Richard Stephenson - Resistance

Howard knelt down next to the mortally wounded man. “Where is he, Jackson? Tell me.”

“He… he’s gone. A moment ago Hal turned on us. Must’ve been when you entered the residence. Fig… figured out… sorry, Howard. I’m so sorry for all of this.”

“I know, Jackson. Hal scanned me and figured out I was the real deal.”

“Bastard shot me in the stomach and took off. I made such horrible… I did such terrible things. I’m so sorry for all of it.”

“It’s over, Jackson. Tell me where he went.”

A few hushed words escaped his frothy mouth.

“Jackson, I can’t hear you. What did you say?” Howard knelt down and placed his ear above Jackson’s mouth.

Suddenly, Jackson grabbed Howard by the throat and thrust a six-inch blade deep into Howard’s chest. “Fuck you! That’s what I…” Richard silenced Jackson Butler with two shots to the head.

“Howard! Nooooo!’ Richard cradled Howard as he stared up at Richard like a frightened child.

Howard could only whisper. “Hal, Hal, shield… Got to get shield up… protect PSA… Order 47, Order 47, hurry.”

“Get a medic in here! Now!”

“Richard, Order 47. Hurry!”

“Howard, stay strong. You’re going to be okay. Get a medic! Now! Now! Now!”

Howard trembled and placed a bloody hand on Richard’s face. “You have to take care of Hal. He… he’s your responsibi… Order 47.”

“Where the fuck is the medic! Get him now!”

“Richard, my son… my son will be president but… but Hal will answer only to you. You have to… Order 47.”

Richard watched the life fade from Howard’s eyes. Howard Beck, President of the Pacific States of America and the Founding Father of Artificial Intelligence was no more.

“No, no, no, no. Howard! Howard! Stay with me! We can’t do this without you! Howard!” Richard shook the lifeless body and began to weep. Howard had become a father figure to Richard. His death induced a terrible rage and soul-wrenching agony unlike anything Richard had ever felt before. He fought back the monster growing inside him and struggled to regain his composure.

“Hal.”

“Yes, sir, General Dupree.”

“Execute Order 47.”

“Yes, sir. You are in primary command of my program. What are your orders, General?”

“Can you bring the EMP shield up around the PSA?”

“No, sir, my primary cores at Beck Castle need to be reinstalled to remove the remnants of the imposter’s virus in my system.”

“Do you have a location on the imposter?”

“No, sir. I do not know how it is possible, but I cannot locate him.”

“Slippery bastard. He can wait. Do you have contact with the Castle?”

“I do, sir.”

“Open a vid-con. I need to talk to them. And get Sterling in here; we need his troops and we need them now.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

Maxwell and Elizabeth Harris were in the subbasement of Beck Castle staring at four walls filled with the most complex machinery they had ever seen. It was like something out of a science fiction movie. They had no idea what any of it did and grew more and more doubtful they would ever be able to get Hal’s system back online.

One of the three security robots guarding the entrance to the subbasement left its sentry post and walked over to Max and Elizabeth. The lens on its chest projected a holographic image of Richard Dupree.

“Richard! Are you okay?” asked Elizabeth.

Richard’s hand drifted to his cheek where Howard’s blood remained. “No, I’m… I’m not bleeding.” Richard forced back tears.

“What’s wrong, Richard?” Elizabeth could read the look of agony on Richard’s face and began to whimper. “Where’s Howard?”

Richard’s couldn’t bring himself to say it. Instead, he simply shook his head as the tears pooled in his weary eyes.

“Wait, are you saying Howard’s dead? Tell me he’s not dead, Richard. Goddamit, Richard, tell me he’s not dead!” Max pleaded.

“It was Butler. He stabbed him in the chest.”

“Oh Jesus! Sweet Jesus, no!” Elizabeth buried her face in her husband’s chest.

“Listen to me, both of you. We have work to do. We can’t take time to mourn- not now. The PSA is depending on us.”

“Let’s get this shit over with,” Max said, as a gut-wrenching anger threatened to overpower him. “What do we have to do?”

“Hal will walk us through it. We have to get the EMP shield up and rally our troops. Sterling is ordering a general retreat of all UAE soldiers to the PSA. We have to plan a counterattack and send the Chinese packing.”

Two weeks had passed since the Battle of Beck Estates. Simon Sterling had ordered a general retreat of all UAE forces to the Pacific States of America. The former president of the Unified American Empire was mistaken as to what his role would be in the coming fight with the Chinese. Simon had envisioned himself as a member of President Marshall Beck’s cabinet, a valued advisor given his four decades of political experience. Once Simon had been debriefed and relinquished control of his military forces to General Dupree, he was promptly thrown in jail to await judgment for a lengthy list of crimes, the foremost being the assassination of Malcolm Powers and the atrocious acts of mass murder he had committed during his tyrannical reign.

Americans from all over the broken country flooded the PSA. Highly organized militias that protected large pockets of the country from the UAE proudly joined the ranks of the PSA. Under the protection of Hal, fleets of C-130s flew across the country to retrieve refugees from The Pulse Zone. It took some convincing, but Benjamin Black finally relented and abandoned Walt Disney World, bringing with him a multitude of supplies that would help in the coming war effort.

The Chinese were not prepared to lose the PSA. Jackson Butler and their assassin, Charles, had failed to gain control of Hal and the technological marvel that was Beck Castle. The invasion of the former United States would take much longer than they had planned. The combined military might of the former UAE and the PSA’s forces, along with Hal’s tech army,proved a formidable foe. The Chinese had already lost much of California and the entire state of Colorado to the PSA. The PSA was slowly expanding her borders, but the Chinese fought viciously to hold them back.

Howard Beck was laid to rest next to his wife, Meredith, in the restored garden above Beck Castle. The failed attempt by the Chinese to breach the Castle had done only a little damage to the small garden. Meredith’s headstone had to be replaced, as did the vase of Middlemist’s Red that Howard so lovingly placed there for her. Richard and Max wanted to pull out all the stops and have a state funeral for the fallen president, but after Marshall reminded them that his father would hate all the fuss, the two men changed their minds. Howard would not tolerate such pageantry. The only thing he would have wanted was to rest next to his beloved wife. The service was small but dignified. Marshall, Richard, Max, and Elizabeth were the only ones in attendance.

Marshall Beck was sworn in as the second president of the Pacific States of America in Seattle, the newly christened capital. A quarter-of-a-million people filled the streets surrounding the Capitol to hear their new president.

“My fellow Americans, it is with great sadness that I take the oath of office today. This nation was kept alive because of the tenacity of one man, the greatest man of our time, my father. Howard Beck saw democracy being ripped away from our once great nation and pledged to keep it alive with every fiber of his being. Democracy had been mortally wounded, and he pulled it back from the jaws of death. He gave his life for this country, and for that we owe him a debt that can never be repaid.