Chasm Waxing: A Startup, Cyber-Thriller (30 page)

General Shields was
particularly pleased with how fast Chris Fischer implemented the
kill-
incapacitate
features. He was also impressed with how well the
Swarmbots were wirelessly charging from the Flashcharge system. The
Swarmbots used four times as much power when active camouflage and
sound suppression was operational. But t
hey
didn’t miss a beat.
Flashcharge
provided a
steady stream of wireless power.

Shields’
biggest disappointment was that the
neural VR
controllers from Prosthetic Thought were still unreliable.
The Swarmbot analysts in the Op Center liked controlling the
Swarmbots by watching a hi-definition video monitor and
manipulating a joystick, similar to how pilots controlled aerial
drones. Unlike remotely piloted aircraft, Swarmbots did not require
a separate
human
operator to monitor sensors. It was bitter-sweet
for the General to watch the Swarmbots
clandestinely
wheel through Dabiq.
The sickening reality was that they were searching the very same
streets Charlie once patrolled.

“
We can’t kill Rahmati,”
said General Shields, in response to Samantha’s question. “He isn’t
on POTUS’ kill list. Besides, he may be
Iranian,
but he’s on our side in
fighting the Caliphate. It’s ironic. Have you seen this guy on
A-Tube?”

Samantha shook her head in disgust.
“When do you think I have time to watch videos on A-Tube? I work
non-stop for Gamification Systems, now more than ever with Becca
gone.”

A SWARM analyst broke into the
conversation. “Well, you should watch a video or two. This guy is
incredible. He’s going to make history.”

*

Once the primary sweep was
complete, the Immortals performed
their secondary
sweep. Upon closer
examination, Rahmati spotted what looked to be a three-foot long,
by
two-foot
wide trapdoor. It was in the far corner, on the living room
floor.

The Commander
motioned
for his team
to follow. He silently moved near the trapdoor.
He told an Immortal to open the hidden entrance. The soldier pushed
down on the
lengthwise end
of the trapdoor.
This smoothly
elevated the other side
of the escape hatch into the air. Rahmati stood to the side of the
opening.

Abu Omar rushed up the
stairway from a hidden bunker, firing his AK-47 in bursts.
Commander Rahmati dropped to one knee and slipped the rifle
fire,
like a
boxer slips a punch. He was close enough to parry the hot muzzle of
the assault rifle with his left hand. He pushed the gun to shoot in
the air. Bullets sprayed the ceiling. Omar was clearly better at
crunching numbers than he was with an AK.

Rahmati reached over his
shoulder with his right hand and reached for the handle of a
16-inch,
tactical tomahawk. The tomahawk
detached from its
quick release
sheath,
between his shoulder blades. The
Commander viciously swung the
hatchet
into Omar’s left side, slightly
below his rib cage. Omar squealed and dropped the AK. He
clutched
his
side. Blood spurted between his fingers.

Rahmati threw the rifle
down and
head-kicked
Omar, driving his shin into Omar’s temple. As
Omar fell to the ground, members of the Immortals grabbed
him
and bound
his legs to a wooden chair. They lifted Omar’s four-legged prison,
setting it in front of the dining room table.

Making sure the cameras
were filming, Rahmati began to interrogate Omar. Rahmati spoke in
Arabic. “Abu Omar, once again the forces of the
real
Islamic Revolution have
eliminated a
high-ranking
member of
the
so-called, Caliphate.
This is further
proof that
Allah did not
ordain your Caliphate.

“
You’re nothing but a
bunch of murderers and imposters. You malign His name. You’re an
embarrassment to His Prophet with your illegal, bloodthirsty Jihad.
Jihad should be an internal struggle for Islamic piety. You hijack
basic tenets of Islam for your
own
selfish purposes. I’ve succeeded in
capturing you, a feat that not even the CIA could achieve. Yours is
not a Caliphate or an
Islamic
State; you
are Daesh.”

“
You Shia ape,” said Omar,
wincing through his pain. Blood pooled under his chair. “Your
Zionist and Roman allies shall die in this very city. Then we’ll
defeat Constantinople in fulfillment of prophecy. After that, the
Mahdi will come. Rahmati, you can kill
me. But
you can’t destroy
this
final, End
of Days’ Caliphate. And you can’t stop the
Mahdi.”

In Islamic apocalyptic
thought and eschatology, the Mahdi was a Jesus-like, Islamic
redeemer. In fact, many Muslims believed that Jesus Christ would
join the
Mahdi,
ruling seven years
before
the Day of Judgement—also called
the End of Days.

Rahmati retorted, “Well,
the Mahdi will indeed come. Perhaps he’s already here. But your
Caliphate is null and void. You rape
nine-year-olds
and force them to be
your sex slaves. You murder anyone who disagrees with you. You are
savage tyrants who want to turn the calendar back to
life
in 622.
Your Caliph, Abu Mosulaydi, is Caliph of the dustbin of history; a
Caliph of sectarianism, murder, rape, slavery, and
destruction.

“
Muhammad, Peace Be Upon
Him, was a builder. He looked to the future. His Caliphate reigned
for nearly 1300 years, longer than the Roman Empire. He architected
the greatest civilization ever known to man.”

The term ‘Caliphate,’ had deep
historic, religious, and prophetic implications. But in simplest
terms, a Caliphate was an Islamic government. There was an Islamic
Caliphate from 632 AD—just after the death of Muhammad—to 1923. The
Caliphate ended with the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
Western-centric history books typically glossed over this period of
1300 years, concentrating on the Greek or Roman Empires. But the
Islamic Caliphate was an empire to be reckoned with. They nearly
conquered Europe.

Rahmati continued, “The House of Islam
created Arabic numbers, the scientific method, medicine, hospitals,
and eye glasses. Long before the Internet and mobile phones; Islam
invented the most viral product ever—paper! All of this occurred
while the West prayed to the bones of their dead saints.

“
600 years before the
Magna Carta, Muhammad wrote the first document that guaranteed
civil liberties for citizens of all faiths, the Constitution of
Medina. That Constitution ensured civil rights for Muslims, Jews,
and Christians creating a multi-faith ummah.”

The Commander nodded to an
Immortal behind Omar. The soldier forced Omar’s right hand to lay
flush on the table. Rahmati questioned Omar. Omar quickly spilled
all he knew. He stated that the Caliph was in Raqqa,
Syria—
moving
from house to house.

“
Abu Omar, I
pronounce
judgment
upon you this morning for the crime of stealing
Islam’s future.” With a massive swing of his tactical
tomahawk,
Rahmati sliced off Omar’s right hand. Omar
shrieked
like
a
nine-year-old
girl. Immortals led Omar and the other Caliphate
forces outside.
They made each man
dig his own grave. Omar struggled to handle the shovel with one
hand. No Immortal did anything to alleviate his burden. The special
forces operators executed Omar and his team with
headshots.

Rahmati held the
bloody tomahawk
next to his face. He looked into one of the TV cameras.
“Brothers and sisters, very shortly Islam will be the largest
religion in the world. We have a
significant
presence in
three
of the
world’s seven continents. And we’re expanding all over the globe.
But look at us. We shed blood over petty sectarian differences and
feud like jealous teenage brothers.

“
Why is America home to
all the great entrepreneurial companies? Why does Europe make all
the new discoveries in particle physics? Why does the Middle East,
with the largest concentration of the most
valuable
commodity on earth,
languish behind? When will we stop blaming the West? When will we
stop blaming the Jews?
Of
course,
they’ve wronged us. But we’ve let
ourselves down. We must hold our dictators and their oppressive
regimes accountable.

“
How long must we see one
another as victims? When will we see ourselves as the champions
that Allah created? My fellow Muslims, followers of the Prophet
Muhammad, it’s time to move past puberty and mature into adulthood.
We must quit fighting amongst ourselves. We’re all descendants of
Abraham’s son, Ishmael. Our blood feud between Shia and Sunni must
come to an end. When will the lives of our children be more
important than the status of our tribes?”

The division in Islam
between Shia and Sunni occurred soon after the Prophet Muhammad’s
death in 632 AD. A dispute arose over the Prophet’s successor. The
impact
upon
Islam was comparable to the division of Orthodox Church from
the Catholic Church, although the analogy was imperfect.

Rahmati dropped his bloody
tomahawk. It landed with a thud. His ice-blue eyes glistened. His
voiced quivered with passion. “Brothers and sisters, we’re destined
to return to greatness and build
a
superior
empire, an empire in which all
citizens participate and prosper. This empire will be full of good
jobs, affordable housing,
high-quality
education, and
innovation.

“
Remember why
Khadijah,
a prosperous
woman 15 years older than Muhammad, asked the
Prophet to marry her?
Muhammad’s
ingenuity
as a trader
attracted Khadijah.
Muhammad
had
superlative
ideas and a strong work ethic, even in a violent
clan society. Muhammad labored to end the sectarian, tribal
violence between the Quraysh and Islam.”

The Quraysh was the most powerful
tribe in Mecca, leading to conflict with Muhammad’s new
religion.

“
If the Prophet were alive
today, he’d be engaged in science and business. He’d be
contributing to the world of ideas. Our Koran and Hadith tells us
that Islam is destined to rule the world, but we must
cooperate
with Allah
to compete in the marketplace of ideas. We must
allow our collective
ummah
to prosper, thrive, and flourish.” Ummah was
Arabic for
community
.

“
I call upon the people of
Iraq and Syria, under the occupation of the Caliphate, to
arise.
I call
upon
able-bodied
men to join me in Syria and fight for our
future.
Indeed,
an End Time Caliphate is coming, but this is not
that Caliphate. This Caliphate is illegal, as judged by our
own
Islamic
scholars.
This is no Caliphate;
it’s
just Daesh. They’re nothing more than
a barbarous band of infidels.

“
If you serve Daesh, your
children will die before you die. And for no good reason; surely
not as martyrs. Murder, slavery, and rape are no way to build a
society. Join me. Let’s
architect
a new
future for you and your
children.
A future
in which everybody partakes and everyone
prospers. Working together, we can change the world. A crescent
moon, shining as bright as the sun, will wax again over the entire
world. The future is now.”

*

“
Wow, he makes me want to
join him in Syria,” said Samantha. “Who is he?”

General Shields looked a
Samantha with
disdain. Then he
softened
. “
Actually,
I’ve got mixed emotions about
this guy. It’s the first time I ever remember rooting for an
Iranian. I’m ecstatic to see Abu Omar dead.”

Rahmati just killed the
man who financed Charlie Shields’
death.
Samantha knew this fact wasn’t
far from the General’s heart.

“
Commander Muhammad
Rahmati,” said Shields, “
was born in
Baghdad, Iraq in 1978.
Rahmati’s
father, Abdullah Rahmati,
served as the Minister of Economics during Iraq’s most prosperous
time. That was the late 1970’s, under the leadership of the then
Iraqi President, Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr.