surgically removed.” the agent explained.
“What if she escapes?” inquired the high government official who called the meeting.
“I doubt that it will come down to that but if it does she must be put down for she could prove to a danger to the other civilians and society as a whole.” the agent stated as the mysterious government official nodded.
“Wait you can’t hold her forever. Her abilities could serve us well in the future. She could be the greatest weapon of our time and she could end this war.” The military official spoke up, frustrated they had not realized that girl’s potential.
“General, this will not develop into a war. We will resolve this matter long before it comes to that.” the unknown government official answered.
“We can’t just allow them to threaten our safety and to steal what is rightfully ours for it was our scientists who found the first Daraton and theorized its potential uses. The quantum particle of dark energy would have never been found, if it was not for us, and it would have never been known how the force of gravity had been weakened by its repulsive force. If it weren’t for us there wouldn’t be any auto-flyers. The very idea wouldn’t even make sense without knowledge of our discovery.” the General stated passionately.
“They discovered the first Daraton in a lab in Europe.” the government official corrected him.
“They are our allies so it was a collaborative victory but that is beside the point. We had to save up our money, decades of taxes dollars were needed to construct the lab equipment needed and only a limited amount of Daratons can be synthesized at a time. The demand among the citizens here is great enough without having to worry about the needs of other countries. We may not have been the ones to discover it but we were one of the few with enough money to capitalize on its success. We may have gained a great amount of knowledge and a reliable form of transportation but don’t you remember how great the cost was. We were only capable of obtaining those particles of dark energy because of generous contributions and the fact that we are a relatively wealthy country. It was by no means easy and we can’t just let our enemies take it from us without a fight.” the General continued as the government official listened to him nodding patiently.
“Without a reserve of natural gas they can’t transport their goods efficiently, which means they don’t have the means to provide for all of their citizens. Their overpopulated cities are deteriorating around them. Some are even breaking off to form farming communities. I almost pity them.” the government official stated sadly.
“We sold Daraton to them despite our needs and they repaid us by raising their prices, by such an amount they were far beyond absurdity.” the General pointed out aggressively.
“As capitalists the businessmen were tempted by their need. They were trying to compensate for the cost of transportation by raising their prices.” the government official stated.
“We had to regain our independence and form robotic factories or our middle class would have sank below poverty and our people would be no better than their’s.” General pointed out.
“True we had no choice but it worsened their situation and drove them to desperation. I wish it never came to this for the developing countries need is stifling.” agreed the government official.
“They attacked our military facilities in search of Daraton. They have joined forces with likewise countries and they have decided to attack us during a time of peace. They have found ways around our war machines’ defenses and have destroyed them with blasts of fire and intense pressure waves. They have fired upon our men and thrown primitive grenades at our buildings. They have stolen a resource that we have been working years to acquire. They don’t deserve our mercy.” the General yelled angrily, with the memory of his loyal soldiers laying dead, aligned in a row as the others rummaged through the wreckage, still fresh in his mind.
“I agree it is only a matter of time before they fly into a large city to hold up an auto-flyer company then pandemonium will fill the streets. We can’t let it come to that.” the government official agreed bleakly.
“Maria can stop them. I have seen what she can do. I had her in my sights yet she commanded all of the war machines and used their might against me. She was awe inspiring. Even the most gifted hacker couldn’t do what she did almost naturally. The enemies’ robots may seem primitive with their mechanical guns filled with beads of steel, being weighted down by heavy armor with their only form of locomotion involving wheels, but despite all of that a hacker would have great difficulty reprogramming one of the military deployment machines since they all have a unique encryption. Also all of them are able to sense when their security is being breached and can send a report to their controllers or even block the foreign signal completely. Some are almost completely autonomous so are less dependent on signals at all. Their computerized functioning should not be underestimated since I am should they stole it from us. The only one who can stop them is that girl.” the General told them, thinking back to how Maria fearfully clung onto her stuffed toy appearing like any other ordinary child, but he knew she was far from it.
“But we can’t control that girl. We can’t just bring her to a military facility and tell her all of our secrets within a room full of military grade machines that she can command at will.” the agent from Homeland Security pointed out.
“Then what are we going to do to protect our supply of Daraton and the civilians under our charge?” the General questioned.
“We just need to heighten security.” the agent suggested.
“They are not merely thieves, that is not going to stop them. It will only enrage them and everyone within the vicinity will be in danger. You know that.” the General stated, when the agent turned away knowing the outcome as well as any other.
“I agree with you, General. Maria could be of some use.” agreed the government official, catching the agent off guard.
“But she is too powerful” the agent countered.
“You told me that you can capture her, that she could be controlled. If that is true then it may be worth a try for you mentioned that she is not intentionally attacking us.” the government official reminded the agent from Homeland Security.
“But we can’t be sure that she no longer poses a threat as long as she has her ACPC.” the man from Homeland Security pointed out.
“We will find a way to control her. Just leave that up to us.” The General assured him.
“That is far too risky,” the agent argued when the General turned on him.
“Riskier than leaving ourselves unprotected?” he questioned when the agent from Homeland Security quieted himself.
“You have never failed me yet, General. I trust in the military’s ability to manage the girl’s power.” the General stated as the government official nodded.
“Maria Rivera’s capture will be a collaborative process but after she is captured, the military will be responsible for finding a way to control her. Now you are all dismissed,” the government official stated getting to his feet as the others followed his lead. He bobbed his head then turned away, his eyelids dropping with undisguised exhaustion.
The General led his soldiers out the room as the Homeland Security agents conversed nervously in the corner. He strolled down the hall when one of his soldiers approached him. He saluted and referred to him as sir, with an unnaturally stiff posture and stony eyes.
“How are we going to control her, Sir?” he asked as the others listened closely.
“We are going to recruit the person that she fears the most.” the General stated.
“And who is that, Sir?” he asked as the others leaned forward a little, despite their rigorist training.
“Rick Harris.” the General answered simply then continued on, his many honorary metals gleaming in the florescent light.
An Invaluable Skill
The General walked down a wide hall of cement. Thick bars rose like walls as imprisoned men watched him pass, their brows were furrowed with pent up
resentment. A prison guard walked ahead of him, with a large key ring swinging at his side.
The General gathered himself, reviewing the questions he wanted to ask. He thought it over, focusing on his desire to capture Maria. He knew Homeland Security would surely fail for only Rick Harris could capture her. He has already done so in the past and the General had little doubt that he could repeat this feat, which was why he was there in the first place.
The guard led him across a large cafeteria to a locked door, which he opened. The guard fumbled briefly with the keys then opened the door wide as the General entered glancing at him concerned.
“Why do you still use keys?” the General asked as the guard reattached them to the loop affixed on his pants.
“Well there has never been a breakout in this prison’s history so why fix what ain’t broken?” the guard explained before he continued to lead the way down a narrow hall, pass the warren’s office.
“Well this is the room. You wait inside and I will go get Rick Harris for yeh.” the guard announced unlocking the door as the General entered with a stiff nod of gratitude.
The room was bare, with only a small table with two chairs facing each other. The walls were featureless, painted an off white. He sat in one of the chairs, its metal legs dragging loudly across the titled floor. He rested his hands on top of the cold metal table as he
The Paradoxical Nature of Knowledge Page 14
