ACTIVATION

by M. G. GILIBERT

  “Boys, get ready to get in the elevator. The ride will probably be shaky. So just hold tight and ask everyone not to worry,” Don says. “Jack, release the doors.”

  As soon as Jack acknowledges the order, Don starts shooting at the robots blocking the elevator. His aircraft has one cannon under its nose, but Don believes its caliber may inflict too much damage and potentially be dangerous for the kids in the elevator. Instead, Don chooses to use the machine guns on each side of the aircraft. They are not as powerful as the cannon, but efficient enough to reduce the robots to their most basic components.

  Don sprays them without mercy, without feeling. He knows he would never do such things if they were humans, even to his worst enemies. But the thing is that they are robots and because of that, Don doesn’t feel any remorse or even guilt dealing with them like that.

  In a matter of a handful of seconds, what looked like a major threat is now just a harmless entanglement of metal.

  For the first time in months, Don has the tools and the firepower to feel like the soldier he used to be. War is so much easier with the right equipment. But he knows that this situation is just temporary. After this mission is complete, he will be back at the base, struggling to find ways to move the needle a little more in their favor than in GAIA’s.

  With these thoughts, Don positions the aircraft as close as possible to the elevator doors. Jack opens one of the aircraft’s doors.

  The elevator arrives at the same time.

  Jack’s robot is the first to exit, slowly, still pointing its gun around and on the ground at the robots.

  Don tells the boys that everything is clear. They can come and climb on board.

  They don’t wait for a second invitation and everyone rushes out of the elevator and jumps into the aircraft.

  As they still have a little room, Don invites Jack to let his robot come aboard. It might be useful in the future and he also doesn’t want to leave their state-of-the-art technology in GAIA’s hands.

  “Welcome back, boys! I am very proud of you!” Don says. “We are going back home and we will celebrate. The others, I don’t know you, but rest assured that you are safe now and in good hands. We are going to a place where we will take good care of you.”

  “Thank you, Sir,” the group answers, apparently not fully understanding what is happening to them and where they are going.

  Gabe and Dave’s faces, on the other hand, are displaying a large smile. The past few days have been rough on them, but now they are free. They are going back home, to their loved ones. And no matter how poor the living conditions at the base, it is the place they now call home. And after what they have witnessed, they are now positive that there is no place like home.

  “Before we leave, I suggest we leave a little something to GAIA. A token of our appreciation,” Don says.

  As no one seems to really understand what Don is talking about, he asks them to look through the windows, down at the airbase.

  And while everyone is in position, Don starts shooting at all aircraft, including the large one he was admiring earlier.

  He does not hesitate to use the aircraft’s cannon this time. And after a succession of explosions, followed by the grand finale of the large aircraft blowing up, Don takes a more serious tone.

  “We need to cover our escape. We cannot afford to be hunted by them. By the time they send other aircraft from different Metropolises, we will be far.”

  Except that after three or four hours flying, Don notices several dots on his radar. There are aircraft in the air and they are coming in their direction.

  “They must come from the Metropolis in the north,” Gabe says.

  “Yeah. I’m afraid so,” Don says, fully concentrated on his next moves.

  “And if we can see them, they can probably see us as well,” Gabe adds.

  Don does not respond. He is now fully immersed in assessing the various alternatives he can think of.

  They are only a hundred miles away from the base. Which means they have probably already been spotted and are tracked by the people at the base. If something happens to them, they will send a team to rescue them. Provided they are not captured, or dead.

  As Don thinks, he notices other signals on his radar. They are coming from the east.

  They are surrounded.

  Don does not believe a direct confrontation will be manageable. Especially with the kids in the back. And escaping will hardly be possible either.

  The options are getting more and more limited. Don is thinking about landing to allow Jack and the kids to escape. He can then take off to try and lure the troops somewhere else. He knows that his decision means certain death for him. But at least the kids will be safe. It is a sacrifice he is willing to make.

  They have the right to a second chance.

  Rose and the others can hear everything. They are reading Don’s thoughts.

  As Rose wants to tell him to not even think about it, she is stopped by Ted who communicates with her.

  “Don’t say anything. Don’t tell him. We don’t know these people. They cannot know what we can do, yet. Especially what you can do,” Ted says.

  “I agree with Ted,” Byron says.

  “Me too,” Kim says.

  “Alright. But we need to do something before it’s too late. We need to concentrate on the aircraft,” Rose says.

  “Why do you want to help them?” Ted asks.

  “Because if we don’t, they die. And if they die, then so do we,” Rose answers.

  “That is a convincing argument,” Byron replies.

  “Let’s just concentrate,” Rose concludes.

  And as they do, they quickly fall into a trance similar to the one they experienced when Gabe was being tortured by GAIA.

  Gabe, Dave, and Jack notice their behavior and try to wake them up, but nothing they do seems to pull them out of their state.

  “Dad, something is happening back here. The kids are acting weird,” Gabe says.

  “Can you handle it? I’m in a bit of a need to focus here,” Don says.

  “There is blood coming out of their ears and noses. What shall we do, Dad?” Gabe asks, apparently getting extremely worried.

  Don turns around and sees a scene that just seizes him with terror. Gabe is right, something is wrong. He needs to land the aircraft as soon as possible. There is no other alternative now. He will leave them behind and go back in the air on his own.

  As Don keeps one eye on his radar and the other monitoring the kids’ condition, he seems to notice there are fewer dots on his radar than earlier.

  He thinks his head is not clear. He pushes his commands down forcing the aircraft to descent. He needs to be faster as the kids seem to get worse and worse. As he checks his radar to evaluate the other aircraft’s position, he now only sees a few dots.

  This time he is sure he is not making this up. There were more dots a minute ago. As he pulls the handles a little to straighten up the aircraft in order not to crash, he stares at the radar and clearly sees the dots disappear in front of his eyes.

  Until there is nothing left on the radar.

  Don has no explanation as to what is going on. Could it be a glitch? Did he just imagine the dots? Is GAIA preventing the radar from seeing the other aircraft? Did Henry miss something when he disconnected GAIA’s control box? And what is happening to these poor kids? Did GAIA do something to them as well? Did GAIA hurt them?

  “Dad, I think it’s over. They are back to normal. But they look in a very bad shape,” Gabe says.

  “Just keep flying … don’t stop, everything is fine now,” Rose manages to say before she passes out just like she did when Gabe saw her in the room earlier.

  “Did you hear that, Dad? She says to keep flying!” Gabe shouts at his father, noticing he doesn’t seem to be with them anymore.

  “What? … Ok. I’m sorry …” Don answers, not really knowing what he needs to do or who or what he needs to listen. Shall he listen to the girl or to his gut fee
ling telling him that something is not right?

  But a very faint voice deep inside his head prompts him to follow the girl’s advice. ‘Listen to the girl … listen to the girl,’ he hears distantly. He decides to listen to that voice, and therefore to the girl and sets the aircraft’s course back to its original destination, the base.

  As Don flies, he notices columns of smoke to the east on the horizon and similar columns to the north.

  He decides to fly over them and what he sees stupefies him. He is staring at several aircraft that all seem to have crashed for no apparent reason.

  Thirty minutes later, they are in the vicinity of the base. The people back there are aware they are coming.

  The tunnel entrance slowly lifts up as Don brings the aircraft to the ground.

  It will probably fit in the tunnel, he thinks. As he stops the engines and turns around, he confirms that everyone is calm now. The four kids seem to require medical attention, but their condition is being monitored by Jack, Dave, and Gabe who confirms the four new members of the community are fine.

  “Welcome home, kids,” Don says.

  CHAPTER 33

  A vehicle is coming from the tunnel.

  Don recognizes Jen and Pam on the front seats. Another vehicle comes out and Kelly and Sonia are sitting in the front.

  Both cars stop next to the aircraft.

  Don opens the aircraft’s doors allowing everyone to get out. Dave and Gabe run straight to their mothers, sister, and girlfriend. They hold each other and apparently no one wants to let go. Don and Jack stare at the scene in front of them. They both feel relieved it ended that way.

  Now that everyone is safe, they realize how mentally drained they are.

  They help the other kids to get out of the aircraft and take them to the vehicles. Despite how weak they still look, Don can notice some kind of amazement in their eyes. They are looking all around them at the trees, the grass, and the rocks. Some of them even make an effort to bend over to reach out to the ground. The soil is cool and partially humid. They bring their hands in front of their nose and take a deep breath. They exhale slowly, with their eyes closed, as if the smell reminds them of something. But Don can clearly see from their faces that if it does, they don’t seem able to identify the memory. These kids look so strange to him.

  Gabe finally lets go of his mom and goes to the other kids. Especially to Rose.

  “How do you feel?” he asks.

  “I don’t know … but it feels right,” she answers.

  “I’m glad to hear that. You will like it here,” he says. And then, turning around to the mothers, he tries to introduce the newcomers. But he suddenly realizes that he doesn’t know their names.

  “I’m sorry, but what are your names?” he asks the little group.

  “I’m Rose … I’m Kim … I’m Byron … Ted,” they each say in turn.

  “We are glad you are here with us. Welcome to all of you. We hope you will enjoy being here,” Pam says with a large smile.

  The group nods, even though Ted doesn’t seem to react to Pam’s warm welcome. But no one notices.

  “Alright kids, get in the cars and go back inside the base. Try and get some rest. Pam, I will let you help the new ones settle in. I think they need immediate medical attention. Jack, go with them and send me a few guys ASAP with vehicles. I will try to put this thing down at the base,” he says as he is pointing at the aircraft.

  “Ok. I’ll send them right away,” confirms Jack.

  As Don is now alone, he mechanically walks around the aircraft, checking if everything looks in good condition.

  At first sight, this behavior certainly looks like a habit from his piloting days. But in fact, it is more an attempt to hold on to something he knows and can control.

  Don cannot stop thinking about what happened earlier with the two fleets of aircraft. He cannot find an acceptable and logical explanation as to what happened.

  And what about the new kids? What happened to them during the flight? Why did they start bleeding from everywhere? Don knows it was not a question of pressurization. They were flying extremely low to avoid potential radars. And Don knows for sure that only the new kids seemed to suffer from something.

  He didn’t, Jack didn’t, and neither did Dave and Gabe.

  Don feels like there is something wrong, or at least not normal. And everything he can think of points straight to these kids. He is starting to wonder if it was such a good idea to take them back to the base.

  But at the same time, he doesn’t know how he could have explained to Gabe that they would stay behind. And given the situation in the Metropolis, with GAIA and the robots’ threat, there was no way he could have abandoned them.

  There are still many unanswered questions. But Don knows he will not get his answers now. For the time being, he needs to help the men who have just arrived take the aircraft to the hangar below, and after that, he needs to get some rest.

  He is sure his ideas will be clearer tomorrow, and if not, he will at least get the doctor’s opinion on the kids’ condition.

  As requested by Don, all the kids have been taken to the infirmary. Not only the four new ones but also Gabe and Dave. They feel fine, but they understand they need to be checked.

  Gabe, in particular, also wants to stay with Rose and the others. He thinks they will feel more comfortable if they are not left alone.

  “All of you seem to be in good physical condition. I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. However, Kim, Rose, Ted, and Byron, based on what I’ve heard, I may need to keep you a little longer for additional tests,” the doctor says.

  “What kind of tests?” Ted asks, visibly upset by the specific attention they are getting.

  “Don’t worry. As Pam said earlier, you are in good hands. I will not do anything that will hurt you. I just need to take a look at your heads. I may find something there that would explain your bleeding,” the doctor explains.

  “And what happens if we refuse?” Ted asks.

  “Nothing. You will be free to go. However, I think it is in your best interest to let me look at you. The sooner we identify a problem, the sooner we can solve it,” the doctor answers.

  “Trust us, there is nothing to be worried about,” Gabe says.

  After a few moments of hesitation, Rose finally jumps in.

  “I trust you. I will go first,” she says.

  “Thank you, Rose,” the doctor says. “First, I need to check on a small mark all of you have behind your heads. Do you know where it is coming from?” the doctor asks Rose.

  “It’s from the robots. They put something inside our heads,” she answers.

  “Thank you, Rose. I will start with a basic scan of your skull to see if there is indeed something. Don’t worry, it’s fast and it doesn’t hurt,” the doctor says to her with a smile.

  “I know exactly what you are going to do. You don’t need to reassure me,” she says.

  “Great. Did you study medicine?” he asks.

  “No. I don’t think so. I just know, that’s it,” she says.

  Gabe, Dave and the doctor exchange an interrogative look. They are apparently not sure they clearly understood Rose’s answer.

  “You don’t remember if you studied medicine. Is that what you mean?” the doctor asks.

  “I don’t know,” Rose answers.

  At the same time, Ted starts communicating with Rose and the others.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk so much. Now they will want to understand more and they will ask more questions. And they will run more tests to find their answers. We need to stop talking,” Ted says.

  “Rose, are you alright? You seem distant, suddenly,” the doctor asks.

  “Please proceed, Doctor,” she answers.

  “Thank you, Rose. Alright, here we are … there is indeed something inside your head. It looks like a device of some sort. I’m not a specialist, but it is clearly not supposed to be there,” the doctor says.

  �
�Do you think it’s a location device?” Gabe asks.

  “I wouldn’t know. But Dave’s father probably would. Dave, can you see if your dad can come, please?” the doctor asks.

  “I’m going,” Dave answers.

  “I’m afraid that when we have a better idea of what it is, it will need to be removed,” the doctor says. “Do you feel it inside your head? Does it hurt?” he asks.

  “No,” Rose answers.

  “Let’s wait for Dave and Jack to come back, then. In the meantime, Kim, Byron and Ted, I will look at you to see if you have the same device. Do you agree?” the doctor asks.

  “Yes,” Byron and Kim answer.

  “Say yes. He is doing it to help us,” Rose whispers to Ted’s head.

  “Yes,” Ted finally answers.

  “Alright. Thank you, Ted,” the doctor says.

  The same scan applied to the other kids reveals exactly the same result. They are all ‘equipped’ with some kind of implant.

  When Dave and Jack finally arrive, the doctor shows the device on the monitors. Everyone is looking at what the kids have in their head.

  According to Jack, it is probably not a location device. It doesn’t make much sense to put it inside a skull. But they do not rule out this possibility. Instead, Jack believes it is more likely that a device like that, in a place like that, aims to have an influence on the brain. But he comes up against his lack of knowledge of all things related to anatomy and especially brain anatomy. Nevertheless, Jack reaches the same conclusion as the doctor’s. These devices need to be removed. It will then be easier to study them once they are outside of the kids’ heads. But nothing can be done before they refer it to Don.

  Rose tells her friends that she is willing to volunteer to have the implant removed. She believes they do not have anything to fear from these people. She read their thoughts and they appear genuinely lost in front of the situation. They also don’t seem to have any bad intention towards them.

  Surprisingly, Ted is the first among the other kids to concur with Rose. He tells them that from now on he will comply with everything.