EHuman Dawn (18 page)

At her command, a Resistance member approached, carrying an energy pack.

“You want me to wear this?” Jill whined as Dawn placed the contraption into her hands.

“Yes, and plug into it in order to recharge,” she told her.

“Why? Why can’t I just use Neuro?”

“Because we’ve taken Neuro offline,” Dawn answered with a false patience. “We don’t want the WG to program you in any way that will make life harder for you or us.”

“But why would they program me? I don’t understand. This is all so confusing. Everything was fine until you people came in killing everyone. It’s the Resistance we should be afraid of! How could you betray us like this?”

Adam stared at her. From her perspective, she was right. Jill had no idea of the truth. She was just as in the dark as he’d been only days prior.

“It’s your choice,” he answered her. “The WG was going to unplug New Omaha and many other eHuman cities from the Energy Grid. In order to stop mass slaughter, the Global Resistance took over the city. All our power is now run locally. We can assure you that you won’t be unplugged. We hope to secure the network so that you can use it again soon. In the meantime, we suggest you wear this energy pack, which will completely explain the situation in detail, as well as keep your Chi-Regulator charged.”

She looked at him with such ignorance and defiance that Adam suddenly had the urge to smack her. Instead, as if reading his mind, she smacked him.

“Go to hell, Adam Winter,” she hissed, turning on her heels and storming away through the crowd.

Adam watched her as she made her way, shoving eHumans to the side while struggling to put some distance between them. To his relief, she paused for a moment to put on the energy
pack. Then she turned, glaring at him defiantly from across the field for an instant, before disappearing into the masses.

Adam was shocked. He hadn’t really understood Jill’s feeling for him. It had always been a game to him. All of his sexual encounters online had been a game. It was that way for everyone, or so he thought. Life in Neuro wasn’t real, so why did anyone take it seriously?

Or perhaps encounters on Neuro were more real than he’d understood? It must have seemed real to Jill, for her to have acted the way she just did. The entire encounter stunned him. Who was he? Adam Winter, the Newsreel reporter seemed dead to him. Like another lifetime. He no longer desired other women. He no longer needed the Pleasure Zone Apps. He now had Dawn, the Resistance, and his own destiny to pursue. Jill, Miranda, New Omaha, Anthony— they all seemed like distant memories to him.

He turned to Dawn and instantly felt ashamed. He was completely unworthy of her. She’d lived her life impeccably, saving the world, while he’d spent the past two hundred years in a virtual party, indulging in every pleasure, oblivious to his true purpose for even entering the eHuman world. While she’d been searching for him, he’d been playing games.

“Dawn,” he began, but she just shook her head.

“Follow me,” she whispered, taking his hand once more and leading him back inside of the Capitol building and away from the crowd.

He didn’t resist her.

She brought him to a small room and ushered him into it, closing the door behind them. It was nothing more than a closet, a place where decommissioned eHuman bodies used to be stored.

There were a million things Adam wanted to say, but shame kept him quiet. How could he ever justify himself before Dawn? He expected her to yell at him, but instead, she put her hands on his face, sending a gentle, pleasant current through his cheeks.

“You need pleasure to live, Adam,” she said, her voice barely a whisper, her eyes intense and filled with a deep desire of her own, “And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

The pulse from her hands began to throb throughout his body. He trembled at her touch, still unable to speak.

“Passion is part of your nature,” she continued, bringing her face closer to his, “It makes you attractive. Don’t ever be ashamed of who you are.”

Adam’s eyes widened as she drew even closer to him, her lips just inches from his own.

“I also need pleasure, Adam, and I can only imagine how we once indulged in a myriad of delights together, before Edgar separated us.”

She paused once more. Hesitated really. It was time to make her move.

“I’ve waited two hundred years to taste that pleasure once more,” she confessed—and then she covered his mouth with her own.

As Adam’s lips gently found hers, the two of them experienced something beyond desire. They found a bliss of a different sort: the bliss of two souls bound together by infinity, finding each other at last, against all odds.

There are many reasons for the Lux to exist in a body. To kiss a beloved for the first time is certainly one of the best.

Adam and Dawn melded together, passing out of time and space to where nothing but light exists, tasting the essence of the other and beholding themselves at the same time. Neither
of them knew how long they remained locked in their embrace. Only the harsh voice of Origen could break their moment of magic.

“
Come to the Council at once. Alrisha has an update,
” the leader TeleSpoke to each of them, unaware of the romantic encounter.

Adam pulled away from Dawn and smiled at her. Nothing, not even Origen, could taint his mood.

“
At your service, Master,
” he replied sarcastically, high on Dawn’s affections. She laughed and grabbed him, pulling him in for one more kiss, her hands traveling the length of his spine, causing pleasure to dance down every one of Adam’s circuits.

“I really need to get that pleasure circuit upgrade for my hands,” he whispered to her privately.

Adam’s rude reply, followed by silence from the pair, irritated Origen. But rather than give a retort, Origen simply dropped the connection. Like it or not, Adam Winter was here to stay. Unless he didn’t survive his next assignment.

Origen gazed at the others in the Council room, who were quietly convened around the wooden table, waiting for Dawn and Adam to return. He smiled as he thought about the dangers the MICE Tower presented to Adam.

“
The hero is about to have his day
,” Origen thought to himself, “
We’ll see how well he pulls this one off.
”

CHAPTER NINTEEN

“One hundred and sixty-seven cities have been successfully secured,” Dawn reported to the eager Council.

“And what of the others?” Origen asked, a note of disappointment in his voice. To have success in so many cities was a blessing—yet it also meant that Resistance lives had been lost in the other thirty-three cities.

“No word from the failed attacks,” Dawn replied, fighting to keep a cool head in spite of her sadness. “We’ve lost all contact with those regiments. We assume they’re all captured—and dead.”

“What’s our fatality count?” Origen asked.

“The number hasn’t been officially calculated,” she answered, “We’re working on it. But each of those failed sieges had at least three hundred members infiltrate the cities in order to begin takeover as soon as Typhon began its execution. What happened to them is unclear. They never reported back once they entered the city. We assume the additional troops waiting outside attacked at our signal, but found the WG ready and waiting for them.”

“We have no idea what happened?” Origen exclaimed, “Not one of them messaged to us or sent out an SOS?”

Dawn shook her head, “None. Their connections went dead shortly after they stormed the cities.”

“So the infiltration failed, leaving our second line of attack to walk right into the hands of the WG. What about the third line of attack, our machines such as the SpiderScouts, transporters and drones?” Origen inquired.

“Nothing. We can’t find them,” Dawn replied.

“That’s impossible!” Cane declared from his place at Dawn’s side, his fire-red hair accenting the fear in his face, “What would make thousands of soldiers, along with our heavy artillery, disappear?”

“Perhaps they were vaporized?” Adam suddenly blurted out.

“Vaporized? How?” Cane replied.

“Nuclear warheads?” Adam answered, not sure why the idea had even come to him.

“That’s the only technology that could obliterate an entire force, and only if the bomb was dropped directly on the machines,” Cane agreed, “But our intelligence indicates that the WG hasn’t developed any nuclear weaponry since the Great Shift. The threat of war between nations was eliminated by the WG’s ability to simply unplug a rogue country.”

“They might not have developed new ones—but what about the nuclear warheads that covered the Earth before the Great Shift?” Dawn challenged.

“Again, our intelligence would let us know if those were still in existence,” Cane answered, “I don’t believe the WG could build a nuclear force without us noticing.”

“Well, the Resistance developed a global army without the WG noticing,” Adam suggested.

“Something’s wrong here,” Origen cut in. His mind had been whirling with the strategic implications of the report. “Are the failed cities still online?”

“They appear online on the closed Resistance Network,” Dawn answered.

“How about on Neuro itself?” Origen asked.

“We don’t know, we’ve cut off all access to Neuro until we have the MICE Towers under our control,” she answered.

“And when will that be?” Origen demanded.

“As soon as we plug Adam in, we’ll have an answer to that question,” Dawn replied.

“Well, what are we waiting for? I need to know the status of those cities. I also need to know what happened there. We need people on the ground to investigate,” Origen replied with force.

Dawn stared at him, considering all that had been said. She had a sinking suspicion that the WG did know more about the Resistance than was let on. Something about the entire operation seemed off. How could they walk into New Omaha without a glitch, yet in thirty-three other cities, every one of their members just vanished? And why hadn’t the WG responded yet to the attacks?

“I agree, Origen,” Dawn answered out loud, “We need to send reconnaissance forces to those cities so we understand our situation better.”

“
You’re thinking we have walked into a trap?
” she added via TeleSpeak, using the key that connected her and Origen.

He nodded. The two might have drifted apart since the discovery of Adam Winter, but their minds were still on the same page.

“I’ll tend to that,” Origen answered the group, “But first, let’s discuss your role here, Adam. Alrisha, I understand you have a report for us?”

“Yes Master Origen,” she jumped up from her place at the table, “We’ve gained access to the MICE Tower and are closing in on Evelyn Prince.”

Adam rose from his seat as well.

“Already?” he cried out. Finally, he’d have a part to play in the Resistance.

“Yes, and even better, we’ve cracked the encryption keys. We now have access to the machine layer of the operating system. The time has come to plug you in.”

“Excellent. Let’s get to work,” he answered, glancing down at Dawn, who wore an expression mixed with excitement and worry.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Dawn asked Alrisha, unable to hide her concern. She couldn’t fathom losing Adam now, not after what they’d just shared together

“No, I’m not,” Alrisha replied, “It’s pretty intense in there. And we’re not exactly sure how to create a one-to-one convo between Adam and Evelyn. But we’re working on software that will hold off an attack while plugged in. I promise, we’ll do all we can to protect Adam. Unless the two communicate, I don’t think we’ll find the Trojan Horse in his database. It’s too well hidden. Dr. Neville made sure that even I couldn’t hack it.”

“I have to plug in,” Adam reminded Dawn, “I’ve given my word to serve the Resistance, and I meant it.”

“Fine, then get your ass to the Control Center,” Origen ordered. He couldn’t stomach yet another moment of Dawn’s concern. “The rest of us need to determine what the hell happened out there during the siege. I’ve got thousands of soldiers, as well as a ton of equipment, missing in action. Your safety is pretty low on my list.”

Dawn cast a glare Origen’s way, yet refrained from retaliation. He was correct about their security issues. They had a problem on their hands that she needed to remedy.

She was finding it harder and harder to keep her focus. Kissing Adam had changed her in some deeply profound way. War was the furthest thing from her mind. She shook her head,
trying to get back into the moment. No matter what, she couldn’t let her passion distract her from her most important mission: Saving eHumanity from Edgar Prince.

Alrisha bowed to Dawn and Origen and then gestured to Adam to do the same. Given how much he loved Dawn, and his intense dislike for Origen, the act of bowing felt contrived at best. But he did it anyway and then quickly left the room, following Alrisha who seemed to sprint to the Control Center. His feelings for Dawn were beginning to overwhelm him. The revelations of Elijah and Sophia bound them together and gave him permission to finally allow himself the indulgence of loving Dawn. He’d never felt this way for someone before. It was raw, almost too pure, and he felt a constant ache for her. He was grateful when he arrived at the Control Center to find it in a state of semi-emergency. Nothing was better than a small crisis for sharpening the mind and focusing it on something other than romance.

They found twelve green-robed Hackers, lying on the recliners in the center of the room, plugged into the MICE Tower. They looked like they were struggling, their arms gripping the sides of their chairs and their legs moving wildly. Panic was clear on the faces of those who stood on the side watching.

“What the hell is going on here?” Alrisha demanded.

“They’re testing the protection code,” a Hacker explained.

Alrisha nodded. The job had risks. They all knew that. She wondered just how well Adam understood this fact. In her opinion, he didn’t seem scared enough.

The struggle continued for another moment. Suddenly, all twelve released themselves from the plugs at the same time, sitting up and furiously TeleSpeaking amongst themselves. Satisfied that her people were safe, Alrisha called Adam over to one of her two-sided monitors, hanging directly north of the MICE Tower.