Reboot

by Larry Buenafe

  Mr. Kane sat back in his chair, the smile gone from his face. “I… I’m not sure what to say. Of course, you are our guests, not prisoners, so you can leave if you wish. I know this will disappoint the scientists you have worked with. During your brief time here, your presence and creativity have reinvigorated their work, and have even led to new discoveries. Dr. Walker, I know you were interested in our ongoing fusion work, and we were hoping you might have some ideas that would help in that endeavor. What can we do to change your mind?”

  “I don’t think you understand, Kane. We need… scratch that. I need to go back to the nation. I have a lot to offer, but not ‘til I get my mind straight. Gettin’ kidnapped’ll do that to ya, I reckon. We’ve all agreed, we go as a group. All except Chi and Lukey. They still got a job to do, and they have a plan, so we need to get outta the way and let them get to it. We’ve come to know that between the three of them, Lukey, Chi, and Ava, there’s hardly a thing they can’t do.”

  Mr. Kane stood and paced around the table. “How do you intend to return to the nation’s home? As we have seen, the Americans have a presence practically everywhere in the west. I believe we could keep you safe between here and the nation cavern, but we could not keep its location hidden.”

  Benji grinned and glanced at the faces of his friends. “That’s all right, mate. We already decided; we’re goin’ walkabout. There’s a trail on the east side through the outback, far away from roads or pryin’ eyes. It’ll take us a couple ‘a days, but some rellies from the nation’ll pick us up about halfway, no worries. And, so no one sees us, we’ll piss off in the middle of the night. I know ya got a secret way out in here, and not the one that takes us up to the top a’ this hill, eh?”

  Mr. Kane’s smile returned, and he flopped down into his seat. “Of course, I do. I may be many things, but a fool is not one of them. I must say, based on all the problems I’m confronting at the moment, I’m tempted to go ‘walkabout’ with you.”

  That brought chuckles from all around the table. “Well, if you’ve made your decision and I can’t change your mind, you’ll leave tonight, then?”

  Everyone nodded, and Benji said, “I reckon that settles it, mate.”

  “I assume you know that Lucas and Ms. Kim will be leaving today rather than tomorrow, and that you’d like to see them off?”

  Again, there were nods all around, and Mr. Kane said, “Very well, then. Lucas, Ms. Kim, gather up everything you’ll be needing and we’ll meet back here in thirty minutes.”

  As we stood to leave, Benji said, “I been thinkin’ about the stability problem they’re havin’ with your fusion project, and I have a pretty good idea how to solve it.”

  “We have a similar experiment in New Zealand, but it’s a bit further along. I don’t suppose you would be willing to zip over there and lend a hand, would you?”

  “Not ‘til our boyo’s back safe, and his daddy too. Once that happens, I’ll go wherever ya need me.”

  “I’ll take that as a promise. Off with you now, we don’t have much time.”

  15

  DIRECTOR’S NOTES

  CONVERSATION WITH SVC

  121451 19:05

  -They’re leaving today? I thought they would do that. Element of surprise, get the lay of the land, all that. Do the Americans know?

  -It appears that no one knows, aside from (WK) and us. The word is that they’re not going straight to the airstrip in Brasilia, either. This is not one hundred percent verified, but it looks like they plan to bail out of the jet somewhere outside of Brasilia and glide in.

  -Dangerous, but clever. The kid’s got guts, I’ll give him that. Is the girl going with him again?

  -Not confirmed, but I would guess that she is. She’s smart and highly skilled.

  -If she’s so smart how did she get her arm blown off?

  -Even the smartest of us do stupid things in moments of stress. You of all people should know.

  -You really like to rub it in, don’t you? How was I supposed to know… never mind, let’s leave that in the past. Now, have the not at all euphemistically named extraction plan committee come up with anything yet?

  -Yes, there are a couple of proposals. Unfortunately, both are likely to result in massive loss of life, numbering in the hundreds if not thousands.

  -Yikes. Can’t we just buy off everyone at Area 51? They’d only have to look the other way for a few minutes. We could get a small VTOL in there and get him out in no time if he was in the open.

  -Or perhaps he could commandeer one of the alien craft they have in storage. That might be easier.

  -Okay, no need to get sarcastic. We’re in a real pickle here, and time is going by. Speaking of pickles…

  ****

  A s the rest of the group headed for our trailer, I sprinted toward Dr. Bhat’s lab. Avi greeted me at the door, saying, “Mr. Harutyunyan let me know you were on your way, and ten seconds later here you are! You must let me know how you can run so fast.”

  From inside the trailer came Dr. Bhat’s distinctive voice: “Avi, don’t dally. Lucas is in quite a rush.”

  She came to the door, looked deeply into my eyes for several seconds, and then smiled. “You are prepared, yes? Even with the best preparation come risks. Lucas, look at me.”

  I was looking at her, but I guessed that she meant to focus, so I did. She took my hands, and I did my best not to flinch. “Lucas, you will succeed. You must succeed. I have ‘seen’ that you are the way forward. You will save your father. I have ‘seen’ that as well. I don’t know how it will happen, but trust and believe that it will. Avi, get the engine.”

  She continued her intense gaze, hardly even blinking, until Avi returned. “As you can see, we have been working on some improvements, with Mardig’s help. Reduced the size even further, with no reduction in speed. Go now, Lucas, and come to me when you return. Not if, but when.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  After a few more seconds, she said, “Well, what are you waiting for? Off with you. I have work to do.” Then she winked and disappeared back into her lab.

  As I dashed back to our trailer, I glanced at the jet pack. Wow, it is smaller… a single engine, a little larger than the previous ones, but… the whole thing could fit in a backpack… not bad…

  I entered our trailer, and Benji, Mr. Harutyunyan, Ms. Houng, and Tarni all sat at the kitchen table. Benji stood and motioned for me to follow him down the hall to the first bedroom to the right. He motioned for me to sit next to him on the bed, and pulled out a notepad and pen, pointing up to the corners of the room. “Just in case,” he whispered. We’ll write down anythin’ we might not want others to hear, eh?”

  I nodded, and he began. “Lukey, I… I ain’t been myself lately. You heard me say all that stuff in Kane’s office, but I wanted ta say it directly to you. I gotta reboot, get back to the nation and get straight. Tarni’s been wantin’ ta head back almost from day one. She never said so, didn’t wanna make anyone feel bad. Mard and Minh, I think they’re a little more conflicted; they like the intellectual stimulation. I told ‘em they could stay and I’d join up with ‘em later, but they say we stick together, so there ya go. We’ve been hopin’ that this lot will help us get your daddy back, but except for Zoey Perez, Little Jimmie, Bhatty, and Tom and Barry, there ain’t much help here for us. Most a’ these hoons have their own problems, I reckon.”

  “What about Dr. Lazenbee? I thought she wanted to help, maybe even join up with us.”

  “Yeah, she did give ya that artificial gill mask, and that’ll help. Maybe we’ll reconnect somewhere down the line, but not now. Anyhow, I just wanted ta say I… I love ya, we all do. It’s tearin’ us up that you hafta go through all this.”

  He turned away and said nothing more for a few seconds. “I’d… I’d go in your place, any of us would. We wouldn’t stand a chance though; no one would but you. Okay, I reckon that’s enough a’ my blubberin’. Let’s get you outta here.”

  As we stood, I realized
that I should probably say something too. I covered my mouth and breathed, “Ava…”

  “Tell him you love him too, all of them. And that you’ll see them when you get back. And that with great power comes great responsibility. He’ll like that.”

  I repeated what Ava said, and Benji giggled. “Bloody Spiderman, eh? When did you start makin’ bloody jokes, ya larrikin? Good on ya, mate!” he cried, and smacked me on the back, getting a bit of a rebound from the contact. Spiderman? What the… oh, boy. Then Benji handed me a note. On it he had scribbled: Don’t trust Kane. Tell him as little as possible, and whatever you do tell him, do the opposite.

  His face was scrunched up, which I thought meant he was serious. I nodded, took the pad, and wrote: You’re not really going through the outback, are you?

  Through a broad grin, he said, “That’s my boy.”

  He took the notepad and wrote: I managed to get a couple of VTOLs for the nation a while back. They will fly in low and pick us up a few kilometers east of here. No one will see them coming. Then he patted me on the back, softer this time.

  We strolled back into the main room of the trailer, everyone rose for a group hug, and again I did my best to not flinch or pull back from their arms. In the middle of the hug, Cheri came out of the first bedroom with her bag, and said, “Hey, how do I get in on this deal?”

  Mr. Harutyunyan reached out one massive arm and pulled her in, where we remained for a few more moments. I turned to Cheri, and she said, “Are you ready?”

  “Sure. How about you?”

  “Oh, it’s a walk in the park for me. I’m just going for the scenery.”

  After a round of chuckles, we headed back to Mr. Kane’s office, not feeling confident at all.

  16

  DIRECTOR’S NOTES

  CONVERSATION WITH SVC

  121451 22:08

  -Do we have the right dissidents in place?

  -Most of them are already there. More are coming from Rio and some from indigenous tribes, what’s left of them. They’ll be there by the time the kid arrives.

  -And the prison bribes?

  -Working on it now. It’ll take a couple of days to get the dissidents in order anyway, so we have time.

  -Does Oakes know the kid is coming a day early?

  -We have not informed him.

  -Good. Leave him in the dark. All this espionage is causing me to suspect everyone. By the way, can I see your identification?

  -…

  -You really can’t take a joke, can you? Has the kid left yet?

  -He’ll be leaving any minute. (WK) is seeing him and the girl off now.

  -Just imagine it. Being able to spread your arms and turn them into wings, then flying off like a bird. I like that thought. Maybe we’ll get to do that one day, too.

  -Shall I get the extraction plan committee to accelerate their time table?

  -You read my mind. And you know what else is on my mind? That’s right. Get someone to extract some snacks and accelerate them in here.

  ****

  W e entered the open elevator to the top of the Bright Hand hill through the secret door in Mr. Kane’s office and exited through the perfectly camouflaged boulder to the plateau looking out over the underbrush to the west. It was now afternoon, and the sun was beating down in a way that seemed almost aggressive; it felt good to me, gave me a jolt of energy. Not so much for everyone else. They stayed in the shade near the entrance as Cheri and I prepared; even though it felt like being in an oven, we would be flying high so we put on our black heat suits, mine baggy to accommodate my wings, and Cheri’s skin-tight. As usual, I turned away, embarrassed, and she said, “You will have to get over that one of these days, you know.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t think it will be today.”

  For some reason, that brought a laugh from everyone, even Mr. Kane.

  Then, one by one, all of my friends came up and gave Cheri and I kisses on the cheek, even Mr. Harutyunyan and Benji. I held myself still and closed my eyes so I wouldn’t pull away. It wasn’t too bad, though. Mr. Kane came forward and shook hands with both of us, and as he shook my hand, he leaned forward and whispered, “I’ll do everything I can to clear the way for you, Lucas. You have my word.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Kane. I guess we’ll see you in a few days.”

  We snapped on our helmets and made sure the re-breathers were working, then got Cheri into her harness, strapped our bags below her, and I extended my arms out into glider wings.

  “Oi, I’ll never get used to seein’ that. Careful, Lukey, Chi,” said Benji, his voice cracking. Cheri lifted her feet and I sprinted for the edge of the plateau, and this time Ava kicked the jet engine on just as we got to it, so we didn’t have the scary drop we had the last time.

  “Thanks, Ava,” I whispered.

  “Piece of cake, can of corn, sonny boy. Kick on your heads-up display and let’s keep our eyes on the prize.”

  Oh, boy… the only thing I understood was heads-up display…

  I did as she said, and a route to the secret air strip appeared, superimposed on the view I had out of my darkened helmet face shield. “Are you doing okay?” I called into Cheri’s ear-hole as she dangled from the harness below me.

  “Great! It’s a little harder to hang on with one hand, but I’m good. Let’s open this baby up!”

  “Okay, Ava, you know what to do. Higher and faster!”

  I watched the speed as we accelerated, and soon we were at four hundred-forty KPH, and nine hundred meters high. “Ava, at this speed we’ll be there in, let’s see… thirty-five minutes?”

  “We should touch down in thirty-three minutes, eighteen seconds, unless we hit a bird or something. Make sure Chi’s re-breather is on; we will need to climb a little more to get over these hills.”

  Up we went, and the air definitely got thinner and colder, but soon we were past the peaks and the air strip loomed in the distance, in its natural bowl beneath the surrounding hills. We circled once, cut our engine, glided in for a short, running landing, and the pilot whisked us onto the waiting corporate jet.

  “That was a faster trip than the last one,” Cheri said as we stowed our bags. “I didn’t get sick at all.”

  Halfway to South Africa for our refueling stop, Ava said, “Famous last words.” By that time, Cheri had already barfed twice.

  “Man, I think my missing arm has thrown off my equilibrium,” she groaned, reaching for the airsickness bag again. “Don’t you ever feel sick?”

  “No, I… I hadn’t thought about it, but I never feel sick or dizzy or even tired.”

  After she finished retching into her bag, she gasped and said, “How long do I have to wait before I get one of those bodies? I’m getting sick of being sick.”

  “When… when we get my dad back, we’ll ask him. He could at least make you a new arm. Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. My dad and Benji, and Ava too, have told me a lot about how the US is but I still don’t understand. I lived there my whole life, or what I can remember of it, anyway, and it didn’t seem that bad to me. I know there were problems, like tons of homeless people everywhere, but… maybe I was just too young to know what was going on, or my parents sheltered me from it. Why would they think it’s okay to kidnap my dad and force me to do all this stuff? What would make them think it was okay to bomb a whole neighborhood like they did in Pakistan? And the two-day war with Mexico. Benji told me about that one, where they bombed all the Mexican border cities. There are probably lots of other examples that I don’t know about, and I don’t think I want to know. Why? Why would they think it’s okay to do all that?”

  Cheri looked down and smiled, but it was weird; I got the feeling that she wasn’t smiling because she was happy, but because of some other emotion. My mom used to tell me that sometimes people smile when they really are sad or embarrassed or nervous or even mad, and I could never understand why they would do that. Looking at Cheri, though, I guessed this was one of those times.

  “Was that the hardest
question you could ask? Come on, you can do better. How about why does the universe exist? Give me a real challenge.”

  She drew in a deep breath and blew it out through her nose; she wasn’t smiling anymore. “One thing to remember is we’re not really talking about the American people, at least most of them. They’re the same as people anywhere else: some good, some bad, lots of in-between. Your family and my family, because they were both educated and mostly successful, could see the worst of what was happening, but we weren’t experiencing it first-hand, so I guess we were lucky that way. Although it all moved a lot faster after the Pacific Tsunami, it had been building for a long time. The Meta worked to convince everyone that they should fear or feel superior to people from other parts of the world, even while they were living on the street in tents, and that has been going on basically forever. All the non-stop propaganda was designed to have that effect, and it worked. I should know, because my parents are part of that machine.”

  “Don’t they own a security company or something?”

  “It’s not a security company, it’s the security company. They’re as big a part of The Meta as anyone; they’re how I learned about it and realized I wanted to get out. You can’t blame the American people, or at least the vast majority of them. Most of them can’t even see the problem because they were born and bred into it. It seems normal to them; in fact, they can’t understand why other countries don’t see things their way. Some of them know, of course. There are pockets of resistance all over the place, but most people are too busy trying to survive to think about anything else.