Mission Trip_Genesis and Exodus

by John Theo Jr.

Charles raised his hand as if to quiet a puppy. Huxley stopped, turned, and walked away with a huff. He took up a position at the window, looking down to where the execution had just occurred.

  “Obviously I can’t help you,” Kyle said.

  “Why?”

  “I’m in no position. I came here just to take some readings. I had to fight with my government just to get permission to come with that limited tech.”

  “So help me with this limited tech.”

  Kyle reached over and picked up his data pad. “Take this for instance,” he turned it on. “It’s a simple device that allows me to take readings on patients as well as atmosphere.” Kyle pushed a key, which activated the pad’s homing beacon. He tapped a few more keys, which changed the display over to read air quality. The pad chirped. He handed it across to Charles. “Look here.”

  Charles held the pad up to his face and read the data. Kyle sat back in his chair, hoping Charles would play around with the pad long enough for a signal to get out. “Am I correct in assuming this is taking bacteria and radiological readings from the air?”

  “Yes,” Kyle said.

  Huxley came over from the window and snatched the data pad from Charles, who seemed shocked by his underling’s bold action. Huxley shut the data pad down. He handed it back to Charles. He strode over to Kyle and kicked his chair. The antique wood legs shattered under Huxley’s jackboot, knocking Kyle to the floor. Huxley picked him up with one hand and threw him onto the table.

  “You think we’re stupid? I saw you activate that signal!”

  “Huxley!” Charles shouted, and the soldier stepped back from Kyle with his fist cocked. Charles glared at Kyle, his eyes squinting as if he were trying to stay focused. “Don’t try my goodwill, Doctor Faison.” A moment later he seemed his laid-back self again. “We’re not as uncivilized as you think.” Charles stood up and walked toward the door. “Follow me.”

  “Where are you going?” Huxley asked.

  Charles held up a hand, and it was as if a force field stopped Huxley from following. It was clear that Huxley’s loyalty was fierce and his personality parabolic. Kyle followed Charles out of the room. Two guards standing outside gave Charles a quizzical look, but he waved them off.

  “I’m fine,” Charles said to them.

  “Aren’t you taking a risk being alone with me?” Kyle asked, struggling to keep up with Charles’s long strides.

  “I trust you will not betray me again?”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “I know your Christian code and know most of you are honest.” Kyle didn’t respond and continued walking behind the man. “I’ve put Christians to death for war crimes as well.”

  “War crimes?”

  “Trying to have babies when I placed a moratorium on it a few years back. Other times preaching outside of their homes. Curfew breakers, withholding medicine, etc.”

  Kyle didn’t know what to say. Guilt overwhelmed him at how comfortable, and insulated, his life was on the Atoll.

  “It’s such a shame,” Charles continued. “The few Christians I met were honorable, but law and order needed to be brought to this wasteland. The strong adapt and survive. The weak will die and their lines will end. Darwin knew what he was talking about.”

  “Evolution,” Kyle huffed.

  “You don’t believe in it?”

  “Look at the world and the people. Have you really evolved? Humans are killing more than ever. There’s no such thing as molecules to man.”

  Charles reached a metal door and stopped. “Fascinating.”

  Kyle continued, “Everything in science says the world, this universe, is breaking down, not evolving or getting better.”

  “So there’s no hope for mankind?”

  “The only hope is to look beyond this world.”

  Charles snapped his fingers. “Ah, God.”

  “Yes.”

  “Fascinating.”

  “Why do you keep saying that word?”

  “I’m simply shocked. On one hand, I know what you believe is a fairy tale, but as I mentioned to Huxley, I can’t mock you. Your technology is years ahead of anything we could dream of here. Quite a paradox, my dear doctor.”

  “All you have to do is believe and ask for forgiveness, and you will be saved.”

  Charles laughed. “Even for someone like me?”

  “Even for someone like you.”

  Charles paused as if to ponder the thought. He shook his head and opened the door, motioning Kyle inside. Kyle stepped into a clean room with no windows. A small toilet and sink were in a far corner. There was a couch and a small bed at the opposite end of the room. An oil lamp gave minimal light to the space.

  “Your quarters.”

  “What about the villagers?”

  “They will be interned for a month and possibly released.” He paused before adding in an even tone, “Or executed.”

  “That’s quite a disparity. What decides their fate?”

  “Depends on how I feel in the morning.” He shut the door and a moment later there was the sound of grinding metal as a latch was drawn on the outside.

  Kyle shook his head. It was clear that Charles was insane. How could he reason with such a person? His thoughts went to Star and the villagers. He was responsible to get them out of prison, but how? There was no way his father or anyone on the Atoll knew where he was. For all intents and purposes, they probably assumed he was dead.

  His mind drifted to his wife and child. Images washed over him of his son growing up without knowing his father. The pain he felt at losing his mother came back as if to remind him that this was the same pain his son would feel. He remembered his father’s promise to come back. Despair and hope battled in his mind. Fear versus faith. He wanted to influence the mental battle in favor of hope, and knew that prayer was the only weapon he truly owned.

  Chapter Six

  New York 2040

  Josiah sat across from Jay in the large conference room. It was a rarity for Lewis not to be included in a meeting, but this one was too sensitive. Although Josiah was cancer free, the only real way to extend life was to merge with machines. The end goal everyone in the transhumanism community knew was to upload one’s consciousness to the cloud. In case a human body was destroyed, the consciousness could be downloaded back into a new body. Maybe one day there would be a synthetic body superior to human frailties limited by evolution. Jay was the key to this movement, and Josiah owned the man and his research.

  “How soon before you can integrate more technology into humans?” Josiah asked.

  Jay’s lip quivered. “I can’t guarantee anything.”

  Josiah did not respond and started to tap his fingers on the mahogany table. “We won't know until we try, Ray.”

  “Experiments have to be on a human, which means the experiments would have to be done overseas—”

  “Stop throwing up road blocks. How long?”

  “If I could have a couple of subjects and hire more techs, then a year or two and I’d have enough preliminary data to work out any bugs.”

  Josiah whistled. “Go ahead and hire all the techs you need. Make sure Lewis and Ross vet them, but don’t let on as to what project they will be working on. As for human experiments, let me deal with getting you the guinea pigs.”

  An hour later, Josiah and Ross stood in one of the four rooftop turrets of the building. Each turret was a clear spherical observation tower with a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view. All of it was made from bulletproof glass. Each turret housed security personnel, computers, and antiaircraft weaponry. Only government and a handful of private sector buildings in New York were allowed to have this technology. In between the massive turrets were rows of tall, pole-like fixtures that acted as antennas to check for biological attacks and take hourly air quality readings. These communicated with the computers inside the building to dial up, or down, the building’s air filtration system.

  Five minutes later, two armored, hybrid, winged helicopters c
ame into view. As they approached the rooftop, Josiah felt the vibration of the massive rotors. He always had two helicopters fly whenever he took trips. One he rode in, and the second acted as a decoy for anyone trying to track or harm him. The first one touched down, the second a few minutes later. Ross escorted Josiah out to the first helicopter. Another young, armed guard named Felix took up step next to them.

  Felix was a twenty-five-year-old, handsome kid who lacked brains but not muscle. More than once he had put himself between Josiah and danger. Josiah found it odd for someone as smart as Carolyn to choose a muscle-head like Felix as a husband. It had to go beyond Felix's good looks, Josiah thought. It must be control that Carolyn liked to have over a younger, dumber male. He concluded that she was finding an outlet in Felix that he, ironically, found in her. He appreciated Felix's loyalty, but knew if he ever found out about Carolyn's indiscretions, the young man would be devastated, and Josiah would have to either fire him or eliminate him. Regardless, it would ruin his setup with Carolyn. In her own distorted way, it was clear that she cared for her young husband. Josiah liked to think of Felix as a distant family member whose loyalty he appreciated even though he didn’t reciprocate.

  “Here you go, boss,” Felix shouted over the noise of the wing's rotors as he held the door open.

  Josiah gave him a thumbs-up before stepping into the back seat of the helicopter. Through the small space in the divider, he could see the robot pilot motionless in the cockpit. The robot served as a hardened, self-contained backup in case the onboard computer was hacked or damaged. Only then would the robotic humanoid activate to pilot the vehicle to safety. Josiah also kept an autopilot program on his data pad, which he could upload as a tertiary backup in case the droid failed as well.

  He was not looking forward to this meeting, but the group of influential people that met once a year in Hamilton, Bermuda, was something he never missed. It was called the Rendezvous, named after the annual gathering of Long Hunters in the West during the nineteenth century. At this historic meeting trappers would sell, or barter, beaver and other pelts for money and supplies.

  The modern-day Rendezvous was mostly boring meetings where the oligarch families would tell the rest of the world's political and business leaders what direction they would take for the next twelve months. It was the one time a year Josiah took orders from anyone. Following their guidelines had always served his interests. Hundreds of other billionaires around the globe, like Bradley, were desperate to get into the group. Unfortunately, you had to be old European money, or new money that could trace your lineage back to old Europe. Josiah could, Bradley could not. There was talk about making an exception for Bradley, but Josiah and a few others in the group worked to keep the Rendezvous bloodlines pure.

  At least he would be able to spend his evenings with his administrative assistant Sally, who would fly into Bermuda the next day.

  Felix and six armed men got into the backup chopper. Both helicopters took off heading south. The range on the choppers was limited due to their armor plating, but they refueled midair over the Atlantic from a contracted drone. Josiah made a mental note to continue working on the Halo prototype that was a rotorless helicopter-jet hybrid that was better armored, had a longer range, greater speed, and more maneuverability.

  The next few days were a blur of meetings with heads of state, politicians, and businessmen from around the globe. This year's focus was directed at easing up on selective stiff regulations. The population around the world had been rioting over the past few years. The research and data they harvested concluded the so-called free market needed to flourish for a year and give the peasants less to complain about. This, coupled with more psychotropic meds being given, and a heightened focus on entertainment, would put the populace back to sleep. By taking a year-long pause, it would allow the group to continue its mission toward a one-world government.

  After forty-eight hours of being restricted to Josiah’s suite, Sally went home. Her companionship got old quick and she kept annoying Josiah with idle conversation. He made sure Felix and the security team never interacted with her to keep their relationship from getting back to Carolyn.

  On the Wednesday he was scheduled to leave, he pulled Felix aside.

  “What's up, boss?”

  “I'm sending your team back to HQ, but I need to take a detour.”

  Felix shook his head. “Ross will fire me if I don't bring you home.”

  “Let me deal with Ross. I have some personal business to take care of.”

  Felix hesitated before saying, “Roger that, boss. Be careful, okay?”

  He nodded and got into his helicopter. Josiah flipped down the keyboard built into the back seat and punched in the override code to fire up the droid pilot. The synthetic figure turned its featureless head from side to side as if to stretch. Josiah took out his data pad and uploaded a new program to the droid via a direct cable in the back. The algorithm would give a destination to the pilot and delete the flight log upon arrival.

  Chapter Seven

  West Coast of New America 2077

  Nova, a seventy-five-foot prowler-class ship, soared just above the Pacific Ocean. The sky was dark and the sea stormy. Every once in a while a rogue wave skimmed the bottom of the tri-hulled ship, causing a shudder. Fifty-year-old Landon Faison sat in the pilot’s seat, keeping a hand on the com and the other tight on the throttle and collective. He had to stay as low as possible to keep the ship’s signature minimal. The secrets New America had stolen from the Atoll included deciphering algorithms to decode cloaking. The Atoll had since modified its cloaking tech, but it had not been applied to ships yet.

  Landon spoke to his copilot, who happened to be his twenty-nine-year-old daughter-in-law, Jane.

  “It’s killing me that I couldn’t bring Kyle back.”

  “You saved his life and the life of the team leader,” she said. “You did the best you could and you kept him alive.”

  Without letting go of the collective, Landon shrugged his shoulder to wipe a tear before it ran down his cheek. He gazed up through the windshield toward the sky. “Please let him still be alive.”

  During the mission trip to the west coast of North America, Kyle had made first contact with a village. Soon thereafter a group of marauders attacked the village. They brandished weapons as old as machetes up to late-twentieth-century automatic rifles. Landon’s security detail struggled to fight back with the only weapons they were allowed to bring: their non-lethal battle staffs. Landon ultimately produced a high-powered rifle he smuggled onto the trip, which made all the difference.

  In the end, dozens of villagers and marauders were left dead, along with most of his detail, a doctor, and the pilot trying to evac them. So much death, yet he and Kyle were spared. His son stayed behind to help the villagers, while Landon returned home with a wounded soldier and their dead.

  Upon arriving back at the Atoll, Landon was apprehended for his breach of protocol with the firearm. To make matters worse, he broke a senator’s nose who was trying to keep him from going back to retrieve his son. While he waited in a holding cell for the Senate to draw up formal charges, his son’s fate gnawed at him, and he escaped using tech hidden in his cybernetic leg. Landon arrived back at the ship to find Jane sitting at the controls, ready to go get her husband with, or without, Landon. At the last minute, they were unable to break through the Atoll’s shielding.

  Newly-elected Chancellor Karen Brightman gave them the green light to go. She had stuck her neck out for Landon, allowing him this breach in security.

  No she didn’t, he reminded himself. Karin had made the original fateful decision not to allow firearms on the mission trip. Had every soldier been given a firearm, they would all have come back alive. The romantic feelings he once held for Karen were now interwoven with anger, resentment, and frustration.

  A short while later, Landon lowered the ship to hover over a rocky terrain. Facing them was a pile of boulders that covered the entrance to the cave wher
e Kyle had escaped with the villagers.

  “Hold her steady, Nova.”

  “Affirmative,” came the ship’s female monochromatic AI voice.

  Landon rushed over to the science console. After a full minute he said, “Too much interference to scan for signals in there.”

  “Are you going to blast your way in?” Jane asked.

  “No, Nova’s rockets are too powerful. I’m gonna have to do it by hand.”

  “What do you mean by hand? Those boulders must be a ton each.”

  Landon smirked. “Trust me. Nova, keep the ship in hover.” Landon rushed out of the cockpit and down the emergency ladder to the cargo hold. Once inside the large room he said, “Nova, bring up my exoskeleton.”

  A moment later, a circular section of the floor dropped away and rose again, showcasing a life-size piece of silicon and metal body armor the height of Landon’s six-foot frame. He touched a button on the shoulder, and the back half of it lowered to the ground with a whisper. He took off his utility belt before he stepped in between the two halves. He unfurled the collar of his black military shirt to reveal a hooded mask, which he put on.

  The back portion of the suit closed up to his shoulders. Small tentacles crawled up over his head to create a solid neural helmet. Landon re-buckled his utility belt and flexed his arms. He could feel the augmented strength coursing through the tight-fitting suit. The built-in data pad on his left forearm showed all green lights. Still, he jumped up and down to make sure everything was working. The cargo room walls had markings to show height for when it was filled with materials. Landon easily reached the ten-foot mark on his jumps.

  He exited under the ship, rushed to the cave entrance, and started to push the boulders aside. He was able to lift and toss aside some of the smaller ones under three hundred pounds, but most had to be rolled away. Several times he used his battle staff as a fulcrum to maneuver boulders out of the way. The staff’s stun function also helped to inch a couple of massive rocks aside. After an hour, the space was opened up enough to enter. Micro-lights all over the suit lit up every inch of the cave.