The Destroyer

Chapter Twelve

Lola enlisted thousands of volunteers and they were trained to facilitate the intake of new people into the system. They worked tirelessly to absorb as much of humanity as possible, right up the last minute, which was approaching in just days. There was a last minute swell in interest that far outstripped their capacity. Lola had suspected this would happen, as everyone started to see the logic in playing it safe, despite their difficulty in imagining such a horrific conclusion to the world. Unlike many predictions of the end in past generations, this time there was a prescription, something that could be done. This fact, along with fear, drove the crowds to the induction centers all over the world.

There was even an alternative solution that was released by a tech company months earlier, but it was in limited supply and very expensive. It allowed the privileged and powerful to gain an edge over Lola's allocation process. She wasn't happy about it, but ultimately she favored more people saved, no matter what the means. So while the wealthy sat back in their private dwellings, recalibrating over cocktails and deep tissue massage, the masses frantically tried to get themselves and especially their children into a seat before it was too late. Lola had this to say, to the collective of the already uploaded, all thirty million or more.

"Most of you still live in your bodies as well. You should be aware of what to expect. Levels of ozone will spike as the winds from the east come in following the gamma ray burst. It will be a gradual rise at first. You will experience some throat pain, sinus discomfort, a burning sensation. Your eyes will also feel irritated. After that, within minutes to a few hours at the most, your condition will worsen dramatically and you will experience debilitating pain and ultimately suffocate as the inner linings of your lungs fill with blood from the erosion of the tissue surfaces. If you have any hesitation or doubt, wait until the GRB event is confirmed. After that, if you are on the eastern seaboard, you will have a few hours to consider your options. To the west, people will have more time. California will have the longest wait, maybe a full day. By then, the ozone will come in over land from the east and from the ocean to the west, coming in from Asia."

"Do yourself a favor. Have a plan, and the means to take your biological life. Otherwise, the suffering will be cruel and unnecessary."

*****

Below ground, Avery Balanson verified the final arrival of personnel and initiated the process of sealing off the entrances. Military personnel topside, meanwhile secured the surface entrance and backed away to a safe distance. A countdown began. Moments later in a nearby town, the ground shook and there was a sizable report coming in from the direction of the nearby military facility. The local Sheriff of Arthur, Nebraska and the fire department stood at the ready, waiting for some call for assistance. It never came. After an hour, several Sheriff's cars and a few fire and rescue vehicles, under orders from the town mayor, proceeded down the twenty mile county road to the site. There was still a dispersed but visible plume of dust in the air.

As the line of vehicles neared the site, a convoy of military vehicles suddenly approached from the opposite direction and went speeding bye without stopping. This only added to their curiosity, as they closed the distance to the guard house. There was no one manning the checkpoint and the gate was locked. The cars and trucks all pulled up haphazardly, stirring up a big dust cloud and got out of their vehicles. "Lyle? You got some bolt cutters?" The sheriff directed toward one of the fire and rescue men nearby.

"Yessir," he declared and sprinted toward the back of his vehicle, now excited as he realized what the Sheriff had in mind.

They all drove in through the gate and minutes later arrived at the location where the only gathering of buildings stood. Some of the men had been in here before and they noticed that the largest of the structures, a hangar-sized shed, was gone. What was once the shed, was now stacked and piled nearby in heaps. There were a few pieces of heavy equipment that were working feverishly, filling in what looked like a large crater where the shed once stood. One of the operators stopped his massive excavator and climbed down and walked toward the confused first responders.