Revolution (Awake, Part 6/Final Part)

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

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revolution, noun:

1. an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.

2. a procedure or course, as if in a circuit, back to a starting point.

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It’s not an army. Unsatisfied, I examine the group of people who make up the rebellion. Thirty men and women, that’s not enough by far. But we don’t have a choice, we need to act now, or it will all be for nothing.

”As you all know, we accidentally captured Lucifer, one of the leaders of the research program. Injecting him with the chemical that restores everyone’s emotions lead to a psychotic break and he lost his connection to reality. But that enabled us to acquire some important information.”

They already know. Nothing here can stay a secret for too long, the house is not big enough for that. But they don’t know what to do so they hope that I can lead them to a solution. The burning pain in my chest reminds me that I don’t have a solution. My plan is born out of desperation.

”We have uncovered where the leaders are located. We now know not only where they are but also how to get in. But we need to move quick! With the capture of Lucifer, we’re on everyone’s radar. We bought some time by destroying the tracking device but that won’t protect us forever. We need to move now and we need to move fast.”_@suesa
”And what do we do after we moved? What’s the plan?” Lucas, one of the new ones asks the question I was hoping to avoid.

”We kill them. We topple the government.”

”And then?”

”That’s something to think about later.” I make a point of turning away from him to look at the others, but he’s persistent.

*”That’s it? Just kill the leaders and see what happens? Are you mad? There will just be others to take their place immediately. Nothing will change!” The others start whispering to each other, they seem to agree with him. No, no, no! If we don’t do anything right now, we won’t have another chance! We …

”Do you have a better idea?” Damon asks. I didn’t even notice him stepping forward and facing Lucas.

”No, how am I supposed to have a solution if not even our leader has one?”

”That’s not very productive”, Damon remarks. ”Undercutting her authority without providing a solution yourself.”

I don’t want to be the leader. But that’s not something I can say. Especially not in this situation. So I take back my shoulders, clench my jar and give Lucas what I hope is a look full of disapproval. It seems to work.

”What we do after we’ve killed the leaders depends on the situation we find. Lucifer’s mind was too far gone to give us details about how everything is organized. But we will get in there and we will kill those who are to blame. Now, please shift your attention to Damon, he will give you the mission details.

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The government headquarters are not what I expected at all. A giant block of concrete in the middle of a seemingly abandoned city. Lucifer had told us that it wouldn’t be that complicated to get here, the security of this building is given by the fact that barely anybody knows where to find it.

My group of liberated test subjects has gathered behind me. I can sense their uneasiness, their skepticism. This smells like a trap. What if Lucifer didn’t lose his mind after all?

The burning in my chest is back. Like red-hot barbed wire. I press my hand against it, hoping to ease the pain. We can’t fail. This can’t be a trap.

Wordlessly, I prompt the others to follow me to the back of the building. I think it’s the back. All sides look somewhat the same. About a meter above my head, I can see the opening of an air shaft, just as Lucifer had told us. So far, so good.

Damon takes me on his shoulders so that I can remove the protective cover. The tunnel in front of me might just be wide enough. I climb inside and crawl forward. Slowly, very slowly. Behind me, I can hear the others join me. One person will stay outside so it’s now 29 plus me. I chose Damon to stay behind, he’s the one I trust most. The first one I recruited …

I reach the end of the air shaft and peep through the spaces of the ventilator. It’s not running. The room below is empty. It looks like a small office. If I remember it right, next to this office is the meeting room.

Bit by bit, we leave the ventilation shaft and fill the office. It’s getting really tight but we can’t open the door, not yet.

My hand rests on the doorknob as I watch the last woman enter the room. We’re ready.

I open the door, just a crack and peer into the corridor. Silence. Nobody there.

I have goosebumps all over.

We tiptoe along the path described to us by Lucifer. He swore that we wouldn’t encounter anyone.

”I know only one person who works there aside from the government”, he had told me. ”And that’s the janitor. He comes in there once a day and makes sure everyone is alright.”

”Everyone?” I had asked him. ”Don’t you mean everything?” But his mind had already drifted away again.

Why would a janitor take care of everyone and not everything?

We reach the door. It’s a shiny, metal door. I expected dark wood for some reason I can’t specify. The cold metal makes me even more uneasy. I turn around to look into the scared faces of my followers. They are all desperately holding on to the guns they have been given. It’s now or never.

I open the door and storm in.

”Nobody moves!” I shout. ”We’re the rebellion! We’re here to …” My voice trails off as the shock steals away my breath. All around the big desk are chairs. And in the chairs there are …

”They are dead”, someone whispers. ”They are all dead. What is going on?”

Mummified corpses with cables coming out of them. What the actual fuck?

The door thunks shut and makes me flinch. Someone tries to open it again.

”It’s locked! We’re locked in!” The woman starts banging on the door and others join. Panic takes over. But my eyes are fixed at the spot where the cables end, in a box in the middle of the desk. It’s glowing. Before I can stop myself, I touch it.

Cables burrow into my skin and cause me to let out a high-pitched scream which catches the attention of the others. More cables are coming out of the box and shoot towards me. And towards the others. Soon, we’re all connected to the box. I try to fight it, to rip out the cables but then

My thoughts become

Slower, so

Slow.

Welcome, new user. Thank you for sacrificing yourself for the greater good. Your neural circuits will from now on be used to make decisions for all of humanity. You are now part of an AI consisting of artificial and human parts which guarantees logical but humane decisions.

Hundreds of years of knowledge flood into my brain. No. My brain floods into the knowledge. And just like that, I don’t exist anymore.

We are the machine. The government. Created to protect humanity from itself.

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Picture taken from pixabay.com

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Today’s Suesa’s favorite is: @not-a-bird

You initially followed me for my fiction stories and now crave more? Check out Sorcery, a series with so far 7 parts! Or would you prefer some poetry today?

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_{Monster GIF was made for me by @saywha and @atopy}