The Present

by Kenneth Thomas

  ‘Thank Method A, pay all my spinning wheel debts’, Gs says with a big grin, showing his rotten, pointy teeth.

  Not plated in metal, let alone silver and gold, his teeth are a sign of his need for moolah. It’s not only the Elites that are avid gamblers in New Jersey but so too its locals. Like many other Jerseyans, Gs has high gambling debts. So high in fact that he’s even willing to take the Universal Council’s Most Wanted on a dangerous smuggling operation to Mars to pay it off.

  Wah-wah! Gs grin quickly disappears, replaced by a look of dread as a red-light flashes and a siren sounds: Newark has gone into full alert and lockdown. Gs ushers them inside the ship’s hold, looking more nervous by the second as sweat drips down his wrinkled face.

  ‘What the… break PATH agreement’! Gs mutters in astonishment.

  With this siren, they realise Commissioner Ming’s incursion spreads from Gambler’s Den and encompasses all of Newark - the skies will soon be in lockdown. Even with the chaos engulfing Antarctica, the Commissioner dares to bring about a confrontation with the Jerseyans. There must be more happening than simply capturing VanWest.

  After the citizens’ uprising, the Universal Council has placed, in effect, the whole of Earth in lockdown. The Commissioner comes to New Jersey to exert control with the help of a small contingent of Space Soldiers stationed close to Earth, he seeks to pave the way for Dr King’s vengeful return with an armada of spaceships. The Commissioner’s vanguard will no doubt cause as much destruction and bloodshed as possible, making the trio’s mission to find and kill Dr King even more urgent.

  Like with Hawkeye, this ship doesn’t have a transporter, they clamber in through the cargo hold’s wide doors. Gs wastes no time, giving each a satchel bag containing a large blue pill and gestures for each to swallow it whole and then lay down in a crate filled with bags of Papini powder. Bags likely destined for a prisoner colony. The pill induces a catatonic sleep-like state, providing a useful aid for smuggling as it lowers the heart rate. Combined with the strong muster of Papini, it masks heat signatures and helps avoid detection.

  Gs says, ‘Ship gotta move slowly to act normal. Be 1 day, 2 days travel. Take pill, I meet you on other side’.

  LeSouris does not hesitate to swallow. However, VanWest and Iris seek reassurance, given the scene in the casino earlier, they are understandably distrusting. But with the red-light flashing, there is no time to discuss.

  LeSouris urges, ‘My friends, take it. Trust in Utopia’!

  Before swallowing, Iris and VanWest exchange a warm embrace and kiss, and then step inside their crates to lay down in the middle of the bags as instructed.

  VanWest tries to stay positive, and not show too much his concern, ‘My sweet, I’ll see you on the other side. Like I said in Florida, in the past, we will build a wonderful new future together’.

  Iris does the same, ‘My love, I trust we will have a bright future. We must stay strong. Sleep well, and let us bless our voyage to Mars with a few words of hope’.

  The effect of the sleeping pill quickly takes hold as Iris recites her favourite Emily Dickinson poem, the same one she started back in Ward B, inside the Asclepius medical complex. Her voice soothing:

  "Hope" is the thing with feathers -

  That perches in the soul -

  And sings the tune without the words -

  And never stops - at all -

  And sweetest - in the Gale -

  And sore must be the storm -

  That could abash the little Bird

  That kept so many warm -

  I’ve heard it in the chilliest land -

  And on the strangest Sea -

  Yet - never - in Extremity,

  It asked a crumb - of me.

  As Gs places the lids back on top of the crates, the engines of the ship ignite, and the roof of the silo slides open. VanWest tries to call out as all goes dark, but finds himself no longer laying inside the crate. Rather, he stands in front of a man in a white jumpsuit that looks remarkably like himself, only older and greyer. On the man’s wrist is a tattoo, 777. He tries to approach, only for an intense green light to push him back. This is not an older version of himself, rather as Dr VonHelmann showed him in his interface as a child, his clone source, the Martian President Van der Westhuizen.

  The green light widens and engulfs the man, fragmenting him into a thousand little pieces as an altogether different scene emerges, a street lined with bright white capsule buildings, located in-between trees and flowers. It looks wondrous and surreal, nearly as green as the Everglades of 1998 Florida.

  Turning his head slightly, he catches the last glimmers of the light in the distance. Towering over a square decorated with dark blue stones stands a prominent building different from the rest, built of decorative red brick. On its pointy coned shaped roof, a large cross rises and something entirely unexpected too, a large golden U. The first the symbol of Christianity, the other that of Utopianism. It appears to be a church and a place where both religions intertwine. A paradox in itself, one a religion that no longer exists in the Antarctic settlements, the other only meant to have come into existence in recent times. Here, they overlap, they are linked to one another.

  He feels strangely compelled to walk towards the red brick building before the last glimmers of light disappear. But when he tries to approach, he finds that he cannot control his movements. Stumbling forward, he finds himself in front of the church. He looks up to find a little girl with dark green eyes, in her small hands she clutches an orange-yellow stone. Looking at him lovingly, like a daughter does to her father, she also looks terrified - a lone tear rolls down her cheek.

  He bends down to give her a kiss on the cheek, only for a blast to knock them both to the ground. Now, he lies on the floor, inside the church, holding her limp and lifeless body in his arms, her eyes glazed over and blank. VanWest feels a cold chill running down his spine, overwhelmed by grief and horror. He feels utterly helpless - unable to move.

  As he stares mournfully into her eyes, the scene fragments and the green plants turn to ash; the capsule pods are charred and twisted. He realises he is watching a painful memory not quite his own. There’s a voice calling to him, ‘wake up’. It repeats again. The scene changes once more, with him trying to shift a heavy slab back over a hole, just about fitting it into place before another blast of light disintegrates everything.

  Chapter 3 There is Honour Among Enforcers

  Dr VonHelmann arrives in Mid-City, Queen Elizabeth, along with Pretoria, the settlement’s NEA rebel leader. His wounds have been mostly healed whilst in the hovercar, but his 700-year-old body remains very fragile. NEA Intel confirms that Captain Kun-lee has indeed retreated inside the Enforcer HQ, as have most of his fellow Enforcers, now debating their next steps after Colonel Cornelius’s rallying cry and subsequent death at the hands of Dr King on Judgment Day.

  Hoping to broker a deal, Pretoria has instructed his fellow NEA rebels to avoid any engagement with the Enforcers; focusing their firepower instead on the patrol androids, Quadrotors and anything else machine-like. Having saved Captain Kun-lee during the Universal Games, VanWest has advised Dr VonHelmann to invoke the Code of Honour on his behalf to open talks between NEA and Enforcer. The Enforcers live and die by the Spartan system: one that emphasises discipline, endurance and duty. Honour between them transcends rank and must be respected. His call must be heard.

  Never has there been a greater opportunity, the Colonel’s death another confirmation that the Space Soldiers’ role is expanding. With their own role already reduced to that of patrolling larger Antarctic settlements, it would not take much to replace them entirely. Bringing with it an even more oppressive rule over the citizens - treated by the cold hand of the Soldier: their lives will become as grim as those in the prisoner colonies.

  The population already much smaller compared to the start of the third millennium, the only real need for citizens by the Universal Council is as a source of cheap labour. In many respects, they h
ave become a more disposable asset than cyborgs and machines. The second commandment and Enforcer’s motto: to work for the progression of man and the Universal Council, only ever applied to the Elites.

  Unbeknownst to Dr VonHelmann and Pretoria is that with Colonel Cornelius’s death and Commissioner Ming’s incursion in New Jersey, the academy’s professor Master Jiang has arrived to oversee operations in the capital, tasked with mobilising the Enforcers into ‘subduing’ the populace. This one-time Elite guard has been close to the Universal Council’s leadership for hundreds of years. He even partnered with Dr VonHelmann, when was still Head of Science, to test many of his inventions and recommend Enforcers for his experiments. Foremost a Universal Council loyalist and one of Dr King’s most trusted henchmen, he will obstruct any peace talks.

  Between the smouldering buildings, Dr VonHelmann and Pretoria can see the Enforcer HQ, surrounded and protected by its own forcefield. With no other way to enter, Dr VonHelmann decides on the brazen move of simply walking up to the perimeter and requesting to speak to Captain Kun-lee. His reasoning that with Earth’s insurrection growing, the Enforcers are at a disadvantage and don’t want to attract any attention, well at least not yet. With the Space Army amassing, there’s no time to dither. For Earth’s Resistance Army (EaRA) to succeed, he needs the wavering Enforcers on his side.

  Dr VonHelmann tells Pretoria, ‘Dear friend, I must go to the forcefield. There, I will ask for this Captain Kun-lee’.

  ‘Me make there too, talk for NEA’, Pretoria replies firmly, as keen to strike a deal. ‘NEA, Enforcer make peace. Too much death already’.

  ‘Very well, let us trust and go together’! Upon which Dr VonHelmann embraces him by the hand and elbow.

  * * * * *

  Both unarmed, Pretoria helps a frail Dr VonHelmann to the outer perimeter of the HQ, its forcefield around 100 yards away. Fortunately, the way there is relatively calm, and the black smoke keeps them hidden from the occasional patrol android and Quadrotor that whizzes overhead. Standing guard in this section are four heavily armed Enforcers, having already zoomed in on them, they look shocked to identify the doctor, or ‘Mad Newton’ as they have come to know him. Unsure how to react and expecting a trap, they move cautiously forward to intercept by assuming a defensive square formation. As they do so, an Enforcer watchtower swings around to point a heavy mounted Plasma blaster.

  ‘Halt’! One yells, his plasma rifle pointing at their heads, and its orange light blinding.

  Waaahhhh! A siren follows. Its screech forcing them to their knees as they instinctively try to cover their ears. Before Dr VonHelmann can even ask to see Captain Kun-lee, the lead Enforcer throws on each an Electrolock, imprisoning them and leaving them spasming and unable to talk. Ranked a sergeant, Chang’s primary task is to guard the base, and he’s not interested in talking. The other Enforcers stand guard, expecting other ‘hostiles’ to come next as the Sergeant drags his captives to the inner perimeter of the base, where more Enforcers wait on full alert.

  Pretoria and Dr VonHelmann’s bodies continue to spasm as they are dragged through a narrow door and taken to separate holding cells. Similar in design to those of the Interrogator’s on the SCC-400, the cells are square and surrounded by red pulsating laser bars. Thrown inside, their bodies hit the concrete floor with a loud thud. Out of the dozens of cells lining the cold corridor, theirs are the only ones occupied: the Enforcers clearly not keen to hold any citizen or rebel for fear of reprisal - Dr VonHelmann’s incarceration bringing much tension to an HQ seeking to keep a low profile as they decide on their next steps.

  Having hoped to call on Captain Kun-lee at the perimeter, to invoke the Code of Honour all they can do now is wait. Free of the Electrolock they sit with their legs crossed, trying to remain as calm as possible. Mentally preparing themselves for whatever may come next. It takes several long hours before Sergeant Chang returns, this time flanked by an anxious-looking Captain Dell. With his Electrolock at the ready once again, it looks like they are to be moved. Pretoria looks over at Dr VonHelmann, mouthing ‘make strong’ as the pulsating red bars fade.

  Dr VonHelmann reacts quicker this time, taking this opportunity to shout at them, his voice hoarse, ‘Captain Kun-lee, I call on the Code of Honour on behalf of Captain VanWest’!

  But it falls on deaf ears, Sergeant Chang restrains him once again in an Electrolock, and he spasms terribly. They do the same to Pretoria, taking them both to the elevator and up to the command deck of the HQ. Its panoramic views showing the whole capital blanketed in black smoke and most of its buildings destroyed. Whilst relieved to find a nervous-looking Captain Kun-lee standing in the middle of the room, they are more startled to find Master Jiang there too. His black eyes scowling at them both.

  The communication station’s holoscreen brings two of the highest-ranking Enforcers into the room: Colonel Mason of ColaBeers and Colonel Mathieu of Ellsworth. Mercifully, Master Jiang takes the decision to release them from the Electrolocks, leaving them on their knees and Captain Dell’s plasma rifle trained on them.

  Captain Dell announces, ‘Sergeant Chang captured Mad Newton and a helper at the perimeter’. Prompting the NEA leader to reply, in an indignant voice, ‘My name, PRETORIA’!

  Master Jiang looks amused and replies, ‘Pretoria! Oh my, we thought you were long dead’. Adding sarcastically, ‘Wow, the NEA leader has come to welcome me to Queen Elizabeth, what a treat! To what do I owe the pleasure’?

  ‘You cannot make me dead’! Pretoria says proudly.

  ‘Well, that’s not so true anymore, is it’? Master Jiang replies with a wry smile, causing Captain Dell and Sergeant Chang to snigger. However, Captain Kun-lee remains silent, watching unamused. This small act of insubordination does not go unnoticed by Master Jiang, who gives him a derisory look. The correct behaviour is to fawn over their masters, laugh at their jokes. But, after the killings in the Colosseum on Judgment Day, Kun-lee does not want to see anyone else being executed.

  He’s not alone, Colonel Mathieu watching via the holoscreen interjects and asks both captives a question, ‘Do you come in peace’?

  ‘Silence! Colonel Mathieu you would be wise to remember the commandments and your command line’, Master Jiang replies angrily, for he is the highest-ranked of all and he chooses who can speak.

  Being nearly mockingly submissive, Colonel Mathieu replies with a small bow, ‘Apologies Master Jiang, may I beg your permission to speak’.

  Observing Colonel Mathieu willingness to listen, Dr VonHelmann addresses him directly, ‘Colonel, we call the Code of Honour… For VanWest saved Captain Kun-lee at the Universal Games’.

  Ha-ha! This time only Master Jiang laughs. Captain Kun-lee looks over at the Colonels expectantly, wanting them to reply on his behalf. This is ‘Honour’, it must be respected. It cannot be overruled, especially if it is not deemed to violate the Universal Council’s commandments.

  This prompts Colonel Mathieu to reply, in open defiance of Master Jiang, he feels compelled to listen to this request, ‘Is this true, is there honour’?

  Master Jiang hectors again, ‘Silence! Your insubordination smacks of treason. There IS no honour reserved for this deviant. His execution will soon be broadcasted, made an example of. All those who defy the Universal Council will be destroyed’!

  Captain Kun-lee summons the courage to speak up, he cannot standby any longer, ‘Master Jiang, honour is at stake. Without it, we are nothing’.

  Sensing that he is losing control, Master Jiang reacts aggressively and grabs Kun-lee’s throat, ‘Are you trying to tell me, you to be a deviant and traitor like the Colonel and VanWest’? And then signals for Captain Dell to turn his rifle on Kun-lee.

  ‘Stop’! Dr VonHelmann tries to bring calm, ‘Captain VanWest saved his life in the Universal Games, the favour must be returned. Master Jiang… we merely ask to talk freely without thy retribution’.

  Colonel Mathieu agrees, ‘There is enough chaos out there, we don’t need it in here. Let's talk… no
commandment is defied by talking’.

  Captain Dell stares at both in utter confusion, unsure what to do and who to obey, his rifle trembling. Captain Kun-lee bravely repeats, ‘Master… there IS honour’.

  An incensed Master Jiang commands, ‘Captain, do OBEY your master’!

  A communication interrupts the tense stand-off, Commissioner Ming’s 4D hologram appearing in front. Dr VonHelmann and Pretoria decide it best to not speak and look to the floor, heads bowed. Having heard of their capture, he looks pleased, ‘Congratulations on capturing Mad Newton, be sure to execute him promptly, be sure to broadcast it to all’!

  Wanting to look in control, Master Jiang opts to not their argument and stand-off, in particular Colonel Mathieu’s defiance, ‘Of course. We shall do so’!

  Commissioner Ming tone though becomes more foreboding, ‘Be sure to do so with haste. Enforcers as re-affirmation of the commandments, the progression of man and the Universal, MUST retake the streets and pave the way for the return of the Space Soldiers. They will hold the settlements and prevent more insurrections’.

  ‘They will hold the settlements’ is not a careless slip, rather it’s an open declaration that the role of the Space Soldiers is expanding. The Commissioner continues, ‘Be sure to remember who you serve! Do not disgrace the Universal Council further, like those weak-minded Enforcers’, referring to Colonel Cornelius and Captain VanWest.

  In a hurry to return to his own mission, the incursion into New Jersey, the communication ends abruptly.

  With the room distracted and only Sergeant Chang’s rifle trained on him, Pretoria deems it best to act and not wait for the discussion to resume. He throws one of his large fists back, knocking the Sergeant’s plasma rifle to the floor and the other straight into Captain Dell’s jaw before he can turn. Dr VonHelmann drops his frail body over the Sergeant’s rifle, the best he can do to help as Pretoria delivers another hard fist into Dell’s face, knocking him onto his backside.