Dreaming Immortality

by Marco Santini

  An icy gust strikes her, a heavy shower slaps her face. She slips on her jacket and with a hand on her hair, rushes into a reed roof cabin. She wedges herself behind a window. Now the whole area is swept by gusts of wind and sand, bending the young pines along the fence like twigs, while the puddles are widening quickly. The room is pervaded by the vivid flash of lightning; its rumble penetrates into her bones. Victoria closes her eyes and breathes in deeply. All around, only whistles and bangs. Suddenly everything dissolves.

  BOARDING

  @ Space Agency, quantum computer QC1721.

  “So you’re back again!” cries Eve running towards Victoria.

  They are in a hall with two rows of couches along the sides. The Elects are lying, the transfer is imminent.

  At the end, is standing a dark figure. Victoria leaves her friend and rushes along the corridor. She stops behind the man.

  “James, is it you?”

  He turns. The girl takes a step forward, with the intention of speaking, maybe of hugging him too.

  “No, Victoria,” articulates James. “You made your choice. I am here for the Elects’ departure.” Then he goes to the director. “We can start.”

  Victoria reaches the couch next to Eve. She exchanges a smile, then stretches her arms along her sides and stares at the ceiling.

  “Shortly you will feel faint,” announces the director with a calm voice. “Your voyage will last half an hour in total.”

  While her sight is becoming blurred, Victoria sees a shadow: James. She tries to raise her arm, but it is without strength. She wants to call him, but her voice has disappeared. Very soon she will be losing him. Now she is isolated in a world that becomes smaller and smaller moment by moment. The programs she is made of, pass to the aerial dish and from there to space.

  The Elects wake up in a room crowded with arrivals.

  “I am C573Y and I supervise the security of the spaceships,” thunders a voice. “Now you are in the headquarters of Alphacity. An epidemic has infected the population and Nihil has taken possessions of the androids stowed in the armory. He is marching on the bridge, where I am waiting for him with my troops.”

  His words echo in the silence: “You will hunt whoever escapes to Net and Eve Dirac will be entrusted with the command of the Special Forces of Alphacity.”

  “We will do our duty,” replies Eve.

  The heavy door swings on its hinges, revealing a corridor packed with soldiers covered with blue shields. They are equipped with paralyzers, a few have war weapons. An officer with two rows of golden badges on his chest, towers over the group. He looks around and when recognizes Eve, he strides up to her.

  He springs to attention. “Welcome on board. The troops are at your orders.”

  ATTACK

  C573Y is on the bridge, barricaded with five blue-shielded androids. He checks that nothing is left to chance, and then orders the computer to show where the enemies are. The image of the ship appears. The covering dissolves. A hundred lights are rushing along a corridor. They stop in front of a reinforced door.

  The officer magnifies the picture. A black android gives orders with such an imperious tone that all obey in silence. He puts some plastic on the lock, and rejoins the group crouched at safe distance.

  A detonation. A raider rushes to the hatch. While he is opening it, the others take aim. A volley of fire hits the Security front line. The soldiers react with a barrage of fire, but soon their resistance weakens. The invaders burst into. For a few minutes there are flashes and crackling of weapons. Then dead silence.

  The followers make their way among pierced bodies and detached limbs, with dazed looks. For the first time, they have taken someone’s life. From the end of the corridor, comes a moan. Nihil runs towards the barricades, disappears behind a heap of rubble; three shots in a row. He reappears with a triumphant smile, waving his group to set off.

  At this rate they will reach the bridge in a quarter of an hour. C573Y has decided: he will activate the Defense procedure. An excessive precaution he thought, but the Staff insisted. He transmits a secret code to the Defense server.

  A military program assumes the command of the starships. Now he is only a spectator, he feels uneasy. The points of the globe representing the invaders start flashing: target identified. New details have appeared: warehouses, equipment and cables. The secret defensive system of the Caravels, unknown to all the other computers.

  Under the bridge there is a weapon depot. A list materializes. The program looks through the items, selects some of them. The floor trembles, it opens. A stainless case surfaces, its cover glides sideways. Inside are thousands of marbles. They start buzzing, take off, gathering into a black swarm. The main door opens; the spheres leave at full speed.

  Nihil is placing some explosive on a lock. When the hatch bursts open, he throws himself to the floor rolling beyond the threshold, the nearest ones with him. The others catch just a glimpse of a dark cloud in the distance. An instant later, bangs, flashes and smoke. The spheres return from the end giving the final blow to the survivors.

  Next to the door, is a red button, the emergency closing. Now the marbles are halfway, they will reach him within a minute. The button is few steps away, but the way is covered with bodies. He may waste precious moments. He jumps to his feet, hurls himself against the wall. A bang. The switch breaks into pieces. The door closes with violence, flinging the bodies aside. Nihil crashes to the ground, his arm aching. The spheres have not reached him! He counts the survivors, a dozen in total.

  “We are enough to win!”

  They stand up and reach an impressive titanium door.

  The bridge is a few meters farther, full of combat androids coming from the depot, jewels of military technology. They are waiting behind the barricades, with leveled guns. At a movement of their chief, defenders and shelters become invisible. Only slightest distortions of the images can make expert eyes guess their presence.

  C573Y and the small group of Security soldiers have withdrawn into a corner. Victory seems near, but the top officer doesn’t feel at ease. From the screens, he inspects the attackers, concentrates on Nihil… His rucksack! When he noticed it the first time, he didn’t pay attention. Too busy preparing the defense. Perhaps it hides such an awful threat, to undermine the outcome of the fight once more!

  He addresses the computer: "What does it contain?"

  The radar displays the contents. An invisible eye magnifies the surface and examines it. It stops in front of the identification code.

  In C573Y’s visual field, appears the answer. Very large letters:

  *** ATOMIC BOMB – MODEL AB1521-X ***

  The officer is petrified. "The nuclear explosives are kept in the most protected area of the armory. Even I don’t have the authorization!"

  "Nihil got the Admiral and his assistants to help him," answers the computer.

  "But when he reached the starships, they were already asleep!"

  "The virus itself asked for the information, during the contagion."

  The officer glances at the rucksack. "What’s the power?"

  The answer arrives: enough to trigger the explosion of the helium 3! The nuclear fuel, millions of cubic meters of liquid gas destined to be burnt during the voyage to Alpha Centauri that now may cause an appalling conflagration.

  "What about the other spaceships?"

  "Would be annihilated in the thermonuclear explosion."

  "Move them away!"

  "They will reach the safe distance in ten minutes."

  "Too late... When will the android program be accessible?"

  "Impossible to forecast."

  Meanwhile Nihil is inspecting the surface of the armored door, looking for weak points. He quivers in contact with the cold metal: behind this last obstacle, victory is waiting for him. The final victory. Looking sideways, he checks his fellows. All lined up, aiming their guns, ready to pour a hail of fire onto the enemy lines. He dips his hand into his pocket, extracts some plastic. With c
are, he places it along the opening mechanism. His eyes are sparkling.

  Then a tingling in his right arm, the same torpor is spreading from his legs. He doesn’t think about it but his movements become awkward…

  He pinches his hand. No sensitivity!

  He tries to turn. Impossible!

  With his mind, he inspects his companions. All of them, in the same condition!

  His sight is becoming blurred, he starts staggering. He leans against a wall. Soon he will crash to the ground.

  He gathers all his energies. "Back to Net!"

  They find themselves in a tunnel of Alphacity.

  C573Y contacts the Special Forces: “There are a dozen of them left. You will find them in the 15th sector.”

  FINALLY ALONE

  @ Alphacity tunnel.

  Nihil is sitting with folded legs, his back leaned against a wall. Everything has been going wrong, really everything, from the very first moment. At his arrival, the streets were covered with bodies. The work of Security. He started the attack on the bridge, but then the black cloud appeared. He had just thrown himself to the ground, when the spheres skimmed over him. He escaped, but many of his companions came to a bad end.

  "Those are war weapons that Security cannot be equipped with."

  When he was breaking down the door of the bridge, he had the victory in his grasp. A matter of minutes. But Security took possession of the android program.

  "I couldn’t have imagined it."

  He watches the eleven survivors who are in bad shape, with bewildered expressions. One stands apart with a haunted look, the rest encourage each other. This is what remains of his army.

  "They were waiting for us."

  He bows his head.

  "How was it possible? The messages were encrypted. They must have linked the death of the informers with the Caravels… Security and Defense are allied against me!"

  The plan he has devoted himself to for more than fifty years, on which he has founded his existence, is about to fail. The end of a dream, just when its realization is so near.

  His life has no meaning any more. But he will not disappear anonymously and neither will he be waiting for the Special Forces to kill him! No, he will not give anyone this satisfaction. Nihil raises his head. Now his eyes are icy. He has devised a terrible revenge, which will guarantee his immortality.

  He takes a little box out of his pocket and strokes its shiny surface.

  "My children, I am entrusting you with an important task."

  Nihil opens the lid. He stares at its contents before pouring them gently on the ground. Thousands of viral programs spread in all directions and slip into the cracks.

  "Go forth and multiply. Most of all, when in twenty-four hours you outnumber the inhabitants, infect them!"

  He closes his eyes and smiles: soon his programs will leave the cracks, covering the cave with a black velvet layer. He imagines them becoming invisible in the daylight, ready to contaminate every life form.

  "They will be my army." An army against which no defense exists. He goes through his pockets again. Then he opens his fist. In the palm, a transmitter.

  Meanwhile the followers have gathered in a corner. The detonations, the smoke, the bodies torn to pieces. All vivid memories. They have lost their companions, but what is most important, now they risk the same end.

  A youth sitting on a boulder, raises his head.

  “What if…?” he whispers.

  The others exchange quick looks. One of them points at Nihil, who now is leaning against the wall, absorbed in thought. “He will not surrender, nor will he agree to let us go.”

  They all remember what happened to the novice, some of them having been present, others informed. Too risky.

  They disperse without adding anything else. A follower keeps on staring at Nihil, who, meanwhile, has closed his eyes. It is unlikely that such a favorable situation will repeat itself. The young man goes near the exit and sits down. He turns towards his guide again, who is swinging his head at every breath: he must be asleep.

  Now or never! He springs to his feet, plunges into the tunnel. His companions give a start, someone thinks of following him, but in the end all of them remain paralyzed.

  Nihil opens his eyes wide. He dashes off in pursuit. The followers throng round the exit, listening to the noise of the battle. The two reappear. The young man walks in front. Nihil is behind, pushing him forward. They pass through the small crowd and reach the center. Nihil darts a fiery glance at his prey. Then he addresses his most trustworthy followers: “Hold him tight.”

  But he doesn’t jump at him. For a few moments, he scans the faces. “I will be back soon.”

  He goes to a recess, and from there observes the group. Now the followers have gathered round the fugitive and are speaking in low voices. A bad sign: they understand each other.

  Nihil clenches his fists, but keeps still.

  He had learned from the old man how to control his instincts and to act rationally. Techniques he has not put into practice recently, being sure of his superiority and concentrating on his plan.

  Now these methods are essential to win back the followers’ trust. But he must resort to all his self-control. He heaves a sigh and clears his mind of suspicion. With a quiet expression, he joins the group. He stops in front of the deserter. Two followers are holding him tightly by the arms.

  “You cannot save yourself by running away,” starts Nihil. “You saw what happened to the others. Security is looking for us everywhere. We can get off only remaining together.”

  He addresses the group: “I have more experience than everybody else. Without me, you all will come to a bad end.”

  At this point the youth raises his head. He is shaking like a leaf. “They will kill us,” he stammers. He turns towards his companions. “Tell him we must surrender!”

  Nihil has heard the one word he had erased from his vocabulary. He flings an arm round the fugitive’s neck and shoves him to the ground…

  He stops, suddenly. He stares at his victim for a moment, then, without adding anything else, disappears into the recess again. Sitting on a rock, he listens to the followers’ footsteps, clear at the beginning, then more and more distant. But he remains motionless, waiting for the events.

  "Nothing is going to change, however."

  WAITING FOR REVENGE

  @

  An endless walk, the way faintly lit step by step, without any point of reference. Along smelly gutters, across such narrow passages that it is impossible to go through except by crawling on all fours. With the risk of coming out in a blind alley. Many hours later, the tunnel widens out. The dirt floor is followed by paving. Nihil quickens his steps, but he doesn’t let himself be carried away by euphoria: as he gets near the upper world, risk increases.

  The tunnel ends with a flight of steps. He points the flashlight upwards. A few meters farther, a metal door, without a handle, without a lock. He reaches the landing, and touches its surface lightly. The door creaks on its hinges.

  Nihil takes a step into the dark. The place lightens. He is in a green room, with stairs on the right. A flight of stairs that seems endless. He has got into the basement of a skyscraper. He starts to climb holding on to the hand rail. Up there he will be safe: they are hunting him in the underground world. Every now and then he stops for a short rest, or raises his eyes in search of a destination that is never reached. Half a day later, the ceiling appears. He rushes to the landing and opens the door.

  A blinding brightness. He shields his eyes with a hand and looks around. He has ended up on a terrace, beyond there is nothing but the sky. The highest skyscraper in the town.

  Leaning against the security rail, Nihil looks spellbound at three skyscrapers standing against the light like black giants. On the opposite side, others reflect the flaming red of the sunset in their windows. He leans out. A few kilometers below, wide streets and elegant buildings, parks and sheets of water follow one another. In the distance a flock of bir
ds alights on a roof. He forgets his anger.

  On the horizon, a row of black dots appears: the Security ovoids! He rushes to a low wall and crouches down behind it. He keeps still, holding his breath. A hiss. Five shadows are running across the roof. The aircrafts disappear in the distance. He stands up and looks at the town again, but this time in a different mood: in his eyes there is grudge, nothing but an immense grudge.

  "All this was to have been mine."

  Nihil goes to the security rail again. With outstretched arms, he stares into space. Then he turns. In the middle of the terrace, towers a structure with a ladder, ending with a balcony, from which the majestic mast with the flag of Alpha Centauri soars into the sky.

  He climbs the steps up to the balcony. Now he is really at the highest point of the town. The sun has set and its purple train is fading away. Above, the sky is getting dark, but the stars are not twinkling yet. A gust of wind.

  He grasps the railing and climbs over it. Then he sits on the edge dangling his legs in the void.

  He stares at the tiny transmitter in his palm. "Soon I will take my revenge!" He casts a contemptuous glance at the town. "Now!"

  He doesn’t transmit any signal. Better to wait until they find him. He smiles at the thought of his persecutors passing from triumph to despair. He remains on the edge, while the icy wind lashes his face and makes his garments flutter.

  DOSSIER

  This is one of the rare moments when the frantic activities on the bridge seem interrupted. The area is lit up by the light of the screens leaving most of the space in semi-darkness. In the middle, towers an android of imposing size.

  C573Y is utilizing this moment of peace not to recover his strength as men would do, but to carry out those tasks he was unable to do up to now. He retrieves Eve Dirac’s dossier he received a few hours before from the Defense. After having deactivated the annoying multimedia frills, he starts looking through the text.

  The section concerning the period the woman spent in the military academy and in the Red Helmets, is full of news: courses and grades, operations and results, superiors’ judgments and citations. She is a clever and courageous girl, with praiseworthy loyalty. He feels an instinctive admiration for her, but he is also aware that all this perfection may hide obscure aspects.