The Myriad Resistance

by John D. Mimms

  THE MYRIAD RESISTANCE

  THE TESLA GATE: BOOK 2

  JOHN D. MIMMS

  For our brave military men and women, past, present, and future. Thank you for your service to our country. This book and millions more would not be possible without you.

  “When you are in the eye of the storm, you are often not aware of the whiplash around you.”

  ~Hugh Bonneville

  “Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more.”

  ~Nikola Tesla

  PROLOGUE

  “The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.”

  ~Leonardo da Vinci

  Do the dead have rights?

  The debate over this question has raged around the world since the cosmic storm arrived a few months ago. This storm revealed the lingering souls of the deceased known as Impalpables or Impals.

  The United States Supreme Court handed down a unanimous ruling on this hot, late September day. The decision made it difficult to imagine that Hell could be any more stifling in temperature or tyranny.

  It was hard to believe the decision could be unanimous, given the great divide in the world on the standing of these souls. Impals are people. These people once loved, once worried, once cried, once laughed and worked as contributing members to society. Some might say that they once lived, but the past tense no longer pertains to those referred to in the court decision as Impals. They are very much alive, though perhaps not in the flesh-and-blood sense. Nevertheless, their legal standing now is no better than a dog’s. The court declared open season to round up and detain these people in the name of national security, while it guaranteed to protect the privacy rights of the living.

  The Supreme Court is traditionally a political court with majority decisions usually falling along party lines. There was something wrong, something nefarious with this decision … something orchestrated.

  The vast majority of the public has no idea that the current president’s administration now found itself hijacked by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This was not accomplished by brute force, but by slick finesse and opportunistic posturing. It was a junta based on misplaced trust and masterful manipulation. The three-star general and chairman had the president’s ear in which to whisper his conspiracy theories and deceitful pleadings. The need of military assistance to protect the Impals would be imperative to their security and the country’s. The chairman gained the president’s trust with benevolent claims of aid to the Impals. These proclamations were all lies.

  It had now gone too far to turn back; the military solution too entrenched under the fanatic watch of General Ott Garrison. Even though the president was not conquered by force, the highest court in the land probably was. What Garrison did, or threatened to do, to get a unanimous decision was unknown. It didn’t matter now because the damage was done. The Impals were now fugitives.

  The Tesla Gate, nicknamed the Shredder, awaits the Impals. Its design was not intended for its current purpose, but it is performing its present task with terrifying efficiency. The official word from the government is that it will send the Impals back to where they were before the storm arrived, back to their level of existence. This is only one theory. Another is the Tesla Gate will not send the Impals back, but will in fact ‘shred’ the soul out of existence. No one knows for sure, and no one who made the decision to use this horrific device cares.

  On all of the radio talk shows, the self-proclaimed experts debated whether these entities truly are the souls of the deceased, mass hallucinations or demonic deceptions. In either case, should they have rights? Legality, morality, racism and political correctness are redefined by this event. According to the pundits, the Constitution must be reexamined along with international law. The global implications of this event begin to unfold as the people who fight this battle for Impals risk becoming Impals themselves. The battle now facing humanity is not a battle for hearts and minds … this battle is for the soul.

  CHAPTER 1

  THE SUPREME COURT

  “Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.”

  ~C. S. Lewis

  An eighteen-inch concrete wall and a half-mile of military base separate me from the condemned Impalpables, but I can still hear them. Their cries of sorrow, despair and terror pierce my soul as easily as it pierces the distance between us. The Shredder is being fed today and it has a voracious appetite. I know these pitiful cries will haunt me for the rest of my life. God give me strength.

  I have been told the Impals don’t feel physical pain, although the iron restraints used to hold them seem to cause a degree of discomfort. In any case, I can’t help but believe the soul is capable of feeling pain far beyond the threshold of our earthbound existence.

  I tried to rescue a young Impal named Seth today with the help of his father, Thomas Pendleton. Seth was only six years old when he died a couple of months ago. His father brought him to Washington D.C. to see the Air and Space Museum because he wanted to fulfill a promise made to Seth before his premature death.

  Thomas gave his life to be with his son. They went through the Shredder together shortly after the MPs brought me to my prison cell. Deep down I knew my plan was flawed. Sending Thomas to destroy the Tesla Gate while I tried to remove his son from the horde of Impals was foolhardy, yet I saw no other options. We were out of time. Thomas knew what he did was the only thing he could do for Seth. To be together as they faced whatever fate lay before them.

  My name is Cecil Garrison and I was a major in the United States Army. I say it in past tense because I am sure to be stripped of rank and imprisoned. I may very well become an Impal myself. Death is one penalty of treason, which is one of many charges I will face in the morning.

  My father, General Ott Garrison, is the president’s chief military adviser. He is also one of the early proponents of the government’s policy for rounding up Impals. I’m sure his influence will not get me out of this, not that I want it to. We have not enjoyed a strong relationship in years. Judging by his vehement hatred of Impals and my vehement hatred for the perpetrators of this covert genocide, I do not think we ever will again.

  I sit alone in my small eight-foot-by-eight-foot cell, listening to the pleas of the Impals in the distance as they enter the hangar. My hammering heart beats against my ribs like a caged animal trying to escape and flee what is to come. I reach up and touch the dry, sticky blood from the broken nose I received in my rescue attempt.

  I gingerly touch each side of my nose with my fingertips; the pain is excruciating. With one swift motion, I squeeze my fingers on the bridge of my nose, shoving the bone and cartilage into place. White-hot pain flashes through my head and radiates all the way to my toes. I heard a scream, but I am unsure if it was from a terrified Impal or me. I fall back on my cot, breathing in heavy gasps with tears streaking down my cheeks. My head swims as I bite my bottom lip and wait for the pain to subside.

  The scream had come from me because a minute later I heard the heavy thump of boots coming up the hallway.

  “What the hell is that racket down here?” a sarcastic, juvenile voice sounded from just to the right of my cell door.

  I didn’t reply, I lay there with my eyes shut tight.

  “It’s the damn traitor … you know, daddy’s boy!” a deep booming voice said from somewhere to the left of the door. “I guess he’s hollering for his ghost buddies.”

  He let out a snort before breaking into a fit of laughter as if his comment was the most hilarious thing he had ever heard. He muttered something else which I couldn’t hear between his snorting guffaws.

  I could hear and feel the prese
nce of someone hovering at my cell door, but I kept my eyes closed, waiting for the pain to go away. I was glad I wore my boots when I felt a nightstick slam down on my toes.

  “Was that you, traitor?” the sarcastic juvenile sneered. “You asking your spook buddies for help?”

  He let out an obnoxious laugh then ran his nightstick back and forth against the metal bars like someone swiping a xylophone.

  “I don’t think they can help you get out of this,” he said then busted another boisterous laugh.

  I felt drops of spittle mist my arms and face as he cackled; I knew his head must be between the bars. I could imagine his adolescent face, pocked with pimples, jeering at me. In my mind’s eye, he was an obnoxious Alfred E. Neuman, fresh from the cover of a sadistic Mad Magazine. He wrapped my toes a little harder. When he realized he wasn’t going to get a reaction from me he gave up and went to talk with his buddy. Thank God for patience and steel-toed boots.

  I heard them laughing and talking in low tones, but I paid them no attention. My mind focused on the travesty occurring outside. The distant shrieks in the unearthly tinny pitch of the Impals sent chills through my body. At least it distracted me for a moment from my physical pain.

  I was about to sit up when something else caught my attention. Someone turned on a radio. A broadcast on the government radio channel echoed off the concrete walls of the prison. An unfamiliar radio announcer delivered the news in a deep, matter-of-fact voice. He reminded me a little of James Earl Jones. What I heard made me feel as if all hope had run out of me, leaving my insides a hollow shell of despair.

  “… reme Court ruled today in a unanimous decision that the beings now legally known as Impalpables or Impals have no legal rights under the Constitution. The opinion written by Chief Justice Paul Keith explains the courts position in detail as we will relay to you now:

  “The court has reviewed this matter concerning Impals on the basis of Petition for Certiorari Before Judgment. This allows a dispute to bypass the lower courts and come straight to the High Court on the basis of a national emergency. The recently passed Impal Relief Act was in dispute and the court deemed it to be in the nation’s best interest to review this law quickly and decisively.

  In a unanimous decision of 9-0, the court’s opinion says the Constitution of the United States only guarantees rights to living human beings. Since the Impalpables do not fall in either category, it is this court’s determination that they have no rights under the law. The government is free to detain the Impalpables in the interest of national security and privacy. It would still be an immoral act if these beings are harmed in any way, much as it is if an animal is abused. Since there is no law governing the moral treatment of Impalpables, this court strongly suggests that Congress address this issue at their earliest convenience.

  The Court has not taken this decision lightly because we believe there to be many of us, including some presiding justices, which have a present Impalpable from their family or know someone who does. We want to express nothing but sympathy for these individuals but unfortunately, our Founding Fathers did not write the Constitution with the dearly departed in mind. There is over two-hundred years of estate and inheritance court decisions to backup this opinion.

  Furthermore, on the second point of the appeal regarding the laws against corpse desecration, the Court finds that corporeal desecration laws and decisions have always pertained to the mortal remains of the deceased, which in this case is not in question. This is a decision that has always and should continue to be left up to each individual state as to what constitutes desecration and what is the appropriate penalty for such an act. Since this is not a Federal matter and due to the fact that the issue is not against mortal remains but rather, for lack of a better word, immortal remains; the court will not make a ruling on this second motion.”

  “The opinion went on to name a number of precedents over the years regarding estate and inheritance cases,” the radio announcer continued. “The bottom line is, they upheld the president’s decision to detain the Impalpables.”

  Cheering erupted from my two guards. You would have believed someone just scored the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. The rest of the news story was drowned out by their hoots, snorts and pounding on the desk. I heard enough. I found it unconscionable that Congress could have passed such a despicable act, but now I was in complete and utter shock. Nine people hammered the final nail in the eternal coffin of the Impalpables. What made it even more frightening was the decision was unanimous … not one dissension in the group. At least it passed the House and Senate by only a narrow margin. Evidently, several people believed this was wrong. However, influencing all members of Congress is a much taller order than the nine members of the Supreme Court. My father is a shrewd strategist and he got what he wanted.

  A smothering dread crept to every extremity of my body as I considered what I believed to be a terrible certainty. They were influenced. There was no other explanation. I could picture my father and eight other armed soldiers with their weapons pointed at the justice’s heads. Did it really happen like that? Maybe not in the literal sense but at least metaphorically. A well-placed subtle threat is all it would take. Two months ago, I would not have believed my father to be capable of sedition. However, now I wouldn’t put anything past him.

  I was sad that my father found himself on the wrong side of the moral equation. He believed himself to be absolute in his moral justification. In his mind, he was ridding the world of an abomination. His cause was just. Didn’t every evil perpetrator in history believe they were doing the right thing? Atilla the Hun to Adolf Hitler believed they were doing the best thing for their people, even though their methods were sick and misguided. I hated to think of my father in the same vein, but there was no denying the similarities.

  I don’t have the luxury of blaming the president and claiming my father is just carrying out orders because it is not true. The president is a weak man. He reached office not by his ideals and accomplishments, instead it was a fat family bank account. He surrounded himself with those who he believed to be the best in their profession. This ensured the Executive branch would run effectively while he acted as a figurehead and cheerleader. I knew he would do whatever my father said when it came to dealing with Impals. The president was not a bad man; he was an idle one. In this case, idleness was just as terrible.

  My father was raised a ‘hard-shell’ Baptist. As a denomination, they traditionally hold a very narrow and literal interpretation of scripture. This was true in a number of beliefs taught by the church. None of the teachings were so relevant than what was occurring now. Any mention of the existence of ghosts is met with viral scorn and rebuke. It is not scriptural. When we die, we go to Heaven or Hell … end of story. Ghosts are nothing more than an attempt at deceit by Satan.

  Years of this heavy-handed dogma left very little room in my father’s heart for anything else. I understood where his hatred and motivation came from. Nevertheless, it still did not excuse his actions. I parted ways with this type of thinking years ago. I do not believe that God, in all his wisdom and glory, would expect us to have such a narrow and stubborn view of the universe, a view darkened by the lens of animosity. Religious idealism is probably the greatest contributor to atheism in the world.

  I wasn’t sure where God played into this now or if he was even a part of it at all. I don’t believe God actively sends hurricanes, tornados or floods to destroy, kill and maim. He allows them to happen for a greater purpose. I believe he allowed this cosmic storm to come to Earth. For what purpose, I am not sure. If nothing else, I would say we have been given definitive proof of the existence of the soul. However, it has also given definitive proof of the atrocities human beings are capable of committing.

  I said a short prayer as I lay there with my eyes closed. I prayed for the Impals, and more important, I prayed for my wife and daughters … they are now my primary concern. I didn’t think my father would harm them to get to me. There was n
o doubt he would definitely use them. In all honesty, I had no idea how far his righteous indignation would take him.

  I forgot about any pain in my nose as my heart ached. The vision of them sitting blissfully at home made me crazy. What would my actions bring down on them? I sat up with a jolt, my heart racing with panic in my chest as if I awoke from a terrible nightmare. What was I thinking? Did my own righteous arrogance made me lose sight of the potential consequences of my actions? The only honest answer was yes. I needed to get out of here … now.

  I grasped the bars to my cell and yelled at my captors.

  “Hey! Can someone tell me what time it is?”

  The volume on the radio dropped and I heard faint whispering coming from down the hall. A moment later the heavy footsteps of my captors approached. Their footfalls echoed rapid and deliberate. They were not those of happy or carefree people. I stepped to the back of my cell to be out of striking distance when they arrived.

  I felt as if I experienced a psychic premonition when the first one arrived at my door. He was definitely a dead ringer for the face of Mad Magazine. The second man was tall and slender with a receding hairline, which made his military cut seem somewhat ridiculous. His features were sharp all the way to his blade like nose. He held the rank of sergeant, while his Mad Magazine reject counterpart was a private. Two enlisted men tormenting an officer … I made their day. If looks could kill, I would be dead on the floor of my cell.

  “Why the hell do you care, Major Turncoat?” the sergeant sneered.

  “Yeah, why the hell do you care, Major Asshole?” the private asked then cackled with sadistic pleasure at his cleverness. The sergeant didn’t think it was clever or funny and gave him a slap to the back of the head for his troubles.

  I didn’t know whether to laugh at my guards as they carried out their sadistic Laurel and Hardy routine or worry about their cruel unprofessionalism. The sadistically stupid could often be much more dangerous than the sadistically clever. In any case, I was not in a laughing mood.