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  Most of all though Arthur just stared blankly at Gwen. It was like a waking dream, seeing her again. When he had seen her on the holo-net a few days ago, he had thought it was some sort of trick. Cardinal Washington knew how he felt about her and he wasn’t about to just let him go, he was too valuable. When he’d reactivated his homing signal, using himself as bait in a trap, he knew the Cardinal would send someone after him. He just hadn’t imagined it would be her. Having her close brought back emotions that he buried deep. She didn’t understand what he did and she never would, like most people she was too attached to the material world, she couldn’t see the sacrifices for the greater good he needed to make. He would show her, he would show them all.

  He didn’t care about the others, Rowen, her father, in the long run they really didn’t matter. They simply wanted to leave, go home to Colorado. Uriel and Gwen wanted to stay, to do as much damage as they could while behind enemy lines before returning to the front. In the corner of his eye he could see Rodrigo, the man who should have been dead but wasn’t. Like himself he was watching silently, his eyes darting fearfully towards him when he thought no one was looking. Arthur wondered if he should tell him, give him confirmation of what he probably suspected given his nervous looks and wringing hands. Looking at Rodrigo’s cruel face, he decided against it, some people deserved their punishments, this one more than most.

  Right now matters were more pressing, he needed this group of very powerful, very stubborn people to see things his way, follow his plan. He needed to somehow convince them to let a stranger they barely knew, someone considered a traitor, lead them. Pushing himself to his feet, he came to a decision. Standing tall he straightened his uniform and limped over to the group.

  “None of your plans will work, nothing will change in the long run,” said Arthur raising his voice to be heard above the arguments. He squared his shoulders and locked his hands behind his back. They fell to silence, all of them turning in unison. “I know isn't my place and this isn’t my command. I’m not one of you but—”

  As a group they looked to be on the verge of arguing again, only to have Rowen’s father, Captain Macdonald raise a hand to silence everyone. “Go ahead son, I’m listening,” he stood to his full height, crossing his arms across his thick chest. He had few streaks of dried blood on his face and on the side of his head but his eyes were clear and sharp, Uriel had been busy.

  Before he began Arthur closed his eyes, falling into that deep well that was in him now, seeing everything and nothing all at once. The normal world vanished only to be replaced by patterns of light, matter and energy. Looking at the Ascended in the room he could almost make out the white gold glow of nanites flowing through them, brilliant busts of power cascading like waves on a broken shore. Rowen and her father were normal, with currents of blue electrical impulses coursing like blood, and then there was Gibbs. When he looked at the man he saw nothing, simply an inky black void, his only sign of life coming from the crystal flashing on his neck. Arthur could tell it was a machine of some kind, how he couldn’t explain. He only knew that like the holo-projectors in the room or the lights above he could reach out with his mind and touch them, control what needed to be controlled.

  With a sigh he looked away, knowing the crystal was a puzzle for another day. Taking hold of the electronics in the room, he rerouted power sources, causing everyone in the room to gasp as he brought everything surging back to life. Searching through their limited database faster than thought, he assembled what he needed. When everything was ready he snapped his fingers and pointed at a holo projection of the entire country that appeared in the center of the darkened room, casting everyone's faces in a soft blue glow. “This is our country, what we’ve been fighting so hard to keep intact since the start of the war,” said Arthur his voice taking on a lecturing tone. The central parts of the country began to turn red, with the eastern seaboard and Florida in grey. “The parts of the country in grey are what the Russians currently control. The central parts, like Michigan, are holding on by a thread, and the people there live in poverty, 80% of the country lives below the poverty line.” He could see Gwen nodding, she saw firsthand what things were really like.

  “That’s just not true son,” said Captain Macdonald with a slight cough. “That's just liberal east coast bullshit, made up by the elites who control the media.”

  “Respectfully, No sir,” said Arthur shaking his head. “I’ve seen the cover ups; most of the media in this country are controlled by corporations, corporations that own every major media outlet. The free press is a thing of the past. What we have now are shills for corporate empires that have all the power. They only report what they are told, right now they report that the country is still wealthy and powerful because that’s what the government and their corporate masters want them to say. No one really knows how bad it is because no one sees the whole picture. Most people’s lives are so desolate that go through the day with their heads down, just trying to hold on to the little they have, not paying attention to anyone else's problems. It makes it easy to pull the wool over their eyes.”

  He could see Rowen narrow her eyes as she ran her hands through her bushy red mane, when she spoke he could hear anger in her voice. “Listen, I don’t really care about any of this, all we want to do is get the hell outta here, so unless you have a plan that makes that happen sit down and shut up before I shoot you again!”

  Arthur twisted his lips, frowning at her, a bubbling mix of anger and anxiety in the pit his stomach. Locking eyes with her he knew she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him again, as far as he knew she was the most dangerous person in the room. “Please, give me time to explain. It’ll be worth it…I promise”

  She glared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowing before she gave him a slight nod to continue. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, the tension draining from his shoulders as he continued. “It’s almost certain that next election cycle California and Texas, the two richest states in the country will be having ballot initiatives to succeed from the Union, so I ask you what are we fighting for. Some failed democracy that's so desperate to survive, that it forces people like me and Gwen to fight in an unwinnable war. I say to hell with it, Why not build something new.”

  “Really Arty, you thinking just the seven of us or you got some friends I don’t know about,” said Uriel with a smirk. “Listen, I know things aren't ideal, but we're Americans. This is the greatest nation on earth and it’s worth fighting for.”

  Arthur shook his head, giving Uriel a frown. “No, it hasn’t been for a long time. America stopped being a great nation long before you or me were born. Most people don’t know any life but being broke, buried in debt and being overtaxed to support wars we don’t want, so I ask again, why do we do it? why risk our lives?”

  Rowen’s father unfolded his arms and placed his palms face down and leaned over the desk in front of him. “What you’re saying is treason son, but let’s pretend for a minute we go along with this, how would you do it, give me a tactical overview of your plan.”

  “Yes sir,” said Arthur speaking quickly, he began, his heart beating fast as excitement coursed through him. “Most of the Russian forces are stretched thin along the front lines, they’ve left residual forces all across the east coast, like here in New York,” he said flicking his wrist, causing the holo-projection of the country to vanish, replaced by central park. “It all has to do with their drones sir. This tower in the heart of the park, it’s their power source for most of machines on the east coast. It projects an energy wave that the drones use, and somehow disrupts our power grid at the same time. I’ve seen it myself; they use a type of large spherical drone to amplify their signal. I destroyed one over DC, that why we could fight them with conventional weapons when they attacked that day.”

  “See…See how?” asked Captain Macdonald running his hand along his jaw.

  He hesitated for a moment, thinking of how to explain as he continued. “As I had told Rowen, my
abilities are with machines and computers. I can control them for the most part., but I can also see energy patterns, like the bioelectricity in the human body, or electrical current going from the batteries on this base to the holo-projector in this room. Even down to the nanites in the divinity core members standing here.”

  “You took control of the machines in my body, shut them down,” whispered Gwen shaking her head, glaring at him through hooded eyes.

  Nodding to her Arthur continued. “When I use this ability in a place like New York or like in Washington D.C during the attack, I could see the whole was city cast in shadow, and if I look close enough there is a wave of dark energy flowing over everything like high tide. I can’t explain entirely, all I know that as long as the shadow is there, nothing works, electrical current doesn’t flow in normal machines, only theirs.”

  Captain Macdonald raised an eyebrow. “That’s how they just walked past our defenses on day one of the invasion, how they’ve beaten us in every engagement, we don’t have a fighting chance. Tell me again how the four of us and a few kids out there on the subway platform are going to overthrow a fighting force that has decimated the United States military at every turn?”

  Taking a deep breath, Arthur steadied himself, knowing what he said next would be critical, the deciding factor. “Because with Uriel and Gibbs…I can control every last drone in this city, wipe out the residual forces here and attack the enemy with their own weapons from behind!”

  Rowen’s father blew out his cheeks, bowing his head for a long time before speaking. “What then? what happens after you crush the Russians in the vice of their own making what do you do then?”

  Arthur hesitated for a moment, stammering while he gathered his thoughts. “What do you mean sir?”

  “Don’t take me for a fool Arthur. I’ve spent my entire adult life in the military and I’ve seen men like you before. Men with power ready to sweep away the evil they see in the world. They usually end up making it worse. Iraq, Iran, Dubai. The list goes on. Victory is easy son but what comes after, when the bad guys who ruled with an iron fist and made life miserable for his people are dead, tell me what's the plan once you’ve won.”

  Arthur looked away, kicking himself for underestimating the Captain, doubt worming its way into his heart. He wondered again for the thousandth time if he was on the right path, if he really could change things for the better by ending the endless cycle of war and poverty. “We change the rules sir,” he said looking up and locking eyes with Captain Macdonald, his resolve growing as he continued. “We make New York an independent nation, We open our borders to any young person who wants to live a different life than their parents, a city state free from all the bullshit that's been heaped on us. We make it a place where kids can learn and go to school. We make a place where people matter and it’s not all about slavery to the dollar—”

  “You can’t change human nature Arthur!” he interrupted, his tone blunt. “Government and corporations are a symptom of the problem, not the root cause of it. People are in charge in the end of it all. Greed, tribalism and corruption are part of our DNA, none of that is going away no matter what you do.”

  “No! That’s just the cynicism of your generation. You don’t know anything but greed and corruption, so that’s what you pass on. It doesn’t have to be that way, we can be better!” said Arthur raising his voice, seething inside, struggling to keep his face smooth while his entire body was shaking with anger.

  Captain Macdonald walked out from behind the desk, giving Arthur a smile that reminded him of his own father when he wasn’t drinking, stopping in front of him he placed a hand his small shoulders. “I respect your idea son. It takes vision to change the world, a boldness that most don’t have, but let me ask you this. Let’s just say we’re able to as you say, liberate this city. Do we vote on leadership? who makes the laws? Do we declare war on America if they decided, rightfully, that a state cannot leave the Union…what then?”

  Arthur gritted his teeth knowing where this path of questioning was going, he had thought long and hard about this, expecting this kind of resistance. “Don’t try and paint me as the villain sir! Democracy has been a failure at every turn, it becomes corrupt by those who have the money to manipulate the system for their own selfishness, and yes before you ask the question I know you want to ask. It would be me! I would lead! I would be responsible to put systems in place to insure that things would be fair for everyone.”

  “And what about the people who don’t agree with you Arthur?” asked the Captain, his deep voice dropping to low grumble. “The people you’re taking power away from just won’t give it up, they’ll fight you.”

  Arthur gently brushed the Captain's hand from his shoulder, turning away from the group he bowed his head in thought, hesitating to say out loud what he had to say next. “Well sir anyone who won’t leave. Anyone who threatens our borders…would be taken care of.”

  Arthur cringed as the gasps exploded from the group, he wanted to gasp himself. Even knowing what had to be done he still felt like a monster. He turned back to see Captain Macdonald and Rowen shaking their heads, Gwen had gone paler than normal as she stared at him in disgust, quickly moving to stand beside Uriel, who stood stoically, his metallic face a mask to his thoughts. Rodrigo frowned, his plastic face looking grim.

  “You are a madman and god shall punish you, I will take no part in this foolishness. I intend to return to Cardinal Washington and report this traitor’s words.” said the tall Italian.

  Arthur raised his chin as he placed his hands behind his back, balling them into fists where no one could see. He wasn’t sure if he could get to Rodrigo before he vanished into the shadows and he wasn’t sure it really mattered anymore. What could they do to him? “GO! Go tell your master like a good dog, you can fall with the rest when—”

  “We should do what he says,” said Gibbs interrupting, blinking uncomfortably as all eyes in the room turned to him. “What he’s saying is true, you may not want to believe, but everything he said is true. My family builds ships for the Navy. Billion dollar contracts, they been doing it for the last hundred and fifty years,” he said, matter-of-factly.

  Uriel let out a low whistle, sounding strange from lips that couldn’t quite contort. “That would mean your father is Senator Gibbs, your part of one of the richest dynasties in the country.”

  “Yea, there hasn’t been a sitting congress in the last hundred years that didn’t have one of my family members holding a seat,” he said stuffing his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders. “When I was a kid my dad would have dinner parties at our house. The things they talked about doing…it was messed up. It made my head spin. Even as a kid I could tell they didn’t give a shit about anyone else, it was all about control.”

  “I’ve read reports,” said Arthur quickly, not wanting to waste the opening Gibbs had given him. “Cover ups of experiments to control the population, things like the heroin epidemic of the 1970s, crack in the 80s, opioids to control suburban whites as the start of the century. They made changes to the tax code mid-century that closed down schools in poor and middle class neighborhoods to limit social mobility.”

  Arthur looked over to see Gibbs nodding, his blue eyes hard as he spoke. “Ya I heard my dad talking once about closing down schools in poor areas, they thought the most profitable demographic were poor people who weren’t smart enough to know how much they were being screwed. They spent more on clothes, food, pretty much every consumable good. They laughed about how poor people don’t vote and even when they do, it doesn’t really matter anymore.”

  The room went silent, eyes darting back and forth as everyone digested what they had just heard. Arthur crossed his arms not daring to speak, knowing it would be better to let them come to their own conclusions. Rowen was the first to speak, a sour look on her face as she eyed him. “You can’t just kill people who don’t agree with you,” she said pinching the bridge of her nose. “God knows I’d like to. After two years o
f seeing how the Cardinal and his cronies treated us I think you may be on to something, when the leaders of a country are willing to sacrifice people on this level maybe it's time to try something different.”

  “Rowen!” said her father, his deep voice silencing the room.

  “Its true dad,” she said raising her voice, her temper flaring. “They gave us suicide mission here, and even when they sent us help they expected us to die. I’ve wanted to be a soldier my whole life. I expected to be asked to sacrifice for my country but not like this, not without any chance of survival, that's just unfair. Anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot. At the very least we can turn the city into safe place for the people still here, make it possible for the refugees all up and down the coast to have a home to come back too, wouldn’t that be worth the risk.”

  Arthur smiled to himself as everyone began to nod, Rowen’s blunt words taking root in their minds. He was about to thank her when she caught his eye. Slowly she un holstered her weapon, the gun making a hollow thud as she placed it on the table in front of her. She gave him a smile that stretched the gruesome scar running from her forehead to her chin, turning her face into frightening grimace. She said nothing, merely continued to smile, stroking the gun in front of her. Arthur took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before giving her a brief nod of understanding. He had seen that look from the major bishop. If things went badly he knew she wouldn’t hesitate to lay blame at his feet, and a bullet in his brain.

  “There’s more,” said Gibbs stepping in between them. “Before you two kill each other you need to know that they are coming back, we are going to need one another if we want to see the sun rise tomorrow…this time they’re coming with everything”

  Chapter 19: Desperate Times

  May 2076

  “Why are you trying to scare that poor boy?” asked her father, pulling her away from the group by her elbow, his voice barely a whisper.