The Bridge | Bots 'R Us

Chapter 24 | Declaration of War

"But it's playing to the Czar's crowd, too!"

"Oh, there's no doubt he can ignite his base with that violent act. As long as they believe that we parked them in reservations and left them to die, they will relish the drama of it all! Fuck the asshole who dreamt that ploy! Now, my people are the walking dead. And in the end, I don't care whether or not a Transcendent whispered in his ear; this little Czar will pay!"

MEANWHILE, IN A HUMVEE IN OREGON

"Oh no! They did it!" Hector said, grabbing Bryan's arm, now back behind the wheel, driving up a mountain road. "Stop here!" he asked his dad, pointing at a slow-driver space on the side of the road. He turned around to face the back seats, pale, showing the images on his slate: dusty ruins with the caption "NUKE BLAST IN PALMYRA - TEMPLE REDUCED TO ASHES."

"Oh, my world!" Simone said, holding her face in her hands. "Our Memorial! For the sacrifice of our bodies to restore the planet, for our centuries of service. Gone! If only I could cry, be enraged! You said they did it? You knew about this? Why didn't you tell?"

"I knew of rumors about it, cousin! But I couldn't tell you or David, not when you're linked to Goz and spied by INGI. I would have lost my cover. If you want more plots, now I can give you more. But I never thought those assholes would carry out something so abject. Good Christians that they are."

It's always been the same people: those Sarah had warned us about when we devised The Bridge—from the hinterlands communities alienated from the Council System to their descendants engaged in some crusades against us.

"The CS never had a chance to succeed," said Simone in a sigh.

"You're kidding, aren't you?" Hector replied while the rest of the vehicle looked puzzled. "It's the largest and oldest democratic system the planet has ever known—as flawed as it may be."

"What I mean is that we never had a chance to realize its dream. Your cousin and I had long discussions about it. It's what made us such ardent proponents of the system, even when our families would turn their backs on us."

"Some, in your families!" Zita and Brian chimed in unison.

"The CS has turned into The Bridge and lost itself. It's only a mission, not a civilization. The CS was so young when we took this android turn! The generation before us had possibly designed the most advanced human civilization on Earth, but it was still in its infancy, and not everybody was on board."

"I heard people felt they'd lost their identity tracked by Gossamer and under the tyranny of GINI."

"It's giving GINI a lot of credit, Hector." Simone smiled and said: "You are well aware that GINI is not a person. It's interactive, customizable to interact with individuals in a personal manner, but it has no opinion or feeling. If it had had a choice, would it have operated for the Councils against the Transcendents?"

"During the Transcendent War? When David became First Councilor? Dad told me how he saved Washington City and defeated Sam Wong!"

"Yes, it's part of our historical records. It was a major turning point. What is generally not discussed, because we, Andros, are unfit to discuss it, is the fact that the Transcendent War came at a point of realization that we had lost a part of our humanity."

"What do you mean?"

Simone knew she needed to get that Hopter ASAP, but the event warranted taking the time to offer Hector some perspective. As creative as Wong's engineers were, they could not replicate the complex biological neural and chemical network that powers human feelings such as compassion. Remove your visceral feelings, and compassion is just a concept, philosophy, another algorithm. What made me, David, a successful First Councilor was an above-average sense of compassion among Andros, oh so they said because they measured that, too. It's compassion that saved the Originals and defeated the Transcendents.

"It didn't hurt either that David was a great dancer," Bryan said to spice up Simone's story.

"You two gave your lives for all humans, of any side," Hector said with a sigh. "And this is how the Theists pay you back! It's so unfair! Tell me more about the Temple."

"Guys, listen!" Zita said, cutting them short. "Scintillya is reporting from the place!" She flicked her slate's holostream to Hector, who snapped and stretched it over the windshield. It felt like Scintillya was in the vehicle with them—her bust hovering on the passenger side of the dashboard, the Temple's ashes behind her, and pictures of the site before the attack scrolling on the left.

"This is horrible what happened here tonight," Scintillya commented. "I was part of the Committee that overlooked the construction of the Temple under our missing First Councilor, David Hawthorne. Yesterday, I lost a friend. Today, it's like losing billions of sisters and brothers! All Andros and Landers on this planet had a brick made of their DNA in this sacred location. Here's a picture where I stand by David's side behind First Councilor Chavez at the opening of the Temple in 139. This Temple was not just a symbol of our sacrifice to this planet; it was US! Those Barbarians want to destroy us, to demoralize us, but they will only succeed in having us rise and fight for the values that have restored this planet. Where are you, Councilor Nasser Kabadj of the Middle-Eastern Council? Where are you, Simone? We need your leadership in this difficult time. Please let us know what our response should be!"

Scintillya's face was glowing with that twisted pain Andros expressed in lieu of crying. The effect is almost as powerful as if you'd seen her covered in tears.

"I have to send them a message," Simone said. "Hector, do you know how to reach this broadcast without unveiling our position?"

"I can do that in my sleep, cousin. Go ahead, dictate your message; I'll get it there." He stretched out his slate out of a side pocket.

"Here it is." Simone started her dictation. "'Citizens of the Councils, fellow Andros, Landers, and Descendants, we have worked hard to restore this planet. We have worked hard to keep the Council System values standing against the wear of time. We have worked hard to resist the Transcendent heresy, and we have tried our best to protect our brothers and sisters who chose not to partake in the Bridge. Today, some of their descendants, barbaric Theists, have declared war on us, on our way of life, on our aspirations. We will defeat them like we defeated the Transcendents. We recently found that they have infiltrated many of our systems. Prevailing will require more effort and determination than was ever asked of us. But we will win because we must. I am currently on a secret mission and will report again to you as soon as possible. I am asking all Councils to declare a State of Emergency and Heightened Alert throughout all their territories and ask Washington and GINI to provide all the support available to bar any other Theist assault. Long live the Councils.' May I add my seal, now?"

"Yes, you can touch here," Hector said, handing his slate to Simone. As she touched the corner of the slate, embedding her encrypted signature in the message instantly broadcasted via Hector's amazing hacks.

"Look, she's already getting your quote!" Zita pointed at Scintillya, still on screen in Hector's windshield.

"We are just getting a message from the Interim First Councilor, Simone Allegre. I understand it is broadcast on every stream through an unusual but verified stealth channel. A very unexpected move from the White House. Let me read it to you."

"Great job, Madam Councilor, Hector!" Vic said in admiration.

"The War is on! Driver, get us to that base!" Simone said to Bryan, who was setting the humvee back in motion. "Let's go tackle our first battle!"