Dystopia

by Jason Chapman

  ‘What kind of implications will this have if they carry out one of their threats?’

  ‘We are in new territory here Tom, it’s too early to say. All we can do is speculate. If they have managed to plunder the accounts of the Premier league then it will be massive for these clubs. As well as the managers and players. We know that the football industry generates billions in revenue every year. As for their other threats such as paying forty thousand pounds into the banks accounts of those solely reliant on the benefits system. I cannot see how that is possible. The banks will have security measures in place to make sure this kind of thing cannot happen.’

  ‘If they do pay money into the accounts of those reliant on the benefits system does that mean Dystopia have control of the banks?’

  ‘That’s a scary thought Tom, some would even consider it as dangerous. If this threat is carried out, it will be the biggest disaster in banking history. A hacker group able to plunder accounts and then distribute the money to anybody is the stuff of nightmares for anyone in the banking industry. At this moment all we can do is wait for further developments. Back to you in the studio.’

  New Scotland Yard – Westminster – 7:43pm

  Bishop stared at the TV in the conference room at the video that had been posted on social media. He had played the video twice to the senior officers that occupied the large room. When the video had finished playing he turned to face the men and women sat around the table. ‘So, any thoughts on who this Dystopia could be?’

  ‘They don’t appear to be Middle Eastern, or European.’ A senior ranking officer said.

  ‘Which is where we usually look when this kind of attack occurs.’ Bishop added.

  ‘I know one thing, a lot of people are going to be happy when they look at their bank accounts first thing in the morning.’ Detective Teague said.

  ‘Dystopia trying to be the people’s hero.’ A female police officer suggested.

  ‘Which means the attacks in London today will soon be forgotten when people have got money to spend.’

  ‘Dystopia only mentioned paying those who rely on the benefit system. Why not just pay everyone forty grand?’ Teague questioned.

  ‘They’re using restraint.’ Bishop said. ‘If you suddenly pay everyone a large sum of money the banking system will collapse. Pay a small proportion of this country a lot of money and that doesn’t happen.’

  ‘Which means Dystopia doesn’t want total chaos.’ Teague added.

  ‘No, but people will lose a lot of money. Let’s not forget their threats against the criminally rich.’

  ‘Rob from the rich and give to the poor, a twenty first century version of Robin Hood. No disrespect sir but why should we give a shit if Dystopia target a load of drug dealers.’ Teague said.

  ‘I see your point. Any indication of where this Dystopia might be broadcasting from?’ Bishop asked looking at a man sat opposite.

  The man shook his head. ‘In the short time our analysts from the cybercrimes division have had to amylase the video, they’ve drawn a blank. There’s no way we’ll be able to track where these people are. It’s like they’re there but they’re not there. Even the voice they used to broadcast their message is synthetic. We have sent a call out to GCHQ to send some of their top analysts along to study the video.’

  ‘Which means we are dead in the water.’ Bishop sighed.

  ‘I’m afraid so.’

  ‘I want a taskforce assembled straight away to round up every computer hacker in the London area.’

  ‘That’s a tall order sir, our resources are stretched thin enough as it is.’ Teague pointed out.

  ‘These bastards seem to be operating solely online which means someone in the hacker community knows who they are.’

  ‘I’ll see what I can do.’ A senior ranking officer said as she stood. ‘We’ll start to pull manpower in from other forces.’

  Bishop nodded. ‘What about the possibility of other attacks like the ones we have seen over the last twenty four hours.’

  ‘Luckily no one has reported anything out of the usual. We have had a lot of hoax callers, which usually happens when an attack occurs. If you want my opinion, I think the worst is over.’ Teague said.

  ‘Really.’ Bishop said looking at Teague. ‘Try telling that to the owners of the Premier league teams who have just had their bank accounts plundered. This next wave of attacks could easily trigger violence resulting in more deaths.’ Bishop surveyed the room. ‘I want something to tell the Prime Minister first thing tomorrow morning when I attend a briefing with her. Start kicking over every stone and bring people in. I want every hacker known to us in London brought in for questioning. Someone must know something.’ Bishop got to his feet. ‘I have to issue a statement to the press regarding the identity of the police officer who turned today.’

  Teague walked up to Bishop. ‘There is one more issue I would like to raise with you sir.’ He said handing over a copy of the London Evening Examiner. ‘This paper seems to have inside information on what happened at the London Stock Exchange this morning. I was going to head over there tomorrow and question the journalist who wrote this story. He seems to know quite a lot regarding what went on in there.’

  ‘Are you suspecting a leak?’ Bishop asked staring at the newspaper.

  ‘It’s possible a witness from the attack might have talked.’

  Bishop handed Teague the newspaper. He suddenly caught sight of Sam standing at the door. ‘Talk to the journalist, get as much information as possible.’

  Teague turned and walked towards the door.

  ‘Where the hell have you been Detective Drake?’ Bishop barked. ‘You were supposed to be at this briefing.’

  Sam held out the sheet she was carrying. ‘We have a lead on last night’s attacks in the nightclub.’

  Bishop stared at the image of the woman. ‘Her eyes are like the attackers.’

  ‘I have just run her face through our database. Her name is Sheila Price. She’s a shop manager from Fulham. She was convicted for drink driving four years ago.’

  ‘This doesn’t make sense. She looks so ordinary, except for the eyes.’

  ‘We can have a team at her address within the hour sir. I recommend armed response.’

  Bishop nodded. ‘Go with them, I want this woman captured alive. No theatrics, I realise that you had no choice at the London Stock Exchange this morning but we need this suspect alive and kicking.’

  ‘Understood sir.’

  Sky News – 8:12pm

  ‘You’re watching a sky news update. Today has seen the most devastating terrorist attack on British soil in living history. Over one hundred people are now confirmed to have been killed in a series of barbaric attacks across the UK. Dozens more have been injured, many with life changing injuries. A statement issued by Scotland Yard a few minutes ago confirmed that the attacker at Paddington Station was an armed officer with the Metropolitan police. A group calling themselves Dystopia have claimed responsibility. The security services have yet to respond to the statement given out by Dystopia. Professor David Miller of Cambridge University joins us in our studio to discuss the current developments. Doctor Miller thank you for coming here this evening. Can you tell us anything about who this Dystopia might be and why they have carried out these acts of barbarism?’

  ‘This group who call themselves Dystopia is something we have never encountered before. We are in uncharted waters as far as a new wave of terrorism is concerned. As to why they have carried out these attacks, again we are in new territory. Are they religious fanatics, no? Their main goal at this point is to target the wealthy.’

  ‘Dystopia claimed responsibility behind the devastating attacks across the country today. But they have also stated that they are about to attack financial institutes, Sporting institutes, pay day loan companies as well as the criminally rich. Dystopia also claim that they have control of all social media platforms and will bend it to their will. Is any of this at all possible?’

 
; ‘This is what we call a perfect storm. A terror group emerging that is able to carry out physical attacks in the real world and attacks in the cyber world. We have yet to hear anything from the three main social media sites. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter seem to be keeping tight lipped on this matter. If these sites have indeed been hacked as Dystopia claim, they will have to make some form of announcement.’

  ‘What exactly could this mean for social media if Dystopia are telling the truth and they have control of these sites?’

  ‘It would be devastating, this could spell the end for any kind of social media interaction online. If Dystopia do have control of the main social network platforms, the security services will want to shut these sites down as soon as possible. Billions of share prices will be wiped off the stock markets. Not to mention the huge amount of companies who pay, even rely on social media for business.’

  ‘What about the attackers themselves? From what we have heard so far these are not foreign nationals. Just ordinary people from all walks of life.’

  ‘There has been a lot of speculation that these people could have taken some form of mind altering drug. There have been witness reports of the attackers acting like rabid animals. For lack of better description carrying out zombie style attacks on members of the public. It’s the stuff of science fiction. As far as I am aware no drug is capable of doing this. However, the man who carried out the attack in the nightclub last night clearly seems deranged even lifeless.’

  ‘This would suggest that science fiction is become science fact.’

  Miller nodded. ‘Hopefully the police and the security services can learn from this. They can come up with new strategies to deal with this new threat and neutralise it before things spiral out of control.’

  ‘And what about other threats they have carried out. Rumour is already starting to circulate that they have emptied the bank accounts of the premier league and that they are about to target payday loan companies.’

  ‘Dystopia have a team of hackers at their disposal. No lone hacker has ever been able to carry out a hack of this magnitude before. If they have indeed emptied bank accounts belonging to football clubs then it will be devastating for the sporting institute. Share prices will plummet tomorrow when the stock markets open.’

  ‘What about the so-called criminally rich Dystopia say they will target.’

  ‘I’m sure there will be a lot of people out there who will be very happy if this happens, especially the police. It is well known in certain circles that many gangs make millions in revenue through illegal activities such as drug and people trafficking as well as money laundering operations and other activities which are illegal.’

  ‘What else could Dystopia do to cause chaos?’

  ‘The most frightening thing about Dystopia is that they have appeared out of nowhere. Unlike other terror groups they have no set agenda. This is a worst case scenario for our security services because it is unclear where Dystopia will strike next.’

  ‘Doctor Miller, thank you very much for joining us tonight.’

  Chapter 20

  St George General Hospital – Central London – 8:30pm

  Alan felt sick to his stomach as the armed officer studied the identification badge he had just given him. He had managed to acquire the badge through a contact at the hospital. It came in handy when he needed information. This time however the hospital was under lockdown as armed officers patrolled the grounds. After what seemed like an eternity the armed officer handed Alan back his badge and stood to one side. As he navigated the corridors of the hospital the first thing Alan noticed was the lack of people. The police had cleared out non essential staff. After a few minutes Alan reached his destination. He knocked loudly on the door and waited.

  A tall thin man opened the door and ushered him inside. ‘I thought you’d never get here, or you’d been caught at the main entrance.’ Stuart Railson said.

  ‘I thought I wouldn’t be able to get past the armed copper on the door. He seemed to take forever to scrutinise the ID badge you gave me.’

  ‘Whatever you do, don’t try and use that badge to get in here again. I think their doing security checks on everyone now, which is why I called you.’

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Two bodies were brought in the early hours of this morning, both male and female. Both were responsible for the attacks on the nightclub and tube last night. I have examined both bodies.’

  Alan produced his notebook and pen. ‘Find anything interesting?’

  Railson nodded slowly pulling a file and some x-rays out of the drawer of his desk. ‘The bodies are being shipped out for a more thorough examination.’

  ‘Where to?’

  ‘Boscombe Down.’

  Alan started scribbling. ‘Why ship the bodies there?’

  ‘Boscombe Down is the centre for disease control for the UK. It’s where they study the most deadly viruses.’

  ‘Are these people infected with something?’

  ‘From what little time I had to examine the bodies no.’

  ‘Then why move them there?’

  Railson sat back in his chair. ‘I’m guessing they want to do a more thorough examination. Perhaps I missed something. I was woken at three this morning and told to report down here straight away. When I arrived they had already brought in two bodies, the first two attackers. A man in his early thirties and a woman in her mid twenties. I started going through the usual checks. All seamed normal at first until I examined the brain of each person.’ Railson looked down at the x-ray in front of him. ‘It’s normal for the brain to stop functioning approximately three minutes after death. However I discovered a huge amount of brain activity. I also found a massive amount of static electricity surrounding the brainstem.’

  ‘Static electricity?’ Alan questioned.

  Railson nodded.

  ‘What do you think is going on with these people?’

  Railson slid an x-ray across the table towards Alan. ‘I performed a CAT scan on each of the subjects. It was only when I was studying the x-ray more closely that I discovered this.’ Railson pointed to a spot on the x-ray.

  Alan moved closer to the picture. ‘What am I looking at exactly?’

  Railson pointed at the x-ray again. ‘There is a tiny object at the base of the skull. It’s a foreign object that’s not supposed to be there. And what’s more it’s what’s emitting the static charge. I managed to remove one of these objects and study it more closely under a microscope.’ Railson pushed a photograph across the table.

  ‘It looks like a microchip.’

  ‘It’s known as a nanochip. This is next level stuff Alan. In all my years as a pathologist I have seen my fair share of strange things.’ He pointed at the photograph. ‘This is definitely the weirdest thing I have ever seen.’

  ‘What do you think it does?’

  ‘Whatever this object is, it’s acting like a battery.’

  ‘Powering what exactly.’

  ‘The brain.’ Railson replied.

  ‘So you’re saying this object has kept the brain alive for several hours after death.’

  Railson nodded. ‘I have been researching the possibility that this chip has a power unit or battery. It turns out that they have made batteries the size of bacteria. Meaning this could easily fit onto that chip.’

  ‘Why would this chip be powering the brain?’

  ‘It is my belief that the man and woman that attacked that nightclub and the tube station were already dead.’

  Alan frowned. ‘You’re not the first person to mention zombies to me today.’

  ‘I know it sounds crazy but this object whatever it is, it’s not natural.’

  ‘How the hell did it get in there?’

  ‘It’s less than a millimetre in width. My guess is that it could have been ingested.’

  Alan thought about what Reece Tyler had said to him earlier in the day. ‘Could it have been taken in pill form?’

  Railson nodded.

>   ‘A witness I spoke to earlier claimed that the man who attacked the London Stock exchange this morning was a pill popper.’

  ‘Given its size this nanochip is definitely small enough to be embedded in a tablet or ingested in food. Unless you were looking for it you wouldn’t know it was there.’

  Alan scribbled furiously. ‘Ok let’s speculate here. This nanochip you found at the base of the brainstem. What do you think its purpose is?’

  ‘It was rewriting the neural pathways of the brain.’

  ‘Why exactly?’

  ‘To attack those people I guess.’

  ‘Which would mean that it was giving instructions to the attackers.’

  ‘That’s my theory.’ Railson replied.

  ‘This is nuts, sounds like something out of a science fiction movie.’ Alan said. ‘I can’t exactly do a write up on this.’

  ‘I don’t want you to, if they found out I have shown you this then we’d both be in the shit. I also found something else. The skin of the attackers around the back of their necks had been altered.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘A small area of skin texture resembled scales.’

  ‘Scales.’ Alan remarked.

  Railson nodded. ‘The object that is imbedded at the base of the skull is responsible for altering the skin texture. I’m sure of it.’

  ‘Whatever this object made those people do it must have done it for a reason.’