CHAPTER 1 THE INK WARS
Until the concept of terrorism is defeated, the war will never end. The world has fallen into madness under the oppressive fist of a maniac driven wild and his evil regime.
Having rigged a decoy starship with a remote control, I made the enemy think I was aboard that decoy.
When they fired upon and destroyed the decoy, the blistering explosion was exquisite.
Left for dead, I have become Dark Star, the avenger. I must bring this maniac down and restore the quality of life these people deserve.
The conquest of the Earth began when, while not paying attention, we had wars in the Middle East over oil, but oil was a diversion.
The world rose up in anger about the price of a barrel of oil and they wrote profusely about the cost. The newsprint was all about the cost of a barrel of oil.
The Sheiks would sit around in a circle laughing and eating Hummus on crackers. The joke was on the foolish news media and their ink jet printers and newspaper presses.
Middle Eastern interests had bought up the ink-jet industry company by company. SONY was renamed without changing the name from SONY Japan to S.O.N.Y. (Sons of Northern Yemen) and hp was renamed from hp (Hewlett Packard) to hp (Hummus People). They never announced the name change to the world. We were blinded by their silence.
While we focused on the price of a barrel of oil, the Middle East was supplying the ink-oil for the ink-jet printers at over $800 an ounce.
They laughingly gave away printers for $50 each and then sold us the ink cartridges for over $100 each. The more we wrote about it on our computers, the more money they raked in while we were looking the other way at the price of a barrel of crude oil and running our printers profusely.
When the ink smears cleared, the Middle East had taken control of the World Government. Yes, and we wrote about that too.
Those who wrote for a living never realized that they were spending more per month to fuel their inkjet printers than they were spending to fuel their cars.
Dark Star will fight for justice, giving hope to the hopeless and restoring the government to the people.
It’s 2 AM in the Homeworld Headquarters and there is a full moon. Two dark figures move ever so slowly toward the door of the power station located just outside of the stockade fence.
A dog barks. The two dark figures, code-named Sneaker and Roscoe, freeze in their tracks. They hold their breath for what seems like a full minute. There is no further sound.
They release the breath they are holding and look at one another. They nod and move on.
Roscoe takes a jumper and shorts out the alarm sensor for the outside door. Then he pulls his bump key and inserts it in the door lock.
He takes a small rubber mallet and taps the back of the bump key while giving it a twist. There is a click when the key turns in the lock and Roscoe pulls the door open about two inches.
They freeze again, listening. A dog barks one time. The two make their way inside and close the door quietly behind them. The sneaker’s flashlight comes on and pierces the darkness.
Roscoe knows that all power stations of this type are identical in design. He goes straight to the access hatch to the underground service tunnel.
While opening the access hatch, he silently motions for Sneaker to follow.
The access tunnel goes under the fence and into the power room of the Homeworld Headquarters.
Once in the basement of the building, they are past all of the outside guards. Sneaker takes over the job of getting them to their target.
Sneaker knows that the two most private floors in a building are the topmost floor and the basement. People may go there, but no one ever goes through on their way to somewhere else.
The basement is the closest floor to an exit in the event of an emergency, so the General has his living quarters next door to the power room and has a private emergency exit, with a guard on the other side.
Sneaker and Roscoe cross over to the interior door of the General’s quarters and open it slowly, quietly.
The two shadow figures move toward the bedroom where the General is sleeping soundly. Roscoe produces a bottle of liquid and a rag. Wets the rag and puts the bottle away.
Roscoe and Sneaker are in luck tonight. The General is alone in his bed. They both sway a little and regain their wakefulness after the smell of the chloroform.
Roscoe resists the urge to scratch the itch on his nose. It always happens. Whether chloroform or black dirty grease, the nose always begins to itch when you can’t scratch it.
Roscoe slaps the wet rag over the General’s nose and mouth. Sneaker holds his breath and jumps on the General’s arms and body to hold him down.
When the General stops twisting and struggling, they grab him and carry him to the hallway door.
The hall is empty. They carry him to the power room and lower him into the underground service tunnel.
Pushing, pulling, lifting and nudging the General, they get him to the service hatch in the power station.
Now for the hard part. Roscoe goes up through the service hatch first and pulls on the General while Sneaker lifts the body up through the hole.
Sneaker whispers, “Damn! This guy is getting fat from sitting around all day and being the boss.”
Roscoe begins to panic as he says, “Shush!”
Sneaker slaps a hand over his mouth and his eyes grow large at the thought that the guards or their dogs might hear him. They stop and wait to see if there is any sound from outside. There is none.
Roscoe seals the service hatch back and they carry the General outside and relock the door to the power station. Roscoe removes their jumper from the door open alarm sensor.
The General begins to stir. Roscoe quickly slaps the wet rag over his nose and mouth. They quietly carry the body out across the grass to the waiting van.
The van driver asks, “What took you so long?”
Sneaker answers, “Next time you go in and get him! We are here. He is here. Now let’s get the Hell out of here!”
The electric van pulls away silently. They move down the dark street to the stop sign and then take a left on their way to the hideout.
Back at the hideout, the General’s body is carried inside and he is strapped to a gurney and anchored there by leather straps.
When he becomes conscious, he begins to struggle and make muffled noises through the gag in his mouth.
Roscoe shouts over at him “Don’t go getting your panties in a bunch! We’re not going to cut you open.”
If you want to take over a building, you can barge right in blasting everyone in charge and the military too.
If you want to take over the world, it’s a little more complex. You can’t blast your way in from the bottom up. You have to subvert it from the top down.
Now I, Beryl Stone in death, am infinitely more powerful than I was when I was a wanted enemy of the Homeworld.
You can’t describe the power that I feel unless you feel it. It’s like trying to describe a flavor or a smell or a sound. You can compare it to something else, but you can’t make the feeling clear.
I will win, not because I am outwardly powerful, but because I am inwardly so. I know the way and I will transform the world from a Hell on Earth to a utopia. I have a plan.
Colonel Rand has located and hired a group of underground identity transformers who are working for the mob. They have taken charge of our captive General Uren.
An identity transformer is a makeup and mask maker who can fashion masks so real that they defy detection. They slip over the face tightly following every facial expression. You can look exactly like anyone.
Our identity transformers anesthetize the General and take a face impression, which they use to fashion a face mask for me, and a face mask to fit General Urine later.
Back in the hideout, Colonel Rand pulls down on the bottom hem of his uniform jacket as he habitually does so often and says to me, “We have word that Sneaker and Roscoe have captured General Uren.
“Our transformation team has anesthetized him and we are taking the facial mold. We will have your mask ready by morning when it has finished curing.”
I say, “Excellent, Colonel.”
The next morning finds me rushing around and gathering my thoughts. Today is the first day of my new assignment. I have to get over to the lab and have my new face mask fitted.
For the past few weeks, I have been practicing the mannerisms and the speech patterns from videos of General Uren. Who knew it would be so hard to become someone else. As long as they don’t check my fingerprints things will be fine.
Feeling as ready as I ever will, I move quietly to the electric van and greet the driver, who can’t stop looking my way.
The driver says, “I know this is you, sir. I have to tell you though that you’re giving me the willies. I’m sure glad this thing has tinted windows.”
I don’t respond. I need to think about how I’m going to work things once I get there.
By now, they are missing the General and the place must be in general disarray.
Two heavily armed Homeworld Security Police Officers block our path as we approach the guard station.
The Officer in charge shouts, “Halt! Everyone out of the van and prepare to be searched!”
I open my door and step out of the van. The General’s uniform fits me perfectly, thanks to the great tailoring job Angie did.
Upon seeing me, the Officers lower their weapons and snap to attention, saluting.
I snap, “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Are you two out of your mind?”
The lead Officer says, “I’m so sorry sir. I couldn’t see you in there through the tinted windows.”
Pointing at him with my finger inches from his red face, I say, “You did fine, Officer. Challenge every one until you are certain who they are and why they are entering this gate.
“Your uniform is winkled and your shoes are a mess. You had better button that collar. You look like a common street person, and get a shave!”
I reenter the van and we move on in.
My driver says, “That was quite a show you put on, sir. They must be pretty upset after that butt chewing.”
I smile and say, “It’s what the General would have done.”
Things at the Homeworld Security Headquarters are not going smoothly. The place is in a panic since they discovered that General Uren went missing.
It has been decided that Major Rider is responsible for knowing the whereabouts of the General.
Major Rider has been making a mess of things in general and is being court-martialed.
Chairman Lambert sits in judgment, saying, “State your full name for the record.”
Major Rider says, “Major Colin Rider, sir”
Chairman Lambert turns to the Field Commander and asks, “How long was this man in field operations in his last job?”
The Field Commander says, “One year, sir.”
Chairman Lambert asks, “Why would you hire anyone with only one year of experience to lead the Guard Section of field operations?”
The Field Commander says, “He had several service awards from his management, sir.”
Chairman Lambert asks, “And just what services was he performing?”
The Field Commander fidgets, blushes, and lowers his head saying, “I don’t know. The service descriptions were absent.”
Chairman Lambert laughs and says, “So we don’t know what services Colin Rider was performing to receive the awards.
“I’ll just be done with both of you. I sentence both of you to termination by firing squad, immediately.
“I do not tolerate incompetence among my security staff.”
As the two men are dragged from the courtroom, the Field Commander can be heard shouting, “You can’t execute me. I was not on trial here today!”
My van pulls silently up in front of the building.
I am dropped off at the front door of the Homeworld Security Headquarters and I walk through the front door. The entrance guards snap too, and salutes me. I rudely ignore them, as he would have done.
A Major comes through a door and enters the hallway.
He stops in his tracks and asks, “Good grief, sir. Where have you been for the last few days?”
I growl, “If there are any questions to be asked, I’ll be the one asking them.
“I am going to be working out of my quarters the rest of this week. I have special work to do and don’t want to be distracted.
“Bring me the personnel files on everyone working here. I want the complete file along with their security information.
“I take it I was missed? What has happened since I went away?”
The Major says, “Major Colin Rider and the Field Commander were executed the other day because they said they had no idea where you went.”
I say, “Take me to the Chairman, now.”
The Major says, “He’s in the Round Office, sir.”
I stiffen and look at him sternly.
I ask, “Did I just say, tell me where he is? Did I just say, tell me where he is? I did not just say, tell me where he is I just told you to take me to him.”
The Major, clearly intimidated turns and walks into the hallway and leads me to the Round Office.
I’m going to have to get my hands on a map of this place, so I tell the Major, “In addition to all the files I requested, I want a detailed map of this building with all of the security device information on it.
“I’m not sure the security equipment is adequate for this facility. Get on your way and gather these things and meet me in my quarters when you have them, and hurry.”
As I enter the Round Office, Chairman Lambert looks surprised and asks, “Where were you these last few days?”
I say, “I’m sure there is a traitor among our staff and decided to test the Field Commander. I’m sure there are others.
I went to verify that the phony package I had him deliver was actually at the drop point. He never dropped it off.
“I went looking for the package that had a homing transmitter buried in the contents. The package was delivered to a BODSO Corporation building.”
The Chairman asks, “Why didn’t you tell anyone you were leaving the building?”
I say, “I told one of the guards, A Major Colin Rider to make sure you knew where I was going. He seemed to be drunk at the time, but I had to leave and figured I’d deal with him when I got back.
I will have him executed for his dereliction of duty. I have no tolerance for such behavior.”
The Chairman says, “No need to have him executed. I have already taken care of that and the Field Commander too.”
I say, “I’m sure there are at least two others among us. I will root them out.
“I have all of the personnel files on order and I will use them to determine who the traitor is.
“If you don’t mind, sir, I will retire to my quarters and work on unraveling the identity of the traitor in our midst. I will keep you advised as I go forward.”
Making my way back to my quarters, I see the Major who has two large file boxes on a cart.
The Major says, “I have everything you asked for right here, sir.”
I tell him, “Great job Major. Drop them in my office and go back to your regular duties. Don’t say anything to anyone about our conversations or what I have been doing. Don’t even mention that I’m back.”
I’m back in my quarters and time is going to be tight. This damned mask is only good for a few days. I had better get the job done soon.
All of these happenings are good news, but they are small potatoes compared to my plan. I will sleep during the day and work my magic at night.
As I study the personnel files, it becomes clear who is who. The security maps provide an understanding of how the rooms are named and where they are located. The Security information includes a photo of people along with their full name and rank.
Now that I know the lay of the land, I can enter into the Chairman’s dream world and interact with him. When I’m done, he won’t even trust his mother. Now that I know his closest confidants, I can work on them as well.
We only dream for five to ten minutes at a time. It only seems longer after we awaken. Dreams that seem to have taken all night are brief.
I can lay back and think of each person for a moment and, if they are asleep, I can see and feel what they are experiencing.
There is a Captain that I met in the hallway when this morning. He is in charge of the munitions for the Homeworld Security Police. I decide it’s time to play with his mind.
He is dreaming of an encounter with the Chairman in which he is suspected of attempting to assassinate him. In his dream, the Chairman has summoned him to the Round Office and upon his arrival; he sees the Chairman and me.
I begin to ask him where he was two nights ago and he can’t remember. Then I ask if he is involved in a plot to assassinate the Chairman. He freaks out and is shot dead by the Security Police.
The Chairman is sleeping and begins to stir. He has the same dream where we summon the Captain. I link the two dreams and run it again, but allow them to interact. The Chairman breaks out in a sweat and sits bolt upright in his bed. The Captain does the same.
The Chairman is angry at the idea that this man is trying to kill him. He is having trouble shaking the feeling that it’s only a dream. He vividly remembers every word and every action.
The Captain is beside himself. He has done nothing wrong, but clearly remembers the Chairman’s reaction as he denies attempting to kill him.
The next day I visit the Chairman in the Round Office and notice that there are twice as many guards as usual.
I tell him that I think there might be a plan to assassinate him and say that the most likely suspect is the Captain in charge of munitions.
Chairman Lambert’s face goes white and he orders the Captain to the Round Office in a rage.”
The Captain appears frightened. He can’t hide his fidgeting. He stutters. He trembles.
I ask, “Do you know anything about a plot to assassinate the Chairman, yes or no?”
It’s like lighting a fuse. The Captain looks as though he is about to faint.
The Chairman’s gaze intensifies.
The Captain cries out, “I have done nothing! I don’t know anything about it.”
I ask, “Anything about what?”
He says, “I don’t know anything about anything.”
The Chairman’s gaze intensifies, more.
I say, “For someone who knows nothing about this, you sure seem upset.
“Are you involved? Are you hiding something? What do you know about this?”
The Chairman’s gaze becomes extremely intense.
The Chairman tells the guards, “Arrest this man. I want him interrogated using any means necessary to unearth what he is hiding.
The Captain begins to weep and his legs collapse. He is carried away.
Cross paranoia is a dangerous thing. The two psychotics feed on one another and form a self-fulfilling prophesy.
The Chairman says, I am convinced that I am the target of a plot to assassinate me.
“You have done a fine job of uncovering the plot and have just fingered one of the traitors.
“Together we need to assign a new Head of Homeworld Security Field Command.”
I say, Yes, sir. I recommend we promote Field Operations Major Dunn. He is not above suspicion in this case, but then, no one is, are they?”
I touch my forehead and press to relieve an itch. The damned mask is beginning to itch once in a while. If I scratch it, the damned thing will tear and I’ll blow my cover.
This is the first night.
Before this is over, I’m hoping that the Chairman and I might just be the only two people left in his government.
My goal is to wreak such havoc that the staff will eventually combine their collective courage and actually assassinate the Chairman before he kills them all.
On my private communications channel I contact Colonel Rand and report, “Everything is fine here. I am having some success with project Dream Boat.
“Send the operatives, Sneaker and Roscoe in two days. Send them in the morning at 3 AM. I have a person we need to remove.”
Colonel Rand asks, “What’s going on out there? Who is next on your list?”
I say, “I have just promoted their best guy from Field Operations named Major Dunn. He’s their best operative. I plan to promote him out of the field and up to the job of Commander of Field Operations.
“I’ll need two nights to work on the next step. Have Sneaker and Roscoe here to take him back to The Farm for questioning and processing.”
The evening goes quietly for most of us here at the Homeworld Security Headquarters, but Chairman Lambert looks to be a bit on edge. His eyes are bloodshot and he walks like a zombie. I don’t think he slept well last night.
It’s early evening and the Chairman is yawning profusely. He excuses himself for the night and heads in the direction of his quarters.
I tell Major Dunn, “I’m glad to have you on board. You will work out fine, don’t worry.”
Major Dunn says, “Thank you sir. I’m sure we can get things under control.
“I understand there is a plot to assassinate the Chairman, is that right?”
I lean in close and speak softly.
I say, “I need you to be here for the next couple of nights. We should be working on the assassination plot at night when we won’t be disturbed.
“In fact, for the first two nights I need you to work in my outer office at the entrance to my quarters. Don’t mention anything to anyone, not even the Chairman. I don’t want anyone to know what we are doing.
“This way there is no possibility of a leak.”
The Major says, “As you wish.”
That evening I had my work cut out for me. I have to link Major Dunn’s paranoia with the Chairman’s insecurity. This is not very difficult, but there needs to be some hard evidence of the problem.
As a matter of security protocol, I notify the local guard that I’m leaving the compound. I head for downtown and meet with Sneaker at the local fast food restaurant.
The sneaker is wearing a face mask and looks like a gorgeous blond woman with a gravelly voice. She walks like a lanky guy and has the mannerisms of a goon.
These boys back in the makeup department are slipping. I just try to minimize the amount of time with this person. If I had to guess, although the mask is perfect, he looks like a drag queen.
I give the phone number to him and tell him to tap this phone and send me the recording. The phone is in the office, I have assigned to Major Dunn.
Later, when I have arrived back at the office, I see Major Dunn.
I say, “Major Dunn, I have a job for you to complete tonight. Be in your office, in my quarters and wait for a phone call from me. When you get the call, I need you to do as you are directed.
That evening I call and tell Major Dunn, “I need you to call and tell Lieutenant Trask that we need to eliminate our target on Friday night at the Chairman’s dinner party. I say, we don’t want to identify the target of the assassination, so just refer to him as, the target.
“Have Lieutenant Trask deliver the poison vial to you on Thursday evening. You will meet him at his quarters. Tell him there will be members of the hit squad meeting him there as well.”
Major Dunn asks, “Who is the target, sir?”
I answer, “Damn it Major! If I wanted you to know that, I would have told you. We need to keep these things secret until it’s time to act. We don’t know who the enemy is right now. I’m not going to have this information leak out. Discuss this with no one else.”
Major Dunn is one of the brightest people in the building, so I have to hope this works out.
The Major makes his call just as directed.
The incriminating conversation is recorded by Sneaker and Roscoe.
Armed with the incriminating phone conversation between Major Dunn and Lieutenant Trask, I am ready for the arrival of Sneaker and Roscoe at 3 AM the following morning.
They are making their entrance through the service tunnel just as they did when they kidnapped General Uren. I am waiting in the hall for them.
I am stunned when the door to the power room silently opens about an inch. Upon seeing me, Sneaker and Roscoe step out through the doorway and, nodding at me, point in the direction of my quarters. I smile and nod approval.
The best way to smuggle Major Dunn out of the building is with his help.
Poking my head in the Major’s office, I say, “There are a couple of people I want you to meet.
This is my friend Sneaker and my other friend Roscoe.”
Major Dunn looks at me strangely and asks, “What’s wrong with your face?
“You have a mask on? Looks like a peeling part on your neck.”
The Major makes a dash for the door only to be intercepted by Sneaker and Roscoe. He struggles and makes a grab for my face as if to tear the mask off.
Roscoe pulls a gun and jams it into the Major’s neck.
Sneaker says, “I’ve got some major advice for you, Major.” He makes a strange face for a moment looking obliquely up to one side.
He continues saying, “You can come with us peacefully, or we can carry your body out feet first.”
The Major’s face turns white.
We hear a long squeaking sound and notice the air is turning a bit foul.
It turns out that Major Dunn has a nervous digestive system and suffers from debilitating flatulence when under severe pressure.
I fan the air with my open hand and loudly say, “Get him out of here!”
The three of them move across the hallway and disappear through the power room door. The door closes as another loud squeaking sound breaks the silence.
Left alone, I am still fanning the air and cursing.
Outside, Sneaker and Roscoe are urging Major Dunn across the lawn and into the waiting van.
Major Dunn is forced inside and told, “Keep down and be quiet, or we will have to shoot you right here and now.”
We hear another longer, stuttering squeak.
The driver breaks into a stream of profanity and asks, “What’s that stink? Somebody crack a window, for crying out loud!”
I’m still in my quarters and trying to assess the damage to my mask. In the bathroom mirror, I can see what the Major was saying.
A whole chunk of my mask is becoming separated from my neckline.
Using rubbing alcohol to make it tacky again, I reattach the edges to my skin.
I mumble, “I had better get this mission wrapped up by tomorrow or this mask will never hold up.”
I work my dream magic by night, so as the clock strikes twelve, I start in on the Chairman’s dream.
Easing back in my recliner, I close my eyes and focus on Chairman Lambert and Lieutenant Trask. Soon I am getting visions of their thoughts.
I can see the insecurity that Lieutenant Trask hides so well when he is on duty. Much of his career success has been blind luck.
I can see the mind of the Chairman and his paranoia. He honestly believes that the whole world is out to kill him. I’m beginning to think, actually, he may not be paranoid after all.
Chairman Lambert’s dream links with Lieutenant Trask and they have a dream world dialog wherein the Lieutenant verbally berates him.
Major Dunn plays a starring role in the dream as the one who orders the Chairman’s assassination.
Later in the dream, the Lieutenant then kills the Chairman using poison from a vial he planted in the Chairman’s food at the upcoming dinner party on Friday night.
What makes this most powerful is that the Chairman and Lieutenant Trask are having the same interactive dream.
It’s more than a dream to them. It’s an alternate reality and they both share the same memory of what was said and done by each of them.
The Chairman awakens in a sweat, screaming.
The entire Homeworld Headquarters awakens.
Chairman Lambert has a trial ordered immediately.
CHAPTER 2 BACTERIA TALK
Major Dunn and Lieutenant Trask are both ordered to appear for trial. Lieutenant Trask comes, hat in hand and, assuring us all, that he has had nothing to do with any assassination attempt.
Now I pull out my handheld unit and play the phone recording of the conversation between Major Dunn and Lieutenant Trask.
Lieutenant Trask says, “I know that sounds bad, but I swear it had nothing to do with you, Chairman.
“You can ask Major Dunn. He will tell you.”
Chairman Lambert looks around the room and asks, “Where is Major Dung?”
The Clerk of Court says, “That would be Major Dunn, sir.
“He has not appeared as ordered and cannot be found on the property anywhere.”
After that dream only two hours before, the Chairman is not convinced of Lieutenant Trask’s story.
The Chairman says, “I hereby order your execution effective immediately.
“Guards, take him away.”
The Chairman turns and looks at me somewhat menacing and asks, “Wasn’t Major Dunn working for you?”
I say, “Yes, he was, sir. He was supposed to be in his office, but I haven’t seen him since last night.”
The Clerk of Court says, “Major Dunn has gone missing and it looks as though he may have simply run away to avoid prosecution.”
The trial is concluded with an executive order for the shooting of Major Dunn, on sight.
As I head back to my quarters, I am thinking that things are getting a little hot around here. It’s time to make my exit. I think we have all we need from General Uren.
The Chairman has headed back to bed to try to get more sleep. He is completely exhausted.
Tonight I saw Colonel Rand, who, having just dozed off is snoring incredibly loud. I’m wondering if I will ever be able to concentrate on the task of mind control with all this noise. We get him up and send him off to his quarters for a nap.
I slide into my easy chair and think of the Chairman and his dream state. The Chairman is dosing off. I use my dream connection to create another paranoid episode.
The Chairman begins to dream that General Uren has gone out for a minute and is returning to the front entrance.
All four guards there are part of a conspiracy to kill General Uren because he has been able to pick out their partners in the plot to assassinate the Chairman.
The Chairman dreams that the four guards wait for General Uren to return and when he does, they gun him down.
In order to escape blame, they produce a face mask and super glue an empty gun in his hand.
The Chairman wakes in a panic.
He says, “They are going to kill the one person who has kept me alive.”
As soon as Sneaker and Roscoe drop off Major Dunn, they double back to pick me up.
On the way out the front entrance, I tell the security guard, “I’m going out and will be back in a little while.”
As I climb into my security car, I notice that it’s almost 4 AM. They are planning to meet me at the Breakfast Shack at 4:30 AM.
At the Breakfast Shack, I sit in my car and await the arrival of our electric van. After a few minutes, it slides silently up alongside my car and stops.
When I get in the car, I see a stranger seated there and ask, “Who the hell are you?”
The stranger looks back at me as though he has seen a ghost. He seems to know who I am, but I have never seen him before and if he is with us, he must be one of us.
Then I notice Roscoe with his gun pressed against the stranger’s side.
Sneaker says, “General Uren, meet General Uren.
“We were done with him, so we decided to take him home. We’re going to let them deal with him.”
Roscoe says, “We fixed him up with a disguise and gave him an empty gun. Then we sowed his pockets shut so he won’t have anywhere to hide the weapon.”
I shrug and say, “Then I guess all we have to do is dump his body on the front lawn and drive away.”
We pull up in front of the guard station, open the side door and push him out. Then we hastily leave.
General Uren, wearing the face mask, staggers toward the guards saying, “Stop that van!”
The guards, upon seeing the gun in the hand of an approaching stranger open fire. He falls dead on the ground.
A guard peels the face mask from him, stands up pointing at the body and slaps his hand over his forehead saying, “Holy Moly!
“I just shot General Uren.”
The 4 guards all begin to swear to one another that they had no idea it was General Uren.
Upon hearing of the death of General Uren, the Chairman’s dream comes flooding back to him.
The Chairman asks, “Was there a face mask and a gun involved?”
The person reporting the incident is startled and asks, “How did you know about the facemask and the gun? I just found out about it and It all happened out at the guard shack a couple of minutes ago.”
The Chairman has completely run out of patience and says, “I’m not going to waste my time with a trial. I need to get some sleep. I want all four of them executed within the hour. I don’t even want to see or talk to them.”
Had anyone looked, they might have asked why General Uren’s pockets were sewn shut. There is no investigation.
On the way back to our hideout, I peel the mask off and scratch my face. It itches pretty badly. When I look in the mirror, I can see the rash that has developed.
I say, “All in all, this has been a good mission; I have Chairman Lambert in a paranoid frenzy and have eliminated ten of his top people.”
Sneaker asks, “Who did you take out?”
I say, “Colin rider, the Commander of field operations, Colonel Able, The Captain in charge of munitions, Major Dunn, Lieutenant Trask, and General Uren and I suspect there are 4 guards slated for the firing squad by now.
Chairman Lambert realizing that the Homeworld Security Guards have no Commander, quickly assigns Colonel Ramous to the job.
With all the stress and the lack of sleep, the Chairman has no resistance to disease. He begins to have coughing fits.
The staff decides the Chairman will need to go to the Capitol City Hospital where the political elite go for treatment of any kind.
At the Capitol City Hospital, the common citizen is turned away and the Doctors there outnumber the patients.
Every room is a private room and the kitchen employs the best five star chefs in the country.
Needless to say, the treatment regimens are very different from the regular hospitals. The hospital has an annex dedicated to medical research. The drugs and remedies are not approved for the public.
Because the Chairman is admitted there, I have some insights into the institution that might have never occurred to me before.
As hard as I try to remember, I can’t think of a single instance where a public official had a cold or pneumonia, or any other bacterial or viral infection.
I look at Michelle and say, “No official ever gets sick with a viral or bacterial infection.”
She asks, “What are you talking about?”
I say, “At the root of any civilization are the factors that govern how prosperous and powerful they become.
“Factors such as health, longevity, quality of life and others blend to become their average life span.
“Our society has become three societies. We have a society of the poor and a society of the rich and a society of both the rich and powerful.
“The poor are sick a great deal and receive the poorest quality of health care and treatment options.
“The rich are seldom sick, but receive a moderately good quality of healthcare.
“The rich who are also powerful are receiving a special quality of health care denied the lower classes.
“It’s the foundation upon which the class war is fought. I must explore this special health care system and find out how the powerful escape even the common cold.”
Michelle says, “There is a hotel just across the street from the Capitol City Hospital. You can check in there and by renting three or four suites on the same floor side by side, you can have a full staff and all the equipment you will need to accomplish the task.”
I say, “Honey, you amaze me. Get me set up over there and make sure we have all the mask making talent and tools in case we need them.”
Michelle says, “Where you go, I go. We should have Colonel Rand on staff as well. Colonel Rand will be staying on a different floor to minimize the size of our group.”
I tell Colonel Rand, “Michelle will not be staying with me because I will be working some crazy hours.”
The first night in my suite I lay awake in my custom recliner and focus on Chairman Lambert. I can see he is in bad shape after the string of nightmares that turned to reality.
I focus hard and manage to find out his Doctor's name. From his Doctor, I manage to find out the Chief of Staff’s name. From the Chief of Staff, I find out who the head of the research annex is.
After the first day of mentally tapping the staff, I’m exhausted. This is the first time I have ever tried to connect with anyone while they were awake.
The Staff doesn’t sleep here and they all work days. At night, I can connect with Chairman Lambert.
The viral infection is completely gone and he is feeling much better. I have him dream that the Hospital is a death factory and he is the target of a conspiracy to take over the government.
He dreams that the Doctors, Nurses and Researchers next door in the annex are all involved.
The only way we’re going to overcome this miracle treatment is to understand what it is and why it works.
I shift my daytime focus on the head of the annex, Doctor Wang.
Over at the annex one of the researchers is giving a tour to a group of high-level government dignitaries. I influence the head of the annex’s decision to go along with the tour. I am mentally connected and very tired.
The tour is led by Doctor Lang. He is their Chief Researcher.
Doctor Lang addresses the group saying, “We have found the fundamental cause of illness. What’s more, in finding that key, we have also found the way to improve your body functions.
“We have brought the tools of molecular biology to bear on the problem. Let me explain how a disease develops in the body.”
He takes the group to a theatre and everyone sits down. The lights go out and the Doctor takes his place on the lectern.
The Doctor continues, “In the beginning, the invading cells have a low cell density and the bacteria do not act. If they were to act, the body would destroy them.
“They multiply in numbers and wait until they have a high enough cell density to become virulent. When they have achieved a high cell density, the bacteria act.
“They know to act because cells secrete small molecules that form a quorum. The quorum molecules are produced by an enzyme.
“When the quorum reaches a threshold and a quorum exists, they all turn on and attack the body.
“The bacteria also have quorum sensing receptors on their cell walls. These receptors sense when there is a quorum, which is a sufficient density of bacteria to become effective in attacking the host.
“The process is called pathogenicity. Pathogenicity is the potential capacity of certain species of microbes to cause a disease. A pathogen is described by its ability to produce toxins, and its ability to immunosuppress the host.”
The screen lights up and an image appears.
Doctor Land says, “This type of modeling is called a Jmol diagram. It’s characterized by the ball and stick method of showing the chemical components in a molecule.
“This is the basic molecule the bacteria build on to create the quorum. All bacteria use this same basic molecule.
“Every type of bacteria adds on other atoms to create their own unique signature in the following way.
“Here, we have added an Oxygen atom to make this quorum molecule unique.
“Another bacteria will make a further unique molecule by attaching another Oxygen atom. Another form of the quorum is formed by adding on another Oxygen atom.
“The process is repeated until every form of bacteria has its own unique quorum-sensing molecule.
“Each bacteria sees only the unique molecule used in determining the concentration of its own species.
“When the concentration of their unique quorum counting molecules reaches a quorum, they all turn on and attack the body all at once.”
The Governor of Texas speaks up, “All this gobbledygook is for what? What’s the point?”
Doctor Lang says, “The point is, Governor, that knowing the mechanism by which you contract a disease has enabled us to manufacture the perfect cure.
“Antibiotics are becoming less and less effective. We continue to use these anti-bacterial agents even though they don’t always work.
“Knowing the quorum sensing molecular structure, we are now able to make molecules that block the quorum-sensing receptors of any unique bacteria.
“We render the bacteria harmless because it never turns on.
“We can cure any disease by never contracting it.”
“The Governor of California asks, “How come we never heard of this method of treatment?”
Doctor Lang says, “There are three reasons.
“The first reason is political.
“The powers of the leaders are enhanced by controlling their longevity. That’s why the political health insurance is different for politicians from Senators on up to the President.
“It enables us to draw a line between treatment options for the ruling class and the lowly pauper class.
“The second reason is economic.
“What would happen to the pharmaceutical industry if we eliminate all disease? It would dramatically affect the health care industry from the top down. It would bankrupt the world.
“The third reason is environmental.
“We are actively reducing the population of the world to improve the living standard of the politically powerful.
If we eliminate disease, we will be increasing the population and reducing the resources available to the ruling class.
“We need to return to the tour if there are no more questions.”
The Senator from Massachusetts says, “You say you can restore a failing organ.”
Doctor Lang says, “Yes, we can cure any disease that is bacterial or viral. The viral cure is done through cell enhancement. We can enhance the body functions and restore immune system functionality by increasing the quorum molecules for the system functions we want to amplify.
“We can even cure diabetes by inducing pancreatic quorum sensing molecules to amplify the ability to produce insulin.”
“The Senator from Delaware asks, “If we can cure diabetes, then why don’t we?”
Doctor Lang says, “We do. You were diabetic when they sent you here two years ago. We enhanced your pancreas and cured you. There was no need for you to know.
“We can even cure cancer by shutting down the cancer cells and not letting them reproduce or turn on.”
Doctor Wang injects by saying, “This concludes our tour. If anyone has any more questions, feel free to ask.
“The information you were given, and even the existence of the Research Annex or any of these programs are Top Secret.
“If you divulge the information to anyone, you will be prosecuted and your family will no longer be eligible for health care.”
I disconnect from the mind-link and find myself so tired I can’t go on.
Colonel Rand asks, “What’s wrong?”
I answer, “The situation with regard to the health care system and the power base it creates is far more insidious than I first believed. If the ruling class can’t become ill or fall prey to the multitude of human frailties, then there may be no stopping them.”
Colonel Rand says, “Sounds like the Master Race that was spoken of by the Nazi Third-Reich.”
I say, “At the time it was a myth spread
Impressum
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Texte: Robert Stetson
Bildmaterialien: Robert Stetson
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 03.12.2014
ISBN: 978-3-7368-6139-8
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