The Biomass Revolution (The Tisaian Chronicles) (18 page)

If that isn't frightening enough
, Governor Lunia has replaced the Tisaian National Army with a Council of Royal Knights to protect the citizens of Tisaia. But, I wonder, from what? Our walls protect us from the outside, and it has been years since any stragglers have tried to attack us.  Why then do we need a massive military force to police our streets and walls? There is no one left to fight against.”

Spurious paused to check on Lana who sat quietly, her eyes locked on the note.

“
Go on,” she said.

“April 1
st
, 2051

Late last night the legislature passed Bill 99, which deems any immigrant entering Tisaia in the past 10 years as a criminal facing immediate detention and deportation. A group called the Justice Committee has been formed to help track down all of these men, women, and children who will be put into camps until they can officially be deported outside the Tisaian walls.

Many of us, my husband included
, have been talking about forming an underground movement to fight against this legislation. Right now we’re still in the tentative planning stages, but I know in my heart that something must be done to stop the State from doing this.

As I look at Spurious
, I realize that my own life is worth sacrificing if it means his life will be better.

I have to go now; I hope to write again soon. Tonight
we’re holding a secret meeting, and we’re going to call ourselves the Tisaian Democratic Union.”

Spurious folded the paper and placed it in his pocket.

“Leo was right.”

 
The words rolled off his tongue and echoed in his mind, repeating over and over.

My parents were the founders of the TDU.
 

Lana’s touch finally brought him back to
reality. For a few moments she sat by his side, waiting for him to speak, but when he turned to face her the words would not form. He was lost in the brilliance of her brown eyes—captivated by her exotic beauty.

Finally
Lana squeezed his hand. “Spurious, your parents created the TDU!” she exclaimed.

“I know
,” he said pausing. “I have been told this before.”

“Oh,
” Lana said quickly.

Spurious
caught her gaze again. For a moment he studied her seemingly perfect features; her small nose, gleaming brown eyes, perky lips and full eyebrows. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, something worth protecting and dying for.

“The Council never knew who I w
as. My parents made sure of it, and far as I know only you and an old man from Rohania knows the truth.” Spurious paused, afraid what he was about to say would offend her. “Don’t act like you don’t have your secrets too, Lana. We all have our secrets, but I want you to know I’m here for you, no matter what your past holds.”

Lana scooted over closer to Spurious
. “I guess we both have our secrets then, don’t we?"

“We do indeed
. The only thing is, I don’t know about many of yours.”

Lana leaned over to kiss him, her eyes syncing with his. “Well that is something
we’ll have to remedy, isn’t it?” she said, her lips meeting his.

The two
rested on the bed for another hour, listening to the soft drizzle of rain on the boards outside the window. Spurious massaged Lana’s right arm as she lay with her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“I can’t believe my parents were par
t of the TDU. I just can’t believe it,” Spurious whispered.

“You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you that I’m an immigrant.”

Spurious slowly sat up as Lana pulled away to gauge his reaction. “Honestly, I’d be lying if I told you I didn't already suspect that, Lana.”

She smiled and rested her head back on his lap. "How did you know?"

"A hunch," he said, running his fingers through her hair.

"Well
, now you know all of my secrets. It’s a good thing I trust you.”

“And I sup
pose it’s good I trust you too,” he said, settling back down onto the aged mattress, his heart slowing back down to a normal beat.

“You know, for the longest time
I’d never have imagined myself here, with you. And now that we’re here, I don’t want to be anywhere else,” he said.

Lana tilted her head so she could kiss his hand.
“I want nothing else than to be here with you, but I have to be honest. What if someone finds out? What if the Knights find us? You’d be lying if you told me you weren’t worried about the same thing.”

Spurious
sighed and looked up at the orange radiance of candle light dancing across the ceiling.

“All I w
ant to think about is the here, the now, with you. If we get caught then at least I can say a part of my life was worth living. Besides, my parents risked everything for me. I’m not going to throw it away anymore. I’ve been wasting my life for too long!” Spurious exclaimed.

He glanced down at his watch. “
It’s getting late, Lana, we better go. Unless you have some weird fantasy about being interrogated by your AI--I know I don’t. She can be pretty mean.”

Lana laughed. “You’re probably right. I
’d like to stay out of prison for a little longer.”

The two got up and headed out
of the room, turning to take one last glance at the place he had once called home
. This can be our place,
he thought, closing the door and heading into the darkness.

Time
: 7:01 p.m. February 10, 2071.

Location
: Commons Building #21, Apt 44. Lunia, Tisaia

Spurious sat at the edge of his windowsill, peering at the surrounding buildings. The snow in Tisaia had all but melted, once again revealing the copper and gold dome roofs of the Commons buildings and State offices. With the snow gone, Lunia began to bloom back into the architectural wonder it really was.

He watched State workers walk
across the courtyard and thought briefly of Paulo, who would never walk across the terrace again. For a second he remembered his old friend’s gleaming smile and wisdom. Things just weren’t the same without him. A tear crept down the side of his cheek. He wiped it away and pulled out his journal.

Feb 10
th
, 2071

I have been seeing Lana for a little over a few weeks now, and I must confess my love grows stronger for her with every passing day.  The time has allowed me to realize how fragile both life and love can be. I have known for only a short time that my parents were killed by the CRK, but now one of my best friends has been killed by the TDU. My heart is torn as I have tried desperately to find where my loyalties should lie.

Lana
is all that is good in my life now. Ing and I have grown apart, and without Paulo, our friendship has began to dwindle.

The future is so uncertain now, but as I think about the future
I’m reminded of a quote I once read. “Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.”

This couldn’t be any more relevant as
I find myself dreaming of a day I can live with Lana in a free State. My fear is that before long, I’m going to be forced to pick a side.

Spurious closed his journal and another tear dropped from his chin, landing silently on the black leather cover of the book.

Time
: 1:00 p.m. February 12, 2071.

Location
: Sector of Governmental Services. Lunia, Tisaia

Spurious sat at his desk, staring into Archie’s bowl. He tapped on the thick glass, causing Archie to dart towards a small shipwreck replica.

“Sorry little guy,” he
said, scooting his chair back towards his computer. Today his mind was completely locked. He was unable to focus on anything but Lana, who had finally come back to work. He found it hard to believe she sat less than one hundred feet away and no one knew about them.

A blank
blue screen stared back at Spurious as his mind continued to replay the night he had shared with Lana a few days ago.

“Do you have that report?
” a voice said, from the doorway of his cubicle. Spurious turned to see Varius standing at the edge of his workstation staring at him through his thick glasses.

“It’s just about done.
I’m downloading some files that Mica in engineering sent me this morning,” he responded calmly.

Spurious stared at Varius
, who simply nodded at his response. Never had Spurious once heard the man tell him or any other employee that they were doing their job well.

“
I’ll check back in a few hours. The CRK wants this document as soon as possible. We’re counting on you,” Varius said.

Spurious groan
ed and looked back at his blank blue screen. The truth was he hadn’t even begun the project, and the only thing he knew about it was it was classified.

At least this might be interesting,
he thought, reaching for the sealed document.

February 11, 2071

Attn: Varius Lupita

Sector of Governmental Service

Architectural and Engineering Affairs

The following project is classified and thus shall only be viewed by
a supervisor or a designated employee who has access to drawings/blueprints and specifications of the underground tunnel system under Tisaia.

Project 1200 is being reversed and the
Council is looking for any drawings/blueprints from the archives that would map the area outside Project 1200. SGS engineer Edil Leon had previously been in charge of this mission, but has recently been assigned to another role. We’re asking for all of his documents to be sent to the Council immediately.

We look to receive these documents in a timely manner.

In Honor,

Supreme Knight Felix Morr

“Holy shit,” Spurious said, aloud, dropping the letter onto his desk. He had known Edil personally, and had been told he passed away from cancer.

The lies run deeper and deeper every day.

It took Spurious a few moments to regain his focus before
he was able to start searching for Edil’s files. Minutes later he had successfully uploaded all of the old files onto his blue screen. He thumbed through the blueprints of the tunnels from Project 1200 slowly, memorizing their twists and turns.

The sound of footsteps distracted him
, and he instantly minimized the blue screen with the swipe of his index finger. He cocked his head to make sure no one was watching him before enlarging the blueprints again.

He
combed through the drawings before he came across one titled, “Project 1200.” The images showed a subterranean web of tunnels buried deep beneath the surface of the city. There had to be hundreds of them.

Some of the tunnels appeared to have been created
as storm drains; others were sewer pipes long abandoned, while others were facilities built to protect citizens from the sun years ago. The maze was confusing, even from his viewpoint; he could only imagine what the CRK was dealing with, combing each and every one of them for the TDU headquarters.

Spurious picked
up the tiny disc, inserting it into his hard drive with a click. He downloaded the data and before Varius returned to check on him, he had resealed and inserted the package into a tube to be sent by carrier back to the CRK HQ.

The metallic click from a small clock reminded him he had almost
worked through his lunch break. He was so immersed in the tunnel blueprints he had forgotten about his favorite time of day. Quickly he turned off his blue screen and headed for the cafeteria, hoping to avoid eye contact with Lana.

Simple things like
this never really seemed to work properly for him. He could reassure himself he had the ability to control his behavior, but it never turned out that way. As her cubicle approached, he stole a quick glance inside, his eyes connecting with hers. It was no longer than a heartbeat, but more than adequate for Varius to get a scent of something astray. There was no denying the passion in Spurious’ eyes. It would have been apparent to anyone as watchful as Varius.

His heart pound
ed deep in his chest.

W
hy do I do that to myself?

It was no use
. He failed and although he was quite sure no one noticed, his lack of self control bothered him. If there wasn’t so much on the line he wouldn’t have cared so much, but this was his life. He could end up in jail, or worse, dead, if the Knights ever found out about his past or Lana.