Liberty, Chapter IV of a New Novel

*Note- this truncated version of the prologue will preface each chapter so that no reader will need to go back to chapter one to understand the setting.

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Chambers Industries

Main Office

Industrial zone

Capitol City

Friday 07:00

William D. Chambers III briefly admired his reflection as he reached across his mahogany desk and punched a button on his private holo-viewer.

“Sanders! Where are you on Jericho’s Walls?”

Marcus Sanders jumped at the sound of his employer’s voice, wiped sweat from his brow and turned to answer. A hologram of Chambers’ face floated above Marcus’s desk. The old man’s cheeks sagged like a bulldog’s; the corners of his mouth drawn in a perpetual frown. William D. Chambers III was nothing more than an arrogant crook born with a silver spoon and Marcus Sanders could not stand the man. He treats me like a serf, Sanders thought with a flash of anger. But he needed his job and was bound by the contract. Under normal circumstances, he would not have to worry if he broke a contract for moral reasons; there was always a market for someone with his skills. Unfortunately, his vast skill set would be worthless if Chambers turned against him, so he tolerated the lack of respect.

Chambers was referring to the machines he had ordered Sanders to locate. They were an old model of Shiva, twenty-first century tech built to collect raw materials from buildings they demolished and convert everything into a new, multi-functional material, trademarked as NuMat. Pre-SSP Shivas required a huge amount of power but were able to get it from the structures they demolished, old landfills, even from stone and soil if necessary. They roamed to locate suitable structures to convert, demolished and shredded them and fed it into an opening, a maw, on their front plate and often used a portion as fuel. Other than the small amount needed to power the machine, everything else became usable NuMat.

But they had been replaced with newer versions that held twelve strong, agile machines, Hanumans, that locked to each Shiva and while it created NuMat, the Hanumans built the soaring apartment and business towers. No human would work at such heights.

Those early Shivas were recycled into NuMat.

But Mr. Chambers had heard rumors that some outdated Shivas' machine’s ID numbers were stricken from the city’s database and the machines still existed. It was just a rumor, but Mr. Chambers had ordered him to locate them.

He wanted the machines to settle a decades old grudge, and Sanders thought the idea of intact old-model Shivas was ludicrous. But he had been wrong.

“I found them, sir. There are twelve in storage. I’m scanning now for a Braham satellite to move in position to activate them.”

“Good boy!” Chambers exclaimed and slapped the palm of his hand on the desk for emphasis. “I told you they weren’t all destroyed. I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Yes, sir,” Sanders replied. “You were right.” Sanders knew Mr. Chambers had contacts who he would not want his close ties to become public knowledge. Sanders, being a thorough assistant, kept his own notes of his employer’s contacts and actions. He thought it might be useful if the old man ever tried to blacklist him.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Sanders nervously asked. “Some of the laws you’ll break are felonies.”

Chambers’ holo tracked his face as he stood from his desk and literally loomed over on Sanders. “Are you questioning me, Sanders?” He replied with a sneer. “I know exactly what I’m doing and you’re going to make sure it can’t be traced back to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m glad we’re clear on that,” Chambers replied as he sat down again. “I’m sure you’ll want to work in this town again.”

Sanders knew “this town” meant the ECA, not just Capitol City, and Chambers could make good on that threat. With a wife and young son at home, Sanders feared for their safety if he refused to help Chambers in this latest delusional quest.

He’ll blackball me if I don’t help him avenge a threat made almost half a century ago. Ridiculous!

Sanders knew that if they were caught, Chamber’s attorneys would pin everything on him. William D. Chambers III would never see the inside of a jail cell. That was when Sanders’ meticulous note taking would be used. He mentally congratulated himself on his forethought.

“No, Sir, uh- I’m not questioning your orders Mr. Chambers,” Sanders replied, his voice trembling. “It’s just that—we’re not just committing felonies, sir. Are you certain you want the safety protocols removed? People could get killed and I’m not a murderer.”

“No, you’re not.” Chambers' voice took on a soothing tone. “Don’t worry so much; it’ll work out. Still, I want those restrictions removed.”

“And people could get killed.”

“Not if they get out of the way,” Chambers said and threw his hands up. “Who’d be stupid enough to just stand there and let a Shiva recycle them?”

Sanders thought about that for a few moments. He had researched the plan when Chambers gave him the assignment and knew the risks. Having Shivas destroy an entire town, no matter how small, almost guaranteed someone would get hurt. Or killed.

“Buck up, man! Everything will work out fine if you do your part right. Find that satellite and get to work. You know you’re the only one that could pull this off without leaving a trace, Marcus.” Sanders felt a little better; Mr. Chambers rarely called him by his given name. “Now, where are those things located? If you need them transported closer, just say the word and I’ll personally see to it.”

“They don’t need to be moved, they’re in the best place they can be already. In storage in the northern valley. Transporting them any closer would leave a paper trail, and I can’t make non-electronic records disappear.”

“Good, good…” Chambers said. “Get them started as soon as possible. Now, what about Liberty’s satellite? You said it is on a private grid.”

Sanders nodded. “That’s right, and so is the Brahman satellite. They’re both hidden from the public network. But not from me. I took down Liberty’s earlier this morning. Their encryption is good, but I’m better. I had control in less than fifteen minutes. I reprogrammed it to transmit the opposite frequencies of the higher wavelengths used for communications and ‘net access. The satellite is blind. And the town is electronically invisible.”

“And the Brahman satellite?”

“Still scanning. I expect their security will be tougher, but I think I can crack its control module and move it into position. Once that’s done, I can have the Shivas pulled out of ‘hibernate’ mode and ready them to accept new programming.”

“English, Sanders.”

“Liberty is blind to the world, the world is blind to Liberty, and soon you’ll have full control of the Shivas, sir.”

“Good. Now, get busy! And keep me updated on the progress.” Chambers' face displayed a cruel smile. “I’ve waited a long time for this day...” He reached to one side and cut the connection.

Sanders saw the holo vanish and let out a deep breath. He already had control of the Braham satellite but hoped he could talk Mr. Chambers out of his deranged plan. He called up another screen in the air above his desk, hesitated a few moments and then spoke a code and waited for voice recognition to verify the connection, then said: “Send.”

What have I gotten myself into?

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Next Chapter

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This was originally posted on Medium

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