EHuman Dawn (31 page)

Origen laughed, “Looks like we might have interfered with her date with Edgar Prince!”

“You betcha!” Alrisha laughed in agreement, happy to see Origen smile once more. It had been a long time since she’d seen her leader so joyful.

“What now, Master Origen?” she asked.

“Bring all the cities online and under your control. Work with Evelyn Prince to have control transferred to you. What is the status from Marcus?” Origen asked, recalling their promise to Jump Evelyn into an eHuman body once she had delivered the goods.

“Good news,” Alrisha replied, “He’s successfully Jumped one of the MICE in the New Omaha lab into an eHuman body!”

“Excellent! I’m heading back into the city right now. In preparation for my arrival, get a HyperJet ready for flight. I think it’s time I pay the Golden Hall of Gemetria a visit.”

“Any news from Dawn or Adam?” Alrisha asked.

“No, but if Evelyn Prince has control of Neuro, then I expect a TeleConnect from them soon.”

Origen disconnected from Alrisha and jumped onto the nearest transporter, eager to get to the city and try to get in touch with Dawn. To hear her voice once more would make the victory complete.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Adam was still plugged into Neuro, but his Lux had been released from the system. He hesitated for a millisecond, afraid to open his eyes. He anticipated looking down the barrel of Edgar’s ElectroShock gun, and expected to see Dawn dead and lying on the floor. In order to save humanity from evil, he’d given up the most important thing in his life.

His only consolation was that he too would be dead in a matter of seconds.

Adam flicked the disengage switch, opened his eyes and scanned the scene before him. Through the broken wall of glass that surrounded Archion, he could see the control room. Red-robed Guardians poured into the room, banging on the consoles, trying to gain access to their beloved Neuro.

But there wasn’t a single gun trained on him. Nor was Dawn lying dead before him.

Instead, it was Edgar Prince sprawled out upon the floor. The sole of Dawn’s shoe was planted firmly on his chest, the barrel of the ElectroShock gun pointed at Edgar Prince’s dejected face.

“Dawn!” Adam exclaimed as he ran toward her.

She held out her hand to stop him.

“Wait,” she laughed, “I don’t want to lose my concentration and wind up like Edgar.”

Adam took a few slow steps forward and looked down at his father. Edgar stared at him, unable to say anything. For the first time in his life, he was shocked.

“How did this happen?” Adam asked.

“Oksana,” she murmured, nodding her head towards the Archion machine.

Adam turned and saw the auburn haired beauty lying on the floor, the light gone from her eyes.

“Edgar shot at you the moment she pushed you. She shielded you from the blast—” Dawn paused, shaken by Edgar’s ruthlessness towards his lover. Shoving her boot even harder into Edgar’s chest and shaking him a bit, she continued speaking, “I took the opportunity to wrestle him for the gun before he could get a second shot in at you. Oksana provided the distraction I needed.”

Adam stared at his father. Edgar knew Adam was judging him based on his own, small view of right and wrong. It was so easy for those who wanted to save the world to condemn his actions. Never would Adam understand the painful loneliness Edgar had to endure in order to rule the people.

“Oksana got in my way,” Edgar said ominously, “No one survives such a fate.”

Adam knew it was a threat and chose to ignore it. Rather he knelt down beside Oksana and took her into his arms.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

He lay her down in the broken glass and rubble and stood to turn and face Dawn and her prisoner.

“And what of all these Guardians?” he wondered aloud, pointing to the control room.

“They arrived the moment you plugged in. They must have been watching the whole thing,” she explained.

“What are they doing now?”

“Trying to log into Neuro. It appears that their authentication certificates are invalid. The entire island’s under Evelyn’s control,” Dawn answered.

“Evelyn?” Edgar Prince moaned from under Dawn’s foot.

She stepped on his chest yet again to remind him who was in charge.

“Yes Edgar. Evelyn,” she taunted.

“You mean Evelyn Prince?” he cried.

His daughter, the one he had trained personally in the arts of computer networking and engineering? Hers was the only mind on Earth that even remotely rivaled his own. Evelyn had been his pride and joy, the one Edgar had tasked with securing Neuro. Dawn had to be lying.

“The one and only,” Adam replied, “You didn’t know that she and I created a Trojan Horse before I Jumped, did you father? Did you know she helped Dr. Neville program the code into my eHuman database? Or did you assume she was loyal to you?”

“Why would Evelyn have any reason to betray me like this?” he said with a genuine tone of surprise.

“The squabbles between you and your children aren’t my problem,” Dawn said, pushing the nose of her gun into his Chi-Regulator.

“Let me up!” Edgar demanded, “Guardians! Come and help me!”

Several Guardians began to move towards them, their red robes swaying around their booted feet. Their footsteps crunched the broken glass.

At that moment, a voice rang out into the room, causing the Guardians to stop dead in their tracks.

“Go no further,” the voice boomed, “You will not harm Adam Winter or Dawn!”

The Guardians turned in the direction of the Archion machine, which seemed to be speaking.

“You’ve no choice but to surrender,” the voice continued, “It’s I, Evelyn Prince, who commands you now. If you value your lives, you will disregard anything Edgar Prince tells you!”

The Guardians looked at Edgar Prince, still on the floor in supplication.

World Leader Rosario Donahi frantically entered the room, wearing a long black dress, her golden circlet still upon her head.

“What the hell is going on here!” she cried, “Edgar—what is that woman doing to you?”

“Silence!” Evelyn shouted, “Behold my power, World Leader!”

The EC at the front of the room came alive, displaying two scenes. One was of the Golden Hall of Gemetria, now surrounded by WG drones, all with their nuclear warheads pointing at the capitol city. The second image was of New Caledonia, also ringed by drones.

“Your reign has ended!” Evelyn declared, “A battalion of Resistance members is on its way to New Caledonia to arrest you and everyone else on the island. There is no escape for you, World Leader! Justice demands your presence in Gemetria, to face the tribunal that is gathering as we speak!”

“And if I don’t surrender?” the World Leader asked.

“Then I’ll blow you and your island to bits!” Evelyn answered.

“Fine,” World Leader Donahi challenged, “You’ll kill Adam and Dawn as well.”

“They’ve already shown that they’re willing to give their lives for a higher good,” Evelyn answered confidently, “I don’t think they would mind dying if it meant justice had been served.”

“Arrest them!” World Leader Donahi commanded the Guardians, pointing to Adam and Dawn.

“Yes, get this bitch off of me!” Edgar moaned.

The Guardians in the room began to shift on their feet. It was obvious they were torn. They still feared Edgar Prince and his wrath—yet his daughter seemed just as callous and cruel.

“Touch them and I’ll release the nuclear missiles. Your lives will be forfeit!” Evelyn replied calmly.

At that moment, several eBot guards entered the room.

The Guardians remained still.

“Arrest them!” World Leader Donahi commanded the eBots, still pointing at Adam and Dawn.

But the eBots paid her no attention. Instead, they grabbed her and put her arms behind her back, locking them in place with a steel hook no eHuman could break. The Guardians began to move away, but the eBots outnumbered them. Soon, they too were collected and hooked.

“What about him?” Dawn asked Adam, nodding to Edgar at her feet.

“Kill him,” Adam whispered.

“No, brother!” Evelyn cried, “Don’t kill him. Bring him to justice in Gemetria!”

Adam looked at the Archion machine, wishing that he could remember their lives together as siblings in any small way. He turned to Edgar and gestured to Dawn for the gun. She placed it in his hands and stepped away. Edgar stared Adam in the face, never releasing his gaze, daring his son to take his life.

“No!” World Leader Donahi screamed. The eBot holding her struggled for a moment to contain her.

“What?” Adam glared at her, “Afraid to see your lover die? Would it hurt you to be separated from your soul mate for the rest of your long, useless life?”

Rosario Donahi’s eyes grew wide with fear. Yes. To watch Edgar Prince die would hurt her. She had given her life to the man. She had loved no other.

Adam could see the pain in her eyes. He knew the panic that was forming within her chest. Even without a human heart to beat, eHumans knew love. The Chi-Regulator might keep their Lux alive, but love is what propelled them to keep on living.

Adam looked down at his father glaring at him. He cocked his finger on the trigger—and threw the gun with all his might across the room. It hit the EC and shattered the screen, causing the images of the Golden Hall and New Caledonia to waver.

Edgar smiled. His son had always been a coward.

“Get up, you bastard,” Adam said fiercely, “Get your ass up off that floor now!”

Edgar Prince did as he was told. He rose to stand before his son. They glared at one another through eyes filled with hate.

“I’m not like you, Father,” Adam finally spoke, “I won’t separate you from her. Instead, I send you both to Gemetria—to face your fate together!”

Edgar Prince continued to smile at his son as an eBot took his arms, hooked them behind his back, and began to lead him away. Adam thought he looked too confident for a man about to be put to trial.

“Take them to the airstrip. A HyperPlane awaits them,” Evelyn commanded the eBots, who obediently began to move the prisoners out of the room.

Just before he crossed through the doorway, Edgar Prince turned to look at his son once more.

“You’ll regret this,” he said, “You’ll regret that you took eHumanity into your own hands. You don’t have what it takes to rule the world, Son. You never have. You’re too romantic. You’ll see—what you consider freedom will swallow you up and spit you out. And then, the age of chaos will begin!”

“We’ll see about that, Father,” Adam replied.

The eBot pushed Edgar Prince out of the room.

Adam turned to Dawn and pulled her into his arms. They clung to each other, allowing their victory to finally sink in.

They had won. eHumanity was free at last!

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

The pounding of the gavel could be heard in every corner of the Golden Hall as Dawn called the tribunal to order. Her long, blonde hair shimmered under the golden-domed ceiling. She was resplendent in an elegant purple dress. eHumans filled every square inch of the cavernous hall, each one anxiously awaiting the results of the trial.

“Order! Order!” Dawn called out from her place at the head table.

Origen stood to her side, dressed in a camel-colored suit. His crisp white shirt was unbuttoned just enough to display the solid gold chain that now hung around his neck. Never had Origen looked more dashing.

To Dawn’s right stood Adam. He had chosen a more somber outfit: a black suit more fit for a funeral than a tribunal. It seemed appropriate, since this day represented not only a victory for eHumanity, but also the completion of his revenge upon his father.

The rest of the High Court was seated at the oak table, which was situated upon a large wooden dais. At the base of the platform stood the seventy members of the WG, stripped of their crowns and jewels. They wore nothing but gray robes and the chains that bound them to one another.

Just behind them stood Edgar Prince and twenty-three other accomplices from New Caledonia, also in gray robes and chains. The contrast between the once powerful and the newly powerful was striking.

“Order!” Dawn called out once more.

The noise in the hall began to quiet, all eager to hear what their beloved Dawn had to say.

“It’s my pleasure to announce a change of global leadership! From this moment onward, Rosario Donahi shall be stripped of the title of World Leader! No longer shall she govern. Her reign has ended!”

The eHumans in the Golden Hall began to cheer. Rosario Donahi struggled with her bonds.

“Outrageous!” she cried, unable to give up without having the last word. She still could not believe that these brigands had taken over her empire. “You have no authority!”

“Silence!” Dawn demanded, “The seventy-member WG shall no longer exist! It’s been mandated by the High Court before you that each of the seven provinces shall be tasked with forming their own governments—thus allowing the world’s citizens to govern themselves!”

Again the eHumans began cheering.

“In one year’s time, each province will hold elections to choose their leaders,” Dawn continued, “To ensure that the transition from one World Government to several smaller governments is successful, an interim Global Council shall be set up to govern the process. The Global Council shall consist of six members, with one interim World Leader. This World Leader will guide the process of creating the new governments, as well as ensure the safety of all the citizens of the world. To guarantee that we are never again under the rule of tyranny, the new World Leader has promised to step down from his post as supreme commander at the end of one year.”

The plaudits in the hall began to dim to whispers. Who would lead them, now that Rosario Donahi had been forced out?

“eHumans of the world,” Dawn announced, “Please join me in accepting Origen as our new supreme commander! One of the original twelve eHumans ever created, Origen has spent the past two centuries working for our freedom. He tirelessly led the Global Resistance to its ultimate victory! And now, the court has decided that he has what it takes to usher in a new world of freedom and human dignity!”