Farima: An Afrofuturist Sci-Fi Adventure (The Homo Maximus Saga Book 1) Page 6

  “Boss Callistan… we’re surrounded.” One of the ranking Knights of the White Rose officers speaks up with his voice shaking.

  Marko clears his throat and cracks his neck. “Point taken Taseti. I’ll talk to the Plutarchs and see what they say. I can’t make any promise greater than that.”

  “That’s all I wanted.”

  Marko turns to his soldiers and waves for them to exit. He turns to leave and looks back at Taseti. “How do you plan on getting to Khalil before he runs for protection after you spring the trap?”

  “I have a spy very close to him. I’ve groomed her for years for the day that’ll soon come. When we strike, you will know.” Taseti says.

  “That’s what I like to hear.” Marko Callistan nods and turns to exit in much haste.

  Part 2

  HOMO MAXIMUS

  Chapter 6

  The Arrival

  Node One—Manay City, 2082—Isle of Khalil—Outskirts

  Natia’s world has changed faster than she can keep up with. It’s as if her literal reality is under assault. Her pulse races as she hears her heart pounding in her head. Her mind tells her she is among friends in the cabin of the air cruiser where she rests.

  The interior design has Khalil’s flair for the exotic with its accent lighting, AR entertainment console, and plush leather seats. Three on each side with their own arm rest and cup holder.

  Khalil sits in the cabin with Acacia, the entrance to which is blocked by a locked door. Natia shakes her head as many conspiracies flood her psyche. You’ve known Khalil since you were ten… there’s no conceivable way he had information about the attacks earlier. No way.

  She fights the thoughts inside her head, and looks for a diversion in the metropolis below. They pass above the avenues of the Isle of Manden, the Jena in the crosshairs of a covert enemy. Thousands of people pack the streets as the air cruiser glides above them. Natia wonders if more DCI androids hide among them, preparing to cause more destruction to her home. She looks at the connector bridges that link the Jena’s together. They allow people to enter and exit the isles at their leisure. A vulnerability at a time like this where an android could self-detonate on one of the bridges.

  She settles back against the cushion of her chair and takes a breather. It’s an attempt to calm her mind before they land at the Jena isle Khalil has tucked away in the Atlantic. As she closes her eyes, she thinks of Subject Alpha, the codename she and her team have given the male Homo Maximus growing in an ectogenesis chamber. The chamber too is on its way to the isle with her team on separate transportation. Don’t you fret, I will protect you. Khalil may think he’s in control, but I am still Project Manager. Khalil is not the only one who can keep secrets. I know the exact genes to insert into Subject Alpha’s DNA. Tears trickle from the corner of her eye.

  Refusing to accept failure, Natia devises an audacious plan as she drifts asleep. It will work as long as she can get her team to go along with it. Put a smile on your face Natia, your many dreams and aspirations are not turning to dust. Life’s good and you will see this to the end. This is my reality, and nothing will contaminate it.

  “Natia… Natia wake up. We’re about to land on my island.”

  Natia opens her eyes, Khalil stands bent at the hips above her as he shakes her shoulders. His chocolate-colored skin is absent of wrinkles given his age. While his natural brown eyes are still bright with youthful ambition. She’s comforted by his shiny bald head and graying black thick beard which provides a pleasant familiarity. Khalil has been a resourceful surrogate father and she can’t deny that.

  “How long have I been asleep?” She asks through hazy eyes.

  Khalil shrugs, “We don’t know Natia, we’ve activated the autopilot and came back here to check on you just now. We’ve been flying for forty-five minutes.”

  “Forty-five? That’s further than ‘off the coast of the Isle of Manden’ Khalil.” Natia notices Acacia. Her light honey-brown skin is freshly oiled and her eyes are deceptive and piercing.

  “Acacia, I’m assuming Subject Alpha’s ectogenesis chamber was transported from the lab without any problems?”

  “It was Natia. Your team landed five minutes ago.” She smiles. It seems genuine enough to Natia. “They’re awaiting our arrival on the hovipad.”

  Natia smiles back and nods her head. “Ok, I’m ready.” As she utters those words, the cruiser glides ninety degrees from their original angle and begins its slow descent. From the window, Natia lays her eyes on a tropical paradise, Khalil’s private Jena is two miles in diameter. The six mile circumference of the circular island provides seclusion and limitless freedom. Palm trees dot a majority of the surface placed along solar-powered walking trails. Around the edge of the island, a white sandy beach impresses Natia making her forget why she’s there.

  For personal air cruisers, Khalil’s is larger than most. Yet it passes through a fluid, bulliform shield that covers the island like a dome. Natia remembers seeing the designs for the technology behind it from a researcher in Node Two. The jelly-like goo that comprises the shield receives a charge from within a holding chamber that gives it its shape. At the base of the energy shield, Natia sees the metallic ring that stretches the circumference of the island. Its translucency is controlled so that those within the bubble don’t see a large dome above their heads all day.

  Nestled within grassy plain surrounded dense trees are a series of structures. One building is sizable, rectangular with three stories, windows, and an old school red brick exterior. The second building is a C.O.M.M. barracks. It is six stories high and is a short drive to the south. The third building is off to the side and shaped like a large stepped-pyramid, reminiscent of the ones she has seen in history books. That must be where Khalil stays. Only he’d built himself a pyramid.

  Natia’s mouth freezes in an agape position. Most private Jena’s are modest and much smaller. It was a symbol of the immense value Khalil has brought to New Manden over the years. She notices a tall gated barrier that stretches along the diameter of the island and is curious of its purpose. Soldiers patrol along the top. Her head snaps towards Acacia.

  “Don’t look at me.” Acacia laughs. She’s as shocked as Natia. “I didn’t know either.”

  She turns to Khalil. “How’d you finance this Jena? Something this massive is expensive to construct, even with 3D printing. I can imagine you spent a ton of Aje.”

  “Aje tokens are the major reason I’ve been able to do so much in secret and with a degree of privacy.” Khalil looks up at Natia and smiles. “You remember how we founded the Endonis Technologies enterprise right?”

  “Of course, you were one of two scientists to design a way to catch an asteroid and transport it to Earth’s surface for surface mining. You helped discover Keletronium.”

  Khalil nods. “Yea and in the early days euphoria ran rampant. When we pegged the Tauren stablecoin to Keletronium, its value shot. A lot of Founders gobbled up tons of Tauren back then.”

  It dawns on Natia. The Founder generation was able to build new novel finance tools that gave Mandenites total control over their assets. Natia herself has had Tauren and Aje tokens passed down to her from her parents. Founders are benefactors of the world’s first decentralized finance network. Many Mandenites desire Tauren coins because they never shift too much in price. That’s why they’re called stablecoins. They offer great stores of value if a Mandenite wants to convert their earned crypto into a safer, more conservative currency.

  “Khalil you must have a mountain full of Tauren coins.” It’s only a partial joke on Natia’s part.

  The air cruiser lands on the hovipad, and Khalil grabs the door handle. “I love the Endonis Tech enterprise and its many facets, but this Jena is my Heaven on Earth, and yours too.” Khalil turns the handle and pushes the cabin door open. Sunlight floods into the cabin, but Natia can still make out four figures of various heights standing a few feet away.

  “Natia! Oh my god, Natia, we’re back together agai
n! I’m so glad to see you!” Araba, Natia’s best friend, and confidant rushes to embrace her. Araba is two years younger than Natia; she graduated from the same college. They wear matching braided hairstyles, and the same Orunmila’s.

  “Oh you know Khalil would not stop us!” Natia laughs and returns the warm hug and is filled with joy as she acknowledges the rest of the team. “Michael, Alicia, Oba… everyone. Thank you. I’d be on Manden right now if I couldn’t be with the ones who have been working on Project Maximus from the very beginning.”

  “About that Nat,” the shortened nickname Araba gave to Natia, “this place is pretty exotic huh!” She said one thing, but Natia read a worried microexpression on her friend’s face.

  “So Project Maximus is dead now?” Dr. Michael Beverly stands with his arms folded. He is dark-skinned with close-cut wavy hair, and Natia’s exact height. He has a PhD in materials science and engineering. “The AugNet is buzzing that there’s been a change in project goals.”

  Natia wants to tell them everything that’s happened but hesitates. She looks back and sees Khalil and Acacia approaching the group. “Something like that.” She knows it’s not the best time to explain what’s happened.

  “As much as everyone would love to sit out here and watch the stars on the horizon, follow me.” Khalil extends his arm toward two carts on the ground beneath the hovipad.

  The biosphere dome now sticks out like a giant crystal ball bulging high in the air behind the red brick building.

  What are you growing in there, Khalil? Natia wonders.

  Natia’s team descends the hovipad landing platform. The sight of hooded C.O.M.M. soldiers at the bottom shatters the calm provided by the warm breeze that blows in from the Atlantic Ocean. They’re the Collectively Owned Militias of Manden, most call them “Comms” for short as Natia is reminded of her father. They stand ready to escort them at the bottom of the steps.

  Natia finds the matte black metallic armor with silver camouflage fatigues underneath impressive design. She never wanted to be an armor designer drawing up blueprints for Node One comms. Armorsmiths who use those designs to build the armor they wear isn’t her preferred line of work either. Yet, someone has to do it.

  C.O.M.M. armor is resistant to a range of bullets, landmines, grenades and a few energy weapons. Natia finds Keletronium armor to be too bulky, but the helmet is intimidating even without the hood . The armor has seen its glory days. As they near them, Natia spots the expensive energy pulse rifles that are small and lightweight that they carry. Most low-tech energy rifles only shoot one charge per second, the MX-87 plasma rifle used by C.O.M.M. soldiers shoots five!

  A step up from the MX-65 Natia has used in her training.

  Once at the bottom, Natia looks around, and now sees them everywhere. She can account for soldiers from every Node. A group stands perched on top of the red brick building in front of her. There are a dozen watchtowers organized everywhere in her immediate vicinity, each with two soldiers.

  “Don’t be alarmed, everyone. They’re here to protect us after what happened earlier today.” Once everyone is at the bottom, Khalil and Acacia lead the group and motion, everyone, to follow. They walk around a winding path lined with various tropical trees and bushes. “The Comms are here courtesy of my friend Councilman Aloomis on the Worker’s Council. They’re from his Node. Hopefully, we won’t need their protection.”

  Despite her best attempts to suppress the fear inside, a sense of foreboding that something terrible will happen turns Natia’s stomach. Treachery is in the air, she smells it, but she has no clue what to do.

  Khalil leads Natia’s team on a tour around the island in two solar-powered carts. He sings Natia’s praises as he points out different bio-luminescent trees she helped design. Plant genetics was Natia’s first field of study, before turning to human genetics. She always felt empowered by the knowledge of how to manipulate acids. The right mixture of mere chemicals provides life itself.

  Natia sees plant-life of various shapes, sizes and colors. Their glow is majestic at night. She looks at Khalil, who is in the driver’s seat of the cart. He grins as he brags about his private Jena, but his hands grip the wheel tighter than they used to. Khalil is always calculating moves like a champion chess player. She’s learned from the best, but now it’s as if she’s under his umbrella of control once again. The moment she directs her own project without his help, she’s once again pulled back to him by circumstance.

  “Where are we headed?” Natia asks, noticing the precise arrangement of trees along the path.

  “You’re about to see.” Khalil points to the massive biosphere at the end of the tree-lined path they travel on.

  The carts stop at the entrance. Khalil steps out and places his hand inside a palm scanner. The door hisses and slides open as everyone else exits their respective cart. As the group enters, Natia hears the chirping and barking of forest life. Artificial lighting hums to life casting the environment in a soft golden glow. The smell of flowers and wet wood floods her nostrils. She looks up and sees the top of an expansive canopy of trees and the giant lit up dome reaching high into the air.

  Natia notices they’re walking on an elevated platform. It extends to the center of the biosphere and connects with a circular platform. The platform serves as a connector for a dozen different elevated walkways. Natia grabs the rail and looks over the edge. She sees an evergreen teeming with the natural chaos of wildlife.

  “Oh my!” Araba places her hand over her mouth as she looks below at the lower level.

  Khalil looks back at Natia. “I built this with you in mind. I know you love old photos of the Amazon.”

  Natia is at a loss of words. Placing her hands on her hips she says, “I must say I wasn’t expecting this Khalil.”

  “There’s something I need to show you all like I said. Something you may find useful while you’re here.” Khalil leads them to the ground floor. Natia can smell the forested elements of the biosphere. Khalil leads them through a path towards the center where a glade sits with a single workstation. “This Jena has the world’s only functioning three-dimensional quantum simulator. You can simulate pretty much anything you want. Anything you think.”

  Khalil motions the group towards the workstation that has five devices. They resemble the trendy musical earpieces worn by the youth in New Manden.

  “Use these devices to interact with the quantum simulator. Only the Principle of Group Action will work from this moment forward. Through unity, order forms. With order, you can build magnificent things.” He turns to walk away with Acacia and looks back at Natia. “This will help speed up the completion of Homo Maximus a thousand-fold. It’s also the only way you all will get out of here because I forgot to tell you, you’re already in the simulation.”

  Khalil grins and Acacia looks at him shocked as they vanish.

  “So this isn’t real?” Araba looks to Natia for answers.

  “I don’t think so Araba.” Natia puts her finger up to the earpiece. “Khalil said we could simulate anything we think of.” Natia thinks of a double-helix, the arrangement of a strand of DNA.

  As soon as she thinks of it, two single strands of DNA materialize in front of them.

  The group gasps.

  Natia remains calm and focuses her mind as she remembers her training. The twin strands intertwine and fuse into a double helix by hydrogen bonds that connect them like glue. In an instant, dozens of strands appear, soon thousands. They bundle into what looks like a ball, but what looks like a ball stretches into a long black string. Natia stops and snatches it from the air.

  She laughs in awe. “A strand of hair.” She grabs the other end with the opposite hand and pulls at it before handing it to the others. “This can’t be real.”

  “So he said we have to build a quantum sensor,” Alicia speaks up. “Anyone know what that might look like?”

  “I’m willing to bet it can look any way we want it to look.” Natia realizes.

  She brings h
er team of scientists closer and they huddle around the workstation in the glade. She devises a plan and draws it out in three dimensions in real-time. The team adds their bits to it, grabbing the sensor and thinking of alternative ways to engineer it.

  Alicia, the nano-technologist on the team, is the one most familiar with quantum technology. She explains that the sensor will sense objects and people behind walls. Internal body injuries and illnesses both developing and active. The quantum sensor will allow them to fine-tune Subject Alpha’s DNA and see outcomes of those changes right away. Most important of all, two people with a sensor can communicate in real-time with a mere thought. No one else would be the wiser.

  “I know what we can do with this.” Excitement radiates from Natia’s voice. “Let’s build it first.”

  After working together for several hours, five eye visors hover in the air in a material form. The quantum simulator they stand in entangles real atoms into form based on their thoughts. To Natia, it’s like magic. She wonders what separates what they’ve done with ‘the esoteric sciences.’

  “I’d hate to see someone use this simulator for the wrong reasons. As powerful as this is, I can’t imagine he’ll make this tech public.” Dr. Oba, always short of words, remarks.

  As he speaks, the group hears an unnatural rumbling in the trees. Something dark monitors them.

  “What is it?” Araba asks.