SECTOR 10 (The CLOUD 2)

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 19

"Mr. President, President! Do you have any comments on the latest scandal in Washington?" the reporter hollers.

Others follow suit in the mass parade across the White House lawn. Half of the Capitol Building was consumed by the grey goo that not only thrashed buildings but also massacred the armed forces attempting to stop the mass exodus of nanobots. If there is anything that the President despises it's being hounded by these media folks.

He pauses near the front steps of a marked entrance. They're going to have their press conference regardless of whether the conditions contribute to that or not. When he turns back to meet the horde of media, they aren't being berated by protesters anymore who have dispersed. Most political dissidents like Silas Betts and Clyde Van Dyke have been caught in the crosshairs of the viral outbreak or trapped by FEMA. It's to the President's benefit that he can escape most danger quite easily. Safety concerns dominate his thoughts and he's more aware of what his constituents need to be satisfied. They'll be a major migration soon to other parts of the country.

With his hands up in acquiescence, the President remarks, "As you have seen from the photos you've either taken or been privileged enough to view, this precinct is ruined beyond repair. We are devastated, as a city, as a nation, and in our hearts. Americans should know that this will never happen again, not while I'm in charge."

Some reporters aren't as keen to support that notion. "Sir, but it appears that the worst has already occurred, what are you going to do to fix it?"

"We're working on it," the President snaps back. "For now, Congress is enacting a new voting measure that will discontinue all Cloud-based software. It was recently proposed that Delphi Corp. be investigated for voter fraud and malware. Today, those accusations have been verified. Our biggest concern is salvaging our national security from what appears to be repeated malfunctions on the part of Delphi Corp. and its products."

"But Mr. President," another shouts from afar. "Sir, sir, another question!"

The barrage in interrogations isn't giving him a break so that when he finally decides to make his final remarks on those same steps, he needs assistance. He and the Vice President, along with the director of the EU will hold a special press conference regarding national organizational summits in the future. It won't be long until the United States is banned from such events because of security concerns. The supposed greatest country to ever be is now on the receiving end of charity and monetary contributions.

The President's political advisors suggest that he take a backseat to the sway of world markets. As much as he wants to wield power, the unprecedented danger remains on the horizon according to those same advisors. Detainees in FEMA are pushing for political asylum, but this constraint is what's keeping them within U.S. borders instead of emigrating. The U.S. can't afford to lose half of its citizenry. And as time would reveal it won't be long until the plummet of financial markets starves more than bodies, but it freezes bank accounts. Stockpiles of food are contained in storage units, so more people don't have to resort to cheap bartering. The spread of counterfeit money is bringing about a currency overhaul where corporations like Delphi Corp. can't prop up their monopolies.

Battered, bruised, and beaten from their mutations, Ellis Bartram's group of hybrids are waiting in bathing robes without clothes. While Bartram scours the shores of the Atlantic for signs of more contaminated species, he rereads private messages about outbreaks in Fukushima. By the time he returns to Delphi Corp. Headquarters there's no need to tell them what he's found since it would only complicate matters. His policy has always been strict privacy, but it is all coming to the forefront. The Yhemlen starship's ridge is protruding from the water as if it were an island of its own. The starship from the Yhemlen timeline has been submerged for millennia in a state of entanglement on the ocean floor. Bartram's sunglasses shield his bloodshot eyes; he is a man burned by more than stress, but someone consumed by fire to turn that pressure into a passion. He's determined to stay awake. This is the passion that would have killed him not long ago, now he is a full-fledged superhuman from the astral stones. Next to him are his successors, Yasmine, and the other group of hybrids.