Human Again: A Dystopian Sci-Fi Novel (Cryonemesis Book 1) (10 page)

“Or what? You are going to shoot me?”

“I’ll let the sentinel chase you around first. That’ll be less pleasant.”

He stopped smiling.

“When is the attack?” I asked.

“Why do you think I will tell you, stupid boy?”

“Because if you want to return home, you will tell me.”

“You kill me and they change the day. I return and they change the day anyway.”

“But you can prevent other people's deaths.”

“It's not on me, or you. The decision has been made a long time ago. With me or without me, it doesn't make any difference.”

“You can never breach this place. Your leaders are sending people to their deaths.”

“Oh boy, they didn’t teach you anything inside. We’ve already won.”

“We can kill you all and stop it.”

“Yeah? So why haven’t you? You are stuck in your bunker, passive, and numb. We grow in numbers, train, build weapons. We will terminate you like stepping on an ant nest.”

A sound of a roaming sentinel approached. I got up and pointed the gun to the ground.

“Tell them they shouldn't try to do it.”

“Are you releasing me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Like you said. It won't change anything.”

He laughed again. I wanted to put a bullet in his head just to make him stop laughing at me all the time, but I couldn't let myself.

“Go!”

“You could've killed me but the inside made you weak.”

“Go!”

“Remember this boy, as long as people are addicted to technology and power, they will continue to destroy the world. Look around, we’ve already won.”

I aimed the gun at him and pointed at the hill. I could have killed him, but I don’t shoot prisoners. That's what I’d been taught, and it was still in me. Shanta would think I agreed to help them, but I couldn't take sides or bring him in alive for questioning.

I had to go back unnoticed, so I followed him with the pistol while he ran up the hill. He walked slowly and then stopped, and then turned around and shot me. He had another gun all along. I fired at his direction instinctively. The sentinel heard that for sure. I dropped to the ground. A moment after, I saw a flash of light behind me and then his body rolling down the hill until he laid still on the ground. The sentinel would be back for me. I couldn't do anything, and laid there for I don't know how long. I tried to stay conscious, letting the pain rush through me. I couldn't fight it, anyway.

The stars were looking at me; just a grain of dust. Shadows passed before my eyes, although I wasn't blacking out. It was Bahomi reaching to get me. I allowed myself to pass out.

Chapter 11

I woke up in a jail cell. I had bandages on my stomach, and it felt like somebody had put broken glass in there and sewn me back up. Other than that everything was intact. I finally remembered what had happened when the anesthetic wore off.
How could I let the intruder go? Why didn't I frisk him? How did I let him shoot me? Have I forgotten everything they taught me in the army?
I felt so stupid.

Regarding the cell situation, first I was scared but then I realized it at least meant I was alive and not assimilated. At least not yet. I didn’t know what was coming to me. After all, I did disobey Padma.

After calming down I had a more relevant thought: the invasion was real. The Purists would eventually come for us. The resistance was right and I blew them off.

I analyzed my every mistake, every miscalculation. I didn't take a gun, and I didn't cover the lens to avoid reflections. I got too far down the hill. I passed the gun circle. And how come no one is doing anything but the resistance? And why did I let Bahomi take me there in the first place?

Dr. Ashish came to examine me and the cell door buzzed open. He lifted the blanket and the bandage.

“The laser stitching looks good. No infection, just swelling.”

Then he pulled out a little sonogram device that looked like an old telephone—but way cooler—and pointed it at my wound.

“Tissues are already reconnecting. I think you'll survive this one.”

“Thanks. For everything”

“Just doing my job.”

“Do you know what’s going to happen with me?”

“You will live.”

“No, I mean this.” I pointed at the cell bars, yet he remained silent.

“It’s not good, Roy.”

He seemed worried and I wanted to change the subject.

“Have you found anything about my parents?”

“I have good news and bad news.”

“Give me the bad first.”

“I'm afraid they go together.”

“Ok.” I was ready for impact.

“I asked the guys over at the northern city. They reported that your parents did get defrosted but they vanished twenty years ago.”

“Twenty years ago?”

“Your parents were alive after defrosting. But no one has seen them since the Purist attack twenty years ago.”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm afraid so. I don’t know what happened to them, but I do know they didn't come here.”

“Someone must have more details. Didn't they have security cameras?”

“They did.”

“So how can I see the video from that day?”

“It’s probably classified, and I don't have clearance.”

President Padma buzzed herself into my cell. I tried to sit straight for her but it hurt. She noticed.

“Stay as you are.”

“President Padma,” said Dr. Ashish.

I could see how removed she was. She wasn’t pleased to see me. She signaled Dr. Ashish to leave us, which he did with a little head tilt. She waited until he left.

“Do you know why I invited you on stage in front of everybody?”

“So I would feel part of this city,” I said with remorse.

“Yes, that’s also the reason I gave you that job. So you had everything you wanted but still endangered us.”

I think I was beyond the point of pulling the innocent defrosty card.

“The Purist, he said something about an invasion.”

“The invasion has been happening for fifty years now. Nothing has changed. We have always been attacked. It doesn't matter. Our systems have always kept us safe.”

“What happens if our systems fail?”

“It won't happen.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because I have people who fix the systems, people who care about this place, and whom I can trust.”

Ouch.

“He said they already won.”

She giggled as if she had heard this before.

“Humans caused the crisis and the Purists just made it worse. They are human, after all. If we can’t learn anything about ourselves here, we will never change. The simulation is the only guarantee of change because it helps us identify the causes and effects of our ill nature.”

They blame us, we blame them. It's a never ending cycle.

“How long do I stay here?”

“Until the council decides what your punishment will be.”

She was about to leave when I stopped her.

“I need to know what happened to my parents.”

“I can’t help you anymore.”

“I need access to the videos of the Purist attack on the northern city twenty years ago.”

“Those are classified.”

“I need to know what happened, I might see something.”

“You just breached our security and almost got kidnapped. What makes you think I'm going to let you have access to classified information?”

“Because you just said you care about your children. And so did my parents.”

“Nice try, but you’re up for assimilation or exile. There’s no use searching for your parents anymore.”

She left, and I was more angry and confused than before. If she was aware of the threat, how could she be so certain about the city’s safety? How could she do nothing? I didn't expect her to reveal all the secret plans, but I’d been taught long ago that when someone tells you not to worry, and that everything is fine, that means everything is not just fine and you should start worrying. It wasn’t even a week ago for me when prime ministers, government members and generals used me to try to calm the nation with such messages. They told us how strong and united we were, and how much we're a highly sophisticated and highly trained nation with the best soldiers and the most advanced army technology. Guess what? I died on that assumption. And I didn’t want to die on it again.

Chapter 12

That night I awoke because I heard a loud click coming from the cell door. The cell was pitch black, and no emergency lights were on.

“Hello?”

No one answered.

I stayed in bed for a moment. I was woozy and I didn’t know if I was allowed to stand up. Not that I could see where I was walking.

“Come with us,” a familiar voice whispered. It was Shanta.

The cell door hinges squeaked. I sat on my bed and reached out with my legs. A warm hand grabbed mine. My bare feet felt the stingy metal rod of the Cactus suit. I followed the silent swoosh of the Cactus in pitch black, knowing I was being lead to freedom outside. The only directions I got were in whispers:
“Left, right, faster, watch the door.”
I was totally blind yet fully aware at the same time. Only when we got to the service tunnel did Bahomi turn on a dimmed red flashlight so I could put on the Cactus. We climbed outside. The moon was thin and a layer of dust shrouded the stars.

“How did you do it?” I whispered.

“We have a man on the inside,” Bahomi said.

“We’re
not
just a bunch of teenagers playing resistance,” Shanta added.

We walked in silence, getting far from the city. After a few minutes we heard gunfire and saw the city’s laser guns fire. It almost felt normal. We kept going south for about thirty minutes until we reached a large cave opening. The air was hot and humid, and I briefly imagined a cold shower that would never happen. We went inside the cave, holding bright flashlights. The cave was as big as four buses standing next to each other. In some corners you could've seen boulders that had fallen from the cave’s ceiling. Bahomi pulled out two cushions and two dusty mattresses that were hidden behind one of the boulders. The air was cool and nice. We took off our Cactus suits and laid them on the ground.

“Wow,” I sighed. “This is awesome.”

“Better get used to it, you’re going to be here for awhile,” said Shanta.

“You two live out here?” I asked.

“Sometimes.” They looked at each other briefly.

“And the Purists haven’t found this place?”

“Not yet,” she said, sitting on one of the cushions. “We don’t start a fire or leave any remains when we come here.”

Bahomi pulled a mattress and joined us.

“Here, we have something to show you.” He was holding a square of firm yet flexible paper.

“What I'm about to show you is top secret,” he said in a somewhat mechanical tone, slow and serious.

He turned to the screen and moved the slider to the beginning of the video. The first video was a high angle shot of the city perimeter. There was a man standing in the sun next to a carriage tied to a donkey, wearing a white robe. Bahomi started to comment on the video as it played.

“At 19:00 the Purist leader was standing outside the city's main gate. The negotiation was held over AM radio transmissions during the previous weeks. He requested food for his people in return for a cease fire.” The video cut to another angle of the surroundings of the city. “Our surveillance continued to scan the area for any movement.”

A video from inside the main gate showed the door rolling up and three sentinels traveling out. Two stopped just outside the door while it rolled down again. The third sentinel moved towards the man, carrying a large box.

“A month’s worth of food supplies were packed in a cold container. The man spoke to the sentinel's microphone and insisted that the amount was not enough—despite having agreed upon that amount ahead of time— and that he would wait for more. “

I could see the man’s face through the sentinel’s camera. He was young and slim. If you would only look at his eyes you would say he was in his thirties, yet the deep wrinkles next to his eyes and mouth made him look like he was fifty. He looked like life was a burden to him, but a burden that he was willing to take on and on.

The video was moving in fast forward yet continued to play.

“After an hour of debating the man was still standing there silent and motionless. It was about 120 degrees Fahrenheit and 96% humidity. Yet he didn't move an inch. The city council had decided to send another sentinel with more food. Two sentinels were still guarding the front, and a forth sentinel was sent out to the Purist leader to carry out the extra box. The two boxes were placed on a carriage tied to the donkey, and then the Purist leader started to walk the donkey away from the city perimeter.”

“Why did they do it?” I wasn’t naive; I knew something was about to happen.

“The northern city had disobeyed Padma. She told them not to negotiate with the Purists to begin with.”

The video continued.

“By the time the Purist leader had reached the nearby hills, eight rockets were fired from the outside the city in the sentinels' direction. And the main door hadn’t fully rolled up yet. At this stage, New Knaan received the emergency signal. They deployed combat drones as back up for the northern city, knowing that they might take up to twenty minutes to fly across sixty-five miles.”

I could see the explosions from the camera inside the gate. The main door was immediately shut.

“One sentinel was hit but remained functional. Three other sentinels were directed to shoot at the source of the rockets. The cameras detected multiple movements along the surrounding hills and fired there, as well. The guns were shooting almost at 180 degrees east of the city. More rockets were fired from multiple directions, demobilizing one sentinel, although it retained the ability to fire back.”

The video showed three sentinels scattering and firing at targets off the screen.

“Two-hundred yards from the main gate, twenty Purists exited underground tunnels and destroyed the three remaining sentinels.”

The video showed the battlefield with four smoking sentinels and laser guns exploding one by one. The twenty Purists were moving toward the inner circle of the guns.

“The Purists were wearing camouflage gear similar to ours and were hard to detect, so we switched to intruder override and began to shoot any suspicious movement inside the safe zone. One of them managed to blow out one of our emergency hatches and went inside. Five Purists followed him. That was the point where our drones arrived and started to attack from the air. “

The screen displayed four camera views of four drones launching missiles at groups of Purists who emerged from the surrounding hills. By now they were attacking the city by the hundreds. No matter who got hit, others continued toward the city.

“What happened inside?” I asked.

“These videos are too classified, we couldn’t get them.” Shanta said.

“The Purists kept pouring in, most of them wearing camouflage. Since it was dusk, they cast no shadow. Their leader’s stalling had been precious to them because when the city council was debating over ratios, daylight had been running out. The drones showed northern citizens running out of the emergency hatches, looking thin and weak. They ran and fell, got up and stumbled again. That's when the Purists got to the citizens. Some were shot dead on the spot. Some were taken into the attack tunnels the Purists had dug in front of the city. Then laser guns even fired at citizens who were about to get abducted. The drones then started to shoot the opening of the tunnels so they would collapse.”

Shanta was wrong, the people weren't numb, and their survival instincts were working. But they were working in the wrong way. It was flight instead of fight. Instead of hiding inside, where the citizens had a slight advantage over the Purists, the citizens ran right into the Purists’ trap. They knew they had to do something, but that something got them killed.

“At that point only a quarter of the laser guns remained functional. Then Purists began to draw back. The ones that breached the city were killed. The others ran out of ammunition and pulled back. Our drones were out of missiles as well but kept on circling the perimeter to send video feed.”

When it seemed to be over, no more shots were fired. I saw
them
. They looked different. More hunched, more bent. They didn't run but walked fast, a man and a woman, holding hands. The man was holding a gun, and they both had sacks tied to their backs. They escaped west into the valley. The drones’ video turned away from that direction and they went out of the frame, opposite of the Purists location.

My parents were alive, at least back then.

Then it hit me: I thought I knew what I was doing but actually I didn't. I thought I wanted to find my parents, to save myself, to get Shanta to like me and help the resistance to save the city. But after seeing the attack I actually didn't want any of that.

Shanta wasn't happy to see me.

Bahomi hated me because he thought that I was trying to steal Shanta and ruin his operation.

And my parents but were probably dead already.

I wanted to live, but this new world wasn't worth living in. I thought I wanted to belong, but besides the people who wanted to use me, I had no one to belong to. I realized none of the things I wanted mattered anymore.

No courting Shanta, no fighting Bahomi, no finding my parents and definitely no pleasing Padma. No more Roy the follower. I had to help save ten thousand of Knaan people any way possible.

“So what will it be?” said Shanta.

“Thank you for rescuing me.”

“Cut the crap,” said Bahomi, “say what you want to say.”

“I saved your life.”

“And I saved yours.”

“Could you please forget your stupid man pride for just a few minutes?” Shanta said.

“You were there just like me, you saw who they are,” Bahomi said, facing me. “Are you going to help us kill those Purists or not?” He yelled.

Shanta was looking at me impatiently. That was the million dollar question and I already declined the first time.

“I am going to help you defend the city.”

“Same thing,” Bahomi interrupted.

“It's not the same thing,” I insisted.

“Can you believe this prick?” Bahomi said to Shanta. “After we rescued him just now.”

“Would you just let him speak? Damnit!” Her face turned red.

Bahomi kept quiet and lowered his eyes. What was going on between them before I came?

“Why isn't it the same thing?” She asked me.

“I talked to the Purist before he died. I know what our guns are capable of. And I agree that the people are numb. But scaring them into joining you isn't going to help. You saw the video, there will be chaos. Most people in danger either hide or run for their lives. They will be helpless inside if the Purists get in, and they will be helpless outside if they run away. That's why we have to train them—”

“—I told you he was going to say something like that,” Bahomi interrupted again.

“Shut up let him finish,” Shanta said, owning him.

I decided to address Shanta and ignore him. I’d deal with him later.

“You told me you tried raising awareness but it didn't work. You tried to scare them and that didn't work either. Disconnecting all at once would just cause panic, and your mother would just reassure them that the guns are ok and they would all go back to sleep. Then she’d assimilate us all for treason.”

“How do we know he's not working for her right now?” Bahomi asked Shanta while ignoring me back.

I looked at Shanta, who didn't stop Bahomi this time.

“How do we know she didn't brainwash him when she visited him in the clinic? How do we know that he is not disrupting our plan just so she could stop us?”

I looked at Shanta.

“I'll train you so you could train others inside. And when the Purists come we'll be ready. We will be able to fight back.”

“How long will it take?” She asked.

“It depends on the people. At least six months, maybe more.”

“We don't have six months. I told you he's going to push our plans back,” Bahomi said quietly.

“That's the only logical way,” I said.

“You think Padma is that stupid that she won’t notice so much activity?” He lashed at me.

Shanta was quiet the whole time.

“I need you all to train them on the inside and command them. We need at least a hundred people, if not more—”

“—every day we don't disconnect the people is suicide,” Bahomi said to Shanta.

Shanta looked at him but didn't know what to say anymore.

“We can't gamble on six more months. And what if Padma assimilates us all? Don't you think it will look suspicious?” He asked.

“Not if you do it in small groups.”

“That takes even more time!”

“I’m just trying to answer your question.” I was already boiled up.

“If we disconnect everybody she won't be able to stop us anyway.”

“But I am trying to tell you that—”

“—It’s bullshit!” He shouted and got too close to me. He was trying to be the alpha but I couldn't let him.

“Shut up both of you. I can't think!” Shanta said.

“Let me ask you something, Bahomi. Do you exercise a lot?”