Accelerant- Sixth Extinction

by James Morris Robinson

  Abu asked, “And what monster is that, my lord?”

  “An American led anti-ISIS coalition with all of her allies, including the Iraqi military and Shiite paramilitary fighters. Now we have the devil in our lands and quite honestly, you have endangered all of the Shepherds, their cells, and their operations.”

  Abu said, forcibly, “We are freedom fighters my Shepherdess...not politicians.”

  “You bend my patience, Abu, as we have had this conversation more than once. You cannot cure every sin of the world with fire. Economics and political solutions can be more practical and blessed by Allah in some cases.”

  Abu Bakr raised his eyebrow. “My lord, we cannot do this without your resources and support. I pray you reconsider this decision.”

  Ahmed grew impatient. He calmly asked, “Your vast technology, talent, and expertise make you superior to all our organizations and yet you sit here and speak to us about doing right?”

  Fazal rose and spoke loudly, “In the name of Allah, my Shepherdess...are you with us or against us?”

  The Royal Guard positioned around the room quickly became a human shield for the Supreme Commander. High Commander Mustafa cried out, “Allah akbar! Stand down, soldier...stand down, I say!”

  High Commander Mustafa smiled at all the leaders as they sat quietly and nervously in their seats. He spoke in a very firm voice. “Have we not shared our wealth, resources and might with all of you. I will remind you of what we sent to your coffers last year when our oceanologists and geologist found the remains of the San Jose Galleon. This was one of the largest amounts of valuables ever to have been lost at sea. We did not hesitate to split equally the gold, silver, gems, and jewels we managed to get our hands on. You are financing your operations with that money as we speak.”

  He then motioned for the Royal Guard to assume resume their posts. They did as they were commanded.

  The Supreme Commander stood up. She looked firmly at the Shepherds and said. “My answer is 'no.' And let me conclude with this. Prior to the dark, backward ideologies of Judaism and Christianity, women in Persia enjoyed a level of gender equality unmatched even to this day. Female emperors ruled over the many dynasties of the Persian Empire. Women in Persia held important positions in the all aspects of business, governmental, and religious affairs. courthouse, ministries, military, state and treasury departments, and other official administrations. Women were also treated like goddesses, esteemed as mothers of creation.

  “Prophet Muhammad gave us Sharia and the Quran. Sharia law is God's law. The Sharia law itself cannot be altered, but the interpretation of the Sharia law by imams is given some leeway. Otherwise, as a woman, I would not be standing before you. Everyone in this room allows Sharia to govern all aspects of their lives and personal acts of worship. We deploy Sharia law as it relates to commercial dealings, marriage, divorce, and penal laws. It has and will always govern our public behavior and private beliefs. Sharia law has been viewed as strict and intrusive by non-Muslims. In the Islamic tradition, Sharia nurtures humanity. In a world where social problems were endemic, Sharia frees humanity to realize its potential. We are obligated to install this form of governance in all Muslim-majority territories, countries, and, eventually, the entire world. Do not test our resolve. We are clearly focused on our mission. Again...my answer is 'no.'”

  The Supreme Commander nodded at the High Commander. She walked away and quickly the Royal Guard surrounded her as a human shield. As she exited, High Commander Mustafa announced, “The meeting is now over. We give you the rest of the day to work on any necessary operational details for your organizations. Every communication and technology resource is at your disposal. Tonight ends Ramadan. The Supreme Commander has had the chefs prepare us a grand feast including sweets from all the countries we represent. Come. Let us pray at sunset and break the fast. We are Muslims. Let’s enjoy Eid al-Fitr.”

  Later that evening, after sunset, the Shepherds broke their fast and ate. Supreme Commander was warm and charming in spite of the intense meeting earlier in the day. As soon she and the High Commander were sure the guests were comfortable and visiting with each other, they slipped away to her office.

  As they reviewed text transcriptions of communications data intercepts, High Commander Mustafa became alarmed.

  “Those bastards are speaking of assassination, my lord.”

  “Yes, Mustafa . . .”

  “My lord, what's happened to loyalty?”

  “Well, they are planning my assassination; that speaks highly of loyalty.”

  “My lord, you would think they would know we had this placed wired with intercepts.”

  The Supreme Commander laughed. “Some did Mustafa. But these are the same men I warned earlier about ignoring military grade encrypted communications protocols and utilizing anti-face-detection and recognition.”

  “As salamu alaikum Mustafa. We have an early start, tomorrow.”

  “Wa-alaikum-as-salaam, my lord. Should I harden your guard?’

  “No...I will handle this tomorrow.”

  The next morning, on the flight deck of the Genesis Air Traffic Control Command Center, the Supreme Commander paced impatiently as she watched one of her heavy transport helicopters complete their pre-flight check. The gunships looked quite intimidating as they sat on the south helipad. She waited patiently until she saw the gunship en route and become a distant dot on the horizon. The Supreme Commander gave the order to the flight deck weapons officer.

  “Activate the Genesis Weapons System laser.”

  “By your command, my lord.”

  The weapons officer pressed the digital panel that controlled the Genesis Weapons System and the laser canon rose out of the mountain.

  “Targets acquired Supreme Commander.”

  “On my mark soldier, ready, steady, mark . . .”

  The laser cannon shot a beam of focused energy that hit the gunship’s fuel tanks like welding torches cutting through butter. It was total disintegration. Nothing was left but ashes in the fierce, cold wind. Supreme Commander issued a command to the High Commander. “Bring all field commanders into the hive...all of them. Notify the second in command of the organizations we just met with that there will be a new world order...Genesis World Order.”

  The High Commander smiled and replied, “By your command, my lord.”

  The High Commander did send word. Not by phone or video conference but with his most trusted field commanders. Genesis waited for ‘The New Shepherds’ to respond.

  Chapter Two — Jeff and Kyle

  “This is Adsila Tibeluk for One America News providing coverage for day one of the 17th International Conference on Global Terrorism here at an undisclosed site here in Alaska. Today the hot topic was ‘Radicalization of America’s Youth.’ The Director of NSA’s cyber-security division echoed the CIA Situational Report to The National Intelligent Committee results.

  “He shared the following alarming facts. ‘Images of a terrorist as a foreigner from a disadvantaged, marginalized country, striking America and her allies, are slowly fading with the recent increase in American, British, Canadian, and French citizens joining the ranks of terrorist organizations. Islamic radicalization has become an increasing danger to young adults, on par with drug use and overdoses. Islamic radicalization bends children’s minds towards adopting a Jihadist belief system, including the willingness to use, support, or facilitate violence, as a method to effect societal, economic, and political change.’ We will bring you more details as they develop.”

  Islamic radicalization attracts the under-served and socially disenfranchised. Those who feel that society as a whole has the least to offer them are the most likely to join. It is keenly apparent that the most vulnerable potential recruits, whether born Muslim or converted to Islam, are those at a stage of life where they are seeking an identity while looking for approval and validation. They are searching for causes that can be religiously and culturally justified. Often young men and women need something that
provides them a way to identify who they are, and that provide a clear call for action. Kyle Connolly and Jeff Thomas were two young men who picked up the call. Radicalization does not see skin color so disadvantaged Whites, as well as Blacks and Latinos in America, were asked to answer the call.

  Kyle Connolly was born to Jamison and Mary Beth Connolly in Dartmouth, New Hampshire. Kyle’s father, a common Irish laborer on a fishing boat, died in an occupational accident when Kyle was seventeen years old. Kyle’s mother, Mary Beth, moved to California a year later with a boyfriend who immediately left her once they got there. She raised Kyle in a small apartment in Maywood, a small city in southeast Los Angeles County, California. Kyle had not experienced success in regular high school so his mother placed in the Maywood Academy where he found his niche and did well in radio production and information technology. Following his mother’s untimely and horrible death at the hands of the Russian mafia out of Boston, he jumped from one foster home to another before Genesis found and recruited him.

  Jeff Thomas was born to James and Gladys Thomas in Savannah Georgia. Jeff’s father, a common laborer died in an explosion at the Savannah Sugar Refinery when Jeff was fourteen years old. Jeff's mother raised him and his older brother Daniel alone. She never remarried in spite of money struggles. Gladys had to move herself and the boys to the low-income Robert M. Hitch village, known to the over 200 families as the “Hitch” housing project. They were mostly poor, hardworking African American families where fathers worked at one, maybe two jobs, while mothers stayed home and made sure the children got three hot meals a day and that their clothes were always clean for school. It was there that Gladys raised both of them to be productive Christian citizens. Jeff has always been searching for that one thing that he can grab hold of and serve as his ‘true north’ as he makes his way through life. Jeff is very close to his family and loved them dearly.

  Kyle and Jeff met at a Genesis terrorist training camp in Africa and became best friends. As the world’s most prominent terrorist organization, Genesis established two training camps in sub-Saharan Africa. These were special camps for the Mujahideen, those engaged in the jihad, and those with expertise in managing and planning the battle from beginning to end. Camp time included physical preparation for 35 days. Training went on each year and utilized the latest strategies of weapon deployment, military planning, and military technologies. Camp G-1 trained specialists for attacks in cyberspace. Camp G-2 was designed for attacks on America and the United Kingdom’s military, commercial, and business structures. The camps were well staffed and well-endowed financially. The goal was to breed super-terrorist units that would make Hamas and al-Qaeda look like a bunch of choir boys.

  During some downtime, Kyle and Jeff were talking about what brought them to Africa. Kyle was closing in on being twenty years old when he received a recruiting pitch via social media. He told Jeff, “I got this message on Snapchat from someone I don't know trying to recruit me to join a humanitarian cause. The message said, 'I would encourage you to look at this link.' And when I clicked on the link, I was taken to a wonderful website that shows the atrocities of the western world against humankind and reference after reference about why I should join in the fight against the western world and against America. Jeff’s path to Islamic radicalization was similar. He was also recruited on the internet, but instead of a stranger, it was an old classmate of his.

  After the training camp, Jeff introduced Kyle to his brother Jeff. One night while talking Daniel said Kyle and Jeff would be perfect poster boys for diversity. Little did he and other family members know about Kyle and Jeff’s involvement with Genesis. So, for now, …their secret was safe.

  Currently, one of Genesis Hives lies near the Somali Basin, off the east coast of Africa. On the Hive’s helipad, Commander Kyle updated the crew on the mission objectives,

  Kyle in a commanding tone barked, “Soldiers, our targets include a compromised Genesis operative and one of the ‘New Shepherds.’ The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in the US tracked down a careless retail store owner who owns an unlicensed Hawala operation.

  Our operative ran a multi-million-dollar money transfer business, which, at its peak, was transferring more than ten million dollars weekly to our Shepherds. Faced with years in prison, the store owner pled guilty to failing to register as a financial service business as required by FinCEN. Genesis feared this individual would compromise the Shepherds’ Hawala operations. We must take him down…understood.”

  The team in unison. “Understood Commander.”

  “Now we have the business of a disgruntled New Shepherd. He set up Diwans…government ministry departments to handle ‘war spoils,’ including slaves. These complex bureaucracies enabled him to manage revenue streams from pillaged oil to stolen antiquities. There were also reports coming out of the United States that this ‘Shepherd’ forced the consensus of his Islamic scholars to an agreed sanctioning of human organ harvesting. Genesis is deeply concerned that this ‘New Shepherd’ is trafficking in body parts. It’s imperative that this ‘New Shepherd’ be terminated.”

  The Team echoed again, “Understood Commander.”

  The huge dome slid open above the Genesis City. A Turkish ATAK helicopter quickly lifted off the helipad at the Genesis Cyber Security and Warfare center. Tess, the helicopter pilot, checked her colored multifunctional displays and the Avionic Central Control Computer as she navigated the helicopter up and forward to its flying attitude of 6,096 feet. Kyle was very satisfied that High Commander Mustafa had assigned Jeff, his best friend and battle buddy to the mission.

  Jeff tapped Kyle's shoulder as he pointed to the twelve or so “radomes” below them. Kyle shouted above the helicopter rotor noise, “Kind of looks like giant golf balls to me.”

  Jeff yelled above the rotor noise, “Yeah, but those radar dome enclosures protect our signal technology from the weather and conceal our technology from public view.”

  Kyle shouted to the pilot, “How long before we reach Taza?”

  “If we maintain our speed of 169 miles an hour and our current attitude, about 30 minutes out, sir.”

  Jeff moved to the weapons systems officer's seat in the front cockpit and locked in the firing solution based on correspondence in a small envelope he had been given moments before climbing aboard the attack helicopter.

  The pilot sounded off, “ETA ten minutes, Commander!”

  Kyle engaged stealth mode and ordered the commanders to go to helmet-mounted night vision display systems. Kyle then validated the firing solution.

  He looked at Jeff. “On my command!”

  Jeff answered, “Target has been acquired by laser range-finder and locked, sir.”

  “On my mark. Ready. Steady. Fire.”

  Jeff cut loose two air-to-ground missiles which executed a surgical hit on a row of villas. The villas burst in the heat of the explosion. The heat cremated everything. Momentarily, it seemed to be daylight for half a mile around the kill zone.

  Tess whispered, “Do not test our resolve.”

  Kyle yelled, “Ok, let’s head back to camp. I have a plane to catch.”

  Tess calmly responded, “Copy that.”

  Kyle patted Tess and Jeff on the back as the helicopter shook a bit from turbulence. “Well done soldiers, well done.”

  Jeff commented, “Thank you, sir. Turbulence is not bad as it would be if this was a fixed-wing aircraft. Not bad at all.”

  Tess replied, “You don’t feel turbulence as much in a helicopter. The wings are flexible . . . the blades on a helicopter are designed to flap up and down, so more bumps are absorbed before they can be felt here in the cabin.”

  Kyle said, with a sigh of relief, “Thank the gods for small miracles, huh?”

  Tess winked. “You might say that. Or you just happen to have a great pilot, huh?”

  Jeff laughed. “You got that right.”

  It was a short trip back to the landing field and far away from the Genesis Cyber Security and Warfare
center. This protocol prevented the risk of enemies detecting operational facilities. Kyle noticed Jeff reviewing a report. “Anything I should know about?”

  Jeff responded, “The recruitment brief states that Americans are being radicalized at an unprecedented speed and that they hold armed combat experience as well as extremist connections.”

  Kyle commented, “The United States, unfortunately, doesn’t have a great history when it comes to protecting the religious and civil freedoms of minorities. The result of this discrimination created a breeding ground for religious extremism based on victimhood. The Islamic State recruiters feed on this to recruit soldiers for our crusade.”

  Tess nodded approval as she approached the landing zone. “LZ this is Hellgirl. Requesting permission to enter airspace and land.”

  There was dead silence as they decoded Tess’s message. After what seemed to be an eternity, there was a response. “Permission to land, Hellgirl. You have light surface winds coming out of the north to northwest. Welcome home…coffee is hot.”

  Once on the ground, Tess waved as she quickly headed to a hot shower and a warm bed. Jeff and Kyle checked into their rooms, changed clothes, and ate a great meal. They then boarded a private jet back to the United States. In route, they filed their report with the High Commander. Kyle decided to take a long-deserved nap. Jeff looked at Kyle seated across the aisle from him. Kyle’s snoring annoyed the person sitting next to him. Jeff, out of kindness and understanding, gave the weary Arab businessman his seat.

  “He is really tired when he snores like that.”

  “You are a true friend.”

  “When he wakes up, tell him that, would you?”

  Kyle opened one eye and said, “I heard that.” Everyone laughed and Kyle quickly fell asleep again.

  Chapter Three — One Genesis World