Between Two Minds: Revelation

by D C Wright-Hammer

  J-A stomped toward me and got in my face. “You have the audacity to talk about choice when you’re literally exploiting his body? Given the choice, I’m sure he would neutralize you to get his body back.”

  I put my hands up and backed away. “Look! I get what you’re saying. Since the day I realized I was in someone else’s body, I’ve felt like a free-loader. But Charlie had a rough life. His last act before…becoming a host was taking his own life. Then he suddenly woke up to me. I tried to ignore him at first, per Tony’s advice.”

  Tony shrugged as I continued.

  “But I was compelled to confront his…our past together, but not before he went…dormant. It was the only experience I had with him where he seemed content with the world. He did make a choice back then, and he chose to let me live my life in peace.”

  She shook her head in disappointment, and then turned to Tony. “Does he even know why he’s here?”

  Tony’s eyes became wide. “I was saving the details for you.”

  J-A looked back at me and rolled her eyes. “Tony told us a lot about Charlie and you. The profile we’ve put together suggests he was right. But it was the things he didn’t know about that were even more fascinating. You’re special, kid. A unicorn of sorts. But we won’t know if it’s true until we awaken Charlie. The sooner we do that, the sooner you can help with the resistance.”

  “What resistance?”

  J-A scoffed. “Come on, kid. You’re smarter than that. We didn’t build this place so that mind-pairs could hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya.’” She shook her head. “Here. I’ll just show you.” She motioned for me to follow her.

  J-A led Tony and me back into the hallway and out of the medical area. We came to a metal, double door, and she waved her hand in front of it. The doors opened slowly, and we were presented with a room that had massive holograms and people who were processing data.

  “You see, Ryan.” She pointed to a holo of a boardroom with professional-looking people conducting a meeting. “Corporations like ADG operate with impunity. That’s how they were able to obtain Charlie’s body after he tried unsuccessfully to kill himself in jail.”

  I took a deep breath. “You mean Charlie never died?”

  She scoffed. “These huge conglomerates seek greater and greater profits by any means necessary. They’ve been responsible for many of the worst atrocities in history. Case in Point: After the big Pharma bubble burst some forty years ago, only two companies survived. Pharmanetics Global and Washington Medical. They both realized that the effectiveness of modern medicine was the biggest detriment to their business. A couple decades later, they were against the sheer concept of mind migrations until they got their hands on the sedative that made the process exponentially easier.

  “Anyway, the meeting you’re seeing on the holo is the continued collusion between the firms. We currently only have leads on the evil they’re cooking up today, but we know exactly what they did twenty years ago. They needed to remind the public of their importance as massive pharmaceutical companies. Did you think Spotted-Lung was some coincidental mutation of pneumonia? Not even close. Once they decided that a new super bug was the best solution for them, they had their scientists share notes while genetically engineering separately. Both sets of doctors landed on an identical DNA sequence minutes apart. Attempting to beat the other to the punch, they infected random people in the populations that were closest to them.”

  The revelation was stunning to say the least, and chills came over me as she continued unflinchingly.

  “As you probably know, millions died or were debilitated as a result. The cure and vaccine that they released years later…the lab trials had completed just weeks after both patient zeroes. But they had strict orders not to distribute it until seven percent of the entire world’s population was infected. Their projections showed this as the ‘optimal market size.’”

  I had to close my mouth at my shock. Then, I offered the first solution that came to mind. “Why not bring this to the government?”

  J-A cackled. “You fool! The government not only condones these criminals, they enable them. Officials take billions in kickbacks to turn blind eyes to the corporate assault on global human rights. It’s up to us to build an international, grassroots movement to fight against these injustices. Fortunately, we’ve made connections. We’ve been working with FPR.”

  It felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me by the mere mention of FPR. I went pale, feeling woozy. Up until that point, I was thrilled to be with the Shifter Alliance. But that all changed in an instant. “FPR? What you’re talking about is…treason.” I quivered. “That would make you…terrorists.”

  Anger swept across J-A’s face. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You really are ignorant. Aren’t you?”

  “What?!” I wanted to say more, but the boiling ire in me wouldn’t allow it.

  She looked at Tony with contempt. “I thought you said he was sharp!”

  Tony gave a half shrug and opened his mouth, but I was too pissed to let him say anything.

  “Hey!” I shouted. Everyone turned and looked at me, including J-A with the same callous expression. “I told you this is new to me!”

  J-A scoffed, putting her hands up. “Ugh. I’ll just show you.” She walked over to a data processor and put her hand on his shoulder. “E-P, bring up the stream of our overseas friends.”

  The processor tapped at a virtual keyboard. The current video feed of the apparently evil business people flashed off, and after a second, new footage played on mute. Armed soldiers were ushering what appeared to be civilians into a building. Normally, that would be a scary sight, but with a closer look it seemed that both the soldiers and the civilians were at ease.

  “Pan out.” J-A commanded.

  E-P swiped a setting, and the view expanded back. Crowds of people were coming and going to and from various buildings. It was reminiscent of rush hour in this country, but there was something distinct about it. The people didn’t seem to be anxiously hurrying like everyone always did here.

  “What you are seeing…” J-A professed as an expansive metropolitan was revealed. The buildings and streets were surprisingly clean. Then, I could see what appeared to be military vehicles and troops scattered throughout the area.

  “…is the city of Karachi.” J-A continued, “With over fourteen million people, it’s the largest city in Pakistan and the ninth largest city in the world. Fifteen years ago, it was barely standing after nearly two decades of war between its corrupt government, extremists, and this country. Two-thirds of the population lived in miserable squalor. Literacy was almost nonexistent beyond the elite. Life expectancy hovered around fifty. Infant and maternal mortality rates were some of the highest in the world. The people were living in a nightmare by anyone’s definition.” She sighed.

  Then, she perked up. “But it all changed when rebels from Pakistan, India, and China joined forces to fight for a common good. Through advanced diplomacy and some armed struggle, they overcame the existing power structures in their own countries and combined into the super nation we know today. Their top priority was to rebuild large cities that were destroyed by the war, and elevate the most destitute of their new republic.”

  My eyes were wide, taking it all in.

  “The resistance fighters you see throughout the city are not invading forces. They’re FPR’s civil assistants. They’re armed because pockets of FPR’s enemies still lurk, trying to throw the city back into chaos at a moment’s notice.”

  She motioned to E-P. “Play the footage of the different services they offer.”

  The video changed to what appeared to be a cafeteria where a line of people was served bowls of food. “FPR provides hot, wholesome meals to the hungry, so they can regain their strength to be productive. Next.”

  A new scene appeared in a makeshift classroom. “They enroll children
in schools to train them to be productive members of society.” She leaned toward me. “They teach the students five different languages, so communication won’t be an issue for the next generation. Next.”

  Several people in medical scrubs were examining others. “Doctors, dentists, and other specialists have become abundant since FPR removed the profit motive behind healthcare. They tend to the sick and mend the injured because they care, not to become rich. Next.”

  The screen went back to the business people in the office.

  I took a deep breath. Everything she’d shown me was contrary to everything I believed. It flew in the face of what the books, news holos, and other media offered on a daily basis. It was opposed to everything I’d learned in school, what I’d learned in history class. FPR were fascists who gassed their own people and did much worse to the civilians in the countries they conquered. It felt wrong to give up my patriotism based on one meeting with a random underground sect and seeing a single video montage.

  J-A turned to me, seemingly sensing my apprehension. “FPR does all this without requiring anyone to join their ranks. It’s what you might call an all-volunteer army. And as they liberate, rehabilitate, and empower more and more of the forgotten masses, their numbers continue to grow exponentially. Under FPR leadership, the civilians’ standard of living in every country has shot up near the top of the world. It’s because the Free People’s Republic is giving back to people one of the scarcest natural resources in the world today—dignity.”

  She took a step closer to me, her white eye glowing. “Now, you tell me. Which sounds more like terrorism? The destructive plots carried out by Big Pharma and multi-national corporations like ADG,” she said, pointing at the screen, “or the Free People’s Republic working with the poorest of the poor to uplift the entire world?”

  I looked at the screen, and then back at her. I took a deep breath. “Well—”

  Before I could respond, J-A’s netphone rang. She flashed up a holo. “Hello? J-C? What’s the matter?”

  It was the face of a man who appeared to be in distress. “J-A. There’s someone who wants to speak with you,” he gasped.

  He tilted his netphone to reveal that someone had their arm around his neck.

  Mortified to see who his captor was, I blurted, “Helen! What the hell are you doing?”

  She sneered and replied in a garbled voice. “Helen? Who the hell is that? I was minding my own business and got jumped by these impure freaks. What the hell do you want with me?”

  J-A shot me a confounded look. “You know this woman? Tell her to stop or we’ll have to use force.”

  I waved J-A off and turned to the holo. I knew exactly what was happening. “Natalie, I know you’re scared, but calm down and we’ll explain everything.”

  She was clearly bewildered. “How do you know my name? What’s going on?”

  An Alliance member jumped in and violently subdued Natalie.

  Anger welled up in me in an instant, and I got into J-A’s face. “You tell them to keep their hands off of her!”

  With little more than a flick of the wrist, J-A grabbed me by the arm and put me over her knee. I tumbled to the ground with a thud, more shocked than hurt. I looked up to see J-A roll her eyes and look back at the holo.

  “Send in the security team. We need to know our level of exposure.”

  Chapter 16:

  God, Backwards

  “Send in the security team. We need to know our level of exposure.” The fit, middle-aged man sighed as he tapped his netphone to hang up his phone call and switch to his preferred holo newscast. His office lit up.

  “Breaking news from W-E-N-O Twelve. An explosion late last night rocked the vacant building that formerly held Oceanic Laboratories, a one-time leader in the digenetics industry. Our loyal viewers may remember that the structure was abandoned over twelve years ago when the company was sued and found liable for gross negligence in the first-ever attempted human neural transfer, a procedure now commonly known as ‘mind migration.’

  As a result of the settlement, the company quickly declared bankruptcy, and its assets were distributed to other entities including some competitors. However, even though the building was only two years old at the time, it was already considered outdated, and no bids were even received for it. Without funding for demolition, the structure was simply deserted.

  Let’s go live to the scene with our field reporter, Jay Bright.”

  “Thanks, Karen. As you can see behind me, everything that wasn’t concrete, or steel has been reduced to rubble and ash. Officials on the scene haven’t concluded their investigation of the incident, but local Fire Chief Dave Emmitt did provide speculation on the cause of the fire.”

  “There’s evidence that a brushfire from the surrounding Gibson forest overtook the building. Once it penetrated the exterior of the structure, the current working theory is that it super-heated some old equipment, leading to the blast. Although abandoned buildings like this can be dangerous, it was fortunate that no people or wildlife were nearby when the explosion occurred.”

  “That’s all from us. Back to you in the studio, Karen.”

  “Thanks, Jay. We’ll continue to report on this breaking story as more information becomes available. Remember that at W-E-N-O, we know the news you want before anyone else. Karen Winslow signing off.”

  The man tapped off the news holo and sat back in his plush office chair. He pondered the situation for a bit, wondering if he’d done enough. He opened the top drawer to his desk and obtained a comb. Drawing it through his thick black hair had always helped him focus. After several passes, it did the trick, and he was resolute in his evaluation of his decisions.

  He tapped a button on his netphone before shoving it into his pocket, then popped up from the chair, passed the elevator in the hallway, and headed down several flights of stairs to the parking garage. His auto-car pulled up, and he got into the back seat. He thought about all the work he had left for the day but decided to put it off and just look out the window as the vehicle made its way out of the city. He nearly succumbed to a daydream when he realized he was slightly nauseous. He wasn’t sure if it was carsickness or the result of his view, but he had to lean back and close his eyes to settle his stomach.

  He inhaled deeply, and his mind wandered to his past. He thought about how he’d nailed the interview process for his company straight out of college. He’d modestly reveled in his ability to steadily rise through the company ranks and become the youngest partner in the firm’s history. Most important to him was meeting his wife at a corporate outing. Elizabeth Grant had been a widow to one of the founders of the company, and while she put on a good show for all the executives, eating, chatting and laughing, he’d seen right through her. It wasn’t typical grief either. He knew the nuances of her emotions which he’d seen in a previous life. They mirrored something more akin to disappointment than anything else. It was a feeling he was all too familiar with given his past shortcomings. He’d never let those go.

  Wooing her was one of the most satisfying things he’d ever done. While she already had a son in junior high, she wasn’t much older than him, and he had no qualms about joining a ready-made family. When he had finally convinced her to go on a date, it was obvious that she’d been changed by the passing of her husband. For a woman who’d inherited enough credits to live any life she wanted, she was awfully measured. Moreover, with all the investment opportunities being hurled in her direction, she seemed to wade through it with ease. It had been ferociously attractive to him, and he would stop at nothing to be with her. Fortunately, she hadn’t seen him as another random investment, and they immediately hit it off.

  “You’ve arrived at your destination, Mr. Garfield.”

  He was shaken from a light slumber by the auto-driver. Still disoriented, he looked out the car to see that he was in the parking lot of the toppled OL building. The tri
p had gone much faster than he’d expected, so he reached into the vest of his gray suit and pulled out a golden pocket watch to confirm the time. Once satisfied, he opened the auto-car door. He emerged with perfect posture as firefighters in full gear approached.

  “Hello, Mr. Garfield. Thank you for providing your personal touch in this matter. Please come this way to see our findings.”

  Looking ahead, Garfield saw other firefighters spraying anti-heating agents on several areas of the building that were still smoking. He was led through the frame of the structure where he could see through to the forest behind. As they made their way to the rear of the building, he stepped awkwardly on a piece of debris. His lavish dress shoes didn’t stand a chance, and he rolled his ankle something awful.

  “Ah!”

  The firefighters turned around, panic on their faces. “Are you all right, Mr. Garfield?”

  He gathered himself and looked down at what had caused his misstep. He leaned in and reached out his hand.

  “No, Mr. Garfield! That could still be hot!”

  He didn’t hesitate as he grabbed the object and stood up to get a better look. It was a metal figurine that had survived the explosion relatively intact. With a chuckle, he recognized the statuette and read the words at its base. “Have a Splashtastic Time at Ocean Land with Billy the Whale!”

  The firefighters were still alarmed. “Sir, we can dispose of that for you.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” He shook his head. “Please have this placed in the back seat of my auto-car.”

  One of the firefighters followed Mr. Garfield’s instructions while the other continued leading the way through the shell of a building. On the other side, they made their way into the nearby woods, and a large tent had been propped up as a makeshift office. Two guards with automatic rifles stood outside the entrance.

  The firefighter nodded at the guards and swiped the flap back to go inside. There were tables lining the parameter of the room, and four men in lab coats sat at them with holograms up, analyzing data that had been recovered from the building.