Upon Stilted Cities - The Winds of Change

by Michael Kilman

  He stood and looked around the cave for a few moments for some other indication of her identity, but found nothing. There was a short stabbing pain in his gut where the wound had been. It probably meant that the wound had been deep enough that the regen patch couldn’t heal it all the way through, but at least the bleeding had been stopped and the wound closed. He would have to try and take it easy for a few days, at least until he could get to an alcove.

  A memory of the storm arose in his mind, and he thought it best to get a little closer to the entrance to find out what kind of conditions he was facing. If the storm were still going, he would have to wait it out. If it had passed, he would suit up before waking this woman, just in case she was hostile. It didn’t seem like she was from Saud, because of the lack of number, but she could be recon from a third city. Maybe the lack of number meant she was as old as he was. That prospect above all others interested him.

  He was worried though. If there were a third city, then things would get ugly. He would have to find out if that was the case.

  Stepping lightly, 17 felt the surge of energy that came after using a regen patch. They had an adrenalin booster in them to help heal more quickly. The effect usually lasted several hours and gave the recipient additional strength and agility that they normally wouldn’t be capable of. He supposed if this female Runner was hostile, she probably wouldn’t stand much of a chance against him with the boost from the patch.

  The heat of the passageway began to rise. That was a good sign. It meant that the storm had likely passed. He stopped a few dozen meters from the entrance. Already, the sweat beaded his forehead, and the smell of methane seeped into his nostrils. It was strange that this cave seemed to have such clean air, that he was able to breathe so easily without a suit.

  For a moment a thought occurred to him, could there be plant life below the surface? He could see a few patches of algae in the cracks, but that didn't explain the purity of the air. Something else had to be going on here.

  Just before migration, there were a few news stories of some humans attempting to take refuge in caves, but after the cities began their migration pattern and their massive weight began to compact the surface, it was thought that any caves below, at least within a few thousand meters in depth, would likely collapse. But that didn’t mean that it was impossible. This cave was a prime example.

  17 peered out of the exit. It was bright and sunny, blue with just a tinge of green in the atmosphere. Conditions were clear.

  “AI? You with me?” 17 checked the status of his arm cuff on his right bicep. When he was out of his suit in the Barrens, this is where the AI existed, though even if both the suit and the cuff were damaged, the AI could try to transmit itself wirelessly to the Manhatsten central AI databank, but that was a risky proposition with all the storms and signal interference.

  “Indeed, 17. I am here and fully intact. I have been observing and gathering data on your current companion, as I am sure her AI is doing so as well.”

  “Good, but first, what are we looking at out here. I mean, how much time have I been unconscious and how close are we to Manhatsten?”

  “You were unconscious for approximately 19 hours. I have scanned your vitals, and though you lost a great deal of blood, you appear to be recovering. It is hard for me to tell how deep the wound is, and if some of your organs were damaged. I recommend taking it easy for the next 48 hours while your body repopulates your red blood cells and heals any damaged tissue. Currently, your red blood cell count is at 92% of the normal average. My long-range sensors indicate that Manhatsten is only 22 kilometers due Northeast. Once you move out of the cave and up the ridge to your north, you should be able to see the city.”

  “Wow, that’s it? Got pretty lucky there."

  “Indeed, 17, it would seem that once again, luck is very much on your side. I haven’t been self-aware for very long, but I have noticed that there is a trend of improbable situations becoming much more probable in your particular case. In fact, I have rewritten an algorithm based on your personal–”

  “Interesting and all, and you can tell me all that shit on the way home, but what about this woman. What’s her story?”

  “A scan of her face indicates that her current status is deceased.”

  “What? When did she die?”

  “My apologies, 17, you misunderstand my meaning. What I mean to say is that according to Manhatsten records, this individual, Runner 5543, was marked as deceased.”

  “Alright, be straight with me. What the fuck does that mean?”

  “Records indicate that she had died in a sandstorm with Runner 1943 and Runner 6344. I suppose, Sir, that would indicate that she has gone rogue.”

  “Rouge? How can any Runner be rouge? I thought that was just a myth that Runners tell one another when they are fed up or frustrated.”

  “I’m not sure, Sir, we have no records of any truly rogue runners in Manhatsten because we, and by we, I mean Major Daniels and the consensus among my fellow AI, was that it was–”

  “Impossible?” said a voice behind them.

  17 turned and saw the face of Runner 5543.

  “In case you’re wondering, I’ve tapped into your coms while you were sleeping. I can hear everything that you and your AI transmit or receive. And just in case you try to call for backup, I’ve limited the range of your transmissions. It’s a nifty little trick they teach us for recruitment purposes.”

  “Recruitment, huh? So, you’re a dead chick. How did you pull that one off?”

  “The same way I pulled your ass out of that storm, a lot of skill and a little luck.”

  17 noticed that she had already armed herself and most of her EnViro suit was back in place. Only her helmet and gloves remained off.

  “What about your chip?”

  “If you die for sixty seconds, apparently it deactivates, so yes technically I was dead for several minutes, but a great man found me and revived me.”

  “Learn something new every day, don’t you, AI?”

  “Indeed, 17."

  “17? You’re 17?”

  “Yeah why, am I famous where you come from too? I seem to be getting a lot of that lately.”

  Miss drew her pistol. “You could say that.”

  17 glanced at the weapon and then back up to the woman’s face. The pistol gleamed in the reflection of her brown eyes. It was an old pistol, still used gunpowder. There weren’t too many of those still around, but you would see them in combat sometimes, especially with older Runners.

  “What do you intend to do with that?” he asked.

  “Whatever is needed.”

  “So after you saved my life and brought me to this cave, you want what, exactly?”

  “I want you to stay put. Get back inside and suit back up. We’ll probably get moving soon.”

  17 turned around and started marching down into the cave.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To our base.”

  “What base? What do you mean? Which city?”

  Miss laughed. “Which city? Oh no, we aren’t going to a city. We’re going to Atlantis base.”

  “What? What’s that?”

  “It’s the headquarters of the COG.”

  “The cog? What in the hell are you talking about?”

  She smacked him in the back of his head with something hard.

  “Ouch!” 17 looked back and saw she had drawn a knife as well as her pistol.

  “I don’t want to play twenty questions with you.”

  “Fair enough.” He rubbed the back of his skull and felt a small lump already forming.

  They walked back to the deeper part of the cavern where they had slept. 17 grabbed his equipment and put everything back on. The suit, as per usual, stank to high heaven and 17 thought to himself, not for the first time, that with all the advanced technology in Manhatsten, there had to be a way to make these things self-cleaning, or at least able to absorb the smell.

  “You do realize that my suit seal
is compromised? I won’t be able to go very long distances.”

  “You’ll go where I tell you to go. Besides, it’s not too far from here. A day or two walk maybe.”

  “Look, don’t hit me again, alright? I have no intention of hurting you or trying anything. I owe you my life; I'd be dead if you hadn’t come along and I won’t soon forget that. But give me a break here, you’re the second person in the last twenty-four hours to recognize me, and I don’t have the first fucking hint of a clue as to why. I’m just a goddamn Runner, an old Runner, but that’s all I know and all I do. I don’t understand why anyone knows my designation.”

  “What do you mean, someone else knew you?” asked Miss.

  “A Runner from Saud said I’m famous in their city. Then that crazy fucker tries to kill me because it’s honorable or something. And now at the mention of my designation, you pull a weapon on me. Could you at least tell me what in the hell is going on? I’m unarmed, and all I have is a Recon suit. I’m not going anywhere.” There was an edge of anger and frustration in his voice. He tried to mask it, but the twinge in his gut wasn’t helping the situation.

  The Runner seemed to consider for a moment and then let out a heavy sigh. “Fine.” She sheathed her long knife, but kept her gun pointed at him. “I guess you aren’t going anywhere with your suit like that, and I bet your wound still hurts too. Guess it wouldn’t do any harm to tell you a few things. You’re coming with me anyway.”

  17 set himself against the wall. It was a gesture specifically geared at submission. He would escape, but only after she spilled the beans. She seemed a bit naive for a rouge Runner, but maybe she was just overconfident in her ability to keep him captive.

  “Look, I honestly don’t know why people know you in Atlantis base. All I know is that Roderick, our leader, has a standing order to bring you in alive if you are ever spotted.”

  “Roderick?”

  “Yes, Roderick is the leader of the Children of Gaia.”

  “Who are the Children of Gaia? I mean, what are you, some kind of city refugee camp or something? You said it’s not in a city?”

  “Well, some of us are in cities.” A grin spread across the woman’s face.

  17 didn’t like that smile. He would have to be wary of this one. Considering she had pulled his ass out of the storm, she probably knew her way around a blade too.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Never you mind, when you come to Atlantis, you’ll find out soon enough.”

  “Okay, fine. But what are the Children of Gaia?”

  “We are an organization that seeks to restore the earth.”

  “Restore the earth? How in the hell do you plan to do that? I mean, you were just out in the Barrens, weren’t you?”

  17 was fully suited up now. Miss motioned for him to walk back up the path toward the entrance of the cave. He knew his AI was listening and recording all of this. Daniels would love to hear this.

  “Well... we believe that the cities are the key to restoration.”

  “The cities? What do you mean?”

  There was a sharpness in the Runner’s voice. “The cities are a disease, they prevent the restoration of the Earth, and if we remove the cities, then the Earth can begin to heal.”

  17 simultaneously felt a chill race up his spine, and a wave of hot anger move down it. Could it be possible that this woman and others like her were responsible for Langeles? For all those dead children and the endless huddled human corpses that had so disturbed him? He had to keep calm and listen.

  “So...” he was cautious and did his best to hide his emotion. He wanted to get information out of this woman. That information could be crucial to the survival of the people of Manhatsten. As much as he hated the city, he didn’t want innocent people to suffer. “What do you intend to do with this disease?”

  She scoffed. “What do you do with any disease? You cure it.”

  “And what if you can’t cure it?”

  “You burn the bodies and try to prevent it from spreading.”

  “So what are you saying, that this Children of Gaia organization tries to destroy the migrating cities?”

  “I am not saying tries; I am saying we do. I am sure by now you have heard of what happened to Langeles? That was us.”

  There was no gentle transition between his emotions. Anger burst into his chest like a rampaging bull. 17 bit down on his tongue hard, trying desperately to maintain his calm. He knew that if he gave away his anger too early, she would put her guard back up and there was no hope of killing her or escape. Thoughts of the dead children floated through his mind. Thoughts of his own dead child filled him. Joseph was dead from ancient lunatics, but ones of a similar flavor. It was rare that he had known such rage. He would kill this woman. She would pay for what she was a part of.

  “Did you by chance go into the ruins of Langeles?” asked 17. His voice was quivering.

  “I pulled few other fighters out after the battle. Why do you ask?”

  “Did you see them?”

  “See what?”

  “If you go into those ruins, the first thing you will notice is not a ruined city, but the bodies.”

  The COG Runner’s expression changed, it was a slight change, but 17 knew it was a clear indicator that she was putting her guard back up.

  “What do you mean by bodies? Of course, there are bodies, the city collapsed.”

  “Most of the bodies I saw were the bodies of children.”

  The anger was burning through him, a hot sun in the center of his heart. In the same moment, a few tears filled his eyes, and there was an intimate mingling of utter despair and desperate anger in his face and voice. He took his helmet off, and his expression made the other Runner take several steps back. She drew her weapons again but almost dropped them.

  “What, what do you mean?”

  His voice shook. “Are you seriously going to tell me that you never considered how many innocent little children would die if you took down a city? That you never even considered all the blood that would be on your hands?”

  “But all those children would die anyway when the Earth is out of resources.”

  It was a rote recitation. 17 recognized an argument like that. It was not her own. They were words put there by someone else. Glib talking points programmed to prevent critical thinking.

  “And, what if, just maybe, we do figure out how to get off this rock? What if, in fifty years from now, before we run out of resources we figure out some way to salvage our world and bring it back?” He couldn’t contain the rage any longer. It spilled over from the hot cauldron in his belly. He thought of his son Joseph, of holding his body in his arms.

  “What will you tell yourself then, you fucking child murderer? Will you sleep well at night knowing that the blood of the innocent is on your hands? Will you tell yourself little stories about your righteous path and justify their deaths? You’re just like all those fuckers before migration. The same people who justified the use of the High-Altitude Drones to kill my son. The same people who justified war over resources. But you're worse than that. You target innocent people, millions of them, and for what? The idea that the Earth, that’s dead, will somehow come back if we just step aside? Where does it stop, then? If you destroy all the cities, what about you? You’re human too, aren’t you, you gonna drink the poison, swallow the pill? You really think this nut job Roderick will stop with the cities?”

  There was silence for a moment. It lingered long in that short time. The wind on the edge of the cave whistled.

  “And what if they don’t solve anything? What if humans slowly starve to death in those cities? Science can’t fix everything. I would think at this point after so many centuries of failure, that would be clear. Human beings have done nothing but brought death and destruction to almost all other species on the planet. When do we pay for our crimes? How many innocent creatures died at our hands over the centuries? Where is the value of their life? Are human beings so important that all other
considerations are out the window?”

  17’s anger faded just a hair. He wouldn’t kill this woman. Not yet. How could he? She doesn’t even know what she has done. He wanted to grab her and force her eyes open so she could see the price of destroying the cities. She was babbling about long-dead plants and animals to justify taking human lives. She had to know what that meant, what her actions meant, what this kind of thinking led to. Again, the memories of his long-dead son surfaced. He had almost forgotten that pain in the nearly 1300 years of Running in a barren landscape. But here it was again. An old wound reopened. It was a festering wound that threatened to spread its infection to his heart.

  “Is that what you tell yourself? That somehow, long-dead creatures justify your actions?” He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “I should kill you, but instead, I think it would be better if you went into those ruins and saw what you and your little organization have done. Do you know the kind of pain and suffering you have brought? Do you know what it means to die in the Barrens without an EnViro suit? It's pure agony.”

  “Kill me? That’s a laugh. I think you overestimate your position here. And don’t lecture me about life in the Barrens, we don’t have a cushy city to go back to at the end of the day. I know what it truly means to live out here.”

  He was yelling. “Then how could you destroy a city and force millions of people to fend for themselves without any protection?”

  They exited the cave. The sun was bright and clear, and Manhatsten was now visible and looming close.

  “Because those cities are corrupt, rotten to the core, and everyone inside of them contributes to their rotten nature. There are no innocents there; there has never been. You know as well as I do how easy it is to become a Runner, how the Uppers sit in their tall towers and exploit the Lowers. How security upholds the law with brutal force. How the color of our skin makes us a target for recruitment. Those people in those cities aren’t alive; they are just surviving, just sucking every last ounce of life out of Gaia and out of each other. We, the Children of Gaia, free those people, we liberate them from their long, oppressive lives.”