They knew of the pain suffered by those who contracted their viruses – they designed the pain. They knew of the suffering, both by individuals and by the authorities spending vast inefficient amounts of money to counteract their virtual offensives. And they knew of their power…growing. It was if their inner beast was about to break free of its imprisoning labyrinth, where its wanderings were lost in the underworld. They would soon become what they dreamed of – eternal in hatred and in sacrifice.
The sacrifice people were making in letting go of their freedoms as more and more systems came online to watch, to control, and to make offerings to them, was just the beginning. The sect too saw them as helpless, like lambs to the slaughter, and they would catch the meat as it fell. They would mince the emotions, the health, and the mindsets of individuals. They would carve them to pieces and stitch them back into whatever configuration they saw as necessary in order to vent their anguish, to force subjugation, and to compress authority based data into useless packets of distraction.
Viruses of unimaginable properties could now be created and the authorities were doing all they could to aid their own cause. So whilst they held weapons of ancient lore, they also created weapons that were mostly unseen - as was the way of darkness. With each attack, there came a reaction. Some might convulse and begin to froth, and others would bleed slowly until they died. Internal burning with its intensity unreachable caused slow agony, and the writhing of people was nothing to them. It was all part of their plan, their desire, to bring forth their essence founded in their beast, founded in themselves. One other thing they knew was the properties of the Torus, still missing from their beast’s crown. It was an amplifier that much they knew, and they wanted it so they could spread their dark wings across the planet, across the hearts, and across themselves, and bathe in their superfluous glorification of hate.
**********
HAARP came fully on line, with the booster system letting out a tremendous crack before leveling to nominal boost status. Simultaneously all who had identification chips felt the chips. It was hard to describe to each other as a feeling, as it was more like a lack of feeling. Initially many thought it was something wrong, but soon the authorities waylaid fear. “Today’s update has been courtesy of the authorities in their best efforts to maintain efficient operation of all nano technology hardware and identification chip data security. Whilst you may feel a little different, be assured it is nothing of concern, and that all will be normal. You can contact the authorities with any question via any one of the updating stations located near you.” What was to become normal was the way they now felt – the authorities would just need to give it enough time to sink in, and for the public to forget how they felt previously.
Asper, Lorraine, Tobias, and John all felt it too. They immediately noticed how it seemed to make them listless to a degree – as if their cares slipped away a little. John immediately focused even harder on their escape knowing that any weakness in his mind would let the implanted device do its work. He was almost finished and Tobias was no longer required for response to coded instructions. The three of them watched him as he worked. They had nothing much to do and a lot of their conversations had lulled through exhaustion of a point or too much deliberation over an issue. When he looked up at them and took a deep breath, they knew he had finished. It would now be up to planning for the right time to escape.
Procedures at the Facility had become standard due to the hectic state of the place, now so many had been arrested. “At least we are not the only ones against this,” Asper said just to make conversation. “I heard a guard say there had been thousands.”
“I bet they are many more who don’t make it this far,” Tobias added thinking of the remorselessness the authorities demonstrated. “And some who probably regret they did, judging by the screams we have heard.”
The daily guard shift change was scheduled for one hour. This was a time they had considered for escape, but John pointed out it meant almost double the number of officials would be at operational status within the complex. He thought it might be best during the night shift after the guards had been at station for some hours, and could lapse in attention for a moment or so. They would have to make a run for it – there was no other way. So long as the codes were remembered correctly, they could access the doors purely with speech overcoming the need to enter them manually. Normally, officers could pass throughout the facility based on a scan of their individual chip, but as a backup they could also speak the codes – the system would recognize their voice and the code, prior to permitting access.
Fortunate for them, John had managed to synthesize several voice patterns from guards who had spoken near enough to them to be able to record – something else he had reconfigured from the holographic projector. The voice patterns were identical and they would be transmitted via the voice recognition part they would take from the projector. He had tried it once and his voice was registered by the system as that of one of the guards. “Will carry data all guard patterns,” he said in code, referring to the voice recognition processor.
**********
The Fixture had removed his chip the same day he had been ordered to be given the injection. He had a device John had built in replacement and so was still able to function without an actual chip implant. Rather than destroying his own in the kiln, he tried connecting it to his holographic bank to see if he could find out more about its internal operations. So far, he had been unsuccessful and at the third day, he became frustrated, ‘Stuff it…I’ll go for a walk to clear my head,’ he thought.
As he walked around the inner city streets, he noticed several establishments had already closed. He decided to go to his favorite café, but it too was no longer, and wondered why his friend the owner, had not come to him for chip removal. Whilst standing there deciding what to do, an apprehension robot appeared out of nowhere just three feet above him. It immediately jumped onto the pavement and stood there looking at him scanning. It was scanning for the chip hardware…it did not move. There was something going on. Normally these machines carried out this task in less than a few seconds, but now it had been five seconds…then six, then seven, then… In the same fashion, it disappeared and returned to its position on the wall of the building. Fortunately it chose to over ride the hardware scan because the software scan showed The Fixture had a chip identity.
He decided just to return home. He had not seen, but heard just a little about these machines and now he had just had one right in his face. It was a monster. The insect like limbs and tri-sectioned body gave it a most imposing look as it stood twenty one feet tall. The lowest section was at least fifteen feet in diameter, and the head, if you could call it that, projected holographic eyes that were scanners, linked to its processors, and linked to the protein strings it used to make movements. The mid section was its articulation point with arms of carbon nano composite much stronger than steel with telescopic extensions.
Later as he was again looking at ways to see how the chip worked, he thought he would contact John for some help, “John,” he said aloud. There was no answer. ‘Oh well. I’ll try again later.’
**********
Contact with John and the others could not be established and they began to feel a little concern now it had been so long. There was nothing they could do, for they had also tried holographic phone communications to no avail. They felt powerless, and so Chan reminded them again of their focus, “They are like the water trying to return to the sphere. This may seem abstract to you, but think of its intentions to return to its original state, and these are what I am sure, our friends are doing now. From our experiences previously, we are close enough in relations for them to know we would be thinking of them. That is where we should focus, for to ‘feel’ powerless will bring powerless things. It is in their spirit to resist the forces applied to them and for their sakes we must recall this information as our own foundation of intentions and be confident for them to return.” It was the best he co
uld offer to keep them from going into negativity.
“Understand there are the energies yet to have been discussed. These involve the intentions of accretion of elements.”
“What are…?”
“They are gnomonic in growth where the surface energies remain similar to self. This is saying to you,” they all looked a little confused with this language aside from Jenna who knew of such mathematical properties, so Chan changed his angle. “There are basic truths founded in the elemental intentions of our friends and these are the strengths that build and add up as the progress. There resides the place for our focus.”
“Sounds like the Fibonaci equations,” Jenna added.
“Ah this is no fib or nasty,” Chan said, “It is in truth.” They all laughed at the speed of his wit.
Next morning the weather had mostly cleared, leaving five feet of snow around the house and across the fields. Jake and Raynie could not help themselves and so went for some cross-country skiing. The blanket of white extended across the landscape offering them vast areas of un-tracked snow awaiting their best efforts to carve lines.
It was easy for Raynie to see herself riding through the millions of geometric shapes, which were all in progression changing to another form – she had done this so many times before. She carved waveforms herself as she turned beautifully in the snow, taking the fall-line downhill – Jake close behind or beside her. Like the light snow that still fell at times, they too felt light and energized, and their treks back uphill on the skis, seemed easier than they had ever been, allowing them to talk without shortness of breath. Then back down again with each of them doing their best to find the sweetest line down the hill.
Chapter 45
All three space tracking dishes were engaged at the Tidbinbilla Space Center just south of Canberra, Australia. The authorities had them in full operational mode tracking movements above and far beyond the Earth. Since the early days when they were part of the network relaying the very first transmissions from the historic lunar landing, they had become an integral part of the burgeoning space industry. Now they were tracking craft and probes from Earth orbit, through the Asteroid Belt, and also to and beyond the furthest reaches of the solar system. The space center had unknowingly to most, become a vital part of the latest logistical offensive being deployed by the authorities.
“Control here – tracking station forty three. We are aligning dish two for booster transmission and will advise.” As the HAARP array came fully online, so too had this center, along with many others dotted around the globe.
Dish two was being aligned to receive and transmit the signals it would soon receive from HAARP, via satellite. Never previously had it been used as a transmitter, and so a technical team was busy monitoring all status updates as they engaged transmission technology for the first time. In parallel to its movements, the large radio telescope located at Parkes, a town two hundred miles away, was aligning its recently reconfigured dish to a coordinates setting for link up with Tidbinbilla.
The spacecraft transporting Agent Eight part of the way on his exile to the asteroids, had returned and was awaiting instruction eight hundred and sixty thousand miles from the other side of the Moon. A massive asteroid was on a calculated heading traveling at immense speed, and the ship waited. It did not wait long, as the rock soon appeared on their visual holographic scanners, heading directly towards them. As it approached targeted coordinates within the display, the captain was ready. He watched it approach the outer side of the target and turn orange – it was now in standby space. Then as the display went red at the target center, the weapons officer fired. It was not a vaporizing laser bolt, but a contained nuclear explosion. Both the captain and the weapons officer watched as the explosive device hurtled towards the rock, and then detonate. They watched as the asteroid changed its course, toward Earth. It was big, but not so big as to cause the end…it was the next part of the authorities’ plan.
Officials of the authorities from each nation watched the rock as it changed heading towards Earth – they were the only ones who knew the truth. It was now on a heading to strike in the Australian outback, far from people, but it would not be far from their minds. This maneuver was yet another step in generating fear amongst populations and with this, the authorities could step up the level of security and safety. In fifteen hours, it would serve as a distraction and as a means to convince them that what was coming was needed.
Designed to reflect space, the craft took on a predatory appearance as it followed the rock. Red lines of light within its flowing and reflective design were the only evidence of it being there. It could easily match the asteroid’s speed, and it did, following by just one mile.
“Asteroid on collision course with Earth. Stand by for updates from the authorities.” It was a flash news bulletin on holographic devices everywhere, and people immediately listened and began to fear. They had no idea where it would strike, no idea on how big it was, and could imagine the many horrors it could bring.
“It is not an extinction event. Repeat. It is not an extinction event.” The next message alleviated the general fear that turned to where, three hours later. Everyone was watching, everywhere. Nobody knew where it would strike yet, and so each still held great apprehension - for a time they became inefficient, so distracted as they were. Some bosses at work places were still focused on their tasks and scorned those distracted, ordering them to focus on their job.
**********
The dark sect could see the ship on their own equipment and they were impressed with its design. Nobody amongst their groups in Australia or in other parts of the world had any knowledge at all of such a spaceship in existence. As one of them fine tuned the data stream hack into the central systems, of which nobody in the authorities had any knowledge of, he saw the asteroid would rush past the Moon, and then it would land somewhere in a region five hundred miles to the west of their location in Australia. At this moment, the dark sect were the only others to know where it would strike – the authorities had not yet advised the population at large.
Large holographic banks throughout the room dominated as a few of their members were watching and waiting. The asteroid featured as the main projection, with data streams, art and forms of their taste playing at the sides. Atop was their horned beast and it was there waiting for the Torus. Its two horns hummed and were encased in static charges erratically flowing over their surface. It eyes were red, standing by…longing to be brought to life. It wanted the Torus and then it would be truly activated. The diamond would float in the air suspended by its horns – two horned Torus. The ring would complete the circuit and the beast within them would come to life.
Now, they too were distracted by the ship. They wanted it now like they wanted the Torus. It was of them, the design immediately reckoned with, and its intentions immediately read. Such a weapon was electric and so beautiful - they rushed and surged within, the desire to possess it growing exponentially.
Immediately they began to discuss ways to steal the spacecraft, driving each other into states of ecstasy and rising toward a crescendo, at the thoughts of deviousness they shared.
**********
Aboard the spacecraft, the captain had been watching holographic status updates during the course of following the asteroid. Everything was proceeding well and he felt a hint of pride for his command – the very first command for a vessel of this type. He considered himself as making history, now that he was captain of the first ever spaceship to be built on Mars and see action. The God of War planet had been chosen for its very secretive and distant location from Earth, and for its relative proximity as home to the development of a new wave of machines for war. It would not be a war of attrition where machines would float as wreckage amongst the stars, nor would it be a war of opposing forces battling across great tracts of land and sea. It would be a war of assertion, where the enemy was non compliance.
Now only two hours from striking the Earth, the first broadcasts came of wher
e the asteroid would strike. At first it was vague…somewhere in the southern hemisphere, but as people were glued to the holographic images, they slowly held them with minute-by-minute updates on precisely where. Relief turned to discussion about how unsafe the world was at the mercy of these space rocks, and many already began to consider what defense the authorities could provide for protection of the Earth and life itself.
The asteroid entered the atmosphere at incredible speed. It was two hundred feet long and one hundred wide. Heat began to sear its Earth facing edges, melting it and casting off fragments, causing what looked like sparks to fly, as millions watched on holographic vision. Then it exploded two miles up, sending a shower of hurtling meteors to the ground, and a shockwave for hundreds of miles. And then to most people, the event was over and they went back to what it was they were supposed to be doing.
But for some, it provided an opportunity and now that opportunity was drawing nearer. News broadcasts covered the story again and again, and so the people did not forget about the asteroid. This prompted many people to continue thinking about what the authorities could do to in preventing another to keep them safe.
He ordered the vessel return to its designated coordinates and the pilot immediately turned the ship in a sweeping arc on a heading back towards Mars. “Full acceleration,” the captain said calmly. The craft then sped on, quickly reaching its maximum speed of three hundred thousand miles per hour for a nine-day trip to the red planet. Cool ionic engines thrust a brilliant ring shaped glare outwards from behind the ship as they were engaged to full power – the protein strings proving to be one hundred per cent reliable. It looked like a star amongst the stars, again reflective of space.
First Light: Book one of the Torus Saga Page 49