could see several of its citizens surveying the damage to their city. Surprisingly, there were more of them than I had assumed there would be.
"Here we are," he said, as he stopped in front of his home. "There's plenty of room for all of us in my home, if you choose to stay."
"Can we?" Kara asked. She looked up expectantly at me.
I didn't know what else to say, "Alright," I smiled at her. Harris had proven himself a good protector and a good host, despite our first interaction together. "We would love to stay with you," I finished.
"Excellent," Harris said. "Come on in." He opened the door and led us into his home, which was very elegant. He had large plush furniture and shelves full of books. "Please, take a seat and make yourself at home."
We all took a seat on the large couch. It was very comfortable, more so than I imagined I would ever experience in my life. "You have a lot of books," Laurel said.
Harris walked up to the book shelves and straightened a few volumes that were out of line. "Yes, well that's because I'm a hist
orian," he said.
"A what?”
"A historian. It means I research history and try to find the meaning behind it."
"Why would you ever need to do that?" I asked.
"Because history tends to repeat itself. If you can find the pattern then you can see what the future holds for you. Do you know your history?"
I thought for a long moment. "I know the history of The Syndicate which we are taught in school. We learned that the Syndicate acted to preserve humanity and we all owed a debt to them in return. Of course I doubt the validity of that history now; especially after all we've been through."
"I understand the kind of people you’re talking about, and I think you're right. My own research has taught me the corruption that lies under the surface of what we are taught. Do you believe in God, Serus?"
I looked at Harris and could feel my anger rising at the thought of God. "We are taught that The Syndicate is God. The concept of a religion has been abolished for centuries. Why do you ask?"
"Because I was taught the same thing, until I was presented with the truth. Of course, we don't have a Syndicate here, but my uncle rules his city like he is a god."
"What do you mean by the truth?" I asked. "What truth is there?"
"Before we get into that, let me first tell you about our history. Are you willing to listen?"
I looked at Kara and Laurel, both of them nodded their heads, willing to listen. The way I saw it, we at least owed the man enough to hear him out. "Alright, we're listening," I said as we sat back and waited for him to begin.
Chapter 11
Harris paced for a moment as he collected his thoughts. I watched when he paused and ran his hand along the spine of a very old book and dust that had collected on the tattered volume sprinkled lightly onto the shelf next to it. Laurel grabbed my hand and smiled at me when I looked at her. I was caught in the gaze of her beautiful eyes when Harris finally spoke, drawing my attention back to him.
"I don't exactly know where to begin," Harris said. "There is so much history that is left to our imaginations that it is difficult to discern what was fact and what was fiction. I truly believe that what I'm about to tell you will spark more questions than I have answers to. I hope you understand that before I begin," I nodded to him assuring him I did understand.
"Whatever history you have learned about previously is most likely skewed. The only history I can hope for you to understand is what happened on Earth after your ancestors left. The threat of nuclear holocaust was very real when the world leaders decided to exile the rest of humanity here to Mars. Natural resources were all but completely nonexistent. The world economy was collapsing, and martial law dictated the state of affairs in many countries. The soil we are standing on right now was once a nation known as the United States of America.
"The United States was one of the nuclear powers of the world, but its policies prevented the use of their nuclear capabilities. The historical documents I have read on the subject lean towards the fact that most countries knew America would only use a nuclear strike as a last resort. As that threat reached a critical point, the world leaders sought a means to evacuate. It was not a matter of if, but a matter of when a nuclear war would erupt.
"This is the point in history where humanity found an outlet with Mars. They were able to tame a planet that at one point was not able to sustain life. Human ingenuity changed everything. That same ingenuity unfortunately could not prevent the devastation that was to come. The first strike began a mere decade after your ancestors evacuated. Instead of a nuclear strike as everyone was expecting, the strike came in the form of an airborne virus. It was known as the silent killer, and it proved to be effective. The principle cause for the strike was political differences, but no single country claimed responsibility. The most that can be speculated about it is that the virus originated in Europe.
"America may have been a melting pot country, but its foreign policies made it the number one target. Simultaneous strikes along both coasts went undetected until it was too late. The result was the loss of millions of lives. The virus traveled with the weather and eventually killed millions more. America was no longer a nation. It became nothing more than a wasteland. Other countries tried to retaliate on America's behalf, but within a matter of months the virus spread worldwide and the fight was over.
"The deaths of over four billion people were due to the viral spread of the disease. It was like a wildfire. These diseases, in turn killed at least a billion more people. What few survivors were left had a hard time rebuilding. Humanity left the technological age behind and entered into a primitive existence. It took several decades for the rebuilding to amount to anything that resembled life as it was before. Technology was a convenience that had to be built from scratch.
“Huge dams that held water at bay failed and flooded cities. This changed the landscape in ways that still exist to this day. Seismic activity resulted in large chunks of the west coast falling into the ocean, and neglect in some areas caused many cities to erode beneath the sands of time. That was until my great grandfather Ander discovered the riches of this historic period. He and a team of men uncovered many things that were buried for several centuries. Weapons that are primitive by your standard were leaps and bounds ahead of our time. What he found was a military complex that had enough munitions to dominate the world.
"My great-grandfather was not hungry for power, though he was hungry for knowledge. He labored day and night for a way to bring technology to this desolate area, and he was successful. Once power was available, he was able to use the computer data bases to discover our history and our heritage. The mysteries of our past were uncovered, and he passed that information to anyone who was hungry for it. He founded the city known today as Faracon. It was named after my great-grandmother.
"The city grew over time and welcomed traveling tribes seeking refuge and residence. Everything changed once my parents were killed. My father was next in line to rule the city when all hell broke loose. Someone had powered some of the electronic warfare devices left over from the American military. My parents were killed by the resulting explosion. Treston took power once my grandfather passed, and I grew up under his tutelage."
I was amazed by his story. It seemed that while Mars shot towards the future with an explosion of technological advances, earth was left in the dust of destruction. "That's an amazing story, Harris, but what does that have to do with God?" I asked.
Harris smiled at me before he continued. "That is an excellent question. God was not something that was talked about while I was growing up. In fact, I was sixteen when I first heard the concept of a God. Treston controlled everything, commerce, agriculture, and even dealings outside of the city were handled by him. In return, the people of Faracon were expected to revere him.
"Knowing about my great-grandfather's love of history, I decided to do research of my own. The library was run by an older man named Nathanial. I confided in him and he confided in me. He was my closest friend for over a year. I would ask him questions about history and he would help me find a book to answer my question. One day the concept of God was mentioned and his shoulders slumped. I asked him what was wrong and he only said that it was something not to be discussed. He eventually told me it was fear of my uncle that prompted his silence on the matter.
"It took me several attempts, but I eventually broke down and discussed this God concept with me. That's when he gave me this." Harris pulled out the ancient book and held it in his hands. "This is what the concept of God is all about, he told me. This contains the beginning and end of everything. I took it from him and opened it. The first section was called Genesis. He told me that the word meant 'beginning'. I was amazed at this text. I still am today, to tell you the truth. You see, God is the basis for religious foundations, and those foundations eventually led us to where we are today. I was terrified of the existence of God. I was terrified by what it meant until I read the first section. It is all about creation and the found
ation for everything. It really opened my eyes."
I looked at Harris for a moment, confused by this talk of God. The only thing we grow up to believe in is The Syndicate, and The Syndicate really did create life on Mars as we knew it.
"So you are telling us that there is a God?" Kara asked, breaking the awkward moment of silence that followed Harris' story.
"I don't know," he said. "The only thing I can say is that I am comforted by the thought of being created by a God, the thought that all of this has meaning. Perhaps it is comforting to me because of what happened later."
"What happened later?" Laurel asked.
"My uncle had Nathanial killed for corrupting me," he said. "Nathanial gave me only this one book, but it outraged my uncle. He grabbed it from me and tore it to pieces. This is all that is left of it. I grabbed it up and fled from Faracon, fled from the rule of my uncle. Ever since, he has been a thorn in my side. Days like today are a constant reminder I can never go home."
I looked at Kara and could see a tear fall from her eye. I didn't know how I felt about God, or whether or not God existed, but I did feel for Harris and his exile from Faracon. It seemed to me that his uncle ruled in much the same way that The Syndicate ruled: death to anyone who went against the grain. I felt a kinship to Harris because of this and I knew that as long as we stayed here, I would fight by his side and for his cause.
"What other things did they have at this military base?" Kara asked.
Harris thought for a moment before answering. "All kinds of things. Weapons, computer systems, nuclear power sources, things like that."
Kara jumped up suddenly. "What about nuclear power sources?"
"Yeah, why," Harris asked with a puzzled look on his face.
Kara answered, "Because that could be what we need to save the people on Mars!"
Chapter 12
Harris' living room was quickly becoming Command Central as he strew things across his tables and gathered up his writing utensils. "I spent quite a bit of time as a teenager rummaging through some of the old buildings in Faracon." I can still see it in my mind's eye.” He spread a large sheet of paper over his table and began scribbling. "The city is laid out in a large square. There are two gates per side. A river runs along the southern side and usually the security there is weak," he said as he made small 'X' shaped marks on the paper. "The good thing is the southern side contains everything we are looking for. This southern area was part of the original military complex," Harris began drawing other lines to represent the complex in question.