Dhungwana 2117: A captivating sci-fi novel: The Dhungwana Chronicles (2117-3451) Part 1 (3 page)

Dayla felt under pressure, she was silent and in a bad mood, and she wasn’t hiding it.

“What's wrong, Dayla? You haven’t spoken all dinner. It’s not like you,” Ian asked in a worried voice.

“Maybe I should tell you about it… I didn’t want to say anything, but maybe you can give me some advice. I don’t know what to do.” she said shyly.

“Of course! Tell me… ”

Ian got up from the table, took her hand and made her sit on the couch next to him.

Dayla told him how she had accessed intranet data, and found monthly results which were quite different from those that the Food Division had declared and published. She also shared with him her suspicions that all seven corporations, which in fact had always claimed to be distinct competitors, were actually one mega corporation as they were consolidated into a single entity: the BlueGray Corporation.

“I happened to see the financial reports, Ian: they’re telling us lies; there aren’t seven corporations. There is only one that controls everything: an absolute monopoly. The divisions, which should be competing against each other, work together through barter, and don’t belong to separate legal entities. They belong to BlueGray. There is no exchange of money between them, and I believe that officially they only publish part of the items and transactions in their budget... Can you believe it?”

“Are you sure? Maybe you misinterpreted the data.”

“No, I'm sure, even if I cannot prove it because I didn’t save any of the files. It was too dangerous. I don’t know what to do now. If I ignore it, anyone who discovers what I have uncovered, could also report me for covering up false information. It’s a very serious offense.”

“I appreciate that. But I don’t understand: isn’t BlueGray a private corporation, not public?”

“That’s right, but there are separate boards of directors and the chairman of each division is at the head of a Federal Community and changes accordingly each year.”

“I think you're making a mistake, it’s simply impossible... Maybe you didn’t have time to read all the documentation? Maybe you missed some important points that could have clarified the issue. If you were right, we would all be the subjects of a non-democratic oligarchy... under 24 hour surveillance and entangled in community networks.”

“I'll talk about it with Blake Brittons, I have no choice. After all, I've known him for many years. And I need to know.”

“Don’t even consider it, Dayla… leave the President of the Food Division alone. Just forget it.”

“Why should I give up? A couple of minutes after I accessed the files, security staff came to my office pretending there’d been an external breach to the security systems, but I don’t believe it. What’s more, the person who sent me the wrong passcode was no longer working there the next day. Officially, he had failed his probation... that cannot be a coincidence. But why? Do you think I am in trouble?” Dayla looked at Ian, confused and worried.

“Well, I'm sorry, but what I actually think is that you're tired, exhausted… your metabolic parameters say so... Do you think I haven’t checked them?” Ian replied provocatively.

“Sorry, but who authorized you to do that? What are you saying?” Dayla began to raise her voice.

“For three months I have been the Commodore in charge of Health Fleet Research no. 65, and I will be in charge for another two years.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” Dayla asked furiously.

“Federation security restrictions. My appointment was only made public today.”

Dayla jumped up and looked him straight in the eye: “How can you doubt me? How can you?”

“You know, something happened to me today that I can’t explain, but I am not in a panic. If you give weight to vague and fragmented information, or worse to rumors, you risk having a totally distorted picture of the situation,” he said in an acid tone.

“I'll talk to Blake Brittons.” Dayla said firmly.

“You are behaving like a dissident... and you know that we have a duty to denounce those who plot against our society... ”

“You are the one that needs to be looked into, Ian! It is you who should go to therapy! Do you want to report me? Go ahead, I'm not afraid!”

At that point, Ian grabbed his jacket from the couch and left without even saying goodbye.

Dayla, purple with rage, wanted to connect to her communities and seek comfort from her friends, but she managed to stop herself. Unlike the majority of the inhabitants of Dhungwana, she didn’t share her entire life through photographs, holograms and videos in the accepted socialnet way. She was fond of her privacy and never spoke to anyone about her problems.

At 1.30 am Dayla was awakened by her wristsynk buzzing in her ear. Ian was on her landing, she noted sleepily as the surveillance cameras and audio activated.

“I’m really sorry,” said Ian: “I don't know what came over me. Actually, I am really worried just like you. I will tell you everything over breakfast tomorrow” he said without hesitation.

“Come on in… I'll wait here; I’m so sleepy, I haven’t the strength to get up,” replied Dayla, relieved and happy to have him back at her side.

“Last night, as soon as I got home, I realized how absurd our quarrel was, and got to thinking… ” admitted Ian: “The people of Dhungwana, compared to just a hundred years ago, have a good standard of living. Social tension is no longer a problem for us. Our society is wealthy, and we are happy… our lives are easy and straightforward. Then last night you told me about your chance discovery and suspicions. Incredibly, on the very same day I discover, also completely by accident, facts that leave me really troubled; but instead of going into these events in more depth, I attack you and alienate you. I understand now that Dhungwana cannot come before us.” Ian looked earnestly to Dayla for her response, nervously sipping his vanilla-flavored coffee.

“They have shaped our reality very cleverly, Ian. Dhungwana’s political and social structures, probably one and the same, regulate our time and our lives. But this has never really been a secret, it’s just that if there is a hidden, quite different, parallel world... a world that controls Dhungwana for its own gain… then everything changes. The communities now remind me of the ancient Roman Empire and... do you remember the motto?
Divide et impera
... I believed we were all connected, linked, and our system was aimed at social cohesion, but... maybe there is a completely separate government class… I'm confused” replied Dayla, pushing the fruit around her plate.

“I’m confused, too… and playing a public role, I am more deeply involved” Ian continued: “in fact, I’m civilly and criminally liable. About a month ago, I discovered all GMO rice contains genes capable of modifying the human immune system and some metabolic parameters. I came across this by accident, working on aflatoxins. I couldn’t believe it, now I am certain. I’ve been carrying out tests for weeks.”

“A genetic mutation?” asked Dayla, horrified.

“No, the genes were inserted on purpose. I can’t get it out of my head!”

“And now? What are you going to do, Ian?”

“First, I have to see if there is an explanation, and then... as Commodore I am bound to confidentiality; on the other hand, if someone did this intentionally, I have a duty to report the matter. But I must have all the evidence; I don’t want to risk being sentenced to hard labor in the prohibited land, producing water. The same goes for you.”

“Do you trust me, Ian? I mean, I know you love me, but do you trust me?” Dayla asked point blank.

“Yes, I have no doubts about you. How about you?” Ian asked.

“Yes, you are my rock.”

There was a moment of silence, then Dayla spoke again: “Today I will ask Brittons for an explanation. Let's see what he says, he’s always been honest with me.”

“Okay, I’ll continue investigating... but it’s very late, Dayla!” said Ian, looking at his wristsynk. Dayla saw the time, jumped up immediately and rushed to get ready for the office.

The briefing with Blake Brittons, president of the BlueGray Food Division, was set for 11.30 am and Dayla was waiting to be called.

As usual she had prepared the financial reports and had finished the shareholders report so that it could be approved by him, but she had also made a very important verification: all Dhungwana corporations had department presidents who had been elected to Federal Communities, even if not to the Constituent Assembly. She felt nervous… at the end of the meeting, she would have to find the courage to ask Brittons some delicate questions without telling him how far she had gone in her personal investigation on data consolidation.

At 11.30 Brittons’ assistant summoned her to his meeting room.

“Hello Dayla, how are you? It has been a while since we last saw each other. Please take a seat” said Blake Brittons in a friendly tone.

Brittons was a man of sixty, very polite and kind, a true gentleman. He was an agronomist and was among the twenty world experts who were responsible for human and animal nutrition. He often appeared on socialnet programs due to his extensive knowledge and experience in the field.

He had known Dayla for ten years and had long given up on checking her financial analysis and reports closely because he trusted her completely. Their working relationship had become so close that they were on first name terms.

At the end of the meeting, just as Blake Brittons validated the shareholders report, Dayla took her courage in both hands and said:

“Blake, do you happen to have five minutes? I need to talk to you... ”

“Of course, tell me everything.”

“You already know they gave me the wrong code the other day, what you don’t know is that I had a few minutes to navigate the data before the security staff arrived to sterilize my workstation because of an attempted intrusion. In that very short time I saw a few transaction entries between BlueGray and Glaucous Energy Corp’s food divisions. They were not consolidated entries; they were transactions settled through barter. I thought BlueGray and Glaucous Energy Corp. were competing with each other? So why would they have used barter?”

Dayla took a deep breath and drank another glass of water; she had noticed that in the two hours she had spent with Blake, he hadn’t drunk at all even if it was quite hot in the meeting room.

Brittons only reaction was to raise his left eyebrow and remain silent for about fifteen seconds… moments that seemed interminable to Dayla, and then he said: “I've never hidden anything from you, Dayla, and certainly have no intention of doing it now. I can confirm that the two companies are competitors, but a new competitor launched a product on the market last year similar to ours, and also very similar to a Glaucous Energy Corp. product, so we entered into a price-fixing cartel and, as you can imagine, it’s not a topic for discussion.”

“I see, but that’s against the law... ” Dayla murmured.

“First off, it’s not really barter; and secondly, let me say that they only advise against barter as so often happens with these economic issues. There isn’t a real ban” Brittons replied.

“But I cannot explain the barter, I don’t see the need for it... I wonder if the Glaucous Energy Corp. is consolidated with BlueGray.” urged Dayla.

Blake Brittons moved backwards in his chair, giving Dayla the impression he was uncomfortable.

“No” he replied. “Don’t let any strange, nonexistent and dangerous ideas come into your head. I have already told you that it’s not really barter.”

“And then what is it?” Dayla continued unabated.

“They are loans of raw materials and semi-finished products. In this way we stabilize the market price: the magnitude of the global market requires such agreements in order to survive in a climate of perpetual stagflation, offsetting the distribution of raw materials finalized on Earth thirty years ago” the man answered, but this time his tone was unconvincing.

“If there isn’t anything else, I must go. I have an appointment outside the office. If you need more information, you’ll find me back in my office at 9.00 pm.”

“Ah… okay. Are you changing your habits?” Dayla said, standing up and holding out her right hand.

Brittons Blake shook her hand “My dear, it’s down to old age: I prefer to take a few hours rest in the afternoon if possible, and then continue working after dinner. I always have so much to do! Let me know when you stay late in the office next time, I’ll give you a lift home.”

“Thanks Blake, you're always very kind. See you in a couple of days.”

Dayla smiled and walked out of the meeting room to go back to her office. Blake Brittons had lied; Dayla now knew that she could no longer trust him.

At 12.45 am Nathan Chungle burst into Dayla’s office, his face drawn with a frightened expression, holding a book in his hand.

“I’m Nathan Chungle, Ms Erle” he said, putting the book on her desk.

“How did you pass the security scanners? What do you want here?” she asked, terrified at the expression on the man’s face.

“Don’t be afraid, I'm here for an Executive meeting ... I guess you have been asking yourself some questions about BlueGray Corporation since the other evening... Here is my last message to the Investor Relations Manager... I leave you this antique book. Link the numbers to the letters, you’ll understand. You are the right person.” Chungle turned and abruptly left Dayla’s office.

A few minutes later Dayla heard a dull rumble that shook the entire building, coming from upstairs.

She ran up the stairs to the 305th floor where they were holding a meeting with the corporation’s key executives. She saw a lot of smoke and heard screams coming from down the corridor.

She tried to get closer but was pulled back by a security agent, who told her to leave the building immediately because there was an evacuation drill. It was about to be announced to all employees.

Dayla was dumbfounded. She had caught a glimpse of some wounded people in the hallway and the smoke, which had now partially dissipated, revealed bloodied bodies on the ground and a large, gaping hole in the wall as if a bomb had exploded.

She didn’t even have time to ask for an explanation before another security agent escorted her down the stairs to the exit of the building.

Dayla found herself outside with other employees and security staff who gave instructions on how to report their physical safety using their wristsynks, advising everyone to follow standard procedure and to go home without obstructing the work of the agents and rescuers.

Still frightened by what she had seen, and remembering Chungle’s last words, Dayla arrived breathless at her house and found Ian already there, he’d been sent home, too.

“Ian... it was awful... I think Nathan Chungle detonated a bomb during the Executive meeting! He came into my office earlier to give me a book!” Dayla said as soon as she saw him.

“Who? What are you talking about?”

“The Control Deputy Director, the one who failed his probation period... He killed several people. I saw dead and wounded people and a huge hole in the wall!”

“Relax” smiled Ian reassuringly: “it was just a realistic simulation. Don’t worry!”

“And Chungle?”

“Maybe he just happened to be there; obviously they had summoned him for some reason... if not, how could he pass through security without being stopped? Calm down now. It was just a coincidence. Would you like some tea? Forget about the corporation, and let's enjoy this unexpected afternoon off. And tonight I sleep here” Ian replied smiling, without attaching any importance to the question of the book Chungle had left with Dayla.