Hereafter - Book One of the After Series [On Going]

CHAPTER ONE|

OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON
JUNE 24TH, 1992

IT WAS a rainy day outside of the Technology Reinforcement Organization's center.

In the office of T.R.O. (Technology Reinforcement Organization) Chairman, Vincent Cobbler; government official, Reggie Warner, sat in a leather seat across the desk of Vincent.

Reggie's shaking legs were crossed, a hand was over the upper lip of his pale face.

"So, why did you call me in today?" Mr. Warner asked.

Mr. Cobbler squeezed his hands together. "I told you and the government yesterday, now didn't I? So don't pretend that you don't know."

Warner sighed, already annoyed by Mr. Cobbler's snappy ass attitude. "Fine."

Cobbler leaned downward in his chair to the side. He opened the lowest drawer by his desk, soon pulling out a rolled up blue print with a rubber band holding it together. He pulled the rubber band off from the blue print, rolling the rubber band on his wrist. Cobbler then flattened the blue print against the table and over the computer desk. It was so large it covered the entire desk. It had a sketching of the human body, and notes where certain parts of the body would be changed.

"Think about it, Mr. Warner, if we make these robots, we could save tons of lives." Cobbler convinced. "Like men and women in our military. We could replace the entire military with these robots that act and think like them. They even have built in weapons in them." Cobbler pointed at the drawings of guns in a small "square" on the blueprint.

Mr. Warner was unsure what to do. Could machines really replace an entire military "Do even have the tools for this?"

"Of course I have the tools. All I need is your permission to do this. I've paid the best scientists and technicians in this organization with a bunch of pretty pennies, and I really don't want all of that money and hard work to go to waste."

Mr. Warner was still undecided, and didn't have a lot of faith in this plan. What if the machines fail us? What if they all break down on us someday? He finally shook his head. "No."

Mr. Cobbler couldn't believe his response. He blinked in disbelief. "No?" He stuttered out, as if it was all a big mistake.

"I'm sorry. I don't have a lot of faith in this plan. Because - what if these break down? And what if our enemies attack us, again? What if they hack into these robots and turn them against us?"

Cobbler tried to over-talk Warner, but Warner wouldn't allow him.

Warner just continued on. "I'm sorry. This seems like a good idea, but we can't afford to put the United States in a situation quite like this."

Mr. Cobbler slammed his hand on his desk with veins popping out of his neck, and a finger pointed at Mr. Warner. "I'll have you know, I worked on this since I was 15, and I've been paying everyone in here more than half my paychecks! And I'll be damned if you don't accept this!"

"Then you're damned." Mr. Warner just spat out. "I'm not accepting this no matter what you say."

Mr. Cobbler pursed his lips and shook his head. He pulled out his gun from his scabbard, shooting Mr. Warner in the head. Mr. Warner fell face first on the table. A small pool of blood on the blue print became larger and larger from the bullet wound between Mr. Warner's eyebrows. Cobbler jerked his blueprint off of the table, and Warner's head turned to the side.

"Argh..." Warner muttered. "Great, now my blueprint is ruined." He shrugged. "Oh well... Whatever... I'll get someone to get him out of here..."

The fresh corpse was nothing to him over his desire to make his dreams a reality. It seemed like another breath of air to him. After all, grief was a waste of his precious time.

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In the lab of the Technology Reinforcement center, technicians worked on a robotic, muscular-shaped, human arm. A duo sat at a table, placing screws and wires inside the delicately-shaped metal parts. Meanwhile, other scientists were behind computer desks, staring at computer screens.

Vincent Cobbler entered the lab through a curved staircase, walking down from the top in order to get to them.

"Alright everyone!" He slammed the rolled up blue print in his hand, capturing everyone's attention.

The first technician glanced at him, noticing the blue print in his hand. "What's that for, Vincent?"

Cobbler didn't even bother to answer. He just walked toward the table, tossing the physical interpretation of his dreams on the table where the technician worked. "We can do it."

"Make the robots?" The first technician asked.

"Oh yeah. There's no way I wouldn't let him say 'no'." Vincent stood beside the technicians. "That's the blue print... The thing I've been working so hard on will finally come to life."

During Vince's conversation with the first technician, the second technician noticed the crimson stain on the blueprint. He squinted at Vincent, suspicious of that stain. "Sir, why is there blood on the blueprint?"

Warner... Vincent just continued to keep the same lifeless face on in his life. "It's nothing big. Don't worry about it."

"An accident, I guess?"

"Yeah." Vincent walked away, and straight toward the stairs again.

"Must've been a pretty big one if it got blood on the blueprint."

"Don't pay any attention to it, it's nothing big."

It was, for the mess coming his way. As if he didn't have enough.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Thank you guys for reading this! It means a lot to me, even though this can't compare to the amazing things coming!

But! To shake things up a little, I have to thank some awesome peps on Wattpad first.

And I thought the best way to do that would be to dedicate this chapter to _Gryphos_ , a best friend of mine! Please check out her stories she's an incredible artist but a better writer! Send out some support and love cuz she needs it ❤️

Also... She's

http://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr5uw6JSHY1qmajmb.gif

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you thought of it in the comments and on my Twitter ---> @/onewriterlives