by Paul Ormond
“No kidding, I’m 52 and I’m not even close to retiring. What’s going on in this world?” Robert scoffed. “Now, people, who wants to take on Sergeant McDavid?”
“I do, sir,” said a young woman from the back.
“Excuse me, what do we have here?” Robert said.
“Agent Babcock, sir. Natalie Babcock,” the young woman said.
“What outfit were you with formerly?” Robert asked.
“Intelligence, sir,” Natalie responded.
“And what intelligence is that?” Robert said.
“Central Intelligence, sir.” Natalie said with a straight face.
“Oh, did you hear that everybody? Central Intelligence. The CIA. We’ve got brawn versus brains live for you in Building Three of MindHIve headquarters. Get your popcorn ready everybody because this is gonna be a show,” Robert yelled. “McDavid, Babcock, engage your devices. Let’s get this party started.” The two mercenaries walked out to the center of the room and engaged their devices. They slowly rose into the air and squared off against each other.
“McDavid, are you ready?” Robert shouted.
“Yes sir,” said McDavid.
“Babcock, are you ready?” Robert shouted.
“Absolutely, sir,” Babcock responded.
“Ok then, let’s get going. Soldiers engage,” Robert hollered.
McDavid and Babcock began circling each other in the air as the other soldiers hooted and hollered from below. McDavid charged first. He came forward to strike, but Babcock easily deflected the blow. McDavid continued to strike away, but he couldn’t break the defenses of the much smaller woman. As McDavid continued to strike, Babcock began to counter attack. Her blows caught the bigger man off guard and he was sent stumbling back. His anger began to show on his face as he was unable to penetrate his opponent’s defense. Natalie continued to deflect his blows and counter punches until the big soldier started to swing recklessly. Natalie stepped back defensively as McDavid swung at her. Then, as he took a big swing, she stepped up and to the side and swung down upon the soldier, striking him in the back of the head. The red light lit up the room and the fight was over. Both soldiers descended to the ground and Robert cheered and clapped loudly.
“That was beyond impressive. Babcock, you are a fearless warrior. McDavid, well-fought. Come on everybody that was amazing,” Robert shouted as the soldiers cheered loudly.
“Ok, who’s next?” Robert said.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The afternoon light glittered across the pond. SoHee crouched beside the water and peered into the murky depths, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything hiding in the water. Behind her, loomed the headquarters of DH Incorporated. She had made it a daily habit to stop at this pond on her way to the laboratory after school. When she was younger, she wore rain boots every day, no matter what, in case she saw some water that needed exploring. After kids started to tease her, she would pack her boots into a plastic bag and carry them in her backpack. Even as a high school student, she kept her boots with her. People would often stare at the girl wading into the murky water as they walked along the bridge above the pond, but SoHee didn’t care. Let them stare, she thought. They don’t know what they are missing.
That afternoon SoHee didn’t put on her boots. She just stared into the water. She didn’t know what she wanted to do. If she went home, her mother would make her prepare for her trip or study English, which was absurd because she had no problem with the language at all. She had been reading English science books and journals for as long as she could remember. She always posted and commented on MindHIve in English and she had posted hundreds of video testimonials and mini documentaries in English, all of which she produced and edited herself.
If she went to the lab, she would have to speak to the reporters who were no doubt waiting for her to arrive. She couldn’t understand why people were making such a big deal about her. Why was the MindHIve convention so important to everybody, she wondered to herself. She wasn’t sure why she felt this way. Perhaps it was because none of what was happening was her choice. She felt like other people were making all of the decisions for her. She hadn’t asked to go to the MindHIve convention in America and she wasn’t looking for celebrity status. She was most comfortable working quietly in her lab and posting information that she felt was relevant. Her research was the most important thing in the world to her and she wanted it to have an impact on how people thought, but she loathed the spotlight. It made her feel uneasy and anxious. Going to a tech convention in America was absolutely terrifying for her. Her mother, on the other hand, was beside herself with joy that SoHee was getting this much attention. All that mattered to her mother was her university application and she knew just how good the convention would look on her resume.
“Anything biting down there?” a voice said from above. SoHee looked up and saw her father standing on the bridge smiling.
“What are you doing here, Dad?” Sohee said and she smiled for the first time in a long time. Her father walked off the bridge and down to the set of concrete stairs that led to the pond. His hair had grayed as he had aged and a soft pot belly hung over his belt. SoHee stood up as he waked towards her.
“l knew I’d find you here,” he said. “You were always drawn to the water, right from the start.”
“Who let you out of your office?” SoHee said as her father approached her.
“I can come and go as I please,” he said and laughed. “I’m the boss right?”
“You are a slave and you know it,” SoHee said.
She had always loved her father. When she was little, she would try and wait up for him to come home so she could show him the things she had found that day. But she would always fall asleep before he came home. The first time SoHee waded into a pond, she had been with her father. If her mother had been there, there would be no way that she would have let SoHee play in the mud, but her father encouraged her to go dig around and get dirty. He caught tadpoles for her and turned over rocks with her. SoHee could remember squealing with delight as the insects under the rocks scurried away.
“Don’t be like me,” he said to her on one of those special days that they got to spend together when he wasn’t working. “All I do is work for someone else and make other people rich. Always follow your heart and do what you know is right. Be your own person.”
Her father was the only person whom she could confide in. She felt awkward talking about her feelings with her mother or anybody else she knew, but her father always had a way of understanding how she felt and it was easy to open up to him.
“It looks like big things are on the horizon for you, my daughter,” he said as he gave her a hug. She felt the tears welling up again in her eyes again at the mention of the future. She had been trying not to think about it over the last few days, but it came up everywhere she went. It was impossible to avoid.
“I don’t want to go, Dad,” SoHee said as she fought back her tears.
“Don’t be scared, SoHee. I always knew that you could change the world and it looks like you are going to now. You can’t hide out in your laboratory if you want things to happen. You’ve got to get out there,” he said.
“I am scared though. What happens if it doesn’t work? What happens if I fail? So many people are watching. There is so much pressure,” she said as she wiped away her tears.
“That’s because you are doing great things. Did you think that it would be easy to change the world? It’s scary and difficult because you are creating a new path. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it,” her father said as he tried to reassure her. “There has always been something special about you. You never were like the other kids, and that’s what is amazing about you. You’ve always followed your heart and it has led you to new and incredible discoveries. Now it looks like the world is starting to pay attention.”
“But I haven’t really done anything all that special. I used other people’s ideas and changed some things. It’s not magic or anything,�
�� SoHee said as she straightened her hair.
“Isn’t that what they say about science? Something about standing on the shoulders of giants to reach the stars?” her father said.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before,” she said.
“Well, there’s nothing I can teach you then, is there? What could I teach the smartest girl in the world? I’m proud of you, my daughter. You are going to do great things. It’s funny how life works, isn’t it? It never really turns out how you think it would. Do you think I thought I would be a fat old man locked in an office tower? But I get to be your father and that’s the greatest thing in the world to me,” he said. “Come on, let’s go get some dukboki in the park. It was always your favorite. The mosquitos in this ditch are going to eat you alive.”
She parted ways with her father after they snuck in through a side entrance to avoid the reporters. “Thanks for making me feel better Dad,” she said as he made his way to the elevator. “Anything for my daughter, you know that,” he said as he got on the elevator and waved goodbye.
She turned and nodded to the security guard who stood near the doorway of the DH lab. The lab security system scanned her ID and the door opened after her identity had been verified. She was greeted by other researchers as she walked by several open glass laboratories. This place felt like home to her and she had been coming here for years now. She was essentially an unpaid intern but she had gathered a great deal of status at the laboratory. Her research had gotten the laboratory a lot of funding, so she was allowed to come and go as she pleased. The bio lab was located at the end of the hall and SoHee arrived to find some researchers gathering around her bacteria colony.
“SoHee, come quick. You’ve got to see this,” one researcher said as he beckoned her over. She stepped over cautiously and peered into the tank.
“Look, it’s growing at an incredible rate” another researcher said. The bacteria colony that ate the computer chip earlier had indeed grown rapidly. The green mass of bacteria had been tiny when she left the night before. It was no bigger than a bottle cap but now it had spilled out of the dish that it had occupied and was spreading across the base of the aquarium. It was still quite small but its growth rate was incredible.
“This is amazing,” SoHee said. “I wonder what caused this spike in growth. Do you think that chip accelerated its reproductive capacities?” she wondered aloud.
“Perhaps, but we’ll need to run more tests to be sure,” one of the researchers said.
“Of course, but first I’m going to post about this,” SoHee said. “This is fantastic. Now I’ll be able to bring a sample when I go to the MindHIve convention.”
“Congratulations, by the way,” said the one researcher.
“Yes, congratulations, you earned it,” added another.
“Thank you. I owe all of my success to the people here. It’s time that our hard work got the recognition it deserves. I’m going to America and I’m going to show everybody that we have made something that will make a difference,” she said as she pulled out her phone and snapped a picture.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Kingsford rapidly transformed during the weeks leading up to the tech convention. MindHIve brought the full force of its corporate powers to Kingsford during that short period and what they did was nothing short of miraculous. Kingsford lacked the proper facilities to host an event of that magnitude but MindHIve just happened to hold a patent on bio dome structures that were intended to be used to colonize mars. They brought this very same technology to Kingsford and erected several large domes at the Kingsford fair ground. The domes were arranged in a large circle and they were all connected by tunnels. In the center of the circle was the largest of the domes and it was to function as the hub of the convention. The entire area seemed like something from outer space.
Along with the new space station down at the fair ground, the town had been flooded with convention participants and a whole army of support staff. Kingsford had never looked so busy. Local businesses were swamped in every way. The restaurants were jammed and every hotel was booked solid. Mythic Sports had completely sold out of all their camping gear as people who were unable to get a room during the convention decided that they could rough it in one of Kingsford’s many campgrounds. It was a surreal experience for everyone involved. The kids at Kingsford High were absolutely ecstatic about all the excitement in town. There were rumors of celebrity guests in attendance and everyone was hopeful that they would have a chance to get their hands on the inReal tech that everyone around the world was buzzing about.
Mitch Mythic was not excited. Along with all the media attention he had been receiving both online and in real life, the secret that he carried in his pocket was proving to be a heavy burden to carry. He had no idea what to expect when the convention started and he was terrified that something awful was going to happen. It was an impossible situation to be in. He had to constantly keep up a cheerful demeanor in spite of the stress and anxiety that were eating away at him from the inside. He had gone from being a loathsome creature at Kingsford High to being touted once again as a hero. His teammates had somewhat forgiven him for what had taken place, except for Sage. His hostility towards Mitch was amplified after Mitch had received the invite to the convention and his jealousy was evident in everything he did. After the fight, Sage had begun dating Candace McAllister. It seemed that the two of them had come together in a mutual dislike of Mitch Mythic and as he walked by the new couple in the hallway at school they both gave him matching dirty looks.
Mitch didn’t pay it any mind. Sage and Candace were the least of his worries. He had no idea how he could possibly get out of the situation he was in without destroying everything. If he went to the police, he would automatically be held and detained for questioning, but if he did nothing, something horrible was surely about to happen.
These thoughts churned in his head as he walked the halls of Kingsford High. After his in-school suspension had been lifted, he was free to come and go as he pleased during his free time, but he no longer felt comfortable around everyone. There was too much attention and too much pressure. He returned to the computer lab during lunch break a few days after the suspension was over and found Drak sitting near the front with his feet up on a desk. He was eating a bowl of instant noodles, which were sold in one of the vending machines around the school.
“This really good, what you call it?” Drak asked as Mitch walked in.
“It’s ramen. You don’t have those were you come from?” Mitch replied.
“Nothing like this,” Drak said while slurping up some noodles. “Come. I show you something special.” Drak finished the noodles and then tossed the cup into the trash can as he got to his feet.
“If you’ve taken a hostage, I’m going to be really upset,” Mitch said.
“Only take hostage if need arise,” Drak said. He led Mitch through the back door of the lab and they ascended into the storage room that led to the cavern beneath the school.
“Where do you live anyways?” Mitch asked as they walked into the room.
“Here and there. I no need one place,” Drak said as he edged along the narrow shelf.
“Are you like sleeping in the bush or something?” Mitch asked again.
“Ha, maybe. You don’t worry about me, Mitch Mythic. Things happening fast now,” Drak said as he stepped over the drain and hoisted it up. They both hopped down and Drak half- jogged to the doorway that lead to the mining tunnel. Mitch had to run to keep up.
“Hey, what’s the hurry?” Mitch said as they entered the tunnel.
“There are many things I need show you. You need know how to spread tech before it too late. Time will come when more are needed. We must be ready now,” Drak said while he made his way into the darkness. He engaged his device on the move and activated the light beam he had used earlier. The tunnel was flooded with light. Mitch jogged after him to the cavern that Drak had appropriated for himself.
“Hand me phone. I show you,”
Drak said as he came to a halt in the middle of the cavern.
“So now I’m going to be the one going around spreading this stuff. I’m gonna wind up in prison. I just know it,” Mitch said.
“You gonna be in more than prison. Whole planet will belong to Masters soon, if you do nothing. They coming, like it or not,” Drak said, while taking out another phone from his pocket.
“Where do you get all these phones from?” Mitch asked in wonder.
“Here and there. Have my ways,” Drak said again. “Take your phone out and place on floor.”
“Uh, fine,” Mitch said and he placed his phone on the ground.
“Now, do as I say, Mitch Mythic. It not hard,” Drak said. “Place hands out over device like this,” he said as he placed his hands straight out in front of him. Mitch copied Drak’s motions with his hands above his phone. Drak made two fists and then raised his hands. Mitch did the same. His face lit up as the sphere appeared in front of him.
“Now reach into sphere like this,” Drak said as he placed his hand out horizontally palm down. Mitch copied the motion and inserted his hand into the sphere. “Turn palm over and make fist like this.” Drak turned his hand over and a panel appear in the sphere. It looked surprisingly like the HUD he was used to seeing in the video games he played.
“It looks so familiar,” Mitch said in amazement.
“What you see is what want to see. Device use your core system and eyes see what they know. Technology mold itself to you and you put out what you put in.” Drak said. He handed Mitch the other phone. “Now place phone inside,” he said.
Mitch took the phone and placed it in the sphere. Just as before, the phone hovered in the opaque ball of light. It rotated slowly while it was suspended in the air. A panel appeared above the phone and several different functions were displayed within rectangular boxes.
“There, at the end. Press that button. This transfer button,” Drak said. At the far right end of the panel was a button that appeared to have two arrows within it. Mitch reached out and was surprised to see that the button responded to his touch. He felt a moment of resistance and then the button engaged. The sphere began to pulse with light and the same strange tentacles appeared and wrapped themselves around the phone. Just as before, the phone disappeared into the light for a moment until there was a flash of light. After the light subsided, the phone spun slowly within the sphere.