“Not good enough. When will you know?” Paul asked the same question again.
“We’re working on it as fast as we can, Chairperson.” Sal said, gritting his teeth as he tried to keep his composure with Paul.
“Make sure Natalizio gets daily updates.”
“I’ll do my best, Mr. Chairperson.” Sal just wanted to be off the phone and stop the verbal onslaught.
Paul hung up the phone without saying anything more, leaned back in his chair and took another sip of coffee.
Sal got off the phone, still smoldering from the conversation. He’d been working with Mario night and day to try to find a root cause and cure for Stigma. They were both perplexed by the strange cancer type and why the MDChip/MDSolution protocol was ineffective in its eradication. Not having an answer was driving him crazy but Paul’s treating him like an imbecile outraged him even more. He had enough, time to call Mario.
“Mario, I need you to VF Ambrosi.” Sal said.
Mario hated that they ever created the VF capability and resented that he let Sal talk him into killing Chairperson Dalca.
“Sal, I can’t.” Mario said.
“Why?”
“I just can’t.”
“Mario, I need you to do this, Ambrosi is a mad man and he’s going to get the ethnarchy blown off the face of the earth. We need to stop him.”
Mario was still loyal to Sal but was deeply conflicted by the ask.
Sal was unrelenting. “Mario, for the sake of the ethnarchy you need to do this!”
“Let me pull him up in MDCentral.” Mario tried to stall, hoping Sal would calm down and rethink his request.
“OK,” Sal said.
Mario logged into MDCentral and did a search on Paul.
“He’s not in here,” Mario said.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. He doesn’t have a chip.”
“Seriously?” Sal couldn’t believe it. Of the billions who had gotten the chip, the one person he wanted to VF the most didn’t have it.
“He’s not there.” Mario said with relief.
Sal backed down. “OK, I’ll be there later to work on Stigma.”
“Bye.” Mario hung up, upset that Sal would put him in a situation of murdering again. Despite his loyalty, Mario’s resentment towards Sal grew, something that Sal would ultimately regret.
CTP-74
2065
M acLurig had been working with Sal and Mario on root causes for the Stigma blood cancer. Over the past year, they researched environmental, chemical, genetic, and nutritive possibilities for why Stigma decided to rear its ugly head and why the MDChip/MDSolution protocol was ineffective in fighting it. Reported Stigma cases had been growing exponentially, with the vast majority occurring in Europe. Looking at SynFood as a possible source, Sal contacted MacLurig to find out if something in SynFood was the culprit. The three were meeting via HoloRoom, MacLurig in Glasgow, Sal and Mario in Rome.
“It’s CTP-74.” MacLurig said. “It’s the integral preservative which gives SynFood its unlimited shelf life. Without it, SynFood would only have a shelf life of a few days and would need refrigeration. Without CTP-74 there is no way we could manufacture and distribute SynFood in the volumes you need.”
This was the last thing Sal wanted to hear. He was the hero of the senate for solving the famine issue in the Europe Ethnarchy. Now the very thing that Sal championed to feed its citizens was killing them. While facing the senate with this information was bad, he dreaded telling Paul how Sal’s MDChip/MDSolution baby was defeated by SynFood and its CTP-74 preservative.
“Is there a replacement?” Sal asked.
“Nothing anywhere near the shelf life you’re used to. We could possibly get to a few weeks of shelf life but that’s it.” For months Sal had been putting intense pressure on MacLurig to decompose SynFood to see if there was something in it causing the cancer. She’d been working day and night to understand if SynFood was causing Stigma but was also frustrated with Mario and Sal for not doing enough to fix the MDChip/MDSolution protocol.
MacLurig continued, “What about on your end? Anything to upgrade the chip and fluid?” What MacLurig didn’t know was that Sal and Mario had been working on an upgrade to the MDChip/MDSolution protocol that would reprogram the synthetic killer cells to eradicate the Stigma blood cancer. They successfully created an upgrade to the chip, but it would require every chip wearer to have the old chip removed and replaced with a new one. Manufacturing billions of new chips, then getting them into the distribution network would take at least a year just to get new chips into pharmacies. Then there were the billions of people who would have to go through the procedure.
“We can do a chip upgrade, but the logistics is not only cost-prohibitive but takes too long. We do have another idea which might be more feasible.” Sal and Mario had been testing a new concept whereby a new clear chip placed on the wearer’s body interacted with the MDChip in the wearer’s heart, taking over the firmware functions on the MDChip and upgrading the dormant SK cell procedure. As long as the MDChip wearer had the second clear chip on their body, the SK cells in the wearer’s body would be able to eradicate Stigma along with all the other cancers it had been killing for years. The clear chip was easy to produce and distribute, and the wearer just had to affix the adhesive-backed chip to his or her body. Once affixed, the newly-programmed SK cells went to work on the Stigma blood cancer. Both Sal and Mario tested the clear chip on themselves and were satisfied enough with the results to move forward.
Sal continued, “We have been testing a secondary chip that’s been successful at eradicating the blood cancer. I still need to talk through with the chairperson.”
“What do you want me to do about CTP-74?”
“Keep looking for an alternative preservative but don’t stop production. We need the SynFood.”
“Will do, talk later.” MacLurig turned off her HoloSpecs, her hologram disappearing from the HoloRoom.
“You didn’t tell her,” Mario said.
“I need to talk to the chairperson first.”
The next day Sal visited Paul at his office.
“Sir, Senator Carlotta is here,” Paul’s assistant said.
Paul was sitting at his desk and motioned Sal in.
“Mr. Chairperson,” Sal said.
“Come in.” Sal came in to Paul’s office and sat in a small wooden chair in front of Paul’s desk. Paul used to hold meetings at his conference table to make his visitors more comfortable, but he recently replaced the plush leather chairs in front of his desk with uncomfortable hard wooden chairs. Paul sat in his plush leather high-back chair behind his desk, a reminder to his visitors that he was the boss. Sal hated the wooden chairs that were nothing more than an intimidation tactic for Paul’s visitors.
“What do you want?” Paul said.
“We know what’s causing Stigma, it’s a preservative in SynFood called CTP-74.”
“So stop using it.”
“It’s not that easy, without CTP-74 we don’t get the shelf life we need. SynFood would be worthless.”
Paul put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair.
“So now what?” Paul asked.
“Mario and I created an upgrade to the MDChip, which is a clear chip that affixes to the wearer’s skin. We’ve been testing it on ourselves and it works great. It’s simple to manufacture and distribute, and the wearer can put it on without any help.”
“What about other cancers?”
“Everything else works as before.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Paul lifted his head from his hands. “A wearer sticks a clear plastic chip on their body and their MDChip is now able to kill Stigma?”
“Right.”
“And it only works on those who have the MDChip?”
“Yes.”
“And this would be better than trying to adapt SynFood?”
Sal shuffled in his wooden chair. “Yes, I think so.”
; Paul leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, his blue shirt showing his underarm sweat stains. “Is this the best you’ve got?”
Sal knew Paul was exerting his power over him, and it drove him crazy.
“There’s one more thing, it’s contagious.”
Paul leaned forward, staring Sal down. “I thought cancer wasn’t contagious.”
“This is like nothing we’ve ever seen, it’s transmitted like a common cold, through the respiratory system.” Only Sal and Mario knew it was contagious, he didn’t tell MacLurig or anyone else. He wanted to discuss it with Paul first. Sal was expecting a volatile response from Paul and was surprised to see a faint smile on Paul’s face.
Paul leaned back in his chair and thought for a minute. “Here’s what I want you to do.” Paul’s voice became calm and measured. “Continue full scale SynFood production with CTP-74, begin production of the clear chip and put a certificate of authenticity symbol on it, something like three Stigmas so people know it’s a legitimate chip. Put out a HoloMate bulletin telling of the chip and that production will begin as quickly as possible. Don’t tell anyone about the CTP-74 link or Stigma being contagious. When can you have StigmaChip ready?” Paul decided to name the clear chip after the Stigma blood cancer, no need to ask Sal what he thought.
Sal sat there for a minute trying to digest the directives Paul gave. “We’ll have StigmaChip production and distribution ready in six months.”
“Good. Manufacture as much SynFood as possible. I’m going to let other ethnarchies buy it on the open market.” Up to this point Paul had made SynFood only available to Europe Ethnarchy citizens. Making it available on the open market was an abrupt shift in strategy.
“Why are you letting other ethnarchies buy it?” Sal asked.
“I’ll worry about that, you just focus on StigmaChip and SynFood production.”
Once again Sal was reminded of how much he hated being under Paul’s authority. He mustered up a “Yes, Mr. Chairperson,” got up out of his chair and left Paul’s office.
“Shut the door,” Paul yelled as Sal was leaving. Sal gave the door a defiant subtle slam on his way out.
Paul sat back in his chair, thinking about the meeting, his faint smile back on his face. “This could work out perfectly,” he thought as he closed his eyes.
Man in the Fedora
2066
T he war with the Africa, Asia and Russia Compact had been going on for three years. The Compact’s strikes on installations in Central America, South America, Caribbean, Oceania, Asia and North America ethnarchies were met with swift response by the United States. What was supposed to be a war on Europe became a war between the Compact and the United States. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Seattle, all war-torn. The vast U.S. military installations across the ethnarchies kept the Compact on its heels, thwarting their full-on assault plans for the Europe Ethnarchy. Paul watched as the other ethnarchies pummeled each other, which was just fine with him.
Ever since the Palestine Coalition became part of the Europe Ethnarchy three years earlier, Paul showed an increased fascination with the region. He learned about its geography, people, customs, religions, and the sources of the conflict that existed for years. He visited the Jerusalem Embassy every month, met with Israeli president Ari Dichter regularly, and ensured the military was keeping peace in the region. He had visions of consolidating the region into a single country with Dichter as its leader. There were occasional reports of shootings and altercations, but nothing that Paul’s powerful military couldn’t easily squash. It was an odd attraction that even Paul’s closest confidants didn’t understand, but none questioned Paul and his obsession.
HoloMate became a place of refuge for the world’s population. In the 41 months since the rapture, HoloMate usage skyrocketed as people took comfort in reaching out to each other for encouragement, solace, and hope. Those who became believers after the rapture created “HoloChurches” where believers in Jesus could gather to worship and pray for each other. As HoloChurch popularity grew, there were increasing numbers of protests by subscribers who either didn’t believe or were angry at God that they weren’t raptured. The conflict became so great that HoloMate ultimately banned HoloChurches, shutting down 144,000 of them.
At Paul’s edict, SynFood was now being sold on the open market, with embargos in place for the Africa, Russia and China Ethnarchies. SynFood was still being manufactured with the CTP-74 preservative that caused Stigma. None of the other ethnarchies knew of the link between CTP-74 and Stigma or that Stigma was contagious. Because famine was rampant across the world, ethnarchies not restricted by embargo leapt at the opportunity to buy SynFood for its starving citizens. Other than Paul, Mario, Sal and MacLurig, no one else knew that those ingesting SynFood were subject to the deadly blood cancer.
StigmaChip distribution commenced in the Europe Ethnarchy, serving its own citizens first. The clear chip was two centimeters square, etched with three stigma symbols on its face. StigmaChips were made available at the same pharmacies where MDChips and MDSolution was administered. StigmaChip installation was simple, the wearer only had to put a dollop of a specialized surgical glue on the back of the chip then affix the chip to his or her forehead. Once the chip was in place, the wearer had one minute to remove it before it permanently adhered to the skin. The chip would have worked on any part of the head or torso, but Paul was insistent that it be on the forehead. Mario had software embedded in the chip that sensed where the chip was placed on the body. If the chip was on the forehead, it would glow green for three seconds after being affixed. If it was anywhere else on the body, it would continuously blink red until removed and placed correctly on the forehead, where it would begin its function.
Zeus’ development over the past six years had been plagued with delays due to the Russia Ethnarchy’s war activity against the United States installations. Resources continued to get drained from Zeus to higher-priority initiatives, frustrating Popov. He had learned since forming the Compact with Africa and China that conventional warfare was a no-win situation unless one side gave up. He also knew the consequence of using nuclear weapons and believed the words of China Chairperson Zhao, “Once one fires nuke, everyone fires nuke, end of world.” Zeus would give him the power to strike anywhere in the world from the safety of space using a combination of lasers and hypersonic missiles. Despite the development setbacks, it was to a point where Russia could run a test in the vast Siberia region. Wanting to see progress, Popov approved the test. Russia launched what it told the world was a test weather satellite 5,000 kilometers into space with the intent of firing a single laser-shot in the Central Siberian Plateau. Thanks to Riccio, Paul knew all about the test, including when the satellite would launch, and when and where it would fire its laser. The satellite successfully launched, established its orbit, then fired its test shot. To Paul’s amusement, the laser shot missed its target by 2500 kilometers, striking in a remote area of the Chersky mountain range on the boundary of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The force of the laser triggered a massive earthquake measuring ten on the Richter scale. Popov was furious that the laser strike missed its target by so much. While the rest of the world thought the earthquake was an act of nature, Paul knew who was responsible, and took comfort in knowing Natalizio was getting regular code drops from Riccio. Paul couldn’t wait to see Popov’s reaction when he would hijack Zeus.
Israel president Ari Dichter always enjoyed Paul’s monthly trips to Jerusalem. The trips were a combination of business and pleasure, with Dichter taking time on each trip to show him more of Israel, talk about its history, enjoy its food, meet its people. Paul was fascinated with every bit of it, from Abraham’s wife Sarah giving birth to Isaac at 90 years of age, to Jesus’ birth from the virgin Mary and the claim that he was God, to Hitler’s attempt to annihilate the Jewish race that led to the re-establishment of Israel as a country after World War II. Dichter never understood Paul’s obsessi
on with Israel, but as long as Paul paid attention to Israel and protected it, he didn’t care. Dichter was so indebted to Paul that he commissioned a peace monument commemorating the treaty to be placed in the Jerusalem Capitol Complex. The monument would be dedicated during Paul’s next trip to Jerusalem, March 1, 2066.
Paul and Caleb were sitting in Paul’s office planning out the March trip to Jerusalem. Feeling as if he could trust fewer and fewer people, Paul asked Caleb to be his communications director. Caleb’s loyalty to Paul, expertise in communications and control over HoloMate meant Paul could establish the narrative he wanted without others diluting or undermining his authority. HoloMate became the sole voice of the Europe Ethnarchy, with Paul-sanctioned propaganda shown through HoloAds.
Paul was sitting at his desk, Caleb in the hard wooden chair opposite Paul. Caleb started running through the Jerusalem visit agenda. “We arrive at nine, have breakfast with President Dichter at his residence, then to the embassy at eleven for SynFood and Stigma updates, lunch at one, peace monument unveiling at two.” Caleb was particularly excited about this visit to Jerusalem. When he learned about Dichter’s plans for the peace monument, Caleb contacted Dichter to ask him what help he needed in completing the monument. Dichter needed hera as Israel was experiencing a significant budget shortfall, so Caleb reached into his own pocket and agreed to fund its commissioning personally. With all Paul had done for Caleb through the years, it was the least he could do. Caleb was glad to do it, and Dichter was just as happy to accept it.
Caleb continued, “After the unveiling, you and Dichter have free time to do whatever the president has lined up for you, then we fly back to Rome at seven.”
“Is Senator Carlotta going? He needs to give a SynFood and Stigma update.”
“He’s staying in Rome and will participate via HoloRoom.”
“Not good enough, tell him he’s going with us.” Paul no longer asked for things to be done, he just demanded them.
“Yes, Mr. Chairperson.” Caleb had already had this discussion with Sal earlier in the day. Sal told him he wasn’t going to Jerusalem. Caleb didn’t push it with Sal, knowing Paul would demand he go.
The Lawless One and the End of Time Page 22