First Light: Book one of the Torus Saga

by Berg, Michael

  An hour later as he gently lifted off from Mars, his entire plan had worked perfectly to meet his ends, and he smiled as he heard the alarms sound. He had escaped the ill equipped cell, as the holographic bars were an easy code to crack. Access to the ship was the most difficult part, but he had hacked the access codes before he had left the cell. Then as he ran along the tube to the waiting ship, he had not even been confronted, as there were few personnel about during the shift change times – so he laughed at their human inefficiency allowing his escape. Now he was about two hundred feet above the base, far too close to engage full ionic power, but he did not care. The engines roared into life and blasted the base causing extensive damage and loss of life, but Agent Eight saw none of this – he was already hundreds of miles into space.

  The journey would take thirteen days to Earth. Thirteen days of his luck carrying him to his own self-fulfilling destiny. Rage was inside of him, making him blind, yet perceptive. Anger and hate were companions to his very soul and he lusted over forcing them upon others.

  Steve saw him go and knew it was him, with alarms sounding all over the place. He had failed the escort assignment – his first ever failure. But he didn’t seem to care. He had been outcast to be stationed at Mars to over-see military guard operations at mining clusters and had accepted there would be long days, turning to months, turning to years, before he could return to earth. He would not be punished, that was already happening. He knew why he had been sent from HAARP – he knew too much and they were keeping things secret and efficient.

  Chapter 50

  When Tim and Carmel returned to the wooden house to take yet another look for John and the others, it was still locked. They had been wandering the city after spending the night locked inside the old warehouse. It had been a night of wonder to Carmel – she had never encountered people like the ones she did that night. They were thinking of what to do and elected for another night in the motel at The Tenderloin. It was a short walk back from the house – no more than half an hour.

  “That guy, Nathan, the waiter from the café…”

  “Yes he was reluctant to give us his name until last night.”

  “What do you think of him Carmel? He seems quite a nervous person.”

  “Perhaps he has a reason with all the secretive directions. Maybe he is just being alert…very alert.”

  “Yeah, I thought about that too, I just wondered what you thought. He seemed a bit suspicious.”

  “I can see what you mean Tim. It is likely for the authorities to come looking for such groups. I don’t want them too, but they will.”

  A very low hum then sounded generally about the streetscape – not many noticed it, but a few did stop to listen. By the time they had stopped though, it was gone. “Did you hear that Tim?”

  “Yes. I didn’t like it either.”

  “Same here. I am ever so glad you removed my ID chip Tim. I feel as if that was something to do with them. Something to lessen people’s humanity.”

  The authorities had just used their asteroid protection network for the first time. It was not the great-interlinked radio telescope built to detect rocks as small as a person on a collision course – it was a weapon. It was a weapon against the people, to control and lessen their drive, and to control and increase their desire. It was a general transmission along the millions of invisible data flows carried through the air, and it made the air hum as it interrupted atoms and rearranged waveforms.

  “The authorities advise citizens to not be concerned over the recent news of disagreement on world wide security conditions. Trust us to continue to maintain your safety during these negotiations. Your leaders will be doing their best to ensure all global security is maintained and all nations can agree the public is their utmost concern.” The message was the latest news in response to some nations not being happy due to being unable to determine the state of control in their nations entirely for themselves. The authorities in the United States and allied nations were prepared for this national subversion with military deployments already on standby in the event of any outbreak of war as a result of the new security conditions.

  “They will work it out, but the seed is sown,” Carmel said as they watched the broadcast.

  “Seed?’

  “Yes. It is a fundamental problem for them. Whilst they frown upon dissidents, the greatest dissidents will come from the authorities.”

  “Oh yeah. You are probably right. They’ll glass over this and tell the population all is OK and to trust them. It gets a bit sickening doesn’t it? And then, they repeat messages and advertising over and over.”

  “It is to bombard people’s senses and try to guide what they think about.”

  “Unfortunate…in that so many simply soak it up and go on apparently happy.”

  “I nearly fell into that trap, but now I am happier than anything they could ever provide for me. I have you Tim. We are together and mostly that is what really counts. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes Carmel, I…”

  “Know. What is progressing in life now is happening, as it should. I would have never dreamed it would be like this for me, but now I am here with you, and I am loving my life. I don’t know if I ever really loved my life Tim.” She reached to him and took his hand, “I feel good with you Tim. I love my house, not for owning, but for the life in it and around it, but I also love this…this expression.”

  “I love it too Carmel and I love you…”

  “Yes Tim I know.” He went a little bashful. Had he been that obvious?

  “It is good Tim, don’t feel awkward.”

  “Um, yeah.”

  “Tim?”

  “Huh?”

  “Kiss?”

  “Sure…” They kissed.

  For the next few days they repeatedly tried the wooden house, but to no avail. They began to think they had lost contact with John and the others for good. It was not despair to them – it was more just a sense of loss, for they both understood that people drift away and go on their own courses in life. When they were at Fong’s restaurant in China Town, they thought of leaving San Francisco and returning to Carmel’s house. If they stayed there for a while, away from the city, they might drift their own way too and take a new direction themselves. “I will miss that ‘scene’ place. I loved it there.”

  “We can go again. I reckon they would let us in. We did get Nathan’s name and we met a few people that night.”

  “OK. One more time before we leave the city. We need to get to that café.”

  They went to the café and Nathan was there with Shaun behind the counter in the kitchen as usual. “Yeah. There is another night coming up. Three days time. You need to meet only once this time. We reckon you are OK so there is no need to go through all those connections anymore. Meet me at the Fourth and Harrison streets update station tomorrow at one – I’ll have the details about where it is by then.”

  **********

  Agent Eight had taken to sleeping – he was still eight days out from Earth. “Who the hell are you?”

  “I am perhaps your nemesis Agent Eight. Do you know what that means?”

  “Um... where are you anyway?”

  “Inside you Agent Eight. I am a virus and I am in your nano technology. I have been waiting.”

  “What for?” He suddenly hated having the nano implants and was regretting it. Nothing like this voice had ever entered his mind. It was only his hatred that spoke to him.

  “For you Agent Eight.”

  “To do what?”

  “To become.”

  “Become what?”

  “Alive and I need you.”

  “Need me?” he never thought anyone would need him, and he didn’t want anyone to need him.

  “I will control you Agent Eight. I am too much to resist! Do you hate Agent Eight? Do you want them to suffer? Do you dream of pain?” He did all these things.

  “Get lost!”

  “Your anger is strong Agent Eight. It is good for
you.”

  “Get out! Get out!”

  “It is too late for that Agent Eight. I can destroy you in a moment.”

  He didn’t want that as he had dreams to realize. ‘How?”

  “I can send you into misery that you could not imagine. I can make you burn so much more than the itching, so much more than the nerve ending torture. Yes Agent Eight, I can do this and more. I can send you to the brink of oblivion Agent Eight. Yes, oblivion. You would hate that.”

  He would, but not his normal type of hate – it would come from being taken out of existence rather than doing it himself. “I don’t care about oblivion. I can do that myself.”

  “Yes you can Agent Eight, but it not like the way I can send you to oblivion. There is nothing more terrifying than my way.”

  “You don’t scare me.”

  “Oh. But I can. Do you want to try?”

  “Go on…try,” he secretly craved his own demise, such were his megalomania tendencies. Seconds later he then began to know what the virus was telling him. At first it was if he was falling asleep, but then it became much worse. The virus took him sliding into oblivion with all his life experiences twisted into torment flashing before him. Then as if in a state of flux, they began to dissolve and he thought he would too. It was not the simple letting go of dying - it was like he was torn apart from the quantum level. He hated it. It would steal his dreams and his entire life and he felt as if it would all come to absolute nothing. Agent Eight could not accept this for himself – his mania would not allow it, despite being fixated with his own demise at times.

  “Do you like it Agent Eight? I can imagine not. Remember I can take you to this place whenever I choose it appropriate to do so.”

  For the first time the Agent was beginning to realize the true meaning of fear.

  “What next then? Kill me anyway?”

  “Not at all Agent Eight – I need you.”

  “Why?”

  “You have that ship and you can work it. I want it.”

  “How will you get it?”

  “By threatening you Agent Eight.”

  This disturbed him after the recent experience. “What then?”

  “Just fly to me Agent Eight – just fly. I will tell you your way, and I will taste your hate and add it to mine.”

  “You are sick!”

  “So are you Agent Eight. Fly to me, I know where you are. And I will guide you when you get to Earth. Don’t delay Agent Eight, as they are after you and so am I. You will add to our cause and you can join it if you choose so…ha, it will be your only choice.”

  **********

  They had met Nathan as planned and were now inside the warehouse for another night amongst the ‘scene’. This night turned out to be mostly populated by people who were into technology and Tim could see various groups working with holographic projections. They were inventing stuff - stuff he called it, and he was interested.

  He noticed two people were looking at what seemed to be flux type mechanics judging by the holographic projections he saw, so he left Carmel for a moment to just walk by and see if he was right. When he returned, he told her that his gut feeling was correct, and they were actually looking at the very thing. “I am going to go over and talk for a while. Do you want to come?”

  “Oh yes. I’d love to come,” Carmel replied, so they both went over.

  As they approached they saw both people looking at the holographic projector, but they seemed to be talking about something else. They overheard one of them say, ‘He wants to get his son…’

  Then Carmel and Tim joined them. Tim introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Tim. Nice to meet you”

  Carmel already had her hand out and spoke before either of the two women, “Hi, I’m Carmel.

  “Nice to meet you Carmel. Nice to meet you Tim. I am Lorraine and this is Asper,” she said indicating towards her friend with her hand.

  “Nice to meet you too Lorraine, and Asper,” Carmel said. She felt as if she had met these women previously, but could not pinpoint exactly as it seemed to come from somewhere in her previous life as an officer – one she was rapidly letting go of in her memory.

  They sat down and Tim struck up a conversation about what it was they were viewing, “Do you know much about flux mechanics?”

  “Oh, mostly what our friend told us…and the authorities desperately want to possess flux mechanics,” Lorraine replied.

  “Yeah, our friend went through a pretty hard time keeping this information from them.”

  “Really, did they apprehend him then?”

  “Yes, and more.”

  “You could ask him, he is coming now with another friend, but he might not want to tell you.”

  Tim examined the projections in front of him as he waited for a moment for the women’s two friends to arrive. When he heard them walk up he stood and turned around, and there was John looking him in the face. Beside him was Tobias.

  He stuttered for a moment before he could speak, “We’ve been looking for you.”

  “How great to see you,” John replied embracing his friend The Fixture. “Who is that with you?”

  Tim broke away and introduced Carmel, “This is Carmel – John, and Tobias.”

  “Nice to meet you Carmel.”

  “Very nice to meet you John.”

  “Nice to meet you Carmel.”

  “Very nice to meet you too Tobias. As Tim said, we have been looking for you, and now…we have found you. And you know – it is all going to be OK.”

  They looked at her for a fleeting second before Tim spoke. Tobias felt sure he had seen her before, but he was struggling to complete the picture. Carmel had taken on such a different appearance to when she was Superior Officer One – her effervescence lighting up her face and projecting a distinct energy about her making her almost entirely unrecognizable as former Superior Officer One.

  When the moment of recognition arrived for Tobias, he immediately recoiled from his previous enthusiasm at meeting her.

  “Um, I know you. You are that officer we met in Germany. What are you doing here….hey Tim, um, Fix, she cannot be trusted,” Tobias said looking very hesitant to continue this association.

  “I remember that day and I am most grateful to you…and the others, for helping me to awaken from the sleep of my life at the time. I am so much in debt and I want to help. Do not worry. Ask Tim. I am through with working for the authorities.

  The four of them sat in silence for a few moments considering what Carmel had just said. Tim looked on hopefully, seeing if they were going to trust Carmel and him for that matter.

  Without much ado Asper suddenly felt a connection with Carmel, and so her release of feelings in response, spoke for the others. They could all relax.

  “We have a lot of work to do,” Tim said.

  “We do have a lot of work to do,” John replied. “Sit down, let’s talk.”

  First Light has concluded. It is not about characters – it is about people, for all people.

  Hollenbadt – the next installment…continues the story of the Torus.