Showing posts with label Amadesis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amadesis. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Microstory 752: Grace

Twins Grace and Hannah were not born in a very loving world, yet they were loved. The sky was completely dark, with no sun, and no other stars. Their only sources of light were harsh and artificial. Time was also never on their side. There were 53 minutes to an hour, and nineteen hours in a day, making the simple act of calculating the future needlessly difficult. With no celestial movement in the sky marking these time periods, this arbitrary system served only to remind the people that they had no control over their own lives. The average work shift lasted literally the entire day, followed by a single day of rest in between shifts. After their mother’s death, they were raised by their father and uncle, but rarely saw the two of them together, since their shifts had to complement each other. This was particularly problematic since Uncle Torin and their father, Reid had fallen in love with each other, a relationship which was strictly forbidden. The religious order that dominated every aspect of their lives was not fundamentally opposed to homosexuality, but rejected it for logistical reasons. Their entire ideological system was built on strengthening themselves through numbers, so a couple incapable of procreation is entirely useless to them. Torin and Reid did the best they could with their daughters, but nothing would help what would inevitably come on the girls’ eighteenth birthday. Halfway towards adulthood, children are almost always removed from their original parents, and placed in a home so far away that their real parents have never even heard of it. To make matters worse, their new parents will always have just lost their own children for the same reason. The religion leaders claim some children are allowed to remain with their birth parents throughout their entire lives, assuming they receive the required results on their test, but this has never been witnessed. Most people believe this to be a lie purported to maintain the religion’s control over everyone, even if parents always hope it is somehow not a lie, and that it happens to their own children. Some families try to escape this fate by running away, but there is no evidence that anyone has ever succeeded. There is nowhere in the world that is not under constant monitoring, and no one ever otherwise strays beyond the boundaries of their town. Hours after taking their test, Grace and Hannah were expected to be spirited away, just as all the others, and their fathers were fully intending to run. The test showed results that no one had ever heard of before, however, which severely complicated matters. They would still have to run, but they would not have to do it alone...

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Microstory 593: Prophet Warner Clemons’ Death Ruled Murder

This world has seen a great many Prophets over the years. They arise outside of any pattern, and they cannot be predicted. Anyone can be born a Prophet; be it a king, or a beggar, or salesman. They come with a wide variety of skills and educational background. Some are teachers, some are poets, some are musicians, some are journalists. The one thing that binds them together is their drive to spread their spiritual message to everyone willing to listen. Prophets hold the world together, providing its peoples with unconventional perspectives when they’re needed most. One of our more recent Prophets, Warner Clemons decided to take his message as high as he could by pursuing a life of politics. He started out small, as most politicians do, running for class president every year of grade school. He didn’t always win, but he always learned something new, and this was when he began to form lifelong friendships with people who believed in his words. He started out officially in local government, making sure his neighborhood’s voice was heard, and soon started to make waves on larger scales. The Council of Prophetic Scrutiny officially certified Clemons as a High Prophet amidst his first senatorial campaign, fittingly on his thirtieth birthday. This pushed him over the edge in the polls, with some detractors claiming this tactic to be unfair to his opponents. In true Prophet Clemons form, he ended up absorbing all of these opponents into his advisory board, ensuring that they retained their own voices in the government. Prophet Clemons went on to become Ambassador to the Confederacy seven years ago, but did not hold the position long, for he was soon chosen to be the organization’s Chief Mediator. He used his words to spread peace and understanding between the most unstable of enemies. His works have not been met with total support, which is to be expected. Factions of Amadesins opposed his position on world government, leading the Chief Mediator to carry with him a higher number of personal bodyguards than usual. Unfortunately, one of his own men has turned out to be the perpetrator of his murder.

Brandis Cunningham started his short life as a common criminal, robbing convenience stores with his uncles and older siblings. Over the years, his crimes became more violent, ultimately resulting in a charge of attempted murder when he was only seventeen years old. The justice system gave him a choice: go to prison, or join the Usonian military, and learn how to channel his rage productively. Interviews would later reveal him to have become a model soldier, instinctively protecting the weakest in his group. He even took the fall for misbehavior that had actually been carried out by others. But not even this was enough to keep Cunningham from going back to his old ways. He was dishonorably discharged following an altercation with a superior officer that left them both in the intensive care unit. It would have seemed that his career was over, but Prophet Clemons saw something in him. He used different tactics, and channeled Cunningham’s skills once more. He focused less on the rule-following, and more on the protector instinct, quickly fostering his aptitude for private security. It wasn’t long before Cunningham became the Prophet’s primary guard, protecting him at literally all times. They not only lived together, but slept in adjoining rooms. There were even unverified rumors that Cunningham, Clemons, and Clemons’ wife were in a polyamorous relationship with each other. Investigators do not wish to speculate, nor does this publication, as to the motives for Prophet Clemons’ murder. It has only been confirmed that Cunningham was the culprit. Shortly after inflicting fatal wounds against Clemons in front of his wife in the Chief Mediator’s office, Cunningham attempted to escape. He was met with his former comrades in arms, who apprehended him, and tried to take him into custody alive. He continued to fight, however, eventually the point of being gunned down by an unconfirmed member of his own security team. The police will be releasing further details at the appropriate time.

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Microstory 574: Infamous Amadesin Refugee Rescuer Identified

A century ago, this world was divided. Law-abiding citizens sat in the center, while the rest were on the fringes as criminals, terrorists, and rebels. They hurt people, and they took what did not belong to them. One of the worst groups of these people were the Amadesins. Amadesis was a spiteful religion based in an unhealthy hatred of any who did not believe as they did. Many of the religion’s sect’s were more or less peaceful, but others were much worse. Anyone wishing to defect from the faith could suffer terrible consequences, sometimes even death. A multinational organization was formed. This organization was unsanctioned by any government, highly underfunded, and poorly staffed. Those a part of it had dedicated their lives to a cause. That cause was to rescue, protect, and relocate Amadesin defectors. But there was one member who was different than the others, with previously undisclosed interviews having referred to her as their superstar. She had the anomaly ability to hide people in special stones that she created. Others might have used this power to create tiny foolproof prisons, or to trap people they didn't like, but not one Patience Cooney. Before working with Bellevue, Cooney worked with the Refugee Relocation Association, ultimately transporting thousands of Amadesin defectors all over the world, almost entirely in secret. Her guests, as they were called, were placed in an artificial simplex dimension, with one of these Cooney stones as its focal point. She could remove them anytime she liked, or they could exit themselves, while anyone with a special password could do so as well. She would take her stones on the road, on trains, and in aircraft, with no one but her and her team being at all aware of the extra passengers. Once at their new home, refugees were given new identities, and some startup money, after which the team would move on and find someone else in need. Cooney did this job with very little thanks, and lived her whole life with only a few people having an understanding of just how impactful she was to the world. Her identity remained a secret in order to protect her rescues. With recent events surrounding the decline in Amadesis membership, however, it has been decided that it’s time the world knew just how amazing and courageous Patience Cooney really was.

Monday, April 3, 2017

Microstory 551: Defense System Test Reveals Dangerous Flaws

Before our new solar system that we’ve literally built from scratch can be officially declared completed, we need to put on some of the final touches. Though we’ve created a sort of paradise for ourselves, our leadership recognizes that not everyone in the universe shares our vision. The Exiles have made it clear they want nothing to do with us, though that could change in just a few generations. The Anarcho-capitalists ran off to a new galaxy, we’re still not sure where. We know that scattered sects of Amadesis followers remain alive, but inactive. We have no idea where they’ve gone. And finally, there could be other threats out there of which we are simply not cognizant. As much as we would like to be open and carefree, we must remain cautious and vigilant. We must protect ourselves from all known threats, and all unknown threats too. A special department has been tasked with doing this for us. They’ve come up with hundreds of ideas; some good, others not. They’ve whittled them down to things that we can effectively implement, with the right amount of redundancy, but it is still a work in progress. This much has been brought to light.
The Core Defense Strategy is no perfect system, but engineers, and other professionals, are working hard at shoring up flaws. One such of these flaws presented itself during a test yesterday. A fleet of “enemy” ships were built all the way on Montisaltom, which means the CDS system had never encountered it before, and could not perceive it as non-hostile. One by one, and sometimes in groups, these ships were sent to The Core, and programmed to attempt to break our defenses. Most of them failed, but one managed to get through, and could have caused a heavy amount of destruction had it been a real threat. It would seem that there is a small region that lies just before the decided upon system borders, and interstellar space. If a ship exits a simplex dimension in this perfect zone, but then immediately transports itself deeper inside using one of the lower dimensions, it can bypass all alerts, at least long enough to establish a stranglehold. The blue simplex dimension, for instance, is so slow that only an incredibly patient crew would be willing to take the time to travel here from another star system. It could take years. It is for this reason that lower dimensions have, up to this point, remained unmonitored. Basically, we’ve never been worried about global or interplanetary travel within the system. Rest assured, however, that these flaws are currently being removed through some extra programming. Other weaknesses have recently been found as well. For instance, we’ve decided to eliminate onslaughts coming from all stars in the immediate vicinity that a threat might chose to utilize as staging post. The system leadership would like to remind every citizen of The Core that we’re all in this together. If anyone has any ideas for how to improve our society, or protect us from danger, they are encouraged to voice their concerns.

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Microstory 549: Bellevue Increasing Scope to Utah

Back in the early 1990s—and earlier, for that matter—only a select few people know that there existed those with extraordinary abilities. At first, it was only family and friends, with the occasional passerby catching sight of something they weren’t supposed to. In the midst of the great revelation to the rest of the world, the organization responsible for bringing them together was still trying to figure out exactly what it was. They knew that they wanted to be involved with these powerful anomalies, and they knew that they wanted to be leaders in the advancement of science, but something felt missing. As it turns out, what they hadn’t quite found yet were law enforcement, and even public policy. Bellevue became an agency; one designed at first only to protect anomalies, and people from anomaly dangers. The thing about this, though, was that the scope was far too narrow. The number of Bellevue members far exceeded the number of threats, and intensity, of threats. And so, they gradually began increasing their scope. They offered their abilities, knowledge, and skills to other law enforcement organizations. They were working the Confederacy, national investigators, and local orderkeepers. Pretty soon, most of what they were dealing with had little to nothing to do with anomalies. They were simply a force for good, safety, and equality. This is the Bellevue we know today. Most living anomalies are still active members, technological advancement remains their number one priority, but most of the world accepts them as another group of trained professionals exercising authority over the populace. But this does not cover the entire world. There are still some regions that reject their authority, probably the most notable being Utah.
The country of Utah is one of only a handful of nations that are each geographically within the entirety of another. In this case, Utah is as completely surrounded by Usonia, and is just as large as—and in some cases, larger than—other Usonian states. In fact, Utah began as any other state, just one that was more heavily populated by religious followers of Amadesis. However, things have changed a great deal since then. A nuclear explosion here, a war there, total global nuclear disarmament, and the Amadesins were given control over the majority of Utah land. Historically speaking, the Amadesin Utah has been resistant to any interference or interaction with any other country, maintaining a policy of isolationism. Few visitors are ever allowed on Utah soil, and for the most part, that’s how non-Utahan like it. Bellevue has recently taken a stance against this, stating that they no longer accept the idea that anyone living on this planet has the right to ignore anyone else. In a press briefing this morning, they have officially increased their scope to Utah. This does not mean Utah accepts this declaration, but it does force its leadership’s hands, calling upon them to take some level of action in response. They have so far made no move, and it is unclear what they will choose to do, but experts discredit any theory that any act of violence could seriously threaten the strength, and the will, of the Bellevue authority.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Microstory 544: Attack on Asexual Headquarters; Amadesins Take Credit

Few things in this world are more complicated than the religious order for Amadesis. This religion is so old that historians are not in agreement as to how it even began. Head Professor of Religious Studies at Langford University in Alberta, Nessa Shannon had this to say about it in her most recent novel: “Amadesis is not a set of ideals. It is not a cult, yet it is not a true religion. It is a vague affiliation of nonconformists whose only commonality is that they hate everyone else. It is an infection; one that can contaminate only individuals born into it, or those otherwise conditioned to believe that they are powerless to stop it.” She goes on to say that Amadesis would not function in a world without opposing systems. It thrives not only on the friction it causes against the outside world, but amongst its own sister sects. Basically the idea is that if everyone believed what any one sect believed, it would fall apart, because there would be no one left for them to fight. And so all sects of Amadesis fight each other, each one hoping to gain dominance over the others, and possibly later over the world. This is happening constantly. The duration of any one sect’s hold on power varies from a couple weeks to several decades.

Few things in this world are more complicated than sexuality. It is common knowledge that sexuality is fluid, and that no two individuals are truly alike. We all have our different tastes; be that as noticeable as a partner’s apparent sex, or as minor as eye color. Preference cannot be quantified, or categorized. Early psychologists attempted to place individuals on some sort of sexual spectrum, but this proved to be difficult. There was no way to account for seemingly inconsequential priorities. Famous author, Collin Angler was once quoted as saying, “I’m very picky when it comes to the men I’m attracted to. Medium build, no body hair, clear skin. I’m not as picky when it comes to women. I have no interest in forming deep bonds with men, and I’m less interested in sexual relationships with women. Where on the spectrum do I fall? Labeling me as bisexual does me no justice.” Still, words are a necessary product of communication. We use words to convey ideas, because demonstrating an idea using abstract wordless concepts is logistically impractical for everyday life. So we do the best we can to come up with the most useful words possible. One of these words is asexual.

Asexuals are defined as individuals who possess little to no sexual drive. As you can see by this definition, it typifies a wide array of conflicting personalities, and to understand any one person who identifies as asexual, one would need information beyond this one word. Despite this, an institution exists in order to positively promote the asexual paradigm as a whole. The Asexual Awareness Project is a relatively new organization led by similar people who wish to be heard. Historically, asexuals have had little voice in their community. They are easily dismissed as apathetic, self-involved, or even sociopathic. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that the only thing Amadesins and everyone else can agree on is that they dislike asexuality. Most people have reported feeling no hatred towards asexuals, but they do test at a significant level of ignorance. It is Amadesis who can be violent about it.
Yesterday, the AAP headquarters was attacked. Authorities are still investigating, and details are scarce. But we do know that a series of bombs were placed at strategic locations of the building. The explosion of one bomb would send workers, volunteers, sanctuary-seekers, family members, and visitors towards a second bomb. Once that next bomb went off, they would try to escape again, only to be met with yet another. Two deaths have been reported, with dozens of others injured. As mentioned before, only one sect of Amadesis is in power at any one time, but this changes hands frequently. There are certain sects, however, that remain on the fringe, even from the perspective of other Amadesins. A sect will tend to focus on one particular issue, and the Order of Girard has evidently chosen asexuality as its primary target. They have not yet issued a complete statement, but have taken credit for the attack, claiming that “[they did] not intend to permanently harm anyone in the building, but instead wanted to point out society’s preexisting indifference to the asexual’s ‘plight’ [sic].” Political experts believe this to mean that the outrage found from other terrorist attacks—such as the Spiralshell City Massacre, or the very recent Kalian Train Derailment—will always be considered by the public to be more tragic than one against asexuals. Only time will tell if they are right. Investigators have yet to confirm any members of the Order of Girard as suspects.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Microstory 528: So-called Light Wars Begin Over Earth

Our great galaxy’s animosity towards Lactea cannot be overstated. They are full of communists who value nothing. Ever citizen, regardless of how hard they’ve worked—and except for a few “contribution requirements”—is provided for. They are all immortal, telekinetic, and uninteresting. They represent all that our people hate about the universe, and they have always been our worst enemies...until now. As it turns out, there is an even worse way to do things. There is that Lactean rule that says one is not allowed to enjoy the benefits of the system without having some sort of vocation. That vocation may entail sitting in a room, reading a book, and making sure a robot doesn’t malfunction, but it is technically a job that the government accepts. Following that requirement, citizens are free to act as they please. They may travel where they want, learn what they want, and marry who they want. This is not so when it comes to the evil society of Thuriama.
Thuriama is the name of the new branch of Amadesis that rose from the ashes of its former self after the destruction of its originating planet. Amadesis is the most heinous and despicable religion ever created. Its entire purpose is to poison everything it touches, and infect outsiders with their twisted ideals in religious devotion. This particular sect focuses most deeply in the concept of the soul, hidden in their claims of bringing light to the blind. The idea of controlling someone by accessing their soul energy has been a goal of theirs since the seeds of the sect was first planted by historical figure, Ellaraitch. It is not yet clear if they have succeeded in their endeavors, but what we do know is that they are executing at least more traditional forms of fidelity on a compartmentalized group of their own population. Historians believe that they cloned or bred an entire subpopulation designed specifically to serve them. As Fosteans, of course, we find the idea of enslaved humans to be disgusting. It is one of the few laws that we even have. The Thuriamen have no such law, and have been exploiting free-thinking individuals for whatever dastardly plans they have. And so it is with a full understanding of irony that the Fostean leaders have teamed up with Lactea to combat these terrible people. We would normally avoid interfering with other cultures, but it was nearly unanimously felt that standing back threatened our galaxy. If the Thuriamen indeed have the ability to control others, that is something that must be stopped. We have done things our own way, though, and acted somewhat against our alliance with Lactea. We decided to attack Thuriama first. Unfortunately, since Thuriama is located in higher complex dimensions, this meant risking exposing ourselves to veiled Earthans. Details on our battle campaign are forthcoming, but there is one thing that we can tell you. The Light Wars have just begun.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Superpowers: Exile (Part VI)

Enemy of the state, Ellaraitch strode into Governor Stockton’s office with that same smug look on his face he always had. What else could be expected from someone who refused to divulge either his first or last name to the public; insisting that people refer to him by the one name alone? One thing to note about the Amadesis religion was that there were many extremely disparate sects. The main characteristics that held them all together were that they were all evil, they all believed in a single path to enlightenment, and they all considered harming others to be best practice. The largest sect engaged in a sick form of polygamy that not only allowed, but encouraged, child rape, along with good ol’ fashioned incest. Another tortured victims so badly that they were corrupted enough to join up themselves. There was even one that believed in some sort of presumably unknowable hierarchy where only a select few members would get into heaven, so that even being part of it didn’t guarantee you happiness.
Ellaraitch was the head of a sect of Amadesis that was the lesser of many evils; at the time, at least. He originally became famous as a prolific science fiction writer, churning out crap stories like cancer cells. He was known for charging new members with increasingly more money each time for therapeutic treatments, and for creating a level of privileged secrecy surpassed by none other. He would go on to be far more dangerous to the world, but for the moment, Stockton thought of him as the only way to reach his goals. Ellaraitch had always been against the violence of other Amadesins; particularly the ones that sent the bomb to Utah, but not because he wasn’t himself violent, but because he considered their methods to be tactless and unsophisticated. He fancied himself more strategic than that, and he would prove this to be true once his sect began to spiral out of control, and become dominant.
“I can help you remove the nuclear weapons of the U.K., but you’re not going to like how I plan to do it.” Ellaraitch sat in what was supposed to be Stockton’s chair, and drank his glass of alcohol. It wasn’t technically illegal on the island, but only because it never seemed necessary to pass a law.
“I’m not going to hurt anyone. I regret every casualty of the Korean invasion. I need the next step to be seamless and painless. If it can’t be, then I would rather just give up.”
“I do not intend to hurt anyone. It will hurt, yes, but not physically. It’ll only hurt you, because it’s going to take much longer than you wanted, and it’s not going to make you look good.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Have you heard of Tygreve Melsbach?”
Stockton thought back to his primary school days. “A leader of Belgium; the one who was exiled? That was centuries ago.”
“The important part of the lesson is not that he was exiled, but that he later returned to power. Like you, he took on an impossible mission, and suffered many setbacks before just losing completely.”
“Yeah...” Stockton was waiting for a point.
“And so he was sent to an island, much smaller than this one. He lived there for the better part of two decades, until secretly escaping, gathering support, and taking back his throne.”
“Go on.”
“If he had tried to steal back power immediately after exilement, he would have failed. It was that time he spent away that made it work. In that time, the world changed. Trade deals were made, canals were dug, leaders came and went. By the time he left the island, he had been all but forgotten. He used this infamy to his advantage, knowing that the day’s leadership would severely underestimate his strength.”
“Are you asking me to go into exile?”
“Not exile. That wouldn’t work for you; not in modern times. But you have to fully accept your role as the world’s pariah. You have to suffer a scandal, get yourself sanctioned by the Confederacy, and then Federama has to wait at least five years before doing anything else that gets it noticed. You have to throw your little nation into obscurity so people let their guard down and stop worrying about what you do next.”
“This sounds like a trick to get me out of the way, so that you can take control of the Amadesins. You need the spotlight, and my mission is in your way right now.”
“This is true,” Ellaraitch conceded. “I see a benefit to my movement, but that doesn’t mean you cannot benefit as well.”
“Five years. Of just...doing nothing?”
“After the scandal, yes,” Ellaraitch reminded him.
“Of course, and what do you suggest this scandal be?”
“The United Kingdom.”
“Oh, that explains it. Thanks.”
“An attack from the United Kingdom, is what I mean; well...an apparent attack from them. They won’t actually have anything to do with it.”
“Dawuthuh?”
“I have people in high offices of the U.K. They can make it look like they’re attacking you, but it’ll actually be your people. They can come in with a bunch of those—what are they called—helicopters. Soldiers will descend on the island, start shooting up the place, and steal all the weapons back.” He put up air quotes for the last few words.
Stockton just stared at the man for a minute or so. “You sound like an idiot. Well, even more of an idiot than usual. That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”
“They don’t have to be helicopters. They could be narrow-body jet airliners. We’ll claim the British threw the bombs into a volcano, along with a bunch of poor unfortunate souls. If you think what you did was bad, just wait until the public hears about the U.K. throwing people into a volcano.”
“This isn’t one of your bad books, Ellaraitch,” Stockton raised his voice. “This is real life. You can’t just come up with plot twists and narratively presentable fabrications to fit the story corner you’ve painted yourself into. This is why your religion is complete nonsense. No one would believe something like that. Airliners? In a volcano? Come on!”
He shrugged. “We can make it work.”
“No, we can’t. You’re asking thousands of people to keep quiet a huge and ridiculous lie.”
“Haven’t you already done that? No one knows what you’re really planning to do with these nuclear weapons. And your mission was a perfect secret until you actually began to execute it.”
“That was based on a system of compartmentalization. Not everyone is on board with this, and people have loose lips. The secret of the fact that the British never invaded my shores would be revealed eventually.”
“Sure, maybe in 1995, or something. But you won’t have to worry about that. We’re not going to just write a news story about the invasion, we’re going to actually stage one. Your citizens will be convinced that it happened because they’ll see it with their own eyes.”
It took a few more hours of discussion, but Governor Stockton was eventually persuaded to agree to the plan. It was the most frustrating thing that had ever happened to him, even up against the past year’s of problems. He knew in his soul that what Ellaraitch had come up with was ludicrous, but the more the man spoke, the more reasonable he sounded. It was evidently his superpower to make people believe preposterous lies wholeheartedly, and Stockton found he had no choice but to exploit that for his own gain. A few months following the conversation, “the United Kingdom” came in with helicopters—not airliners—with precision strike forces, conveniently similar to the ones that Stockton had deployed for his earlier missions. They recorded a series of carefully placed explosions with grainy and fuzzy security cameras.
A few Federama citizens were claimed to have been killed, while others were just kidnapped, along with the bombs and missiles. In reality, they were all removed from the island and taken to what Stockton had always referred to as the second location. He hadn’t needed much time to prepare for this, because this small island in Antarctica was already being used to house the actual weapons stolen from other countries. It was just another method of compartmentalization. If anything went wrong, he wanted the least number of people to be at risk of being within the blast radius. Even the strike teams didn’t originally know where the second location was. After each stage, they would place the weapons on a ship so that a different team could take them away.
The handful of people said to have been kidnapped had agreed to sacrifice their lives. They were either single people with no families, or entire families that were willing to relocate to a secret base in the middle of nowhere. They told the world that the United Kingdom military was responsible for this travesty. The Confederacy began an investigation, and they were unable to come up with any other legitimate explanation. As a kind of punishment, the U.K. was ordered to relinquish their own nuclear weapons, despite the fact that the ones supposedly stolen from Federama were never recovered. These British weapons were transported to an unknown location in Usonia, which was both disgusting and helpful to Stockton’s plans. Now, according to the world consciousness, Usonia was the only nation in the world with nuclear arms. That didn’t seem safe, but it did mean that there was only one more step in disarming the world entirely.
Governor Stockton continued to lead Federama, but with little global intrigue, for less than a year. He was then asked to step down from his position, and was replaced by his frenemy, Roma Tanner. Stockton left the island and joined the sacrificed in Antarctica. He waited there for three years, working on his plans for disarming the most powerful country in the world. The United States of Northern Integrated America. Usonia.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Superpowers: I Have a Plan (Part III)

Though Federama was governed by a single system, and everyone within the government was on board with Governor Stockton’s vision, not all citizens were. Roma Tanner, the de facto leader of a coastal city was the primary voice against the mission. He had not been elected to any position, but he was the owner of a variety of different small shops, so many looked to him for general guidance. Every single day since the beginning of Stage One, Tanner requested audience with Stockton. His family had immigrated from Russia, which would very obviously be the focus of Stage Three, so his urgency was growing. Following the completion of Stage Two, Stockton was feeling comfortable with his position, and finally called for a meeting with Tanner.
“Why have you been avoiding me?”
“I’ve not,” Stockton promised him. “I’ve been busy, with obvious crises.”
“Yes, I’ve heard. I’m here to discuss some concerns. I’m not happy with you threatening the lives of my brothers and sisters around the world.”
“I’m not happy with it either,” Stockton agreed. “I felt I had no choice. If they don’t think we are capable of protecting ourselves, then we encourage them to come after us. I’m not the one who invented mutually assured destruction.”
“This isn’t mutual. Every time you take their weapons, and keep them for yourself, you are succeeding in increasing your own.”
“I have a plan.”
“I know. I’m trying to tell you that it’s not working.”
“No, I’m not talking about the plans to disarm the world. That’s going swimmingly. I mean I have a plan for what to do with the weapons once I’ve collected them all.
“And so what is it?”
Stockton took a sip from his tea. “I’m afraid that such information is known only to myself.”
“You’re telling me that your lieutenants and subordinates follow your ambitions blindly, without even knowing how it ends?”
“They trust me. You should too.”
“No, I should not. Your threat of nuclear retaliation is not working. All signs point to the very real possibility that Russia is calling your bluff and is planning on deploying missiles against us.”
“I have a contingency in place if this were to happen.”
“And I suppose you’re not going to tell me that either?”
“You would be correct.”
“You couldn’t possibly have enough spies in Russia, like you did with China. Their recruitment program is notoriously difficult to get through. The statistics on failouts are staggering. No one really knows what happens in the spy world, but it’s a common rumor that Usonia has been trying and failing for years to embed spies in Russia, or at least informants.”
“I don’t have any spies,” Stockton answered with a shrug. “But I have intelligence. I know where most of their weapons are. We’re still working on it. I would have liked more time, but these are the cards I was dealt.”
“No, Stockton, that’s not true. You’re the one dealing the cards. You’re the instigator of all this. And you have to stop. It’s only going to get worse. Usonia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, by an astronomical margin.”
Stockton chuckled. “That’s funny what you just said there. It’s not funny now, but it’ll be funny later. Trust me.”
Tanner ignored his remark. “What are you going to do when you inevitably reach the Stage for Usonia? They’re going to be the hardest.”
“Yes, they are. But that’s why I’m holding off on them. I’m hoping after I’m finished with France and the U.K., they’ll choose to disarm themselves.”
“That’s not going to happen. No one is going to do that.”
“We’re already talking to India about it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, they intend to disarm of their own accord. We’re just discussing specifics.”
Tanner seemed genuinely impressed with this, even knowing how supportive India had been throughout this whole endeavor. “Either way, that’s them. What about everyone else?”
“I’m handling each nuclear nation differently. I have considered all of the angles. Every single point of retaliation or resistance, I’ve planned for it.”
“I am a point of resistance, as are my constituents. Have you planned for us?”
“Indeed. In fact, I was putting off this meeting so that you can be here on this specific day. What you said about Russia is true, and will mark a turning point in our grand mission. We have been monitoring their communications, and we believe that they are about to, as you said, call my bluff very soon. Within minutes, actually.”
“Well, what are you going to do about it?”
“I have a plan.”
“Stop saying that!”
Stockton shrugged again. “It’s true.”
“It’s also meaningless to someone as ignorant on the matter as I am. If you want me to trust you, then read me in.”
He shook his head. “The only way I know that I can trust you is if I don’t read you in. You have to make the decision yourself.”
“What does that even mean?”
“You will soon have a choice. You can either push the button, and show me that you love your constituents, or you can do nothing, and risk not only this mission, but the lives of everyone you know.”
“I don’t understand.”
Governor Stockton’s special red phone rang. “Ah, here’s the call now.” He answered. “Yes, Mister Lazarov. What do you hear from the airwaves?” He waited for a response. “Are you sure?” He waited once more. “Have they already deployed?”
Deployed?” Tanner repeated. “What’s happening?”
Stockton placed his hand over the mouthpiece and whispered, “Russia’s gonna nuke us.”
“What!”
“Thank you very much, Radimir. My love to your family.” He hung up and walked over to the other side of the room.”
“They’ve already sent a missile, haven’t they? We have to get everyone to the bunkers.”
Stockton unlocked a cabinet and pulled a drawer from it. There was a single mauve button on it. He simply presented it to Tanner, as if trying to sell him a car.
Tanner jumped up and pushed the button without hesitation. Sirens went off across the entire island. Everyone and their mother was headed for safety in the bunkers below. “Is that going to be enough? Will the bunkers keep them safe?”
“Some of them, yes. The coastal bunkers couldn’t be dug too deep, but the Russians are almost certainly aiming for the center. For the people there, probably not. The Amadesins built the bunkers to protect themselves from that day’s technology, not today’s.”
“This is crazy!”
“I know. They’re all so shortsighted.”
“No, I mean what’s happening right now! The Russian missile will be here in, what, thirty minutes?”
“Closer to twenty.”
“You did this!” Tanner screamed. “You put us all in danger, and now it’s coming to fruition. Was this your plan? To have everyone die? I imagine you have a bunker that goes down a thousand sheam. You and your friends will be safe, while your country burns around you.”
“Nonsense,” the governor replied. “I’m staying right here.” He fiddled with a few instruments on the console. “Remember when we renovated my office a few years ago? I had to lobby for the tax money, even though it was seemingly frivolous?”
“Yes, as I recall, that was the first time we heard you say, I have a plan.”
“Well, I’m sorry to inform you that the renovation was mostly frivolous.” He playfully finished the sequence of commands on his instruments. The ceiling above them began to open up. “I couldn’t pass up the chance to have the best seat in the house. There’s no way I’m going down to a bunker.”
“We’re in the middle of the island,” Tanner said while watching with interest as the ceiling continued to disappear. “It’ll fall right on top of us.”
“It’ll try.” He casually placed his sunglasses on his face.
After the ceiling was finished, a set of television screens rose from the floor, cycling through security footage from around the island. Stockton was not lying about having technology beyond the day at his disposal.
After time, the screens showed that no one was left on the streets, or even above ground level. “Tell me your plan,” Tanner insisted.
“I need to know if I can trust you. I’ve told you this.” He unlocked a second cabinet, and released a second drawer. A yellow button this time. “Push this. I’m not going to tell you what it does. But I can tell you that it will surprise Russia like none other.”
Tanner hesitated. “I can’t. I would rather die than send a barrage of missiles towards my enemies.”
“So you agree? My vision is right and good.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“And I didn’t say that the yellow button would deploy a missile.”
The security screens transformed to show the perspective of a single camera, each one revealing only part of the picture. The missile from Russia was on its way.”
“It’s your choice, Roma. Are you going to push the button or not? You have to decide in the next minute or two.”
Tanner stood there, stunned and sweating. He desperately exchanged looks between the yellow button, and the security screen. Fearful and feeling no other way out, he reached over and smashed his hand into the button. It opened a secret door from the bookcase. A woman came out of it. “Really, Stockton? Those theatrics? I say...”
“I knew you would come out on your own, in plenty of time, if he ended up not pushing it. You are nothing if not reliable, Mrs. Blackmore.”
“What’s going on?” Tanner cried.
Stockton handed Tanner a pair of sunglasses. “You might want these.”
Mrs. Blackmore walked to the center of the room and lifted her arms. The security camera became useless as they could now see the missile headed towards them with their own eyes. Tanner continued to sweat. A magical yellow light came out of Mrs. Blackmore’s hands and shot towards the missile. It overcame the deadly weapon, and in one bright flash of light, disappeared it.
Tanner removed his glasses and continued to stare as the yellow light faded away to reveal blue skies. “What the hell was that?”
“Oh yeah, you should know,” Stockton said with a smile. “Superpowers exist.”