The Last Invasion
Chapter Six
It was Sunday, the declared holiday. The first day since the invasion that the Red Chinese had allowed everybody to have a day off from work. Martin was very troubled as he walked to the meeting that morning. It was Sunday. He was in turmoil because he was now involved with people who were heading in the direction of certain destruction. He understood their point. All through history an underground of resistance had risen up wherever despots took over. This was no exception. But, he just couldn’t shake something inside him that told him there was a better way to go. But how? He was confused. It looked like what the resistance was planning was to learn how to use the beam weapons, acquire some of them and begin using them against the Chinese conquerors. Sounds entirely reasonable, he thought, if you just follow the patterns of history. But what will it achieve in the long run? The moral disintegration could be worse than the physical disintegration.
Who wants to live in a country where people cannot get out of the idea of revenge through might and power? It seemed to be a vicious circle. One group rises up and becomes despots and then a resistance to them persists and rises up to replace them through sheer muscle. By that time they have acquired the exact same attitudes of being the biggest and baddest. And on and on and on. Except now, they no longer use muskets but disintegration rays! The stakes are much much higher. It seemed as if society was trapped on a self-destructive hamster wheel and not able to see anything else, a kind of tunnel-vision. Was he in the same boat? Did he see anything else? He had to admit, no he didn’t. But, he knew that he was thoroughly fed up with the same old same old and would be on the keen lookout for some alternative. Meanwhile he had to deal with the situation he had gotten himself into and do it wisely and carefully.
Why was Bill allowing him to show up at his door? Why did he not instruct him where and how to find the clandestine entrance and crawl in through that tunnel to his sub-basement like everyone else? How the hell did he get a satellite dish up on the side of a cell phone tower? How come his nameless informant took so many risks putting out information that was almost nothing new? How had that informant known about the Red Chinese declaring a holiday? So many unanswered questions. Something didn’t make any sense. Something was wrong. Martin smelled a rat and it made his hands sweat.
As he approached 2012 Oster, he thought it best to take the same precautions as before, so he slipped into the grove of trees and waited to see if anyone else would come along. He fired up an American Spirit and nervously looked again and again up and down both directions of the street. He finally ground out his cigarette and checked his watch. It had been four minutes. He was just getting ready to move when he caught a glimpse of someone walking down the street coming from the other direction. He quickly slipped back into the grove. He watched as a man in a brown overcoat and blond hair briskly walked along. The man occasionally looked behind him or to either side.
This has got to be one of the participants, Martin thought.
Indeed, the man walked right up to Bill’s door, knocked twice and someone let him right in.
Something is going on here. Martin made himself wait four more minutes and then headed for Bill’s door. He knocked twice and Bill quickly let him in.
“Greetings, Marty. Not everyone is here yet but we have a new person whom I already knew but has never been to a meeting until now. One of our neighbors also, I’d like for you to meet. The blond haired man had taken off his overcoat and was in a gray jersey. He came over and extended his hand. Marty shook hands and said, “hello friend, my name is Martin.”
“Hello Martin, I’m Courtney.”
“Good to meet you.”
“Come on in by the fire and let’s sit,” said Bill, leading the way.
They sat and the stranger just stared into the fire.
“There will be a signal when everyone is here and we will then go downstairs,” said Bill.
Martin didn’t want to say anything not knowing what would be the right thing and what wouldn’t, so he just smiled.
Bill said nothing either. After a minute or so, he got up and opened the front door to check up and down the street and came back to sit down but before he could, there was a distant chime. “They’re all here,” said Bill, “follow me.”
Bill lit a lantern and they followed him down two levels to the sub-basement. The room was already lit up by the big chandelier and the others already had the disintegration weapon over on one side of the big round table and were examining it intently. They didn’t even look up when the three walked in. Bill went over to where they were while Martin and Courtney sat on the other side across from them. One of them looked up and nodded to them and went right back to the object of his focus. “How do we get the damn thing apart? There are no screws and apparently no openings other than this recessed row of buttons.”
“There’s got to be a way,” a different voice said.
“This is the damndest thing I ever saw.”
“There’s something we’re not thinking of.”
“Bill do you have any ideas?”
“John, I’ve been looking at this thing for weeks and I expected you to tell us, being a physicist.” “I’m a physicist, not a mechanical engineer. I might be able to tell how it works if we can just get inside the damn thing.”
“Okay,” said Bill, “we’ll try something else. Courtney, did you bring them?”
“Oh yes,” he said as he got up and went around. He dug in his pocket and took out some small items and put them on the table. “Let me try,” he said, picking up the weapon. He seemed to be rubbing something all over the object. He settled on the ridge between the cylinder and the oval body of the piece. He was rubbing back and forth.
“I think I need a stronger one,” he said.
He picked up another something off the table and began to rub it up and down the seem. Martin couldn’t see what it was.
“That one is too strong,” he said, so he put it down and picked up another one. “I think I’ve got it, I heard something, just a second.” Suddenly there was a click and the entire side of the cylinder popped open.
“There it is,” said Courtney.
Everyone smiled and seemed extremely happy.
“What was that all about?” Martin ventured.
“Magnets,” Bill said. “Marty, let me introduce you to everyone. Guys, everyone tell Marty your names.”
“Hi Marty, I’m Jack.
“Peter.”
“Jonas.”
“Samuel.”
“Pierre.”
“John.”
“David.”
“Bruno.”
“Tom.”
“And, of course, I’m Bill and this is Courtney. Now, let’s all take a seat.”
Everyone sat around the large round table and Bill said, “it’s good to be here with everyone today and I want to welcome Marty and Courtney who are now with us. Marty and Courtney, you have heard everyone’s name here. You all have. From this moment on, we will totally forget these names and never mention them again. Ever. Work on forgetting them. Put them out of your mind. Now, you may see each other at work or around the neighborhood but no one here is to recognize anyone else. Don’t ever say, ‘hi, Tom’ or ‘hi Courtney.’ Never, unless you are working on a job together and need to coordinate. Nothing socially. Is that understood? Good. I want the two new ones to understand this. I know the rest of you already do. Of course, there is no reason to explain why this has to be. Okay. Thanks to finding the right strength magnet, we now know how this devil opens up. Now, some physicist can find out how the damn thing works.”
“I’ll need to take it to the laboratory.”
“Understood. Okay, here is the latest news from my contact. They are going to bring in one of the larger electrogravitic warships tomorrow and give some of the citizens of Riverview a tour of it. It’s suppose to be here for several days. They wish to overwhelm us with their prowess and advanced technology so that alleviation of this tyranny seems further and further away and we get into a mindset of total subservience and feeling totally subdued. Constant surprises will accomplish this, they think. So, that program begins tomorrow.”
“How do you know this?”
“The same way I knew about the holiday.”
“How’s that?”
“I can’t say.”
“What does this mean for the resistance?”
“Very simple. We will learn all we can about the craft, get the weapon ready and disintegrate it.”
“How large is the crew of these ships?”
“From 15 to 20.”
“How will we accomplish this?”
“One of us here has volunteered for a suicide mission.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Yes... and practical.”
“What if the person is captured?”
“He will blow himself up with 4 sticks of dynamite which will be wired to him under his coat. We can’t afford capture and torture. That would mean the end of us all.”
“This is awfully... hard core, isn’t it?”
“Yes it is, but we are tired of being slaves and won’t take it anymore.”
“You mean that one of us has volunteered for this?”
“Oh yes.”
“Does everyone here feel that way?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Isn’t there a better way to go about dealing with the Reds?”
“What would that be?”
“Maybe... maybe find one of them who does not agree with their methods and is willing to become a traitor and help us from the inside?”
“That’s now your assignment.”
“How about using remote viewing techniques to gain intelligence.”
“It is crap. It doesn’t work. No mystical bullshit.”
“I think you are wrong.”
“Then that is your assignment.”
“What if we somehow get hold of one of their hydrogen fusion vehicles and back engineer it?”
“Excellent. That is your assignment.”
“Let’s figure out if those permanent magnet motors they use on all the agricultural equipment or the hydrogen fusion plants can be used to produce electricity and why not get hold of some of them and make up some vehicles from old car parts.”
“Very good. That is your assignment.”
“Let’s not take a chance on getting this captured disintegration weapon destroyed right away. Let’s use it to attack them and get some additional ones.”
“We are outgunned. Besides, we are complete novices in using the damn thing.”
“Maybe its working principles can be applied to other useful devices or other potent military weaponry.”
“Get on it.”
“Are you a traitor?”
The room went completely silent. You could here a pin drop.
“Well, if I am, then you have no choice except to kill me. And that goes for all the rest of you too.”
No one spoke.
“Okay, look how much we accomplished in a short time. Amazing, eh? Some of these suggested projects require our underground laboratory. But the biggest hindrance to carrying out any of this is simply time. We have no time. We work constantly for these Cadres. Now, I am inquiring to find out what they are going to do this winter during the ice and snow. Perhaps some time will present itself. Otherwise, its work at night and become quite sleep deprived. We will have to figure something out on that. Some kind of rotation maybe. So, any of you that want to work together on one or more of these projects should coordinate. I suggest that you pick alias to call each other in private. When we are doing this work, we are no longer our own. We belong to each other and to America. Our old identities are now complete slaves. Let’s consider them fit only for the trash heap. They only helped us to get into this situation anyway and need to go the way of the dinosaur.”
“Good.”
“Your right.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“Then don’t do it. Use numbers or something else but never your real names. I’m telling you people, when your names start flying around, you will be caught. Now, some of you may not like what I am going to say next. Because of the sensitivity of our involvement here, we simply cannot afford for any of us to fall into the hands of the Red Chinese. Do you all agree?"
“Right.”
“I agree.”
“Me too.”
“Right.”
“Of course we can’t, the Chinese invented torture.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“It is obvious, isn’t it?”
“you mean...?”
“Yes. Suicide.”
“How?”
“Cyanide capsules ala World War Two.”
“Very quick.”
“Wait just a minute, I didn’t come here for this!”
“Me neither.”
“But... here we are. Gentlemen, it doesn’t matter what you think. If we are going to prevail we must be hard. We must be strong. This is not for the faint of heart. We must be as hard as our enemies. It is us or them. You are all very lucky just to be alive right now. Millions have already been murdered. Your life is just one more casualty waiting to happen. Make it count. Who here would like their life to actually count for something? Don’t answer. Just think about it and decide for yourself. It is entirely up to you. Do you think this is easy? Huh? Does anyone here think that going up against this almost immovable force is going to be easy? You are fools if you do. Most, if not all of us sitting around this table right now will not be alive a short time from now. The only thing we have is to make our last breath count. Why? To inspire other American patriots. To leave a legacy of courage and resistance against tyranny. You must be entirely willing to die at any second whether you understand why or not. Is that clear?”
“I suppose so.”
“Wow, I guess so.”
“Yes. Absolutely clear.”
“Hell no, that’s more bullshit. We are not like the Red Chinese!”
“Oh yes we are.”
“Speak for yourself.”
“I am speaking for myself and I am speaking for you and everyone here who is not fooling themselves about what is going on. We have become slaves. Captured. Our men, women and children murdered. Those who did this are our enemies. We must kill them anyway we can. Eradicate them off the face of the earth forever. That is justice my friends. Justice.”
“What about mercy?”
“After we kill all these bastards, then we can think about lollipops.”
“That’s rather cynical, isn’t it?”
“You damn right its cynical. You’d better be cynical too because if you are not, you will just fall into the slaughter line and be herded right to your death and the death of your loved ones. That means your life is completely wasted. That means you were weak. That means you didn’t have the guts to stand up and fight back. That means you have no balls. That means you’re a sniveling coward and DESERVE to be a boot licking lackey.”
“I guess you could look at it that way.”
“That’s the only way to look at it.”
“I see you are a military man.”
“Oh yes. I am a military man and an American. I will give my life for my country. I will not submit to tyranny and with my last bit of strength to pull a trigger I will kill the enemies of freedom and democracy.”
“Me too.”
“You can count me in.”
“Let’s do it!”
“All for one and one for all.”
“I am ready to die.”
“I will go on a suicide mission”
“Me too!”
“Okay, you two, here are your assignments.”
Bill handed a piece of paper to each of the two volunteers who probably didn’t know they were actually volunteering.
“After you read this, tear it into little pieces and swallow it. Understood?”
“Got it.”
“I will do it.”
“So... so far there are three of us willing to give their lives for their country. Any more volunteers?”
There was silence.
“Well, think about it and, of course, there will be more opportunities. Now, before we adjourn. I want each of you to take one of these little boxes and keep it on your person at all times.”
Bill dumped twelve small boxes out of a bag onto the table and everyone took one. Martin put his in a small vest pocket of his coveralls. He would have to think long and hard about that little box.
“What’s this?” someone asked.
“Listen up everyone. Read the instructions and familiarize yourself with them because when it becomes necessary you must know what to do. Oh, and remember to tear up those instructions and either burn them completely or swallow them.”
“Are those cyanide pills?”
“Well, they ain’t M and Ms.”
“Gentlemen, you have all had a good life and are among the fortunate to be sitting here now alive. But, there is work to be done. So, as we part and go back to our families for an afternoon of rest, always remember... America is counting on you. Don’t let her down.”
“Here here!”
“Thank you!”
“Now I feel perfectly clear!”
“Let’s get it on.”
“I’m gonna kill me a gook tomorrow bare handed!”
“You’d better be reasonable and not throw your life away.”
“You might want to stick around and take a look at that electogravitic ship coming in tomorrow. If we can blow up that motherfucker, it would be a great and glorious victory for America! Imagine how inspired all the patriots would be across our beautiful land.”
“Or, if we could find out how it works and how all this other super technology works, we might be able to end war all together once and for all, since the entire economy of planet earth would take a great leap forward and there would no longer be any need for oil, gas or coal.”
“There will always be those who exercise power because that’s nature.”
“I can’t imagine anything more important and valiant than standing up and being a man!”
“Without war, we would all become some very weak sisters.”
“Without war, righteousness would never prevail and evil would take over completely.”
“Surely you noticed that it already has?”
“Oh, not completely, but almost.”
“This discussion is utter trash!”
“Gentlemen, gentlemen. I know you are all snapping at the bit to get started and make a difference but we must control our emotions. Otherwise we will not be effective. Now, as we bid farewell, be prudent, be careful, watch your back, keep silent and... don’t do anything suspicious. Now we will adjourn. Everyone please go out the way you came in. Thank you all.”
The meeting dispersed. Martin and Courtney left by the front door as they had come in. Apparently the others left through the tunnel but neither Martin nor Courtney stuck around to watch.
As the two got ready to part and each go their separate ways, Marty said, “how can I learn remote viewing?”
Courtney looked at him and said, “4005 Capricorn, six blocks over that way, tomorrow evening.”
Martin nodded and they walked off in opposite directions.
Chapter Seven
Chp. 1 : Chp. 2 : Chp. 3 : Chp. 4 : Chp. 5 : Chp. 6 : Chp. 7 : Chp. 8 : Chp. 9 : Chp. 10 :
Chp. 11 : Chp. 12 : Chp. 13 : Chp. 14 : Chp. 15 : Chp. 16 : Chp. 17 : Chp. 18 : Chp. 19 :
