City 55

by William Pinecroft

  She sent messages to each of the major cities: Jakarta, New York, and San Francisco. The orders were clear. Something was wrong and she wanted to know what. This was hush-hush. She didn’t want people to get even a hint that something was amiss with the infallible Proxy. As soon as doubt sprouts, it infects and spreads.

  The Proxy exists to work devoid of interference, in existence as the sole entity to lead the human race into the future. Dr. Buscher believed that should human fallibility enter the equation, the project would fail. The only path to true perfection relied in The Proxy’s ability to synthesize the unknown needs and wishes of the world. Once conscious considerations from human beings played a role, everything became over analyzed and calculated. Why not let the subconscious and ideals of the population remain the guiding force? By implementing this on such a grandiose scale as it currently was, everyone had a part in this great endeavor of the time. Everyone had a voice and part to play. However, something was fucking wrong!

  Soon, she was strutting down another length of hallways, sending commands over her network for technicians to begin analyzing The Proxy’s output. If she could isolate variables somewhere between data input and the output, she could identify the origins of this change in behavior. The illusion that everything was working in accordance with the original contract was paramount. Total and complete faith was vital.

  Dr. Buscher did have a small group of trusted staff that was somewhat privy to the workings of The Proxy. She had bribed these “partners” well. Early on during the inception of this program, the corporations who ran the world wanted representation, and so ratified an agreement. Representatives from the commanding corporations were provided posts in Istanbul to ensure equality and to protect the rights of the many. Dr. Buscher did not argue. In fact, she welcomed all to her grand empire. She immediately put them at ease, housing them in lavish estates, while offering them access to anything they desired.

  They were soon part of her team, rather than part of the companies that employed them. A charismatic leader, she opened a new world before them, creating the illusion that their desires were implemented in running the entire world. She had instilled in them the grandiose fantasy that never in the history of the world had such a small group of people been in control of so many. They were soon fulfilling her bidding, as she catered to their every narcissistic need. The ass kissing was worth it because today, she needed them. She needed them to help her figure out what was infecting her… Their system.

  ****

  The months of change and marvel were about to be a thing of the past for Charlie and his gang. They had been changing the world for so long. They had been changing the world for the good of the people without a voice. That is what Charlie told himself each day. Lately, though, his inner dialogue had started to betray his once confident conviction. Are we really improving anything? Now that they were making the decisions for the world, it seemed to him they had become another form of The Proxy. What made Charlie’s decisions just? This form of change was just another form of government, no better than what they had been living under for the past decade. It was another person’s opinion. It was an imperfect person making decisions for the many. The long-term plan never involved becoming The Proxy or influencing anything of significance. They should not decide whether or not to sentence a person to prison. They were not equipped. Charlie had been caught in the journey to arrive where they all were. Now, he had to make another change. Charlie pondered how to bring about a change without destroying everything he had worked to build. Responsibility was hard. It’s much easier to focus on living and let everything around you flourish or die.

  Charlie called a meeting with Sam, Sheila, Dan, Jerry, and Pam. He would relay to Fred and Timber as needed.

  “Okay everyone,” Charlie began. “Listen—”

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” Sam said.

  Charlie nodded.

  “Charlie, things are changing. New protocols are being implemented across The Corporation. They are coming from the top as well, so I can only imagine the same is happening in other places. We have been implementing new security measures through a bunch of different departments within the company. So far, it has not come to us, yet. I think they’re isolating whatever they think is happening. Bottom line is that I think the government may be aware something or someone is manipulating The Proxy. They will soon start looking in the right place. We need to make some changes or else we’re going to be fucked royally.”

  “He’s not kidding. I’ve been getting more and more crap across my desk regarding these security procedures. They are implementing new types of security structures. Luckily, they haven’t started excluding people from the decision-making. I don’t think they realize where everything is coming from, and I don’t think they have any idea what is actually occurring. No one down at the corporate level is privy to the intricacies of The Proxy. That’s good for us. I agree it ain’t gonna remain that way,” Jerry added.

  Charlie had been nodding his head, listening to everything his friends were saying, letting the pending disaster envelope him. He had been sick to his stomach for the first few weeks of this operation and now, it was bubbling up yet again. It was coming back with a vengeance too. Charlie was no hero. This whim of his kept growing but the control was slipping from his hands. He had detachments waging a silent war against the government.

  As these apprehensions raced through his mind, while listening to the two men he had come to trust completely, he realized everyone in the room was looking at him, to him. They were all expecting him to use this information and come up with a plan. He had only recently begun to understand the workings of The Proxy and The World Government. Not everything was clear to him. He hadn’t seen the inside of The Corporation and couldn’t begin to explain what Jerry and Sam did on a daily basis as the eyes and ears of his little group. Charlie wanted inside that building, but if he did, he risked everything and everyone he had some to care for.

  Yet, they still looked to him to decide what the next moves were. Charlie had brought into the forefront of everyone’s minds his own reservations with how the world was working. His passion had gotten them this far. He was worried that his lack of experience would be their downfall. There were a multitude of decisions that could be made, and Charlie was regarded as being the one that would make the right one. Pam and Dan looked at him now with complete trust, ready to thrust themselves into the fire if he asked. He really did love those two.

  “We need to slow Timber and Fred down,” said Charlie. “They are interfering with The Proxy and it’s too obvious. We’ve been careless in our euphoria and have gotten sloppy. I’m not sure where we go from here though. What happens when we shut this down or slow what we’re doing? Are we going to revert to where we started? And if we do, will we ever be able to get back to where we are now?”

  “Charlie, we need a goal man,” said Dan. “Are we going to destroy the structure or are we trying to change it?”

  “Until we figure that out, I agree with Charlie, we need to slow what we’re doing and get Fred and Timber to back off a bit,” said Pam.

  “Okay,” Charlie said. “Dan, pass it along. Get her to understand.”

  Dan left for Timber’s and Charlie connected with Fred. They relayed to Timber and Fred the changes that were propagating within The Corporation. The plan to disrupt the autonomy and omniscience The Proxy once enjoyed remained, but survival now required temperance. As far as they knew, certain members in the government were closing in, and it was only a matter of time before they narrowed down the cause and then ultimately, the source. That source was Timber and Fred, with Charlie and his friends following shortly thereafter.

  Fred and Timber agreed to reduce their interference. The plan to disrupt remained, but now via more surgical methods to avoid detection. They would pick and choose where they would interfere, at times allowing streams to remain uninterrupted despite the cost. This, they hoped, would at least disturb the pattern, which appeared t
o be forming. The hardest part for all of them was turning their backs on important issues that arose. Avoiding the mundane everyday matters, but always interfering with the grand societal concerns, would still produce a pattern. The issues, despite affecting one’s soul, might end up being ignored in an effort to randomize any anomalies observed. Additionally, on certain days, work would continue while on others, they would sit as spectators scrutinizing the show.

  They always observed to ensure practices by The Proxy did not change. Should measures be taken by the government, modifying the fundamental functioning of The Proxy, they might never be able to regain the same access they enjoyed now.

  With this agreement, Sam, Sheila, and Jerry’s roles became even more important. Recently, the group had grown lackadaisical, becoming comfortable in their criminal activities. Fred and Timber’s crews now relied on the explicit reports of the three undercover agents. Based on these endless recommendations, Timber and Fred adjusted how they interfered with The Proxy to confuse patterns The Corporation might decipher.

  Charlie didn’t have direct access to what was affected and what was left untouched. He had become a diehard news fanatic. It was easy to pick out where his team had meddled. He came away from the newscasts despondent rather than elated, as he once did. One policy or some action that had taken place always seemed to hang over him, nagging within his humanity. Some poor soul or group of souls lost everything because Charlie didn’t intervene. He knew they could have. He also knew they were trying to survive. So far at least, they were helping some, biding their time to really make a change, a change that he couldn’t fathom at this point.

  ****

  “Dr. Buscher,” reported one of the analysts.

  “Yes?” she said not looking up.

  “The anomalies have been isolated to City 55 and City 17.”

  She looked up and placed her pen on the desk, smiling. “I see. Thank you.” She then waved him off, getting up from her chair and proceeded down the hallway to the right of her central office.

  The Guardian Element teams moved with rapid efficiency. It wasn’t long for Dr. Buscher to further isolate where the interference was coming from. The subconscious streams were very similar to what Fred and Timber’s teams were producing, leaving a trail for anyone privy to that specific signature. Unlike Dan and Charlie, Dr. Buscher and her team knew how The Proxy worked and were able to trace the added consciousness. It took them a few days to isolate the exact origin of the intrusion. The master plan, devised by Charlie and the team to alternate days and diminish the meddling, only ended up providing twenty-four hours of reprieve.

  Timber and Fred had also done a good job of covering their tracks by bouncing the patterns across the globe to confuse investigating authorities. This lasted only so long, as Dr. Buscher had the resources at her fingertips to track down the root of the interference.

  ****

  The Element deployed two teams, composed of three squads apiece. Each squad contained approximately six individuals for a total of thirty-six soldiers. Four squads infiltrated on assault ATV’s, surrounding Fred’s fishing house, setting isolation over the compound. They set isolation by occupying the four corners of the building to ensure no one was able to escape their cordon. They had divided the city block into sectors, and each squad manned their assigned corner out to fifty yards. No movement in or out of this point was allowed. After the first four squads were in place, a fifth squad jumped to the roof of the building from the urban assault retrofitted helicopter hovercrafts. The teams used force field boots that were able to soften the impact as they landed on the roofs. They were in place moments later, occupying each side of the building. A sniper team was also established on an adjacent building that had a vantage point into the target’s windows.

  The final team was the breach point team. They entered through the front door. The team established what is termed a “stack” prior to entering the front door. All members formed a tight line with each soldier’s non-shooting hand on the left shoulder of the man in front. As each settled, the man with the breaching device stood by. Starting from the back of the line, each individual would squeeze the shoulder of the one in front until the soldier with the breeching device was given the signal.

  The silent preparation ended with the impact of the device. The door swung open, each man through the entryway hugging the opposite wall of the man in front to cover all angles of the house. The last guys through spread out through the room maintaining their weapons level in case of resistance.

  Fred’s entire crew was present. The Guardian Element had been monitoring the house for the past six hours, ensuring all targeted individuals were present prior to the assault. They used multiple sensor varieties to isolate each person within the building. A combination of advanced radar technology and heat sensors enabled them to separate individuals from the surroundings. Each person on the assault team was also assigned a specific target.

  ****

  Within thirty seconds of the breach, the team had secured the front yoga room where the occupants had been cornered. All were shortly bagged, zip tied, and escorted onto the street. Most struggled. Fred did not. He kneeled without resistance, accepting the futility of the situation. In those moments of chaos, he reflected upon all that the group had sought to accomplish and everything they had dreamed of, now slipping away from their grasp. He looked up at Manuel as the black bag dropped over his head, the last time he would ever see his beloved. The suffocating bag stifled his breathing. He could hear as the soldiers shoved Manuel to the ground. He prayed that Manuel wouldn’t resist. He wanted to comfort him, letting him know that his life had been full because of Manny.

  The exfiltration of the team was similar to the infiltration. The helicopter hovercrafts had to find an acceptable location to hover low enough for the squads to board. These preplanned points were based on a terrain study conducted prior to the mission. The assaulters led their captives in a single line out to these prepositioned spots. They calmly walked, a captor holding the upper arm of each captive to guide and steady them during the hike. The captives couldn’t see anything, and the deafening sound of the aircraft all but engulfed them. Their senses were blurred; the shock of the assault had been severe.

  Fred felt his captor quicken the pace. He felt a hand push down on his head as the pounding downdraft of the hovercrafts intensified. Then he was dragged onto the craft. He felt someone shackling his arms behind his back to the base of the helicopter. He couldn’t see, hear, or perceive anything. It was as if he was being dropped into nothingness.

  Then Fred felt a familiar touch. He heard the person’s shackles being tightened. He felt the weight of his fellow captive leaning against him. It’s okay, thought Fred. Fred and Manuel remained like this as the hovercraft gently climbed from their fishing house. Each relished in the other’s presence, knowing that these last precious minutes might be their last. Fred wanted to say something to Manuel, but he knew his presence was enough.

  As they lifted away from Fred’s home, on their way back to the City 17 headquarters, the house imploded. The final squad had set a modified fragmentation grenade. The explosive was designed to produce an intense heat that sucked the oxygen from the house, creating a vacuum until the walls fell upon themselves.

  Back at the headquarters office, all the detainees were processed and separated. They would never see each other again. The Elements were experts at breaking the human spirit. With the help of technology and narcotics, the Guardian Element had amazing success harvesting information from prisoners. Biometric metering gave operators constant access to prisoner vitals, displaying weak points that would then be exploited or alleviated, depending on the situation. They wanted them weak but not to the point of being useless. This is what the group had to look forward to, but they all realized their short lives would be over once deemed useless.

  Fred kneeled in his cell, the black bag still over his head. Dr. Kunchen, Indra, Manuel, and Peter all mirrored each other in their
separate cells. The black bags would have made the toughest grow mad with time. The five instead began their meditation, embracing the isolation, for they knew the other four were with them. They were together at peace, even in their segregation.

  Fred wasn’t much for praying. But right now, he wanted to pray to someone or something to keep his friends strong. Fred thought of Charlie, Dan, and Pam. He reflected on everything he and Pam had experienced over the years. No doubt, what followed for him in this cell would be anything but pleasant. The fate of those three rested on his shoulders. The fate of those three rested on the shoulders of his friends as well. He had to be strong. He had to presume they would be strong. He had to truly believe it or he wouldn’t be able to sustain what awaited him. He couldn’t give in, no matter the beast that stared at him now.

  ****

  Communications with Fred stopped. There were no news reports or indications of what happened. At first, Charlie assumed that Fred had missed one of their planned sessions. He was a little worried, but it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that Fred had other responsibilities crop up. Their inside man and woman had not reported any unusual activity at The Corporation, so Charlie remained content with the assurance that their actions remained undetected. It wasn’t until Fred missed a second meeting that Charlie began to realize something might be wrong. He had Dan travel down to meet with Fred and confirm everything was okay.

  That evening, Dan reported back to Charlie with what he had seen. There was too much to pass along. He couldn’t wait for the following morning.

  “Everything’s gone,” Dan said as soon as he entered Charlie’s place.