CHAPTER 82: Problems
“Have we identified the next target?” asked Adam as he walked into the conference room.
Many people were seated at the large, round table. Most of his group was there, along with Colonel Davian, Elouise Gervin, his parents, Jordan Lane, Ronald Baker, some intelligence officers that helped manage the Rift Menu, those from the former mayor’s office and the police who were helping organize the civilians, as well as other unit leaders from the Sentinel Army. They also rotated between a few civilians who weren’t involved in the leadership. This was to give some representation and understanding of what was happening to the people out there.
At Adam’s question a lot of quiet conversations stopped. People looked away from him, or to Colonel Davian, not wanting to be the focus of Adam’s stare.
“Adam,” Colonel Davian addressed him after a cough. “We understand your drive and stamina, but the rest of the people don’t have it. They need some time to relax and recover. It’ll be more than a week before we can mount another large assault. Plus, we need to integrate the people you’ve rescued, and that’ll take a lot of manpower.”
When Adam growled at that as he lowered into his raised throne-like chair, several people winced. Those who knew Adam well didn’t take it to heart. It was just his frustration coming out. Unfortunately, due to his power compared to the others, even small expressions like that felt like a force coming at them.
“Don’t worry, boss!” exclaimed Tom. “I can have the General’s Hand ready to deploy within a day.”
What Tom was calling the General’s Hand was a group of almost 200 people who had been overly affected by Adam’s connections on the invasion day. When Adam’s own emotions had run too high and were engulfing him, he had unintentionally reached out soul connections to all the people within his base, which had been thousands. The intensity and determination within the anger that had projected through the connections had left a kind of subconscious message in 200 men and women’s souls, much like Adam had a voice inside himself telling him to conquer. Their message was hate towards the invaders, nearly at the level of Adam’s, as well as a fanatical dedication to Adam himself.
Tom’s Appointment Title, the [Illusionary Loyalist], also allowed him to befuddle and strengthen people’s belief in Adam, which had only further enhanced their dedication. Each of those people in the General’s Hand had appeared on Adam’s Loyalty screen in his status menu. Most rated higher than his friends and parents, between 89 and 93 points. They were also the most aggressive in searching for invader hunting parties and trying to find humans away from the city.
“We’ll be ready anytime you want a Hand jo…” Tom said before quickly being interrupted by Adam.
“No, Tom! Just no.” Adam pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath to calm down.
“Weren’t they called the General’s Eyes last time?” asked Randall.
“It was the General’s Knights before,” said Alissa.
“They started as the General’s Followers,” reminded Ron.
“They’re whatever the boss needs them to be,” Tom shrugged shamelessly.
“Pick a name and stick with it,” ordered Lucas. “Changing names can throw things off for everyone.”
“Fiiiiine,” whined Tom. “Then we’ll be the General’s Cape, wrapping him tightly in the winds of turbulence.”
Abbey frowned at him, and when she spoke there was an authority that made Tom shrink back.
“You can call them the General’s Guard, and that is the end of it.”
Tom stared at her cockeyed for a moment before saying, “Alright. The General’s Guard.”
Elouise gave an approving nod to Abbey.
“Anyway, Adam,” his mom tried to bring the meeting back to relevance. “You should all be proud with how many people were rescued and brought in. We have the appropriate staff spending time with them in smaller groups to try and get everyone settled. The ones from South Hampton are all in bad shape both physically and mentally. It might be a long time before we’re able to get them some levels, though that would empower them and help them cope.”
“While rescuing them was good,” said Colonel Davian, “it also made the existing problems worse. We need to figure out some solutions to these or every new group will just be shooting ourselves in the foot.”
“What are the issues?” asked Adam.
“Surprisingly food isn’t one of them,” said Davian. “We bring in so much meat from the hunts that we only have to dip into our preserved foods to bring a bit of balance. We also have fields set up, mostly in land used as parks, though it’ll be spring before we can expect any crops. We have plenty of farmers that we’ve brought in working with the necessary people to prepare the available spaces. It’s too bad we can’t use the Rift Menu to affect the temperature outside of our territory.
“If we could plant within the Rift’s influence then we could get crops started right now, but as it is we are dangerously short of land. Some land within the territory has been set up for the livestock since we wouldn’t want them killed if an attack came in. We’re also out of materials for expanding our buildings.”
“We would need to build upwards anyway,” added Jordan Lane. “I can’t shift or expand the building in any other direction. That’s a moot point though since we’ve run out of most building resources. We’re stuck with what we’ve got unless we can push large buildings into our area.”
“That isn’t possible since we need those buildings for the people currently in them,” said Mrs. Clemens.
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t suggesting we move them. It isn’t as if we have a way to move those buildings without causing too much damage to the surroundings anyway,” said Jordan.
“What did we get from the newest Rift we captured?” asked one of the city planners from the former mayor’s office.
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“A mountain of obsidian like stone. There wasn’t much else. We did get a few building plans, including one that could create a thermal power generator.”
“That’s great!” exclaimed Davian. “Electricity is an area where we’re lacking.”
“Not so great,” said Jordan, quashing the mood. “Using them would dangerously increase the temperature. We’ll need some engineers to take a look to see if they can understand the alien language and designs enough to modify it. Otherwise, it’s a no go.”
“Then what do we use the obsidian for?” asked the city planner.
“Walls,” answered Adam. Everyone looked at him.
“It isn’t a great building material,” said Jordan. “Too heavy for buildings. Buildings using it would collapse under the weight unless we used a ridiculous amount.”
“Not walls for building. Build a thick and dense wall around our territory,” instructed Adam.
“You’ve never mentioned walls before,” said Davian. “Why now?”
“We’ve never had a sturdy enough material. Eventually we’re going to be attacked. We’ll need some protection. Everything we had before would have crumbled under invaders. The obsidian is stronger than the elf wood, so we can make a thick wall, tall enough that they can’t observe us over it, with walking areas at the top for our defenders and guards. We also need to cut off the entrances to our base, since now every street leads to it. No more than four entrances.”
“I guess that makes sense,” said Jordan, a little hesitantly. “It’s just that I wanted to find something cool to make out of it.”
Adam stared at Jordan, who quickly looked away.
“Right! Walls. I’ll make durable and effective walls all the way around our base. There should be enough,” Jordan said quickly.
“Right now might not be the best time to set up those walls,” said Ron. Everyone looked towards him.
“Why’s that?” Adam asked him.
“We have a bit of a malcontent situation going on. Setting up walls will solidify the idea that we’re separating ourselves from them,” said Ron.
“Creating defenses and protection is bad?” Randall asked with confusion. Several others in the room scowled at the idea.
“Defenses and protection are good, however there is a group in the city rousing people up. They say that we’re only looking out for ourselves, not everyone else. We’re keeping all the power, clean water, the best of the food and supplies for ourselves.”
Everyone looked at Adam, expecting him to be angry at the idea. More than a few were surprised to see him looking indifferent at this.
“We are. So what?” asked Adam. His response surprised the room even further. “It should have been obvious to everyone that some people just wouldn’t be on board. They’re used to freedom and an easy life, and that’s the only thing these people will fight for.”
“It’s a matter of perception. It’s like we’re lording things over them. They’ve been saying they need to demand their own space inside the Rift Base. Direct representation. That we’re just letting them suffer and not providing for them,” said Ron.
“But we are providing for them,” said Joseph. “And keeping them from being killed. It’s not like we were the ones who turned off the water and power.”
“Like I said, it’s about perception and they are riling folks up with it,” explained Ron. “There has been more violence and assaults the further out from the base people are. Most of those involved with the Sentinels are close to our base or living inside it.”
“Isn’t it their choice to have nothing?” asked Brandon. “Don’t we accept anyone who wants to join in the hunts? We help level them and make sure they get a share of the supplies.”
“We even provide daycare for their kids,” added Alissa.
“The crux of their protest includes a refusal to level,” stated Ron.
“That’s just stupid of them,” spat Brittney.
“Are they trying to commit suicide?” asked Lamar.
“It’ll only hurt themselves,” agreed Adam’s father.
“All that’s true, but what would happen if they get enough followers to revolt?” Ron mentioned.
Adam laughed. He stopped himself to not seem like a jerk, decided he didn’t care, then laughed again.
“I hate to play the tyrant here,” started Adam.
“No, you don’t,” interrupted Carlos.
“You’re right, I don’t care either way,” Adam corrected himself. “What happens if they revolt? A bunch of level zeros come stomping up to our leveled army. A level 2 is worth ten level 0s. A level 10 is work 50. They’re no threat. Sure, it’ll waste lives when they do, but if those people are stupid enough to stay level 0 then they’ll only be a burden to humanity and make it harder for the rest to survive.”
“That’s very callous of you, Adam,” scolded him mom.
“I agree,” nodded Adam. “What do you suggest then?”
Mrs. Clemens frowned while looked at the table.
“We have gotten an increase in women and children asking for protection coming from the further areas. They say it’s becoming less safe.”
“That’s true,” agreed Ron. “Reports are that physical and sexual assaults are increasing.”
“Everyone is so used to being entertained all the time that they can’t even manage themselves when there’s no phone, internet, or tv,” Elouise said with disgust.
“Then should we kill the leaders?” asked Tom.
“Definitely not,” blurted Adam’s mom.
“C’mon. It’ll be easy,” argued Tom. “A little Unseen Death sneaks in and drops some [System] store nighty-night juice into their drinks. No one will even know it’s us.”
“What about just arresting them?” asked Adam’s mom.
Colonel Davian then spoke up.
“That would be a worse idea. Both killing them or arresting them would give tangible evident to their words. I can’t say it would be a bad idea to trigger a rebellion a bit early if we might eventually throw our weight around anyway. Better to do it at a time of our choosing then when things are rough.”
“Can we increase recruitment, and send more police to patrol the areas?” Andrea asked.
“I’m sorry to tell you young’uns this,” said Davian, “but this is a situation that can’t be solved. We’re already recruiting as much as we can. Conscripting people would just endanger our forces and create resentment on both sides. Patrols and keeping the peace can’t come from us either since we’re stretched thin, and it’ll get worse the more people we bring in and deaths that occur from future raids. There is no solution here.”
“Sure there is,” said Adam. “Cut them loose. If someone isn’t a part of the Sentinel Army or is still at level 0, then they don’t get any supplies. If they try to obstruct our activities or move against us, they’re sent away from Jackson in the best case, or outright executed in the worst. We can’t be fighting among ourselves while trying to defend the planet. If they can’t understand that then they’re our enemies.”
“Isn’t that harsh?” asked his mother.
“No, mom. Harsh is letting them leech off the people that are giving their all to create a safe haven and to fight back at the risk of their lives. I’ve seen the desperation on the faces of the people we bring in, and I’ve seen the relief on those that we gave jobs within the base. Don’t give any attention or resources to the malcontents. They can pull their weight or screw off,” Adam said definitively.
“That’s right, boss! Don’t play to the hecklers,” cheered Tom.
Everyone stopped and looked at him.
“How can you be the one to say that?” asked Brittney.
“Who knows that side better than me?” Tom responded smugly, his arms crossed.
“You said violence is on the rise. Does that mean it’s thugs or criminals doing this?” asked Adam.
“Actually no,” answered Ron. “People who were used to violence were pretty quick to join our hunting parties. They weren’t content to stay weak. We have a list we keep a watch out for, but since they’re surrounded by much higher-level soldiers and police, there hasn’t been an issue.”
“That’s right,” agreed Joseph. “Javier and Francis used to be leg breakers, but now that they’ve joined my Executioner Squad, they’ve really change.”
“Change how?” asked Brittney.
“You know, they used to hurt people for a living,” explained Joseph.
“Uh-huh…” pushed Brittney.
“Now they fight with the Sentinels,” Joseph continued with pride.
“…doing what?”
“Killing invaders.”
“We can really see how you’ve curbed their violent ways,” Tom declared sarcastically.
“It’s different than before!” defended Joseph.
“In what way?”
“Now they do it when I tell them to instead of when people hire them. You know what? Just leave my minions alone!”
With that argument done, they turned back to Ron.
“If it isn’t criminals or violent people, then who’s leading this group?” Adam asked.
Ron hesitated and squirmed in his seat before mustering the courage to answer.
“It’s Abbey’s and Brandon’s dads.”