Original Design

by William Latoria

  “Is someone attacking China?” he asked, confused. Then he added, “Oh God, it’s not us, is it?!”

  Soearth looked at him incredulously, “No! Of course, it’s not us!” he replied, “As you know, when China’s leadership saw the Omega ship heading toward the Earth on, what was suspected at the time, a collision course, they issued suicide capsules to all of their leadership, as well as their families, and most of them ingested them. When annihilation didn’t come to the world via a celestial impact, the remaining two billion citizens became embroiled in a country-wide power struggle. What you’re seeing is the remains of a larger neighborhood in Tibet, but that’s not what I want you to focus on.” he said, as he reoriented the display. What he saw after Soearth was done realigning the view was a devastated forest. It looked like it had been completely cut down, and very recently.

  Blackshade was confused, “What am I looking at? Why are cut down trees more significant than the neighborhood, or Moscow?”

  A look of deep concern settled over Soearth’s face, the words, ‘He does not see it yet’ scrolled across his head. “I didn’t see the problem at first either, but I assure you, it’s currently the biggest problem the world has...” he told him, dread now coloring his words, “Look at all the flora we’ve lost over the past few months. All of South America’s forests, including the loss of the Amazon River Basin, has had a devastating ecological effect on the world. Then, factor in the forests lost with the destruction of Moscow, and now the clear cutting of China’s woodlands, as well as all the dust, debris, smoke, smog, and particulates being released into the atmosphere from the massive explosions in Moscow. Then, add to that all of the fighting and burning currently happening in China, and we have a massive crisis on our hands!”

  Now that Soearth had laid it all out for him, Blackshade was catching on quickly, “Doesn’t help that it’s the middle of winter and most of the remaining trees have lost their leaves.” he said, as he began to realize what Soearth was getting at. It had just occurred to him that it was January second, a little under three months since the Omegas arrived. He hadn’t realized so much time had passed. The holidays, New Year’s, as well as many other significant dates had passed without him realizing it. No wonder Zahera was so mad at him. He should have been spending the holidays with her, not with the Omegas. The guilt he felt threatened to overwhelm him, but he pushed it down. He would have to feel sorry for himself later. If they didn’t get a handle on this situation soon, he was worried that there might not be another holiday season. “Jesus, Soearth, how bad is it?”

  Soearth took a breath to respond when the door to the room opened and a woman walked in. Blackshade recognized her immediately as the environmentalist he had dismissed the first time Soearth had introduced her to him. It seemed to him like he was about to eat some crow, deservedly, he had to admit.

  “Hello, Ms. Yodabel,” he began, sheepishly, “it seems I owe you an apology.” she looked surprised that he remembered her name, and to confirm his suspicion the words, ‘He remembered my name’ scrolled across her forehead. He was glad he did remember her name. The bitter look that had been on her face when she came into the room had softened, if only a little.

  “Hello, Ambassador Blackshade, it is good to see you again.” she replied tightly. Blackshade couldn’t blame her. He knew she had the right to be angry with him, and he wasn’t going to try to take it away from her.

  She surprised him though by getting straight to the point, “As Mr. Hiem has just explained, our eco-system is on the verge of collapse. Air quality worldwide has dropped almost thirty percent, and if my findings are correct, we can expect to see that number drop to forty percent by the end of next month. If the air quality of the world isn’t improved soon, I believe we will see the first suffocation deaths of the very young and very old by the early spring. By the summer, anyone with a health condition will succumb, and by the fall, whatever is left of humanity will be gasping for breath. By this time next year, we will be lucky if there is a human being left on the planet.”

  Blackshade accepted all of this without question, “Ok, so what can we do about it?”

  Ms. Yodabel’s bitter look returned, “We are already doing what we can in Candaerica. We are planting saplings, bushes, flowers, anything that soaks up carbon-dioxide and produces oxygen. It’s not enough, though! If we can’t get the Presidents to sign executive orders prohibiting any logging, banning burning wood or other combustible materials, and patrolling our national parklands, looking for anyone breaking these laws, I’m afraid it won’t be enough.” she told him, as she took over the display wall and brought up a host of new images with charts, graphs, and pictures, “We also need the Presidents to get into contact with any world leaders that are left and get them to acknowledge the crisis. If the rest of the world doesn’t conserve what few forests we have remaining, all of our efforts in Candaerica will be nothing more than staving off the inevitable. We are already at the point that every leaf counts, and there just aren’t enough anymore!”

  Blackshade looked at Soearth, “Do you agree with her?”

  Soearth’s bushy eyebrows raised, “She is the expert in this field, Bill. I’d trust her judgment in this, like I would trust Einstein’s in relativity.”

  Blackshade threw the covers of his bed off and stood up. It was then that he realized that all he had on was a paper gown. He looked down, amused, “Well, someone find me my clothes, and let’s go talk to the Presidents.”

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  It took two days to arrange a meeting with the Presidents. President Silvia was out of state on official business, and President Novatrix was still leading humanitarian efforts to find housing, and grant citizenship, to the displaced South Americans. At first, Soearth had tried to use his channels to arrange their meeting. He was given a very low priority by the Presidents’ staff and was told they could arrange something in late February. Finding that unacceptable, Blackshade had stepped in and told their staff members to tell them he needed to speak with them immediately, and that it had to do with the Omegas. Which was a bold faced lie, but it got the job done. The Presidents were recalled back to the Unification Foundation, where they would both meet with him and his team to discuss the subject. If he was held accountable for his lie, then so be it. If they didn’t get control of the world’s oxygen situation fast, his incarceration wouldn’t last very long.

  The group spent the next forty-eight hours discussing the best way to convey to the Presidents the urgency of the situation. They collected multiple sources of data, consulted with other experts, and did what they could to get the word out that logging had to stop and planting new trees was crucial to their survival. Tricia Yodabel was able to use the contacts in her environmental groups to get quite a few public service announcements out on the internet, but without the seal of the Candaerican government on the messages, not many people took them seriously. If anything, people attacked the information, labeling it ‘propaganda’ or ‘fake news’.

  Blackshade did the majority of their research due to the fact that he didn’t have to take breaks to eat or sleep. This revelation scared Tricia at first, but after Soearth took the time to explain it to her, she became comfortable with the idea. He had requisitioned a Vesalius 3000 and found that he loved the compact arm computer. It was much faster than his tissue-ware was on its own, and its ability to store large files was perfect for the research he was doing. He could see why people liked the technology so much, even if they were a little bulky.

  After two solid days of fact hunting and preparation, Blackshade felt they had a very solid presentation for the presidents. The day of the meeting, he felt very confident that they would be able to easily convince President Silvia and President Novatrix of the severity of the situation.

  They were summoned early to the main conference room inside the Foundation on the day of their meeting. Blackshade was th
e first to arrive outside the conference room, since he was already awake and didn’t need to stop for breakfast. Soearth arrived a short time later, with Ms. Yodabel following soon after. She greeted them with a warm, but tired smile. Over the past couple days of working together, her bitterness had gone away, and she had become somewhat personable. Blackshade found that the woman wasn’t the uppity snob he had originally thought she was. She was simply very passionate about the environment, but not very good at conveying that to the people she was trying to persuade. While he didn’t think they would ever be friends, he did respect her passion, and that was enough for the moment.

  “Lord, I wish I didn’t need to eat or sleep anymore.” she said looking enviously at him, “I could accomplish so much more, not to mention lose a few pounds.”

  Blackshade smiled, “Well, once we get the world’s oxygen situation figured out, I’ll see what I can do to get you a visit inside the Omega city.”

  Tricia visibly paled, “Oh! Umm… I wasn’t being serious. I was just making a joke, Ambassador.”

  Blackshade rolled his eyes, “We’ve been over this a hundred times, Tricia. Just call me Bill.”

  Tricia nodded but still looked nervous. The words, ‘I would not go’ scrolled across her forehead. Blackshade was disappointed to see this, but made no comment on it. Instead he looked at both of them, “Are we ready?”

  Soearth looked at the tall double doors in front of them, “As we will ever be, I would imagine.” he answered anxiously.

  Tricia, still pale, only nodded.

  Blackshade took that as an affirmative and pushed on the doors. They opened smoothly on their automated hinges. As he entered the room, he saw both of the Presidents and their Secret Service Agents in the center of the room. The Agents looked up at them as the door opened, and a few spoke into microphones in their wrists. Why they still used those old fashioned communication devices, he didn’t know, but it irritated him that they did. Current technology was far superior and far more secure than what they were using, but he wasn’t here to argue Secret Service operating procedures. He was here to try to ensure they all still had their lives this time next year.

  The trio made their way toward the center of the room. Three very nice chairs had been placed before the President’s table for Blackshade and his team to sit in. On the arms of each were displays that currently showed one of their names. Blackshade took the hint and sat in the chair where the display showed his name, with Soearth and Tricia doing the same. Blackshade linked his Vesalius to his chair and then stood back up to address the Presidents. He may not be actual military anymore, but he would still respect the customs and courtesies he had observed most of his life.

  “President Silvia, President Novatrix, thank you both for agreeing to this meeting. I know I speak for Soearth and Tricia when I tell you that we would not have pushed for this meeting if it wasn’t so urgent.” he began professionally.

  President Silvia looked down his nose at them, “I am familiar with you, Blackshade, and you Hiem.” he paused then and gave Tricia an assessing look, “Who are you, miss?”

  Blackshade was going to answer but Tricia leapt to her feet, “I am Tricia Yodabel, Mr. President, and I am a prominent environmentalist in Candaerica.” she answered eagerly. It occurred to Blackshade in that moment, that Tricia may have never addressed the Presidents before now, and she appeared to be a little star struck by the experience. Her eyes were opened wide and her mouth was slightly agape as she looked from Silvia to Novatrix, and back. The word, ‘WOW’ flashed on her forehead over and over. Irritation rushed through him, but he tried to push it away. This meeting was too important for this woman to begin acting like a fan girl at her first concert.

  President Novatrix leaned forward, “We understand that you have information on the Omegas you want to share with us, Ambassador Blackshade. What information is that?” she asked formally. Blackshade looked at her and noticed that her hair style had changed. She now had very long bangs that hung just past her eyebrows. Her new hairstyle gave her an old-fashioned look, but moreover, Blackshade noticed right away that her bangs blocked his ability to read her forehead. He had forgotten that the Omegas had given her the ability to do that as well, and he didn’t think it was a coincidence her hair was styled this way now. His respect for her went up considerably.

  “I have much to discuss with you all about my time with the Omegas.” he began, trying not to mask his deception, “but first, we have a matter that must be addressed immediately, or the consequences will be fatal.”

  The words felt a little foolish as he said them, but he wanted to make sure he conveyed just how dismal the situation was. Novatrix seemed intrigued, but Silvia was obviously annoyed.

  “What situation could more dismal than the Omega crisis?” he asked, sighing.

  Tricia took a step forward, Blackshade noticed that as she did one of the Secret Service Agents standing behind her took a step toward her with malice. Tricia was so enthralled by being close to the Presidents, she didn’t notice. “Mr. Julio… umm… I mean, Mr. and Mrs. President, it is such an honor to be here, in your presence!” she began awkwardly. President Novatrix smiled politely, but President Silvia noticeably rolled his eyes.

  “Yes, thank you. Please get on with it, I have a lot to do.” he told her dismissively.

  Enthralled or not, she noticed his tone, and her disappointment seemed to snap her out of her daze. The star struck look vanished from her eyes and the words, ‘Typical asshole’ scrolled across her forehead. Blackshade had too much discipline to allow himself a grin. Tricia took another, defiant step towards Silvia and met his gaze levelly, “Yes, well, like I said, I’m a head environmentalist, and as such I have come to inform you that if something isn’t done soon, everyone on Earth is going to suffocate and die.”

  That got their attention, “What do you mean, ‘suffocate and die?’ Novatrix asked, concerned.

  Tricia favored her with a tiny sympathetic smile, “Exactly what it sounds like, I’m afraid.” she responded. She walked back to her chair, almost bumping into the agent that had crept up behind her, and punched at the inputs in her chair. Within moments, displays popped up around the room, showing satellite images of Moscow, South America, China, and a slew of other locations across the globe, where recent cutting down of forests had occurred. “The displays show the evidence of what I’m about to tell you. Since the Omegas have arrived, over fifty-two percent of the world’s forests have been destroyed. China is currently clear cutting the forests around their country in order to build crude war machines to help in their civil wars. The forests around Moscow are obliterated, thanks to their failed attack on the Omegas, and the loss of all of the flora in South America was the killing blow that may have sealed our fate. Already, scientists I’ve been in contact with from around the world are seeing the effects of our weakened atmosphere. People are exhausting faster than before, and people in high population zones are noticing that the air quality has changed for the worse. Thousands of reports from all over the country are coming in, revealing that those with breathing conditions, those that are sickly, or with weaker constitutions are experiencing shortness of breath and wheezing. So far, there have been no fatalities, but it’s only a matter of time before there are thousands of people dropping dead from oxygen deprivation.”

  Blackshade was impressed, Tricia had definitely gotten their point across to the Presidents. Both of them sat transfixed on her as they contemplated the information she had given them. The concern on both of their faces was very promising.

  Novatrix tapped at the input controls on her desk and read something quickly on a display that was out of his field of vision. Whatever it was did not make her happy. She looked up at Tricia, paused, and then spoke, “What can we do to correct this? How do we fix this before it’s too late?” she asked, worried.

  Tricia looked relieved, “My teams have already…” she began to explain, as President Silvia’s outburst startled all of them.

&
nbsp; “THOSE MOTHERLESS SONS OF BITCHES KILLED US!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs. President Silvia was a big man, he worked out whenever he could, and because of it, was very powerfully built. Also, possibly because of the supplements he used, he had an explosive temper. He slammed a fist into his desk, causing the sturdy piece of furniture to shake and groan in protest. He pointed an accusatory finger at Blackshade, “DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS!?” he demanded, spittle flying from his mouth, “DID YOU KNOW THE OMEGAS WERE HERE TO KILL US!?”

  Blackshade was taken completely off guard. The word, ‘TRAITOR’ flared from Silvia’s forehead, which only served to unsettle Blackshade even more. “Mr. President, I don’t believe…” was as far as he got, before the President had another outburst.

  “BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT!” he screamed, starting to come around his desk, “WHAT DID THEY PROMISE YOU, HUH!? WHAT DID THE OMEGAS GIVE YOU TO BETRAY YOUR OWN PEOPLE!? WAS IT TWENTY PIECES OF SILVER!?!? YOU FUCKING JUDAS!! WAS IT!!!???”

  Blackshade got up from his seat and took a step back, as the President continued to advance toward him. His mind raced, trying to make sense of what was happening. The non-military side of him wanted to fight back and tell the President he was out of his mind, but his military side, the part of him he had relied on for most of his life, refused to allow him to be disrespectful to one of his Commanders in Chiefs. So as the two sides of his mind battled for control, all he could do was stand there dumbly, waiting to see which part of him won out first.