EHuman Dawn (9 page)

Adam looked at her and again found himself experiencing the sensations of nervousness and longing that often accompanied the act of falling in love. He smiled at his own audacity, unaware that in spite of her mutual desire to remain professional with him, the same feelings were running amok within Dawn.

“The Moralists tipped the scale, and roughly 8 percent of the population was refusing to Jump,” Origen continued, his voice booming and echoing off the concrete walls, “And suddenly the WG had a problem on their hands. They hadn’t planned on supporting both races. 100 percent adoption was their only solution.”

“So what happened to them? I assume they changed their minds, since no carbon based humans exist anymore,” Adam remarked.

“Not willingly,” Origen shook his head forcefully, causing his dreadlocks to dance about his back, “In the beginning, most of our O12 rallies were surrounded by thousands of protestors. Then one day, they were all gone. Not a single person could be found outside the halls with signs in hand, marching to freedom songs. It was obvious that they’d been silenced. It was Dawn who asked the question, ‘Where did they go?’”

“And?”

“The answer is why we formed our Resistance. They were taken by force to WG Dissenter camps, where they were given the choice in a most authoritative way: Jump or die.”

“What?” Adam couldn’t believe it.
Jump or die?
“But why? Why kill them?”

”Some believe that Guardian Enterprises convinced the WG that to support both the eHuman and carbon-based human form would be too cumbersome. And since the government had to choose between one or the other, so did the people. The WG chose the eHuman and those who didn’t agree were burned or gassed, or even shot en masse.”

“Platform consolidation doesn’t justify mass slaughter,” Adam pointed out vehemently.

“Well, unplugging an entire city just because some of its citizens support our movement seems a bit over the top as well, doesn’t it?” Origen replied tersely, “This group of people has a history of destroying anyone who rebels against their plans.”

Adam was so deep in thought, he didn’t noticed they’d stopped walking. The drip, drip, drip of the water weeping down the sides of the sewers filled the tunnel with a mournful sound that matched his mood. Adam knew that Origen and Dawn were TeleSpeaking again, but couldn’t muster the effort needed to say something clever about it. The senseless decision to murder almost a billion people in the name of progress cut him deep. Dawn noticed the expression on his face.

“It’s terrible, I know,” she began, “Not a day goes by where I don’t feel remorse and guilt.”

“You know, for some reason, I feel the same,” Adam admitted, “Like I should have done something about it. I know that’s pure fantasy. As if I could have stopped it. I mean, it’s not like I had anything to do with the Dawn Project.”

Dawn shifted uncomfortably, willing herself to remain quiet. Origen though, read her mind via the TeleSpeak channel, and couldn’t believe what he saw.

“So that’s the reason you dragged me out here—” he began out loud.

Dawn shot him a look of contempt.

“
Not now, Origen!”
she TeleSpoke.

He glared at her. So Adam was a Candidate. Very interesting.

CHAPTER TEN

Adam was so consumed by his misery, that he didn’t notice the exchange between the two. Instead, he was internally beating himself up for spending the last two centuries oblivious to the pain that the WG had caused, and was still causing, over and over. And worse, while people like Dawn and Origen were out trying to help others, he’d been propping the whole system up with his trite Newsreels. No wonder Origen despised him. Adam was just as guilty as the World Leader.

“We’re here,” Dawn spoke quietly, pointing up to the ceiling, “Time to head back out into the elements.”

Origen reached up and opened another hatch. He picked Adam up roughly and thrust him through the opening. Adam found himself face down in a rough blanket of grass, surrounded by dense forest on all sides. Dawn and Origen jumped out of the sewer tunnel with ease and the hatch closed silently behind them, instantly blending into the surrounding foliage, unnoticeable to the unaware eye.

“My navigation system reports we’re not far from the RCC,” Dawn said with an air of authority, “Take out your weapons and tread silently. Hopefully we’ll get to safety before any miscellaneous WG tracking devices show up. You never know out here in the wild. At least our
energy packs will generate enough power. It’s very lush here—there should be plenty of etheric energy.”

“Etheric energy? Like what you mentioned down in the outpost?” Adam asked.

“Yes,” Dawn opened her arms wide to the plants around her, “Plants have an etheric energy body as well. In addition to solar energy, our energy packs collect the plant’s energy, which is an endless source. That’s why nature is so important. It can keep us alive—without demanding anything in return.”

Dawn now took the lead and strode ahead into the forest. Adam followed her. He was grateful to be looking at her perfect backside, rather than at Origen’s. They walked in silence for three hours. Adam used the time to think about Dawn and what he would do once he gained access to the Resistance. His mind bounced between the type of story he would discover and whether or not he’d spend any time with Dawn once they arrived. His attraction to her came honestly. She was the Dawn of eHumanity after all. It was the intoxicating blend of shame, desire, and need that she evoked within him that was driving him crazy. With every step it became more and more obvious to him that to tell an unbiased story about her organization would be damn near impossible.

The sun stayed high and the world around Adam hummed with life. The trees were tall, lush and hundreds of years old. Birds sang and squirrels and insects droned and chattered amongst them. Grass, ferns and other green ground cover carpeted the Earth under his feet. Flowers of varieties that he’d never seen bloomed all around him. The air was fresh and smelled moist. He recalled Origen stating that a storm might be in the forecast, but at the moment the sky was crystal clear. He felt happy, free, and alive. Dawn paused for a moment to check her tracking system, and Adam reached out to pick one of the flowers without even thinking.

“For you,” he said, holding the flower out to her.

No one had ever done such a thing for her before. She was unsure of what to do with it. Adam had surprised even himself. Such a gesture seemed nostalgic at best. But he’d done it and there was no backing down now.

“It’s lovely, don’t you think?” he continued, well aware that he had only seconds before Origen spoiled the moment in some way, “They don’t plant flowers like this in our cities, do they?”

She smiled and took the offering from his hand, gently tucking it in her hair and locking the memory within her database so that it could never be erased. She didn’t want this moment to ever be taken from her.

“Crap,” Origen finally spoke as he walked around them to take the lead, “You look like a fucking hippy.”

A sense of gratitude welled within Adam. He knew Origen could have said worse. But his words had the desired effect upon Dawn. She gestured for Adam to follow Origen west, towards their final destination.

Twilight came on with no sign of any WG forces. Eventually the trees thinned, and the remnants of an ancient highway could be seen between the tufts of grass that were slowly blocking out its existence. Dawn chose to follow the broken down road northwest. As they walked along, Adam noticed the crumbling foundations of buildings, storefronts, and parking lots that whispered of towns from the past, long ago burned to the ground and forgotten.

As the sun set, clouds began to form on the horizon. A cool breeze swept across the land and Origen motioned that they should put on their headgear.

“Here comes the rain,” he advised.

Adam slid a rubber cap on his head. Then he slipped on a helmet that had a clear shield around his face. The storm came up very quickly, with the grumble of thunder. Lightning cut across the sky and the rain began to pour down.

They kept walking, Adam relieved to discover that wetsuit kept him dry. Not a bit of his body was exposed. They trudged on through the darkness and rain.

Finally, eight hours after they had exited the tunnels, Dawn signaled for them to stop at the edge of a clearing. All around them, trees rose toward the heavens, dark against the purple nighttime sky, their branches sagging under the heavy rains. Boulders were scattered among hills of green clover, some higher than others.

There were also large statues with carvings on them, similar to the set that stood outside the Borgman’s building. But these had smashed to the ground long ago, and the forest was growing up and over them. Various worn-down structures dotted the landscape, casting shadowed memories of buildings that had once existed. But now, after two hundred years of nature’s encroachment, all that remained were random ivy covered walls, broken and deteriorated with empty doorways leading nowhere. Dawn walked up to one of these broken pieces of wall, removed her gloves and gently touched it with her hands. She motioned Adam to her side. Then she stepped aside, revealing a doorway.

She entered, beckoning Adam to follow.

Inside it was dry. A warm light illuminated a narrow passageway that led downward. Origen stepped inside and sealed the door behind him, silencing the storm. The only sounds in the hallway were the buzzing of lights that ran along the ceiling. On the wall was a glass ball, similar to the ones used for Pleasure Zone Apps in nightclubs. Dawn put her hand to it, then
Origen did the same. At once the glass lit up. Dawn nodded and began walking down the passageway.

“We’ve been given clearance. The security wall’s been deactivated,” she said.

Sure enough, Adam noticed the air in front of him change. As he walked forward, a crackling noise sounded behind him. He turned back to see a nearly invisible wall reform after Origen passed.

“What does the electrical wall do?” he asked.

“Shorts out your Chi-Regulator on the spot,” Origen replied with a cruel smile, “And then we drag your sorry ass back out the door and let you rust outside.”

“Has that ever happened?” Adam challenged.

“Not here. A break-in at the Kearney RCC has never been attempted—yet,” Dawn replied.

“Kearney?” Adam asked.

“Yes, Kearney. A university existed here long ago. It’s one of the many cities that was burnt down and abandoned.”

“I see,” Adam pondered, “And I supposed the entrance we just went through is part of what’s left of the city?”

“Yes,” Dawn nodded as they continued to walk down the hallway, leading them deeper underground. “Since a university used to be here, we chose this location to build a stronghold. Even though the grounds were overgrown, there was a ton to work with underground: computer labs, libraries, heating systems with tunnels connecting all the buildings—all ready for us to use. These technologies were obsolete in the new eHuman cities, but we were able to make them
work for us by using laser technology stolen from the WG to enlarge the existing infrastructure. You’ll experience our handiwork in a moment when we enter the city.”

“Cool,” Adam complimented. Origen snorted a laugh in response.

Adam turned on him. He simply couldn’t take any more of this guy’s abuse.

“What? I can’t admit the logic is good?” Adam said, his voice growing louder with each syllable.

“Shut the—” Origen began. Adam punched him square in the face before he could continue. The blow sent him to the ground and broke the helmet he was wearing. Origen jumped up quickly and grabbed Adam by the neck, twisting his head 180 degrees. They couldn’t kill each other. Any damage would be repaired by the Resistance engineers and mechanics, but the two men couldn’t resist destroying what they could. Adam was about to tear Origen’s arm out of its socket when Dawn intervened.

“Enough!” she cried out as she kicked them apart. Her force sent the two of them flying in different directions, heavily hitting the walls and sliding to the floor. They glared at each other through narrowed eyes.

“Please,” she said, “What’s the matter with the two of you?”

Origen had been her companion and friend for a long time. She was hurt by his conduct toward Adam. It was the familiarity of two hundred years of fighting the WG side-by-side that made her oblivious to the man’s true feelings for her.

“Being subjected to your boyfriend’s abuse was not part of the deal, Dawn!” Adam demanded from his position on the floor, where he was struggling to twist his head back into the correct position on his neck.

Dawn glared first at Adam, taken aback by his words. Boyfriend? What in the world was he saying? She turned and glared next at Origen, who just had jumped to his feet and had begun arguing with her via TeleSpeak.

“Cut the TeleSpeak crap, will you?” Adam exclaimed as he rose from the floor, shaking his head to verify it was in place, “Just take me to your leader.”

“We are the leaders,” Dawn replied coolly, staring Adam right in the eyes, “Origen and I are co-leaders of the Global Resistance. Our intention is to take you to our city and ask the Council for your admittance. It’s for them to decide if you can be a part of this movement.”

“They’d be crazy to accept an asshole like this,” Origen began—but Dawn raised her hand as if to strike him herself.

“Shut the fuck up, Origen.” she said fervently as she turned on her heels and strode fiercely down the hallway, towards what Adam could only surmise was the stronghold itself.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

At the end of the hallway was a huge, red steel door. Dawn placed her hands on another glass ball and the door slid open to reveal a fantastic sight.

Adam was amazed to see an enormous gated city, carved out beneath the ground. It had taken the Resistance years to build. Much attention and care had been put into its construction.

Dawn had called it home for almost two centuries. No matter where in the world her work took her, the feelings of comfort and relief that she experienced whenever she returned to Avalon from a mission would always remain part of her. For Dawn, there was no place like home, even if that home was a secret city built in an underground cavern.