Farima: An Afrofuturist Sci-Fi Adventure (The Homo Maximus Saga Book 1) Page 13
The Commander turns to face Khalil. “Who do you think is behind this?”
“You’re about to hear my theory in one second, Commander.” Khalil walks over to Araba, who stands like a protector between him and Subject Alpha.
“Move, Araba.”
“No. Natia wanted me to stay here for a reason.” Her eyes twitch and tremble in fear, and her hands visibly shake.
“Listen, we both know you’re no heroine. You’re no fighter. Move aside and this won’t get uglier than it already is.”
Araba rises to her feet and stands defiantly in her place.
“Fine.” He waves the Node Seven C.O.M.M. soldier over and points to Araba.
He breezes past Khalil and grabs Araba by both of her arms. Subject Alpha screams for them to stop, though to no avail. Araba struggles with the bit of strength she has left, but the fatigue and lack of rest have caught up to her. Being no match for the armored soldier, he easily drags her to the nearby bench and forces her down. The Commander orders the soldier to watch her at and to never take his eye off of her. Araba gives up as she sits on the bench with her head in her hands as she begins quietly sobbing.
Khalil kneels in front of Subject Alpha, his knees crack and creak which causes him to wince slightly. He clears his throat and looks the boy in the eyes. “A moment ago you said I liked to kill people… why’d you say that?”
“Because of my dreams.”
“And what did you see?”
Subject Alpha shakes his head, “I felted it. I didn’t see. A man standing next to me said your name. I saw a big hole full of bodies and I felt sad and I wanted to throw up. Then I saw myself turning around, and I saw a giant machine. More bodies on the ground in front of it… these bodies were different, and they had big guns.” Subject Alpha makes a child-like gesture with his hands. “But then I saw the city, and everything looked and felt… peaceful. I saw people walking. They laughed with me.”
“Really?” Khalil turns to look at Araba. He knows what they’ve done. “How did you feel?”
Subject Alpha shrugs. “Empty.”
Khalil smiles. “What you saw was not something you experienced, as I’m sure you have figured out by now…it was what I experienced. Long ago before you were born.”
“Why do I remember it then like it was me?”
“Because I had Natia implant my memory into you little man. I did this so that you would understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Don’t let him lie to you!” Araba implores from the other side of the room.
Khalil pauses. “I want to teach you something while I have the chance, while we are safe for a moment. It’s the belief that the ends justify the means. That if what you want to accomplish is good, it doesn’t matter how you get there. Get there and as fast as possible.”
Subject Alpha remains silent, but his face is alert and aware because he’s curious.
“What you saw in your dream, and remember right now as a memory, is from the last battle in a bloody civil war that I fought in. It happened fifty-two years ago in a city called Charlotte… a long way away from here.”
“Is that supposed to be important to me or something?” The boy shrugs his shoulders.
“Oh, it will be.” Khalil chuckles and smiles. “It will be. Listen to this story now, child.”
Charlotte, North Carolina—52 Years Ago: 3 Days Before the Signing of the Treaty
“A new nation?” Taseti paces back and forth in the laboratory. He’s fatigued, they all are.
The Battle of Charlotte rages into its fourth day above the secure underground bunker Khalil spends sleepless nights in. He can see Taseti glancing over at his wife and young child every few seconds. They’re both huddled on an unfamiliar bed in one of several rooms set aside for important personnel and their families only. That means the scientists and the revolutionary leaders at this point. They’re scared. Everyone’s family knows what would happen if they lose this war.
“Yes. We’ve called it New Manden.” Khalil leans against a white table. Many gadgets and schematics lay splayed out in disarray on his lab workstation. “Malina and Akibo Hasalan have given us the green light. We use the Turtle Mech today. Only with the T-Walker will the birth of New Manden come about.”
Khalil reads Taseti’s body language after he mentions forming a new nation. He squirms and shakes his head. Taseti still keeps the flag of his birth in his pocket—the red, white, and blue. The joyous star-spangled banner and the juicy stadium hot dogs on a sweltering spring day. The thought of a hot dog still pleases Khalil’s stomach. God knows he hasn’t had a hot meal in months. He’ll take a hot dog over the crap he eats now.
“I don’t want a new nation, Khalil. I want our nation back. The one our ancestors, the slaves who built this country, died to construct.”
“You mean the one throwing us in ditches now? That one?” Khalil scoffs and shakes his head in disbelief. “Let it go, Taseti. The old America is gone, and this war has been the nail in its coffin.” He pauses. “The Turtle mech will be the final nail. Once we’re through, we won’t need this country anymore. The Hasalan’s see this, I see this, Maurice Greenheart and his wife see this. The entire leadership of the Freedom Syndicate sees this, but not you.”
Taseti peers through the window into his room where his wife stands staring at the exchange going on between him and Khalil. Her arms are folded, and her eyes agitated. She can’t hear anything they say, but Khalil can read body language better than anyone. He knows she can sense the tense discussion at hand. “Khalil, do you remember what you told me? When you and I led the research team in the asteroid excavation project and found a safe way to mine rare earth metals in space and transport them to Earth?”
Khalil nods and exhales. His neck bends back, and he lets his eyes drift half closed as he reminisces. “I do.”
“You told me this was going to be part of a ‘new beginning.’ At the time, I didn’t understand what you meant, and I eventually forgot about it.” Taseti stops and walks closer to Khalil. “That was years before any bullet was fired. Years before the civil war.”
Khalil’s eyes are cold, his face, expressionless. “Your point?”
Khalil in his mind knows Taseti has something he wants to get off his chest. He wanted to put the pieces together himself. “When the KWR was formed, they were formed after a rally organized by a militant group you helped fund with all of your newfound asteroid wealth. A rally that as I recall led to the deaths of several people who—”
“—Those people were inciters and provocateurs hired by the Callistan family who brought guns.” Khalil cuts him off. The veins beginning to bulge in his neck as his voice booms a tad deeper than normal.
“But you organized it. Matter of fact, you and the Hasalan’s have always been there from the very beginning of the rise in provocations that led to this war.”
Khalil stands upright and walks to within an inch of Taseti’s face. “For your sake, I’d watch my next words carefully. We are at war, remember?”
Taseti scoffs. “Oh, so you’re threatening me now!?”
Suddenly, an explosion rocks the facility. Freedom Syndicate officers rush by the two scientists shouting orders to their fighters who sprint from behind. A firefight erupts and bullets fly by and bouncing off of the walls. Taseti and Khalil never break eye contact amid it the chaos.
“You started this war, Khalil… you’ve always wanted this.” Taseti stands firm. “I don’t want a new country. I want America and I want you in prison for your human rights’—”
Before he can finish, Khalil grabs a vial of liquid and splashes it into his eyes. Taseti screams as smoke rises from his eye sockets. “Agh! You bastard! My eyes!” Taseti drops to his knees. In the burning pain of the final seconds of his natural eyesight, he sees his family screaming through the glass window.
They break the line quicker than Khalil had hoped. The revolutionary fighters of the Freedom Syndicate fall back. The KWR has found them.
“No! Come back!” Taseti begs for Khalil to save his family. But he can no longer see what was going on. The chemical Khalil threw into his eyes is eating away at his cornea.
Khalil, the last of the surviving Freedom Syndicate members, looks back. He can see the KWR soldiers surrounding Taseti. He closes the door quickly, not wanting to witness the outcome.
Fool!
Present Day.
“I believe the man who plots against us is the man who I left behind 52 years ago. His name is Taseti Enduri.” Khalil says. He waits for Subject Alpha’s reaction.
“How do you know the KWR didn’t kill him?” The Commander asks.
“He was too vital to our research. He knew everything. He was a robotics engineer, arguably the best in the world, and helped me build the first Turtle mech. Only he could build the DCI androids that attacked the Isle of Manden today and those that infiltrate our ranks now.”
“So once again, you are the cause of this,” Araba speaks from behind them on the bench.
Khalil continues. Ignoring her words and looking down at Subject Alpha as he stands back up. “We turned the war into a crusade after that day. We used the assumed death of Taseti to rally our fighters. Four days later, the Treaty was signed. I’d say it was always the just cause because our resistance was always right.”
Araba stands from her seat, fighting against the C.O.M.M. soldier tasked to watch her. “Look at how many people you got killed, Khalil! For what?!”
“For this!” Khalil turns and points his finger wildly in all directions. “You don’t know what I’ve sacrificed to make New Manden a reality. Look at America, look at Britain, look at Rome, and all the great civilizations. Find one not borne out of blood and war!”
Khalil turns and looks back down at Subject Alpha. “Well speak, boy!” He grabs his shoulders and begins shaking him. “Speak!”
The child is at a loss of words. His jaws trembles and tears fill his eyes.
“You’re scaring him! What do you expect him to say? Did you expect him to validate your crimes?”
Khalil sighs and speaks in a softer tone. “One of the most important lessons you must learn is that sometimes, the ends justify the means. Even if those means are considered bad.”
“Don’t listen to him!” Acacia pleads. The C.O.M.M. soldier moves to restrain her.
Khalil comes up with an idea. He pulls out a golden quantum sensor, which he hadn’t revealed he’s had up to this point. He looks back at Araba and says, “the sensors you all built weren’t the first of their kind.” He holds his up.
“What is that?” Subject Alpha asks.
“It’s a quantum device that’ll allow you to see something that is virtual, within a virtual construct. A portable SAR earpiece.” He pulls out another from his pocket. “This one was Acacia’s. You now own it, little man.”
He hands Subject Alpha the tiny device. The child looks at it somewhat puzzled as to what to do with it.
Khalil gently grabs his hand and lifts it to his ear. “Put it on and see what I see.”
“Don’t do it!” Araba fights to free herself from the grip of the C.O.M.M. soldier.
Khalil can see the curiosity on the boy’s face as he places the device over his ear. Khalil follows suit and in a flash, they both stand at the top of a skyscraper overlooking an unfamiliar city. In the distance, in an open field, a legion of armored soldiers stands listening to a man speak.
Subject Alpha looks around in a panic.
“It’s ok. Nothing you see is real, not yet anyway. The quantum device is interesting. I’ve learned that it can show you potential futures. For over one hundred years, scientists have theorized that time is the fourth dimension. When combined with SAR, advanced augmented reality, this device toys with that. It can manipulate time if you build it to do that.”
Subject Alpha points at the man who stands atop a makeshift podium. He wears an armored exoskeleton that is blue and white. He holds his helmet underneath his arm as he speaks. “Who is that?”
Khalil chuckles, “that’s you buddy. When you’re all grown up.”
Subject Alpha walks forward and peers down at the virtual depiction of himself. Khalil follows behind him and studies the adult version of the designer child. He is bearded, tall, muscular and his bellicose voice echoes across the streets. More and more armored soldiers phase into being as the quantum device manifests them out of thin air. Soon a small army is listening to the words of Subject Alpha.
“This is your future. Your future as a war hero. The virtual construct we stand inside is a representation of Orion, a stronghold city of the New American States. They are our enemies. The Knights of the White Rose, a name you will become familiar with, are their soldiers.”
“They want to kill us?” The boy asks.
“Yes.” Khalil answers. “They want to kill us and destroy New Manden. We can’t let them do that little one. The people you see, they will be your soldiers. They will be just like you, a Homo Maximus.”
Subject Alpha looks down at his feet. “I want mommy.”
“Mommy!? Who are you talking about? Natia? She’s not your mother any more than I am your father.”
“I want mommy!”
In a flash, Khalil stands back in front of Subject Alpha in the Ectogenesis Room.
“Ok, you’re back. Now, do you see?” Khalil asks.
“I—I don’t believe you,” Subject Alpha speaks finally.
“What!” Khalil is stunned.
“I think you’re a liar and cannot be trusted.” Subject Alpha backs away from Khalil. “I don’t want to fight your war.”
Khalil leans back and begins laughing hysterically. “I control what happens to you. I don’t think you understand, but you will soon. Even if I have to use Natia to get what I want.”
Subject Alpha shakes his head in a silent plea for Khalil to leave Natia alone.
The C.O.M.M. Commander walks up to Khalil from behind. “Sir, I think you should look at this. I’m getting reports from our soldiers outside on the island. Large aircraft incoming.”
Khalil spins around. “What’s the ETA?”
“Twenty-five minutes.” The Commander lowers his voice and speaks to Khalil. “The energy signatures match KWR aircraft. It’s him Khalil, and he’s brought lots of company.”
“Tell the soldiers to enter defense positions and get ready for war.”
Chapter 15
Chasing A Traitor
Node One—Manay City, 2082—Isle of Khalil—Research Building
A group of two dozen armed Mandenites led by Natia whips around a corner and down a spiraling staircase. Michael stays closer to the back, trailing the group, wanting to avoid the frontlines if he can. Natia’s muscles burn, yet she keeps her mind from shattering under the weight of her world crashing around her. Once at the bottom of the staircase, they hear a commotion up ahead around a corner. The sounds of engineering tools and machines fill the air.
Natia places a finger over her lips. She motions for them to tread lightly. She presses her back up against the wall and begins sliding inch by inch towards the edge. Peering around the corner, she sees just four men. Their posture too straight and movements too rigid. They are undoubtedly DCI androids similar to those used to attack the ECIC Complex on the Isle of Manden.
Acacia is not here! Damn! Natia looks back to the fighters. She motions for Captain Jeska to come over to her. She knows he’s from one of the Isles of Node Two because of the earthy shades of brown and green he wears. He wears a Keletronium helmet shaded in a sandy brown that covers his face. Natia remembers the Captain as the one who took her teams Orunmila’s when they first arrived. Leaning in, she begins to whisper, “This is the Shield Room, but I don’t see Acacia.”
“The only other high-value place is—” Captain Jeska begins speaking until he’s cut off.
&n
bsp; “Khalil’s compound.” It hits Natia. “He has years’ worth of research down there. Things that are still in development. I can only imagine weapons systems, information about Project Farima, who knows what else.”
“We can’t let her steal our technological secrets.” He glances back at his men. “I can lead twelve of them with you and Michael. Keep the others here to secure this location.”
“Good. I don’t like how we’re stretching ourselves thin, but you’re the commanding officer here.” She waves Michael closer. “We’re headed for Khalil’s compound with twelve C.O.M.M. soldiers.”
Michael simply nods. The muscles twitch around his eyes as they fill with water.
“We’re going to get her, Michael.” She looks back at Captain Jeska and nods.
One of the soldiers detaches a grenade and lobs it around the corner. A powerful, smoky explosion rocks the area. The twelve soldiers take up positions on opposite walls and begin opening fire from behind cover. In an instant, the androids begin returning fire back.
“Go! Now’s the time. Hurry!” Captain Jeska begins shouting above the firefight.
Natia, Michael, Jeska and a dozen C.O.M.M. regulars begin sprinting in the opposite direction down an adjacent corridor that leads outside.
Rushing through the door, Natia looks up to the sky and can see the energy shield glowing a translucent blue as it encompasses the entire island. Protecting them for the time being.
Her mind races. She can hear laser shots in the distance but cannot see where it’s actually taking place. The smell of death lingers in the air. “How many damn androids did Acacia let onto the island?!”
She motions forward and leads the C.O.M.M. soldiers to Khalil’s estate. As they near the entrance, Natia notices footprints in the shape of boots that stop just in front of what remains of the door.
“Looks like we found her,” Michael says. Panting heavily as he catches up with Natia and the rest of the soldiers.