Jacob Burns and the Order of the Algorithm #Wattys2017

Chapter 15: When the World Comes Crashing Down

"Director..." I growled through my teeth.

Ilya quickly ducked behind me as I reached for my gun, but before I could even graze the handle, the Protectron had fired off a warning shot at my feet, stopping me dead in my tracks.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said through the cold static of the speakers.

We stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity, no idea what to do. I could barely wrap my head around the reality of it all. It seemed only moments ago we were celebrating our first major breakthrough in this whole ordeal, and now, we were facing down the barrel of a gun. None of this made any sense... The Protectron had been completely under Ilya's control only moments ago, so what happened? It was one thing for the Director to speak through his own creations, but all the Old World machines were limited to small local networks, so he would need a direct uplink into the system, wouldn't he? I may not have been as tech-savvy as Ilya, but I did know the Brotherhood had conducted dozens of experiments with remote hacking technology, only to find the whole concept completely untenable. So, how? How was he doing it? How had he found us and how was he here now?

The Director watched us carefully, a dark sense of fascination as he analyzed our every move. His stiff robotic frame tilted curiously to the side as if he were examining a pair of particularly interesting specimens, right before slicing them open on the operating table.

"Why Jacob, what's the matter? Aren't you happy to see me?" The Director said in a mocking tone, "After everything we've been through? I'm hurt, Jacob, truly. After all, the last time we'd met, you had only just destroyed one of my most extensive experiments to date, throwing away years of hard work and careful planning in the process... And you really thought it would be that easy to escape? Honestly, I don't know which offends me more, your lack of vision or your complete and utter stupidity."

"H-how...? How are you even here?" It was all I could muster in the moment, pathetic as it sounded to my own ears.

"Oh, Jacob..." The Director chided with a wag of his robotic claw, "Don't you get it? Have you really not figured it out? My dear boy, I am not here at all... but rather I am everywhere, and nowhere, all at once." Another mad laugh echoed off the walls and I felt Ilya grip my hand so tight I could no longer feel my fingers.

"I have eyes and ears all over the Commonwealth, in ways you couldn't even imagine. There is nowhere you can go that I cannot follow, nothing you can say that I will not overhear, and nothing you can do that I would not already know about. The truth is... you never even had a chance. It was hopeless from the start."

"You know, it's funny..." the Director continued, a self-satisfied smile dripping from every word, "To think that I have never so much as set foot in this wretched Wasteland, and yet, I stand alone as the most powerful man it has ever known. Why, the very mention of the Institute is enough to strike terror into the hearts of men, so much so, that none dare even speak its name. Of course, I still hear a hushed and hurried whisper every now and again, but what amuses me most is how little they actually know. Had they any idea how much control I truly had over their pathetic little lives... their tiny, inferior minds would simply explode. And you thought you could pose a threat to me? Please, Jacob... you can't even touch me."

"Now then, enough of this idle chit-chat," the Director spat as he raised the gun even higher, "It would seem you have something that belongs to me, and I think it is high time I take it back. The device, Jacob... Hand it over. Now."

With no other choice, I slowly reached into Ilya's pocket and retrieved the peculiar contraption, hesitating for only a moment before handing it over to the robotic monstrosity before me. The Director grasped the device carefully between his powerful pincers, holding it up to the light before he began scanning the item into his database.