Doves

Chapter 26

"Lucius, the table, under the table, now!" she screamed at him, running for the cover.

Lucius slapped a hand over the chip on the table, grabbing it, and slid under, just as the world around them tore itself apart. The ground bucked underneath him, slamming Lucius into the table. The room was suddenly filled with suffocating black smoke and debris. The explosion brought the ceiling down, but miraculously, the floor didn't cave in. Steel girders rained unsteadily, crashing down at uneven intervals, tangles of live wires crackling around them. The only light left was coming from the floor, and somehow, the screen of Untraceable. Piles of rubble cascaded from one of the walls, chunks of the ceiling, which was evidently concrete, rumbled to a slow halt. Small flames licked from some of the debris, where hot wire had touched the insulation. Lucius wrenched himself from under the table, stumbling to his feet. He could only hear the ringing in his ears and couldn't see a foot in front of his face through all the smoke and dust.

He didn't see Cathleen; she hadn't made it to the table and was buried somewhere beneath the rubble. He shouted for her, but knew it was hopeless since he couldn't even hear his own voice. He could feel blood trickling down his chest and arm. He assumed it was from the cut in his neck, but didn't dare to look for any new injuries. He would have to wait to fix himself until they were safe. He unclenched his fist and looked down at the chip in his hand. Then out at the wreckage before him. He would have to wait to find Cathleen.

            Taking the chip out of its plastic case, Lucius set to work, constantly glancing about, hoping to see Cathleen rise up out of the rubble. She didn't. He plugged the chip into Untraceable and immediately things began to change on the screen. Instead of the list that the chip normally displayed, Untraceable displayed the images of each target at real-time. He could see each housewife and policeman and elderly shopper that had ever been considered a weak link by Surveillance. They were just milling around, going about their lives as if nothing was wrong. How could they know anything was wrong?

            "Why would Surveillance want to kill all these people?" Lucius asked himself.

            "Surveillance has determined certain individuals unfit for humanity." Lucius jumped from the computer, heart pounding in his chest. Evidently Untraceable came with audio interface.

"It has been determined that individuals with certain traits are rebellious and difficult to train and/or work with. It has been determined that individuals with certain traits lack common sense."

"No kidding," he muttered.

"It has been determined that individuals with certain traits are ill-suited for following instructions and are too curious. It has been determined that individuals with certain traits are weak and will only generate weaker offspring.

"Operation Black Summer will allow only the top percent of humanity to thrive, bringing about an age of prosperity. Operation Black Summer will rid the world of unwanted stupidity and bad choices. Choices will be made for the individuals. The individuals will be content with the choices made for them. All of this authorized, created, and in motion by the Head of Surveillance."

The narration fell silent. Lucius looked at the screen and started moving files. The first thing he needed to do was stop whatever coding was keeping the nanobots' codes updating. There was no way it would ever be able to finish deleting if it went on forever. Then he would have to deactivate them so they could leave the bodies of their hosts. And then he could finally delete the codes themselves. Minutes ticked by. People would be coming back in the building soon. They would want to investigate the explosion.

"Step away from the computer."

Lucius looked up to see a middle-aged man wearing an expensive suit standing in the doorway. He was one of the two faces from minutes earlier, and from somewhere else. It only took Lucius a few seconds and when he it dawned on him a wave of guilt washed over him; this was the man from the dream. Lakota appeared over his shoulder. Lucius froze, hands over the keys.