John Hawks - The GoldenCity

“C’est bon,” he said in French and Gabriel came in behind him. The Traveler appeared tired and fragile, as if his empty body had spent too many days alone in the secret room. Maya wanted to stand up, draw her sword, and take him away from these people. Maybe they needed him, but they didn’t understand the danger.

The Traveler circled the restaurant personally greeting everyone who had come to the meeting. He stared at each face with a power that allowed him to see split-second changes in a person’s expression. Maya doubted if anyone else in the room was aware of this ability but they knew that Gabriel saw them clearly and accepted their fears and hesitations.

Simon leaned across the table. “Did you see the change?” he whispered. “When the Traveler is here, this becomes a movement.”

Maya nodded as she watched the transformation. Even EricVinsky, the computer expert who called himself the Nighthawk, tried to sit up in his wheelchair when Gabriel approached him. Finally, the Traveler arrived at their table, touching Alice ’s shoulder and nodding to Simon.

“Is everything all right?”

“We got lost,” Alice said.

“That’s not always a bad thing, Alice. Getting lost means you’re trying a different path.”

He turned away from them and that was it. No words for her. Not even a smile. I’m carrying your child , Maya wanted to say. Just thinking it made her nervous. She pressed her lips together so the words wouldn’t burst out of her mouth.

Gabriel stood in the middle of the restaurant. When he raised his hands slightly, everyone stopped talking. “This is the first meeting of the worldwide Resistance. I want to thank all of you for coming. According to Jugger, our Japanese friends are stuck in Frankfurt Airport, but we do have delegates from the United States, Canada, Australia and Poland.

“You are the core, the foundation of our group. I want all of you to get to know each other after I explain the next step in our evolution. The people in this room have different backgrounds and speak different languages. Some of you have unconventional political views while others see yourselves as liberals or conservatives. This issue unites all of us. It transcends conventional political labels. The real division in our society is between those who are aware and those who choose to remain blind.

“Every person in this room has had a moment when we’ve looked at the world and have realized that a permanent system of surveillance is being created by the new technology. This system is able to track your movements and monitor your actions. In a few years, it would be able to control your behavior and destroy the privacy of thought that is essential for any democracy. We call this system the Vast Machine, and we are attempting to destroy its power.

“Surveillance technology is the most visible sign of a fundamental change in human society. We are approaching a time when each of us could become another bar-coded object in a world of objects. Distracted by fear and the stress of our contemporary lives, we could only pretend to make free choices. I say ‘pretend’ because the direction of our lives would be manipulated from birth.

“The people in this room have taken the first step. You’ve seen what’s going on and realized that our freedom is about to be lost forever. The obvious question is: how can stop this from happening?

“The Tabula and their allies have the power to crush any conventional sort of protest group. They’re like Goliath standing on the battlefield with an enormous sword and shield. The only way to defeat them is to act like a modern David. We need to surprise our enemy with quick, decisive action. We need to conceal our organizing efforts until the last possible moment so that our movement will not be compromised or crushed.

“Most of you have heard about the Nighthawk-the person who created our encryption code. He’s also developed and released a program called the Revelation Worm, which will allow me to speak to people all over the world. Eric, could you give us some more information…”

The Nighthawk moved his wheelchair a few feet from the table. Although his body was still crippled, he seemed happy that he had finally left his dormitory room. “Revelation was released six days ago. I estimate that it’s currently hiding in eight to ten million computers, and millions more are being added every day. Remember, this worm can only be activated once, and then security patches will be developed to block it. Think carefully before you pull this particular trigger.”

Gabriel nodded, and the Nighthawk rejoined his friends. “The moment I make this speech, the Resistance has to appear and assert itself throughout the world. Some of you feel comfortable about taking part in public demonstrations. Consider yourself the ‘Voice of the Street.’ Other people here know how to influence the media and members of the government. You’re the ‘Voice of the Forum,’ and should focus on the activities of the Evergreen Foundation.

“Both groups are necessary for our success. You need start organizing as soon as possible. Send a brief description of what you plan to do to Linden. He’s in charge of strategy and will make sure that the different groups don’t duplicate activity.”

A few people nodded and spoke quietly to their friends. Maya stared at Linden, but the Frenchman avoided her eyes. Harlequins weren’t supposed to get involved, but it was clear that Gabriel had pulled him into the Resistance.

“Most of you have heard about the anthrax scare in Japan and the museum bombings in France. These attacks come from unknown groups with vague objectives, but I don’t believe that these are terrorist actions. In both countries, legislation was immediately proposed by politicians with past involvement with the Evergreen Foundation’s Young World Leaders Program. The new laws would end anonymous activity on the Internet and require mandatory biometric I.D. cards. There’s also been similar activity in the United States. Simon Lumbroso has been monitoring the American media, and he’s going to explain the situation.”

Simon stood up beside the table and checked a slip of paper with some notes. “Fourteen children have disappeared in California. As the new head of the Evergreen Foundation, Gabriel’s brother, Michael, appeared in Los Angeles and made a speech that received a great deal of publicity. Michael used this crisis to set up something called “The Guardian Angel” system. RFID chips are being placed under the skin of all children under the age of twelve. They are the first generation of people that can be scanned and tracked like merchandise in a department store.”

Gabriel nodded as Simon sat back down. “What’s going on in California seems to have created conflict within the Tabula, and this might give our side a unique opportunity. One of their leaders, an Englishwoman named Mrs. Brewster, died a few days ago in mysterious car accident. In addition, Alice Chen is going to tell us about her conversation with the foundation’s Head of Security, Nathan Boone. As some of you know, she was taken off a train and held captive at the Evergreen building here in London. During that time, she received a phone call from Boone. Alice, please tell us what he said.”

Alice stood up. “Mr. Boone asked if I was okay and if liked the food and if I was comfortable. He said he wasn’t in control of the guards at the building, but that I would be safe because he needed to ask me some questions.”

“Go on…”

“He said; ‘I once had a little girl in my life and I always wanted her to be safe.’”

“What happened after that?”

“He hung up.”

“Thank you, Alice. You can sit down. After I talked to Alice, I asked Simon to do some research on Nathan Boone.”