Fred and Manuel stood at the bow of the boat, scanning the water as the boat skimmed the surface. Manuel had entered in digital coordinates generated from Fred’s mapping application. Reports on fish activity were also available if users paid the premium for a satellite subscription. Fred received these reports but managed to avoid the fees. A few of his friends were able to intercept the signals and reroute the information to his computer.
The boat pulled up to the GPS directed location. Fred and Manuel waited as the boat situated itself. As it neared the original coordinates transmitted, real time updates were retrieved through the network. The boat settled, displaying the underwater scene, either on a flat video screen or in the form of a 3D representation, depending on the user’s preference. The system also tagged anything living beneath the surface, attaching a digital label and pointer, giving viewers a representation of the different tracks. Fred got up, stripped down to his swim trunks, revealing the rest of his bronzed body designed for underwater exploration. He grabbed his mask and walked over to Charlie and Pam to grab one of the spear guns. Pam wished him good luck and patted his abs as he bent over. Charlie looked on, wishing he had a shot of whiskey. Moments later, Fred was in the water.
His mask repeated the images the others were looking at, giving Fred constant updates and GPS positions of the living organisms within the water. They watched on the 3D scene as he swam about the different fish, shooting one every now and then with his spear gun. The lines attached to the boat, allowing Manuel the ability to haul up the fish as they were shot. Charlie looked at his watch.
“He’s been down there for two minutes,” he exclaimed.
Manuel didn’t pay any attention.
Charlie watched as Fred continued to swim around the area, racking up the fish as he went. “Is he okay?” asked Charlie noting again the time on his watch. Fred had been under for five minutes.
“Does he look okay?” asked Manuel.
He did look okay. He’s still moving about as freely as a dolphin. Charlie wondered what it was like to be able to move as such, at the whims of no one, catching the food he would eat himself.
“He’s coming up,” said Manuel. “He ran out of spears.”
Charlie noted it had been ten minutes since Fred jumped in.
Fred popped up above the surface as if he had been under for a few seconds. He swam over to the boat and jumped up on deck.
“You were down for over ten minutes!” exclaimed Charlie.
Fred winked at him. “Charlie, come over here and help us.”
Charlie did as he was told, helping Manuel and Fred draw the fish into an underwater container to keep everything alive and fresh. There seemed to be thirty different kinds of fish down there.
“What are you going to do with all these? Do you fish every day?” asked Charlie.
“Without fail my friend. Time to make our rounds now,” responded Fred. Manuel was already telling the boat the route they wanted to take. Charlie peered over Manuel’s shoulder as he was providing the instructions.
“Who are these people?” Charlie asked.
“Customers.”
“For the fish?”
“What else?” Manuel said as he finished the list. Each plotted out on the boat’s computer, with the most efficient route charted, stopping at each location prior to ending up at Fred’s home.
The boat started to move off, with Manuel monitoring at the bow. Fred came back and sat next to Pam. Charlie had been standing up at the time, so was obliged to sit opposite them. Fred poured himself some of the coffee and threw on a wool sweater and some dry pants. He wasn’t shy about changing out of his trunks, giving Charlie a little more than he bargained for.
“Charlie, Pam said you have something to talk with me about,” Fred inquired as he sipped the coffee. There was a slight pause.
“Uh, yeah, now? Don’t you have to sell the fish or something?” Charlie asked.
Fred laughed. “Manuel’s got it. Go ahead, Charlie.”
Charlie looked at Pam, pleading with his eyes for a little help. Pam smiled back, clearly enjoying the show.
“Well Fred,” Charlie began, and then hesitated. “Are you satisfied with the way our society operates, as a whole?”
Fred sipped his coffee and smiled. “No Charlie. Out with it.”
“We want to change that,” continued Charlie.
Fred looked at him, a gleam visible in his eyes. Charlie went on, describing to Fred the injustices that he witnessed, conveying to Fred the meaning of freedom and what it should mean to be a man or woman. Fred sat and listened, without interruption. Charlie made a heartfelt plea for the sanctity of freedom of expression. He went on as if Fred lived in City 55, within the core of corporate efficiency. He pleaded with Fred, pontificating that every person deserved the chance to produce something of worth, that humans were not built to crunch data and turn out cookie cutter products day in and day.
“Where is the adventure?” Charlie yelled.
Pam smiled and listened quietly as they sat on the boat, delivering Fred’s prey to the local restaurants.
“Too often the amount of money you make defines who you are, rather than the hunger you bring to the world. The Corporation and The World Government doesn’t reward expression, but rather numbers crunched,” Charlie said with one breath.
“So you want to destroy the system that currently controls us and everything we do?” asked Fred. “You have four people, and none of you seem to know what you’re doing. And you want my help, likely resulting in me bagged or killed?”
Charlie hesitated for a moment before responding. “I may not know everything right now. I have seen what is happening and know it’s wrong.”
“That’s not going to save us.”
“Yes, I know, but there has to be a point where we risk it. We risk it to make a difference.”
“That risk is our lives.”
Charlie hesitated. “Yeah, I know. I don’t have all the answers yet.” Charlie reached into his pocket, pulling out the imager he had brought. “Can that thing project stuff, other than what’s under the water?” Charlie asked, pointing at the boat’s computer system.
“Yeah, sure.”
Charlie attached the imager and brought up the display showing what he had experienced in the hospital. “Okay, here is—”
Fred gestured for him to be quiet. Fred was standing up now, looking at what Charlie had brought. He messed with the controls, forwarding through the image, before retracing back again. “Remarkable,” Fred whispered to himself. “Still, this is a risk that we can’t take,” Fred said before sitting back down.
“Oh stop,” Manuel said after a brief pause. They all looked up at Manuel. “Fred, don’t be silly. You’ve been waiting for this kind of explanation for a while now,” Manuel said.
“Yes. But I don’t know if I’m ready to risk it all. I don’t know if I can risk you,” Fred responded.
“I’ll be fine,” Manuel said. He now looked at Charlie and Pam. “We’re in, but we have a long way to go. We’re not knocking off grandma’s grocery. You’re… We’re going to try to dismantle a system that is able to track almost everything at all times. You’re going to have to devise a way of penetrating their defenses while remaining unseen. As soon as they realize you are a credible threat, you’re done. There will be no trial or questioning. Everything will be over before it’s started.”
“Yeah, so why are you willing to help?” asked Charlie.
Manuel looked at Fred.
Fred paused. “Your hallucinogens unlocked the subconscious parts of your brain, which is the core of how The Proxy operates. That’s what is displayed here. I’ve seen similar results, but without the drugs or the equipment.”
“Where?” asked Charlie.
“Later,” responded Fred.
“One more question,” Charlie said.
Fred nodded.
“How the fuck did you stay under for over ten minutes?”
“Synthesized or
gans. One of my guys was able to get his hands on a certain piece. I had it grown in my lungs. It gives me the ability to process oxygen at a higher rate, over oxygenating the blood and brain, allowing me to hold my breath for longer. But trust me, it takes a while to get used to. At first, your body still wants to breathe when it’s used to breathing. So to be honest, you feel like you’re going to drown. After a while, you get used to it, and your body gets used to the fact that you won’t be breathing for longer periods of time. New technology. Impressive, is it not?” said Fred.
The boat brought them back to Manuel and Fred’s place. They had sold all but a few fish, which ended up as lunch.
“Charlie, come with me,” said Fred.
Charlie did, and they both walked down to another storefront that backed up to the ocean. Fred unlocked the front door, ushering Charlie inside. After Fred turned on a few of the lights and opened the back door leading into a small walkway adjacent to the water, Fred asked Charlie how much he understood about the subconscious. Charlie gave a quick embarrassed laugh, as he shook his head.
“I’m going to teach you to take control of your mind, actually build gray matter and really start to understand how the human psyche works in concert with the body and the surrounding environment. Everything is connected, and your body needs a strong subconscious to operate. All that you think about now and what you consciously decide to observe is affected by the subconscious, driving the underlying feelings you have toward anything you interact with. You need to be one with your soul and your body before you can expect to master the mind.”
“What you experienced with those mushrooms was an acute shock to the system that allowed you to get a glimpse of what is happening within that brain of yours. Likewise, it showed you what was happening with others around you and how everything connects with The Proxy. The same has happened with me Charlie, but it has been a consistent observation. Nothing quite as strong as what you were able to witness, but at times, enough to allow me to see a little of the interaction between minds. I have never witnessed a great force. Rather it has been the combination of multiple minds interacting with one another.”
With this, Fred sat down in the middle of the room. The room was plain. It had a wooden floor with mats rolled up along the walls. Charlie followed suit and sat down facing Fred. Fred inhaled, and then took five successive breaths. He sat there fixed, eyes closed. Charlie mimicked as best he could. He looked at Fred for a while, but after a few minutes started to wander, letting his eyes scan the walls and floors, keeping his mind busy.
“Charlie, you have to focus your mind. There is a thing called attentional blink, which describes the reasons why people miss certain events in their everyday lives. If you were able to reduce your attentional blink, it would mean a more accurate and complete perception of reality, and then you could notice more while missing less. This is a simple practice that will help you in your conscious life. And you must first begin to improve your conscious perception and realization of everything around you before you can break through to the subconscious.”
“So I need to breathe deeply?” asked Charlie.
Fred smiled, and then told Charlie to follow along and imitate what he was doing. Fred and Charlie sat there for an hour, focused on breathing. Each time Charlie would get uncomfortable and move, Fred would instruct him to keep still and focus on his breathing.
“If you are completely focused on your breathing, you won’t feel uncomfortable.” At the end of an excruciating hour, Fred had them breathe out in one long breath, before jumping to his feet. Charlie tried to do the same, but instead only made it to one knee. He sat there for a few seconds, trying to get the feeling back into his left leg. He finally made it to his feet, arched his back, and breathed out with a long deep sigh.
“Don’t worry, we’ll work on that,” said Fred. “Now, you need to rein your friends in and make sure they are operating with utmost discretion. I understand you still don’t know how things went with The Corporation or with Dan’s friends.”
“I wouldn’t exactly describe them in those respects,” Charlie responded.
Fred looked at him. “Anyway, you need that information. We especially need access to current procedures. Without that, we won’t know where to begin to fight. We won’t be able to find their weak spots.”
“What about you?” asked Charlie.
“Me? I’m going to build you an army,” Fred said. “Let’s go pick up Pam. You guys need to get back. Also, you and I are going to be observing this meditation ritual everyday now, morning and night. I need this to be a priority for you because it’s the only way we’re going to be able to continue to observe the subconscious.”
Fred locked up the store before both he and Charlie walked back to his home to pick up Pam. Pam hugged Manuel and then Fred, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Pam walked over to Charlie and asked if he was ready to go. As she did so, Fred walked over to Manuel and put his arm around his waist.
“We certainly enjoyed having you both here,” said Manuel.
“We?” exclaimed Charlie. He was looking at them both with bewilderment. They leaned against one another with their arms around the other. “We?” Charlie asked again.
Pam grabbed Charlie by the arm and led him away. “Don’t worry, he’ll figure it out eventually,” yelled Pam back to Fred.
“Figure what out?” asked Charlie. They grabbed a water taxi to the central Los Angeles train station. Soon, they were zipping across the waves up to San Francisco. Charlie leaned back, exhausted from everything he had seen and done.
Pam smiled at him. “Charlie, you were amazing!”
Charlie blushed and waved off the compliment, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. He completely failed at this attempt, as his face turned bright red. They arrived at the train station late that evening. As they exited the train, Charlie received multiple messages from both Dan and Jerry. They had been leaving them for him all day, which he missed because recently he seemed to always be without his phone. That was something he wasn’t used to, living life not tethered to some sort of communication. Fred was able to live, without the need to be in contact with everyone. Charlie would call them back later.
CHAPTER 7
LITTLE DEVILS BREWING MANDABATMAZ
“Charlie, who are the other people in the room?” Fred asked.
Charlie had invited Dan, Jerry, and Pam over to participate in a group communication with Fred, who was still in Los Angeles. It had been a week since their visit. Fred and Charlie had been relentless with the meditation, spending a minimum of an hour per day working together. Fred was unforgiving. He expected Charlie in top form even if he was coming off a paramedic shift the night before. They all sat around the large table in Charlie’s kitchen. Fred was present as well, in 3D scene form. Likewise, back in Los Angeles, the four of them were present in 3D. After the pleasantries were dealt with, Fred began his explanation.
“What Charlie and Dan experienced while they were,” Fred paused as he looked over to Dan, “partaking in some of mother earth’s treats, was the collective subconscious of the minds that are forming The Proxy. I believe everyone is well aware of this fact. The hallucinogenic properties of mushrooms allowed Charlie and Dan to unlock parts of the subconscious and witness the collection of minds as they processed information together in one state. This is not normally apparent to people, as the subconscious does not stimulate the same portions of the brain as the conscious. When you are actively thinking and living, your conscious brain dominates with the subconscious only remaining present. The subconscious is not fully aware, but rather remains a force that can influence. I could get into the intricacies of the different viewpoints of what is the subconscious and what is the unconscious, but I’m sure Jerry there would die of boredom.”
“What? Not me. This is good stuff. The conscious,” Jerry said as he shot upright in his chair. “And the subconscious. All together but separate.”
“Uh huh. As I was saying,” Fred continued. �
�Different schools of thought believe the subconscious portion of the brain stores information to help the conscious process. It doesn’t really matter at this point.”
“What does matter is by accessing this portion; we can witness the interactions of minds and view how our government is working. Now, the key is to be able to access this without having to be completely doped up and for all accounts, useless,” Fred said.
“Ah man, where’s the fun in that? If we’re going to destroy the government, we might as well have some fun while we’re doing it,” Jerry interrupted.
“Of course,” responded Fred. “Charlie, what are the chances we can get a hold of some of that equipment in the neuro department?”
“It’s all one of a kind. If we take it, it’ll be noticed within hours. If we want an ongoing operation, that can’t be it,” Charlie said.
“Without that equipment, we’re on our last option that I know of,” Fred said as he paused for a moment. “This may be able to augment our current tested practice.”
“That practice being drug induced euphoria?” interrupted Dan.
“Exactly,” said Fred.
“I have experienced what Charlie described to me the other day. It has never been with the same explosive clarity, but it has been on a routine basis, so much so that a few others and I are starting to document the patterns. It took me years to see those patterns because none of it was obvious. There is an acute defining design, but I haven’t been able to nail it down yet. We need to meet to discuss,” finished Fred.
“Where?” asked Charlie.
“I’ll send you coordinates,” responded Fred.
“Coordinates?” whispered Jerry to the others in the room.
“Yes, Jerry," answered Fred. “See you there tomorrow afternoon?”
“Yeah man, I’m off shift for the next few days,” Charlie said looking at the other three.
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