“Can I pick it up?” Donny said.
“Sure,” Dr. Beck said. “Just don’t drop it.”
It was light, considering its size. The canister on top was bulky. He felt powerful with it in his hands. He pretended to drop it. Dr. Beck nearly had a heart attack, clutching his hand to his chest. Donny laughed.
“Don’t worry, she’s in safe hands,” he said.
“I hope so,” Dr. Beck said. “Drop it, and say goodbye to this City.”
Donny suddenly didn’t feel so confident.
“Really?” he said.
“The weapon is, by design, unstable,” Dr. Beck said. “It fires a bolt of plasma at the intended target. It disintegrates matter and tears holes in anything it touches. The only defense we have against such a weapon is a neutralizing shell. Allow me.”
He pressed a button on the rifle. Whom! A cool noise but nothing else.
“What just happened?” Donny said.
“I turned on the defensive shield,” Dr. Beck said. “Allow me to demonstrate.”
He opened a drawer and picked up a futuristic plasma pistol. He aimed it at Donny’s head and pulled the trigger.
“No, wait!” Donny said.
A fat globule of plasma exploded from the tip of the pistol. It splattered against something one foot from Donny’s head. It was only when the plasma made contact with the shield that Donny saw the faded yellow aura of the shield as it absorbed the impact.
“There’s the shield in action,” Dr. Beck said.
“Thanks for warning me,” Donny said sardonically.
“It had to use your own anti-matter reserves to create the shield,” Dr. Beck said. “The City in charge of defenses sought to figure out a way to re-absorb the energy back into the canister, returning you the reserves you lost. But the amount returned to you can never be more than it took for the shield to absorb it.”
“This is awesome,” Donny said. “It makes me invincible.”
“For a short time, yes,” Dr. Beck said. “After that, you’re on your own. A shield will fail once the energy reserves reach zero.”
“Will the Bug technology be the same?” Donny said.
“Mostly,” Dr. Beck said.
“How will it be different?” Donny said.
“It’s been eighty years since we captured the pod with this tech,” Dr. Beck said. “Who knows what advances they’ve made since.”
Donny didn’t much like the sound of that. Still, it would have given them a fighting chance.
“Can I try this baby out?” Donny said.
“By all means,” Dr. Beck said. “Please aim at the target.”
Donny held the rifle in both hands and took aim at the target in the shape of a Bug. He pulled the trigger. A bolt of pure plasma fired out the end. Donny was surprised at the lack of recoil. It struck the target, shearing right through it, and struck the mountain wall on the other side, sliding down it like liquid-hot magma.
“Oh, Momma,” Donny said. “Come to Daddy. I wish I had one of these when the Reavers attacked us.”
“It can’t ever be taken out of here,” Dr. Beck said. “If the Bugs ever picked up a signal of it going off outside, they would come down on us like a ton of bricks.”
“They don’t have sensors that can penetrate earth?” Donny said.
“Not to this depth,” Dr. Beck said. “The first time we tested it, we burnt a hole in the side of the mountain. The wall was too thin.”
“I wondered how you got the hole in the mountainside,” Donny said. “Where the Rages got in.”
“We filled it as best we could,” Dr. Beck said. “Of course, it turned out not to be enough. We moved the weapons unit to this room, with the rest of the mountain to take the brunt of the plasma. It would take some time to fire through all that rock to get to the other side.”
“But eventually it would?” Donny said. “Holy moly.”
“We aren’t supposed to have access to this kind of technology yet,” Dr. Beck said.
“But we do,” Donny said. “Best to use it while we can.”
He replaced the plasma rifle on the plinth and stepped back.
“How big is this warship you’re building?” he said. “It must be big to house everything the Cities have built.”
“Projects adapt and change,” Dr. Beck said. “But as means of comparison, we hollowed out a neighbouring mountain to build our rocket.”
“Wait,” Donny said. “What?”
“We couldn’t very well build it out in the open for the Bugs to see,” Dr. Beck said. “Anti-matter is very efficient as a fuel source, so—”
“Yeah, yeah,” Donny said. “But wait. You’re saying your piece of the warship alone is the size of a mountain? One of the mountains here?”
“That’s correct,” Dr. Beck said. “It’s not even the biggest section. Not by a long way.”
Donny turned pale.
“The other projects are larger?” he said.
“Yes,” Dr. Beck said. “Some of them much larger.”
“You’re shitting me!” Donny said. “Jesus.”
“No, I am not shitting you,” Dr. Beck said, the curse sounding unnatural on his tongue. “We weren’t building a ship to explore new worlds. It’s a ship to destroy worlds. An entire civilization, if we could. It needs to be large enough to house all the ships.”
“Woah, woah,” Donny said. “What ships?”
“The ships the Chinese built,” Dr. Beck said.
“The Chinese?” Donny said. “Just how many of these Cities are there?”
“Now? I don’t know,” Dr. Beck said. “When we started this program, about twenty. So few cities remained. There will be even fewer now. Look at this one. It’s empty. Full of rubble where it used to hold such promise.”
Donny was silent a moment.
“It’s still pretty cool though, everyone coming together like that,” he said. “What about shields? Defenses?”
“The Israelis, of course,” Dr. Beck said. “Tell me of another nation that has managed to survive so long surrounded by so many enemies who want them dead.”
“I don’t know much about the Israelis or anyone else,” Donny said. “I don’t really know anything about the world.”
Dr. Beck draped an arm around Donny’s shoulders and led him down the corridor.
“Then let me educate you on the history of war of our great species,” Dr. Beck said. “It happens to be one of my greatest passions.”
“War?” Donny said.
“History,” Dr. Beck said. “The greatest thing about history is we’re creating it. All the time. It’s hard to know when a single moment might contribute to the greater good. Sometimes these moments are noisy, loud, and obvious. Other times, they’re small, like a mouse’s whisper, audible only when looked at through the prism of time. Learning to identify those moments is a skill, one that can be sharpened with intense study.”
For the first time in his life, Donny was genuinely interested in learning about history. The history of war.
He tucked the handle of the plasma pistol deeper in his pocket, out of sight.
Very interested.
25.
JAMIE WENT to the security monitor room to get a little time to himself. Ideally, he would have gone outside and sat on a forgotten ridge of the mountain. It’s what he’d always done at the commune when he needed to think.
What with the Rages still parked outside the hastily-covered hole on the western side of the mountain, he didn’t want to risk causing a noise and bringing an avalanche of Rages down on their heads.
The news about Lucy—her having been created in a lab—had been a real shock to him. He’d been as certain she was a real regular person as he himself was. Something so obviously true had been proven false. Two plus two did not equal four. The sky was not blue. If he was wrong about Lucy, anything else he thought to be undeniably true could also turn out to be false.
Jamie’s eyes flicked from one screen to another. The Rages were st
ill there. Milling around with nothing better to do. If they’d been sent by the Bugs, as Dr. Beck had suggested, they clearly hadn’t aimed very well. One of the creatures stood so close to the camera Jamie could see its bottom jaw, partially dislocated, moving up and down like it was chewing cud.
Jamie was repulsed by the things, but at the same time, he felt pity for them. They used to be people before the Rage got hold of them. They were all victims of the Bugs. The Bugs had wanted every man, woman, and child to turn into one of those things. Or better yet, die.
Then a thought occurred to him.
Perhaps the virus hadn’t worked out as well as the Bugs had expected. Maybe the Rages weren’t dead enough. Better a dead human than a semi-living one, right? But who understood the mind of monsters?
“Sorry for intruding.”
Jamie, taken by surprise, hopped backwards. He put a hand to his heart before seeing it was Dr. Beck.
“Did I frighten you?” Dr. Beck said. “I do apologize. I forget it’s still possible for me to creep around with this clicking, clacking walking stick of mine. You look like you were deep in thought.”
Jamie nodded.
“I was,” he said.
“About anything of interest?” Dr. Beck said.
“Not really,” Jamie said. “Just letting my mind wander. I guess you came here to check on the Rages. I’ll leave you to it.”
“There’s no need to leave,” Dr. Beck said. “If anything, I’m the one disturbing you.”
He didn’t offer to leave. He hobbled into the room and half-lowered, half-fell into the comfortable leather desk chair. Jamie sighed. Even the least comfortable chairs in the City were vastly more comfortable than anything they had in the commune. They had hard benches. Hard people needed to be fashioned by hard things, his father used to say. He was probably right. Still, a little comfort now and then went a long way.
“Sometimes I like to come here,” Dr. Beck said. “Getting a new physical perspective on things can help us get a new internal perspective too, don’t you find? I used to enjoy taking a small picnic outside to sit on the mountain. Just sitting, thinking. Or not thinking, depending on how you look at it. I always liked to watch the sunset. You?”
“Sunrise,” Jamie said.
“It can get a little confusing about what time it is in here,” Dr. Beck said. “That’s why I have to set my alarm each morning to ensure I get the required amount of sleep and rest. Otherwise, I’d work myself into the grave.”
Jamie reflected on his and Dr. Beck’s habits of relaxation. He’d never known anyone else to meditate as much as he did. Neither his father or brother were much into introspection. Another inherited trait from his mother, no doubt. He liked that some part of her continued to live on inside him. It was like she was with him.
“I was talking with your brother earlier,” Dr. Beck said. “According to him, you were the one who found and rescued Lucy.”
Jamie nodded. He still wasn’t sure how he ought to feel regarding Dr. Beck’s planned use of Lucy. For his own selfish ends. He could understand the impulse, to create something that would solve their problems, but it still didn’t sit right with him. If he wasn’t Lucy’s friend and it was some abstract stranger perhaps he would have felt differently.
“I owe you a debt of gratitude,” Dr. Beck said. “We worked very hard on Lucy at the City. It’s nice she’s returned home. It’s where she belongs.”
“I thought she belonged plugged into a spaceship to fight the Bugs?” Jamie said, not bothering to hide his contempt.
“That was her purpose,” Dr. Beck said. “Not where she belonged. This is her home. You don’t approve of what we did?”
“I don’t think I made that much of a secret,” Jamie said.
Dr. Beck turned his head to one side like a dog having found a new toy to play with. Curious.
“You care for her,” he said.
“Sure,” Jamie said. “She’s my friend.”
“And you’re very close,” Dr. Beck said.
“Yes,” Jamie said, not understanding what he was getting at.
“I’m glad she has a true friend at her side,” Dr. Beck said. “It’s something we all need.”
“We’re all her friend,” Jamie said. “Fatty, Donny. Even Dad. When he wakes up.”
“Those aren’t friends,” Dr. Beck said. “They’re acquaintances. You’re a real friend. You would never leave her behind, never give up on her.”
“Of course not,” Jamie said.
“True friends are very hard to come by,” Dr. Beck said. “Especially now. She’ll need you. In the future.”
“I’m not sure there’s going to be much of a future,” Jamie said. “Not after the Bugs are finished with us.”
“The sad truth is, that might very well be true,” Dr. Beck said.
He turned to the monitors, eyes moving from one screen to another. Jamie did the same, letting the vastness of the world sweep over him. Letting himself feel small and insignificant. It gave him a great sense of peace.
“I was thinking about the commune,” Jamie said. “Is there any reason they can’t join us here?”
“You’re the second person to mention that,” Dr. Beck said. “I suppose there’s no need for us to live here in secret any longer, is there?”
“They’ll be a lot more comfortable here, with plenty of food,” Jamie said. “And it’s safe.”
“Tell that to the Rages outside,” Dr. Beck said.
“Rages are always outside,” Jamie said with a shrug. “Better to be inside.”
“Your commune isn’t safe?” Dr. Beck said.
“I used to think so,” Jamie said. “That was before the Reavers attacked us. They blew a hole in one of our walls. It’ll be hard to fix if the Reavers keep coming back for their weekly donation.”
“I’m not sure they’re much interested in the donation any longer,” Dr. Beck said.
Jamie frowned. He didn’t understand.
“Why?” he said.
“Because they took off when they came across your little tragic scene,” Dr. Beck said. “The Bug pod. The human skin of one of their number. The broken Bug body. It proved too much for them.”
“The whole clan?” Jamie said.
“Most, if not all,” Dr. Beck said. “You can go back over the video footage we have of your commune if you like. You might be able to identify the difference between your commune members and any Reavers they left behind. You’ll know better than I. Still, I believe the vast majority left already.”
“Why would they leave everything behind?” Jamie said. “They beat us, our commune. They could have taken everything, could have demanded food from us every week. Could have gotten enough supplies to live forever.”
“Or they saw the Bug’s crippled body and decided it was best to get as far from here as possible,” Dr. Beck said. “I can’t say I blame them. If I were in their shoes—or boots, as the case may be—I might very well have made the same decision.”
He took the small remote from his pocket and pressed one of the buttons. One of the camera monitors cut to black, blinked white, then flashed with a frozen image of the commune from the earlier satellite feed.
“The controls to scroll forward and back and so forth are on the keyboard in front of you,” Dr. Beck said. “Play around with it. You’re a smart kid. You’ll get the hang of it.”
Jamie pressed the buttons. It didn’t take long to figure out the controls. After the satellite passed the commune, a whole new image started. The commune had changed slightly.
“I don’t understand,” Jamie said. “Why does the commune look different? The wall is still in place on this one! The commune couldn’t have rebuilt it already, could they?”
“You’re looking at the previous satellite sweep,” Dr. Beck said. “We record every movement the satellites make. Never know when you might need data. We used them to check on other Cities, see if they’re active, still operational.”
Jamie skipped back t
hrough the history of the commune. Buildings popped up and disappeared. Walls extended and shrunk. Previous Rage and Reaver attacks played out in real time. If Jamie concentrated, focused on a time and place that coincided with these satellite images, he could even see himself. Sitting on the ramparts, watching the sunrise. It sent a shiver up his spine.
“This is amazing,” Jamie said.
And then he stopped.
“Is something the matter?” Dr. Beck said.
“Did you know about us in the commune before we came here?” Jamie said. “You have the video footage, so I guess you must have known.”
“We were aware of our vicinity, yes,” Dr. Beck said. “Why?”
“Our commune is a stone’s throw from here,” Jamie said.
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking,” Dr. Beck said.
Jamie turned in his chair to stare at the old man.
“I’m asking why you never came to our aid,” he said. “When we were starving, struggling to get by. Why didn’t you ever come help us?”
Dr. Beck was silent a moment.
“We didn’t take much notice of the outside world or those who were surviving,” he said. “I admit, we should have paid closer attention. If it wasn’t for you and the other communes, we wouldn’t have had the time we needed to complete our mission.”
Jamie’s eyes could have drilled holes in steel.
“It’s human nature to look out for others,” he said. “But you didn’t. You left us to rot, to die, against Rages, Reavers, nature and even an enemy we didn’t know we were facing. The Bugs.”
“When a scientist really gets into what he’s working on, there’s no stopping him,” Dr. Beck said feebly. “He focuses on what he’s doing and knuckles down. Nothing can come between him and his work.”
“You think that’s okay?” Jamie said. “You never told anyone outside what you were doing here. We might have been able to help.”
“You did help,” Dr. Beck said. “Your commune still is.”
“How are they?” Jamie said. “What’s their valued role? They’re outside. Fodder for the. . .”
He fixed Dr. Beck with a look.
“No,” he said. “You can’t be serious.”
After The Fall (Book 2): The City Page 7