Convergence - The Last Science #2.2 - Heroes and Villains

B2: Chapter 34 - Rook Takes Knight - I

  "The decision makers are always a layer above. No matter how high you might climb in the ladder, there is always another level to reach. The world has been structured for a long time, and the rungs exist to keep us in our place. Any attempt at independence will inevitably be crushed—not by active effort, but by the simple truth that none can truly break a system when they've never known anything beyond it, when nature itself prods civilization toward certain outcomes.

  The only way out is through total systemic change—the kind which republics and tyrants alike fear, that which shakes democracies and oligarchies to their core. Such change has never existed in history, for such change requires a fundamental shift in the laws of the universe, else the universe will perpetually drive society back to the same basic structures again and again, simply out of convenience.

  That shift has come. We are the change."

  ~Cinza, the Rallsburg Diaries

  The jeep burst out of the trees onto the open road, skidding across the pavement. Makoto scrambled on the wheel, trying to correct it—in the wrong direction. They slid even further, wheels skipping across the frosty asphalt.

  Goddammit. "Turn into the skid!" Jeremy shouted, covering his phone speaker for a second. Makoto did so, and soon the jeep had steadied out. They shot down the road, travelling away from the chopper far to the north, quickly becoming a distant speck in the sky.

  "Standby for connection, Agent Ashe."

  "Hurry the fuck up," he growled. "And have that chopper ready to meet us!"

  Jeremy glanced over his shoulder to the back seat. Kendra Laushire was taking deep breaths, her hand right on top of her lungs as if she were having difficulty breathing. Cinza leaned over her, making a gesture with her hands.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Helping oxygen move into her lungs," Cinza replied, her echoey voice audible even over the roaring engine and the chirps in Jeremy's ear.

  "Ashe, you're live with tactical."

  A radio click, and then Jeremy was suddenly hearing the traffic net for the Washington Air Traffic Control.

  "Say again, unidentified helicopter. You are ordered to divert immediately to SeaTac and disembark all passengers. Please respond."

  Kendra coughed behind him. "What's happening?" she asked, her voice ragged.

  Jeremy muted the microphone on his end. "ATC's ordering the chopper to land at SeaTac." He glanced at Makoto. "Speed it up."

  Makoto nodded, gunning the engine. Jeremy unmuted his phone. "This is Ashe. I'm in a black jeep heading south on Highway 101. Need immediate pickup and dust-off for four persons at..." He glanced at a passing road sign. "Brockdale. Right fuckin' now."

  "Affirmative, Agent Ashe."

  A different voice cut in, much deeper and with a much higher-quality sound—like a whole room instead of the traffic controller. "This is Washington. Please advise on current situation."

  ...Holy shit. This escalated fast. "...Say again, Washington? You know the fuckin' situation."

  Another voice—one instantly familiar to Jeremy. "Ashe, this is President Stafford. I've heard a lot about you in the last couple months."