This book is intended for a more mature audience, so be advised.
╗ NINE ╚
THE WIDE
TRUTH
“You
look at me like you've seen an apparition of some sort,” the
Secretary remarked with a chuckle as she slowly sat down. He pulled
an electronic cigarette from a pouch on his desk and took a drag on
it, and clouds of bluish vapor began to billow from his mouth as he
breathed out. “I have another if you smoke as well?”
Anna
shook her head wordlessly. She had quite forgotten if she was
supposed to speak or listen, or ask a particular question or wait for
an answer. The man apparently sensed her discombobulation because he
leaned forward over the desk and clasped his hands together
reassuringly. “You, I am sure, are quite full of questions.”
“If
. . .” Anna said, hesitated, then began again, “If I am allowed
to ask.”
The
Secretary laughed quietly and licked his lips. “You are allowed to
ask me anything. Whether I answer or not is up to me.” He tapped
his fingers on the wood. “It's been quite a whirlwind of three days
so far, I can imagine. Your career has taken a completely different
turn? New location, new faces, new everything?”
Anna's
confidence began to ooze back into her body. He was open and friendly
enough and his demeanor put her at ease. She nodded. “I figure that
I have you to thank for all of that.”
Adam
shrugged. “As much as you've had me to thank for anything else,
yes,” he replied cryptically. He hooked his cane onto the edge of
the desk and leaned back again in his chair. “I hear that our
esteemed Dr. Jarrod has begun to initiate you into his reactive
computer project. Your progress on the transfer protocol problem is
impressive.” He picked up a remote control from his desk and
pressed a button. An omni-monitor rose from the front of the desk,
and on the screen played security camera footage of Anna and Dr.
Jarrod in front of the mural. “As you can see, we've been keeping a
close eye.”
Anna
swallowed. She was so used to seeing the security camera bubbles on
the ceiling of every public building that the thought of being
constantly watched never really registered strongly in her mind.
However, her stomach flopped over as she watched video of herself
interacting with Dr. Jarrod, in the hallways and the lab.
They
had followed her everywhere.
She
looked up at Adam with what must have been a stricken look on her
face, because he moved quickly to reassure her. “Rest assured, our
surveillance only found satisfactory things to see and hear from you,
Anna,” he remarked quickly. “You are quite the catch.”
“Am
I?” she replied worriedly. She couldn't shake the feeling that she
had done something wrong. What it might have been escaped her at the
moment. She finally worked up the courage to blurt out, “Why am I
here, Mr. Secretary? What did I do to have all of this thrown into my
lap?”
He
stared at her for a long moment with a look of such intensity that it
frightened her. He looked at her like he knew her, although she
couldn't possibly think how; she was certain she had never met him
before. He took his cane and leaned his chin on the handle. She could
feel his mind working behind his soulful eyes, although the content
of those thoughts she could not decipher.
“You
look so much like her,” he finally muttered to himself. “It's
uncanny.”
“Like
who?” Anna asked, taken aback.
He
shifted in his chair. “Your mother. Your eyes are exactly the same
. . . “
Anna
jumped with surprise. “You knew her? How? When?”
Adam
licked his lips again, thinking. “I knew your mother before you
were born, Anna. She was a friend. Almost a mother to me, in fact.”
He gave her a strange, almost longing look. “She is the reason that
you are here in the first place and not wasting the rest of your life
at HomoGen working on dead-end projects.”
Her
head spun. Dead-end projects? Her mother, friend to the most powerful
man in the country? She hadn't known her parents very well as it was;
now it looked as though she didn't know anything about them at all.
She sat stunned for a long minute in silence before she could think
of her next question. “How is my mother the reason that you wanted
me here?”
“The
entire answer to that I will save for a later time,” the Secretary
said as he sat regarding her, sizing her up it seemed. Anna wilted a
little under his scrutiny. Finally he appeared satisfied and turned
in his chair towards the window. “Anna, you were called here to do
far more than simply write some transfer protocol. Or to help a
cooped up and harried scientist do his work.”
“I
gathered as much.”
Adam
smiled. “Yes, Dr. Jarrod's musings helped with that, I am sure. As
I said, we were keeping an eye on you both.” He tapped his cane.
“The reactive computer project is vitally important but it is
almost complete. No, you were brought here for another reason
entirely. You were recruited to replace me.”
Anna's
jaw dropped. “What?”
“You
are my successor, the Party General Secretary-in-waiting. That is,”
he added as he moved towards her, his voice growing low, “if you
will accept the offer?”
Anna
couldn't remember anymore if she had felt sick earlier in the
elevator, because now she was afflicted with a full-scale attack of
nausea that dwarfed whatever she had felt on the elevator earlier.
Her brain refused to process what he had just said; it instead
preferred to focus on tamping down the remains of her breakfast. She
gripped the desk with both hands. “Is this a joke?”
“Hardly,”
Adam replied with complete seriousness, turning to the side of his
desk and filling a small paper cup with water from the pitcher
perched there. He handed the full cup to Anna, who snatched it
mindlessly and downed the whole thing in one gulp. The icy cold
liquid seemed to help a little.
“Why
me?” she whispered eventually.
“A
favor,” the Secretary replied.
“What
kind of favor is that?” she said incredulously.
He
smiled kindly at her and tapped his cane on the floor. “If you have
to ask that question then I trust my choice of successor even more
than I did before.” He turned slowly back and forth in his chair as
he spoke. “Your parents were some of the best people I ever knew.
Their untimely death crushed me. You were all that was left of that
stock, and now here you are. A woman, grown and complete and skilled.
I have no children of my own, and I need a successor.”
Anna
sat, silent, in shock. She didn't want to believe him; every instinct
she had rebelled against the thought. Besides, it didn't quite make
sense anyways. She was a nobody in the grand scheme of things, an
outsider. “That doesn't answer my question,” she said quickly,
breathlessly. “You could have picked anyone. Why me? Tell me.”
Adam
thought for a moment, rubbing his chin while he chose his words.
“Your major undergraduate and graduate fields of study were
computer science and systems technology, yes? Top grades in all your
classes?”
These
people know everything about me.
“Yes, that's true.”
“You
almost single-handedly repaired the University of Virginia's central
database system, did you not? And rebuilt HomoGen's database and
streamlined their output system, yes?” Adam ticked the items off on
his fingers as he mentioned them. “And your new system enabled
nearly triple the output of Versions? Does any of this sound familiar
to you?”
The
question was obviously rhetorical, but a flicker of understanding
flared up in Anna's mind as she began to think again. Memories of
each accomplishment flooded back as he listed them. She had been
proud of each one, but the victories had always left her a little
hollow and searching for more. She nodded weakly. “I remember them
all.”
The
Secretary sighed and played with his cigarette. “This is no longer
a government and a nation of people, Anna, but of systems and
machines and lines upon lines of computer code. You are a computer
scientist, a digital systems engineer with a profound grasp of the
importance of those systems. You are simply . . . perfect for the
task at hand. The next Secretary must be well-versed in these systems
and their operation; I am not, and you are. It all makes sense.”
It
did make some sense, as unwilling as she was to admit it. No wonder
they had all been so concerned with her previous work. She felt
recovered enough to press forward with questions. “But again, that
doesn't really answer my question. Why must the next secretary be so
concerned with systems and codes and machines? You have men, the
military, police and whatnot for control and order. Surely this is
not totally a matter of computers and systems?”
The
Secretary regarded her silently for a long moment. “You think that,
do you?” he asked at length.
Anna
nodded. “Yes?”
“I
suppose it would be perfectly natural for you to think that,” he
said, standing and lurching to the window. “Perfectly natural . . .
“
“It
is true, is it not?”
The
Secretary turned suddenly towards her. “Anna, there are some
secrets that simply must be kept at all costs. You understand that,
yes?”
“I
understand,” Anna replied uncertainly. “I think.”
“Secrets
that must be kept guarded behind a wall of lies if need be?”
Anna
hesitated for a moment. “I suppose, yes.”
He
continued. “Because if you thought that I shattered your world with
what I've already told you, then I must warn you that we've only
barely begun. Everything I tell you here is classified and must not
go beyond the two of us.”
Anna's
heart sank. There was more?
The
Secretary motioned to her to join him at the window. She did so,
slowly, crossing the plush carpet to stand in front of the dusty
glass. He pointed out the window. “What is it that you see? Out
there?”
She
looked; all she saw was the restless Washington cityscape below, with
all of its usual sights. The traffic moved, people walked, steam rose
from the street vents. It was all ordinary. She turned to Adam. “I
just see normal life.”
“As
you should,” he replied. “And this place? Central Admin? What do
you see here? What impression does it give you?”
She
thought for a moment before answering. It felt like a trick question
that she didn't know the answer to. “Strength, power. It feels . .
. very secure,” she ventured.
“It
is the proper impression. A sleight of hand trick that works for the
most part like a charm. Truth be told, Anna, that your impressions
could not be farther from the truth. This entire system is in
actuality on the verge of falling apart.”
Anna
turned to him in complete surprise. “How is that even possible?”
Adam
smiled at her. “It is far more than possible. It is happening as we
speak. To understand my position, you must know the truth, the whole
truth. Where to begin?” He bit the inside of his cheek in thought.
“Well, I will begin at the end and move back to the beginning. I am
sure you remember the police traffic stops a couple days ago?”
She
nodded, almost with excitement. Her conversation with Dr. Jarrod came
to mind. Perhaps she would finally find out what really happened;
although, she sighed to herself as she realized she wouldn't be able
to tell the doctor her findings.
Adam
grimaced at the memory. “Just last week we suffered the most
serious electronic systems breach we've ever experienced since I
became Party Secretary. Due to a code flaw, the criminal group known
as Verité hacked a digital hole in our system three security layers
deep, all the way down to the Central Detention Complex where a
special prisoner was being held.”
Daniel
Marcus. I was right.
Adam
noticed the look of dawning realization on her face and nodded. “So
you had some clue of what I am talking about from the good Dr.
Jarrod. Yes, the prisoner was Daniel Marcus, ex Elite Combat Unit.
Extraordinarily dangerous man, Daniel. The stories are true about
Mogadishu, by the way. He was considered a hero at one time.”
Anna's
interest had been kindled and she suddenly had a stomach for
questions again. “What happened? I assume he escaped?”
“He
did indeed, an escape the like of which I have never seen in my
lifetime. Our detention facility was hit by a blanket attack on the
surveillance system, which locked us out of the controls and looped
all the security camera footage until somehow Daniel
had disappeared. The only trace was two of my guards who ended up
dead on the floor. And the message that Verité left on our screens.”
“Message?”
“Yes,
all it said was 'Let There Be Life.'”
The
blood boiled in Anna's temples. That message. The same anger that
always rose up in her throat at its mention. “I've seen that
message before,” she said.
“Painted
on everything, yes?”
“Yes.”
Anna's jaw worked. “It's an insult, frankly.” The thought of
being able to help the Secretary suddenly took on a certain relish
and the knot in her stomach began to unwind.
“An
insult, and a taunt,” Adam replied in agreement. “Verité does
not share the same values, the same concerns as I do, and you do.
From what I can gather, their obsession lies with some outmoded
ideology and they are willing to do anything to tear down what we
have built.” His expression took on an extra layer of gravity. “I
recruited you partly due to your passion for your work with HomoGen.
HomoGen's work is what keeps us alive and functioning. You were born
for greater things than them but it provided a start.”
Anna
managed a small smile. Oddly, for once she felt truly complimented
for her work. She regarded the Secretary with a new respect as well.
As she looked into his prematurely lined face it was suddenly clear
to her the burden he carried on his shoulders. His responsibilities
truly stretched to vast limits.
A
nagging thought bubbled up in her consciousness, though, begging to
be asked. She licked her lips. “You said you'd start at the end of
the story and go back to the beginning. I still don't see how the
system is so near catastrophe. Why was your security in such poor
shape as to allow a breach that large in the first place? With all of
your personnel and equipment I would have thought for sure Daniel
Marcus would have been apprehended by now.”
Adam
cocked his head at her. “A probing question. One better answered
over lunch, what do you say?”
With
a growl Anna's stomach agreed.
Read Chapter Ten here!
So what was lunch? Dietary salad and Admin fries? ��
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