EHuman Dawn (10 page)

People were walking and riding bicycles along streets lined with two-story buildings, which ran off in various directions. A drab low-rise steel building rose in front of Adam. They would have to walk through it to reach the city beyond, due to the huge granite walls that led from either side of the building towards the back end of the cavern.

Adam guessed that the space between the granite walls that made up the fortifications and the cavern ceiling high above his head contained another invisible electric wall like the one in the stronghold entryway. No doubt they’d be impossible to scale. Dawn led the way into the building and they approached a security desk, where a woman sat in stillness. Her eyes were closed, yet they moved rapidly. She opened them at the sound of their arrival and stood, recognizing Dawn and Origen.

“Good evening, Masters,” she said, slightly bowing to the Resistance leaders, “I was just downloading the latest Star Journals. Is this the new recruit?” she asked, gesturing her head at Adam.

“Yes,” Dawn responded. “Has everyone else arrived?”

The woman nodded and opened the door in front of her.

“Enjoy your time with us in Avalon,” she said to Adam as they left the building and entered the street.

Adam gazed out at the city. The illumination was provided via humming, electric lights. Adam assumed that the solar and plant energy used to charge his Chi-Regulator were also used to power the gray, stoic city. People wearing simple clothing, either black rain gear suits like his, or simply cut pantsuits in grays, blacks and tans, busily moved along the spotless streets. All colors of skin, hair and eyes milled about him, and everyone appeared busy and purposeful.

Adam noticed that while most people walked, there were some on wheel-less motorcycles that hovered above the ground without making any noise. The cycles had room for the driver and one passenger on the back.

The cavern was abuzz with the echoing of voices mingled with the constant hum of the machinery that supported the city and its eHumans. As they walked further in, Adam noticed buildings rise up on either side of them. Curiosity got the best of him and he launched another series of questions.

“Where are we?”

“In Avalon,” Dawn answered. “What started out as abandoned university labs and tunnels eventually became our city—and Resistance Global Headquarters.”

“How many people live here?” he asked.

“About 20,000. The front half of our city is dedicated to living and administrative functions. The back half of cavern, behind the tall walls in front of us, is dedicated to engineering and transportation. The building set into the back wall is Global Headquarters. That’s where the Resistance Council meets and plans. Here on the outskirts, we have our residential district. As we progress closer to HQ, we’ll pass by other administrative buildings, mostly science and research labs. The Resistance strives to invent new and efficient ways to live in this world without the use of WG technology. We’ve developed computer networks of our own and a solar powered Energy Grid that’s been replicated at RCCs all over the world.”

Dawn called up two of the floating cycles. Origen hopped on one. He signaled to Adam that he should get on behind him on the seat. Dawn mounted the other one.

“To HQ,” she said. Origen nodded and they took off.

The vehicle’s quiet surprised Adam. He’d never seen anything so elegant. In addition, it didn’t deliver them their destination on its own accord the way a PTD would. It appeared that Origen had to actually use his body to steer the machine.

“You don’t network your transportation?” Adam asked him.

“Nope. You have to have skills to drive these transporters,” Origen replied, “That way, if you’re being followed or in danger, you can get away. You can’t trust a machine or an operating system to have your best interests in mind. Besides, we use these babies in the wild, where no networks exist.”

They passed many people and buildings as they made their way into the interior of the city where a long and low building rose up before them. Unlike the Capitol building in New Omaha, this building was void of art and decoration. It was entirely functional, built to survive an attack rather than to impress.

As Dawn and Origen approached the front of the building, a group of agitated and vexed people, all talking at once, began to move forward and crowd them in.

“Masters,” Adam heard one of them cry nervously, “where have you been? It’s been awful—the Council has declared a state of emergency.”

“Master Dawn, it’s worse than we feared,” said a dark haired woman with narrow, slanted eyes. “You must hurry, the Council is in session. They’re expecting you.”

Dawn and Origen rushed immediately into the building, leaving Adam to struggle to keep up with them. He followed them to a room with huge open wooden doors. Dawn paused before entering the room beyond.

Adam glanced over her shoulder to take a look inside. Every inch of the walls were covered in large, flat monitors. The only furniture was a round table around which sat ten people. A large man with shocking metallic red hair, shimmering like fire in the glow of the luminescent lights from the monitors that surrounded him, stood from the table and looked at them with anticipation.

“Adam,” Dawn said, turning to face him, “This is a closed meeting. We’re going to discuss your admittance into the Resistance. Once we’ve voted on your status, you’ll be notified of your assignment.”

“What are you saying? I thought your invitation assumed I had already been accepted,” he complained.

“The Council needs to discuss at what security level your position in our organization will take,” she lied. The true intention of the meeting was for Dawn to reveal her reasons for recruiting Adam Winter.

Years of research on Neuro had led Dawn to believe that Adam’s pre-Great Shift identity was key to the Resistance mission to destroy the WG. If this hunch was true, it would mean the turning point for the Resistance was finally at hand. Glancing at Origen, she realized that her argument for Adam’s admittance to the Resistance might not be readily accepted. She would need more proof than the results of the various data algorithms she had used to discover Adam. She braced herself for a fight.

At that moment, the man with fire-red hair began to stride towards them across the room, while calling out to them, “Dawn and Origen, what are you waiting for? Please report to the Council immediately.”

“Yes Cane,” Dawn replied, turning to face the man as he approached her, “The people out front informed me that you called for a state of emergency. Why? Has the worst happened?”

“Depends on what you consider the worst,” he replied. Now that he was closer, Adam could see that Cane’s eyes were also red and his pale skin glowed like the surface of a pearl.

Cane continued, “It seems that the WG has now started unplugging cities in the Russian Province.”

“Russia!” Dawn exclaimed, “But our intelligence didn’t mention any Russian cities!”

“It was only a matter of time,” Cane continued, “We knew they would not stop in Chengdu. It seems they’re targeting cites that have RCCs near them—or where outposts have been discovered. The WG’s message is clear. They won’t tolerate any more Resistance activity. They’re prepared to kill millions of innocents to smoke us out. No media outlets have even hinted at these treacherous acts. People are beginning to notice that their loved ones in these parts of the world are no longer online. As a result we’re seeing an increase in inquiry traffic on
Neuro. But the Guardians are immediately writing software into these individuals when recharging, to encourage them to forget their missing friends.”

“That can’t be possible!” Adam blurted out. Could there really be programs that kept them from remembering their loved ones?

“It is possible, smart guy,” Origen quipped impatiently, “Remember, every time you get on Neuro, it reads your memory and monitors your processing. While you’re off executing whatever Pleasure Zone App you feel like playing, the Guardians are writing new code into your operating system. Simple upgrades, you know? Perhaps…enhancements?”

“The Guardians erase memories of people we know while we aren’t paying attention?” Adam asked.

“Adam, there’s so much you do not know about Neuro and the way things are in the world now,” Dawn said. “This isn’t due simply to your ignorance—contrary to what others may think,” she glared at Origen, “Essentially, the moment humanity accepted the eHuman and decided to participate in the Great Shift, we lost our ability to control our own thoughts and minds. There isn’t
anything
that’s truly your own anymore. Anything you remember is by the grace of the Guardians. Software upgrades keep the citizenry ignorant, non-inquisitive and silent—while the WG and global elite suck up the resources and power that this Earth has to offer them.”

“Unfortunately, this is true,” a man replied from behind them. Adam turned to the newcomer and found a tall, gangly man with shaggy brown hair that stood up on end and curious grey colored eyes, walking towards him.

“The quest for power and the quest for the human soul are timeless,” he continued as he sauntered down the busy hall toward Adam, “Both have been going on since the great experiment called humanity began.”

The man stopped and held out his hand to Adam.

“I’m Marcus, one of the lead technology experts here in Avalon,” he smiled, “You must be Adam.”

Adam nodded and returned the handshake

“Marcus and his colleagues have been working for us for about one hundred years,” Dawn said. “Many of them are from the original team assembled at Guardian Networks.”

“You were a Guardian?” Adam asked.

“Guilty as charged,” Marcus answered, “I’m one of the original engineers of the Dawn Project. I Jumped while working for the Guardian Networks. I then worked as a Guardian until I could no longer stand it. I unplugged from the grid—stealing key WG technology to enhance the cause. Namely, I brought the power to Jump to the Resistance, along with many other physical enhancements.”

“You’ll be spending the next hour or so with Marcus,” Dawn informed Adam, “I’m sure he’s willing to tell you about the weaponry and other enhancements he’s brought to our movement. And Marcus, please make sure he meets Alrisha, as well.”

Marcus nodded and bowed slightly to Dawn, “Yes, Master Dawn.”

Adam was taken aback at the formalities of Avalon. He didn’t see Dawn as his master. At least not yet.

“I’ll summon you when we’re done here,” she said. As the great wooden doors closed behind her with a huge thud, Adam felt a sense of loss at his sudden separation from Dawn. Resignedly, he turned to Marcus.

“Well, what next?” Adam asked.

The scientist grinned as only a man in love with his work could do.

“Come,” Marcus replied cheerily, “It’s time you discover the strength of the Resistance.”

Marcus led him down several hallways and into the back half of Avalon, which was separated from the cavernous city by the tall walls Adam had seen when he had first arrived. Terminals hummed, machines droned and vehicles moved large crates around the room.

There were shelves covered in gadgets, waterproof uniforms, energy packs, guns and other items of warfare. Adam was overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of the area. Its walls were so tall that he couldn’t see the ceiling.

The energetic Marcus flitted around the cavern, stopping at stations along the way, waving his arms enthusiastically as he shared each bit of information with his guest. For his part, Marcus was one of the few people within the Resistance who knew of Dawn’s interest in this particular recruit, and he wanted to do his best to impress him. Marcus wished the Council would hurry up with their meeting, so Adam’s testing could begin. The anticipation was eating away at the scientist, and it showed in his overly excited gestures.

“One of our main goals is to continue to create efficient technologies to power our bodies that can replace the WG Energy Grid. We’ve perfected the energy pack you’re wearing and have the ability to manufacture millions of them. They’re the key to unplugging eHumans from Neuro and living independent lives. We store them all over the world in various RCCs.”

Adam stared at rows upon rows of the black energy packs, waiting for their new owners.

“We use solar and etheric energy to run our underground cities. The collection devices are so small they can’t be seen by surface WG surveillance equipment. And all our combat vehicles are powered by hydrogen/oxygen water technology, so we don’t need to have access to fuel owned by the WG. Fortunately wind, water, sun and the Earth’s etheric energy are free to anyone with the technology to harness them!” Marcus exclaimed.

They walked toward a holding area crammed with vehicles, where an army of transporters stood ready for their riders, as well as huge tanks armed with cannons. Enormous creatures stood in one corner on spindly legs with daggers for feet, waiting to be used in the upcoming wars.

“What are those?” Adam asked.

“They’re called SpiderScouts. For an effective insurrection we need firepower,” Marcus said. “To that end, we’ve developed a series of weapons that focus on shorting out the Chi-Regulators of our enemies. In addition, most of the WG forces are civilian, which means they recharge on Neuro. That’s good, because it means we can study their minds as well as their habits. It also means that our Hackers can download worms and viruses directly to the WG security forces. For example, during combat we use a worm called AboutFace, which is activated the instant a WG guard pulls the trigger on his own gun. Instead of firing at us, the WG guard will turn the gun around and shoot himself!”

He took a moment to laugh dreamily, as if the thought of another eHuman killing himself with his own gun was the highlight of his existence. After a moment, Marcus noticed Adam’s bewildered look and stopped chuckling. He pointed to another area within the gargantuan cavern. Adam saw a group of Resistance members standing around disassembled eHumans strewn about
on cold metal tables. They were carving into the bodies, removing silicon, circuit boards, fiber optics and metal.

“We also fish eHuman bodies out of the dumps to see what sort of improvements have been done to their Chi-Regulators. That way we can program the correct electromagnetic currents into guns, grenades, and cannons. We stole the ElectroShock technology from the WG. It’s a very elegant technology that can cut power to anything with a battery!”