Plutocracy

Stage 20- War

"Orders from the boss. We're going to take our army and double up in Peru, where Fract is. Says we need to help him out and follow him into Brazil."

Six War Technicians in the helicopter were conversing and discussing battle plans, figuring out how to destroy South America with the greatest efficiency. A few of the War Technicians looked at the speaker, who had been conversing with Jeff about the war. Apparently several of the War Technicians had disappeared; specifically, the ones who had come up with the war in the first place.

"Does he really need our help? Dude's a fuckin' machine in combat."

The other War Technician shrugged. "I said the same thing. Apparently they want a shield to metaphorically throw up in front of him in case he gets hurt."

"Which is just slang for the antipsychotic wearing off and him going nuts, am I right?"

A few of the War Technicians chuckled. "That you are."

"I reckon we'll have to stay way out of his view if we want to live. Yall's seen the tapes, Y'all know what he's capable of."

"Reg, drop the accent."

"Fine."

The helicopter adjusted its course and the army below it followed. The troops were trained to follow black helicopters with the purple spiral of LEDs underneath, and then attack whatever got in the way. Fortunately, the Outlanders had not figured this out and simply assumed the LEDs were decoration, so the direction of Arksiane's armies was safe.

The armies below had only swelled in size. The ranks of the old creatures had swelled and newer creatures had been added, including large turtles that would burrow through the earth and create tunnels directly into cities and swarms of low-flying insects that could turn a human body into confetti in the blink of an eye.

The menagerie of creatures followed below the helicopters as they changed their course, headed straight for Peru. The creatures below them tore through the forest, moving mostly around trees but destroying them if they got in the way. The two Demisamarskæls left in the army led the way and crushed foliage underfoot, leaving a wide path for the rest to move in.

As the helicopter flew and the forces behind it followed, a similar vehicle with jets protruding from the side flew by, a trail of purple energy in its wake. The War Technicians recognized the vehicle as a transporter for someone very important; it was more than likely that Fract was onboard.

"Ten funding units says that Fract's antipsychotic wears off within a day of him getting off that ship."

A chorus of "you're on" and "I'm about to get ten funding units" arose from the other War Technicians. A funding unit was a lot of money; although its value changed from time to time. Essentially, a funding unit was something that could be put towards a private project. A value in 'funding units' would be assigned based on the estimated cost and value of the project to Arksiane. If the parties involved could get enough Arksiane Currency Units to create the required Funding Units, the project was given the green light with minimal oversight, and as long as the project was finished and turned in by the assigned deadline, all parties involved were given a massive bonus, usually based on the value of the project to Arksiane. Weapons research, for example. The system was designed mainly for the Eggheads and to some extent the Engineers and even Technicians, but it was used by everyone as a more potent form of currency. Even Outland had a market for it (although Outland's economy was based on gold and valuable gems, they did use AFUs to distort projects they wanted done a certain way via the Technicians), but it was rather small.

All the War Technicians reached into their pockets and removed small glass cubes with metallic numbers set in them. Each man put an 8 and a 2 on the table. The 2 was made of copper and the 8 was zinc, and each cube was about an inch in all directions. AFUs used an interesting system; 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on. This allowed you to carry one of each number on your person and make any amount out of pocket.

Gerald looked up at the purple spiral under the helicopter and wondered why it was there. It was so unlike Arksiane to waste power on something so pointless; perhaps it was the intimidation element? However, that also seemed unlikely. The army was intimidation enough. He considered asking the Facdef in front of him, but careful observation told him that would be out of character. The Facdefs never spoke to each other. They were completely silent, even when they were directly attacked and forced to use their rifles.

Looking around himself, Gerald noticed that some of the creatures seemed to glance upwards intermittently. He knew that they were following the helicopters, but other helicopters had flown by and the army had not diverted itself to follow them. Maybe they were looking for the spiral? Gerald considered the possibility, and made a mental note to share his suspicions with Carlos when it was safe for him to do so.

He wondered about the Exodus as the Lizard lumbered along, following the rest of the army and slowing down the pack as a whole. It would probably be a while before everyone was to the southernmost point and could make the journey. Had there been more warning given they could have evacuated from eastern Brazil, which was a far shorter trip. However, such action would be a gamble at best and could endanger the lives of millions. No, better to play it safe.

The hum of the locusts overhead was irritating, to say the least. The damn insects had joined the menagerie of creatures mere hours earlier and the sounds of them flying in circles was already getting on Gerald's nerves. He could tell that the other Facdefs felt the same by the irritated expressions on their faces, but none of them spoke out.

"They're landing at that base. Let's stop and rest there; the troops are getting tired. If we're needed, we move in at a moment's notice."

The helicopter banked to the right and the army below adjusted its course. They stepped into a clearing that contained a large concrete building and a huge steel patio with a spiral of illuminated purple tiles. The troops stopped the instant they saw it, dispersing and falling asleep. All the Facdefs dismounted and moved over to the building, unhooking their backpacks from the Lizards but leaving them outside the building. Gerald followed suit, anticipation gripping him. This would be his first time inside an Arksiane military base, and although it sounded silly, he was excited.

Glancing upwards, he noticed a large black helicopter with jet engines on the side and no illuminated purple spiral on the bottom. Mere moments after he entered the building, curiosity gripping him, Fract stepped out of the plane. Looking around and smiling at some joke only he could understand, he sprinted into the forest, towards where he was told Peru was.

"Start the clock. The antipsychotic is supposed to last three days. According to Leo, it'll be gone and done within 24 hours."

Each of the six War Technicians removed their pocketwatches and inspected the time. The small circular devices were made of a black metal and had a digital interface that glowed with a blue light.

As Fract tore through the forest, deftly leaping over roots and dodging trees, he wondered to himself how much destruction he could cause in the next twenty-four hours before the Antipsychotic would invitably wear off.