Endless War (Complete)

Chapter 17 "Warfare"

Thankfully Grim is genuinely curious about my plan for warfare. I just wish he could see me for more than a computer with legs. I may be able to interact with all of the data floating through the airwaves but that makes me no less human for it. I process information differently and I can even tell them to lie low as satellites fly overhead. In a world were data is power I am one of the most powerful of all. Just with a thought I can adapt my warfare style to that of our enemy but all he sees is the processor not the person.

"What you need to know first is the formation of the platoons. Each platoon has twenty soldiers and one general. Each platoon reports to the nearest camp once they have completed their mission and at any given time there are two hundred soldiers and 20 generals at each camp. None of the soldiers have knowledge of what is going on, they are all just like I was, and they are young. The generals however are completely knowledgable."

"Once you have completed your tour as a soldier your record is evaluated and your kills catalogued against the others in your platoon. The soldier with the most kills is given an option to receive a chip that will restore their true sight and lead or join his comrades in death. Of course they just wipe their memory at that point and work them until they are twenty-eight. All generals are men, women are needed to give birth to the next generation of soldiers. We are no more than cattle bred for war."

"My plan would target the generals, we would use their own strategies against them. They like to keep the generals away from the soldiers, so we figure out what shelter the generals are in and kill them in their sleep. I have a sort of EMP in my head that will shut off the memory port of the soldiers around me paralyzing them. All you have to do is take their weapons and replace their chips with the ones we found in the bunker. They will automatically reboot once it is placed."

"We will have to tell them the truth of what is going on and interview each of them to make sure they are stable after they are aware of what they have done. The biggest problem with this method or any method for that matter is they will know. The Tutelary will know what we have done, but we will be two hundred strong, hopefully by that point."

Grim raises his eyebrows, and leans his head to the side. "The Tutelary? Who the hell are the Tutelary?"

"That is what the leaders consider themselves, they are supposedly lead by the President... I guess all of the countries that banded together liked the idea of a Tutelary over the lesser population. I am not even sure if the President has the final say. The Tutelary, seem to use the President as a political figurehead, however he seems to have no control. They actually do not seem to be actively looking for his son. I am not sure if they even care that he is gone." I reply as I search through the most recent news. The two soldiers that I knocked out returned to the dome, and they lied to the president about our encounter.

I don't understand how they were able to lie, I know that they were both chipped, but I suppose that they could have been higher ranking and programmed differently than myself. They seem to have reported that they never located James, and they believed him to be killed by wild animals. My soldier chip would have prevented me from lying about anything, much less a battle against an AWAL soldier.

"I wonder why I was never told what the leaders were called?" He frowns an bites the inside of his bottom lip.

"Your ancestor would not have known what they were called. I am sure that he was among the first of the chipped and that is why he was able to deviate from his program. The only reason that I was able to do it was your mothers interference, at least I think it was her assistance. I am pretty sure that my program was off from the start, every soldier has two parents and they are never informed about any procedures like I was, and when my so called mother told me about the death of my father." I sigh. I truly wish that I knew what was going on, and what caused my ability to resist. Is it my own mind or is it the program from the extra chip that helped me? James said that it was not inserted, that it looked like a read only chip but it was more than that, and I know that my soldier card was not tampered with.

Grim smirks at my last statement, "See, even you agree that you were just operating off of a program. Isn't that what computers do."

I bite the inside of my cheek so that he doesn't see how much this last statement upset me. I refuse to even argue with this man at this point. "Whatever, nothing I say will change your mind on the subject so lets just forget it. What do you think of my plan to abduct a camp of soldiers and reprogram them?"

"I think that is a great idea, though don't know how reasonable it will be in action. Do you really think that we can take out the generals so quickly, without them getting in a shot or two?" He seems that he has actually considered my idea.

I shake my head, "No, you don't get it I told you I can shut them down long enough to replace the chips. Only one person will be needed to take out all of the generals, as I said if we attack at night they will all be sleeping and only soldiers will be standing guard. The generals like their rest."

"I don't know, Phoenix this is all too much for me to process tonight. I will take you to my room, I guess you could say." He hops up and leads me in the dark to a darker place, as my eyes adjust I can make out shapes but that is all. Suddenly he stops in front of me and I run into his back. "We are here. You take the cot, I will lay on the floor."

I listen to him and sit on the cot. I sigh and lie down on the cot. "Goodnight." I say to the dark and get no reply.