‘Besides this heat and the fact that I’m due for my period any day now, fine sir.’
‘You need to be on your toes. We need an escape plan if things do get ugly. We will break bread with them tonight but you will remain in the background.’
‘Why, because I’m a woman?’
‘Let’s not forget who we’re dealing with.’ Pearson warned. ‘Their culture seems barbaric to us. But if we are to stand any chance of winning this war we need these people’s help.’
‘Understood sir.’
Oxfordshire – 6:16pm
Sam opened her eyes feeling disoriented.
‘You ok?’ Teller asked.
‘I’m fine.’ Sam replied. ‘I haven’t had much sleep since Monday morning’s attacks on London.’
‘That’s what you get when the government slash the number of police. Overtired and overstretched police who can’t as much as make an arrest.’
Teller pulled off the road.
‘Where are we?’
‘This is the place where we set up the lab. I was hoping you could look it over in case I have missed something.’
‘I’m not a bloody sniffer dog.’
‘I know that, it’s like I said earlier I want a witness to all this so that when the shit hits the fan there’ll be someone to tell the story.’
The car pulled up to an old farmhouse adjacent to a converted barn.
Sam and Teller got out of the car and walked up to the entrance of the outbuilding. ‘James had this building converted to a makeshift lab about two years ago. He liked to bring his work home with him.’
‘Where did the money come to fund all this?’
Teller looked at her. ‘If you’re thinking I stole the money I didn’t. James’ parents were rich and he was an only child. James owns several properties all over the Home Counties. I always said that he didn’t have to work for a living. But James loved science, he loved to experiment. With my help, we managed to keep this place off the grid. No one knew what we were doing here. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if his superiors would have discovered what we were up to.’
Teller stopped short of the door.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Someone has been here.’ Teller said cautiously.
‘Are you sure?’
Teller nodded and slowly approached the door which he pushed open.
Both Sam and Teller entered the barn.
Sam squinted at the bright lights as they flickered on. The room was in chaos. Tables were overturned and equipment had been smashed.
‘No!’ Teller shouted. ‘Someone’s been here and fucking smashed everything up.’
‘Could have been Parker?’ Sam suggested.
‘No, he wouldn’t do something like this. This is something different.’
‘What were you doing here exactly?’
‘We used this lab to replicate James’ work at Boscombe Down. James had kitted this room out with the latest tech. He managed to acquire things like 3D Bio printers so that he could replicate genetic samples he stole from Boscombe Down.’
Sam carefully stepped over some broken glass. ‘Genetic Samples?’
‘The chip that he created needed an organic component to help it latch on to the base of the brain.’
‘What was this genetic sample that he managed to acquire?’
‘I don’t know.’ Teller replied. ‘James said it was best if I didn’t know everything. I think he was trying to protect me.’
Sam noticed the expression on Teller’s face. ‘You must have really loved him.’
‘I can’t explain it. Our relationship was the most passionate thing I have ever experienced. Everything about him was incredible. I have had boyfriends in the past but what we had was intense, it was amazing.’
‘How long did you run this lab for?’
‘About six months. James was able to replicate the chip thousands of times over. He used the 3D bio printer to replicate the genetic samples which he combined with the chip.’
‘What was your role in all this?’
‘I was able to program the chip to do whatever I wanted it to do. It was the most remarkable thing I have ever seen. I tried to get James to tell me how the government was able to develop this technology but he wouldn’t say.’
‘Did you test it?’
‘Yes once.’ Teller replied. ‘There are a lot of addicts in Oxford. We went out one day and found a man who lived on the streets. He was eager to come with us and make a few quid. We brought him back here and implanted the chip.’
‘Implanted, so you cut his skull open?’
‘No, that’s the beauty of it. The chip is less than the thickness of a human hair. We are talking nanotechnology here. He took it in pill form.’
‘What happened?’
‘Within twenty-four hours the chip managed to rewrite the neural pathway of his brain. He was no longer addicted to drugs. What’s more, we were able to communicate with the chip and receive a signal back. The chip taps into both the visual cortex and the eardrum.’ Teller produced a mobile phone tapping the screen. We actually managed to retrieve a video feed.’
Sam watched the video that contained Teller with another man. ‘I take it this is James.’ She said pointing at the man in the video.
‘Yes this video was made via a direct feed to the man’s visual cortex.’
‘It’s incredible.’ Sam said. ‘Do you have any idea how many of these nanochips James created?’
‘It’s hard to say. James would spend hours alone in here just churning them out. He often liked to work alone. Said that being alone allowed him to focus. If I were to hazard a guess I would say he managed to produce tens of thousands of these chips.’
‘The people who attacked London, their eyes were white. Why is that?’
‘A side effect of the chip. Once activated it causes discolouration of the pupil. But when it’s deactivated the pupil returns to normal.’
‘So the eyes aren’t permanently damaged.’
‘Yes they are.’ Teller replied. ‘One of the things we didn’t expect when we implanted the chip, was that the organic part was capable of self-replication. Both James and I theorised that the organic component of the chip is able to create artificial cells that are distributed throughout the body repairing damaged parts like the eyes. We also speculated that the cells can be passed on to another host.’
‘Like a virus.’
Teller nodded.
‘Are you sure James didn’t say anything about where the organic sample came from?’
‘All he said is that he discovered it whilst going through archive samples at Boscombe Down. James knew that in order to made the chip compatible with human tissue he needed an organic compound. The only thing that he told me was that the organic sample was decades old, from the early seventies. It was part of a project called Trojan horse, which was closed down decades ago. He didn’t tell me anything else. I wanted to analyse the genetic samples he stole but I never got the chance.’
Sam surveyed the chaos in the lab before looking at Teller. ‘You need to come in; we need to make contact with the authorities.’
Teller shook his head. ‘You don’t understand we cannot make contact with anyone. If James was able to distribute this chip then anyone could have been implanted. The man who attacked us at your flat was your neighbour was he not.’
Sam nodded.
‘He was infected with the chip.’ Teller speculated. ‘I remember passing him in the corridor a few minutes before you got home. I think James is using the chip as a monitoring device. He could easily link it up to facial recognition software. James is looking for me.’
‘Do you think he wants to talk?’
‘I don’t know, but from what we experienced at your flat it looks as if he wants me out of the picture.’
‘Can you stop him?’
‘Yes, I think he knows this. He used your neighbour to get to me. The plates on my car are false so he will not be able to trac
k us. I have a place in the Lake District he doesn’t know about.’
‘It would help your case if you could tell me if you knew what he was planning.’
‘I didn’t know he was going to take it this far.’
‘So you didn’t tell him how to hack bank accounts or anything like that.’
‘No, as brilliant as James is, he’s not that into computers. Certainly not on a hacker’s level.’
‘Do you think that he might have used you to gain knowledge about hacking?’
‘It’s possible I suppose.’
‘Besides shutting down all the petrol stations in the UK what other damage do you think he’s capable of?’
Teller shrugged. ‘I don’t know and to be perfectly honest with you I’d be hard pressed to do something like that. To gain access to every petrol station is next level stuff. Way beyond the capability of your best hacker. I know some of the world’s top hackers. Even they’d find it impossible to pull off a hack like that.’
‘Supposing he managed to distribute thousands of these nanochips. What’s the worst thing he could do?’
‘Think of every zombie film you have seen. If he is able to control the chip and activate them all there could be thousands of people who have the chip inside them. Thousands of people from all walks of life. Including the emergency services, army and police. You would have no idea who had the chip embedded in them until it was too late. Every other emergency service would be overwhelmed.’
Sam thought for a moment. ‘Is there a kill switch?’
‘Yes, but my attempts to stop it haven’t worked. That’s why I took the decision to make contact with you. When I learnt about the attacks at the nightclub and on the tube, I tried to track the signal that the chip emits. I didn’t have any luck. It’s obvious that since we last spoke he had modified it.’
‘What about your test subject, what happened to him?’
Teller pursed his lips. ‘Follow me.’
A few minutes later Sam followed Teller to a field at the back of the farmhouse. A large oak stood guard at the entrance.
‘While we were running a diagnostic on the chip James wanted to find out if it would be possible to overload the chip causing it to short out.’ Teller stopped by a grassy mound. ‘What we didn’t know, is that it caused a brain aneurysm.’
‘All the individuals that carried out the attacks suffered some form of seizure before they died.’
Teller nodded. ‘I don’t know how he’s able to do so much at the same time.’ Teller suddenly stopped talking.
‘What is it?’
‘We had many conversations about different applications for the chip. Beyond the medical and military application. James and I theorised that a person with this chip could connect with the internet, view information through their visual cortex. Kind of like having a TV screen wired into your brain.’
‘Is such thing possible?’
Teller Nodded. ‘There are loads of high tech companies and billionaire tech geniuses who believe that it’s possible to access the web through the mind. Elon Musk has even gone as far to say that we are all linked to a network similar to the matrix. Last year Professor Brian Cox gave an interview to The Sun claiming that it is possible to simulate the brain. Perhaps one day we’ll be able to upload our consciousness to a computer. It’s being referred to as the Technological singularity. Johnny Depp starred in a film four years ago called Transcendence exploring the possibility. James started to work on a master chip. Looks like he succeeded. That’s how he is able to do so much. We theorised that if you could connect your mind to the internet then you would be able to access any information you wanted. You could hack any system you wanted to. Even the most guarded systems would be vulnerable.’ Teller smiled. ‘You clever bastard James, you finally did it.’
‘When you’ve finished with your hero worship you need to tell me what you are going to do about this.’
Teller nodded. ‘I have been running a small taskforce. We were working on a way to stop the North Koreans from hacking Western systems.’
‘I take it this place you talk about in the Lake District is where your task force is operating from.’
Teller nodded. ‘For the last twenty four hours they have been concentrating their efforts on tackling Dystopia. They haven’t had all that much luck.’
Sam looked down at the mound of earth. ‘You know you will do jail time for this.’
‘I know.’
‘You need to take me to your base of operations. It may help your case if you can stop Dystopia.’
‘We’ll need a change of clothes. I have some in the farmhouse.’
Sam returned to the barn.
Teller returned several minutes later with a change of clothes. ‘Put these on.’ He tossed Sam a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He looked around at the chaos of the barn.
‘You ok.’
‘I don’t get it, they left the farmhouse, there’s no sign of a break in there. It’s almost as if they just wanted the equipment from this lab.’
‘Do you think someone found out what you were up to and decided to cash in on your little venture.’
‘No, this lab looks too trashed to be another interested party.’ Teller looked at Sam. ‘We better get moving We have a long journey ahead of us. The car should have a good charge by now to get us up to the Lake District. We will have to avoid the motorways. We cannot risk being spotted or pulled over.’
The car turned out on to the main road. Teller programmed the satnav. ‘It will take us a while to get there.’
Sam spotted flashing blue lights on the opposite side of the road. Four police cars streaked by.
‘They’re heading towards the farm. How could they have known so quickly?’
‘Let’s just get to where we are going then we’ll sort this mess out later.’ Sam said looking in the review mirror.
Chapter 39
BBC news – BREAKING NEWS – 6:32pm
‘You’re joining us live from the White House where President Trump is about to make a statement regarding yesterday’s attacks across the UK.’
Donald Trump looked down at his notes as the world media waited. He glanced up briefly at the journalists that packed out the pressroom at the White House.
‘Yesterday our ally the United Kingdom suffered the worst terrorist attack in its long and noble history. These bunch of losers who call themselves Dystopia claim that they are on the side of humanity and that they will target the rich people of the world. I have just chaired a meeting with my joint chiefs as well as my top security advisors.’ He paused looking up at the assembled journalists. ‘We will use every resource to track down Dystopia. Make no mistake we will find you and we will wipe you from the face of the planet.’
Whispers reverberated around the White House pressroom.
‘I ask all leaders of the free world including Russia and China to help join the fight to wipe out Dystopia. Only together can we stand firm against these losers who have destroyed so many lives and threaten our democracy. The UK has stood by the United States time and time again. We will stand by our British allies and help them defeat this threat to democracy.’ Trump looked directly at the TV camera pointing his finger. ‘We are not intimidated by Dystopia’s childish actions. I also ask that people of the United Kingdom to stand firm behind the Prime Minister of Great Britain. We will always be allies in peace and conflict. The White House is currently putting together a team of highly skilled technicians to fly out to the UK in order to restore their gas stations to working order. To these bunch of losers who call themselves Dystopia I say this. You can’t win, we will find you and we will pummel you into dust. The world’s top security experts are working their way towards you as I speak. They will locate your base of operations and they will destroy you. Make no mistake we are coming for you.’ Trump gathered his notes. ‘Thank you for attending this briefing.’ He turned and was ushered out of the pressroom by his aides.
European Commission – Brussels – 7
:45pm (European time)
‘This is turning out to be a complete catastrophe. Russia and China will not help us. Doesn’t Trump realise this.’ Mayflower commented.
‘Given his approval rating in the united States at the moment ma’am I don’t think he cares.’ Johnson said.
‘There must be someone who can talk some sense into him.’
Johnson paced the room. ‘This doesn’t make sense. Why are they keeping us waiting like this?’ ‘He checked his watch. ‘We’ve been here for almost two hours.’
The door opened to the private function room and two men walked in.
‘Prime Minister we appreciate you meeting us.’ Jean-Paul Bisset greeted offering his hand.
‘Can I ask why we are meeting like this and not a full public meeting with Parliament?’ Mayflower asked.
‘Plus you’ve kept us waiting in this room for nearly two hours.’ Johnson complained.
‘Given what is happening in the United Kingdom at the moment Prime Minister we thought it best if we hold off the final round of Brexit talks.’
‘You can’t be serious, if you delay talks now then you will be letting Dystopia win.’
‘Prime Minister, you must understand this is a most delicate matter.’ The man said standing next to Bisset.
‘I’m sorry but I have no idea who you are?’ Mayflower said maintaining a calm posture.
‘My name is Albert Spearman.’ He replied in a thick German accent. ‘I am a newly appointed advisor to the European Parliament.’
‘With all due respect Mr Spearman I don’t think you know how much of a delicate matter this is.’
‘Prime Minister, Dystopia has caused a lot of damage. If you continue to hold talks it will undermine your position.’
‘My position is clear Mr Spearman. Britain will move forward with Brexit.’ She looked at Bisset. ‘Forgive me but it seems as if you are taking advantage of this current situation rather than wanting to go forward with talks.’
‘Prime Minister, your country is on lockdown. Your people are standing on the brink of anarchy. Do you think it is a wise decision to carry on with Brexit negotiations knowing full well that your country is teetering on the brink?’
Dystopia Page 21
