21 Apr 2012

Stryker #5, At the End of Eternity – Chapter 5

Posted by joncooper

“I’ve tried to convince Miles to lend a hand in the reconstruction, but he has turned me down every time I’ve asked. I’m not too surprised, of course; he is unbelievably old, and he has earned the right to be retired. Still, his knowledge of energy systems would be invaluable. There simply isn’t anyone on my team who has even a tenth of the knowledge that he possesses. The power systems in this city are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I would love to get his advice on some of the more tricky problems.”
–Noel Lawson
June 18, 7243

 

After Conrad Forbes ended the meeting the debate hall emptied fairly quickly. Monroe saw no reason to linger, so he rejoined his friends and the left the auditorium. He noticed that the strange black-haired girl was already gone, but he decided not to mention it. After the defeat he had just suffered it didn’t seem very important.

The corridors around the auditorium were packed with people who were standing around in small groups, excitedly discussing the city’s future. Doyle wanted to stay and chat but Monroe told him it was too loud. “This isn’t the place. Come, follow me.”

Monroe then led him down several alleyways to a deserted section of the city. When the crowds were finally gone he began to relax.

“Aren’t we going the wrong way?” Doyle asked. “This sector doesn’t have a subway entrance. I think we need to turn around.”

“The subway isn’t the only way to get around town. Walking home is an option too, you know. I’m not in any particular hurry and there’s nothing waiting on me at home. Besides, this will give us a chance to talk.”

Most of Monroe’s supporters had already dispersed, but two or three of them had lingered. When they understood that Monroe intended to walk home they bade him goodbye, and Monroe and Doyle were left alone.

“Tonight Evan achieved total victory,” Monroe announced dejectedly. “The council gave him everything he asked for. He now has the manpower, the funding, and the political support to carry out his genocide against the savages. I see nothing that can stop him.”

“There must be something we can do,” Doyle replied. “It’s not over yet. It’s still going to take him three months to assemble the bombs. That gives us a window of opportunity.”

“I’m telling you there’s nothing we can do! This is over, and we lost. The council and the public both support him. We have only a handful of people on our side and none of them wield any power.”

“Well, we’ll just have to persuade the public that Evan is wrong. If large numbers of people start to put pressure on the council they will respond. That’s how things have always worked. Sway the city and you sway the council.”

“And how do you propose to do that? The public knows exactly what the savages are like. It’s very difficult to create public sympathy for a group that really is composed of actual mindless savages! The people we want them to save are not cute, or heartwarming, or particularly nice. We are asking the public to continue to live in Adrasta and cede the world to mindless savages simply because it is the right thing to do. We are asking them to not retake the planet, even though it is within their power to do so. Evan and the council rejected that argument, and the public does as well.”

“But there must be something that we can do,” Doyle insisted. “We can’t just let this happen. We have to stop it somehow.”

“I am open to suggestions,” Monroe replied. “I have tried arguing our case on multiple occasions but it has not made a bit of difference. If you can think of a concrete step that we can take I would like to hear it.”

The two men continued to discuss the situation on the way home, but were unable to come up with any viable ideas. Doyle continued to remain optimistic but Monroe believed it was a lost cause. When they finally reached Monroe’s apartment the elderly man turned around and looked at his friend. “We have done all that we can, and we have taken every opportunity we’ve had to fight against this. At this time there’s simply nothing else we can do. Our only course of action is to pray that, perhaps, God will have mercy on us and divert the city away from this path of destruction. Perhaps He will intervene and come to our aid. Otherwise I fear that the savages will be lost.”

“There is still hope,” Doyle replied. “I know things look bleak but we still have ninety days. Something may turn up, or the situation might change. We will see what tomorrow brings.”

Doyle bade his friend goodbye and then walked off. Monroe unlocked the door to his apartment, walked in, and closed the door behind him. He reached up to turn on the lights and saw that the lights were already on. Puzzled, he turned around to see what was going on and saw that there was a stranger in his living room. The shock of seeing someone there made him gasp, and an intense fear shot through him. Then he saw that the stranger in his house was the teenage girl he had seen earlier in the debate hall, and his fear was replaced by scientific curiosity. The girl was seated in his favorite chair, reading one of his books.

The teenager looked up at him. “So there you are! You kinda took the long way home tonight, didn’t you?”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting company,” Monroe commented, as he sat down in a chair across from her. “Had I known you would be here I might have taken the subway. I’ve seen you before, you know. You were at the meeting tonight.”

She nodded. “Yes, I was. You put up a good fight, by the way. I just wish the council had listened to you. You were right and they were wrong. They’ve made a really bad move and it’s not going to end well for them.”

Monroe sighed. “I agree with you, but none of them seem to care what the consequences of this might be. As far as I can tell no one is thinking this through – although, if they are, that makes the situation even more frightening. Evan wants a great deal more than simply the extermination of millions, as horrifying as that is all by itself. What Evan really wants is the establishment of a new Empire. He intends to retake not only this planet, but the stars themselves, and the first act of his new civilization is the murder of millions who stand in their way. Our genetic problems should end our nation before he can get that far, but if I am wrong and he succeeds we will end up with a galactic tyranny that has no respect for life. This is a very dark road. I would rather have no civilization at all than recreate the horrors of the Spanish Empire.”

“Well, at least someone here has sense,” the girl replied. “When I saw the bomb go off I thought that all of you were psychopaths. I’m glad that’s not the case. But you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to let Evan succeed. He caught me off-guard with his first neutron bomb but he won’t be able to do that again. His plan is going to be defeated, and if he insists on clinging to it then he will be defeated as well. I hold him responsible for the 416 people that he murdered this morning. He’s going to have to answer for that.”

“I quite agree. But – and I do not mean to be rude – how do you propose to do that? Evan’s support is quite significant. No one is going to prosecute him for carrying out the will of the council.”

“Let me worry about that,” the girl replied. “The reason I’m here is because of this book that you wrote. You mentioned your genetic research during the debate and that got my attention. You’ve done a lot of research on mutations, haven’t you?”

Monroe sighed. “I have, and it has all been ignored. People simply do not take my findings seriously, even though I can prove them beyond any reasonable doubt. The truth is that our city is doomed. Five hundred years ago a million people lived in Adrasta, and now there are only eighty thousand. Among those who are left there are extremely few children, and couples find it all-but-impossible to conceive. How can people be so blind? Even without my research it ought to be plain to everyone that there is something seriously wrong with our ability to reproduce! Less than ten percent of the Adrastan population is under the age of fifteen. Of the few children who are born, half of them die in infancy. If things do not change there will be no Adrastans left a century from now. Who does Evan think is going to repopulate the planet?”

“Honestly, I don’t think Evan is thinking at all. He’s too wrapped in himself. But tell me something. What work have you done on finding a cure? This book outlines the problem but I don’t see a proposed solution.”

“That’s because there isn’t one,” Monroe said flatly. “We don’t have the technology to reach into our DNA and fix it. What we need to do is increase our genetic diversity by breeding with other groups. The only other available group are the tribes, but we can’t breed with them until they’re cured and there’s no cure for them either.”

“Are you completely positive that your genetic code can’t be fixed? Has Evan tried? Has anyone tried?”

“I guess it is more accurate to say that I cannot fix it,” Monroe admitted. “In fact, I don’t even know where to begin. According to my research no one has ever attempted such a thing before. It may be possible to fix our genetic problems, but despite all my attempts to raise awareness no one is even trying.”

“Do you want the problem to be fixed?”

“Of course I do!” Monroe replied, irritated. “Do you think I want to see Adrasta die out?”

“I don’t know,” the girl replied. “You told me earlier that Evan was planning on restarting the Spanish Empire and conquering the stars. The last thing I want to do is give him a cure and enable him to carry out his dreams of conquest. Given the choice between a galactic tyranny and the disappearance of this city, wouldn’t you rather see the city die out?”

“I do not want to see this city die,” Monroe said firmly. “What I want is for it to regain its senses and return to the principles of the Founders. I want Adrasta to be a light on a hill, the way it was intended. I want to see us band together and cure the savages, not exterminate them. I want to see us bring light to the galaxy. I don’t want anyone to die out. I want to see us changed.”

“Good,” the girl replied. “That’s what I want too. But you have to understand that this is a tricky business. Curing the savages is no easy matter. I’m not sure if it can be done or not, but I’m going to try. Now, that being said, curing your people is a whole lot easier. I’m pretty sure I could do that, but I’m not going to do anything until I know what this city would do if cured. I see no reason to help Adrasta if you’re just going to use your power to conquer the stars and rule them tyrannically. If that’s what this city wants, and if it cannot be turned from that path no matter what, then you’re on your own.”

“Just who are you?” Monroe asked. “Why do you think you can do such great things? I don’t believe I even know your name.”

“My name is Amy,” the girl replied. She placed the book back onto the end table and stood up. “You’re not the first person to doubt me, Monroe, and I don’t blame you for it. Noel doubted me too, but he doesn’t doubt me anymore. Time has a way of proving me right. Just wait a few weeks and then see what you think. Evan has an opponent now, and things are about to change.”

As she began to walk toward the front door Monroe quickly spoke up. “Are you leaving so soon? Please, there’s no need to rush off! I still have plenty of time.”

Amy smiled. “I know. You have a whole lot of questions and I haven’t answered any of them. But don’t worry, I’ll be back. Listen to your friend Doyle – there is still hope. Oh, and incidentally, I wanted to apologize for scaring you earlier. I’ll try to knock next time, or something. Anyway, I hope you have a good evening.”

With that, Amy left the apartment and closed the door behind her. Monroe quickly got out of his chair and yanked open the front door, but saw that the hallway was empty. Amy was already gone.

Most curious, he thought, as he closed the door. Could it be that the Rangers have returned at last? She seems a little young to be one of their emissaries, but perhaps her youth is an illusion. Regardless, I look forward to our next meeting, Amy from the stars. May your people succeed in bringing hope to this city.

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