Chapter 111
November 24, 2059
Late Afternoon
Banquet Day
Kelly, aka Tuf Girl Kelly, was hungry, her lunch of beans and soda crackers had long since gone through her system. If her parents were still alive, they could have told you that Kelly gets cranky when she's hungry. Combine that with all the implant wearers in her community and their families getting invited to a huge banquet, except for her, and you have the world's biggest temper tantrum.
“I am so an implant wearer, and I want to go!” Kelly shouted at the people waiting to leave.
Kelly got hit on the head with a tennis ball.
“Shut up, Kelly,” one of the other foster kids said. “You do not have an implant.”
'Super Miles': Kelly. Stop this! I told you. I wasn't supposed to give you that implant, and if they find out, we'll both be in trouble, and neither of us will go to the banquet. I'll bring you leftovers, I promise.
Leftovers were little consolation to Kelly. Whatever her friend, whose implant name was from some video game and his real name was Tom, brought her, she'd have to share with the twenty-five other foster kids she lived with. She'd get two bites at the most. Hence her temper tantrum.
***
'Alpha Gremlin': ATTENTION!! I'm sending this message to every fucking person in the world with an implant! I'm sending it in twenty different languages in case your implant doesn't have a translator function, or you're too lazy to use yours.
They are coming for you, and it's time to hide!
If the Boss Ascended Ones don't know you have an implant, don't tell them. If they do know you have an implant, run and hide. If they find you, they will kill you.
Mr. Osmond was deluged with angry replies.
Fuck off terrorist.
Piss off, mate.
Perv terrorist.
Leo Edwards supporter garbage.
The comments went on and on.
Tuf Girl Kelly: Perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv, perv. She added a bunch more “pervs” to be safe, then Go away you tentacalist terrorist! We know you work for Leo Edwards!
Kelly's reading skills weren't the best, but she never had trouble understanding the messages sent through her implant, or replying to them. She'd think of the message, and it would appear.
When Pastor Brown showed up, she ran to him. “I have an implant and I want to go to the banquet!” she shouted.
“You do?” Pastor Brown sent out some of his tentacles to gently pick her up and pull her closer. His large non-speaking mouth turned upwards, and he'd taken on a yellowish hue so he looked like a giant, floating, tentacled happy face. “Let me see.”
Kelly extended her left wrist.
“Kelly, using a violet crayon on your wrist doesn't make you an implant wearer.”
“My implant's not working,” Kelly whined. “Stupid Imp.”
“There will be other banquets for you, Kelly. You must be patient.”
“I don't want to be patient. I want to go to the banquet!”
“That's enough, Kelly.” Pastor Brown lowered her to the asphalt. “Everybody else, board the bus.”
All the other implant wearers boarded the large bus. Pastor Brown wrapped his tentacles around the bus, lifted it into the air, and flew away.
Kelly ran off to a secluded place to cry. She missed her house, her parents, and her siblings. On the day of the Change, she and ten-year-old Tom had bonded on the rescue bus since both had lost family. But Tom had an implant-wearing father to take care of him, whereas Kelly had nada. Tom had given her an implant so they could talk to each other, but had asked her to keep it a secret. Implant wearers were supposed to get permission from some stupid committee or something before giving out an implant. But now she was hungry, and there was never enough food in her foster home.
***
Tom, aka Super Miles, stared out the window of the flying bus. He wished he could fly for real like some of the others, but this was nice. He felt bad for his friend, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
'Super Miles': This place is amazing, Kelly. We're flying over the banquet area now. Huge tables surrounded by torch lights. I see Bosses floating around.
Tuf Girl Kelly: Sure. Whatever.
'Super Miles': I'll talk to Dad again about having you live with us. My stepmom doesn't like the idea because she doesn't know you, but I think Dad will come around.
Kelly had heard that before.
'Super Miles': We're going in for a landing. Don't worry. I'll save leftovers for you. I promise... What the hell? Kelly could feel the sudden confusion through the implant. The lights just went out. People are trying to get away. I'm activating my Night Vision skill... Bosses are floating around... They're eating... They're eating everybody! Why would they do that? Dad just donated plasma. I can't believe... Gremlin was right! We're going to try to break out of the bus and get away! You need to warn everyone!
Kelly could feel her friend's mounting panic through the implant. She waited for more messages, desperate to hear Tom was okay.
Suddenly, the panic stopped. Nothing... 'Super Miles': became 'Super Miles':
Not knowing what else to do, she turned to the only other implant wearer she'd been in contact with.
She told Gremlin tearfully what had happened.
'Alpha Gremlin': I tried to warn you, Kelly. Your tentacled friends were only pretending to be nice. And to answer your question, your friend Tom is dead. The Bosses ate him. Do you want to be eaten as well?
Tuf Girl Kelly: No.
'Alpha Gremlin': I didn't think so. First. You need to wash your face and smile. You don't have an implant, and you have no idea what happened to your friend. Next, I need you to allow me to use your eyes and ears. I will assign you missions in the future that might not make sense to you, but they'll help your fellow humans kill the monsters who ate your friend.
Tuf Girl Kelly: I'm hungry.
'Alpha Gremlin': You're hungry? Your friend's house is empty, correct? I'm sure he would want you to have any food you find inside, so you'll grow big and strong and kill the monsters that ate him. I'll help you break in.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
***
Pete Davis, aka MF Paladin, huddled with his family in the bomb shelter. “I'm not saying I believe one group or the other,” he said. “But those floating, tentacled creatures give me the creeps, and we're staying down here until I know we're safe.”
Pete's older son, Leroy, looked up from his gamepad. “Dad could kick their asses.”
“Dad could not kick their asses,” Pete responded. “Dad is afraid of those tentacled bastards. That's why we're down here.” He'd never seen one up close, but even at a distance he could feel their strength and knew he wouldn't last a minute in a fight with one.
The Gremlin is some crazy Leo Edwards supporter, Pete, his best friend, Shawn, messaged via implant. He's trying to cause problems for the new alliance. Just another power-hungry loser.
Maybe, Pete/MF Paladin answered. But if Gremlin is wrong, I'm not going to lose anything. If he's right, I'd better stay here.
About that, Shawn said. A Boss is floating in the town square with a large box of emergency supplies to give to the paladin.
Well, it can stay floating up there if it's expecting me to receive supplies... Or if you're sure it's safe, you can tell it you're the paladin and take the supplies. Since it's not asking for me by name, it probably doesn't know what I look like.
I don't feel right taking credit for your achievements, Shawn responded.
That's okay, Pete said. Let me once again apologize for kicking you out of the house that time before the Change, when you tried to warn me of the end of the world. I thought you'd gone crazy and were going to get me in trouble with the military.
No problem, Pete. I understand. I'm glad you came through for us on the sixteenth.
Pete pulled up the video feed from one of several security cameras he'd installed around the neighborhood. A camera that still worked watched as Shawn walked out into the town square and greeted the floating Boss, holding up his left wrist as proof of his identity. The Boss floated down with the box of supplies. What happened next happened so fast, that Pete almost missed it.
A tentacle lashed out at Shawn's neck, moving so fast it took Shawn's head off. The Boss shoved Shawn's head and body into one of its huge mouths and flew away.
“Holy shit,” Pete said. “It got Shawn and left with the supplies.”
“What happened, dear?” his wife asked.
“I'll explain in a second.”
Mr. Gremlin. It appears you were right. A Boss just killed my friend, and I think it thought he was me.
It was a long minute before he got a response.
'Alpha Gremlin': I'm sorry it took me so long to respond. I'm carrying on a bunch of conversations at once. I suspect in a few days they will round up everyone in your town and take them to the city. I believe they'll make up some story about Leo Edwards supporting terrorists. If the Bosses find out they killed the wrong implant wearer, they will be back to finish the job.
Shit, Pete thought. The town's inhabitants were good people, but if it was a choice between talking or being eaten by one of those things, there was no question they'd talk.
I don't know what to do. I have a family. Pete messaged back.
'Alpha Gremlin': If you can make it, unfollowed, to a certain location, I can have someone meet you. There are less than six thousand implant wearers left in the world, and we could use a man with your abilities.
Shit. Shit, shit. Pete had joined the military as a kid because he was an idiot and needed the money, and he'd seen too much action since. The last thing he wanted to do was go back to war. But the human race needed him. He turned to his wife. “Get yourself and the kids packed, honey. We're going on a trip.”
***
Leo's Speech.
If you are hearing or reading this speech, I have died for a second time. I wish I didn't have to die and I would avoid doing so if I could see another way. But I can't. My second death must happen if humanity is to survive.
They, the monsters, aka the Ascended Ones, believe that by killing me, they have won the war. My hope is they continue to believe this and go back to fighting amongst themselves, giving humans a chance to survive.
If you can, you must go to ground. Hide. Do not use your powers if there's a chance a Boss is in your vicinity. The Boss monsters have no way of detecting implants unless you tell them or they catch you using it. My advice is don't tell them and don't get caught.
I know the hell that awaits you in this future, and it hurts me to think about it. Things will get worse for you, much worse. But I know you can take it.
The truth is, I have no plan for victory, or rather, you are the plan. When I came back to the past. I'd hoped to come up with a better answer, a way to stop the Change, or at least give us an advantage in the upcoming conflict. I was unable to do this.
There is no easy way out of this hell. But there is a way.
Go forth and multiply. Create more implants, give them to your trusted comrades, and train in secret. By creating one implant a month, one thousand implant wearers can become 4 million implant wearers in a year. That is what we need to defeat these monsters. Millions of implant wearers. No one implant wearer, no hundred, no thousand implant wearers, no matter how well trained or high level, can hope to defeat the threat you now face. So get out there, make millions of yourselves, and kill the shit out of those monsters.
Though I have died a second time, I remain with you. I will always be with you.
Forever yours
The Guardian.
Mr. Osmond read Leo's speech from his location in their underground shelter while sending it out to the world via his implant.
So that's it. Mr. Osmond thought. It's up to me to save the world?
Leo had initially been useful, warning them of the Afflicted and telling them what they needed to know. But Leo had inadvertently, with help from the aliens, also given the Boss/Ascended Ones an incentive to come together and organize, creating a greater threat than the one that had exterminated all the humans the last time around. This was unfortunate.
With Leo deciding, correctly, that he'd outlived his usefulness, allowing himself to be captured and killed, becoming a martyr in hopes that the Bosses would go back to fighting among themselves, it was up to Mr. Osmond to save everyone's asses.
While speaking over the microphone, Mr. Osmond also transmitted the speech via implant to every implant wearer in the world in the guise of Alpha Gremlin, urging them to pass the message to everyone they knew.
***
“In addition to that speech Leo gave me before he got captured,” Mr. Osmond lied, “Leo Edwards, aka the Guardian, sent me hundreds of messages and speeches to be issued at specified times in the future. He also requested I take over and lead our forces to victory. My first command is, if you're not doing so already, access your implant interface--implant replication, and create a new implant. This will reduce your implant function, but not by much. You will continue doing this for the course of the war. Anyone refusing to do this will be put on trial for treason against humanity. To show I'm not a hypocrite, I'm offering the implant I've just created to Lydia Edwards, the Guardian's younger sister and his sole surviving relative.
And let me stress again, anyone attempting to give away our location or do anything else to betray us to the enemy will be executed. Though we believe the Ascended Ones ate all their implant-wearing followers for dinner, it's best to take no chances.
Remember, the Bosses/Ascended Ones can't tell if you're wearing an implant unless you tell them, or they catch you using it in their presence. Don't get caught.
The war is just beginning.
The Guardian is with us. Always.”
People moved out of Mr. Osmond's way as he walked through the shelter, looking nervously in his direction, then nodding and looking away if he looked back at them. His relationship with Leo, as well as the liberties he'd taken after reading Leo's initial speech, had given him the power and respect he'd always believed he deserved. But he hadn't anticipated the healthy dose of fear that came with it. Mistakes he made now would get people killed.
No pressure.
Despite Mr. Osmond's earlier claim, he couldn't afford even the minor reduction in function making an implant would cause.
He'd gotten his implant from Jason.
“You want to take the credit for the implant I made, to make yourself look good?” Jason had asked him the day before.
“A little white lie, to gain much-needed support of the people,” Mr. Osmond responded. “Also, I think Lydia is more likely to accept the implant from me than from you.”
“As long as it goes to Lydia, if she wants it, like I promised Leo,” Jason had said with a shrug. “I don't think it matters who takes the credit for making it.”
Mr. Osmond found Lydia huddled in a blanket in the woman's quarters, crying, curled up with her cat. He put his arm around her. “Your brother was the best of us. He wanted you to have this.” He held out the silver implant.
“Are you sure he's dead?” she asked.
“I was looking through Leo's eyes when he died, Lydia. I'm sorry.”
“I hate him,” Lydia said. “He knew he'd be killed, but he did it anyway.”
“He did what he thought was right, Lydia,” Mr. Osmond responded. “Leo thought that if the Bosses killed him, they'd believe they had won the war and go back to fighting among themselves. What the Bosses don't understand is Leo is all of us. Part of him remains with us and always will. Will you put on this implant, Lydia?”
“Will I see the future like he did?” she asked.
“Possibly, but I don't think so. I believe he was the only one in the world with that ability.”
She sighed. “Fine.” She held out her hand. When he handed her the implant, she put it on her wrist and it sank beneath her skin.
“Hi, Imp,” she said, moments later. “I'm Lydia.”
The small group surrounding them cheered.