EHuman Dawn (7 page)

“Yes, and they officially work for Guardian Networks, a privately owned firm. A separation of power, so to speak,” Origen replied.

“But the Resistance has proof that they really work for the WG,” Dawn added.

“Then the WG owns all aspects of our lives—not only our thoughts and actions, but also our energy source!” Adam blurted out, a note of disgust clear in his voice.

Neither Dawn nor Origen replied. They’d given this story to new recruits hundreds of times, and the reaction was always the same. There were no words that could comfort them, no explanations that could make it right.

So be it. Truth has a disturbing way of silencing a room.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Except for the buzzing of the various computer displays and servers, the room remained silent. Neuro never slept. It was constantly searching for information, looking for answers and data patterns that would alert its masters to any anomalies—but also knowing all answers before the questions were even asked.

While the network hummed beside him, Adam sat still, trying to connect the dots in the story. All his life he’d assumed the Dawn Project was a feat of scientific magnificence whose aim had been to liberate people from death, disease, and hunger. The Great Shift had been the gift of Dawn’s success to all mankind, allowing peace and prosperity to reign.

Adam glanced at Dawn, who was deep in her own thoughts. She was looking down at her hands. Strands of her blonde hair had fallen out of her hair tie and now hung around her face. It was hard for her to share her story, for it was always wrapped in the cloak of her guilt. Not a day went by that she didn’t regret her choice to become Dawn. Granted, it had been a series of desperate and heartbreaking events that had led her to take the first Jump, and the girl she once was never could have foreseen the eventual totalitarian outcome for humanity.

She tucked the loose strands of her hair behind her ears and raised her head to look at the handsome, chiseled face before her. She stared at Adam, who returned her gaze with a look of solidarity, his cool eyes beneath his brow, searching her face for some sign of hope, his full lips set firmly together in a serious manner. He looked as though he too suffered an ancient pain of his own. She began to shiver, momentarily taken aback by his presence, mixed feelings running amok within her. She couldn’t believe he was finally in her custody. Getting him to Avalon was her only priority now. The sooner the better.

For his part, Adam still couldn’t believe it was her—the Dawn of eHumanity. At that moment a knock sounded on the door, in a pattern similar to the one Dawn had used earlier, causing everyone to turn their heads.

“That’s my backup,” Origen explained, “Looks like it’s time to head out.”

Origen stood, returned the knock and opened the door. A short man with curly blond hair entered the room. He was dressed in a suit and a tie and carried what looked like a shopping bag. He gave Adam the once-over, and Dawn took the opportunity to explain.

“Adam, meet Evan. He’s one of our members. This room is one of our Resistance outposts in the city of New Omaha. From here we can monitor things and offer a safe place for our people to come when traveling. It also serves as a storeroom for supplies,” she gestured to the shelves, “Origen and I have been here for three days. Now Evan is taking over. Origen will join us as we make our way to the nearest RCC.”

“RCC?” Adam asked.

“Resistance Control Center. In addition to the outposts, many major cities in the world have an RCC nearby,” she answered.

“Time to travel,” Origen said, “Get your rain gear on, Adam. It looks like we’re in for some weather between New Omaha and the RCC. After all the work of getting you here, we don’t need you to short out on the way.”

Adam nodded. He took off his clothes and put the slick suit on. It was indeed one piece that covered his entire body, made of a thick sort of rubber, with a small hole at the base of the spine where the plug on his energy pack would insert. He needed help zipping up the back. He put on the boots which were heavy with thick soles, made for hiking rough terrain. Even though he hadn’t climbed any mountains or scaled any walls in his entire lifetime, he knew his body
would be able to do it. There wasn’t anything the eHuman couldn’t physically handle, except large quantities of water and nuclear bombs. The eHuman couldn’t be shot, stabbed or maimed. Even a beheading was nothing more than a trip to an LMO mechanic.

“The firepower included on this backpack—I assume it is for killing eHumans?” Adam asked.

“Yes, it is. They’re ElectroShock grenades. Just time the release and aim true. They go straight to the Chi-Regulator and stop it. Of course, they’ll work on the WG drones, robots and SpiderScouts as well. We all live on electricity,” Origen answered with a smile.

“Wait a minute,” Adam suddenly blurted, “If these energy packs use the sun to recharge, why can’t everyone live off the grid? I mean, solar energy could be harnessed by anyone, couldn’t it?”

“Many people have thought about using it, Adam,” Origen explained gruffly, “But the instant they get on Neuro to recharge, the Guardians erase any knowledge of those thoughts. The knowledge of solar power is not permitted on Neuro. All traces of it are diligently erased and kept secret. Hell, even you might have thought of it a million times. But those thoughts no longer exist in your database.”

“Shit,” Adam moaned.

“Unfortunately, solar power isn’t the only secret the Guardians keep,” Dawn added.

Once Adam was dressed and all three donned their energy packs, they left the outpost. Origen took the lead, Adam in the middle and Dawn at the rear. They made their way out of the dark basement, up a few sets of stairs and back outside to the dark sky.

Adam noticed that they were in the industrial part of town, where the Transportation Department had their repair headquarters. It was relatively silent at the moment, many workers
had the evenings off, but during the day, PTDs, HyperTrains and HyperJets would be coming and going as they came in for repairs and upgrades, then back out again to work. They crossed several sets of tracks before moving into the shadow of the larger storehouses, buildings containing goods from other cities.

“Where are we going?” Adam asked.

“Quiet for now,” Dawn shushed him, “once we’re in the sewers, I’ll explain more.”

“Sewers?” he asked as the word was unfamiliar to him.

“She asked you to be quiet!” Origen hissed, impatiently. It was always the same with the new recruits—asking questions when they should be silent. Origen was completely vexed by the entire experience. He never went on these sorts of missions. They were beneath his status as one of the O12. Yet Dawn had begged him to accompany her on this one. Even though it had seemed strange to him, he’d agreed to her request. When Dawn asked him to do anything, he always said yes. He couldn’t help himself. He’d loved her for ages.

Origen took a moment to turn and gaze over Adam Winter’s head and look at her. He was startled to catch her looking at the newcomer with—what was it—longing? He shook his head and continued leading the way out of town. He must have been imagining things. There was no way his Dawn was attracted to this neophyte, pretty-boy Newsreel host. Impossible.

Adam reluctantly stayed silent as the three of them came to the edge of the city. Two sets of rail tracks led off into the distance. One veered left to the Northwest, while the other went due North, both disappearing into the foliage. Origen led them up the Northern track and into the cover of the trees.

They walked for about a mile before Adam noticed the terrain change. The trees became thinner and then nonexistent. A huge, circular area of cleared land opened in front of him, at least
five miles in diameter. The rail tracks led right through the middle of the clearing. Origen gestured them to stay to the tree line and travel the circumference. It was clear they weren’t to follow the tracks into the middle of what surrounded them.

The clearing was thronged with piles and piles of junk. Electronic gadgets, containers, tables and chairs; layers upon layers of human garbage. They came to the edge of a small creek that snaked about the clearing and away into the trees. An ooze seeped from the garbage piles and into the water. Origen signaled that they were to turn away from the refuse and follow the putrid creek.

Before Adam turned to follow him, he took one last look behind him at the immense space. Mountains of long-forgotten items covered almost every square inch. Then his eyes discovered a section he hadn’t seen at first. There, in the heart of the clearing, rose the largest mountain of all.

It was completely made of eHumans.

Piled on top of one another. Dead. Lifeless. Adam recalled the pictures of Chengdu Douglas had given him. Had that many already died here? Had they started unplugging in New Omaha?

Adam froze on the spot, unable to take another step, terrified that it was already too late for the eHuman race.

There was nothing he or the Resistance could say or do that would stop the WG from unplugging each and every last one of them.

CHAPTER EIGHT

World Leader Rosario Donahi nervously pressed the sides of her skirt to her legs. If she could sweat, her palms would have left streaks upon the silken material, but her eHuman form prevented such betrayals of emotion. Instead she stood as tall as she could and stared at the door in front of her. The smooth, wooden, mahogany surface seemed to dare her to enter.

“Open,” she commanded out loud.

Slowly it swung forward to reveal the posh study within. Edgar Prince rose from his seat as she entered his domain.

He was extremely handsome, with pale skin and dark, chin-length hair. His coal-dark eyes glittered with an electricity that had long held power over her.

“You requested my presence?” she asked.

The World Leader of eHumanity wasn’t always so formal with him. She’d been his puppet for over two hundred years and had no need for such manners. Yet even after centuries of servitude, she still felt weak each time he requested her for business purposes. Her fear of failure haunted her. Each task was a challenge of her fealty. Each demand an inquisition into her worthiness as the World Leader. After ruling the eHuman population for so long, she’d become quite used to it. She was determined to do anything to keep her power. Which meant doing anything Edgar Prince wanted.

Edgar smiled as she entered. He adored her current eHuman form, which had been designed specifically for him. Every curve meant to bring his eyes pleasure. Every feature in her face from the blue eyes and pouty red lips to the luxurious brunette mane of hair that fell to her waist had been designed for his desire. And her hands! She was the perfect combination of beauty, pleasure and faithfulness— everything Edgar wanted in an eHuman woman.

“Rosario, welcome,” he purred.

He could sense her fear. Of all her features, her desperate need to please him was her best. It had served him immensely over the centuries.

“Edgar my dear,” she answered, “I came as soon as I could. Why the face-to-face when we could’ve simply TeleConnected?”

“Please, have a seat,” he offered.

She immediately sat down on the blue velvet, eighteenth century chair in front of his desk, never taking her eyes from his. He glided over to take the seat next to her and gently took her hand in his.

“I don’t trust TeleConnect, or messaging. My Guardians have egos my dear,” he explained. “And that means anything we say is for sale. No matter how hard I’ve tried to surround myself with loyal constituents, someone always fails me.”

“What do you mean Edgar?” the World Leader asked, a note of alarm in her voice.

“Oh darling, not you Rosario. You’ll never fail me,” he smiled, “But what I want to tell you is too important to risk on the network, no matter how well I’ve secured it.”

A look of relief washed over her face. She relaxed and squeezed his hand, sending an erotic pulse for his Lux to contemplate. He nodded approvingly while a momentary look of seduction clouded his eyes.

“I understand,” she said, “What is it you need to say?”

“The Resistance is on the move.”

“The Resistance is always on the move Edgar,” she noted passionately, “Which is why we unplugged Chengdu. It’s time we bring those bastards to the light and finish them once and for all.”

“True,” Edgar agreed, “And they’ve taken the bait. They’re planning to retaliate.”

“Really? How can you be sure?” Rosario was astonished.

“My confidant within their ranks has told me,” he replied, the look of a recently fed snake upon his face.

“Your confidant?” she cried.

“It’s as I said Rosario, all organizations have a rat. My organization is infested with them, but so is the Resistance,” he gloated.

“Wonderful!” she was beside herself with joy. Only Edgar could manage to have such scored such a boon. If someone within the Resistance was loyal to him, then it was only a matter of time before the thorn in her side would be destroyed.

“So when will they retaliate, and where?” she asked.

“That will be revealed in good time,” Edgar replied, “Trust that the right information will be planted and Dawn will lead her troops right into the trap. I’ve called you here for a different reason.”

He paused, considering deeply for a moment what he was about to reveal. He had to trust someone in this game, and in the end, in spite of all her shortcomings, Rosario was his most useful and loyal servant.

“The Resistance has begun to call in the Candidates,” he explained.

“Really? They’ve narrowed down the list?” she asked.

“Oh, the list was narrowed down decades ago. They’ve been tracking them closely, and so have I.”

“What do you mean, you’ve been tracking them? Why haven’t you told me this before?” Rosario demanded.

“My dear,” Edgar said with a look of fire in his eyes, “You know the terms of our relationship. You must tell me your every move. However, I don’t owe you the same courtesy.”

She bowed her head in fear and shame.

He took a gentle finger and placed it under her chin, forcing her to look at him once more.