Rise of the Elgen (23 page)

The image on the screen behind Hatch changed, revealing a close-up of the bowl’s chute, which had already started moving out from the wall. When the chute reached its extremity, the door in the wall opened. A man’s black boot appeared, followed by the rest of his body as he was pushed out and the door shut behind him. The guard was fully dressed in Elgen uniform and bound at his legs and wrists. As the chute lowered, he desperately tried to hold on to the sides of the chute, but it was impossible. He slid on the metal rollers to the bottom of the chute, where he was caught by the cog, which was hanging just a few yards from the grid.

Within seconds the guard was covered with rats. His amplified screaming echoed through the entire hall for less than a minute, leaving the men silent. After just ninety seconds the man’s skeleton
was ejected from the chute. The camera zoomed in on the shredded uniform and the bone remains of the guard.

“They go much quicker than the bulls, don’t they?” Hatch said without emotion.

The room was silent as Hatch looked over the audience. Hatch nodded to one of the guards, and three men dressed in pink girls’ party dresses were led out, bound and shackled. Their mouths and chins were covered with tape. They all had large bows on their heads.

“Cute, aren’t they?” Hatch said.

The men in the audience laughed loudly.

“These so-called men arrived at our conference with the wrong attitude. How unfortunate for them. They will not leave us with those attitudes, simply because they will not be leaving us at all. If you once knew these men, you will be doing yourself a favor to disassociate with them, as they are traitors and fools. And they are part of tomorrow’s entertainment, for they are all headed to the chute. But first you will be allowed the privilege of letting them know how you feel about traitors.

“Elgen Force, do not make their fate yours. Over the next two weeks we are going to introduce a new food group to our rodents’ diet. Every day, for the next fourteen days, one of you will meet these men’s fate. One of you each day.”

The men were all silent, none daring to move or speak.

“We will select our fourteen ‘meals’ by monitoring your level of cooperation and performance. Each day we’ll nominate three of you, but only one of you will be chosen, and that will be my decision. If you are nominated twice, then you will automatically be selected. Our informants are already in place. From this moment on, anything and everything you say and do
will
be used for or against you.”

Hatch paused for emphasis. “If you think you can beat this system, think again. For those among you who have seditious thoughts, remember that the friend you invite to join you will rejoice in your treachery, because, and excuse the pun, to ‘rat out’ a disloyal guard is the fastest way to ensure your own survival.

“Each of you will be given a new Elgen rule book. It looks like this.” Hatch held up a navy book with gold embossing. “This is your new
Bible
. It is only thirty-six pages long. Over the next five days you are to memorize the entire book. Every line. Every word. And yes, there will be a test. Two of them. The two guards with the lowest score will automatically be included as two of the fourteen meals. So, for your sake, I recommend that you know the book well.”

Hatch nodded to one of the EGGs standing by the side of the stage. The guard saluted, then gave a hand signal, and twelve other guards—the ESP Captains—walked to the front of the stage. They wore scarlet berets and sashes across their chests.

Each of the captains had an assistant at their side, a guard dressed in black, with yellow and black striped armbands. The assistants wheeled a stainless steel cart with a black, metal box on top that resembled a large toaster. The box had several dials and knobs and a white meter with a needle. Two long red wires protruded from the side of the box leading to finger clamps. On a lower shelf on the cart was a box of books.

The ESP Captains sat down at black, plastic chairs while the assistants assembled the apparatus, then stacked the books on the ground next to them. The preparations were carried out quickly and sharply.

At the same time the three men in dresses were led from the stage down to the auditorium’s exit. The men were forced to their knees and shackled together, facing outward in a triangle.

“This is how you will receive your Elgen rule book,” Hatch said. “Each of you will have the opportunity to take the Elgen oath of loyalty. Should you choose to make this commitment, and I strongly advise that you do so, you will come up to the front and stand in the queue until it is your turn. When you are summoned to the podium, you will have sensors placed on the fingers of your right hand. The administrator will be reading his monitor as you take the oath. If you are lying he will know it.

“You will put your right hand on the Elgen rule book, raise your left arm, and repeat the oath after the administrator.” Hatch lifted a paper from the podium and read, “‘I swear on my life, breath, and fortune to
prosper the Elgen cause, to advance its mission until every man and woman on earth have sworn allegiance to the
Novus Ordo Glorificus
Elgen, our new glorious order. I offer up my life and death to this endeavor and will follow all rules contained in this book and those that will come, with fidelity, honor, and exactness. I swear this oath on my life.’”

He set the paper down and looked over the group. “You will then make the Elgen salute and bow to the administrator and remain bowed until he accepts or rejects your oath. If he accepts your oath he will hand you the contract to sign. You will then be given your rule book and you will go to the adjoining hall to await further instruction and, if you are wise, start memorizing your rule book.”

A guard stepped forward and whispered something to Hatch.

“Of course,” Hatch said. “Let me remind you that as you pass out of this room you may make known your disdain for the three men who have shamed us all with their weakness. Elgen are not weak. When you are through with these pitiful little girls, what is left of them will be fed to the rats.

“Now, back to you. If your administrator rejects your oath, you will be sent to the end of the queue for another opportunity. If you fail your oath the second time, you will be taken to a separate hall. I will not tell you what will happen there. Those of you who merit that placement will learn soon enough.”

He stopped talking, looking out over the silent audience. “I ask those of you who do not wish to take this oath to remove yourselves from our company immediately. If any of you wish to leave, you may raise your hand at this time.”

There was a pause, then one lone hand in the crowd went up. Guards in red immediately surrounded the man and escorted him out of the room, amid the whispers and buzzing of the remaining men.

After he was gone Hatch smiled. “Gentlemen, I think we just found our first meal.”

Nervous laughter skittered through the crowd.

“It is now time for you to make a decision that will affect your life, the lives of billions, and history itself. Time for you to choose your paths. Gentlemen, welcome to the future.”

O
ur plane landed at night at the Cuzco airport. I had never left the United States before, and standing in a foreign airport where all the signs were in a different language filled me with anxiety. We walked out of the terminal. The air was warm and moist.

“My head is killing me,” Wade said, grimacing.

“I have a headache too,” Taylor said. “It started as soon as we landed.”

“It’s altitude sickness,” Ostin said. “Cuzco’s elevation is eleven thousand feet, more than double Idaho’s.”

“Does it go away?” Taylor asked.

“Not always,” Ostin said. “I read that the best remedy is to drink coca tea. In fact, that’s what that lady is selling over there.”

Everyone glanced over at a brightly dressed native woman who was holding a plastic bag filled with green leaves.

“Now what?” Jack asked.

“Someone’s supposed to meet us,” I said.

“Who?”

“No idea.”

“Anyone speak Spanish?” I asked.

“Yo hablo español,”
Ostin said.

“Besides you, Ostin.”

“I know a little,” Abigail said. “My uncle is Mexican. He used to teach me words. But it’s been a few years.”

“Beautiful
and
bilingual,” Zeus said.

“Suck-up,” Jack said under his breath.

“But you can still speak some?” I asked hopefully.

“A little,” Abigail said. “And I can understand a lot of it.”

“So it’s Ostin and Abi,” I said.

Just then a man walked up to me. He was poorly dressed and held out his hand.
“Tiene dinero?”

“What did he say?” I asked Ostin.

“He wants money,” Ostin said.

I took a dollar out of my pocket and handed it to him. “I only have American dollars.”

Ostin translated.
“Yo tengo sólo dinero americano.”

The man nodded.
“Gracias, Señor Michael.”

I looked at him. “Did you say . . . ?”

“Sí,”
the man said. “Mr. Michael, the bus is for you and your friends.” He cocked his head toward a medium-size tour bus that was parked next to the curb. The bus had dark tinted windows. When I turned back the man was already walking away.

“Guys,” I said. “Over here.”

We started toward the bus.

“What do you think?” I asked Ian.

“It looks clean,” he said. “The driver has a gun, but nothing you, Taylor, or Zeus couldn’t take out if you had to.”

“I expect him to be armed,” I said. “Where we’re going, he probably needs it.”

The bus shook as its engine started up, and the doors opened
as we approached. From the curb I looked inside. The driver was a Peruvian man, stocky, and at least twice my age. He watched us carefully as we climbed aboard, counting or mumbling something as each of us got on. The moment we were all inside, the driver shut the door and pulled away from the curb, clearly in a hurry.

Taylor and I sat together about four rows from the front. Everyone else was behind us.

“He kind of reminds me of my grade school bus driver,” Taylor said. “About as friendly, too.”

“Do you think he speaks English?” I asked.

She shrugged. “No idea.”

I walked up to the front, crouching down in the aisle next to the driver. “Excuse me,” I said. “What’s your name?”

He kept his eyes fixed on the dark road. “It is not important,” he said with a thick accent.

“Where are you taking us?”

“Chaspi,” he said.

“Chaspi?”

“You will see.”

“How far are we from Puerto Maldonado?”

“Far,” he said. “Far.”

I guessed he was being purposely vague, so I went back to my seat.

“What did he say?” Taylor asked.

“As little as he could,” I replied. I looked out the window. We were traveling away from the city lights into dark, forested hills.

“Do we even know where we’re going?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “To the Elgen.”

Elgen. The name filled me with dread. In spite of how hard we had worked to get here, I was still having a difficult time controlling my fear. My tics were going crazy.

When we were in the middle of nowhere, the driver lifted the microphone. “Amigos. We are going off the highway up ahead onto a small side road so you can sleep. There are many trees overhead so the helicopters or satellites cannot see us. We cannot take the
chance of staying at a hotel. The Elgen are very careful to know who is coming near them. This bus has a bathroom and there is food for you. The seats lean back most of the way, and there is a pillow and blankets above you. I am sorry it is not a real bed, but I know where you are going and it will be the best bed you will have for some time.

“You will start your journey in a few hours. We will hike a small distance to the river, where there is a boat waiting for you.”

Zeus was already asleep, which I was glad about. I didn’t think he’d like the idea of being in a boat.

“Can’t we just take the road?” I asked.

“No. The road is not safe. The Elgen make many roadblocks and checkpoints. You will ride the boat up the Río Madres de Dios, a tributary of the Amazon River, and will be let out in the jungle near the Elgen compound. You will arrive a little before morning. There you will be on your own. So please, get what sleep you can.”