by Chaim, Moran
Bahomi pulled a mattress and joined us.
“Here, we have something to show you.” He was holding a square of firm yet flexible paper.
“What I'm about to show you is top secret,” he said in a somewhat mechanical tone, slow and serious.
He turned to the screen and moved the slider to the beginning of the video. The first video was a high angle shot of the city perimeter. There was a man standing in the sun next to a carriage tied to a donkey, wearing a white robe. Bahomi started to comment on the video as it played.
“At 19:00 the Purist leader was standing outside the city's main gate. The negotiation was held over AM radio transmissions during the previous weeks. He requested food for his people in return for a cease fire.” The video cut to another angle of the surroundings of the city. “Our surveillance continued to scan the area for any movement.”
A video from inside the main gate showed the door rolling up and three sentinels traveling out. Two stopped just outside the door while it rolled down again. The third sentinel moved towards the man, carrying a large box.
“A month’s worth of food supplies were packed in a cold container. The man spoke to the sentinel's microphone and insisted that the amount was not enough—despite having agreed upon that amount ahead of time— and that he would wait for more. “
I could see the man’s face through the sentinel’s camera. He was young and slim. If you would only look at his eyes you would say he was in his thirties, yet the deep wrinkles next to his eyes and mouth made him look like he was fifty. He looked like life was a burden to him, but a burden that he was willing to take on and on.
The video was moving in fast forward yet continued to play.
“After an hour of debating the man was still standing there silent and motionless. It was about 120 degrees Fahrenheit and 96% humidity. Yet he didn't move an inch. The city council had decided to send another sentinel with more food. Two sentinels were still guarding the front, and a forth sentinel was sent out to the Purist leader to carry out the extra box. The two boxes were placed on a carriage tied to the donkey, and then the Purist leader started to walk the donkey away from the city perimeter.”
“Why did they do it?” I wasn’t naive; I knew something was about to happen.
“The northern city had disobeyed Padma. She told them not to negotiate with the Purists to begin with.”
The video continued.
“By the time the Purist leader had reached the nearby hills, eight rockets were fired from the outside the city in the sentinels' direction. And the main door hadn’t fully rolled up yet. At this stage, New Knaan received the emergency signal. They deployed combat drones as back up for the northern city, knowing that they might take up to twenty minutes to fly across sixty-five miles.”
I could see the explosions from the camera inside the gate. The main door was immediately shut.
“One sentinel was hit but remained functional. Three other sentinels were directed to shoot at the source of the rockets. The cameras detected multiple movements along the surrounding hills and fired there, as well. The guns were shooting almost at 180 degrees east of the city. More rockets were fired from multiple directions, demobilizing one sentinel, although it retained the ability to fire back.”
The video showed three sentinels scattering and firing at targets off the screen.
“Two-hundred yards from the main gate, twenty Purists exited underground tunnels and destroyed the three remaining sentinels.”
The video showed the battlefield with four smoking sentinels and laser guns exploding one by one. The twenty Purists were moving toward the inner circle of the guns.
“The Purists were wearing camouflage gear similar to ours and were hard to detect, so we switched to intruder override and began to shoot any suspicious movement inside the safe zone. One of them managed to blow out one of our emergency hatches and went inside. Five Purists followed him. That was the point where our drones arrived and started to attack from the air. “
The screen displayed four camera views of four drones launching missiles at groups of Purists who emerged from the surrounding hills. By now they were attacking the city by the hundreds. No matter who got hit, others continued toward the city.
“What happened inside?” I asked.
“These videos are too classified, we couldn’t get them.” Shanta said.
“The Purists kept pouring in, most of them wearing camouflage. Since it was dusk, they cast no shadow. Their leader’s stalling had been precious to them because when the city council was debating over ratios, daylight had been running out. The drones showed northern citizens running out of the emergency hatches, looking thin and weak. They ran and fell, got up and stumbled again. That's when the Purists got to the citizens. Some were shot dead on the spot. Some were taken into the attack tunnels the Purists had dug in front of the city. Then laser guns even fired at citizens who were about to get abducted. The drones then started to shoot the opening of the tunnels so they would collapse.”
Shanta was wrong, the people weren't numb, and their survival instincts were working. But they were working in the wrong way. It was flight instead of fight. Instead of hiding inside, where the citizens had a slight advantage over the Purists, the citizens ran right into the Purists’ trap. They knew they had to do something, but that something got them killed.
“At that point only a quarter of the laser guns remained functional. Then Purists began to draw back. The ones that breached the city were killed. The others ran out of ammunition and pulled back. Our drones were out of missiles as well but kept on circling the perimeter to send video feed.”
When it seemed to be over, no more shots were fired. I saw them. They looked different. More hunched, more bent. They didn't run but walked fast, a man and a woman, holding hands. The man was holding a gun, and they both had sacks tied to their backs. They escaped west into the valley. The drones’ video turned away from that direction and they went out of the frame, opposite of the Purists location.
My parents were alive, at least back then.
Then it hit me: I thought I knew what I was doing but actually I didn't. I thought I wanted to find my parents, to save myself, to get Shanta to like me and help the resistance to save the city. But after seeing the attack I actually didn't want any of that.
Shanta wasn't happy to see me.
Bahomi hated me because he thought that I was trying to steal Shanta and ruin his operation.
And my parents but were probably dead already.
I wanted to live, but this new world wasn't worth living in. I thought I wanted to belong, but besides the people who wanted to use me, I had no one to belong to. I realized none of the things I wanted mattered anymore.
No courting Shanta, no fighting Bahomi, no finding my parents and definitely no pleasing Padma. No more Roy the follower. I had to help save ten thousand of Knaan people any way possible.
“So what will it be?” said Shanta.
“Thank you for rescuing me.”
“Cut the crap,” said Bahomi, “say what you want to say.”
“I saved your life.”
“And I saved yours.”
“Could you please forget your stupid man pride for just a few minutes?” Shanta said.
“You were there just like me, you saw who they are,” Bahomi said, facing me. “Are you going to help us kill those Purists or not?” He yelled.
Shanta was looking at me impatiently. That was the million dollar question and I already declined the first time.
“I am going to help you defend the city.”
“Same thing,” Bahomi interrupted.
“It's not the same thing,” I insisted.
“Can you believe this prick?” Bahomi said to Shanta. “After we rescued him just now.”
“Would you just let him speak? Damnit!” Her face turned red.
Bahomi kept quiet and lowered his eyes. What was going on between them before I came?
“Why isn't it the same thin
g?” She asked me.
“I talked to the Purist before he died. I know what our guns are capable of. And I agree that the people are numb. But scaring them into joining you isn't going to help. You saw the video, there will be chaos. Most people in danger either hide or run for their lives. They will be helpless inside if the Purists get in, and they will be helpless outside if they run away. That's why we have to train them—”
“—I told you he was going to say something like that,” Bahomi interrupted again.
“Shut up let him finish,” Shanta said, owning him.
I decided to address Shanta and ignore him. I’d deal with him later.
“You told me you tried raising awareness but it didn't work. You tried to scare them and that didn't work either. Disconnecting all at once would just cause panic, and your mother would just reassure them that the guns are ok and they would all go back to sleep. Then she’d assimilate us all for treason.”
“How do we know he's not working for her right now?” Bahomi asked Shanta while ignoring me back.
I looked at Shanta, who didn't stop Bahomi this time.
“How do we know she didn't brainwash him when she visited him in the clinic? How do we know that he is not disrupting our plan just so she could stop us?”
I looked at Shanta.
“I'll train you so you could train others inside. And when the Purists come we'll be ready. We will be able to fight back.”
“How long will it take?” She asked.
“It depends on the people. At least six months, maybe more.”
“We don't have six months. I told you he's going to push our plans back,” Bahomi said quietly.
“That's the only logical way,” I said.
“You think Padma is that stupid that she won’t notice so much activity?” He lashed at me.
Shanta was quiet the whole time.
“I need you all to train them on the inside and command them. We need at least a hundred people, if not more—”
“—every day we don't disconnect the people is suicide,” Bahomi said to Shanta.
Shanta looked at him but didn't know what to say anymore.
“We can't gamble on six more months. And what if Padma assimilates us all? Don't you think it will look suspicious?” He asked.
“Not if you do it in small groups.”
“That takes even more time!”
“I’m just trying to answer your question.” I was already boiled up.
“If we disconnect everybody she won't be able to stop us anyway.”
“But I am trying to tell you that—”
“—It’s bullshit!” He shouted and got too close to me. He was trying to be the alpha but I couldn't let him.
“Shut up both of you. I can't think!” Shanta said.
“Let me ask you something, Bahomi. Do you exercise a lot?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think you could fight them?”
“Damn right.”
“Why?”
“Because I trained myself.”
“Show me.”
“Show you what?”
I lunged towards Bahomi with a right hook. He took the hit and came back at me with a left hook to the ribs. I blocked his punch and pushed him away so I could kick his stomach. He toppled down on his knees.
“Painful, right? Can't you fight with real pain? Oh yeah, you never actually experienced real pain in your simulation training.”
He got up and tried to kick and punch me a couple of times. I avoided his hits or blocked them. Every time I evaded I gave him a punch to the stomach until he could go no more.
He fell to his knees again, gasping. Shanta stood next to him and touched his shoulder. He waved her hand away.
“That's why you need to train for six months outside of the simulation. You think you're quick because it's in your mind. But your body isn't ready until you train it physically.”
Shanta looked even more confused. I turned to her.
“Same goes for gun training, by the way.”
“What if your idea fails?” She asked. “What if we can't prepare them on time? What if no one joins your fun activity?”
“What happens if your plan succeeds?” I replied. “Let’s say we block the invasion. Then what? You think all the people wouldn’t want to escape back into the simulation? The remaining Purists would still be outside waiting for their next opportunity.”
Again I was met with their silence and their wondering faces, which revealed everything to me.
“You didn’t even wonder what would happen if you were successful, did you?”
Bahomi raised his eyes at me.
“That won’t happen because they will not survive. It’s either we kill them all or they run away someplace else.”
“And what do you think?” I asked Shanta.
“I don’t think we need to stay here at all,” I said.
“So where would we go?”
“North, as north as we can; where we can still live outside.”
“And do you even know what’s out there?”
“We need to get there and join the rest of the free people. This place won’t hold us for much longer; the power grid is weak and we’re under constant attack. Put it together.”
“Who will accept ten thousand people? You don’t know what goes on there and who’s fighting whom. How many resources are there to share with others?”
“It doesn't matter now. First we need to win this or else we have no future anyway.” said Shanta.
“That’s sound a lot like the Purists, doesn’t it? Moving from place to place, consuming and exhausting resources.” I said.
“There are abandoned facilities, research labs, schools and hospitals we can use. My mom has friends that can help us get settled there. It’s been offered before.”
“You have no idea what you’re going for and what are the consequences.” I stressed, “You have this desire to destroy everything but no plan for a new order that you want to create.”
Shanta was devastated. I didn't want to attack her like that but she had to understand that I was most qualified to lead this thing.
“Fine, we'll go with your plan for now,” she said. I could see the wetness in her eyes.
Bahomi got on his feet and stormed out of the cave.
“We start tomorrow. I'll gather the others.”
I could tell she wanted to go after him, but I stopped her.
“How many guns do we have?”
“There's enough for a thousand years.”
“What about ammunition?”
“When they built this place they entered the entire world's crisis data into a quantum computer. It gave predictions of how many incidents the city should expect. We have supplies for even worse than the worst prediction. The only part not ready is the people.”
That’s another thing that fed Padma’s false belief that the city could survive on technology alone.
“And how do we mask our activity inside the simulation? I don't want them to suspect there's something going on,” I said.
“Don't worry. We have a guy on the inside.”
“And he is…?”
“He masks our digital activities and wipes security camera footage for us. That's why we can all meet here with no one tracing us.”
“Who is this guy?”
“Let's just say he believes in our cause. We're not just a bunch of kids playing war like you said.”
She faced the door, hesitated, and then turned back to me.
“Thank you for helping us, I know it was difficult for you to make this decision.”
Chapter 13
For a month we were all cramped inside the cave that turned super-hot after all the physical exercises. But hey, it was super-hot outside as well and we had to prepare for the worst. I gave close combat Krav Maga lessons. Personally, I hated that fighting system because it was too aggressive and lacked the beauty of eastern martial arts. It resembled the Israeli attitude: graceless,
without manners, cut to the point with no style. But it was designed to neutralize an enemy in the fastest way possible and we had no time to dive deep in eastern fighting philosophies.
My job was to make sure that our weaknesses would be lying beneath many layers of muscle and skill. If you want to be brave and fight in a closed narrow space, you have to trust your body and skills, not guns. Shanta, Bahomi, Toya and Dev’s posture were better, and I could see their muscles were bigger. Their gaze was more focused and calm, like snipers waiting for the target to appear. We ate so much bug-goo to maintain our growing muscles, yet it wasn’t enough, and I didn’t feel as strong as I used to back in my real army training. Luckily, the inside guy had masked the surge in food production data and smuggled bug-goo packs for breakfast lunch and dinner.
They hadn’t lain in simulation beds all day long, which was another part they had to mask. So they created their own avatars to play around in the simulation in case someone was looking for them. While the others sneaked in and out to the city, I stayed in the cave. I had one working gun with ammunition with me in case any Purist discovered the cave. I wondered how the Purists didn’t smell me after so many days of sweating and without taking a decent shower.
On the last day of the first month Bahomi caught up with me after we finished our session.
“If something happens to Shanta, I'll kill you,” he said.
“I'm not stealing her from you.”
I was honest. That girl wasn't stable; she tricked me into liking her so she could take advantage of my skills. She lied and manipulated me to become a soldier again. Not the ideal date, I would say. She was attractive, she was smart, but deep down I was still hurt.
He repeated his threat and then he walked back toward the city.
That night I decided to go back inside to take a damn shower. It’d been a month already and although I got used to the smell and dirt, I felt like I deserved a treat. Shanta arranged for the security camera footage to be erased, but I still I had to keep a low profile, and do it quickly.
I went back to the gym late to use the shower. It was empty. When I got out though, Isaac was there sitting on a bench and stretching. He was shocked to see me, and then he became angry. I felt like a teenager being caught doing something bad.