Fall of the Core: Netcast 01 (The Frontiers Saga) (5 page)

As the story ended, Hanna shifted to face another camera. “The entire European transportation network has been shut down as of eleven hundred hours, Greenwich Mean Time. EU officials announced that the closure was due to the unknown nature of the virus’s transmission method. Officials promise to open the roads on a limited basis once they are certain that doing so will not contribute to further spread of the Klaria virus. Nations around the world have taken similar measures, as officials attempt to reduce congestion on major transit systems, in order to allow for the movement of relief workers and resources. In the American Federation, all intercity transit systems have ceased operation, and all state borders have been closed to all but emergency and disaster relief traffic.”

Hanna took a breath, turning to the center camera again as she continued the netcast. “Thousands of implant technicians refuse to report for work following yesterday’s outbreak of violence at the Mercer Implant Service Center in downtown Brooklyn, causing further delays in implant removal. A spokesperson at Mercer Industries announced that additional, armed security personnel will be added at most metropolitan service centers over the next few days. In further developments, a firmware patch that will limit the neuro-digital implant’s control of the user’s health nanites is in the works, and is expected to be ready for widespread release by week’s end. Mercer Industries continues to urge neuro-digital implant users to power down their implants until such time as they can be downgraded to an older version, have the firmware updated, or have the device removed entirely.”

Hanna paused and swallowed to remove a lump in her throat she had been struggling to ignore. “The Global Stock Exchange continues to enforce a hold on all trading for a second day after stocks across the board plummeted on the day the bio-digital plague was released. Officials at the exchange assured investors that the markets would reopen once the current crisis is under control. Economic experts predict disastrous effects on the Earth’s economy, as well as the entire system. Should the crisis continue for more than a few days, the economic fallout could reach as far as the core worlds. Meanwhile, here on Earth, the government’s freezing of all prices for goods and services has managed to stabilize the availability of basic resources. We take you now to Collin Porsu, on scene at one of the new government distribution centers in Duluth.”

“
Thank you Hanna
.
From the Northwest Territories to the Panama Canal, regional distribution centers have been popping up in every state over the last twenty-four hours. The sole purpose of these facilities is to guarantee a steady supply of food, water, and other basic consumables to the people of the Federation. As you know, within the first thirty hours of the crisis, panicked citizens emptied the shelves of supermarkets across the continent. Federal disaster relief authorities are trying to get a distribution infrastructure into place as quickly and efficiently as possible, before people start to run out of food and water.
”

“Collin, what about the people who were not able to stock their homes with the basic necessities? Those people are already facing shortages of food and water, are they not?”

“Indeed they are, Hanna, which is why disaster relief authorities will begin the distribution of consumables via heavy cargo shuttles within the next twenty-four hours. Again, authorities are asking citizens to hang a white flag, such as a sheet or large cloth, from their windows so that relief workers can easily identify which homes have urgent need of basics such as food, water, and hygiene items. In addition, managers of apartment buildings and condominium complexes are being asked to visit their tenants and determine any urgent needs that can then be passed on to the relief workers in their area. Also, anyone in need can visit the American Federal Disaster Relief Agency’s emergency assistance site and request relief.
”

“Have disaster relief officials indicated how long those in need might have to wait for supplies?”

“
Officials here have indicated that although the cargo shuttles should be flying tomorrow, it may take weeks for even the most basic supplies to reach each and every person in need. They are urging anyone with extra resources to share what they can with neighbors, so that everyone can get by until the basic necessities of life can again flow smoothly to everyone’s door. This is Collin Porsu, at the Duluth Disaster Relief Distribution Center. Back to you, Hanna.”

* * *

“Ninety-two percent,” the medical technician told them as she said as she came back into the exam room.

“Is that it?” Brent Tollison shook his head in disbelief. “But it’s been four days.”

“That’s actually pretty good for only four days,” Agent Oslo commented.

The medical technician turned to Hanna. “Most people take a week or more to flush such a large percentage of nanites out of their system. You must have very good kidneys.”

“I drink a lot of water,” Hanna replied as she pulled her NCNW blazer back on. She was spending so much time on the air that she had gotten into the habit of just wearing it all day long. She sighed. “I was sure I’d be nanite-free by now.”

“Well, for all intents and purposes, you pretty much are,” the technician told her. “It takes a minimum of half a million of them to be of any value. Most of us have two or three times as many swimming around inside of us. More, if you have problems that require ongoing maintenance. At only eight percent, what’s left couldn’t stop a runny nose.”

“Then it’s safe for her to turn her implant back on?” Agent Oslo inquired.

“Yes, I’d think so.” She turned to Hanna. “Would you like me to power it back on for you?”

Hanna looked at Agent Oslo.

“Only if you feel ready, Hanna.”

Hanna sighed. “I’m never going to feel ‘ready’, but… what the hell.” She nodded her approval to the technician. “Go ahead.”

The technician reached around the back of Hanna’s neck, feeling for her seventh cervical vertebrae. She pressed firmly directly below it, holding pressure for several seconds before releasing.

“It’s booting up,” Hanna blinked, allowing her eyes to adjust to the display once more. “You know, it’s been weird these last few days without it. I’ve had an implant since I was a teenager.” She watched as her visual space lit up again for the first time in four days. “I think it’s up. It’s searching for a connection.”

“We’ve already entered your ID codes in NCN’s internal networks,” Brent explained, “so you won’t be directly connected to the public Internet at first.”

“That’s fine with me,” Hanna replied as she watched the status reports in her personal visual space. “It’s connecting now. I’ve got messages. A lot of them. One of them is marked urgent.”

“Who is it from?” Agent Oslo asked.

Hanna’s expression changed. “It says ‘Unknown’,” she replied, her voice growing quieter as she remembered the last time she received a message from the self-proclaimed creator of the bio-digital plague. “Should I open it?” she asked, hoping the answer would be no.

“Of course,” Brent told her.

Hanna swallowed hard. “Okay, here it goes.” She commanded the communications firmware in her implant to open the message. A sudden wave of relief washed over her. “It’s from my parents. They’re alive.”

“Why didn’t your system ID them?” Brent wondered.

“They had to use a public comm-station. They’re afraid to turn on their implants.”

Brent smiled. “That’s great news, Hanna. Find out where they are, and I’ll send a shuttle to pick them up, along with Arielle’s family.”

“Thank you.”

“And the other messages?” Agent Oslo wondered.

“Mostly from dispatching agents, from right after we shut down our implants,” she said, her eyes darting back and forth as she quickly scanned her messages over the last four days. “A few friends, an old boyfriend…”

“Well, it might take a few minutes for Unknown to realize you are back on the net,” Agent Oslo said.

“He might not care,” Hanna replied, a glimmer of hope in her tone.

“Well, we’re linked into your messaging system, Hanna. I just received a confirmation message from Agent Lund. If Unknown does contact you, we’ll know it.” Agent Oslo looked Hanna in the eyes, his expression more serious than usual. “If he does contact you, and you feel the slightest bit threatened… If you feel any pain, or discomfort, and you think he might be the cause of it, you power down your implant immediately. Agreed?”

“But, she said I didn’t have enough nanites left in me…”

“I don’t care what she said,” Agent Oslo insisted. “Until five days ago, we all thought our implants, and our health nanites were perfectly safe. Whoever this ‘Unknown’ guy is, he is very good. So don’t take chances. If you feel something is wrong, you power down. Understood?”

“Understood,” Hanna replied.

* * *

Hanna sat drinking her coffee in the break room, enjoying a moment of quiet. It had been a whirlwind week for her, an emotional roller coaster that had far more downs than ups. At least now, whenever she was forced to report another grim statistic or witness more human suffering, she could find solace in the knowledge that her parents and her best friend’s family and fiancé were all safely tucked away several floors above her. That alone was enough to get her through each day.

Three days had passed since Hanna had reactivated her neuro-digital implant. At the time, she had half expected ‘Unknown’ to start messaging her immediately. She had relished the thought of being able to say whatever she wanted to the bastard without fear of retribution. She had even spent hours with Graham and Agent Oslo rehearsing how to goad Unknown into divulging some critical detail that might lead to his arrest. Martin was very skilled at interrogation and made for an excellent coach, and Graham… well, being a natural born egomaniac made him a very convincing stand-in for a genocidal psychopath.

Of course, capturing the creator of the plague would not bring back the dead, nor was it likely to stop the spread of the disease. That moment had passed, and there was no turning back. All they could do was ‘march forward and make the best of things,’ as Brent liked to say… a lot.

“Just get back?” Constance said casually as she entered the break room.

“Huh?” Hanna was startled by the question, and the fact that it was directed towards her.

“The jacket?” Constance replied, pointing as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Hanna looked down, realizing she hadn’t taken off her field jacket. It was built for functionality rather than style, with lots of pockets, the NCNW logo, and the word ‘Press’ across the back. It was a mandatory piece of equipment for everyone going out in the field these days, and Hanna found herself wearing
it
more than anything else in her wardrobe. “Oh. I guess I forgot to take it off,” Hanna said, sliding the jacket down off her shoulders.

“Tough assignment?” Constance asked sympathetically.

“Not really, just a long week, I suppose.”

“No kidding,” Constance agreed, gesturing at the open seat across from Hanna. “May I?”

Hanna looked up. Constance had dark circles under her eyes, and she looked as bad as Hanna felt. “Sure.”

“We never really met,” Constance said as she pulled out a chair and sat down. “I mean, we’ve seen each other around, both here and out in the field before all of this. But we’ve never talked.”

“Yeah. Well, those in the bigs never really had much time for us indies,” Hanna replied, immediately regretting her resentful response.

“I never did like the way that whole system worked.”

Constance took a sip of her coffee. “You know, when you’re the one being snubbed by those in the bigs, you tell yourself that you’ll never be like that, that you’ll never forget where you came from. But then you get that break, and you get swept up by it all. Everywhere you go, people recognize you. They want to talk to you, have their picture taken with you, help you get things, take special care of you. It goes to your head really fast, and before you know it, you’ve turned into the type of person you swore you’d never become.”

Hanna stared at her empty mug. “I never thought about it like that. Wait, you were an indie? But you’re like what, twenty-five, maybe?”

“I got lucky early on,” Constance admitted. “Batted my eyelashes at a congressman. He wanted to sleep with me so bad he would have told me anything.”

“Hadden?”

“That’s the guy.”

“That’s right,” Hanna remembered. “I forgot all about that guy.”

“He was nobody, just another suit in a sea of suits, until he opened his big mouth to me.” Constance winked. “I made him famous.”

“You ruined his life,” Hanna corrected.

“He ruined his own life by taking bribes and screwing everyone in sight,” Constance retorted. “I just put the final nail in his coffin… and made my way into the bigs at the same time.”

Hanna stared at Constance for a moment. It seemed such a harsh attitude, but she had to admit that she probably would have done the same thing in her place. In fact, she had dreamed of having such an opportunity for years.

“That’s what we do,” Constance explained.

“Not always.”

“True, but often enough. You ruined Donovan’s life.”

“Doctor Mesnard? I didn’t ruin his life. I’m sure it wasn’t his call to hide the truth about the implants from the public.”

“Doesn’t matter. The public sees his face trying to defend the GDCO. He becomes the bad guy in their eyes. Besides, his job has got to be a
lot
tougher now.”

“It’s not like I had any choice in the matter.”

“Yeah, I heard about that,” Constance replied, her tone becoming sympathetic. “That had to suck, having that guy inside your head like that, knowing he could switch you off for good any moment.” Constance swallowed gulped down the last of her coffee. “I don’t know how you got the nerve to turn that thing back on, even without your nanites.”

“Trust me, it wasn’t easy.” Hanna sighed. “But again, I didn’t really have a choice, did I?”

“Yeah, I guess not,” Constance agreed. “Just another wonderful perk of our
glorious
profession.”

“You don’t sound like you care for it much?” Hanna commented.

“Are you kidding? I love it. If for no other reason than because I get to be in
here
most of the time, instead of out
there
. You’ve seen the chaos. The world is tearing itself apart. And all we have to do is peek our pretty little noses outside once a day, and then run back here and tell everyone about how awful they have it.”