When the Chips Are Down (13 page)

“Probably both,” Marcus replied. 

“Welcome to our world!” Lars scoffed. 

“Why don’t they just turn the chips back on?” Tommy wanted to know.

“Because now they know that there is a flaw in their infrastructure.  They will have to redesign it entirely.  If I got into the system, what’s to stop another hacker from doing the same thing and now they have motive,” Zane
replied. 

“Oh,” Tommy said dumbfounded, “How long do you think it’ll take them to redesign the system?” 

“It could be weeks or even months.  It’s a government mainframe, so it’s no easy task,” Zane said.

“They’re under a lot of pressure to fix it, though, given that no one can buy anything,” Min remarked. 

“They’ll probably have to go back to the old cash syst
em, at least for a while. I wouldn’t want to be the one in charge of redesigning a government mainframe,” Caleb said reaching into the cooler and grabbing another soda.

“What do you think everyone will do
in the mean time?” Davie wanted to know.

“I’ll bet a lot of people will try to leave the country, flee to Canada or Mexico,”
Zachary said.

“I believe enough of us can join together and overthrow Big Brother.  They’ve already lost almost half of their police force.  Change is eminent and we have Zane to thank.  Zane is our hero!” Lars proclaimed.

“No, I’m not,” Zane muttered.

“Yes, you are, man!  All of this is happening because of you!  We have a chance at freedom now
because of you,
brother!” Lars insisted.

“All hail to Zane!” Zachary shouted. 

“To Zane,” everyone
echoed, raising their soda cans. 

“I’m no
damn hero!” Zane shouted, rising to his feet.  Their expressions changed as they stared at him in shock.  “Trent and Brook don’t have a chance at freedom.  They’re in jail and they’re never getting out.  Rachelle is dead.  I couldn’t even save my friends.  There’s nothing heroic about that,” he choked.

“Trent and Brook fought the good fight, and they lost but it was not in vain,” Marcus said.

“How are we supposed to go on with our lives as if they never even existed?  How are we supposed to be happy while they rot?
  It shouldn’t end this way,” Zane said sitting back down.   He leaned over and put his head in his hands.

“You’re right, brother,” Lars
agreed, “It shouldn’t end this way.  It
can’t
end this way.”

                                        
 
Chapter 8

Trent and Brooklyn slowly rose to their feet as the soldiers helped them out of the van.  They were in a parking lot surrounded by a barbed wire fence.  The soldiers ushered them to a white, unmarked building across the lot.  They waited at the door to be buzzed in.  When the buzzer sounded, the soldiers steered them through the door into a large, windowless room containing a control tower with TV monitors, a two way mirror on the far wall, a staircase to the right leading to a door labeled “utility room,” computers, medical instruments, and surgical tables with restraints.

Trent and Brooklyn exchanged worried glances.  Brooklyn could hear her heart pounding in her ears.  “What is this place?” Trent said.  The soldiers stood behind them in silence.  “Whatever this is, it can’t be good,” Brooklyn muttered.  They stood in painful silence for what seemed like an eternity.  Finally a door opened and six men walked into the room.  Two were dressed in suits; the other four were wearing white lab coats.

“Sargent Rhoades and Sargent Wilshire, we have just received word from your commanding officer that you are to return to your base for your next assignment.  Please uncuff Mr. Barnes and Ms. Wytowski,” the thin man in the suit said.  The soldiers did as they were instructed and left the building.

The short, chubby man in the suit pushed a call button on the wall.  “You may come in now,” he said.  An armed security guard entered the room and stood against the wall by the door with his arms crossed over his chest, staring intently at them.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Mr. Barnes and Ms. Wytowski.  My name is Vincent Preston and this is Michael Freeman,” he gestured towards the short, chubby man. “We are the heads of the Testing Department here at Integrated Communication Systems.”  “We’re at ICS?!” Brooklyn cried. 

Trent and Brooklyn could not believe it.  They did not believe in a million years that they would be brought straight to the enemy.  They had always imagined the government and ICS as nameless, faceless, monsters.  Trent and Brooklyn knew that these men were only a few of the many minions of the government, but this introduction made everything much more real and profound.

“Why are we here?” Trent said. 

“I’m glad you asked,”
Preston replied, “You are here for a very special purpose.  Our Research and Development Department in Washington has recently designed a new type of microchip.  Since our mainframe controlling the old microchips has been compromised, thanks to your friend, Zane Marsh, we have the Department of Homeland’s Security approval to implement this brand new microchip, and the two of you get to be its first test subjects.  They’ve nicknamed it the ’Vegetable Chip.’”

“What the hell is that?” Trent demanded. 

“
The chip impairs brain function almost entirely.  It’s similar to being in a vegetative state, except the body is able to carry out basic tasks,” Preston responded. 

“
Subjects are still able to perform life preserving tasks, such as eating and drinking. They may perform specific tasks, but only on command.  If we tell them to dig ditches for example, they will grab shovels and go to work. When they are not receiving commands, their minds will be in a comatose state,” Freeman explained. 

Trent and Brooklyn could hear the excitement and pride in Preston and Freeman’s voices. 

“So,
it’s just a more powerful version of the old microchip,” Brooklyn said.

“How are you going to implant a new chip when your mainframe is down?” Trent wanted to know. 

“That’s an excellent question.  Yes, our mainframe is still down.  Our IT Department has been working
diligently to rebuild the mainframe, but it’s going to be a lengthy process; however this new microchip isn’t controlled by our mainframe.  It works independently once it’s inserted.  There’s no shutting it off.  The only way to stop it from working would be to have it surgically removed. 

Test subjects have been used for every microchip we’ve invented.  If the microchip works in the test subjects, the chip can be mass produced and given to the general public.  Normally we wouldn’t sanction inmates from the county jail to conduct testing on, but in your case, we’ve been asked to make an exception,” Preston explained.

“As you probably already know the microchip doesn’t require safety testing, so if the Vegetable Chip is effective in the both of you, it will be implanted in the general public.  It may very well replace the old microchips, since computer hackers would no longer be an issue,” Freeman added.

“Why are you doing this?  Why do you want to make everyone brain dead?”  Brooklyn asked in astonishment.

“There are plenty
of reasons. The human race is very violent.  You could think of the Vegetable Chip as a solution to our crime problem,” Freeman smiled.

“
That’s a load of crap!  You don’t care about crime.  You don’t care about anything but yourselves; you just cash your generous paychecks. How much do they pay you?  Just how much is the demise of mankind worth?” Trent snapped.

“That’s enough chatter,” Preston said,” It’s time for you to do what you were brought here to do.  Once your microchips have been implanted, you will be taken to Prune Island, where you will serve as aides in their vaccine testing facility”

“You mean human guinea pigs
. Lars was right all along.  You are designing microchips so you can have mindless dummies to experiment on,” Trent said in disgusted amazement.

“Well, there is a bright side.  Prune Island may simply decide to have you put down.  We have far more test subjects than we need in this overpopulated country.  We’ll have to get rid of them somehow,”
Freeman said coldly.

The four men in lab coats started towards Trent and Brooklyn. As they begin to back away, the security guard walked forward, putting his hand on the holster of his gun.  “I wouldn’t do anything stupid.  Ivan’s aim is quite accurate,” Freeman warned.

Trent and Brooklyn froze, staring at the security guard as the men in lab coats surrounded them, each grabbing one of their arms and dragging them to the surgical tables.  “Let me go!” they both shouted, struggling to free themselves from their grasp. Trent fought hard, but could not overpower the two muscular men.  They twisted his arms behind his back and applied pressure until he cried out in pain.  The other two men simply lifted Brooklyn’s feet into the air as she kicked at them.  Once they were on the surgical tables, their wrists were slid into the restraints.

”
Make sure those restraints are tight,” Preston ordered, standing over them.  Freeman stood beside him.

“Implant her chip first,” Preston instructed pointing at Brooklyn.  One of the lab coats unbuttoned Brooklyn’s shirt and placed electrodes on her chest while another turned on the monitor connected to them.  Brooklyn struggled to free herself from the restraints but only caused herself pain. 

“Settle down,”
the man who placed the electrodes on her said.  He stood behind her, pressing his hands down on her shoulders. 

“Let me go!” she screamed. 

“No one’s going to hear you in here.  You’re wasting your time. These walls are sound proof,” Preston smiled.

The man by the monitor picked up a syringe.  “These are how the chips are inserted. Can you believe such a tiny device can do so much?”  Preston boasted.  The man with the syringe started towards her.  She fought harder against her restraints.  “Hold her down,” Preston barked.  The first man kept his hands on her shoulders while the other two held her legs down. 

“This will only hurt a little,” Preston said.  The man with the syringe took hold of Brooklyn’s left arm and gently slid the needle into her vein.

“NO!” Trent screamed from the other table, struggling hard to free himself. 
The Doctor slowly injected the contents of the syringe into her vein.  “NO! NOOOOOOOOO!” Trent continued to scream. 

“It’s done,” Freeman said, “
She doesn’t even know who you are anymore.”

“How is she, Dr. Rheinpreck?” Preston asked the man with the syringe. 

“Her vitals are normal,” he
replied staring at the monitor.  The other three men let go of her as she had stopped struggling. 

“Brook?  Brooklyn, can you hear me?
” Trent cried. 

“Quiet,” Preston s
napped leaning over the table to face her.  She stared back at him blankly.  “Spell WORLD backwards,” he instructed. 

“U O Y W E R C S
,” Brooklyn said carefully. 

“What?” Preston said puzzled.  Freeman looked equally puzzled.

“She just said ‘screw
you’!” Trent shouted with glee, “That’s my girl!”

“
How can this be?” Preston turned towards Dr. Rheinpreck, “She shouldn’t even be able to string two words together!”

“Are you
sure you inserted the right microchip?” Freeman asked.

“Of course,” Rheinpreck exclaimed.

“Then why isn’t it working?” Preston demanded.

“I don’t know.  It doesn’t make sense,” Rheinpreck
replied.

“Maybe your chip sucks,” Trent
taunted.

“You shut up!” Preston snapped. 

“We need to get ahold of R& D.  Something’s not right,” Freeman said.

“You’ve got that right.  I want them on the phone now!  They’re not sending us another chip until they’re a thousand percent sure it works,” Preston said angrily.

“
Wait, no wonder it’s not working,” Rheinpreck exclaimed, facing the computer by the control tower, “She must still have a Titanium-Aluminum Triphorate rod in her arm.” Preston and Freeman stared at each other in shock. 

“That can’t be! We had those rods outlawed and destroyed when the microchip bill was passed because R&D was
sure that they would interfere with the chips.  Everyone who already had the rods implanted was ordered to have them surgically removed,” Freeman exclaimed.