The Present

by Kenneth Thomas

  Method A grabs Dr VonHelmann’s arm before he goes, ‘I don’t trust you, crazy doctor. Jerseyan world is world of warriors. You not gonna change it’!

  Dr VonHelmann only replies with a satisfied smirk as they depart to join the combined fleet of the EaRA. With only twenty cargo ships damaged in the successful incursion of Manhattan, an eclectic fleet 801 strong goes to Mars.

  - 250 NEA-Utopian Battleships - Houston and Pretoria

  - 300 Up-armoured Cargo Ships - Method A and Sista Pee

  - 250 Enforcer Patrolships - Captain Kun-lee

  - SCC-40 piloted by Lt. Colonel Wang - Dr VonHelmann

  Dr VonHelmann returns to the SCC-40, and Method A to Sista Pee’s up-armoured cargo ship. The EaRA leaving together to confront and destroy the Space Army. However, Dr VonHelmann has not shared another piece of news from VanWest. Although a boon for the resistance, he does not want to explain the green energy shield. Left with the stark choice of being killed or being the killer, he committed the genocide of the Martians. Taking from them Utopianism, a bastardised version of Groene Utopie - adding his own commandments to lead a rebellion on Earth.

  Suppressing any morsel of guilt, he justifies it all as part of the bigger picture: restoring the Utopia lost and building a new world shaped by him. His haste to Mars is not only about going to support his daughter Iris, LeSouris and VanWest; he knows he must act fast to minimise any risk of this secret being exposed. His focus is on the success of his ‘New Beginning’, he will do anything it takes to achieve it his ‘New Beginning’. Dr VonHelmann seeks to become the leader of all Utopians, ultimately of everything.

  After the Commissioner’s death and the energy shield expanding, VanWest’s attention returns to reuniting with Iris and LeSouris. Having not heard from them or the voices of his clones, he can only but hope they are safe in the Universal Council’s Martian base.

  Chapter 17 A Trip Down Memory Lane

  Thanks to President Van der Westhuizen’s final act of hiding the energy source, VanWest has been able to reawaken it half a millennia later. The green energy shield continues to spread, revitalising the air and soil. This life source releases with it the stored memories of the Martians. So many it overawes VanWest’s mind as he tries to focus on finding a path back to the Universal Council’s base. He MUST find Iris and LeSouris. With no transporter, he decides his best bet is to return to where he first arrived, geolocation 7-78.

  Despite all her father has done, his sweet Iris is not to blame for any of it - unaware of his crimes. He does not know what he will say or do if he finds Iris, these memories would only destabilise the EaR and work to Dr King’s advantage. Grabbing the cowering and dumbfounded Interrogator by the scuff of the neck, he drags him to his feet and forces him to walk back with him. VanWest still thinks he could prove useful, taking this opportunity to try his academy taught ‘technique of overloading’ to retrieve some valuable intel - anything that could help.

  ‘How many Space Soldiers are there on Mars? Do you know where their ships are? Are their weapons in the base’? VanWest grabs his arm and twists, ‘Any weapons? How many spaceships in the base’?

  The Interrogator would normally not be someone easy to interrogate but, exhausted, he capitulates faster than expected, muttering at first unintelligible words, ‘Old, old ship-ss, cannon-cannon on top of mount-tain’.

  A cannon, this could prove useful! A notification interrupts his interrogation, there is a message on his Quantum Communicator, My Love. In 7-78. Come Quick. It is his sweet Iris! VanWest is overjoyed but concerned too by this word Quick. He messages back, Affirmative. 01:00:00. Quick?

  VanWest waits for her reply, but there is none. With renewed urgency, he ushers the Interrogator onwards. The settlement continues to transform around them as they hurry; the fine red sand turning, rich and brown, into soil. But there are more than just memories in this ruin, he feels that they are being watched. Each capsule building in Cydonia destroyed by the Universal Council - he sees their horrific end. Not just homes, but so too the elementary school, the many high street shops, the hospital. Nothing has been deemed sacred and untouchable - all targeted.

  Behind each ruin and street corner, VanWest senses spirits of the dead - whispering. This whole settlement a graveyard, the streets full of murdered Martians. Their beings are somehow tied to this green energy that grows ever larger and out from the Church. They recognise the Interrogator belongs to the Universal Council as they read his thoughts, their anger immense as he passes. A wind blows lowly through the air, within which, VanWest can hear a word being repeated, ‘Moor...de...naar... moor... de...naar... murderer’.

  VanWest looks at the Interrogator, his eyes are leaking an oily black liquid, and he is struggling to breathe. Having ignored his earlier whimpering, VanWest stops to help, but the spirits attack, bloody lines crisscross the Interrogator’s skin. The word ‘murderer’ screamed by even more voices, their anger only growing. Unsure what to do, he picks him up and carries him over his shoulder as he runs towards geolocation 7-78 to escape.

  Deathly howls follow. VanWest can see their final thoughts: some watching helplessly as their loved ones perish before them, others hopelessly trying to escape even though they can foresee their own deaths. Their beings forever attached to this green energy, its reactivation bringing their spirits back after hundreds of years.

  The spirits though do not follow, seemingly rooted in place. But every corner and street brings new memories. Not all are terrible, the next street having been packed with market stalls, the smell and colour of their produce so vibrant and bold, many holding fruit and vegetables that he never has tasted, including sweet, red strawberries already extinct on Earth by the 24th century - unable to grow due to its radioactive and polluted atmosphere. On Mars, however, they grew in abundance.

  Between the horror and the anger, he can see the happiness, the children playing on the streets that he now runs through. There is genuine warmth and friendliness between each neighbour, what a cheerful existence it once was; no crime, no Quadrotors, no locked doors, no fear. He wonders if this was Groene Utopie itself right here - these Martians had it. As he runs, he catches up with the expanding green energy, passing through it the atmosphere instantly changes to that before. The spirits are gone and the air harder to breathe - still not that of Mars but akin to Antarctica. His Moggle X updates, he has returned to geolocation 7-78.

  Hurrying back to where he came from, he senses that there is something new beyond the hill. He places the Interrogator on the sandy ground, his body having become limp and lifeless. And tiptoes to the top to get a better vantage point. The air beyond is hazy, the sand sweeping upwards into a spiral. In-between, he can make out vague objects flying lowly, coming from the direction of Alba Mons, moving like a snake in a long line - it slithers. His psychic sense magnifies the face of Lt. Colonel Omega. He comes for the Church, the source of the green energy.

  Outside of geolocation 7-77, the memories quieten, and he can once again hear the clones; however, he cannot understand their words. There is no mention of Iris and LeSouris in-between their chatter. The haze clears enough for him to confirm the identity of the objects - they are Space Soldiers. Their vehicles are similar to the Enforcer’s BoeingHawk gliders, those he used in Queen Elizabeth to raid the Utopian’s secret bunker under the cockroach farm. Stopping Dr VonHelmann’s first attempt at a New Beginning, to change the past.

  Whilst the green energy shield appears indestructible, he is also aware that this is not the 24th century anymore, the Council’s spaceships have evolved, they are much more superior than those in the time of the Grand Council. The ‘cannon’ that the Interrogator revealed could be of critical importance.

  As he looks, VanWest hears the sweet hum of the decorative box again, he turns to find that the green energy is upon him, having expanded all this way into geolocation 7-78. It quickly passes through him, the air becoming more breathable and the red sand revitalising. The spirits return with it, in this area,
he sees the farmworkers and Martians that had fled the settlement. He checks on the Interrogator, not only is he dead but his eyes have been removed, his sockets hollowed - having been gouged out.

  A vision crosses his mind of Lt. Colonel Omega disappearing - being erased. He turns back to find that the green energy has removed the haze in front. Curiously, he can no longer see anyone approaching. Walking to where he last saw the Space Soldier’s glider, he finds that the sand here too has turned to soil, in it are minuscule red fragments. He nearly jumps back - these are remains!

  Looking at his arms, he realises that there are scratch marks on his skin, though not as deep and vicious as the Interrogator’s. The spirts question him, recognising him as a Martian but angered too by his presence. The little girl’s scream of ‘you killed us’ plays in his mind. President Van der Westhuizen’s openness, or ‘Martian gullibility’ as Dr Schuurman called it, a factor in their demise; having elected and trusted him to make the right choices, some are not so forgiving.

  A broken voice calls to him, this is not from the clones, ‘VanWest, Van-West’!

  He turns to find from where it originates - his sweet Iris, terrified and scared, having crawled out from under a rock, ‘Oh VanWest’!

  VanWest runs and grabs her in an embrace, ‘My sweet, are you ok’?

  Iris shakes her head, ‘We waited in 7-78 for you, the Space Soldiers were coming, and then they disappeared! Angry voices started shouting to me, calling me VonHelmann and a word I could not understand - moor-de-naar’.

  ‘My sweet, do not worry, you have nothing to fear’.

  As he comforts her, he hears that his name is being called again, VanWest, this time it comes from the clones. They are close. LeSouris comes crawling out from another rock and grabs VanWest’s in a strong hug, ‘My friend, praise be’!

  ‘You too, my friend’, VanWest awkwardly hugging him back. LeSouris has been left untouched by the spirits, his experience only of hiding, ‘Soldiers go poof! So strange’! Keen to understand what is happening, LeSouris asks, ‘This green light, you knew all along’?

  VanWest! He looks up to see a small number of ships flying in the air, coming from the direction of Alba Mons. These are spaceships from a bygone era, maybe even those who attacked the Martians. Dark and clunky looking with gun turrets stuck onto its side, they resemble more the NEA’s battleships than the current Universal standard. The BV73 clones must have found the disused spaceships that the Interrogator told him about. Passing through the green light, they joyfully call his name again, VanWest. They have overcome the remaining Space Soldiers in the base.

  As VanWest helps Iris to her feet, a long black ship about half the size of the SCC-400 decloaks above them. It transports them all inside and into the command deck, the signage above the controls reads SCC-001. It is the first model, a prototype of the hyper-modern SCC series. Indeed, so effective that three hundred and ninety-nine ships more of this type were made afterwards.

  A BV73 clone stands by the holomap. Mute, he seems to blank LeSouris and Iris, only able to communicate by transference to VanWest, from mind-to-mind. The hologram switches on, showing 10 of these old spaceships stretching from Cydonia to Alba Mons. It also shows where the green energy shield has expanded to, now covering Alba Mons and the Council’s base. Any remaining Space Soldier expunged.

  This BV73 clone is thinking exactly what he is thinking, searching for the Space Army and Dr King, who he calls bad man. Anticipating a reaction. Most of the spaceships are transportation vessels, but there is one super-advanced spaceship in-between, a MajorLaser series, MLS-10, in addition to the SCC-001. Both the earliest examples of their class. VanWest had only heard unsubstantiated reports of the MLS’s production. Said to the fastest and most deadly spacecraft ever created, in fact so fast that whomever it engaged would not even see their own death coming. Furthermore, the ship is very small, nimble. It holds so many short-range weapons, perfect for citizen control in the settlements and larger mining colonies: very much outmatching any NEA battleship.

  The clones fleet is as follows:

  - 8 spaceships - bygone era transporters

  - MLS-10 (MajorLaser series) - prototype for latest and most advanced class

  - SCC-001 (SuperCivil class) - prototype for Elite transporters

  VanWest can hear all those at the helm, a BV73 clone leading each. The BV73 piloting his ship, the SCC-001, coordinates all, so skilled he can fly it with just his mind. VanWest hugs a still shaken and confused Iris to comfort her. But she speaks, only to scold him, ‘So many voices, we had to run after having waited so very long for you’! Following his coordinates and message, it seems Iris and LeSouris followed shortly to 7-78 after VanWest transported there along with the Interrogator.

  LeSouris takes a moment to gain his bearings and get some much-need water capsules from the ship’s HyperCreator machine before coming over to speak with VanWest, ‘My friend! Praise that you are alive and well! We thought we lost you in the transporter. But I ask… This green light… What is it’?

  Still coming to terms with all the Martian memories, including a feeling of sadness and guilt on behalf of Van der Westhuizen, he thinks it best to not over-explain what it is: a life force, ‘I found the Martian defences, an energy shield’.

  LeSouris grabs his arm and elbow, the NEA embrace, ‘Praise be! See why to trust in Utopia! It rewarded us’. His attention next turns to their mission, ‘My friend, we kill Doctor King next, yes’? VanWest nods, the doctor ever so elusive.

  VanWest collects two jelly-like capsules of water and brings one to Iris, but still shaking, she is unable to hold the capsule steady and drops it on the floor. The spirits have left her bewildered, ‘How did they know I was VonHelmann? Why were they angry’?

  Whilst Iris knows of the Council’s many horrible deeds, she does not know that her father personally carried out the atrocity on Mars. An atrocity that likely won him promotion to Head of Science shortly afterwards. VanWest decides now is not the time to discuss, and he gives his capsule of water to her. After drinking, she leaves to the ship’s Hypershere pod to get some rest and recharge. VanWest’s mind turns back to Dr King, like his clones he senses him and his Space Army watching, plotting.

  Alarming images shoot through his mind of Universal spaceships, pushing back the shield - a forewarning. He had worried how the shield would fair against the modern spaceships of the year 3000. He checks his Quantum Communicator for more messages, hoping that the news he shared of the Commissioner’s death will rally and bring the NEA and Enforcers to Mars, but there is nothing new.

  He instructs his clones and LeSouris, ‘We must get in touch with the EaR as well as pinpoint the Space Army’s location’.

  ‘Already on it, my friend’, LeSouris answers, the clone nods - bad Space Army.

  LeSouris has already installed himself at the communication station, he tries to reach EaR, hacking his way through the jamming devices to get intel and reach his NEA contacts, Houston and Pretoria. VanWest also wants to know the exact size and strength of the Space Army’s armada that comes. Travelling from all across the solar system and even beyond, most would have reached Mars by now. 3 days have passed since their call to come together.

  ‘My friend. You have special kind of psychic sense, yes’? LeSouris asks VanWest inquisitively. Wondering if it can help him with focusing his search.

  VanWest hesitates, he has not spoken about it in detail before, ‘I’m not sure what it is… In times of imminent danger, I have a feeling, sometimes visions. It is stronger here on this planet, but it is not fully under my control… It is hard to explain’.

  ‘Do you know what lies beyond this green light? How large their fleet is’? LeSouris asks.

  ‘I am wondering about the very same question’. Sharing an ominous warning, his tone darker, ‘I know that Doctor King is watching us. Preparing to attack’.

  ‘My word! This green light not suffice’? LeSouris replies, looking very worried. He had assumed the green en
ergy shield was impenetrable, especially after seeing it pulverise Lt. Colonel Omega so quickly over the red sand.

  ‘I do not know… We should wait under it until we get another message’, VanWest advises, concealing his worry that the shield may not be strong enough. Trying to lighten the mood, he jokes, ‘Try not to give them a fright with your fishy gills if you get through to Pretoria and Houston’!

  ‘What do you mean’? LeSouris asks, having forgotten about his Jerseyan fish-like gills, a mishap of teleporting with the Magicbox after his DNA had been altered. He ripostes, ‘Oh you funny man, funny, funny psychic man’!

  The BV73 clones search as well - highlighting large areas of interference they believe masks spaceships beyond Mars’s orbit, but are unable to confirm. LeSouris offers an ejaculatory pray before returning to his work, ‘Let us trust in Utopia, all will be fine. Praise be’.

  VanWest nods and leaves for a pod to have a powernap, exhausted from all he has done, seen and remembered today. However, with his mind so alert, closing his eyes only lets him see more clearly what is to come, Dr King in the SCC-400 looking at a much larger holomap containing hundreds of red dots, some of great size clustering together. His mind shifts to another spaceship, here the Space Army’s Four-star General Vladimir is directing the coming together of something powerful, a great energy of their own. He points at a spot on the holomap of Mars’s surface, 7-77, that of Cydonia and the church.

  VanWest rouses, distressed by what he has seen, he hurries back to the command deck. His vision confirming his fears, the Space Army targets the energy source. A rested Iris and bleary-eyed LeSouris greet him, they have been working together to make contact with the EaR, Dr VonHelmann and Pretoria. However, with little progress.

  VanWest checks his Quantum Communicator, he announces ‘I have news’.

  He puts it on the communication station’s screen, there is good news to share: The EaRA Come To Mars. Jerseyans, Free Enforcers, NEA-Utopians.