Reddened Wasteland (14 page)

As the platform neared the top, the ceiling opened up
a slot that was just large enough for their platform to slide through. They
passed through it and Alerik was instantly claustrophobic as they rose through
a narrow tunnel that was barely wide enough for their platform. For several
floors they stared at nothing but metal siding.

When the platform finally stopped, Alerik was greeted
by a large room with glass acting as a ceiling. It reminded him of the dome
itself. The room was luxurious and had vintage décor, along with paintings
lining the walls. There were even marble floors and at the other end of the
room, a giant, wooden desk had Aldain, himself, sitting behind it. Aemon was
also there, standing at Aldain’s side. Alerik approached the desk with his
companions beside him.

“I am Alerik Jacobs. You wanted to see me?” he was
nervous as he watched the man behind the desk.

Aldain was a massive man. Well-built and athletic. He
had white hair and his blue eyes were as icy as Alerik’s. He wore a strange set
of armor. It was form fitting, with metal guarding the vital points of his
body, but the arms and forearms had razor-sharp blades stretched from the wrist
to elbow. The shoulders had giant metal spikes, as well as the elbows. He
wondered if the knees had the same, the spikes seemed to adorn each joint of
the suit. His gloves had a saw-like protrusion from the front which would cause
some serious damage in a hand-to-hand grapple, no doubt. Something like that
would slice a skull open with a single, well-executed punch. The suit was
clearly crafted to be intimidating. He doubted that Aldain ever fought… after
all, why would he have to? Perhaps that was the purpose of the armor, to
protect Aldain, but also to scare away would-be challengers.

“Alerik. Welcome, please take a seat. We have a few
things to go over,” Aldain said with authority, as he leaned back in his chair.
Aemon watched on without saying a word.

Alerik took his seat, wary of the guards surrounding
him in the room. If they wanted to kill him today, he was fucked. “Why was I
brought here? Are you upset with my performance?” he asked.

“No, of course not. You have done us a great service,
though you should slow down on the drinking a bit,” he said flatly. “I brought
you here to discuss your friend, Lucius. We also need to go over some
disturbing news we have received regarding imminent attacks on the building.”

“Yeah, I kind of assumed this might be about Lucius. I
apologize for taking him from his duties, but he has been a tremendous help to
me and Saskia during our investigations. I will take full responsibility for
his absence.”

“Do not worry about that. The reason I wanted to talk
to you, is you no doubt know by now that Lucius is not normal,” Aldain paused
for confirmation from Alerik.

Alerik thought about lying and acting like he had no
idea what Aldain was talking about, but he knew the man was smarter than that.
Playing dumb would likely just piss him off.

“Yes, I’ve noticed he is ‘different’… During one of
our chases, he was attacked and his chest was sliced open,” he hoped that would
be enough to satisfy Aldain.

“So you have seen that our friend, Lucius, doesn’t
bleed,” he said with a chuckle. “Yes, Lucius is an android. A robot made to
look human, as I am all too sure you have figured out.”

“What is the purpose or need for a robot to appear to
be a human?” he came right out with the question that had burned his mind since
he saw the wires in Lucian’s chest.

“I could lie to you, and tell you it is so humans can
work alongside robots without feeling uneasy, that it is just for comfort… but
that’s not the truth. Alerik, you’re here because I want to bring you and
Saskia into the family,” Aldain said, his tone had grown ominous.

“That didn’t really answer the question,” Alerik
snapped before realizing that it came off as rude. He hoped Aldain didn’t take
offense. He speedily changed the subject, “The family? What does that mean?”

“The true purpose of The Union is not to look out for
the best interest of
all
men, as I am sure you have noticed,” he said as
he rose from his desk and started a slow pace through the room. “The true
purpose of The Union is to ensure the
best
of humanity survive. We want
the best genes passed along to the next generation, so that in a thousand
years, humanity is represented by the intelligent, the athletic, and the
beautiful. Saskia has proven herself worthy of this circle as of late, and you,
Alerik… I think you were born into the wrong class altogether.”

“What about the people deemed to have inferior genes?”
he asked, hesitantly. He had a feeling where Aldain was going with his speech.

“The future will depend on us, the chosen few, to
rebuild. If we continue to pass on inferior genes, we will be making the same
mistakes our forefathers made on Earth. When they came to Mars they had a
vision, an idea of how things should be. That is why they gathered the best
that humanity had to offer, and left the rest to perish. They hoped to rebuild
here and create a utopia,” he sat on his desk in front of Alerik. He noticed there
were spikes on the knees, after all.

“This is far from a utopia.”

“Precisely. We want the same thing. We in the family
want complete equality, and for everyone to be of the same class. That is why
we do this. One day the inferior genes will be scorched from this rock and all
that will be left are the absolute best, and only
then
can we be equal.
That is why we have built these androids. They will, one day – very soon –
replace all of the miners down below, and the farmers past the wall. Then, all
that will be left is the best of the best within the Diamond District. A utopia
free from the burden of work. A place where every desire is met, from perpetual
relaxation, to physical gratification. Meanwhile, additional androids will work
tirelessly to extend the dome, eventually covering the entire planet until
there is no need for a dome at all. We want to rebuild Earth completely, right
here,” he said with a smile.

Initially, Alerik toyed with the idea that maybe
Aldain was right. His vision of the future sounded amazing for those who would
survive to see it. The thought of this hypothetical, perfect world was
definitely enticing… except the part where thousands of innocent people would
die to achieve it. There had to be a way around that, though, he could tell
that Aldain wouldn’t be interested in entertaining the idea.

He wondered why everything had to be so black and
white with all of these groups. Liberty’s Hammer was undoubtedly evil, but he
could now understand why they were fighting so hard to stop The Union. He
thought back to the miners he grew up with, all of the families that would
perish if The Union’s dreams were realized. He thought about the Children of
Old, Soran and Cinine and Valek and all the others he had formed bonds with in
such a short time with them. Aldain’s future sounded great, but not if he
couldn’t share that world with the people he cared about.

He knew they would likely kill him on the spot if he
said he opposed the idea, so he decided to play along. “That sounds…
incredible,” He said. Speaking the words made his stomach churn.

“I’m glad you see it that way, Alerik. We want to move
you into the Diamond District as soon as possible. We have heard reports that
Liberty’s Hammer is planning an attack on this very building, and soon. We will
need all of the manpower we have for one last push, and then we will finally
end this scourge once and for all,” Aldain grabbed a bottle filled with a dark
liquid and poured a couple of glasses. He handed one to Alerik.

“The Diamond District. Wow. Never in my wildest dreams
did I imagine that I would ever have a home there,” Alerik took the drink from
Aldain’s hand and sipped it tentatively, “What is this stuff?”

“That is called ‘whiskey.’ It was a popular drink back
on Earth,” Aldain grinned.

“Earth? How do you have a bottle of it? It must be
hundreds of years old,” he looked at the glass in astonishment.

“I have my ways. It’s a perk to being in the family.
One of many, as you will soon come to find out,” he said as he returned to the
seat behind his desk.

“So, tell me about this attack. What are we doing to
prepare, and how can I help?” Alerik asked. The pull of this incredible life
laid out in front of him was strong, but he could not betray his friends and
all of the people he had grown up with, all those people who were just like him
up until a few short weeks ago, for the sake of these assholes and the
luxurious towers that they had locked themselves away in.

Besides, he wasn’t stupid. He knew the only reason
they gave a single fuck about him was because he was really good at getting rid
of their enemies. Where had they been when he was eating Life Bars in a shack
with one light bulb? They had been in their towers, planning the extinction of
all of his people.

“We will be increasing security. Our guards that are
living in the Ruby District will be pulled in to guard the building. We will
leave the Ruby District as a barrier between us and Liberty’s Hammer. It will
become a ghost town, where the final war against them will be waged. All of our
people will be in this building, secure and well protected. And even if Liberty’s
Hammer somehow makes it through the Ruby District and magically kills all of my
guards, I have another surprise for them,” he said with a chuckle.

“…and that is?” Alerik asked.

“All of our androids will go live. An entire army of
robots, all built for the sole purpose of protecting those within The Union.
They will pour out of the building like a flood and crush Liberty’s Hammer.
They feel no pain and they have no fear. They are perfect warriors, and that
terrorist sect has no idea what they are up against,” Aldain practically
giggled before tossing back his drink.

Alerik knew it would be a slaughter, but as much as he
hated The Union right now, they weren’t the ones who killed Velar. So he didn’t
care if Liberty’s Hammer was wiped out, he’d be happy to see it. Plus, the
fighting would surely weaken The Union for a time, making it easy to end them
once and for all. Alerik knew at that moment that he needed to warn the
Children of Old.

“Until then, I suppose I just keep capturing members
of Liberty’s Hammer and weakening their forces?” Alerik asked as he swigged
down the rest of his drink.

“Yes, and we will call upon you when we receive word
that they are on the move. Until then, just go about your business like you
have been. We do not want them to suspect that we know of their plans. Only a
handful of us actually do.”

Saskia and Lucius had been quiet thus far into the
conversation, but finally Saskia stepped forward, “We will do what has been
asked of us. Thank you, Aldain, for considering us as prospects for the family.
You will not regret your decision,” she said as she moved to stand with Alerik.
She gave Aldain a bow.

“Oh, I know you won’t disappoint me, and that is
exactly why you two were chosen. You can keep the android; he may be of use to you.
Now, get out there and get us some results,” he said with a smile.

***

While the group was heading back to the apartment,
Alerik looked over to Saskia to gauge her mood. Her face was somber, not
excited as he would’ve expected her to be. He wondered if she was as repulsed
by The Union’s plan as he was. They had grown to trust each other in the last
few weeks, but he still wasn’t sure if she could be trusted enough to be let in
on his true opinion on the Union’s utopia.

A pregnant silence filled the vehicle for the entirety
of the trip, even Lucius was quiet. When they arrived at the apartment, they
all wordlessly stepped out of the vehicle and walked inside, carefully avoiding
each other in a grand display of awkwardness. Alerik was the first to break the
silence as he pulled his flask from his jacket.

“So, thoughts everyone?” he smirked and took a sip.

Saskia sat down on the couch in the living room and
sighed loudly. “I honestly don’t know what to think. It is a great honor that
Aldain has bestowed upon us, but…” she trailed off.

“But what?”

“But, everything I know, everything I thought I knew…
is a lie. I thought that The Union were out to help people. To bring order into
this world so that future generations could prosper. I had no idea that they planned
to kill off an entire group of people in order to do it,” her voice was shaky
and she hung her head.

“I always knew something was off with The Union, but
assumed it was all for some greater good. They are no better than Liberty’s
Hammer,” Alerik decided to confess his thoughts as he sat down on the couch
next to her.

“I can’t say that I am against a world full of
androids, since we are better than you in every single way imaginable,” Lucius
said with a chuckle. “However, I would consider both of you as friends, and I
can tell that this plan that Aldain has for your race troubles you. So, what is
the next step, here?”

“Well first off, fuck you,” Alerik said, laughing.
“Second, I’m not sure yet, but that is the last time I report in to The Union.
Saskia, you can do whatever you feel is right. I won’t hold it against you, but
I have no intention of doing any more work for them. I have had a hand in
helping them for too long. Who knows how many innocent deaths I will have on my
hands because of the work I’ve done to help them,” his voice grew distant as
the potential consequences danced in his thoughts. “All this time… I was just
making them stronger…”