The World After

by Sonador Snow

  Jinhun noticed the puzzled expression on Taylor's face when he spotted the radio and explained, “We're using World War Two radio transmitters in our organization. They're actually the most successful untraceable device you could dream of.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The frequencies and Morse Code we're using were last used in the 1960s. They're practically untraceable because the message either reaches the other end of the line or just disappears. No clouds, no memory, no trace.” Jinhun started taking off his dirty clothes before adding, “Plus, our technicians created a small device that would disrupt the connection the moment a person with a brain implant comes near any of these radios. So even if one is captured, they can't use it, not even to try and listen to the frequencies we're using.”

  During the next half-hour, the two men took a quick shower in the tiny bathroom attached to their room and changed into clean underwear, identical brown linen shirts and khaki trousers before putting on comfortable tourist boots. Jinhun used the time while his companion was in the shower to bandage his wounds. Once they were changed, he was walking almost freely again.

  “Will you collect all our dirty clothes in this, please?” Jinhun threw a big plastic bag to Taylor, “I need to make contact with our Main Base.”

  While Taylor was busy, Jinhun sat on the chair, turning the big buttons of the radio. It crackled awfully for about a minute, but finally he found the searched frequency. A strange metallic sounding voice came from the big phone-like earphone Jinhun pressed to his face.

  “The Base listening.”

  “Hi, Calvin, it's Jinhun. As you probably know, we came up against some obstacles here in Hong Kong, but we managed to make it to the Hollow in one piece.”

  “Glad to hear that. We just began to worry. Any serious injuries?”

  “Nope, just a few scratches and bruises.” Taylor had finished collecting the clothes and sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the conversation. “You have something for us?” Jinhun asked.

  “All arrangements are made. Your transport is waiting for you near HK6, three miles into the fields west of the sixteenth mile.”

  “That's brilliant. We'll be heading that way after a short rest. How is the other part of the operation going?”

  Calvin made a short pause, busily talking to someone else in the background before he answered. “All is well there. They just left Brazil, but a stop in Europe is planned to pick up the Princess. We expect them home safe well before you make it to the Base.”

  “That's good. We'll speak again at some point when we reach another safe house.”

  “Roger that. Good luck. Over.” Calvin said.

  “Over.”

  A loud crackling noise followed; the big black radio fell silent.

  “Is everything okay?” Taylor asked.

  “Aye.”

  “I would like to know more about your organization and exactly what's planned from here on.”

  “Of course, but only after we enjoy a hot cup of green tea and eat something delicious that our host prepared for us.” After saying that, Jinhun led the way across the corridor to the door opposite.

  They entered a small kitchen. To their right, it extended into a living room where a round wooden table with four chairs was placed amongst pots of house plants. Now Taylor was finally able to meet their host. A slim Chinese woman in her seventies was boiling an aromatic pan of tea leaves on the stove. The most amazing thing about her was that, despite her advanced age, her long hair was still as black as raven's feathers. She smiled at them, revealing three front teeth surrounded by empty space. While the two men sat at the table, she poured two mugs of steaming tea and brought it to them, despite Taylor's protests to help. Her wrinkled face was brightened by the jet-black eyes from which a strange warmth was emanating. The blackness of her hair and eyes was intensified even more by the white silk dress she was wearing.

  “I would like you to meet my mum.” Jinhun hugged the old lady around the waist as she kissed his forehead.

  Six

  Shimi Levy had just landed in Hong Kong, leaving William Grant behind in Brazil to investigate the incident surrounding Ian MacGeady's disappearance. The director of the ATU, as the Agency for Tracking the Untraceables was commonly known, was in no mood for customs. He stormed past the confused officers, who didn't even dare ask him questions or stand in his way.

  Levy walked out of the VIP doors and, without any delay, got in the back of the indigo-colored limousine waiting for him there. Even before the door behind him closed, he barked at the agent sitting on the front seat next to the driver, “Report.”

  The agent in his mid-twenties cleared his throat and quickly started, “We're searching for the refugees all over Hong Kong as we speak. At the minute, thermal scanning is in progress sector by sector. If they're still in the city, we'll find them. No luck just yet, though.”

  The car joined the busy traffic and headed towards the heart of the city with its tall skyscrapers rising above all else and staring down at the crawling crowds.

  The nervous agent continued, “We caught two Chinese, though. They helped in their escape and don't have brain implants. The interrogation convinced us that they're not part of the Yuyuan and are simply local renegades that were hired to help their escape.”

  “The local authorities?” Levy's face was expressionless.

  “The Chinese are very nervous. They acted too foolishly when they actually had them surrounded in the Audi, and now the main bosses of their Intelligence Agency are all over them.”

  “And so they should be,” Levy remarked before his agent continued.

  “They've been trying to catch Jinhun Sun for years, but now it's even more important as all indications are that the Yuyuan are preparing something big. The info is scarce, but it is very worrying nonetheless. From partially intercepted communiqués, it is easy to distinguish words like Apocalypse, free will, end of the New World Order and new era.”

  “Just great.” Shimi Levy's cold eyes narrowed as he thought. “And what exactly is the role of Taylor Swansea in all this?” he added more to himself.

  As the limo turned right and sped through the traffic control barrier, Shimi Levy order the driver, “Keep straight on. We're going to the Lab.”

  The Laboratory for Genetic Engineering of Beijing Institute for Genomic was situated in a remote area from the coast suburb of Hong Kong, and the ATU worked very closely with it. This was the place where the first generation of genetically modified super humans was born, raised and educated.

  “You have an idea, boss?”

  “Oh, yeah.” A rare smile appeared on Shimi Levy's face as the limo overtook a small delivery truck driven by an old Chinese woman.

  * * *

  Carolina was sitting on the edge of a bed, her turquoise eyes staring into her father's eyes as he sat hunched up next to her.

  The short trip by taxi to his mansion didn't help Carolina to come up with a plan of how to approach her father. When she walked in, she simply asked him to sit and blurted out everything she wanted to say.

  “So you tell me that you're part of this raffish band, but why?” Ademar Gamejro interrupted the oppressive silence.

  “We're not a raffish band, dad.” Carolina was already regretting her honesty with him. “Believe it or not, there are still people that remember what it was to be in control of your own destiny and to dream about the future. We have a clear idea of what future we want for ourselves and our children; and let me tell you, it's not the same as the future prepared for us by the so-called World Leaders.”

  “But, my darling, aren't you forgetting something? It is exactly the changes over the past few decades that transformed our country into a superpower; it was previously one of the poorest in the world.”

  “I really can't understand how you can be so naïve about all this.” Carolina's face was red as emotions surged inside her. “Can't you understand? We're just pawns in the hands of a group of people that a long time ago
lost all contact with reality and, for that reason, decided to create one that suited their plans and desires. We're just an insignificant link in their long-term plan.”

  Ademar Gamejro sat silent for a few minutes. His tired eyes fixed on the soft white carpet covering most of the marble floor in his spacious bedroom. He loved his job; but more than anything, he loved his precious daughter, his only child. “So the ATU wants to terminate me, eh?”

  “Yes. Our experts decoded a brain implant taken from an operative agent back in Brazil.”

  “I can't see the logic. Why me?” The Minister shook his head. “Nothing important is under my control and hardly anything significant is happening here in Greece.”

  “I'm not leaving you here.” Carolina's voice was firm. “Especially when the Devil himself has his eyes fixed on you.”

  “Aren't you being a bit melodramatic, honey? After all, the Agency only cares about order on the planet and all efforts are to maintain it. You're trying to touch me on a topic I know I'm sensitive about. I'm still very religious, but …”

  “What but!” Carolina's voice rose to a crescendo, “Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it you that taught me that?” She took a deep breath before continuing, “Apocalypse of John chapter 13, passage 1-18: I saw a beast coming up out of the sea,…and the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority…It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him…I saw another beast coming up out of the earth…He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. He makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast… He performs great signs, even making fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the sight of people…He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived…It was given to him to give breath to it, to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as wouldn't worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six.”

  Carolina was breathing heavily, overwhelmed by emotion when she finished citing the Bible.

  “Please, stop.” Her father was unable to look her in the eye.

  “How many times have you told me that free will is the greatest gift we possess?” she pressed on.

  Ademar Gamejro rubbed his right wrist where his implant was. The majority of people had their implants right in the middle of the forehead, pretty much where, according to Buddhist beliefs, the inner third eye is. But the Minister had problems with intracranial pressure, and for that reason, like several other million people on the planet, he had his implant put in his right wrist.

  He sighed and, lifting his eyes to meet the gaze of his daughter, he said, “Okay, I'm coming with you, but I'll have to write down a few messages to my colleagues and bosses.”

  “What about?”

  “I can't just vanish. I need to give them some explanation and leave instructions. After all, this country's economy is my responsibility. Don't worry, I won't mention you or where we're going.”

  “How much time do you need?”

  “Give me an hour.”

  “Okay, I'll go and grab us something to eat. I need the fresh air.” Carolina hugged him. “Please, hurry up. We can't make the plane wait. We have to be at the airport on time.”

  Five minutes later, she walked out of spacious house her father occupied. She failed to notice the fact that no servants were to be seen anywhere around as she walked out.

  * * *

  Taylor stood with his mouth half-open in front of a pair of strange machines which his companion had unveiled as their transport to Itanagar.

  “What's this?” He passed his fingers through his red hair that was waving in the blustery wind. They were on a vast grass plain just off HK6 motorway. The two futuristic vehicles in front of them looked just like something that one would use to explore the surface of the moon.

  “As I said already, these are all-terrain-vehicles,” Jinhun said. “We're not dependent on roads with them, although I must point out that on asphalt they can reach mind-boggling speed.”

  Taylor walked slowly in circles around the nearest of the machines. It looked like a huge wheel rim with a single seat in the middle. The seat resembled those he had seen in F1 racing cars many years ago, but a few strange metal poles placed in specific holes around the metal inside of the rim suggested that the seat would remain in the same position as the wheel rolled over. On either side of the seat, there were two smaller wheels resembling the stabilizers on a kid's bicycle.

  “We should reach the Base in three days with them,” Jinhun said. “Here's the supply compartment where we have enough food and water for a full week.” He pulled a metal ring on the rim that lifted a half-foot-wide door that revealed the storage compartment. It was stashed with supplies.

  “How does it work?” Taylor asked, still walking around the two vehicles.

  “In fact, it's extremely simple and at the same time genius. As you can easily see, the seat won't rotate with the rim; only the poles holding it will be changing their holes smoothly. The outside wheels help a lot with the stability and the maneuverability.”

  “Will I be able to drive it?”

  “It's very simple. You won't have any problems. In fact, once you try it, you'll find how amazing it is.” Jinhun grinned. “The feeling is beyond compare. The tires have a built in automatic system that controls their air. This gives them the opportunity to adapt according to the surface. We can drive over almost any type of terrain, from desert sand dunes to marshes.”

  “I don't understand how it works.”

  “Okay, here's an example: if we're traveling through a rocky terrain, the pressure in the tire automatically lowers and the softer touch allows the whole vehicle to travel smoothly, even the sharpest rocks are not able to cause any damage. Accordingly, the moment the tire detects motorway underneath, it inflates. The speed we can reach on such a surface is simply phenomenal.”

  “How fast can it go?”

  “On asphalt, we almost fly, two hundred miles per hour.”

  Taylor's eyes narrowed in amazement. He couldn't imagine how he would feel safe inside the relatively open seat that was just a foot above the ground if he was moving at such a speed.

  “What fuel will we be using?” he asked another question.

  “The engine is even more amazing. You can call it completely ecological. It runs on water which, with the help of a powerful laser, is disintegrated into atoms that collide with each other in the tube you can see right opposite your seat. This generates the energy that sets the whole magic in motion. It's very efficient, a liter of water is easily enough to cover five hundred miles.”

  “It is really impressive. Who invented this thing?”

  “I told you, we have all kinds of geniuses in our organization. In fact, without exaggerating, I can say that the best scientists in their specific spheres are all part of the Yuyuan.”

  “How many of these you have?”

  “Only three for now. But believe me, you've seen nothing yet. We have many other interesting toys.” Jinhun smiled. “But let's get moving. We don't want to be detected. I've had enough of chases for one day.”

  “Couldn't agree more.” Taylor looked at his companion seating himself and fastening the three secure belts, copying him he did the same.

  Just as the two strange-looking vehicles rolled parallel with the motorway over the grassy fields, a helicopter scanning all cars a
nd their passengers flew over the busy road, following the traffic that was heading out of Hong Kong.

  Seven

  Shimi Levy was crossing the car park of the Laboratory for Genetic Engineering of Beijing Institute for Genomic. The building in front of him looked ugly with its concrete body and sharp edges. It looked more like a bunker than an ultramodern science lab with its angular shape and brownish color. A person accidently passing by would never in a million years think that, inside the walls of this place, unimaginable things had been happening for over a decade.

  There weren't many aware that the main director of the ATU was a frequent visitor to this place. Even fewer people knew that the main finances for running the lab were coming from the same source as those that kept the Agency going.

  Shimi Levy wasn't familiar with every detail of the research and experiments going on behind the walls of this facility, but what he knew was more than enough to send a shiver down his spine every time he was there. He felt a strange mixture of respect, admiration and fear of what the Chinese scientists were doing inside the hideous-looking building. Many times, he wondered how the general masses would react if all the experiments were to be made public.

  The Laboratory for Genetic Engineering was created at the end of 2013. From its opening, the scientists started their so called 'game with the genes.' In 2014, the primary project of the lab was launched – finding and isolating the gene of human intelligence. The biggest contributor to this project, of course, was the Chinese National Bank; but a third of the finances came from the FED – Federal Reserve of the USA. With such powerful and wealthy support, it took just over a year for the gene to be isolated after numerous, not-very-humane procedures on over two thousand Chinese kids were performed. The Chinese didn't have time to waste. In the autumn of 2015, a hundred Chinese women became hosts to babies, the embryos specially modified and enriched with the gene that was just discovered, plus the well-known genes that were supposed to ensure the physical features of the children. So, at the beginning of June the following year, the first series of 'super kids' was born. All prognoses suggested that, by the age of fifteen, these kids would have the intelligence of Einstein, the physique of Supermen and the fitness of a twenty-year-old American soldier.