The Modest Proposal Institute: A YA Dystopian Thriller

by Paul James

  At the time it felt like the end had come, but it was actually the turning point to a new beginning. It was the moment the old Founders stumbled and, in doing so, handed the reins to the new Founders without any conscious decision. The transition was not just about social hierarchy. Alexander, when he officially retired some months later, handed power to Alexis and went to live on the moon, not in one of his many properties on Earth. His move signified the moment the institute truly began leaving the world’s surface.

  Like so many of the institute’s senior people, Shane wasn’t at any of the places under attack when the turning point came, though he watched them play out on screens like everyone in the institute’s world. Sometimes he thought his whole life had been lived through a screen, like going to a sports event and watching the game on the stadium screens instead of on the field. Life, to Shane, somehow seemed more real that way. His existence had been a video image of reality; life was on a screen and the real world was a movie. He knew, though, from talking to Alexis and Tomas after the events, that they understood which was real and which was the image.

  “This is more serious, gentlemen,” Alexander said to the assembled council and the now-openly acknowledged incoming Founders, Alexis and Shane. “The Europeans were weak and ineffectual; fending them off was nothing to the challenge we now face. This new American government wants us shut down and our ‘stolen wealth’ put to more ‘humanitarian uses,’ by which they mean their uses.”

  “Why do they believe we’re wealthy?” Shane said. “Everything they see of us is ordinary, stuff they wouldn’t live in, like our pre-fabricated buildings, and our lands have only factories. We have no obvious wealth.”

  “They see us sending regular flights to the moon and beyond,” said the council chairman, “and conclude we must be rich.”

  “Well, we are,” Dean said. “It’s just in cash flow, not physical assets.”

  “In their minds, if we have one we must have the other,” Alexis said. “Dean and I always struggle to make them understand that we spend what money we make on research for the future and the institute doesn’t accumulate any. Unfortunately, some of our people who’ve returned to their homelands have spent their money publicly and lavishly. Outsiders naturally assume from their example that we’re all loaded.”

  “But common sense should tell them we’ve spent so many billions on space travel and creating our islands that there can’t be much money left,” Shane said.

  “All they see is money being spent and think it can be diverted to be spent on them,” Dean said. “This new US government, like the EU government before them, is desperate. The Western economies are shrinking fast now—they can’t change that—so before unrest becomes total chaos, they need to placate their citizens.”

  “Would it not be better to provide them with help rather than risk fighting them?” A member of the council asked.

  “We can’t,” said Shane bluntly. “The world’s economy and our cash flow go hand in hand. As they shrink, our own revenues fall too. Our costs are still high and will stay high as we make the transition to the moon and the ocean floor.”

  The councilor persisted. “But fighting them would cost a fortune and we haven’t got money for that either.”

  Shane sighed. “My point is, we can’t buy them off because we have no funds to do that, not enough anyhow. Even if we tried, they wouldn’t believe us and they’d attack anyhow. We’re stuck with fighting. I know this makes me sound like Tomas, but there’s no other option.”

  “That’s all very well,” Alexander objected, “but this is the USA we’re talking about. It’s true they’re in a bad way, but they still have huge armed forces at their disposal. We don’t. We can’t beat them in a physical fight.”

  “Then we have to find a way to divert them, at least until we’ve escaped from this world,” Alexis said.

  “How?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Alexis admitted. “I thought if we made them believe they were under attack from others, they might be stopped from attacking us.”

  “I’m not sure starting a world war between nuclear-armed powers is a good alternate strategy,” Dean said sarcastically.

  “Which is why I said I don’t know yet,” Alexis said. “Can we get the whole institute to consider ways to divert the US government’s attention from us onto others who aren’t heavily armed but are flush with cash?”

  “Like the world’s one percent, for example,” Shane said.

  “I’d be happy with that,” Dean said with a short laugh. “Those guys have been playing dirty so long, it’s time they got their comeuppance.”

  “We don’t have long,” Alexander said. “I propose we ask Institute members for ideas and pursue the idea of setting up everybody’s favorite villain—the fabulously wealthy—as a viable alternate target. Ideas must be shared by tomorrow night.”

  For want of a better strategy, Alexis’s proposal was accepted and the meeting broke up to begin the brainstorming for survival.

  Chapter 39: Asymmetric Warfare

  “Well, gentlemen,” Alexander. “What do we have? Council chairman, were you able to find a solution?”

  The chairman cleared his throat and began, “We followed the thinking around the one percent that was suggested at the end of last night’s meeting, and we feel that we can flood the world’s social media with enough evidence to demonstrate those people have sold out their fellow citizens. That should sow enough doubt in the minds of the US populace to delay any outward attack. We also think we can have our friends and our people on the mainland press for alternative political policies and distractions so the warmongers are unable to get a majority behind them.”

  “Thank you, chairman,” Alexander said. “Shane, what do the security projects think? You folks probably have the best view of our situation with regard to the US forces.”

  “We looked at the problem as both a security and a political one,” Shane said. “We concur with the council on the need for an increased propaganda campaign to get our message out to the people directly, bypassing the usual warmongers in the government and media. In addition, we see a role for active civil disobedience on the part of friendly well-wishers, but also by those of our Security Forces trained in guerilla warfare. We think we can do a lot of damage to their capability on the ground without our forces being seen.

  “Finally, we see an opportunity to set rivals against each other. We needn’t goad the nuclear powers into destroying each other, just give the impression that each will take advantage of the others should they become entangled in a war with us. For that to be a plausible strategy, we need to demonstrate that we will not be easily vanquished.”

  “Thank you, Shane,” Alexander said. “Alexis?”

  “Much of what the space project discussed has been covered by the chairman and Shane,” Alexis said, “but we do have some additional suggestions. First, we have used fake movies to convince attackers to leave in the past. We can do the same at an international level, rather than just the national level as we’ve done before. For example, a newsflash of US troops massacring Institute and local people on one of our Asian lands would resonate throughout the whole Asian continent. Also, following up on the sabotage idea, NuMen could create havoc in remote places where the US has military bases. Newsflashes showing the damage being done by ‘renegade’ soldiers from their own or another’s military could slow up or prevent them assembling invasion forces as they attempt to catch phantoms. If we can’t prevent them mobilizing their forces, we need to damage their transportation before they leave. In concert with all the other avenues we’ve suggested, and provided we destroy mainly equipment, it may be possible to stop the whole mad enterprise.”

  “Thank you, Alexis,” Alexander said. “Tomas, your robots have been suggested as a means to prevent the coming attacks. What do you think?”

  “Founder,” Tomas said, “I’ve said for years now that you’ve all been burying your heads in the sand and this day would come. We
should have been actively damaging their capabilities long before now.” He paused. A general murmur of complaint at the tone of his speech rose throughout the room.

  “What’s passed is gone, Tomas,” Dean said patiently. “Please provide your thoughts on what we do now.”

  “I’m sorry, Founder. I’m just so frustrated that we have reached this point when I saw it coming so clearly but wasn’t able to convince you. Anyhow, my team has the following thoughts. First, to build on Alexis’s suggestion, our marine NuMen are now operational, though untested in actual combat. We think they could destroy much of their shipping before it is even loaded. Second—and this is riskier—we think NuMen with Security Guards could abduct the leaders who are promoting this war and place them on remote islands where they can do no harm. There may be some loss of life among the leaders’ bodyguards, but we believe most can be simply knocked out by the mosquitoes. Finally, if losing their ships and leaders drives them to launch missiles against us, we need to have more EMP weapons available and for our satellites to jam their satellite GPS guidance equipment. In fact, those satellites should be destroyed at the first sign of trouble.”

  “All good ideas. Thank you, Tomas,” Alexander said. “We’ve heard plenty of possibilities, gentlemen. Now we need some strategies for putting them into action.”

  The conference went long into the night, but Shane was happy with the outcome. Though his heart favored Tomas’s aggressive and active proposals, his head said they would not end well. He was pleased when the Founders kept to a defensive strategy of responding to each provocation while ensuring the people of the world saw that the institute was not looking for a fight.

  What didn’t please Shane was Tomas’s furious expression and his clenched fists—the appearance of a man about to explode. It was clear to Shane that, as the crisis Tomas had predicted grew nearer, and the institute still did not respond aggressively, Tomas was becoming more likely to do something wild out of sheer frustration. Though he was now leaning toward a more aggressive response himself, Shane felt that Tomas’s visible anger must finally persuade the Founders that Tomas was too dangerous to be left solely in charge of the NuMen. Shane couldn’t help thinking that his anger might also lead to another use of whatever caused Leon’s disappearance.

  That Tomas had not suggested even in this most dangerous of times that he had a secret weapon didn’t surprise Shane. He had no doubt Tomas would only use it if he and his growing program was threatened with annihilation. He’d never even used it when the first island was attacked, and he regarded that as his own. Why he hadn’t was a question that puzzled Shane. Did Tomas know he was being watched? Was he just playing along? Shane’s surveillance had dived into everything the robot team did, but still the answer eluded him.

  Chapter 40: Leaving the World

  Alexis spent the days following the conference getting every space plane loaded, armed, and off the ground. The fleet needed to be in space if or when the institute was attacked so that the planes couldn’t be destroyed. His faith in the security system was great but the consequences of them being caught and destroyed on the ground were too serious to be left to chance.

  Shane, too, spent the following days getting his fleet of Manta Rays loaded with as much and as many supplies as could be carried down into the depths. People, equipment, anything that could be useful if the surface lands were lost—all were ferried to the new undersea cities. He wished they could have taken up Tomas’s suggestion to destroy the outside world’s satellites because he felt that many of the older bubble cities in shallow waters would be only too visible. One day when the world had sunk back into the Middle—or even the Dark—Ages, they would be safe, but at present, unlike the newer cities in deep water, they were not.

  “Are you nearly finished, Shane?” Dean asked him one day as he hurried from the Security Control Room back to the loading bay.

  “Yes, Founder, I believe we are. If they attack now, we will have enough of everything to survive for months, possibly a year, without support from the surface.”

  “Alexander has decided he will go into space with Alexis to ride out the storm, if necessary,” Dean said. “I’ve decided I prefer the comfort of Earth to the cold of space. I will come with you if we have to leave.”

  “A wise choice, Founder,” Shane said. “We, at least, can always secretly return to the surface under the cover of darkness if we need to. Alexis and his people can’t land anywhere secretly if they’ve forgotten something. The spaceports are too visible.”

  “Perhaps,” Dean said, “but with the abandonment of their own space programs, the West can’t hurt Alexis and his people. Alexis and the space folk still have the Chinese moon base to draw on for support too. Our remaining goodwill with the Chinese government will help us there. It was a difficult choice for both of us but, as the Founder responsible for External Affairs, Alexander felt Moon City was the right place for him. For me, as Internal Affairs, I’m happy to stay here on Earth, though I’ll be happier still if we come through this without me having to live under the sea.”

  “The news from the outside world has quieted down,” Shane said. “Either they’ve decided against grabbing our possessions or our media campaign is changing their minds. Or maybe they’ve just gone quiet to better surprise us.”

  “Alexander thinks they’re settling down,” Dean agreed. “It was just some hotheads trying to make a name for themselves to get into Congress. The president seems to be continuing the policy of not invading other countries that he inherited from the previous president, so maybe it will all blow over.”

  “My money is still on secretly mobilization,” Shane said grimly. “Eventually, the president will want to show he’s thrown off the policies of the last government. That means more military adventurism.”

  Chapter 41: Tomas Vindicated

  Shane’s security alarm system alerted him to check in on Tomas. As months had passed after Leon’s disappearance with no evidence to support his suspicions, he’d set his monitoring system to auto and returned to managing his own increasingly anxious life. The threats to the institute and his rush to complete as many undersea bubbles as he could kept him busy enough. But today was different. Today was the day Tomas’s new marine NuMen were to take up their stations, and Shane was again hoping he’d get the evidence he needed to bring Tomas’s scheming to the Founders’ attention.

  Shane watched Tomas while, on the island’s monitors, Tomas followed the flight of a Manta Ray freighter skimming low over the wintry sea. Gray spray occasionally leapt toward the Ray, though none actually reached high enough to hit the Ray’s hull. The Ray was making its way toward the US Eastern Seaboard, avoiding air and sea lanes to avoid detection. More than two hundred miles out from the coast, right on schedule, the Ray glided down and landed on the water. The sea was too rough for hydroplaning and a surface approach would be picked up by radar, so the final approach was to be underwater.

  The Ray’s autopilot closed the jets, the jet covers locked tight, the propeller pods deployed, and the Ray was driven underwater. It continued swiftly until the coast was within effective range for the marine NuMen. The NuMen launched and an hour later they reached the ports they were to monitor. They halted, floating just below the surface like logs while recharging their batteries with solar panels raised above the water on stilts.

  Tomas stayed almost motionless throughout the day and into the night, his eyes glued to the monitors, watching his robotic warriors with a mixture of anxiety and pride. They were behaving exactly as planned—every NuMan’s sensor said the deployment had been a success, no boats came to investigate them, no sonar pinged on their hulls—but he didn’t leave the screens. Even later in his room, Tomas had a monitor checking each NuMan’s camera throughout the night so he could wake regularly and confirm they were safe.

  As dawn broke on the Eastern Seaboard, the NuMen’s cameras picked out warships and various vessels that looked like they could be used as troop carriers. These were all ta
rgets should the Americans decide on war. There was no obvious activity around the ships, which was simultaneously reassuring and disappointing to both Tomas and Shane who were, for different reasons, torn over wanting the Americans to attack.

  Tomas’s patience wore thin as the day wore on. He paced back and forth, much to Shane’s amusement, and by midday he left the screens and returned to work in his lab. This went on for days and the patience of Tomas and Shane was stretched thin, but the NuMen sentinels found no suspicious activity in the harbors to report.

  Shane noticed how much Tomas and Nadia talked, and the way they talked, no longer as colleagues discussing business. However much he liked Nadia’s hologram visits, Tomas was clearly disappointed by the business news she gave him. The work she was doing with various lobby groups to keep the peace seemed to be working. She told Tomas that Institute spokesmen, Dean and Alexis, were also busily shuttling from lobby group to lobby group to calm the situation, and he looked as angry as Shane felt. As the aggressive new Senators had found their feet and settled into their offices, they had gone quiet.

  The institute had friends in both China, who built many of the Institute’s products, and Russia, where leaders had long been happy to make property available to the institute for minerals and additive manufacturing factories. Russia sold so much of its mineral wealth to Institute factories that it would be a severe blow to Russia’s economy if that commerce was disrupted. The Institute spokesmen and Nadia were in constant touch with both governments, urging them to recommend restraint. By the second month of the crisis the Founders had begun to think they were on top of events.

  Long before the two-month mark, Shane knew, Tomas had given up on his hope of a war that would bring him glory. Shane also knew that even Nadia’s constant visits and holographic appearance each night didn’t quite compensate for that disappointment.