The Phoenix Fallacy_Book II_Norm

by Jon Sourbeer,

  ‘And with it, the Corporations entered a new era of growth and development. Titan was able to develop its Advanced Trooper armor, a suit able to withstand extreme punishment and powered flight. It’s distinctive shape and look soon lent it a much more fearsome name – Infernus armor. Minotaur created new construction techniques using Immutium hardened beams, and the Corporations shot higher and expanded faster than ever before. And Phoenix finally had its breakthrough – and not just one, but two.”

  “They say progress is made in leaps and bounds,” the Praetor added.

  Norm nodded, “Too true. The first of Phoenix’s landmark achievements was the development of cryogenics. It was a breathtaking development. Using Immutium alloy, Phoenix finally had a material that could withstand the rigors of a process it had theorized could work nearly a century before. I’ve seen what you recovered from the cryochamber – you already know the basics of the process: rapid dehydration combined with high-speed freezing through cooling, and the capability to lower the freezing point of water through an electrical ion charge. With cryogenics successful development a person could be put in suspended animation for nigh on forever.”

  “But other than for preservation, that doesn’t really let a person live forever,” Wouris stressed, tapping the table.

  Norm shook his head, “No. But it does become of the utmost importance when I discuss Phoenix’s second breakthrough: A—” Norm paused, “compound, that kept people young, and even reversed the aging process in the elderly.”

  The Praetor sat forward, “Phoenix Tears! It is true! There were always rumors of it, but no one believed such a thing really existed.”

  Keats nodded, “Just a bedtime story designed to make the other Corporations fear them."

  “Well, this is where our story begins to become interesting. “Using these–” Norm paused again, as if struggling, “Phoenix Tears…this serum, as you said, produced…” Norm choked on his words. In that moment, he seemed all of his 100 years.

  Keats came around the table to offer solace to the man, but Clara got there first. “Come on, Norm, we need to know,” she said gently.

  Norm turned to look at her, patting her hand, “I’m glad we got you out of there, Clara. It really was important. For all our sake’s.” Clara looked confused, but Norm rubbed his eyes and continued. “The serum produced – miraculous effects, and Phoenix suddenly became the most dominant corporation on the planet. Five years was enough to see drastic changes. Our population exploded, and we were more productive than any corporation could match. Our soldiers could outnumber and outperform any others on the battlefield, and our corporation benefited immensely. It was also an extremely expensive drug.”

  “But you just said that the whole of the Phoenix population benefited from the creation of the compound,” Wouris interjected. “If it was so expensive, could the general populace even afford a watered-down variety? Was such a thing even possible?”

  Norm looked downcast, “Yes, well I never said that what the Executors received and what the population was given were the same.” He cleared his throat, “The serum—has two parts. The first is considerably cheaper, and produces some unique effects.”

  “A second drug?” Hawkes asked curiously. Janus was surprised to see even him leaning in to hear Norm.

  Norm’s face displayed great pain, “Well…yes and no. The first part of the drug actually negatively impacts the human lifespan. It ages people.”

  “That seems useless,” Marcus’ eyes narrowed.

  “And counter-productive to life-extension,” Hawkes said suspiciously.

  “At first, Phoenix thought the same thing. But that was until a young intelligence officer, a man who had helped deliver the decisive victory at Lightemann’s ridge, proposed a most intriguing idea. His name was Magnus Delacroix.”

  “Delacroix? The same Delacroix who is now a Titan Executor?” Janus exclaimed.

  Norm nodded, staring shrewdly at Janus, “Recently promoted from his brilliant victory at Lightemann’s Ridge to the title of Overlord, and soon to make an impossible leap to the title of Executor.”

  “But he is far too young to be the same Delacroix.” Lyn protested, “He is even younger than you.”

  Norm shook his head, “We were two of a select few given full access to the life-extension treatments. As Overlord for Intelligence, I was fortunate enough to have been born into the proper caste – and to be the Overlord for the most important branch of Phoenix. But Magnus, he earned his position. Magnus was brilliant, and ruthless. He had risen through the ranks of the S.T.s, and it had been his elegant maneuvers that had won the battle at Lightemann’s despite overwhelming odds. The Executors were all too eager to promote him.’

  ‘In the case of the Phoenix serum, Magnus studied it intensively, and he realized an elegantly simple idea that would grant Phoenix absolute dominance over the other Corporations. It was only a matter of time before our life-extension treatment was discovered and the other Corporations would have our secret, dispelling any advantage we had gained. He knew that it’s other effects held the key to Phoenix’s victory.”

  “Was it that impossible to hold onto?” Keats asked.

  “Corporate secrets are like water in a leaky bucket,” Norm said simply. “Our advantage was too blatant. Already there were rumors of how our oldest Executors seemed to suddenly regress, restoring their vigor to that of young men and women in a period of months. Outside of Phoenix, there were murmurs of secret meetings between the other Corporations. Our victory at Lightemann’s had been good for the others only as long as we stayed within arm’s reach – the idea of our best and brightest being immortal was simply too much. If they did not soon discover Phoenix’s secret, there was talk of all out war.”

  “So what was the idea that Delacroix had?” Janus asked.

  Norm paused, looking around the room. Janus could see a pained expression in his eyes. He looked at the Praetor, “You know, a part of me has always hoped that this day would never come. That nothing would ever come of it…”

  “What are you talking about Norm?” Janus asked.

  “Well, you see –” he was mumbling to himself, “the idea that Magnus had…”

  “Spit it out, man!” Northcott said. Norm looked up, there were tears in his eyes.

  “He wanted to use the aging compound on the Phoenix population.”

  “What?” Northcott spluttered, “How could that possibly be beneficial?!”

  Norm smiled a sad smile. “Oh, it was – although it was far from humane. You see, the effect of that part of the serum wasn’t exactly to half the lifespan of the average human—” he paused, “it was more like running an engine in overdrive. People under its effect aged more quickly – that applied to our children and youth, as well.”

  Celes held a hand to her mouth, “The rooms!”

  “The what?” Marcus and Janus twisted around to her in confusion, along with many others.

  “The rooms – in Middleton’s lab.”

  Lyn was the first to grasp it, “The beds – for children. She was using the drug on children?”

  “Yes.”

  Lyn’s stared hard at the table, her fists clenched, “What... would make you do that…on children…” she spluttered.

  Norm sat forward, “Throughout history, there has always been one shortage in war. It is not supplies, nor weapons – we have never lacked the capability to produce weapons. What we have lacked – is soldiers. The greatest limiting factor in war. Magnus proposed a solution to that great problem.”

  The group shifted uncomfortably, but Norm continued as if he did not notice, “We segregated the population, secretly of course, into two groups. It all happened very quickly – one day, people just started disappearing: Criminals, orphans, anyone deemed desirable for our goal and undesirable to the overall corporation. It was miniscule compared to the larger system. Rumors were spread of a plague – it was clearly a lie. Some whispered it was a side effect of our new miracle drug – which
was partly true, I suppose, and was not discouraged. Overnight, a large portion of our population disappeared. Phoenix appeared weakened by its own technology – and suddenly, our miraculous Serum did not appear so valuable or necessary anymore.”

  Northcott jumped in, “The other Corporations would wait and see – exactly as Magnus wanted.”

  Norm pursed his lips, “Yes. But what we had actually done was far worse. Deep under Phoenix, our missing populace was provided with the full aging compound. These unlucky souls would have one purpose: to fight. They would be trained as soldiers. Imagine, if you will, a population in many ways similar to yours - all fighters, bred for war. Battle ready in just a few short years from birth and totally loyal. Trained through their short childhood, given the drug until they were equivalent to about the age of twenty, bred to produce more, and then—“

  Janus sat bolt upright, “—Frozen.” He interjected.

  Norm nodded, “Phoenix would produce an army larger, stronger, and more battle ready than any other before it. Stored until Phoenix was ready to make its final push for domination.”

  Chapter 33: Sacrifices Made

  Silence greeted his pronouncement.

  Finally, Clara spoke up – so softly, Janus almost missed it, “But why, Norm?”

  Norm did not meet her eyes, “What was more important than the success of Phoenix? He – Magnus, spoke so eloquently of Phoenix corporate dominance. The years of strife that had divided all the Corporations could come to an end. All of the corporate populations would be stronger and healthier. Our Compound Soldiers did not know of what freedoms they lacked, so how could they feel denied? And we would finally have peace – after so many years of war, of suffering. Was that not noble?”

  Norm paused and swallowed hard. Lifting up his eyes, he slowly soaked up the mixture of disgust and awe that surrounded him.

  Norm took a deep breath, “It was a brilliant plan, with one problem. Phoenix may have been powerful, but it lacked the capability to produce enough Immutium. That was a specialty of Cerberus.”

  “So how did Phoenix overcome it?” Hawkes asked gruffly, as if he suspected, but didn’t want to know.

  Norm shook his head, “It took many years, but finally, sixty years ago, a dark and terrible thing happened – one that set us all on a course for destruction. I told you that many times the Phoenix secrets were almost compromised. Eventually it happened.”

  “How is that possible?” Keats asked, “No one has had any idea of these events.”

  “We captured the young woman, before she could report back to her superiors.”

  “Young woman?” Northcott asked.

  “My mother?” Janus exclaimed angrily.

  Norm looked alarmed, “What? No! Where did you get an idea like that?”

  Janus looked confused, “But Middleton said-”

  “Middleton!” Norm roared, “You would trust the words of that snake!”

  The room recoiled at his reaction and he took a moment to calm himself, speaking to Janus, “Middleton has her own version of the story and no doubt it has elements of truth in it, but—” Norm shook his head, “Don’t tell me you are such a fool to believe her, boy!”

  “Well, then who did you capture?” Celes asked earnestly.

  “Middleton herself.”

  There was a general exclamation, and confused looks shot around the room.

  “She was very clever, almost Magnus’s equal, and sometimes perhaps more. I am not entirely sure, even to this day, who possesses the greater cunning. At the time, she was young, thin, very beautiful, and had been a mole for Cerberus for some time. She had discovered both the Serum and the compound soldier program Magnus had developed when we finally discovered her.

  But in our interrogation chambers, Middleton offered us a deal – spare her life and she would provide a solution to our Immutium problem.”

  “So you took the deal?” Keats asked.

  Norm shook his head, “Of course not. I didn’t trust her – nor did Magnus. We held her prisoner. Over the course of several months, we learned what her solution was – in exchange for information, and her own supply of the Phoenix Serum, she would secure Immutium from Cerberus’ furnaces. But we couldn’t trust her, and she was slated for execution as a spy.”

  “What happened?” Janus asked, for a moment pitying Middleton.

  “In her final moments, lined up before a squad of STs, she pleaded to Delacroix that she would do anything for him, if she could just be spared, and Magnus stopped the execution.”

  Norm’s face became pale, as though he were ill, “I thought, perhaps, Magnus had felt compassion for our prisoner. Just as I had willingly believed in greater good of our plan with the serum, I believed Magnus was concerned for the welfare of this trapped woman. But I was so very wrong, and I never saw past the façade. I look back now, and I see that he had planned to stop the execution the entire time. Middleton had a solution to our Immutium problem, and Magnus needed it.’

  “But how could anyone trust her?” Celes asked.

  “Middleton,” Norm sighed, “could be trusted because— she loves Magnus, in her own twisted way. Magnus knew it when he stopped the execution. I saw it after, and although I never trusted Middleton, I came to realize that she would stand by him. Even so many years after her release, she remains loyal. She has her own agenda, that is certain, but Magnus offers her something I suspect she finds irresistible.”

  “And what’s that?” Celes asked.

  Norm shook his head in dismay, “An equal.” He paused reflectively, “And a path to power. She became a willing ally to Phoenix’s bid for domination in exchange for her life and her own supply of the life-extension drug. And Magnus had been correct to trust her, as it was a mutually beneficial exchange – Middleton secretly supplied us with occasional, but substantial shipments of Immutium produced by the furnaces of Cerberus while we provided her with valuable intel concerning Phoenix.”

  “What sort of intel?” Northcott asked.

  Norm shrugged, “Almost anything really. As long as it would not jeopardize our long-term goals, the Executors did not really care what we gave up. Our primary population was rapidly rebounding from its earlier losses, and Phoenix was quickly expanding – we could afford to take the hit.”

  Wouris huffed at the pronouncement.

  “‘Surprise’ Cerberus attacks destroyed many troop deployments over the years, and Middleton quickly gained status at Cerberus for her expert intelligence and infiltration of Phoenix. And all the while her Executors looked past certain disappearing Immutium shipments, assuming she was using it to acquire her information – which was technically true, I suppose. Between her shipments, the occasional attack on far-flung Cerberus operations, and the devotion of considerable Phoenix resources, we were just able to keep ahead of our needs.”

  Northcott interjected, “And best of all, the constant attacks and destruction of Phoenix forces gave the other Corporations a sense of security and made them far less desperate to attack Phoenix in an all-out war.”

  Keats agreed, “Middleton not only brought you the Immutium you needed, but she bought you the time you needed, as well.”

  Norm nodded, “Magnus and myself rapidly gained status within Phoenix. Soon, with the blessing of the Executors, Magnus joined their ranks. It was unheard of, a unique opportunity for someone born outside the Executor caste, but one that benefited all. His years upon years of brilliant service had earned him great respect from Overlords, S.T.s, and civilians throughout the Corporation. Hero of the Fusion War and savior of the Corporation, the population loved the Executors for bestowing such a gift upon their favorite son.”

  “So Delacroix rapidly attained the power he so desired,” Hawkes commented dryly.

  “Wonderful,” Northcott muttered.

  “But Norm,” Janus said, “Middleton talked about my mother as if she was personally offended by the mere thought of her. She didn’t even mention her name. Was she really lying that much?”
<
br />   “I am afraid not, my boy,” Norm sighed. “However, allow me to finish this part of my story. It is very important to know before you can begin to understand the relationship between Middleton and your mother.”

  “Please continue, Norm,” Keats said, “We all know Phoenix was destroyed – what went wrong? Everything seemed to be going so smoothly.”

  Norm smiled, “It was, but sometimes we believe ourselves to be far greater than we really are – despite the attacks by Cerberus, and occasionally, the other Corporations, as time passed, Phoenix continued to gain power and territory. A decade passed. And once again, the Corporations showed signs of their...unease,” he paused and turned to Keats, “Do you have a map of the territory surrounding Phoenix?”

  Keats nodded, making a few swift motions to the panel before her. The MuDi emerged from the desk. “How far do you need?”

  “A thousand mile radius should cover it,” Norm made a circle with his hand. The MuDi projected a simple map, and Norm pointed at several spots around the edge, “Random attacks against Phoenix and its territories increased, and it was clear the other Corporations were feeling restless. With so many assaults, our ability to fight on so many fronts was rapidly diminishing. Mercenary attacks became a daily occurrence against our smaller operations, and there were even a few bold Corporate assaults on the edges of our territory. Phoenix was too exposed, and it was only a matter of time before the Corporations jumped on the opportunity to strike down their mightiest foe. It didn’t look as though Phoenix would have time to implement its plan.”

  “Magnus and I knew that if a solution was not found soon, the other Corporations might attack before Phoenix was ready, and all could be lost. We struggled day and night to find a way to win. Finally, we hit upon an idea that was risky, but we believed could save us from what Magnus and I thought would be almost certain defeat.”