The Nothing (34 page)

Jeff patted Dr.
Abernathy on the back and shook his head like a man enlightened. “You know Doctor, one thing I have always known is that our history as it was, and as it is, will always be this way. No gun law will stop the shootings. No abortion law will reinstate morals, and religions will ever be at peace with another. You have been always right, our human nature is what dictates our existence. Plus, I have always hated that our toys, or technology devices, always seem to be in the way.” Dr. Abernathy added with a raise of the finger, “And my good man, human nature is the most ignored variable of the entire equation. Which is the core of this study. Human nature will take center stage.” An elation filled Jeff’s face. As if he had learned he was a father or had won the lottery.

“Dr. Abernathy, I think I now ge
t the whole picture of what you are trying to do here. I didn’t say anything before, but your philosophy ‘The Nothing’ always confused me. Now I see. I am glad to be here and will never be able to thank you enough for saving me.”

“You saved yourself.
Only the individual can save himself. It is all about taking advantage of the opportunities and resources around one’s self. I am hoping people will learn this during the final phase.”

“Doctor I have to admit
how scared I am of what will happen out there.”

“So am I Jeff.
But to understand the beast, you have to look it right in the eyes, and become that beast.

***

As the plane ascended from McCarran International Airport, most of the passengers on the plane watched the landscape drop lower and lower from view. It was a beautiful day in Las Vegas as the city shined under the afternoon sun. When the plane turned east, Dr. Abernathy looked out of his window on the right in the hopes of catching a glimpse of his laboratory. He was thinking that the large satellite dishes on the top would be visible. The Endonite Institute was ten miles east of Las Vegas. Dr. Abernathy purchased the building that houses the institute ten years ago with corporate grants for a project he oversaw on the health effects of cellular waves. The building sits on thirty acres and use to be the above-ground level of a ballistic missile silo. The lower levels were converted to sleeping quarters, offices and the missile chamber became lab storage. Most of the work is done in the top building since it is already fifty thousand square feet and had all the utilities needed. But it was always nice to have all the additional space underground in case it was needed; in case there was a catastrophic event that all lab personnel needed to escape or hide from.

Overall, the
flight was smooth and uneventful. After leaving the west terminal area, it was time to go get the luggage. Walking through the Ronald Reagan Airport provided Dr. Abernathy with much visual justification for his beliefs. Everywhere anyone looked, there was someone on a cell phone. Many were walking while they chatting on their phone oblivious to their surroundings. Dr. Abernathy also saw several people, distracted by their cell phones or with headphones planted in their ears, bump into each other. There were children tapping on the screens of an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, either playing a game or surfing the net.
This is too much. These children should have a real book in their hands. These people should watch where they are walking and respect other’s space. Wow, that person there is using a Bluetooth, but is yakking loudly into the ear of the person waiting in line in front of him. This is tragic.

He passed a
n advertisement banner that said,

‘Beat the
heat with a latte treat: All latte’s half price during August. Only at Starbucks!’

A cool vanilla latte s
ounded great to Dr. Abernathy. The line was long but he had plenty of time. The meeting with President Moore wasn’t for another week. A sign on the counter where they give out the finished coffees caught his eye.

‘
Please refrain from using your cell phone during ordering. Thank You!’

In the order line, t
here were seven people waiting to place their order. The no cell phone use sign was in front for all to see, yet four were talking on their cell phones anyways. Another was playing a word game.
Now this is pathetic! No regard or respect for anyone. These animals need a whipping. This is what I have always talked about. Doesn’t anyone have self respect anymore? It would be nice is people could at least respect others. These losers are blatantly insulting this business! The sign is right in front of them in plain sight!

Dr. Abernathy
wanted to take their phones and smash then into the ground and wave the sign that said to refrain from cell phone use in their faces. It amazed him how distracted and absent minded people are when they are talking, surfing the net, or playing some game on a cell phone. Tunnel vision, side blinders, and the unawareness of their surroundings were so profound. To Dr. Abernathy, a person under the influence of alcohol is more aware of their surroundings than someone texting. Yet all in all, his latte was actually quite tasty and placed him in a better mood.

The stay at the Hay-Adams Hotel has always been pleasant.
The luxury was overwhelming, but he managed to enjoy the amenities nonetheless. When Dr. Abernathy arrived at his room, he tossed his empty Starbucks cup in the wastebasket, kicked off his shoes and laid back on a super comfy plush bed that could only come in a five star hotel. The ceiling fan had brass tips on the blades with a shiny brass motor housing. There was a fifty-inch widescreen television with a folded sign advertising it’s capabilities as an internet TV sitting next to it. A business card on the side table gave the login and password for the hotel wireless network. Next to that was a cell phone charging station that looked like it was made out of fancy Maplewood. All anyone had to do was merely set their phone on the black rubber pad in the middle, and the phone would charge. As it’s been customary for many years, there is the complimentary room phone. It was sleek aluminum cased on a larger square phone unit. A small card next to that said, ‘complimentary room phone.’
What would they need that for if everyone has a cell phone? Funny though, even the complimentary phone is wireless. Only needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet. This keeps getting better and better, and worse and worse!

I
t was time for Dr. Abernathy to call Jeff. It was time to input the codes.

***

The same lamp on the secretary’s desk had a small cobweb on it this time. Last time, there were two small flies circling each other near the bulb. The offices were busier than the last time as well. The whole White House was buzzing with activity. Tours had been canceled two days after Dr. Abernathy arrived in Washington. A group of men could be heard stomping in the Oval Office and yelling. The thicker inner door by the secretary was open like last time, but the smaller garden like door with windows was closed with a drape pulled down. He couldn’t see them, but Dr. Abernathy could hear what they were saying.

“Plane crashes, planes landing on
highways…”

“Before the outage, Za
ck Patton escaped from the team.”

“
Sergeant Raymond Diaz who was leading the team is missing…”

“In touch with emergency services in most metropolitan areas…”

“Since we pulled up intercontinental and ocean cables, we can’t call Europe, Asia, or South America because all satellites are down.

“Reports of r
ioting, shootings, lootings….”

“Most municipalities reported severely delayed res
ponse time for fire and police…”

“People marching and rioting three blocks
away from the Capital Building…”

Dr.
Abernathy put his ear to the door so he could hear them more clearly. He noticed the secretary looking at him with worry all over her face. She was worried and scared for the same reason that everyone else is. “It’s ok Madam. I’m sure this will all work out for everyone.” The secretary looked perplexed. “Sir do you have any idea what is going on out there? I for one can’t go home. I am stuck here because of this shit. Which is better anyway since my townhome is blocked by rioters.” She kept shaking her head back and forth. Dr. Abernathy could see the trauma this stress was bringing on her. He could observe her feeling of helplessness.
She obviously is having a severe emotional response and juggling multiple feelings in her mind. Which in turn are causing a diminished mental state!

The secretary continued
,
“I’m mean fuck, I can’t call my mother or check my email. My boyfriend and I had only recently gotten back together. And you know why we broke up? Because I didn’t call him as much as I should have! My job was taking too much time from us. Now I can’t call him and I have been ordered to stay here and sleep in a dorm room in the lower levels. Isn’t that ironic as shit!” The Doctor had been focused on her eyes while soaking up her misery. To him, she was mere data for his study.

“Madam, what is your name?”

But she couldn’t answer because she started crying and buried her face in her hands. Dr Abernathy grinned and cleared his throat to get her to look up at him. He moved closer and lightly touched her hand. She backed away in her chair and wiped her eyes with a tissue. “Forgive me Doctor, I’m sure you are also having to deal with the frustration of not being able to communicate with the people in your life. You are probably like the rest of us, having a miserable time. My name is Jodie to answer your question.” Dr. Abernathy held out his hand and gestured for her to take it. Then he used both of his hands to cup her one hand in a comforting manner and looked her in the eyes.

“Actually I am having a
great time.”

“Excuse me?”

She took her hand away and backed her chair away from the desk, staring at his face as if he had told her to kill herself. “If you ring the President, I can tell him how to stop this.”

“
I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Why are you having a good time?”

“Just ring him.”

Not a single man noticed when Dr. Abernathy was led into the Oval Office. Only President Moore saw him, winked, and motioned him to sit in a chair along the side of the room. The President had been sitting at his desk while the rest of the room was a cluster of debate. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the National Security Advisor, the President’s Chief of Staff and a collection of other official looking men, in uniform and out, were arguing in the center of the room on a circle of couches and arm chairs. Dr. Abernathy listened. There was talk of grounding all air traffic. Yet there was limited contact with the FAA, who had contact with only the few airports that still maintained fiber optic landlines. The discussions revealed that everyone was fully aware that all cellular, satellite, Wi-Fi, short and long wave communications were down. One of the men read off a list of three small municipalities in Virginia that were still able to maintain a sense of order. And that was because they still relied on good old-fashioned fiber optics to communicate around town. Most major cities were able to report in through old landlines maintained in the case of an emergency. However, no landline or line of communication exists to any countries overseas. All land based communications stop at the American border. The reports phoned in revolved around crashing planes, riots, and breakdown of local emergency services. When it came to the military, no one could get in touch with base commanders at domestic bases or overseas. With another war raging in Afghanistan, the lack of communication and coordination could affect the ability for the troops to do their jobs.

This is great!
I get to listen to the most important decision makers in the world making history! Ooh looks like the President is going to give the latest news.

“
Gentlemen I have the latest. A message came through reporting that Zack Patton, the intelligence officer responsible for our database codes being sold throughout the east, was able to break free from the team that had apprehended him. Last communication received indicated an ambush and that the team’s leader Sergeant Raymond Diaz is missing while the rest of the team was killed. We only know this now because it looks like a text from an undercover agent who is tracking Patton’s mother in Romania, was able to find its way to an agent in Florida. That agent hand delivered the message to an FBI field office in Miami. The reason it took so long to get here is because no Landlines exist in those field offices and his federal mandate would be to hand deliver and bypass local and state responsibilities due to the sensitive nature of the message. That agent delivered it to here thirty minutes ago. Now let’s have the Chairman shed more light on the specifics. General?”

“
Excuse me everyone while I stand, my legs are getting stiff. I am General Horton for those of you that don’t know me. I feel it is important to mention that in Patton’s hands were specific bypass codes and schematics to the security systems of our worldwide intelligence feeds. Also outlined were codes and schematics to Russian, Iranian, Chinese, and North Korean networks. Where all of that fits in with our systems is a mystery that escaped with Mr. Patton. As far as our codes, if those are compromised, it would take twenty years to reconfigure and rewire the network. During that time, our country’s defenses would be weakened to the point that anyone could do anything to us that they wanted. Updates before the last one from the team, was that they had the suspect in custody and the files had been recovered. And of course after that, all hell broke loose. Mr. President would you care to brief us on who this Zack Patton is? I would like to give my throat a break.”