2100 AD: A Sly Pretense

by Tariq Saleim

“There is only one CEO who is missing in the recordings: the CEO of Technology. My guess is that he had them made. Then someone in his team got alarmed and passed it on to Ken.”

  “And I do not blame him. I do not think he was expecting this much trouble. This is very scary, Spike. We are dead.” Hawk got up from the chair and started nervously walking around.

  “Everything we know about the UPF is a lie. Also, who came up with calling it ‘D5’?” Spike asked.

  “That bitch, the chairman—who else? Lusty, vicious, crooked bitch. And what is her fascination with sleeping with multiple men at the same time?” The chairman’s private moments had also been captured in the recordings.

  “She can sleep with the whole world if she wants. I do not really care, but she should not play with us like this,” said Spike.

  “Poor Ken. But why did he not do something with it?”

  “Like what?” Spike struggled to think what Ken could have done. “Do you realize we are in the same dilemma as Ken?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We do not know what to do with this either.”

  “Explain, please. My mind is not working right now. I cannot understand your riddles.”

  “It is obvious that these recordings are not sanctioned by any legitimate authority in the UPF. We can try to return these to the CEO of Technology, but first we need to figure out a way of getting to him. He is no ordinary man and I am not sure how to reach him. For discussion’s sake, let us assume that somehow we can have access to this CEO. The moment we show him this, he will grab us by our balls and have us skinned alive. This is probably what he had done to the guy who passed on these recordings to Ken. We can try to convince him that we will keep our mouths shut and never talk about this, but he will not listen. If I were in his place, I would want us dead.”

  “Let us upload this on social media, then. Let the whole of the UPF see this,” Hawk suggested.

  “Before these videos were fully uploaded and ready for sharing, the intelligence agencies would find out. Social media, emails, messages, even our thoughts—when we are using those mind-reading instruments, everything is recorded and monitored. There is no likelihood of this being successfully uploaded and shared. They will find out the source of this upload and come looking for us. The nearest Militia office is only a few miles from this apartment. They can be here really quickly. We can try to convince them that we were doing social service by letting people know the truth, but I doubt that will save our lives.”

  “Let us go directly to Militia, then. Let us hand this over to a responsible Militia officer.”

  “If Militia gets this, they will inform the UPF chairman immediately. She will have the CEO of Technology arrested. At the same time, she will issue orders of our execution. You have seen the recordings; you know how they will manage this. My brother has already been declared an ORRF operative. You and I will be declared his accomplices. False evidence will be fabricated against us. An effective defamation campaign will be conducted by Media and then we will be shot in the middle of the street, like Ken. People—the very people we want to disclose this truth to—will thank Militia for killing us. They will feel safer with two ORRF operatives dead.”

  “What do we do, then?”

  “We do nothing at all. No one knows we have this. We do not talk about it. We stay careful with our e-mails, messages, calls. We shall never use thought-reading devices so that there is no pilferage of our thoughts into the surveillance system. We just sit tight.”

  “Is that even possible? How can you pretend that nothing has happened when you know all of this is a fake? We are living a lie. How can we stay cool about it?”

  “We are living a lie, but we are living. It is better than being dead,” replied Spike, taking a tough stance against Hawk. “Stay strong, stay calm, and don’t let Militia figure out that we are nervous about something.”

  “Why did Militia never arrest Ken?” Hawk was confused by the complexity of the web that had entrapped them both.

  “They did not have orders to do so.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The CEO of Technology must have alerted Militia about Ken, but he never wanted him arrested. He never wanted Ken to hand over these recordings to Militia. He wanted Ken to be afraid, not talk to anyone, and die in seclusion, so he had Ken followed. He must have polluted Ken’s records in such a way that Militia would take him as a suspect but be unable to confirm him as an operative. That is probably why Ken’s surveillance was done by Militia and not Counterterrorism teams, which are specialized units within Militia primarily responsible for handling organizations like ORRF. This CEO then manipulated the annual draws so Ken would be selected. For someone like the CEO of Technology, manipulating annual draws is easy.”

  “Did they never search Ken’s apartment?”

  “I am sure they did, but Militia did not know what they were looking for. They must have been looking for evidence to implicate Ken as an ORRF operative, but there was none. Ken must have kept this storage card on him all the time. Until such time that they had him arrested and strip-searched, the information was safe with Ken.”

  “Did these guys beat you up?”

  “Yes, it was Militia. My guess is they wanted to know if I was working with Ken.”

  “What did you tell them?”

  “The truth: Ken wanted to talk about corruption in the system but I did not listen because I was not interested.”

  “And they let you go like that?”

  “They knew I was telling the truth. Still, they beat the shit out of me, just to be doubly sure.”

  “And now they must be following you?”

  “I can safely assume that. But they are looking for material tying me to ORRF. They do not know about these recordings. ”

  “And this is why you stay indoors most of the time.”

  “Yes.”

  “Let me recap all this for my own awareness,” said Hawk. “You believe that the CEO of Technology had these recordings done. He intended to use these at some point, although you are not sure for what. Someone in his team got scared, saved these recordings on a storage card, and handed it over to Ken. Then this person disappeared. Ken believed he was dead. You also believe that he is dead.

  “The CEO of Technology arranged for Ken to be followed by Militia as a probable ORRF member, with orders not to arrest him. You believe he manipulated Ken’s records in such a way that Militia would be convinced that he needed to be monitored but not formally transferred to Counterterrorism. This was because he did not want Ken to be arrested and end up handing over these recordings to Militia.

  “Ken did not know what to do with these recordings, got scared, and went into isolation. Rejection of his business license requests was also a part of this, probably managed by our CEO friend with the help of relevant people. This CEO then manipulated the annual draws and had Ken selected. Ken died and with him supposedly so did all the evidence. Now the CEO believes that Ken did not pass on the evidence to anyone.

  “You were beaten up by Militia because they wanted to check if you were working with Ken and whether or not you are an ORRF worker. You did tell them something about corruption in the system, but that did not matter because it was not their focus of investigation. They were searching for ORRF operatives and since they believed you were not one of them, they let you go.

  “Now, you believe that you are under surveillance all the time and that is why you stay indoors. You also believe that we cannot go to anyone with these recordings because it does not matter who gets it, we end up being dead.”

  “That is correct,” replied Spike.

  “That is one hell of a conspiracy theory.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “What if you are wrong? What if Ken overreacted, and now so are you?”

  “What if I am right?”

  Hawk had no answer to that. If Spike was right then they were indeed in trouble. “How did we miss all this?”

  “Misse
d what?”

  “Everything that is on these recordings—the D5.”

  “It happens. Sometimes the best way to hide something is to put it out in the open, in plain sight. People miss it totally, like we did.”

  “This is very depressing.” Hawk stood up again and walked around in the room. “We have no future. We are just puppets, slaves; even worse. At least slaves know that they are slaves. We believe we are free people, exercising our free will to live. In reality, our lives are nothing but a modernized version of slavery. We are pets, depending on our owners for our daily meals.”

  “Sit down, Hawk. Your anxiousness will not help. This is what got Ken killed. If you stay this way, you will get us killed as well.”

  “Why did you show this to me?” Hawk complained to Spike. “Why could you not keep it to yourself? Why did I have to know about this?”

  “You said friends are there to talk to. Did you not?”

  “I did not know you were talking about this.”

  “I am sorry for dragging you into this.”

  Hawk was quick to realize his mistake. “I am sorry; I did not mean what I said. I am just a nervous wreck right now.”

  “I know.”

  Hawk continued to walk around the room, silently. Spike walked to the window and stared outside. It was the early hours of the night and the streets were busy. Spike wondered if someone was out there keeping an eye on him. He and Hawk struggled to adjust to their situation. Several minutes passed in utter silence.

  Hawk finally broke the silence. “Coco knows a senior Militia officer. I can talk to her. She can take us to him. We can show him these recordings. Maybe he will trust us.”

  “Shall I remind you that you broke up with Coco only yesterday?”

  “I know, but I think I can patch things up.”

  “You did not even call her to ask where she was going. She left in the middle of the night. Do you seriously think she will take your call?”

  Hawk thought about it for a while and guessed Spike was right. He had not called Coco and she must be mad at him. Her probability of answering his call was negligibly small. Her likelihood of believing him and helping him out, almost nonexistent.

  “Coco told me that in her last job, one of her patients was mistaken as an ORRF member. He was tortured and Coco saved his life several times,” said Hawk.

  “So?”

  “I think Coco and he are friends now. She was talking to him the night we fought. I called him a bastard, after which she gave me hell.”

  “Your point is?”

  “I think they are close. If I tell Coco about ORRF’s truth, she can tell her friend. He will be relieved to know the reality. Maybe then she will forgive me. After that, she can take us to the Militia officer who admired her. Then we can pass on these recordings to him. He can surely protect us.”

  “You are stupid. First of all, Coco will not answer your phone. Second, even if she answers your call, she will not believe you, the way I did not believe Ken. Third, if she believes you she will never tell her friend because she will do exactly what I am telling you to do: stay silent and talk to no one. Fourth, if somehow we get to this Militia officer who liked Coco, what can he do? Once he has these recordings, he will contact the chairman’s office, and I have already explained to you what will happen after that.”

  “Is there any version of this where we come out alive?” Hawk asked eagerly.

  “No, and you must understand this.”

  “You know that we cannot keep this a secret forever.”

  “I know.”

  “So we are a walking time bomb?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is bullshit!” Hawk shouted.

  “Do not shout,” said Spike. “I do not want my parents to come in and ask what is going on.”

  “This is bullshit,” Hawk repeated, this time whispering in Spike’s ear.

  “You do not have to whisper either.”

  “How am I supposed to live and work like this? Half the things we use are controlled by Mind-Reading Devices. If I stop using those, I’ll have to work with my hands. Do you know how much trouble that is? When was the last time you drove your car using the steering wheel?”

  Hawk had highlighted a valid concern. Modern-day living depended on MRDs and to live without them was tough. His point about driving cars was pertinent. If Spike had to drive his car, using the manual steering wheel, brakes, etcetera, he would not know what to do. Forget driving, he did not even know how to operate his oven.

  “We will have to learn, if we need to live,” said Spike, fully aware of the difficulty involved in the process.

  “And what do we tell everyone? Why have we suddenly stopped using our thoughts and now depend on our hands? They will think we are up to something. Who uses their hands these days?”

  Spike was exhausted. He had no answer for Hawk. This had been a long and tough day. How he wished he had not found the storage card. Life would be simpler that way. He realized why Ken had looked so worried all the time. He must have been scared of this thought theft as well. I am sorry Ken, really very sorry for leaving you alone like this.

  “Can we talk to Pepper?” Hawk asked.

  “About what?”

  “About all this. She is very influential, knows a lot of people. Maybe she can help.”

  Spike looked at Hawk somberly. “We are not that close these days. After Ken’s death, she has opted to stay away from me. I think she is afraid of negative publicity. It is bad for her career.”

  “What negative publicity?” Hawk was confused.

  “Ken was officially declared an ORRF operative. I guess she no longer wants to be with me because of that. She cannot be the girlfriend of someone whose brother was in ORRF. Besides, you told me she was having an affair with someone high up in the Energy sector.”

  “She is a bitch. I told you that.”

  “I know, and I agree with you. Somewhat.”

  Hawk nodded. He was happy that Spike had finally seen Pepper’s real face.

  “But I want to tell you something about Coco,” said Spike.

  “What?”

  “I was wrong; we were wrong. I think Coco is a nice girl. You should make up with her. She is a good girl.”

  “Especially if I compare her to your bitch,” added Hawk. “Pepper makes Coco look like a saint.” Still, Hawk halfheartedly agreed with Spike’s opinion.

  “We cannot go to anyone,” said Spike, changing the subject.

  Hawk looked at his friend, who looked tired and beaten. Unlike Spike, he refused to accept defeat. There might not be a way out today, but that did not mean there would never be a way out.

  “I am not going to live like this,” said Hawk. “And I am surely not going to die like Ken.”

  “What will you do?”

  “I do not know, Spike. I really do not know. But I can tell you this: If I am going down, I will bring down the system with me. I will not die alone.”

  Hawk walked to the window and looked outside. It was really late and he needed to get back home. Tomorrow, he had to go to the office. He needed to maintain a sane front to the world until he figured a way out of this predicament.

  CHAPTER 15

  Sector 2, Sub-Sector 2 (formerly known as Delhi, India)

  Coco walked out of the international arrival hall at the airport and looked around. She could not find Nile anywhere. She pulled out her phone from her trouser pocket and dialed Nile’s number.

  “Keep walking. I am standing behind the crowd,” Nile said after he answered the phone.

  “This is scary. Why are there so many people here?” Coco was overwhelmed by the crowd at the airport.

  “This is a Sub-Sector of thirteen million people,” replied Nile, laughing at Coco’s tense voice.

  “Do all of you come to the airport at the same time?”

  “Trust me, you have seen nothing yet. Now keep walking and you will see me soon.”

  Coco placed the phone back in her pocket and
started pushing her trolley through the crowd. It had taken a few days to convince her new employer to approve her two-week holiday. In the end she had to threaten them with a resignation. It worked and here she was, looking forward to meeting Nile. And his family too, she reminded herself.

  Her parents had objected to her traveling to Sector Two all by herself. She did not care much. She was grown up enough to take her own decisions. Back home, people had all sorts of negative images about Sector Two and its people. Coco had only met one person from Sector Two so far, and she was totally impressed by him. If everyone in Sector Two was like Nile, then she might just decide never to return home.

  As promised, Nile was standing behind the crowd waiting for her. He looked taller, bigger, healthier, and of course more handsome. He had only been back for a few weeks and looked so much better. His tailored shirt could not hide his strong shoulders, muscular chest, and burly arms. He has been working out, thought Coco. She felt a sudden weakness in her legs. What is happening to me? She had no idea why she had missed him so much, but there was no denying that she had.

  Nile waved at her and she waved back. She had flown all the way to a different corner of the world, just to meet this man. Why should I stay far and wave like strangers? thought Coco. She left her trolley and walked to Nile briskly. Nile was expecting a handshake, but what happened next took him by surprise.

  Coco hugged him tightly, resting her head on his chest, not caring for what he thought. Nile hesitated a bit and then placed his hands politely on her back.

  “I missed you,” said Coco.

  Nile was struggling to make sense of this sudden show of affection from his doctor. He could feel Coco’s body against his, warm and supple. He was slightly embarrassed at their closeness, but Coco was in no mood to let go.

  “I am happy to see you too,” Nile finally managed to reply.

  “You look really good.” Coco looked into his eyes. She was still holding on to him.

  “I want you to meet someone,” replied Nile and politely pushed her away. He pointed to a woman standing behind him, just a few steps away.

  Suddenly, Coco realized that Nile was not alone. She looked at a tall, athletic, dark woman wearing a body-hugging top and tight-fitted trousers. Her smooth skin was shining with radiance. Coco was disappointed; she had a good idea who this beautiful woman was.