Previously on Farima: Part 1 - Project Maximus, Part 2 - Project Farima

PART 3 - CHANGE OF PLANS

 "I saw you on the AugNet Natia. You were amazing up there. You shot down every one of her attacks." Natia Greenheart spoke with her husband as the Gemini X sped down the street towards the Ark of Endonis. His image manifesting in real-time now in augmented form. 

"Ma'am, the Ark is just ahead. Your husband is right by the way, and I think the feedback from the members of the Endonis Collective bears that out." Michael spoke through the cars audio system.

"Truth be told, I became uncomfortable up there when she brought up the Battle of Charlotte. You know how I feel about that day - losing my parents and all. That's the main reason I try to stay out of politics. This project Adan - Project Maximus – will allow me to chart my own path." Natia fought to contain her excitement. Her heart began to race as she became more and more elated.

"You handled it well. She knew what buttons to push and you didn't let it get to you. That's why I love you Natia." Adan smiled.

"And that's why I love talking to you instead of looking at your 3-D augmented pictures."

They shared a laugh. Adan raised his hand to her face - the A.R. image passing through her dark brown skin.

"Ma'am we're here." Michael's voice with its north-eastern American accent informed Natia.

"I'll talk to you later Adan." Natia nodded and Adan nodded back before his image faded away.

Natia opened her passenger door, and stepped from the back seat and into the warming afternoon air. The wind chill was still present from earlier, but there was a warmth she felt inside her. Everything is going as planned. Natia thought, until she saw Acacia Reed standing next to Khalil Buhari at the entrance. God I can't stand that woman.   

Khalil and Acacia stood at the entrance to the Ark of Endonis awaiting her arrival. Natia knew it was rather unusual, not to see them together...but together with dozens of bomb squad and medical personnel sprinting in all directions around them. It was then that Natia looked up and noticed the aerial ambulances floating silently above her preparing to take off to the nearest hospital.

"What in hell happened here?" Natia casually approached Khalil who at sixty-five years old was thirty-three years her elder - though due to anti-aging treatment, barely looked ten years older than her. 

 "Terrorist attack by a Class Three Deep Cover Android. We're still working on the details to figure out the source of - "

"- I don't recall looking at you when I asked that question." Natia snapped at Acacia.

Khalil stepped between the two of them. "It's as she said Natia. What we know right now is limited. I think for security reasons we'd want to get somewhere a little more private...agree?"

Natia looked down at Khalil, then back up at Acacia who stood eye level with her. "Yes, that makes the most sense." Natia spoke with a menacing calm without breaking eye contact.   

Khalil and Acacia turned and began walking towards the entrance doors. Then Khalil looked back and said - "Oh by the way, great job at the Convention."  

No thanks to you or your assistant. Natia thought as she followed them inside.  

Natia watched as the elevator ascended above three skyscrapers of the Endonis Collective Business Complex. The E.C.B.C. itself ran nearly thirty percent of the economy of New Manden because of its heavy involvement in so many different industries. Due to the democratic-socialist nature of the young country, it gave average Mandenite citizens an unprecedented amount of control over the economy of New Manden. However Endonis Technologies, Khalil's crown jewel that many called the 'Ark of Endonis,' was at the center of all technological and scientific advancement in the country.

Natia looked to her right where Khalil stood, gazing silently out the translucent elevator bathed in the light of the sun. "So I see your shirt is red - why are you so upset right now?"

Khalil took a moment to respond. Acacia stood directly behind him draped over his body like an ominous shadow. "There's just a lot going on right now. This recent attack, public opinion of me...it can be angering at times."

"Well now that Project Maximus is back up and running, we should be able to quickly finish Phase Five. It won't be long until we have the first evolved Human living in our world - Homo Maximus. Then, we can begin screening the first Mandenite's who are near death for brain-consciousness transfer into their new bodies."

"Yes...about that." The elevator stopped at Khalil's office on the top level and the group made their way out and to a balcony overlooking the sprawling city. "You know Natia, ever since your parents died at the Battle of Charlotte, I've taken care of you and watched over you like I was your father myself."  

And here we go. Natia suddenly felt uncomfortable.   

 "I admire what you're trying to do. Directed evolution of the Human race to allow our people to live into the hundreds of years on average. Brain-to-brain transfers that will give the sick and dying the ability to live on in a new body - effective immortality. However take a look at this - " Khalil pressed a series of buttons on his orunmila and a real-time three-dimensional image flashed from his forearm and filled a quarter of the balcony. "This is what the interrogation room looks like right now."

Natia saw a room covered in debris and large black scorch marks where fires had recently burned. Dozens of pieces of android body parts lay sprayed across the room.

"Natia these D.C.I. androids - these Trojans - have infiltrated the E.C.B.C. several times now. It has become clear to me and Acacia that we are under attack. And if we're under attack, then we're at war." Khalil's eyes bulged with a twisted pleasure having stated that.

"Hold on...what!?!" Natia chuckled, shook her head, and turned her back towards the two. “I don't like politics, you know that, and I try to avoid it at all costs and base my decisions in science. What you just said sounded like political-speak. Sounds to me like you're using this attack to scheme."

"Are you really going to accuse me of treachery right now at a time like this?" Khalil balked. "Security discovered a deep cover android attempting to compromise our servers and access vital information the night before the Endonis Convention and you don't think that's provocation? Knowing this has happened twice already in different E.C.B.C. buildings - now they're attempting to infiltrate the Ark itself! This cannot stand!"

"I know where this is going." Natia stepped close to Khalil inside his personal space and looked down at him. "I am not in a million years going to allow you to turn Homo Maximus into a weapon of war. We've been through this already. I said no then, and I'm saying hell no now."  

I must maintain control of my project. He is relentless - constantly wanting to fight the last war. The war is over Khalil. Natia turned her attention to Acacia. "As for you, if you don't stop manipulating Khalil I'll make sure you are submitting your application for the 'Rent-An-Amazon' personal assistant job agency sooner than you think. If being a personal assistant is really all you do. Refresh my memory, what do you do again? You seem to have a lot of power for an Assistant."

Acacia didn't flinch at the attack - she responded with a dark smile. Natia knew that an argument could be made that it was really Acacia Reed running Endonis Technologies and not Khalil. He spent most of his time no longer studying robotics which is what he had his PhD in, but in a trance-like state experiencing suspended augmented reality. S.A.R. placed a person in a false virtual construct so real that it consumed all of the users senses. It tricked the brain into believing what it was sensing was real and it was highly addictive if over-used.   

 Khalil has used S.A.R. devices so much that I'm beginning to wonder if he can tell the difference between true reality and suspended augmented reality. Natia pondered on the neurological impacts of the neuro-engineering technology that made S.A.R. possible.

"Trust me, my thoughts are my own Natia. Acacia is not influencing me...far from it in fact." Khalil spoke up finally. "Look, we've both been through a lot recently. Emotions are high right now, but I'm not as delusional as you may think. I remember when you last saw your father. I remember that night very well. When he finally committed to the cause and said that even if it meant leaving his family...the end goal of crushing the Knights of the White Rose justified it. Your father understood the importance of self-sacrifice."

"Stop...stop...stop!" Natia began growing more and more frustrated. "Stop using the memory of my parents as a tool to fit your agenda Khalil! You may have raised me like a daughter, but I'm not your child! I will not allow you to manipulate my emotions like that...and people wonder why I hate politics and discussions of the war so much."

Khalil looked over at Acacia and nodded. Acacia nodded back in response and turned away from the two of them before walking back into Khalil's office to make a private call on her orunmila. "Fine. I didn't want it to have to come to this."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm calling an emergency meeting with the Director's Council." Khalil raised his hands with his palms outward as if conceding defeat. "You and your stubbornness have left me with no other choice Natia. The Council will decide the direction of Project Maximus. Given what's just happened with us being bombed and all, I have no doubt my project - Project Farima - will be activated."

Natia began laughing and gently stomping her foot on the balcony floor as she slapped her thigh. "Your persistence is somewhat amusing to say the least. I've talked to members of the Council same as you. We already know where they stand."

"We will see Natia. We will see." 

Natia Greenheart, Khalil Buhari and Acacia Reed stood in the Broadcast Room as the twelve members of the Director's Council appeared in real-time augmented form around them. Natia recognized some familiar faces, people she felt she knew were allies. However she felt the general mood in the room seemed gloomy.

"Welcome back Director's." Khalil broke the silence by immediately taking the initiative.

"Back?" Natia seemed lost. 

 "Ah yes, while you were convincing the members of the Collective to continue funding your Project...I was breaking bread with the Director's here."

"More like attempting to coerce us." Director Michael Olina spoke first.   

 He didn't tell me he had already called an emergency meeting today. What are you up to Khalil? Natia watched her eccentric mentor closely and carefully.

"Coercion. Ha! I wish it were that simple." Khalil, sensing an opening, began walking around the room and studying the expression of each Director. "As many of you have just been made aware - we were just attacked. The Class Three D.C.I. android in interrogation had a type of quantum vacuum detonation device hidden inside it's body that escaped our sensors. None are dead, thankfully no one was actually in the room when the bomb went off. However there are several dozen who were injured and have been taken to the DuBois Medical Hospital. All are expected to recover."

"That's good news." Director Ashanti Adams exhaled.

"Let's cut to the chase, I want another vote on Project Farima."

Director Olina couldn't contain his outrage anymore. "How dare you use this event like it's shock therapy to sell us on the Farima project! Look Khalil, I know you've been Chairman since this Endonis collective enterprise was started...but that does not give you the right - "

"- Now hold on Olina." Director Desta Aloomis butted into the conversation. "There is clearly enough going on to warrant a ramping up of our defenses."

"Not without the approval of the Collective! Or did you guys forget how this enterprise was set up? We have rules specifically to prevent against these types of power grabs."

Khalil cleared his throat. "Well actually when the Endonis Collective was first established in 2033, article seven of the Collective Constitution was ratified by the members."  

Article seven. The damned article seven that gives the Chairman and Directors the ability to make decisions in haste when under attack without consent from the Collective. How could I have forgotten about that? Natia's head began to ache as she realized she was being circumvented. This is not happening right now.

Suddenly Acacia Reed, with her finger in her ear, ran up to Khalil and whispered something into his ear. Khalil's eyes widened, darting back and forth in shock and disbelief so hard that Natia felt she could see the gears shifting in his head. Something has gone wrong.

Khalil lowered  his head and began rubbing his twitching eyes. "Acacia Reed, my personal assistant, has just made me aware that another bomb just went off - not here in the Ark - but apparently in Building Two. Five confirmed dead so far." 

Khalil activated a display on the orunmila wrapped around his arm. An array of photo-real images spread out across the Broadcast Room. Hands were placed over mouths, weeping began and hearts sat heavy in the chests of everyone who could see the damage in Building Two. The A.R. images were relayed to Khalil's orunmila from one of the sentry drones that was on the spot directly. Five dead bodies lay spread out across the floor on the first level of the building. There was a large fire by the entrance and many more were injured.

"This just happened not even a minute ago." Khalil said softly and unbelievably.

"Two attacks in the past hour." One member of the Council said.

 "This is about to be all over the augnet. I can't believe this is happening in the heart of Manden City!" Another Director said.   

"This is a travesty. Someone is sending a message loud and clear. By not preparing ourselves for the worst possible outcome - we are not ensuring the safety of our people. All of you need to vote to authorize the activation of the Farima project." Director Aloomis said with an intense militancy in his voice.

Director Ashanti Adams let out a heavy sigh and looked at Natia with a pained expression on her face. "You know I've always been a supporter of your work Dr. Greenheart...at least with Project Farima, your Maximus project will continue...just with a different objective."  

I can't lose Director Adams, she's the heart and soul of the Council. If she goes, so the do rest of my allies in this room. Natia paced back and forth for a moment as everyone waited on her response. Her heart raced and her mind was in a panic and she stepped through the A.R. images of the dead. "If we give in to fear, we live in fear. What if our enemies - whoever is behind these attacks - wants us to ramp up our defense research? What if we're playing right into their hands? We can't be this gullible and throw away years of research!"

"No one is throwing away your research Natia and your team will still be the same. The location of where Phase Five will be completed will have to change given recent events. I know of a secret location nearby that we can use. If it's a fight our enemies want - then a fight they will receive. We have something waiting for them that they've never seen before." Khalil said.

Natia was at a loss of words. How could a day begin so good and turn out so bad? Part of her was tired of fighting with Khalil and just wanted to complete her research. She would be a world-renowned scientist regardless. She began rationalizing Khalil's position as she felt the room move against her.

"Let the voting begin now because we need to hurry." Khalil walked over to Natia and placed his hand on her arm because her shoulder was too high. "If the Council votes to authorize Project Farima...will you accept their decision Natia?"

Her voice cracked. "Yes." She looked at Khalil in his deep brown eyes, no longer red as they had been before she arrived. "I guess the end will have to justify the means."

A wide grin stretched across Khalil's face. "Now that's the Natia I taught so well eh!"

It didn't take long for the votes to come in. Now nine were in favor of Project Farima over Natia's Project Maximus and three still held out and voted no - one of the no votes was Director Olina. 

 "You may have won this battle Khalil, but let it be known that I have lost faith in your ability to lead the Collective. I will be challenging you for your seat when the next election comes around. The people will know what you did here today." Olina, beyond angry, immediately cut his real-time feed without waiting for a response.

Director Adams looked  at Natia. "I truly am sorry Natia." Then her feed cut too. Everyone else went offline without speaking much of a word. Only brief comments under their breathe about the detente failing and another war on the horizon.

Natia stood on one side of the room while Khalil and Acacia stood staring at her on the opposite end. She fought back the tears from creeping out of the corner of her eyes. The timing of all of this is...highly peculiar. I'll play along for now until I figure out what's really going on.

"Give us a moment Acacia." Khalil motioned for his assistant to leave the room. Once they were alone, Khalil said, "I've always looked out for you and now is no different. You will be safe where we are going. You will be protected."

"Khalil what in the world is Project Farima anyway? No one knows but you! You've kept it hidden from even myself! How am I supposed to trust you?"

"You're supposed to trust me because I made a commitment to your father when he died at the Battle of Charlotte. He told me to look after you no matter what...and that's what I've done since that day. He would be so proud to see the woman you've become." Khalil took a deep breath. "I know you don't like talking about politics, the second civil war or fighting in general but look at it like this...you're helping to make New Manden not only the smartest nation on the planet - but also the strongest too."

"And where is this secret location you were talking about where me and my team will complete Homo Maximus?"

"It's an island, a few miles off the east coast of New Manden in the Atlantic Ocean. Acacia is getting the helicopter warmed up now."

"Is there anything she can't do?" Natia said.

Khalil turned away and began walking towards the door. He looked back, "if there is...I wouldn't know of it yet. She may be the best thing to happen to me since I lost my wife in the war twenty-two years ago. You may not like her, but I ask that you at least try to get along with her if that's not too much to ask. She's not your enemy."

"Who is my enemy Khalil?" Natia quickly got her question in before Khalil left.

The question seemed to throw him off a bit. "If I were to wager a guess, I'd say the Knights of the White Rose...same as it's always been."  

The K.W.R...an acronym that will always bring out the hateful side of me. Natia placed her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"Collect your things. Whatever you think you'll need, bring it. We won't be coming back to the Ark. I'll be on the rooftop awaiting your arrival." Khalil finally exited the room, leaving Natia alone by herself in semi-darkness - just as he had found her twenty-two years ago at the end of the Battle of Charlotte with her mother's dead body in her arms. 

WORDS FROM THE AUTHOR:

"It has been a joy writing this series and it's only just beginning! I have a lot planned for this world and want to take everyone on Steemit along for the ride. There are many more chapters to come. This one was long because there was a lot I had to set up. With your support, I can continue to flesh out this cool new world set in a fictional nation in the Not-Too-Distant Future. 

Farima is an afro-futurist story you don't want to miss!