***
“Governor,” Jillian said as she suddenly popped up into Al Chipman’s Exovision without any warning or any acceptance of his.
“Jillian? What do you want? I’m busy right now,” Al said. He was currently in the main board room in a staffing meeting regarding the complications from moving the bureaucracy from the separate Rings to the Callisto base.
“I have urgent news from the sensor sweeps.”
Al was trying to listen to a holo-projection and this no name listing off a number of logistical problems they were now facing with the new seating of the government. The distraction was costing him time, and he knew he would need to review again what this guy was saying. Besides, how did she just appear into my Exovision without my approval? Al thought. That was not supposed to be possible.
“What is it?” Al said to Jillian.
“Gravitational sensors picked up a large localized gravitational anomaly about two kilometers directly spaceward from Ring Three.”
“Visual confirmation?”
“Coming in… Now. Patching through to your Exovision.”
A video file became available for him to stream onto his Exovision. He opened it up, noting that it was only just slightly set in the past. From the visual camera’s point of view, the space suddenly looked like it became almost blurry. It was like Al was looking from a curved piece of glass or as if he was looking at the clear plastic cup holding his water right in front of him on the table. Then, suddenly two large oblate spheroid objects came through. They were shaped almost as if they are huge ellipsoids.
Several seconds later, data filled a small area next to the shapes showing the object’s mass, acceleration, relative velocity, and dimensions. The ships were huge, a little over two hundred meters long. And they were accelerating, already matching orbital velocity for stationary orbit next to the Rings. A few seconds later, friend or foe links popped up onto the screen showing the ship’s designation. They were the Commonwealth Navy.
“How did they get here?” Al asked, suddenly not paying any attention to the meeting.
“Unknown,” Jillian responded.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Al asked, gasping at the fact that an advanced restricted artificial intelligence did not know something. “You are more advanced than anything out there.”
“You should know that my creativity is restricted, among other things.”
“What else are those ships doing?”
“Five fighters and a freighter sized ship are moving towards them.”
“What is your status?”
“Ready to launch on your command.”
“What is your production levels at?”
“You should check your grammar. Your nervousness is starting to make your vocabulary slip.”
“Do I have to ask again,” Al asked, cursing himself for giving Jillian too much of a personality. Yet, it was the only way to improve her tactical and logical abilities.
“Production levels are forty percent of optimal.”
“Well,” Al sighed. “Get ready to launch. Prep the ship for undocking right after my speech is made.”
“Yes sir,” Jillian said and Al closed out the call.
“Gentleman,” Al said and the no name in front of him suddenly stopped speaking. “This meeting is cancelled for now. We will continue later. Charlie?”
“Here, sir,” Charlie said, right behind him.
“We need to move up the speech time. Fifteen minutes for an emergency press briefing. Make the assembly in my office as we planned. We will be walking over there now.”
“Yes sir. Anything else?”
“Contact Trev, I want an update.”
“Will do.”
“That is all.”
***
Deep in the desert of what is still known as the Middle East to this day, sands started to shake. Huge concrete slabs just hidden beneath the ground were moving. Holes within the Earth were being shown the light of day that many knew would bring death. Hundreds of these sites were moving all at once. Both sides were operating and planning in accordance with one another, with each being led by the services of one hired individual.
Receiving updates every thirty minutes from Earth, Joseph could not help but to smile. His plan was coming to fruition. The politicians on Earth were playing into his hands. And even as he was receiving the classified Senate meeting, albeit forty minutes old as well due to lag from the speed of light, he was smiling wide as the split in the Senate was formed. Both sides were now playing with each other. But they didn’t know that he knew much more. He placed a call to his subordinate codenamed Trev. It was time to move to the next phase.
Chapter 14
Global climate change was the root cause of what stopped the Thermohaline currents, broke up the Gulf Stream and Canary Stream, and sent temperatures into an upward spiral. As the northern ice cap melted and the Earth’s average albedo shifted to the point where it did not reflect as much sunlight. Rising average temperatures and the shifting of water temperatures caused the climate to shift even more as well. Deserts began to grow at a highly accelerating rate. The stopping of the Thermohaline current also stopped the rise of nutrients from the bottom of the ocean to the top of the ocean, the main nutrient source for the most basic marine life, plankton. The extinction of hundreds of marine based organisms followed in a span of only a few years as plankton died suddenly, causing the predators in the food chain to die one link at a time. The lack of rainfall over land, pollution, acidity, and rising temperatures killed much of the photosynthetic single celled organisms left in the ocean and on land in the soil. Nitrogen fixing bacteria, most only able to live within certain strict parameters of acidity, temperature, and other factors, died from the shift of the climate. Other strains of bacteria followed suit. While this death of the plankton and bacteria is not permanent, it was projected to take tens of thousands of years naturally for the climate to rebound and for the world’s ecological system to rebuild. With the majority of bacteria dead, plants died from the lack of nitrites and nitrates in the soil. Soil is, by definition, a collection of certain minerals, bacteria, and a few other things. Without bacteria, the soil collapsed. This caused a collapse in the carrying capacity of the land and was the primary reason for the deaths of billions and the near extinction of humanity. Hydroponics was the only reason why humanity survived and is the reason why Arcologies use this method of food production to partially feed their population. Genetically engineered photosynthetic single celled organisms, hardened against the effects caused by the stale new climate, were released into the oceans for oxygen production and for reducing water pollution. Without these, carbon dioxide would have risen to toxic levels, causing deaths of all land based life that primarily used respiration. These marine based organisms were later tweaked genetically to be consumable by humanity, adding to the needs of the rising population that exists today. This, in combination with the production of the Earth Ring, is how humanity survived the decades following the Global Collapse and is how the human race is thriving today.
-The History of the Earth Commonwealth
“Officer Brut?” Admiral Jevins asked as they started accelerating closer to Jupiter Ring Three.
“Yes Admiral?” Officer Brut asked as he turned to face Jevins.
“You downloaded a crash course on the wormhole technology, correct?”
“Yes I did, Sir.”
“I was just wondering. Why can’t we use a wormhole to put Marines directly into the inner cavity of the Jupiter Ring?”
“The gravitational effects of the wormhole mouth would tear the Ring apart. If it was a spherical object, it would probably survive if the walls were far enough away. But the Ring would suddenly want to bend around a section of itself. That twist would most likely rip it into several pieces, since it is not designed to handle that type of stress. The atmosphere of the Ring as well would be sucked out into space.”
“Could a wormhole later be placed in the Ri
ng?”
“As long as it is anchored in using a Hub system. The Hub system would reduce the stresses on the Ring when the wormhole is in operation. The Hubs themselves would most likely always have the wormhole open at a microscopic level since it is more feasible to constantly maintain it then to have to constantly make a new wormhole.”
“I see, I see. Just like with old forges. Thank you Officer Brut.”
“You’re welcome Admiral,” Officer Brut said as he turned around back to his station.
“Captain, update on the fighters?” Jevins asked Captain Eru.
“They are on an orbital track to our location. Link up will commence in twenty minutes. Pilots will be switched out, and supplies will be replenished. The destroyer is being sent out towards a farther stationary orbit as a surveillance platform since it remains unarmed with no operational weapons systems.”
“Good, good. Then all is going along with my plan,” Admiral Jevins said, but inside he was worried. His plan was going too smoothly. Something should have happened already. “Launch the Marines. Do we have any updates from inside the Ring?”
“Communications are being patched in,” Captain Eru said and paused. Color left his face at whatever he was watching on his Exovision. “Uh, Admiral.”
“Yes Captain?”
A video icon appeared in Admiral Jevins’ Exovision. “You are not going to believe this.”
“Oh I think I will,” Admiral Jevins said and clicked on the video using his Mindcursor.
***
Darvin looked behind him as an explosion racked the air, sending a pressure wave reverberating through the inner cavity of the Ring. It buffeted him and made him trip slightly as he was walking through the alleyways. The smoke rising in the background could only come from the ruined building that housed the temporary headquarters for the Police. He thought of his fellow brothers, even of the ones that bullied him daily, the ones that ignored him, and the ones that listened to him. Almost all of them were there. Now they were dead. And now, the Rebels were continuing their total war rampage through the Ring.
Now a half mile away from the supposedly destroyed site, he was at the halfway point between the water treatment plant and the ruined headquarters. The civilians had retreated again to buildings inside. This time though, the second emergency in twenty four hours, he could see some people peering out their windows towards the smoke rising in the distance. Idiots, he thought. They should be seeking shelter. Or better yet, the best shelter would probably be in the park hidden among the trees. Right where his ruined car was. Right where his missing picture was.
Coming up to where the alleyway ended and a cross street was, Darvin stopped and peeked around the corner. Nobody was here, yet some trash was still on the ground. The cleaning droids still could not move the ruined mini vehicles that were stranded along the middle of the road. And now since there was another emergency signal in effect, the cleaning droids would be in their holding hangers and wouldn’t leave them until the signal was lifted. Darvin ran across the street and into the next alleyway. As soon as he landed on the sidewalk on the other side he tripped right over a small piece of metal.
As his hands landed on the ground, the mug he was still holding from Daniel's shattered. Glass sprayed across the ground directly in front of him and the area he was landing. As soon as he stopped sliding across the ground he brought his hands up to his face to clear the glass off of it in a natural reaction to the pain. Darvin forgot that he was still holding the broken mug handle. The handle’s broken ends tore into the right side of his face, instantly causing even more pain. Throwing the handle into the side of a building in frustration, Darvin activated a dose of nanomeds through his Biocomp and cut the pain signals coming from the severed and frayed nerves in his face. Cursing his luck and bleeding profusely from his facial wounds, his Biocomp also activate its chemical holding bladder to release temporary artificial blood cells to replace the ones he lost.
Darvin shot back up to his feet and tried to leap into the alleyway, only to fall again as his ankle failed him. He laid there on the ground, feeling like he got what he deserved for abandoning his fellow officers. But it was as if the true weight of that action had not yet pressed down on him fully. What would have his presence actually have done? Would it have been able to change the outcome? Darvin knew it would have been futile for him to stay, but that didn't stop the slight ache he felt from those thoughts. He pulled himself onto his hands and knees, knowing that the others he left behind would not be doing the same.
Crawling over to the safety of the alleyway, he brought up a timer on his Exovision that detailed when his wounds and ankle would be healed. He also noticed that the whole ordeal used up half of his available nanomeds. He couldn’t afford another injury like this one. His ankle was artificially reinforced, but rotational movement along a joint that didn’t support that type of movement still meant it was weak against it.
Lying against the building wall in the alleyway’s entrance, Darvin thought about his next moves. He did not have a floor map of the water treatment plant, and since the Central Net was down he would not be able to download one off of the Net. Yet as he thought about how to enter into that building, his thoughts began to trail off towards the picture of his father. As soon as he thought of his father, he also began to wonder how Exsid was doing. Suddenly, Darvin wished that Exsid was here with him.
***
“Charlie, let’s get this over with,” Al Chipman said as he stared into the twin lenses of the camera system in front of him. Good thing Charlie had not left yet for Ring Three, Al thought. I need him here more than ever now.
Seated in a high back chair, Al sat with his shoulders squared and set as broad as he could. A new flag hung behind the chair, one with Jupiter in the upper left corner with the little circles around it representing the colonized moons and each of the Rings. This was to be the defining moment of his career and set forth the stage of future relations between Jupiter and Earth.
“Yes, sir. Countdown in your Exovision now,” Charlie replied back.
Al watched his Exovision as the numbers counted down. They began to blink as it drew past the ten second mark. He paused just for a few seconds, knowing he would be creating a dramatic effect of tension. All around the Rings, the Central Net was restored and this broadcast was available for all to see. Even those fancy new ships of the Commonwealth would pick it up. He wanted everyone to bear witness. It was a shame that the politicians back on Earth wouldn’t know what was happening for another forty minutes, the time it took the signal to travel from Jupiter to Earth.
“To the people of the Jupiter System. To the men and women who have called the Rings their home. To the workers who mine the skies of our great planet. I have a sad message for you all today.” Al paused, taking a breath before continuing. “A tragedy has occurred on our third Ring of Jupiter.
“While it is true that rebels, once thought forever gone and left in the past, have come back briefly and have attacked the military base that the Commonwealth has stationed here. Many soldiers have died.” Al paused as he knew a video next to him would be superimposed onto the broadcast. The image displayed people dressed in marine exosuits gunning down the horribly outmatched police force of Jupiter Ring Three, as they tried to defend their headquarters in a last ditch effort to halt the explosive path that was sweeping through in front of them.
“But that does not excuse them from committing the atrocity of executing civilians and ripping apart our cities,” Al said as sternly as he could. Computer systems predicted that this way of speaking would have a greater psychological effect, while yelling would have done the total opposite.
“We have cooperated with the Commonwealth Marines in every way we could,” Al said, telling an outright lie that no one would know and now that no one would doubt. “And they repay us by taking our children and our homes from us. Burning them to the ground right in front of us and then slaughtering the only people who had a chance of protecting u
s.”
The image of the fake Marines firing upon the police was then replaced with the ruins of the path they just took. An image of an unmoving child lying in a mound of broken glass was shown, as well as pools of blood flowing from underneath some fallen sections of walls from the ruined buildings. “We will not be a part of a government that abuses us while we provide it the very blood it needs. We will not be a colony of the Commonwealth, only to be used and exploited and then thrown away like we mean nothing.”
Taking a deep breath, Al began the most important part of his speech. The tension was built. The setting was laid. Now the public was lured into believing everything he was saying. “As Governor of this system… No. As Governor of my people I declare our independence from the tyranny of the Commonwealth. We will not be used like a dirty rag. We will govern ourselves.
“The Commonwealth took down our Central Net to stop us from seeing the events unfolding around us. Your new government has restored it. Use it. Mark out where you see Marines on the public map. But do not attempt to engage them. Let our forces clear the scourge from our Rings.”
As the video feed next to him disappeared, Al stood up from his chair. “I declare the new Republic of Jupiter to be founded on this day. We will no longer be ruled by the companies of Earth. We are our own people. We will dictate our lives and our path. As I leave you today, know that your government supports you and will help you. The Commonwealth will be removed from our homes. Have patience, and be safe. We will come for you.”
***
The first thing Exsid did as the Central Net was restored and free for use, which occurred right after Governor Al Chipman’s speech, was call Darvin. The images of his fellow brothers being gunned down so ruthlessly rocked him to his core. He could only hope that Darvin was not among them. The call tried to connect, and finally did. Exsid let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
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