Original Design

by William Latoria

  The other supercomputer controlled the transference cubes. These cubes were the only way to move from room to room inside the building. The second supercomputer used the chaos algorithm against itself to determine where the room a user would like to access currently was. How it did this was also classified above Ultra-Top Secret, but essentially the second supercomputer used the transference cubes to inject order into the chaos. The computers were guarded twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week by triple-vetted security guards that were exclusively trained to use violence first, and ask questions later. If anyone tried to gain access to either of the computers without the proper authorization the guards would kill them without a moment’s hesitation. Hence, the supercomputer rooms were avoided by most.

  Blackshade couldn’t help but feel small standing outside The Unification Foundation. The power that radiated from it was almost tangible. The fact that he was flanked by three alien giants did nothing to dilute his sense of insignificance. When the ambassador came out to greet them, he felt relieved. The ambassador was a plump woman with very thick glasses. She had long, dark-red hair that was pulled back in a tight pony-tail. She waddled slightly as she approached them, but she carried herself with an imposing confidence. She didn’t seem intimidated in the slightest to be approaching three large aliens with the intent to escort them straight to the Presidents.

  She stopped just a few feet away from his group, all of whom were watching her expectantly. Blackshade tried his best to ignore the green readout that was present on her forehead. He tried to look away but found that his eyes were irresistibly drawn back to it. Succumbing to curiosity, he read the ambassador’s readout. The words, ‘I will fear no evil’ kept scrolling across her forehead, again and again. He wasn’t sure, but he got the impression that he was literally reading what was on her mind. He found the possibility to be both exhilarating, and an incredible invasion of the woman’s privacy. The idea of seeing into the woman’s thoughts made him feel like he was violating her, and he didn’t like it. He forced himself to look away by refocusing his attention on the Omegas.

  Tremendous and Artificer were smiling kindly at the Ambassador. Minder appeared to be ignoring her and continued to maintain its vigil on their surroundings. The Ambassador saluted the aliens crisply, “Hello! My name is Myopia Dennings. I am the lead Candaerican Ambassador, and on behalf of my country I greet you in peace.” she said with great ceremony. “May I offer you any refreshment before your meeting?” she asked cordially. Blackshade was impressed; the woman was very good at this. She showed no fear at all, even though her readout showed she was terrified. He wished he had had her with him when he first met the Omegas rather than the three useless civilians he had been sent.

  Tremendous stepped forward and pointed at her. Blackshade knew it was programming her with the translation program so that the Omegas could communicate with her. Once the program was complete, Tremendous lowered his arm and gave Myopia its own salute, “Well said, little one!” Tremendous said with a massive grin, “We do not require any refreshment at this time. Please take us to your leaders. We have much to discuss.”

  Myopia nodded scratching absently at her head; she clearly didn’t understand what just happened. Blackshade thought the woman was a little dense to not be surprised that she could understand the Omegas. In fact, the only thing that seemed to surprise her was the fact Tremendous had declined her offer of food and drink. He noticed that her bearing broke a little at the rebuff. Blackshade guessed the woman was used to those she met taking her up on her offer and didn’t like it when things went against her perceived norm. He had to give her some credit though, she recovered quickly, “Well… of course! Of course, you don’t.” she stammered, “Please, follow me.” she said, as she spun on her heel and began walking towards the building.

  Blackshade watched as the aliens followed Myopia towards the entrance. He was relieved to watch them go, glad that the responsibility of negotiating with a superior race was no longer on his shoulders. Yet, at the same time, he felt an immense sense of loss, knowing that he was going to be left out of this historic situation. He had been the first one to talk to them while everyone else hid in their safe spaces. He had been the one to maintain his courage and military bearing when the hulking aliens had first appeared and made this meeting possible. He felt bitter resentment begin to form deep inside of him and began the process of repressing it. He was only a little surprised to discover he wanted to go with them, to see this through, but he understood why he could not. He didn’t have the training for negotiation at this level and would only be a hindrance, rather than an asset. He was so focused on his own self-reflection that he didn’t notice right away that Tremendous had turned around and was now pointing at him.

  “Blackshade, why are you not following?” it asked.

  Blackshade looked up, yanking himself back to reality, “I was not invited to your meeting with the Presidents, my friend. I can’t come with you.” he replied sadly. He wasn’t really sure why he had called Tremendous his friend, but he hoped everyone that was listening heard it. Now that the realization had hit him that he was being dismissed, especially after everything he had done, he wanted those responsible to feel guilty.

  Tremendous gave him an incredulous look, “Nonsense. You are coming with us. You were the first human to make contact with us and the only one to show courage. You are with us. Come.” Tremendous told him, turning to resume following Myopia into the building.

  Blackshade hesitated; he didn’t want it to look like this was what he wanted. He didn’t know why, but he felt it was important that everyone watching him through the voyeur-drones thought he only followed against his will. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn’t help but think it was important. He wasn’t sure how he should proceed exactly either, being told by an alien to follow them into the most secure building in the country was far from a valid authorization. Luckily, Minder made the decision for him very easy.

  “Blackshade, MOVE!” the massive Omega bellowed at him. Minder’s voices were far more different than Tremendous’ or Artificer’s. The melody its twin voices made were a cavernous, angry duo of baritones that sounded like they were coming from a very deep and very dark well; or possibly, a lower level of Hell. It was the most Minder had spoken since they met, and it was with an authority that could not be denied. Before Blackshade realized what he was doing, he found himself running to catch up. As he reached the group, Minder gave him a stern look and pointed for him to walk in front of the procession.

  “When Tremendous gives you an order, you follow it, Scrapper.” Minder growled at him. Blackshade nodded his understanding. The big Omega scared the hell out of him, and he didn’t wish to provoke the alien any more than he already had. He did make a mental note to ask Tremendous or Artificer what Minder meant when it referred to him as a Scrapper though. Blackshade assumed it was some sort of slur, and he didn’t like it. Not that he could do anything about it, but he wanted to know when he was being insulted just the same.

  Myopia rounded on him as they reached the entrance. “I’m sorry, Colonel Blackshade, but you are not authorized to come inside.” she said haughtily. “You will have to wait in the outer garden or one of the fine establishments in the area. You will be summoned if you’re needed, I assure you.”

  Before he could reply Tremendous leaned down towards her, “Make him authorized.” the Omega said bluntly. There was no malice in Tremendous’ voice, nor was there any threat in its words, but the “or else” look in its eyes let everyone know that the subject wasn’t up for debate. Indeed, the look must have been incredibly apparent, even through a voyeur display because almost instantly Myopia’s arm communicator went off. She had to wrench her gaze away from Tremendous’ to read her message and then exhaled with relief.

  “I stand corrected.” she said thankfully, “Colonel Blackshade has just been authorized access.” she shot him a withering glare from behind her thick glasses, “Please, follow me.”

 
As they entered the building, Blackshade couldn’t help but to be in awe. The lobby he found himself in was luxurious in a way he had never experienced before. The room was square in shape and completely made of marble. He was instantly reminded of old Roman architecture and how it must have been the inspiration for this room. Secret Service agents lined the walls, their armor gleaming, and the visors on their helmets were flawless mirrors. Their hip mounted urban assault SMM weapons gleamed with oil as they sat in their holsters and the equipment that hung on their belts was polished, clean, and perfectly in place. Blackshade felt ugly and underdressed in comparison. In the middle of the lobby was a large water fountain with a waterfall that was designed to look as though the water appeared from thin air. Inside the water, electric currents flowed, spelling out different messages. Currently it said, “Welcome, Omegas! Candaerica greets you in peace.” Elegant warning signs were placed around the fountain, cautioning people not to touch the water due to the possibility of a lethal electric shock. Massive chandeliers hung from the ceiling, lighting the room to an almost dazzling brightness. Blackshade wondered if this room was always like this, or if it had been spruced up to impress the Omegas.

  Myopia led them toward a large bank of doors. She placed her hand on a scanner and punched the ‘Identify’ input. The moment she did, a metal clamp enveloped her hand. Blackshade took a step back in surprise. Myopia, seeing his reaction, laughed at him condescendingly, “Relax, Colonel, it’s just a safety feature. If I don’t enter the correct code, or the scanner does not recognize me, the machine holds me here until the Secret Service detains me.” she explained simply, “Can’t have random people poking around trying to get access now, can we?” she asked him accusingly. Blackshade said nothing, he was just about fed up with this woman’s attitude. It was true that he had wanted to remain with the Omegas, but it wasn’t he that had requested it, it was them. She had no reason to treat him like this as far as he was concerned.

  Turning away from him, Myopia removed her glasses with her free hand and leaned forward so the machine could scan her face. After a moment, the display lit up and requested which room she would like to access. She typed in ‘5-2-4’ and waited. The display flashed green once, released her hand, and instructed her to wait at portal four.

  “Please, follow me to portal four.” she said sweetly to the Omegas. Blackshade noticed that the print just above her eyebrows read, “You huge freaks” He grimaced, hoping the Omegas hadn’t noticed and if they did, that they wouldn’t be insulted. He was now positive that the words he saw on the woman’s forehead were her current thoughts. He wanted to warn her, but with the Omegas so close, he couldn’t think of a way of discreetly telling her. Even if he could, what would he tell her? That the aliens had given him the ability to see her thoughts on her forehead? Judging by what he could tell about the woman, she wouldn’t believe him and would probably try to have him seen by a police officer. He resigned himself to the fact that he was just going to have to hope that the woman didn’t insult the Omegas. If she did anger them, he would do what he had to do to make amends, whatever the cost.

  They waited in silence for the doorway to portal four to open. It didn’t take long, thankfully, and when the doors opened, Blackshade was relieved to see they must have been entering a service transport, because the inside was more than large enough to accommodate all of them. Once they were inside, the doors slid shut smoothly, and after just a few moments they opened up to reveal a long corridor that led to a set of large wooden double doors. The corridor was thirty feet across and lined with Secret Service agents in full gear just like there had been in the lobby. Blackshade had no doubt that they had been assembled both as an honor guard, and as a security precaution. Blackshade looked at the Omegas to see if they had noticed this. Tremendous and Artificer still looked excited, with Artificer looking almost childlike in its eagerness. Minder was watching the assembled agents with a look that was almost approving, but not quite. Blackshade wasn’t sure if that should concern him or not.

  “This way, please.” Myopia said sweetly, as she walked down the corridor toward the doors. As the Omegas passed the Secret Service agents, they shifted to attention for just a moment before returning to their original, parade-rest position. Only Minder seemed to notice, and for a moment, Blackshade was positive he saw the hint of an approving grin form on the Omega’s face.

  “They have already announced you, please proceed to the middle of the room once you go in. I’ll be waiting for you here to escort you back once the meeting is over.” Myopia said with professional coldness as she opened large wooden doors.

  With a subdued hydraulic hiss, doors swung open to reveal the Congressional Conference Room. The hall was cavernous but gave Blackshade the feeling he had traveled back in time. The room was circular in shape and made up of seven levels that encircled the other levels in a ring. There was a space between each ring that allowed a person access to the center of the room, which was where the Presidents sat at their shared table. Each level was lined with fine mahogany desks with multiple delegates seated behind them in overstuffed lounge chairs. Each desk had the home state of the representatives carved into its surface and front so everyone knew at a glance who was speaking for each state in the union. The carvings were incredibly detailed and depicted the states’ capital cities inside the lettering. Some of the carvings even showed national landmarks if the represented state had any of note. In the center of the room, the Presidents sat with their Secret Service agents flanking them. Instead of desks, the Presidents shared a large hardwood table that bore no markings or designs, save for the presidential symbol in the center of the table. The reason for this rather plain table being the seating place for the Presidents, when a far grander seating arrangement could have easily been arranged, was because the table was hand-crafted by Candaerica’s first Presidents. Unfortunately, neither of them had been carpenters, and so the design was kept very simple so that the end product wouldn’t be an embarrassment. Because of this, the presidential symbol in the center of the table was branded in place, was a little off center, and slightly crooked. Most people said it gave the table character and uniqueness, and at the time it was very well received by the public. However, every company that tried to duplicate it and sell reproductions to the public had very little luck. There were many videos on the internet of companies that exclusively sold presidential paraphernalia going out of business and burning their stock.

  Blackshade had only ever seen the room on news displays when one of the Presidents was making a speech. He had never thought much about the room itself, until he found himself standing in it, which he now knew the news bloggers had not done justice. The history and pride he could feel in the room was tangible. For an instant, he understood why people wanted to become politicians, being in this room made him feel very powerful.

  As they entered the room, everyone turned to look at them. The Omegas didn’t seem to mind at all, in fact Blackshade thought they had expected this reaction. The Omegas looked around the room for a moment and then proceeded to walk down the pathway that led to the center of the room, where one of the Presidents awaited them. Three large chairs had been arranged for the Omegas. They didn’t match each other, but they were elegant in their designs and looked like they could hold their weight. The attending President stood as they approached and motioned towards the chairs.

  “On behalf of Candaerica, I greet you in peace.” President Silvia said earnestly, “Please, be seated so we can begin.”

  When Candaerica was formed, many things about the way the government worked remained similar to the way the old American government had functioned. The country was still mainly a republic. Citizens still voted to elect leaders and to enact laws. Many of the constitutional freedoms Americans and Canadians had been accustomed to were still intact, and for the most part, the more popular laws and regulations were incorporated into the new Candaerican government. The Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches remained and still fun
ctioned as they did before. Taxes remained mostly the same, with cuts being made to some programs, while increases happened to others.

  Some things had changed, however. The American constitutional right to bear arms did not apply to advanced weaponry. Citizens could purchase solid state projectile weapons all they wanted, however if they were found to be in possession of any explosives, propelled explosives, or SMM weaponry without the proper permits and certifications, they would find themselves jailed indefinitely. Protesting was still a government protected right, but if the protests became violent or caused property damage, coma-drones could be dispatched and all those arrested were held accountable to pay for the damages, whether they caused the damage or not. Freedom of speech was still protected but was no longer as broad reaching as the American right had been. Now if a citizen said or wrote something that was hurtful, offensive, racist, or considered vile, the government could arrest them for it. You still had the right to say what you wanted, but you were held accountable for your words, which had curbed civilian insubordination very quickly.

  One of the biggest differences in Candaerican policies was that there were now two Presidents that ran the country. It was determined that having only one person in charge of an entire country, even with their cabinet members, vice president, and staff assisting them, was too much responsibility for one person. So it was decided that two people would take on the mantle of President, sharing the power equally. One would be male and would be elected at the beginning of every decade. So in 2080 the next male president would be elected. The other President would be female and elected at the half way mark of every decade. So in 2075 the next female president would be elected. Presidents could only serve one term, and they held office for ten years. This way the country didn’t get caught up in all the political drama and vitriol that was dredged up during the campaigns. So far the change had proven to be a good one, and with a new president taking office every five years, it halted any complacency. Having a man and a woman in charge also made dealing with foreign leaders much easier. As progressive as Candaerica was, many other countries still viewed men as superior and women as inferior. This mindset was still shifting, but there were many places in the world where this was still considered the norm. So, when dealing with foreign leaders, if they would react more favorably to a man, then the male President was sent to deal with them. If the foreign leader would react more favorably to a female leader, the female President would be dispatched to meet with them. As sexist as this was, it helped to improve Candaerica’s world image immensely, with the country currently having an eighty-five percent world approval rating.