Busy Skies: The Council Dissolution

by Ivan Svogor

  Jess was now hit hard with the realization of everything that happened and asked, “what day is it?”

  Hank replied, “we arrived in the night, so everything you remember happened yesterday. Jess, the electronics and the biochemical cells in your brother’s har made the explosion much stronger than they usually are. Someone used the latest mining technology to crush your parent’s home into dust, and unfortunately, Mr. Holtzman's home suffered the same fate. Luckily, your parents survived, Jess.”

  As Jess looked at him in confusion and doubt, he continued. “Your father was carrying the remains from the desk to the compost so the second explosion threw him in the bush which cushioned his fall. He is right here with us, one floor below in a medically induced coma. We are waiting for a doctor to arrive. Also, your mother survived, and we have no idea how. She just remembers waking up here. She is right beside your dad and seems to be OK, though bruised considerably, with a couple of broken ribs and left hand”.

  “Can I see them?” - Jess asked. Mrs. Potts nodded and said “of course you can”.

  Just as they stood up to see Jess’s parents, the doctor arrived to check them out more thoroughly. Mr. Potts's underwater home had a tunnel connected to the elevator on the land which took you several floors down, and then, the house, along with several others was available through a network of tunnels. As Mr. Holtzman was explaining this to Jess, it finally got to her that this is not a secret hideout but an underwater town. Amazed by this, she looked out the window and saw it in its full glory. Though not what she expected, it was impressive. There were a couple of large, transparent tunnels, connecting structures that fitted perfectly in the environment. Mostly, you could notice that those were human structures by their regularity, which was somewhat obstructed by a beautiful coral reef full of underwater wildlife.

  Hank opened the door, and she saw her father lying on the bed, with a device connected to his body, displaying the vital signs. Though she was a chemist and not a medical doctor, she had sufficient knowledge to understand that the numbers looked good, considering what happened. Next to him, there was her mother, apparently sleeping.

  “Who immobilized her arm?” - Jess asked, looking at Hank. At that moment, Mr. Holtzman coughed and showed her the other side of the room, which was full of medical equipment, 3D printers for casts, two beds for robotic surgery, and several cabinets filled with medical equipment. “Mrs. Potts is really doctor Potts”, said Mr. Holtzman, ”,she helps in emergencies down here, but for serious injuries, they have external doctors that, for serious problems, can reach this place in 10 minutes. However, Mrs. Potts is more interested in other things, and since she finished medical school, it has always been more like a hobby than a profession”.

  Mrs. Potts showed up with the doctor at the door who after a brief introduction immediately started scanning Mr. Winson. Jess approached her mother to wake her up, and to ask how she is doing. She woke up, and after a brief confusion, tears started pouring from her eyes.

  “Jess, now, you are everything that we have”, said Mrs. Winson.

  Jess, overwhelmed by the fact that her parents lived, realized that until yesterday she had two brothers, and now both of them are dead. Even worse, killed. This rarely happens anymore, so Jess suddenly found herself in an unknown situation. To her, to her parents, there were no analogies to compare with, she was not trained to deal with this and she suddenly felt very isolated, confused, and helpless. Most of all, she knew that her parents must have felt even worse. She hugged her mother to comfort her, but she was all done with crying. She felt broken and suddenly very insignificant, one might say that she lost motivation for whatever is left of her life, work, and family. No answers were visible and no plans can be made. Everything was blank to her.

  Right next to them, the doctor finished his examination and said that surgery will be necessary. He acknowledged that Mrs. Potts has done the right thing, with both of his new patients. While the doctor was speaking, Hank saw that Jess was listening, but nothing was getting through her. Just an empty stare and indifference. That day and the following passed by as Jess was in a foul mood, mostly sleeping, visiting her parents, and watching comedy shows.

  * * *

  “Alright, Hank”, said Mr. Holtzman, ”I don't know what's your deal with Jess, and I don't actually care. I'm too old for teen love stories, however, you're coming with me downstairs, and we are going to talk with Mrs. Winson. You need to help Jess get out of this situation”.

  Though Mrs. Winson was getting well, her bones healed along with the scars, she was still a bit bruised, but most of all she wanted to be near her housebound who's treatment was shown down. Hank and Mr. Holtzman came to the room, and Mr. Holtzman asked, “how is he doing?”

  Mrs. Winson explained, “he is recovering well, however, the doctor has slowed down his treatment procedure. He had severe internal injuries so the doctor was overlooking and helping in the robotic surgery. For some reason, I cannot quite understand, he told me that microbots cannot be used, probably due to his age and a bit weaker blood vessels. It will take at least a month. In the following few days he will be woken up”.

  “Good, OK, I am glad I will have my friend to argue the history with”, said Mr. Holtzman with an approving and encouraging smile to Mrs. Winson. “Regina”, he continued, “Hank and I are here because we need to discuss Jess, the current situation, and what to do”.

  “Alright, let me start”, said Hank, “we know that Jess was working in the Antarctica research facility on the Rock, and we know that the Rock is not from Earth. It is a silicon-based life-form, and Jess, as one of the best chemists, and her past theoretical work on the chemistry of silicon molecules and compounds got noticed by Dr. Mike Quill, a lead researcher on the South Pole. Before taking her there, I warned Jess that I have heard weird stories about that place. In the Station, where I work people are saying that some weird experiments are conducted there, that there was one scientist that died under very weird circumstances which were never fully explained. Also, there was a saying about reduced media coverage and denial of entry in the building, withholding information from the public, and so on. Talking to Jess pretty often in the last few weeks, Jess confirmed that the information flow from the Antarctica research facility was slowed down. Not all discoveries are published and not all the information is usually fully presented. It's not that Dr. Quill supports lying or does shady science, but it seems that he was instructed that not all the findings are to be made for public eyes”.

  For a moment there, Mrs. Winson frowned and looked at Mr. Holtzman who nodded in surprise, while Hank continued.

  “Then, just that day, when I was picking her up, they had a visit from some big-shot from the Council. If I remember correctly, it was councilor Krueger, and his driver was Ryad Cox, an old acquaintance of mine. We went to the academy together, we used to hang out around the same people, but we never became good friends. There was just a terrible vibe surrounding him, and he is one of those people who just give you a bad feeling. It's tough to explain but he gives me the creeps. That was reinforced by the fact that down to his last atom, that guy was rotten and violent. He stopped at nothing in order to get his way, and in our hand-to-hand combat training, he was the best. No question about this, he seemed to enjoy every moment of it. Sometime before graduating, there was one of our fellow trainees who died. No one really knows what happened, because it was deep underwater training which usually has a lot of noise for the sensing equipment. Ryad was there and he was the only one who surfaced. Later on, he was thrown out of the academy and forbidden to graduate since they have found out that Ryad was actually able to save his colleague, but beating some kind of a record was more important to him. Anyway, he now works as a protection and a professional pilot for officials who can afford him. By this, I mean, people that are influential enough that he would be motivated to do so, and in this case, this is one of the Council members. At least, I suspect it is”.

  “The next day, Jess and I
were leaving in the research complex, when her superior, Dr. Quill approached her and hugged her. Later, we found out that he had slipped a data-backup in her pocket. Mr. Holtzman helped us to analyze it. With a lot of information about the rock that we could only partially understand, it seems that Jess was afraid to explain the details. But, most certainly, something is happening there that someone in the Council, most likely councilor Krueger, doesn't want us, I mean, the public to know about. Mr. Holtzman was able to restore the signal from Dave’s camera, who was working in the area. What we saw, I still cannot fully believe and understand. A har landed close to where Dave was working and Ryad killed him, making it look like an accident. Dave was taking footage for the holo-projection, and probably in some way caught some incriminating data. The next day, his girlfriend and his computer, both of his robots were dead. Coincidences like this don't happen. And from there, you know what happened. Miller was killed and there was an attempt on both you and your husband, Mr. Holtzman, Jess, and myself. Someone is working hard to tie the loose ends. When we arrived here, no news, nothing. Two houses were pulverized and none of the services responded, nor the media reported it. As if nothing happened and as if you never existed.”

  Mrs. Winson was following the story sharply. Hank was just a bit surprised how well she took the information, and how well she handled it.

  “I just don't know what the farmers from across the mountain are going to say”, continued Hank, “there are a bunch of people going through that area, walking, hiking and climbing the mountains”.

  “Nothing, they won't notice or care, they will simply think that we decided to move and that's it”, said Mrs. Winson. “Now they probably think that they have got Jess and everyone involved who might have access to Dave's footage. Probably, our best move now is to lay low, not to get any attention. Since we have people that know us, the next thing is a fabricated news story or impersonator. Though those haven't been used for a long time and are highly illegal, I won't give those sons of a bitches the benefit of the doubt. We need to be careful about the news and also be careful with Jess. Actually, Mr. Holtzman, I believe that you are the only of the contacts that are aware of us. When we left the city, a lot of them were already gone, and we seem to have been blessed with a bit longer life. So, the biggest issue is Jess. We must warn her not to make any contacts.”

  Hank, a bit surprised with Mrs. Winson, didn't quite know how to ask a question about what just happened now, however, Regina caught his look and explained. “My dear boy, you think that this story, after teaching at the Detective school for almost a century should leave me dumbstruck?”

  “A, a, I am sorry”, Hank said confused. “I wasn't aware of what you were doing for a living”.

  “And it never occurred to ask?” - Mrs. Winson replied. “I was teaching several courses, but my focus was the Modern crimes and Selected cases of the Economic Wars. You never studied those? Upon discovering and successful implementation of gene editing, alongside artificial intelligence, the people of the 22nd century were very creative, in finding ways how to kill each other”.

  “We need to find who was visiting the Antarctica research facility”, said Mr. Holtzman. “It is obvious that there has been some covering up, but I am still not exactly sure what is the reason. We know it has to do with the Council, but I seriously do not understand what is worth killing for. It is really hard to believe that councilor Krueger would be involved in this. After all, a councilor. We have been out of such primitive behavior for several centuries”.

  “Oh, my dear friend”, said Mrs. Winson, “I thought that so many hours of discussing history with my husband should have made you a bit sharper”.

  Mr. Holtzman was a bit surprised by this statement, but Mrs. Winson proceeded. “You are discussing history, you are studying history as a hobby and you still haven't learned that after all, people are still people. Human nature is young and no matter how much we have achieved, we still crave power”.

  “I know, I know”, said Mr. Holtzman, almost trying to defend himself, “but I am just surprised that it happens. All the gene modifications, the long-lasting piece we had, education, societal transformation.”

  “You can keep listing”, Mrs. Winson said, interrupting him, “but you know that there is still a long way ahead of us”.

  Mr. Holtzman shrugged in disappointment, looked at Hank and said, “young man, this needs to be uncovered and made public. You need to go all the way to expose this barbarism and we need to remind our society that we have a lot of work.”

  “Me?” - Hank asked in confusion.

  “Well, you don't expect me or anyone in this room to do so?” - asked Mr. Holtzman, and continued. “Well? This is the fight of your generation, and you need to help Jess pull herself together, and you need to go on a mission”.

  Hank bit his lip, looked across the room, and slowly he realized that Mr. Holtzman is right. If someone is prepared to hunt down a single family, for security footage, at what could they stop? - he thought to himself.

  “Bad-code”, said Hank out loud.

  “What?” - asked Mr. Holtzman.

  Mrs. Winson nodded her head and explained. “My friend, you of all people should know statistics, and that whatever we do, however good we become of something, nothing is black and white. We always deal with probabilities.”

  Mr. Holtzman raised his eyebrows and nodded in confusion, while Mrs. Winson continued. “We introduced genetic modification because we were the only creature that defied natural selection. Each generation is gradually improved without making sudden changes that would introduce differences which would split the society. No matter how hard we try, considering the number of procedures, sooner or later there will be a mistake, a statistical probability that is inescapable. It is bound to happen. This results in a person that is, in some sense, different than intended. In the early days, they called those broken, as their genetic code was a result of an error. The term bad-code refers to cases in which all our glorious work fails, and it can be manifested in various ways. People with incurable autoimmune illnesses, degenerates, super-geniuses, sadists, and killers”.

  There was a moment of silence in the room when Hank said, “I've heard about the term in the Academy. I am aware it's not popular or common today, but at some point, there was an agency which was in charge of, hum. The textbook said, correcting the error, and in reality, this probably meant killing people”.

  “Yes”, Mrs. Winson said. “And as we got better, this organization was since dismissed, and we found a way to incorporate those people in, but now and then, a serious outlier is to show up, and since we found humane ways to deal with this. It seems that we might have a case of the bad-code on our hands, that seems to be particularly vicious, deeply hidden and very cunning”.

  * * *

  Later that day, Mrs. Winson came to Jess’s room and sat next to her. Jess’s eyes were swollen, she was a bit pale and her face was completely numb.

  “Jess”, started Mrs. Winson. “Jess, you need to move on, this will not get you anywhere. You need to find a way to go on. I see that you are broken now, but that’s how life is. No matter how hard we try to find our place or peace at some point suffering and pain will knock on our doors. We are trying hard, as a society, to reduce this, but the truth is that it will always be here. We need to fight it, find our way of dealing with it”.

  Jess pulled herself up and sat on the bed, and said “but mom, Dave and Miller are gone, your house is gone, how am I supposed to deal with this? How am I to make any rational decisions? Nobody is trained for this”.

  “Trained?” - asked Mrs. Winson in confusion with a slight smile on her face. “Do you think that school is something that will help you get through life? Oh Jess, you must be wiser by now. Surely you know that schooling is just here to teach you more about things you find interesting. Sure, you get some general knowledge, but you know that reading history, ancient Egypt or Greece, the fall of the Roman Empire, or even Economic and Racial
wars are here to teach you life lessons. Teach you how to extrapolate for your life, for your generation. Dealing with the struggle, when it comes to you is something completely different, but at least with all of this, you know you are not alone. You are not the only one and there are many like you, there were many like you and will be in the future. Those people share your enthusiasm for dreams, hopes, desires, and also for pain and suffering. Everyone has their issues, people just try hard not to expose them. Nobody likes to be perceived as vulnerable”.

  “But mom…” Mrs. Winson interrupted her and said, “Jess, there is no but. Sitting here, feeling sorry for yourself will not make up for the fact that Dave and Miller are gone, that our home is gone. Something is clearly not right, and while you, me, Mr. Holtzman, or Hank don't have answers at this moment, that doesn't mean we need to roll up in a cocoon and stay there. You need to fight back. You need to step up Jess, and I promise you everything will be alright. Do you think it's easy for me?”

  Jess slowly shook her head.

  Mrs. Winson continued, “It's not, but I still have you. Your dad is recovering, there will still be tomorrow. We will find a new place to live, we will go through this, and we are not alone. And even if we were, we would need to work it out so that we are not. Alright?”

  “Mom, this is devastating”, said Jess finally. “Actually, for a couple of months, I've been tired of everything. My work doesn't bring me joy as it used to. At the Antarctica research facility, some people weren't friendly and it was hard to deal with this. I started to think about alternative careers. Now, in the last few days, I've lost two brothers, and wherever I show up people end up dead and their homes destroyed. I feel as if I'm living in wartime. I just don't know what's next. What to hope for, where to go or what to do”.