ED3N- on the Brink of Extinction

by J P Whitney

  ∆∆∆

  Surprisingly, the boys made it through the burned-out husk of what used to be Los Angeles without incident. Maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise things had gone smoothly. They were retreating south through an area Terry’s forces had already cleared, and even though an unknown threat advanced from the north, the crew at the Presidio stood between them. That should slow the strike force or hit squad or whatever it was long enough for them to reach their destination. So, unless they ran out of fuel along the way, who were they going to run into?

  And while no physical barriers had impeded their progress to ED3N … a real, tangible emotional toll had been paid. It was as if they had ransomed a piece of their soul as payment to pass physically unscathed through the hell on earth that used to be called Los Angeles.

  Many of the buildings had been reduced to nothing more than charred foundations and piles of ashes. Virtually every square inch of the metropolis they passed through looked like an army of serial killers had thrown a party in the rubble of a city that had been carpet-bombed. It was difficult to explain how ruined a city could become, not by an act of war, but through the acts of rioting, looting, and panic induced by millions of grisly deaths.

  The pools of congealed blood and biological matter that littered the sidewalks and streets, like haphazardly discarded soda cans, forced them to drive in the middle of the road to avoid running over it.

  Even with the windows up and vents set to recirculate, the stench of countless decaying corpses nearly forced Tucker to pass out several times as his body refused to take involuntary breaths amid the reek of the carnage. Like a 100-pound weight rested on his chest, he had to force his lungs to inhale the putrid air to keep from blacking out while he was driving.

  Buzzards ripped strips of carrion, ravens pecked in empty eye sockets searching desperately for remains, swarms of flies filled the air, and packs of wild dogs roamed the streets and fought savagely for scraps.

  The most shocking scene was of a mother and child that must have died within minutes of each other on a street corner. The child’s mostly liquefied remains were cradled by its mother who was hunched over in a protective manner as if her own blood that ran onto the corpse could either protect it from the impending death or resuscitate it like some ritual for the damned. The fact they looked relatively untouched by the scavengers may have been a measure of just how toxic they were. And the knowledge that their deaths had taken hours made the scene even more brutal. Bryce prayed the child had passed away first. How indescribably horrible it would have been if, in the final minutes of this five-year-old’s life, he was forced to witness his mother while the last of her life bled out onto him.

  This was the visual and olfactory evidence that proved the death camps they witnessed on the Oregon coast were humane in comparison to these urban environments that couldn’t possibly muster enough resources to administer treatment to the massive populations of poor that had overwhelmed the local infrastructure … and so this evil side of nature ran its course at its own torturous pace.

  Bryce was convinced he would have gone insane or died from a panic attack if the car would have broken down while in the city limits.

  But like Eli before them, their spirits gradually lifted as they neared the coast and the ocean breezes battled back the offending odors. As the body count diminished, and the roads opened up, Tucker gradually pressed the accelerator harder until the needle passed 70 MPH in an attempt to escape the horrors that lie behind them.

  They entered a long, lazy corner as the highway neared the coastline and Tucker briefly took in the breathtaking sight of the sun beginning to set over the Pacific Ocean and prayed it would burn away all those painful images from LA. His gaze returned to the road ahead and he slammed on the brakes in an adrenaline-fueled realization they were going to crash into a concrete structure. Smoke rolled from the tires as the momentum of the curve carried the car into a four-wheel drift, rubber transferred to asphalt, and the car came to screeching halt in the middle of the road.

  “Oh my god,” Bryce exhaled while trying to flex the cramps out his fingers that had formed when he grabbed onto the dash for dear life. “It looks like a prison.”

  They were still several hundred yards away but the initial shock of seeing the imposing wall rush at them at an incredible rate of speed, coupled with the confusion of it laying across the road, created the illusion they were much closer to the structure than they actually were.

  Bryce couldn’t reconcile the size of the wall with reality. “Are they keeping dinosaurs in there? Why do they need walls that high? It’s absolutely massive.” Due to the angle the car had stopped at, he had to crane his neck to the right to find the towering wall jutted approximately half a mile into the ocean. Waves crashed onto it. Looking straight ahead he could take in the full view of the wall disappearing into the distant hills.

  “Now what?” Bryce asked pivoting in his seat to look at this brother. “I guess we should knock on the door. But I don’t know if I can do it. Seeing the size of this place … and what Terry said about how dangerous and uncontrollable this environment could be. 3000 trained soldiers were nervous enough to leave.”

  “You didn’t see what happened to the dogs. Whoever, whatever, is pursuing us … it is single-minded and powerful as well,” Tucker countered.

  “Maybe you’re right. The visions we had, it wasn’t a battle. It was a massacre. We can’t go home and we can’t go back to San Francisco,” Bryce reasoned nervously. “But even so, after building this place and living here for years, twenty soldiers risked their lives and were willing to use explosives to shut the whole thing down. And they were slaughtered for it. Not unlike what you said happened to the dogs.” Bryce couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but intuition told him crossing this threshold would be the last thing they did. “Doesn’t it feel off to you somehow? Just look at the size of this place. It seems like we are knowingly checking ourselves into prison.”

  Tucker’s mind was racing. Desperately running through all the pros and cons. He couldn’t come to a clear cut decision either and Bryce was right in at least one respect. Something spooked the security forces, but he knew in his bones they hadn’t escaped danger but may have just rushed headlong into the jaws of it. Thinking out loud he said, “Home was like an oasis but even there we weren’t safe. We read the news about how bad things were on the outside, out in the real world. But seeing LA like that. I don’t know. It was biblical somehow. Did we just walk through the valley of the shadow of death? Was that Armageddon?”

  “We can just keep running south into Mexico or South America. If something is on our trail it will have to get through the forces in San Francisco and then deal with this place … ED3N. That seems like an impossibly tall task for anyone or anything to overcome. Maybe we’ll leave them in our wake and get to start again somewhere else. It’s an option, while we’re still free to make choices,” Bryce argued weakly.

  “Even if you are right about the soldiers and ED3N stopping the threat, what are we running to? There could be more danger coming from the south for all we know,” Tucker said.

  “I don’t know what it is exactly, but something bad is chasing us out here. I don’t want to always be looking over our shoulder, afraid to sleep, and having no idea where our next meal will come from. And I can’t deal with what we just saw in LA,” Tucker continued solemnly.

  “But at least we’ll be alive and still have our freedom.”

  “So where does the option of running lead us? To a life of just surviving? Without other people, without society aren’t we dying a slow death anyway? Isn’t that what mom and dad said? That was the reason for going to the coast in search of a new vaccine was worth the risk. Just surviving wasn’t enough. And what about Eli … and Alyssa and the others from Oregon? Would we just abandon them?” Tucker argued without much fire. It was a sad debate they were having. “I love you bro but I have to give this a chance. There has to be more.”

  Tucker
pulled the car onto the shoulder and eased it forward behind a line of abandoned vehicles. He cut the engine and swung his legs out of the open door as if in a dream. He walked to the back of the car, shouldered his share of the gear, and forced himself to approach the gate. Not sure if his brother would join him but resigned to press on regardless. There has to be more, echoed in his brain.

  He inspected the license plates of the cars as he passed, afraid to look but unable to stop himself.

  California.

  Nevada.

  California.

  California.

  Colorado.

  Washington.

  And finally …

  Oregon.

  His heart leaped and he allowed himself to hope Alyssa got out in time after all. But those thoughts would have to wait.

  Ahead of him, twenty-foot-tall steel doors recessed into the giant wall barred the way. Cannon gun turrets stood sentry on either side and tracked his advancement. He stood in the shadow of the wall and craned his neck to take in the view. Up close, the scale was even more impressive. The wall was easily twice as tall as the gate, maybe forty or fifty feet in total. My god, he thought, maybe Terry is right. What are they trying to keep in or out of the place? But if the threat, internal or external, was really this dangerous did it matter where they were? Would anyplace ever really be safe again? Past events had just proven that mankind wasn’t safe from viruses, or weapons, or even itself.

  His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a metallic click quickly followed by an electric hum. He feared the guns that had been tracking him were coming to life, about to unleash their wrath upon him, when his peripheral vision picked out the movement of a steel door as it silently slid open. It was embedded into the recessed portion of the gate and difficult to see in the shadow. Tucker scanned the wall and observed an identical door to the left of the gate now that he knew what to look for.

  The door stood in stark contrast to the concrete wall and the heavy gate with its dull steel, welds, and rivets. This door was smooth and silver in color. And it might have been the way it was polished, but Tucker couldn’t discern the material. It didn’t have the visible grain of stainless. And how could something so polished have been so difficult to see … even in the shadows? Was it titanium or some alloy he’d never seen before? The material itself, as much as the physical barrier it represented, seemed to separate all that had come before … from … what was it exactly. A city, a technology, dare he even think it … a new world?

  Within these walls would he find the truth of who was behind the outbreak and the ultimate death of his parents?

  Regardless of what lay beyond, he had to risk it. He had to hope that through all of this ordeal, ED3N was worth it. The last saving grace of humanity. Without looking back, just as the door finished its retraction into the wall, Tucker stepped toward whatever life, or death had in store for him. During the final stand of this world, maybe you had to go through hell, to get to heaven.

  Epilogue - Chapter 41

  Off To See The Wizard

  Bryce took a deep breath, held it, and finally blew it out in defeat. “Well hell, I’m not staying out here alone.”

  But standing before the immensity of the gate, it was difficult to overcome the fear and doubt of what might lay beyond.

  “Last chance. Risk the outside world or step into the unknown.” But who was he fooling? They had run out of options. Shaking uncontrollably, Bryce took a few tentative steps and then hurried into the wall following his brother but not able to shake the feeling he was exchanging freedom for the safety of becoming a prisoner.

  As soon as he had he cleared the outer portal, the heavy door automatically closed with a loud “clank” as it locked behind him, sealing them off from the outer world.

  They had entered a 10 by 10 square room that reminded Tucker of an airlock. A camera was mounted in the far corner. They were alone for the moment and faced two doors. Straight ahead, presumably led into the city. And to the right, must lead further into the wall that eventually jutted out into the sea. But neither had a handle and while they pondered what to do next, the door on the right slid open and a very humanoid looking robot strode into the room.

  They weren’t expecting this. Base instincts kicked in and registered the bot as a threat as their hands fell to their sidearms.

  The robot’s hands immediately went into the air as a gesture meant to express ‘I come in peace’ while a voice seemed to reverberate from the walls themselves in an unnatural, surround sound. It was unnerving to have the voice come from all four walls simultaneously. Or maybe it was from the ceiling. It was impossible to tell the source. Tucker spun on his heels to make sure someone hadn’t slipped in behind them.

  But the voice was calm and measured. Not electronic but not quite human either. It was too perfect. Not powerful but authoritative.

  “You are not in danger. Rest assured this bot was merely sent as your escort. You may draw your weapons if it makes you feel safer but they are completely unnecessary.”

  Bryce left his weapon holstered but Tucker already had his out though it hung at his side, muzzle toward the ground.

  The bot turned with surprising fluidity and led the way down a long, concrete-walled corridor. They fell into line behind the ‘escort’ and noticed more doorways to their left approximately every ten feet. It reminded Tucker of a no-nonsense version of cruise ship passageways. Seven feet of smooth concrete wall, followed by a recessed metallic door. Each one etched with a large room number.

  Their guide had nearly traveled the length of the hallway when it finally halted. Tucker looked up and half laughed as he said, “Lucky number 7”.

  ∆∆∆

  “Ruth, the Olsens arrived and are being led to one of the processing rooms.”

  “Thank you ED3N. Please have them escorted to the IT Center immediately,” Ruth said breaking the trance induced by the mesmerizing scene playing out on the video display before her.

  “Shouldn’t we screen them first?”

  “There’s no time. Just make sure they aren’t infected and then bring them to me as soon as you can.”

  “As you wish.”

  ∆∆∆

  The door snicked open revealing a mostly barren room save for the metallic desk in the center. Two bracelets of some type were laid out on the surface along with two glasses and a crystal clear pitcher of water. Beads of condensation could be seen from the hallway and reminded them just how thirsty they were.

  Tucker was the first to step into the room but his senses were on high alert. As soon as their robotic escort cleared the entrance, the door closed behind them. Bryce approached the table to pour some water, while Tucker took in the surroundings. Two words came to mind. Interrogation room.

  Tucked away in one corner of the ceiling was a small, discreet, square box. Though Tucker couldn’t be sure, he guessed a camera and listening equipment were housed behind the glossy white surface.

  A flat-screen was somehow fitted perfectly into one of the walls. It had no seams. Other than the color and texture differences, the display and wall could have been made from one continuous material. It was as if the display had been painted on the surface rather than being a separate device.

  In the farthest corner of the room, nearest to what had to be the exit door was another humanoid robot. Still as a statue. Where had it come from? Surely that would have been the first thing his brain would have picked out upon entry but there it stood as if it had been there all along. This one looked more authoritative. Tactical. It was larger and had the appearance of being combat ready though it didn’t have any weapons on display. Bulky, more solid, compared to the sleeker bot which had escorted them in.

  With the escort behind them, this security bot in front, and all the doors closed, Tucker began to think they had willingly walked into the mousetrap and were now yanking on the hunk of cheese to see what surprise awaited them. Should they have heeded the Captain’s words and stayed in the Bay Area? W
as he being paranoid or just in shock brought on from the surprise of being confronted by intelligent and amazingly human-like robots? After all, they could have been eliminated outside the wall in an instant if ED3N meant to harm them. So he tried his best to relax.

  “I’ve been instructed to take you to Ruth. Please finish your drinks quickly and follow me,” the security bot said metallically.

  They gulped a few swallows of the cool water and set the glasses down on the metal surface near the large bracelets.

  “Please put on these devices. They’re called Armilla Tactical Units, or ATU for short, and are for your safety. They are needed for access to the city and allow us to monitor your health and location. They are also used for communication,” ED3N said seemingly everywhere at once.

  Bryce grabbed an ATU first and placed it on his forearm. The straps automatically adjusted to his arm size and he winced as something pinched his skin. But there was no pain and he saw the device wake immediately and start to calibrate to his vitals.

  “I hate to rush you, but we’re in a bit of a hurry. It’s imperative that we get you to Ruth quickly,” the god-like voice said.

  Tucker followed Bryce’s lead and donned the other biometric communication device.

  Eyeing the security bot again, Tucker’s grip on his pistol tightened involuntarily as he considered if he’d be allowed to keep it.

  “And your weapons will no longer be needed. You may leave them on the table. This is a secure room and the doors will only open for you now.”

  Well, that answers that Tucker said to himself, almost like they read my thoughts.

  The boys dropped their gear on the table and rushed through the exit door trying to keep up with the security bot.

  ∆∆∆

  As their eyes adjusted to the sunlight, the view that unfolded before them was absolutely stunning. A wide, lush green field was spotted with solar arrays. A herd of deer was grazing lazily near one of them. In the distance, Tucker could make out several all glass, high-rise towers, and other building structures.