by Jacob Whaler
Up ahead, a gang of hundreds of youths has assembled a barricade across the boulevard. It reminds Jedd of the French Revolution. On closer inspection, it’s an amalgamation of broken vehicles and scaffolding from a construction project. Men stand on top, swinging iron bars like baseball bats.
As the line of tanks rolls closer, Jedd hears Moses’ voice on the wireless giving the order to fire and clear a path through.
There’s an explosion. Then another. Windows shatter. A gap thirty feet wide opens in the barricade. A barrage of machine gun fire erupts on both sides of Jedd’s truck. Men and women in army fatigues rush by and fire on the mob. Bodies drop and fall. Survivors scatter into the streets and alleys.
“It’s time.” Qaara grabs the wireless handset and presses the talk button with her thumb. “Moses. Qaara here. We’ve fulfilled our part of the bargain. You and your army are in the City. Now it’s time for you to keep your promise.”
Static on the radio.
“What equipment do you need?”
Qaara glances at Jedd. “Two trucks of troops and a couple of tanks.”
“Where are you going?” Another truck pulls up alongside. Moses is inside, talking into the radio.
“To the southern tip of the City. Near the Wall.” Qaara points ahead. “I’d like to visit an old friend of mine.”
“You have a score to settle?”
“Maybe,” Qaara says.
“Good.” Moses nods. “But I’m not going to give you two tanks and a couple of trucks.”
“Why not?” Qaara says. “I’ve done all that I promised to do. And more. Why won’t you help me now?”
“Because two tanks and two trucks won’t get you very far. You have my whole army. Lead the way. Let’s go.”
52
ALICE
Here.
Cresting the top of the hill, Luca is the first to see it. A ring of black domes joined by lines to the center like the spokes of an enormous wheel.
“We made it. Drop your backpacks.” Luca lets her load slip to the ground. “We won’t need them anymore.”
“What are those?” Suri emerges from the group and stops at Luca’s side.
“The people inside don’t know why they are here.” Luca starts down a long, grass-covered hill. “They’re scared of what’s coming.”
“The Voice?”
Luca shakes her head. “I don’t know. They don’t know either. They can’t hear the Voice. But they have food and clothing. Lots of it.”
“Will they share it?”
“Let’s find out.”
The thirteen remaining girls follow. As they walk, a burst of rain falls out of the pink sky and washes the ash off their skin and clothing.
At the bottom of the hill, Luca stops a hundred meters from the nearest dome. Even from this distance, their magnitude is difficult to comprehend, as large as hills, each one big enough to swallow multiple buildings the size of the Institution. The uneven surface of the outside is like black mud, wet and glistening. There are no windows or doors. No way in or out.
“How do we talk to them?” Suri says.
Luca points. “I can feel the voices. Inside. There must be a way in. Come on. Let’s get closer.”
As they hike across the field of grass, Luca opens her mind, listening, searching.
At the outside wall of the closest dome, Luca immediately notices that the rainwater doesn’t stick to the building’s rough surface and it doesn’t bead up. Instead, it runs off in one continuous sheet of moisture only millimeters thick. And something else. She can’t find a trace of ash anywhere on the outside of the dome.
And still no windows or doors.
Suri and the other girls stop behind Luca.
Luca stretches out her hand to the black surface. At the moment of contact, she feels . . . nothing. Her fingers slip away. Trying again, Luca puts both palms on the outer wall and pushes, but all she senses is the dull resistance of a hard object. She can’t actually feel the uneven surface.
“Strange,” she says. “I know it’s here, but——”
Without prompting, the other girls come forward and fan out on either side of Luca. They put their hands on the surface, running their fingers along its uneven form. One by one, they step back, eyes wide.
“What do we do?” Suri says.
Luca doesn’t know. Turning, she lets one hand scrap along the surface of the dome and walks along its large circumference, closing her eyes, listening, picking out threads of words and conversation from the interior. Sifting and waiting. Listening to the many voices on the inside.
He said he would come.
Is this all just a cruel trick?
Why is ash falling outside?
I hear he’s the CEO of one of the world’s largest conglomerates.
What happened to the Cloud?
When will we be able to leave?
How did he get access to all my money?
Who are those girls standing outside the dome?
Luca stops.
In half a second, her mind shoots out, like the sticky tongue of a chameleon, and grabs onto the last voice, going deeper into its mind.
From the feel of it, it’s a woman, someone with children of her own.
They’re just standing there, outside in the rain and the falling ash. We have to do something.
Concentrating, Luca holds onto the mind and its thoughts. Other nearby minds engage in conversation. Luca tries to unravel them.
He gave us strict instructions to stay inside and not let anyone else in.
But he’s not even here.
He made it clear that we have to follow the rules. His rules. Or we’ll be thrown out and left to die. Like the rest of humanity.
Look at them. It’s a group of girls, lost. Look how skinny they are. Probably haven’t eaten in days. I’m not going to abandon them. We have to help.
I’ve heard stories about the people here in Fukushima. I’ve heard about strange mutations in their brains. Group hallucinations. They’re different from us. Barely even human.
More voices join the first. Some agree and want to help. Others are afraid to break the rules.
One voice, a man’s, emerges.
We have strict orders not to allow anyone to open the doors. It could endanger the lives of the thousands of us here. By now you may have guessed. The end is coming. We are the kernel of civilization that will survive. Mr. Mercer has a plan. If we don’t follow it, we could all die. Your name is Alice, isn't it? We’ll be keeping an eye on you.
The first voice wavers and backs off.
OK. Understood. I just wanted to help them. You can’t blame me for that. After all, they’re a harmless group of girls. I wish we could help, but now I see that it’s not possible.
Other minds join the group, full of simple thoughts. Brutal thoughts. They must be guards. Like Zero when he was alive and used to beat Luca at the Institution.
Everyone move away from the screens. No one is going to open the doors. If they do, we’ve been given strict orders by Mr. Mercer to shoot to kill. You all have your assignments. We have to get ready for the end. You are here on Mr. Mercer’s terms. Go back to your rooms.
The voices quickly scatter, but Luca finds and holds onto the first one. Alice. The one that wanted to help. She follows the voice until it’s alone.
And then Luca listens.
I don’t care what anyone says. Those girls aren’t animals. I’m not going to be responsible for their deaths. If they want to kill me, then so be it. I shouldn’t have left my family. Mercer tricked us into coming here. I’m not going to be part of his warped plan. I’m going to open the door.
Luca pulls her hands away from the dome and opens her eyes. “Someone on the inside wants to help us. We have to be ready.”
53
PERSONAL
The three of them stand with their backs to the Wall. The City is dead and gray, coated in a layer of fine ash. Jedd breathes in the silence. For the first time in days, he takes
a few seconds to contemplate his situation.
“Is this where we’re all going to die?”
“Try not to think about it,” Qaara says. “We still have time to get the word out. We’ll just keep working until—”
“Until what?” Ricky says.
“Until we can’t work anymore.” Qaara strains her neck for a view of the top floor of Genesis Corporation.
Jedd hangs his head. “Does it matter? I mean, maybe it’s better that we leave people in the dark. Give them a few more hours of blissful ignorance. Do they really have to know the end is coming?”
“The truth always matters.” Qaara pulls out her jax. “And we’ve come here to tell the world the truth.”
“It’s a shame.” Ricky stares down at his jax. “The Mesh is still completely down, even here in the heart of the City. So much for your plans to notify the world of how it’s going to end.” He looks up at the glowing sky. “Maybe it will come back on when the ion storm is over.”
“Maybe,” Qaara says. “There’s got to be a way to get the word out."
Jedd walks close to Qaara. “Even if we do, what can people do?”
Ricky brings an index finger to his chin. “Go deep underground and wait until the acid turns into the benign LUCA?”
“A few might be able to do that. Those with access to resources. The rich. But it’s not a solution for the masses.” Qaara shakes her head. "Some might escape the initial destruction. But all vegetation and food supplies will be destroyed on the surface. When they emerge, it’s only a matter of time before they starve to death. Still, everyone deserves to know.”
“So what do we do?” Jedd leans into the Wall. The East River rises up behind him.
“What we came here to do.” She stares at the top of the Genesis Corporation building, the tallest skyscraper in the City. “Find Mercer, if he's here.”
“And then?” Ricky says.
“If anyone has Mesh access, it will be Mercer. Even if he doesn’t, we can still stop him from getting away to his hidden domes in Japan. Make him face the same end that will come to the rest of humanity. Maybe that will cause him to think about how to save a few more people." Qaara walks to a nearby truck and grabs a machine gun. “Justice will be done, at least in his case. It’s the least we can do.”
“You really think he’s still here?” Jedd says.
“If I know him,” Qaara says, “he’s enjoying the show. The Sack of the City by the Barbarians from the Fringe.”
Tanks and trucks line the street.
“You mean, the Zone?”
Jedd says.
Qaara swings the strap of the gun over her shoulder. “Either way, he won’t find it easy to resist. He’s probably up there in his penthouse, looking down, exhilarated. Gloating over his mastery of the situation.”
“You think he knows we’re here?” Jedd points up.
“No doubt.”
Jedd turns to leave. “Then let’s find him before he slips off to Japan.”
“Wait.” Moses walks up to them. “Before you go, tell me the rest.”
“Rest of what?” Jedd says.
“My people have heard you talking the past few days.” Moses stares up at the hundred-meter expanse of the Wall, toward a pod of blue whales moving by in slow motion. “You predicted the enemy fighters would fall out of the sky, and they did.” He points up. “You knew about the lights that burned in the night. You knew that dust would fall like rain. You knew the City would be left undefended.”
“She’s smart,” Jedd says. “She studied the Cloud and the destruction it will cause.”
Moses kicks at a fluffy piece of ash on the street. “You know what’s coming next. You think we’re all going to die. Just tell me how it will happen. I deserve to know, don't I?”
“I came here so I could tell the whole world. You and everyone else.” Qaara pulls the jax from her pocket. “I thought there was a chance the Mesh, our communications network, would start working again so I could get the word out. But that might not happen. So I’ll start with you and your people. You can spread the word.”
Qaara launches into a bleak explanation of how the ash falling from the sky will give birth to a super acid that will dissolve whatever it touches.
“Like a cleansing,” Moses says. “All the filth and evil will be washed away. A fresh start. I’d be inclined to say it’s a good thing, if I weren’t part of the filth and evil.”
“Spread the word,” Qaara says. “Tell your people and the people of the City. Whoever you can find. Tell them to stay high above ground or deep below it. Even then, it's a gamble. Death may come.”
“Do you need help dealing with your friend up in the building?” Moses says.
“No, this is a personal matter,” Qaara says. “We’ll take care of it on our own.”
She, Jedd and Ricky walk toward Genesis Corporation.
54
ORIGINAL PLAN
Mercer knows they’re coming.
He has the perfect view of their movements. The large bluescreen on the wall, divided into multiple cells, shows 16 different vantage points.
He’s been keeping an eye on the army since it entered the City, using drones with cameras specially prepared and hardened for the impending catastrophe.
From his vantage point high in the City, Mercer watches the tanks and army trucks roll down the broad boulevards, taking over the City, block by block. He smiles at the battles between the people of the Zone and the people of the Fringe, both of them of no consequence to him.
He imagines the fear in the hearts of the people of the City, locked in their luxury apartments in darkness, with no access to information, staring at dead jaxes, viewing the destruction from windows above the streets. Waiting for their doors to be battered by lawless thugs.
And now it all makes sense.
Qaara and her friends went into the Zone to bring back an army, to wreak their vengeance on Mercer. To keep him from enjoying the full fruits of his victory.
Unfortunately for them, it’s not going to work.
A secret closet hides a special collection of his father’s old weapons. Opening the wood panel door, he stares at the assortment of twentieth century weapons. Machine guns. AK-47s. Sniper rifles.
All of it in pristine condition.
Guards stand outside his door. They are waiting for three people, two men and a woman, to make their way across the street, into the building. The guards have been given strict orders to see that the three make it safely to the top of the building.
At that point, two will quickly be eliminated.
Only Qaara will accompany Mercer to the waiting domes in Japan. Just as in the original plan.
55
NEW BEGINNINGS
The rain stops.
“We wait here. Everyone rest.”
Luca sits on the ground, her back to the wall of the dome. Her eyes close. She’s going to go deep this time, deep into the mind of the woman on the inside.
Alice.
I’ve heard that name before, Luca thinks. A book Father used to read to me.
Floating in a sea of muffled voices and shadows, Luca drops into Alice’s thoughts, pushing through currents of color and sound until she can see out of Alice’s eyes. Shadows resolve into faces. She is in a long hallway in the middle of a crowd, moving in the same direction as everyone else.
They’re headed to a meeting.
“Been here two days, and I still don’t have a clue about any of it,” Alice says.
“That’s OK, Alice.” Another voice, a man’s, comes in from the side. "We’re all in the same boat. Or I should say dome. I’m completely lost myself."
“Did you see that troop of girls on the feed from the bluescreen, standing outside in the rain?” Alice says. “Looked to me like they've been walking for days. I don’t see why we can’t let them in.”
“You heard what the guards said.” The man’s voice lowers. “It appears we signed away our freedom when we agreed to come. Merc
er is the one in charge now. He makes the decisions. We obey. If only we had known.”
“I suppose they’ve called the meeting to provide us with information,” Alice says.
“Mercer himself is scheduled to speak to us,” the man says. “The first debriefing.”
Shoulders jostle as they enter a huge room with a high blue ceiling.
Still riding in Alice’s mind, Luca senses thousands of other voices milling about in the same space.
A glistening platinum column rises in the center of the room, covered with high-relief carvings of creatures from a child’s nightmare: saber-toothed tigers, mammoths, great white sharks and velociraptors. All of them extinct monsters, Alice thinks. A layer of glowing green glass sits atop the column.
A man appears as if standing on the column.
Holographic presence, Luca hears Alice repeat in her mind.
The room falls silent.
“Welcome, my friends.” The man stares down, hands clasped in front, smiling, nodding. “I know you have questions. You’re afraid, as you should be. I’ve called you together so I can share with you my plan for a better tomorrow.”
The voices go silent. Everyone listens, concentrating on the words of the man on the column.
“Most of you know me. My name is Mercer. Frank Mercer, President and CEO of Genesis Corporation.”
Mercer, Alice thinks. I don’t like the sound of that name. Too cold.
Mercer takes a step forward. “For now, you only need remember two simple facts. First, the world is about to end. And second, only I can save you.”
The silent crowd breaks into chaos. Arms go in the air. People fall to their knees.
“I won’t apologize for the deception that brought you here. My only desire was to save at least a kernel of humankind. You are it.”
Raising his hand, Mercer waits until the crowd settles down.
“Some time ago, I acquired detailed information about a floating Cloud of dust in outer space on track to intersect with Earth. I sent probes to investigate, and I discovered the truth. The Cloud is deadly. As you know, it has already engulfed our planet.”
