Acid Reign : Genesis

The blue glow of the crystalline holo-desk’s surface and Commander An Yeong’s stolid expression were the only things visible through his fortieth floor window. Yeong looked out at Nucrea, the last city on earth, and watched as people pushed past one another, hurrying off to what they thought was important. He knew that the city’s once humble heartbeat had changed.

Yeong’s office was dramatically simple. The cold concrete walls were bare except where steel beams ran up the corners and disappeared into the high ceiling. The dark metallic tiled floor was spotless and seemed to devour the light coming from the window. The only furniture was the blue crystalline holo-desk that displayed multiple camera views and digital data from around the city. This single desk gave him the information he needed to keep Nucrea under his control, but that control was now slipping.

His younger son, Chul, stood patiently behind him. Chul was dressed in the traditional black and deep red garb of a newly appointed Consul. His lean figure complimented the closely tailored suit.

“I am proud of you, Chul.”

Chul shifted his weight to one side and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Thank you, Father. I promise that I will bring our family honor.”

“I know you will.”

Chul hesitated to say what he was thinking, but he could feel his father’s annoyance building with his hesitation.

“I have not known the Council to be so impatient with you. Are they really that concerned about the uprisings?”

“It is the appearance of disorder that they are concerned with. They depend on me to control this city. The armory being attacked, whether it was successful or not, shows that this city is not under control.”

“There have been rebellions before, and you have always stopped them,” Chul added, as he remembered the previous attack on the agricultural blocks.

“That is the problem son, and there will always be these types of revolts until the neural embedding is successful,” Yeong said.

Chul moved closer and stood behind his father.

“You need to understand the people rule. The council knows this. This is what they are afraid of, and it’s the reason why it is imperative that the integration work. Because, until there is a system that controls the people, and keeps them from destroying themselves, there will always be chaos. There will always be uprisings. There will always be unnecessary death,” Yeong said as he paused, turned, and put his hands on Chul’s shoulders.

“I understand father,” Chul reaffirmed.

Yeong straightened Chul’s collar, then put his hand over the silver pin that signified him as a member of the city’s Consulate, and smiled.

“I understand that making the right decisions sometime seem like the wrong one, but this is necessary for humanity. After the Fissure, this family built this city from nothing, We sacrificed so that we might have a chance to survive, and here we are facing the same decision.”

Footsteps echoed through the hall as Eloy and William entered. Chul and Yeong looked at each other with unspoken understanding.

“I will join you shortly.”

“Yes, Father.”

Chul bowed and turned to leave, eyeing William as he walked.

“Congratulations on your appointment, Consul Chul.”

“Thank you. If you’ll excuse me.”

Eloy turned to Commander Yeong who was staring out of the window.

“Commander, Dr. Glastow.”

“Thank you Corporal. You are dismissed.”

“Sir.”

Santez bowed, expecting more from Yeong, but nothing came.

After Santez left, Yeong looked at William for a long moment, then walked over. He put his hand behind William’s back and led him to the window.

“Look down there. All of those people, the last people on this planet, have one inherent gift. Do you know what that gift is?”

William remained silent.

Yeong patted him on the back.

“Self-destruction. Doctor Glastow. Deeply seeded in the very makeup of each of us, is our ability to destroy. I have been very patient, but I am not a fool.”

William remained silent, and Yeong seemed to accept his silence.

“You assured me results months ago. I have given you all of the resources you required, which came at great cost. Some of which were not just monetary. I will not be toyed with and neither will the Council.”

Yeong turned to face William and pulled his pistol from his holster. He held it by his side and tapped his leg with the barrel. William froze, barely breathing, as Yeong put the gun to his head.

“Please explain to me why it is not functional yet,” Yeong asked, calmly.

“There is control, but the coding is meeting unknown resistance. It’s as if the DNA is fighting to preserve its last bit of governance. I just…need a little more time.”

William was surprised at his ability to manage complete sentences.

Yeong pushed the gun harder against William’s head. After a moment, he holstered it and turned back to the window.

“There is no more time. The council wants results now. You have two days Dr. Glastow, for your family’s sake.”

Yeong dismissed him with a wave.

William hadn’t noticed the footsteps in the hall, and bumped into a Nucrean Elite at the door. The soldier pinned him against the wall as Yeong’s oldest son, Kurth, and a handful of other Nucrean Elites pushed by. The two soldiers in the back dragged a hooded, injured man, leaving a trail of bright red blood behind them. As they passed, the soldier released his hold, but made it obvious that William needed to keep going.

“Have a nice day, sir,” Sim said, encouraging William to get lost.

William slowly walked away. As he reached the door at the end of the hall, he heard what had to be the man’s body hitting the metal tiled floor.

“All the weapons have been accounted for,” Kurth said as he moved to stand over Bale. “And, this is the traitor that let them into the armory.”

William heard Yeong talking, but could not make any of it out. After a moment of silence, a gunshot boomed down through the hall, and as if the gunshot opened a door in his mind, he remembered who the man was. He collapsed against the wall, feeling the excruciating, mental pain of absolute helplessness.

The dragon tattoo!

William’s heart sank. The man who had promised to protect his family, and ensured him that he would be rescued from this place, was now lying on the ground with a hole in his head. William’s wife and daughter would certainly be killed if he did not give Yeong what he wanted. He knew the right thing to do would be to sacrifice himself and his family for what was left of the human race, but the walls were right; he was a coward.