by Kyle Perkins
“Well, how do we expect to get anywhere if you spend the first half of every day just trying to adjust to the light outside?” she asked, then sighed. “Alerik, I’m not trying to be a nag. I’m just worried about you.”
“You may be not trying to be a nag, but you’re being a nag,” he looked at her with a halfhearted smile.
“Just get your shit together, Jacobs. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Aldain, himself, has requested to see us. Apparently, he is so pleased with your work that he would like to physically shake your hand.”
“Seriously? You just said that we have only been bringing in small-timers though… Why would he want to meet me?”
“I don’t know, maybe it has something to do with you being the face of the campaign. It could also have to do with the fact that even though we are only bringing in nobodies, we have captured more than any of the other elite teams. Alerik, this is a great honor… You need to sober up and make yourself presentable before tomorrow morning. Why don’t you head back home and get a good night’s rest? I’ll be at your place in the morning so we can head out,” she gently rubbed his upper arm.
“Okay. This is the last drink for the night,” he said with a smile before tossing back another shot. “By the way, where is Lucius?”
“I uh… Sent him to your apartment,” she said.
“Why would you do that?!?!” he shouted.
“Don’t get upset. I just… Didn’t want to take him back to The Union building. Not just yet. I want to learn more about who he is and why he is here,” her smile was apologetic.
“Don’t you think that they might notice him missing? And pretty quickly, at that,” he frowned as he scratched his head. “What if that is the reason they are wanting to meet with us?”
“It’s possible, but why would they have us meet Aldain, himself? If they wanted to imprison us, they wouldn’t ask. They would have followed me here and dragged us both out of the bar. It’s not like you’re difficult to find.”
Alerik mulled it over. She was probably right. The Union didn’t really have to ask for anything, they just did it. “I hope you’re right,” he sighed as he stood up from his stool. “I think I need to get home and try to get a head start on this sobriety thing…” He said with a chuckle before heading out the front door.
***
The ride back to his apartment seemed to drag on forever as he stared out the tinted windows at the brightly lit city of Liberty. To Alerik, it seemed like the city was alive. A living organism, and humans were the individual cells. It was usually buzzing with noise and traffic, especially when it was almost curfew, with everyone racing to get home before The Union guards began patrolling the streets.
The vehicle pulled up to his apartment dock and Alerik stepped out and slammed the door behind him. He walked over the balcony in a careful way, trying not to stumble. When he reached the doorway, he noticed that the driver had not left yet. It must’ve been obvious, even his driver knew he was wasted. Oh well.
He fumbled to slide the door open, then stepped inside his apartment. He sluggishly noticed a shadowy figure standing in the middle of his living room. He quickly flipped on the lights to see Lucius standing there with that ever-present smile across his face.
“Lucius, what the fuck… Could you be weirder?”
“Oh, well I’m sure I could,” Lucius giggled. Creepier and creepier.
“I do not doubt that,” Alerik said with a sigh as he collapsed onto his couch. “Just… I don’t know, please make an attempt to be normal. People don’t just lurk in the darkness, staring at walls, unless they are serial killers.”
“Well, apparently I am not a person by your standards, anyway. So I’d better play the part,” Lucius said before starting to move in a very rigid manner, while making beeping sounds.
“I get it, knock it off,” Alerik laughed for the first time in a while. He snatched a pillow off of the couch and threw it at Lucius.
“Sorry,” Lucius said with a smile as he extended his hand out to reveal a small piece of metal scrap in his hand.
“What’s this?” Alerik asked as he sat up.
“This was left for you earlier today. A man came here looking for you, but found me, instead.”
“What did he look like?” he took the piece from Lucius.
“He was a skinny man, dark hair, and dark skin. He didn’t say a name, just said to give this to you.”
“Well, what is it?”
“It’s a map of course. A map of the entire settlement with a couple places highlighted. I assume he wants you to go to them,” Lucius shrugged.
“No one knows that I live here except The Union and Velar…” Alerik said as he inspected the etchings. That wasn’t entirely accurate, though. Liberty’s Hammer knew. They took Velar. Unless they specifically targeted her. That possibility had crossed his mind when no ransom, no orders or list of demands, surfaced.
“Well, this skinny guy knew…” Lucius said in a matter of fact tone.
“Yeah Lucius, I have gathered that much. I am trying to decide if this is some kind of trap, or if someone is trying to help me.”
“Perhaps we should go have a look?” he sat down next to Alerik.
“Maybe we should. Someone is trying to tell me something. I don’t know who, but this is the second clue that was left for me by some unknown stranger. Someone is watching me,” Alerik said with concern on his face. “The last clue was helpful; I can only hope this one will be as well.”
“The last clue showed you how to build something, perhaps this map is where to find the components?” Lucius wondered out loud.
“You might be right. Whatever it is, we’ll find out sooner or later. But first things first, we have a meeting with Aldain tomorrow. So get some sleep, or whatever it is that androids do… When we are done with the meeting, we will head out to these places. Off the record, of course,” Alerik said with a wink as he rose from the couch and headed towards his bedroom.
***
The next morning Saskia arrived as promised, much to the displeasure of Alerik. He had a pounding headache due to his activities from the night before, and Saskia’s demanding tone and Lucius’ cheerful attitude were almost too much to handle that early in the morning. Saskia had woken him up by pulling his blankets off and throwing clothes onto him as Lucius walked through the living room, humming like a lunatic.
“Guys, really?” Alerik groaned as he begrudgingly dragged himself out of bed.
“Yes really. We need to be out of here in the next ten minutes. Dress quickly,” Saskia wrinkled her nose, “You smell like a bar.”
He used his dresser to hold himself steady as he tugged his clothes on, stealthily opening one of the drawers to retrieve a flask as soon as Saskia’s back was turned. He stuffed it into his pocket with a swiftness only the truly desperate could achieve. He then walked to the other side of the room where he had put Velar’s backpack for safe-keeping, and decided to take it with. It had always worked for her, maybe it would come in handy for him as well. Deep down he knew the action was more sentimental than practical, carrying the backpack made him feel like a part of her was with him.
“Okay, I’m ready to go,” he said as he scooped up the bag.
The trio exited the apartment and hopped into the vehicle. The car took off towards The Union building while Alerik stared out of his window, thinking about Velar and wondering if she could somehow see him, or somehow knew what he was doing. Nobody in Liberty really had a concept of the afterlife — not openly, anyhow — since religion of any kind had been abolished. So, most were left to speculate internally about what would happen when they died. Alerik was as clueless as everyone else in that regard, but he hoped there was something after. He just wanted to see Velar one last time. The Children of Old believed that when people died, they were reunited with loved ones in a paradise on Earth, not visible to the living. Alerik wanted to believe that, but Earth kicked them out for a reason. Something told him that Earth didn’t want the
m back.
Everyone in the vehicle was quiet as they pulled up to The Union docks. Alerik stepped out onto the platform where he was greeted by several guards, all of which were even more heavily armed than the last guards he encountered at the building. Alerik assumed they were Aldain’s personal batch.
“Aldain is waiting,” a guard said as he stepped out into the front. He looked to be the one in charge.
“Let’s go, then. Don’t want to keep the head honcho waiting,” Alerik said. It was painful to keep the sarcasm from his tone. Lucius and Saskia followed closely and there were several guards behind them.
The group walked into the building and onto the circular platform over the cylinder shaped abyss, just as before. Lights from tiny rooms and offices dotted the infinity under their feet. It looked like a city. The guard had directed them onto one of the platforms that usually descended into the lower sections, but this time it rose upwards.
As the platform neared the top, the ceiling opened up a slot that was just large enough for their platform to slide through. They passed through it and Alerik was instantly claustrophobic as they rose through a narrow tunnel that was barely wide enough for their platform. For several floors they stared at nothing but metal siding.
When the platform finally stopped, Alerik was greeted by a large room with glass acting as a ceiling. It reminded him of the dome itself. The room was luxurious and had vintage décor, along with paintings lining the walls. There were even marble floors and at the other end of the room, a giant, wooden desk had Aldain, himself, sitting behind it. Aemon was also there, standing at Aldain’s side. Alerik approached the desk with his companions beside him.
“I am Alerik Jacobs. You wanted to see me?” he was nervous as he watched the man behind the desk.
Aldain was a massive man. Well-built and athletic. He had white hair and his blue eyes were as icy as Alerik’s. He wore a strange set of armor. It was form fitting, with metal guarding the vital points of his body, but the arms and forearms had razor-sharp blades stretched from the wrist to elbow. The shoulders had giant metal spikes, as well as the elbows. He wondered if the knees had the same, the spikes seemed to adorn each joint of the suit. His gloves had a saw-like protrusion from the front which would cause some serious damage in a hand-to-hand grapple, no doubt. Something like that would slice a skull open with a single, well-executed punch. The suit was clearly crafted to be intimidating. He doubted that Aldain ever fought… after all, why would he have to? Perhaps that was the purpose of the armor, to protect Aldain, but also to scare away would-be challengers.
“Alerik. Welcome, please take a seat. We have a few things to go over,” Aldain said with authority, as he leaned back in his chair. Aemon watched on without saying a word.
Alerik took his seat, wary of the guards surrounding him in the room. If they wanted to kill him today, he was fucked. “Why was I brought here? Are you upset with my performance?” he asked.
“No, of course not. You have done us a great service, though you should slow down on the drinking a bit,” he said flatly. “I brought you here to discuss your friend, Lucius. We also need to go over some disturbing news we have received regarding imminent attacks on the building.”
“Yeah, I kind of assumed this might be about Lucius. I apologize for taking him from his duties, but he has been a tremendous help to me and Saskia during our investigations. I will take full responsibility for his absence.”
“Do not worry about that. The reason I wanted to talk to you, is you no doubt know by now that Lucius is not normal,” Aldain paused for confirmation from Alerik.
Alerik thought about lying and acting like he had no idea what Aldain was talking about, but he knew the man was smarter than that. Playing dumb would likely just piss him off.
“Yes, I’ve noticed he is ‘different’… During one of our chases, he was attacked and his chest was sliced open,” he hoped that would be enough to satisfy Aldain.
“So you have seen that our friend, Lucius, doesn’t bleed,” he said with a chuckle. “Yes, Lucius is an android. A robot made to look human, as I am all too sure you have figured out.”
“What is the purpose or need for a robot to appear to be a human?” he came right out with the question that had burned his mind since he saw the wires in Lucian’s chest.
“I could lie to you, and tell you it is so humans can work alongside robots without feeling uneasy, that it is just for comfort… but that’s not the truth. Alerik, you’re here because I want to bring you and Saskia into the family,” Aldain said, his tone had grown ominous.
“That didn’t really answer the question,” Alerik snapped before realizing that it came off as rude. He hoped Aldain didn’t take offense. He speedily changed the subject, “The family? What does that mean?”
“The true purpose of The Union is not to look out for the best interest of all men, as I am sure you have noticed,” he said as he rose from his desk and started a slow pace through the room. “The true purpose of The Union is to ensure the best of humanity survive. We want the best genes passed along to the next generation, so that in a thousand years, humanity is represented by the intelligent, the athletic, and the beautiful. Saskia has proven herself worthy of this circle as of late, and you, Alerik… I think you were born into the wrong class altogether.”
“What about the people deemed to have inferior genes?” he asked, hesitantly. He had a feeling where Aldain was going with his speech.
“The future will depend on us, the chosen few, to rebuild. If we continue to pass on inferior genes, we will be making the same mistakes our forefathers made on Earth. When they came to Mars they had a vision, an idea of how things should be. That is why they gathered the best that humanity had to offer, and left the rest to perish. They hoped to rebuild here and create a utopia,” he sat on his desk in front of Alerik. He noticed there were spikes on the knees, after all.
“This is far from a utopia.”
“Precisely. We want the same thing. We in the family want complete equality, and for everyone to be of the same class. That is why we do this. One day the inferior genes will be scorched from this rock and all that will be left are the absolute best, and only then can we be equal. That is why we have built these androids. They will, one day – very soon – replace all of the miners down below, and the farmers past the wall. Then, all that will be left is the best of the best within the Diamond District. A utopia free from the burden of work. A place where every desire is met, from perpetual relaxation, to physical gratification. Meanwhile, additional androids will work tirelessly to extend the dome, eventually covering the entire planet until there is no need for a dome at all. We want to rebuild Earth completely, right here,” he said with a smile.
Initially, Alerik toyed with the idea that maybe Aldain was right. His vision of the future sounded amazing for those who would survive to see it. The thought of this hypothetical, perfect world was definitely enticing… except the part where thousands of innocent people would die to achieve it. There had to be a way around that, though, he could tell that Aldain wouldn’t be interested in entertaining the idea.
He wondered why everything had to be so black and white with all of these groups. Liberty’s Hammer was undoubtedly evil, but he could now understand why they were fighting so hard to stop The Union. He thought back to the miners he grew up with, all of the families that would perish if The Union’s dreams were realized. He thought about the Children of Old, Soran and Cinine and Valek and all the others he had formed bonds with in such a short time with them. Aldain’s future sounded great, but not if he couldn’t share that world with the people he cared about.
He knew they would likely kill him on the spot if he said he opposed the idea, so he decided to play along. “That sounds… incredible,” He said. Speaking the words made his stomach churn.
“I’m glad you see it that way, Alerik. We want to move you into the Diamond District as soon as possible. We have heard reports that Liberty’s Hammer is planning an a
ttack on this very building, and soon. We will need all of the manpower we have for one last push, and then we will finally end this scourge once and for all,” Aldain grabbed a bottle filled with a dark liquid and poured a couple of glasses. He handed one to Alerik.
“The Diamond District. Wow. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would ever have a home there,” Alerik took the drink from Aldain’s hand and sipped it tentatively, “What is this stuff?”
“That is called ‘whiskey.’ It was a popular drink back on Earth,” Aldain grinned.
“Earth? How do you have a bottle of it? It must be hundreds of years old,” he looked at the glass in astonishment.
“I have my ways. It’s a perk to being in the family. One of many, as you will soon come to find out,” he said as he returned to the seat behind his desk.
“So, tell me about this attack. What are we doing to prepare, and how can I help?” Alerik asked. The pull of this incredible life laid out in front of him was strong, but he could not betray his friends and all of the people he had grown up with, all those people who were just like him up until a few short weeks ago, for the sake of these assholes and the luxurious towers that they had locked themselves away in.
Besides, he wasn’t stupid. He knew the only reason they gave a single fuck about him was because he was really good at getting rid of their enemies. Where had they been when he was eating Life Bars in a shack with one light bulb? They had been in their towers, planning the extinction of all of his people.
“We will be increasing security. Our guards that are living in the Ruby District will be pulled in to guard the building. We will leave the Ruby District as a barrier between us and Liberty’s Hammer. It will become a ghost town, where the final war against them will be waged. All of our people will be in this building, secure and well protected. And even if Liberty’s Hammer somehow makes it through the Ruby District and magically kills all of my guards, I have another surprise for them,” he said with a chuckle.