Tabula Rasa

by Filip Forsberg

  André nodded thoughtfully and showed a dazzling smile.

  “Oh yeah, that’s actually the least problem.” He winked.

  “But it's better if I don’t say more now. It is more interesting once you arrive and experience Tabula Rasa on your own.”

  *

  Disko Bay, Greenland

  2048-12-26

  Raddick's arm was locked between Jonathan and the powerful man and all three stumbled backwards. Jonathan pushed off with his legs, and they fell down in a big pile. In the fall, the powerful man got underneath and the knife plunged even further into his body and with his dying breath, the thick fingers tore in Jonathan's neck like living pieces of steel. The long fingernails ripped and tore at his skin.

  Jonathan screamed, threw his head back and felt how the nose was crushed on the other and life left the man with a gurgling sound.

  Raddick beat feverishly to get loose. He managed to pull his arm back and quickly got on his feet with the bloody knife stretched out in front of him. Jonathan rolled away on the hard ground and came up two meters in front of Raddick. The powerful man laid on the ground. His shirt was soaked with dark red blood. Only the whites appeared in his eyes. Raddick spit.

  “You bastard. I’ll kill you.”

  “Come up with something new to say.” Jonathan answered tiredly and slid gently to the side and opened some distance between himself and Raddick. The pulse in his ears sounded like a drum. His breathing was jerky and hard. The fight had lasted less than a minute but the power in him was already draining. The rain had eased but the stones were still dangerously slippery.

  The knife flashed in Raddick’s hand. Jonathan twisted his body and when the knife came against his stomach, he bent his leg and kicked. The kick hit the underside of Raddick's arm and the knife fell to the ground. Raddick shouted and took a quick step to the side. His arm was hanging loosely at his side. It seemed to be broken. Raddick’s face was contorted in a grimace.

  “You bastard, I’ll cut your heart out.”

  Jonathan's body reacted to the adrenaline flowing through his veins. The belt which he had pulled around his arm had come loose and slipped off. Thick, liquid blood oozed from the wound, but there was no pain.

  Gently he raised his hand and touched it and his fingers became sticky with blood. Raddick charged and tried to end the fight. He began hitting short, small quick jabs with his still functioning arm while the broken one flopped wildly. Raddick aimed at Jonathan's midfield and moved towards him. Jonathan was surprised by the violent attack and blocked it as best he could, but even if Raddick had one arm out of play, he was still a dangerous opponent.

  Raddick’s muscles danced under his shirt and he hammered hard against Jonathan's stomach. Jonathan threw his head forward and tried to head-butt Raddick but missed. Raddick went on and Jonathan slapped in desperation with his hands against Raddick’s head. He hit both ears simultaneously and Raddick screamed and staggered backward.

  Jonathan felt a metallic taste in his mouth, spit and saw blood. The hair was glued to his forehead. Blood ran from one of the corner of his mouth down the chin and he leaned to the side where the kidney had taken a beating. Raddick’s last working hand seemed to have swollen up in a few minutes and was now heavily enlarged. Jonathan smiled and pointed at it.

  “Maybe we should buy you one of those foam rubber fingers you have on basketball matches for your other hand. That would match what you already have.”

  He tried to get Raddick out of balance. Get him out of focus. Get him so angry that he would make a mistake. Raddick screamed.

  “You bastard! I will roast your heart over an open fire!”

  Jonathan responded with excessive sleepy voice.

  “Do you see any fire here, you idiot? If you did not notice it, it actually rains. If you haven’t learned that, it’s actually quite difficult to make a fire in the rain, bonehead. Haven’t you learned that at school?”

  He dragged it out, letting the sarcasm flow in every word he said.

  Raddick opened his mouth and tried to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. A strange, animalistic sound instead gurgled from his throat. His lips were pulled back and his teeth seemed to want to attack Jonathan on their own. He rushed forward like a locomotive, roaring, arms swinging wildly. The broken arm was used as a weapon and spun around in a surreal way in the air like a broken propeller. Jonathan threw himself down and kicked hard against Raddick as he came charging. He hit just above the left knee and a soft, disgusting crunching sound was heard. Raddick fell.

  Jonathan got up to his knees and looked toward Raddick. He laid whining on the side and struggled to get up. One of his leg seemed to be broken and blood slowly trickled from his crushed nose into his mouth. Raddick managed to get up, leaning against the stone wall and stared hatefully at Jonathan. Jonathan looked at him skeptically. An ordinary man would had remained on the ground with such injuries but Raddick said nothing but stared hatefully at Jonathan. Jonathan fingered his inner pocket and froze. The disc was gone. Raddick’s mouth was drawn into a sly smile.

  “Missing something?” He held the disc in his hand and waved teasingly with it. In all the chaos, he had somehow managed to get the disc. Jonathan's interior was filling with anger that poured into him but he tried remained calm.

  “Keep it. I'm in no hurry. I'll take it later.”

  “Is that so, later? I would give it to you later?”

  Raddick’s mouth contorted into a vicious smile.

  “Yes, you will. You do not know it yet.”

  “And how exactly would that happen?”

  “You see over there”, Jonathan turned slowly and pointed into the darkness. “Up there on the hill? There's a sniper rifle that has you right in its sights.”

  Raddick laughed hoarsely. The sound that came out was more like a wheezing.

  “You idiot. Do you really think I believe that?”

  “No, obviously not. It sounds ridiculous that he would not have shot you already.”

  Jonathan put his hand to the wound that was throbbing like a hammer hitting an anvil. The pain had burned off the adrenaline and now made itself felt.

  “But actually it’s so that I wanted to try and see if I could beat you man to man. That's why we agreed on a sign I would give if you got too strong.”

  “Really. And what sign was that?”

  Jonathan formed a V-sign with his left hand and stretched it high into the air.

  “This.”

  Raddick smiled grimly and looked at Jonathan and the night behind him. Nothing. Several seconds passed. Raddick’s smile widened. Within him, he knew it was not right. Raddick knew there was no one out there but for some reason he made the mistake of looking down at his bloody shirt for a fraction of a second to see if there was a laser marker.

  In that same second, Jonathan jumped into a tiger leap against Raddick and drove his knee into Raddicks crouch. Raddick’s smile froze when his manhood was crushed and the disc fell clattering to the ground.

  “You bastard.” He groaned and fell to his knees as he turned his head up towards Jonathan and glared hatefully at him. Jonathan's left arm was pounding with pain and his hands were wet with blood. He took a step forward.

  “It wouldn’t have had to be like this”, he said, and with a hard punch crushed Raddick's larynx.

  *

  Tabula Rasa, Madagascar.

  2048-12-26

  The helicopter began its gentle descend from its cruising altitude toward their destination. It bounced a couple of times during the descent, and both Malin and Denver held their breaths, hoping not for a repeat of their earlier adventure.

  On Malin's left hand was a ring she had received from her mother many years ago. The slender silver ring held a beautiful, deep green emerald. She had always treasured it. She fingered it as they approached the landing pad and the familiar feel of the ring calmed her. The previous experience had been enough excitement for both Malin and Denver, but at the same time as it ha
d been chaotic, both had been filled with a strange energy afterwards. It was as if their near death experience had made them more alive. Malin enjoyed every breath and how her body was filled with an inner, warm light. She peered out for the hundredth time through the window and gasped.

  In front of them, Tabula Rasa stretched out in its full splendor. She had read the reports that were made about it and similar mega complexes. She had visited a couple of Tabula Rasa's counterparts around the world but none of what she had seen could compare with this. The actual size of Tabula Rasa was much larger than anything she had previously seen.

  The helicopter was a couple of hundred meters above the entire complex and she could in principle see the entire area. The sides of the pyramids shined with the suns reflected rays and gave rise to a kaleidoscope of colors. They seemed to be covered in silver and gold and their shiny sides glimmered magically in the sunlight. Large arched passages seemed to connect the pyramids with each other and Malin could see how vehicles were moving in them.

  Small craft glided in the air between the pyramids and while she curiously watched them, Denver put his hand on her shoulder. He pointed past her and said something she did not perceive. Malin followed his pointing finger and saw a large panel on the side of the pyramid slide to the side and out of the opening rose what seemed to be a large, crescent-shaped platform. She heard Denver laugh with delight.

  “Shall we land there?”

  André gave a thumbs up and answered.

  “Yes, it's for us” he paused for a few seconds before continuing, “But we are taking a sweep over the area first so you can get a birds eye view. You'll be here for three days and I do not know how much time you have to see the Tabula Rasa from above. Take the opportunity to enjoy.” André smiled and gave a thumbs up again as he put the helicopter in a smooth turn over the area. They glided over what she thought was the west of the pyramids and continued forward. Malin pulled at Denver's arm.

  “Look, that's incredible.”

  Along the edge of one pyramid, a myriad of antennas stretched towards the sky. Malin estimated that they were over a hundred meters tall, but as they stood beside the pyramids, they looked like toys. It was fascinating. Malin saw a crowd of crafts floating softly and sliding around in what seemed to be a choreographed dance.

  She glanced over at Denver and laughed when he winked at her. Malin had studied everything she had managed to get her hands on about Tabula Rasa before they left. She knew that each of the pyramids had different functions.

  The western pyramid was called Cibus and was specialized in ecology and on producing food for the entire complex. It slid out of their field of vision and the northern Primus slid in under them. Malin had read that it was the one who provided the energy supply and generated most of the power. She had understood that the latest in power supply was here and Tabula Rasa had earned big money in licensing some of their technology to other mega complexes around the world. The problem of generating enough power and energy on a small surface was what usually restricted these types of communities.

  Usually, the mega complexes used a combination of renewable energy such as solar, wind and geothermal heat to produce what was needed, but it was not always like that. The first mega complexes had used nuclear power, but after a catastrophic accident in northern Japan by the end of 2032, an international ban had been established against the use of nuclear power in these types of communities. The meltdown had destroyed large parts of the mega-complex and made the rest of it uninhabitable.

  Over thirty thousand people had perished that fateful day in December and a further forty thousand had died of radiation injuries in the months that followed. Malin shook her head. If Tabula Rasa was this big already, it must mean that they had a new way of generating power.

  Denver touched her arm and pointed east towards the third pyramid, Gaudium, which glittered in the sun. Malin squinted and looked at the one who largely consisted of housing modules and parks. It was in that one most of the social life, such as sports and culture, occurred and more than eighty percent of the population in Tabula Rasa lived in that pyramid. André tapped his headphones and pointed to the crescent-shaped platform.

  “The name of the pyramids is Latin. Primus means the first and was the first of the pyramids which was completed. Cibus is Latin for food and it basically produces everything that is consumed and exported. Gaudium means joy and it is primary in those that the socially interaction takes place”, He winked at Malin, “One minute to landing. I hope everyone is relatively good despite our experience over there?”

  Malin leaned forward and smiled.

  “Oh yes. We'll be fine.”

  André pressed a couple of buttons.

  “Super. There are four different landing places for helicopters at Tabula Rasa. There is also a larger harbor and two smaller ones and actually two runways pretty close. The runways you probably saw when we began our approach. Although we are far away from the rest of the civilization, there are opportunities for many different kinds of transportation here.”

  Malin nodded thoughtfully.

  “How long have you been working here? You do not strike me like the kind that would be here in the wilderness and fly transports.” She said curiously.

  André laughed and smiled broadly.

  “Almost two years now. It's the best job I've ever had. I mean, look out. Every time I come out, something has been built or something has changed.” He pointed at the big glass pyramids which grew in size as they approached.

  “A couple of years ago I was down at the bottom. I mean really at the bottom. Divorced, unemployed and with the bottle as my best friend. So stereotype that you would think I was kidding. But now it's completely different“, he winked at her,” and when you are employed you can join the stock option program they have. A really good deal, I might add.”

  Malin did not answer but let Andre continue. It was one of the first lessons you learned as a journalist, keep quiet and listen.

  “For some reason, I was approached by one who worked for Tabula Rasa and offered me to go through their selection process for their pilots. And to make a long story short, I passed it and here I am.”

  Malin nodded.

  “Was it difficult to get through?”

  André kept his eyes focused on the runway.

  “Both yes and no, I've never experienced so many different types of questions and investigations. I mean, they didn’t just check me out. They also looked into my family, my ex and my previous workplaces. Tabula Rasa mean business. But it suits me well. I completed the process and here I am.”

  Malin were about to continue pumping André for more information, but the co-pilot who had sat quietly finally spoke.

  “Miss Persson, it's time for landing. Please sit back and check your seat belt.”

  *

  Godthab, Greenland

  2048-12-26

  The heat relieved the pain in his body. The hot water alleviated some of the ache when he took an unsteady step into the tub and quietly moaned as the heat embraced him. Carefully, he sat down. His hand touched his chest where two ribs had cracks, his left little finger was broken and his body had received a number of scratches and cuts. The deep wound on his left arm had been stitched and the sharp pain had shifted to a deep pounding. The wound on the arm would leave a scar to show in the bar and the ribs would make every breath strained for the next couple of days.

  He had also taken two tablets of oxycodone against the pain, which he told himself anyway. The pain. That is why he took them, not because he was addicted to them. The last months had been particularly hard and the tablets gave him relief. A few more days and he would stop. Yes, that is how it was, a few more days then he would quit.

  Steam rose from the water and the oil he had poured into the bathtub helped to give his body relief. He had been picked up by the Group's helicopter shortly after he had fought Raddick and the doctor had patched him up during the trip back. However, he had insisted on being dropped
off at his apartment instead of being transported all the way to Paris where the Group had its headquarters.

  The Amber group's protocol dictated that he would debrief immediately after completion of the assignment but it simply had to wait. He needed to take a few hours for himself after the round he had been through. It could not be helped that Backmann would get angry, but that did not matter right now. Raddick had been inhumanly strong. The battle they had was repeatedly played in his mind, and Jonathan turned and twisted it, analyzing it in the smallest detail.

  It was not the first time he had been in a knife fight. He had good grasp of different techniques in combat. Various techniques had their own particular strengths and weaknesses. Raddick had not any special technique in which he relied on, but instead he trusted on his strength and power. There were some of these types, but not very many. Most people used to meet their fate early in bar fights or in a dark alley. But the strength Raddick had shown was astounding. Jonathan remembered how Raddick had used his broken arm as a kind of propeller when he attacked. Jonathan tapped lightly with his fingers against the edge of the bathtub. The pain must have been overwhelming, but Raddick did not seem to feel anything. That was not right. There was something that was wrong. A nagging feeling that he missed something. That there was a detail he overlooked. He shook his head.

  The apartment he was in was old and was on the outer edge of Godthab, Greenland. It was surprisingly large. Old windows with glazing bars, heavy carpets and a rustic sense of charm. His family had had it for two generations, and because he was the only child, he had to take it over when his mother had passed away.

  She had been a strong woman. Together with three other women, she had undergone and passed the French astronaut training. He had never met his father, but Jonathan knew he had been from Sweden. His mother had almost never talked about his father. Throughout the years he had found out fragments but no overall picture. His mother had accidentally said too much one time and he had found out that the father had been posted as a Swedish air officer to train English and American pilots stationed at the Thule Base. In retrospect, he regretted that he did not push his mother for more information but now it was too late.