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Earth Keepers
Автор: Jorge Alejandro Lavera
Активность, связанная с книгой
Начать чтениеДлина: 671 стр.9 ч
- Издатель:
- Jorge Alejandro Lavera
- Издано:
- Mar 2, 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781547564101
- Формат:
- Книге
Описание
Humans destroyed my home thousands of years ago.
Now, they are destroying the world. It is time to stop them.
———————————————————————————————————
“I loved it. I read it as a strech because it is written with action and mystery continuously, and you can't stay in a chapter. It takes mythology and science fiction and mix them in an entertaining and easy-to-read style despite the multiple characters that you come to love (I almost cried with a couple of deaths) You will be surprised: there is terrorism, biotechnology, Atlantis mythology, aliens, etc. Not everything is what it seems and much of what you read will make sense in the end. If you like gender you will love this book." (Zue Dawzen)
"For lovers of science fiction, technology, moral dilemmas about society and mythology, this is a book that they will love. The author makes an incredible combination of fantastic and realistic factors where a coherent and sustained style stands out alongside an eloquent and clear narrative. Earth Keepers makes us reflect on how the human race lacks the necessary skills to save its own planet, little by little takes us into an apocalyptic paranoia that we do not know how will end and I will not tell you. It is a novel with a lot of substance that will keep you hooked for hours. You must not miss this story, don't overlook it, you'll love it." (Linda Astwood)
Активность, связанная с книгой
Начать чтениеСведения о книге
Earth Keepers
Автор: Jorge Alejandro Lavera
Длина: 671 стр.9 ч
Описание
Humans destroyed my home thousands of years ago.
Now, they are destroying the world. It is time to stop them.
———————————————————————————————————
“I loved it. I read it as a strech because it is written with action and mystery continuously, and you can't stay in a chapter. It takes mythology and science fiction and mix them in an entertaining and easy-to-read style despite the multiple characters that you come to love (I almost cried with a couple of deaths) You will be surprised: there is terrorism, biotechnology, Atlantis mythology, aliens, etc. Not everything is what it seems and much of what you read will make sense in the end. If you like gender you will love this book." (Zue Dawzen)
"For lovers of science fiction, technology, moral dilemmas about society and mythology, this is a book that they will love. The author makes an incredible combination of fantastic and realistic factors where a coherent and sustained style stands out alongside an eloquent and clear narrative. Earth Keepers makes us reflect on how the human race lacks the necessary skills to save its own planet, little by little takes us into an apocalyptic paranoia that we do not know how will end and I will not tell you. It is a novel with a lot of substance that will keep you hooked for hours. You must not miss this story, don't overlook it, you'll love it." (Linda Astwood)
- Издатель:
- Jorge Alejandro Lavera
- Издано:
- Mar 2, 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781547564101
- Формат:
- Книге
Об авторе
Связано с Earth Keepers
Отрывок книги
Earth Keepers - Jorge Alejandro Lavera
PIRACY
Earth
Keepers
––––––––
Jorge Alejandro Lavera
Failed Species
RAQUEL
Buenos Aires, November 13, 2013. 8:00 a.m.
Raquel Navarro was an electrical engineer with a doctorate in biochemistry. For ten years, she had run a secret research group in nanotechnology, specifically in the area of biological interaction. Her team was made up of the best scientists in the areas of biology, chemistry, medicine, engineering, computers, and materials. What they wanted was to develop some small robots that could be introduced into the bloodstream to interact with the body’s cells.
The first nanites they managed to develop were electronic but too big. While they could do some interesting things inside the body, they were very limited in autonomy and capacity.
Over the years their project had advanced a lot. For a while, they worked and tested programmable electrobiological nanites. This generation of robots was so small that they manufactured them by molecular assembly. The nanites were armed molecule by molecule and, because of their size, they could get into any cell of an organism as if they were a virus. Once in the cell, they could transform it by adding or taking things away, including modifying its DNA. In practice, the testing in a few mice had produced few results...generally lamentable ones. Even so, the company that had financed it from the beginning had never treated her badly.
Today she was resting at home, and although she was dying to go to her laboratory, she was under medical orders to rest because she still hadn’t recovered from the Cesarean section she’d had exactly ten days ago. It still hurt a lot every time she moved. However, she was getting up, and could use the computer for several hours. She was in permanent contact with her laboratory by videoconference.
The doorbell rang. Raquel was irritated. Moving was painful, and she wasn’t expecting anyone. Perhaps the mail carrier? She wasn’t expecting any mail. And it was early. Jehovah’s witnesses, maybe? She waited a moment—if it was a solicitor, maybe they’d leave. However, after a minute, the doorbell rang again.
She sat up slowly, and in pain, went to the door. She pulled her bangs out of her eyes and through the peephole saw a tall man in a gray suit and chauffeur hat.
Yes?
Raquel inquired.
Dr. Raquel Navarro?
asked the man at the door.
Raquel opened the door, and answered, Yes, that’s me.
One moment, please.
The man inclined his head, and almost ran to the car parked in front of the house. He opened the back door to let someone out. Raquel saw that he was tall and corpulent, wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. She recognized him.
The man, who had light hair with gray tones and an abundant curly beard, came up to her. His light green eyes took her breath away for a moment, but he held out his hand and said:
Nice to meet you, my name is Tzedek Zetos. I have the results of the DNA analysis you requested a week ago.
Raquel was surprised. Already?
Besides, the man didn’t look like an errand boy. Was there some problem? Is there bad news?
"Oh, no, Raquel thought.
Maybe what I feared is true, and out of delicacy, they sent him to tell me in person."
Tzedek put out a hand to reassure her. On the contrary. Please don’t worry. I saw your request and wanted to meet you in person. In the end, you’ve worked for me for years and we’ve never met.
Seeing Raquel’s bewildered face, he added: I’m the owner of Nanobiotec Corp.
Raquel opened her mouth and froze. Nanobiotec was the company that had financed her salary, her laboratory, and her research for years. That’s why she’d recognized the man, she’d seen him from a distance once years ago when he’d visited the laboratory. They hadn’t been introduced on that occasion.
Tzedek laughed. May I come in?
Raquel tried to pull herself out of her stupefaction, and finally succeeded. She gestured to Tzedek, who stopped as soon as he came in the door. The house was small and opened directly into what functioned as both dining room and office. One side of the room was taken up with a table and some chairs, and the other had a couple of desks with computers.
Is your husband home?
Tzedek asked.
Not right now. He’s at work, Mr.....Zetos?
Raquel asked, unsure.
Please. Everyone knows me as Tzedek. With a name like that, who needs a last name, right?
he answered, smiling. He took some folders out of his briefcase and put them on the desk.
Here are the results you requested. I understand you were worried about your daughter, correct?
Raquel looked embarrassed. Um, yes, a little bit.
In fact, you asked for proof of paternity. Were you afraid she wasn’t your husband’s daughter?
Tzedek looked at her pointedly.
Raquel turned red.
No! If you’re insinuating that I don’t know who the father is, of course not. What happened is that I was afraid she’d been switched at the hospital.
Tzedek raised his eyebrows. Ah, but why?
Well...mostly because of her eyes. My husband Juan Carlos and I both have dark brown eyes, the same as everyone in his family and mine. Sofía was born with very light green eyes, with yellow tones, very unusual. Similar to...well...yours, in fact.
Raquel said uneasily, feeling a chill.
Well, you can stop worrying. Sofía is without a doubt the genetic daughter of both of you. Look, here are the markers,
Tzedek pointed out, showing her the papers. Raquel relaxed a little and smiled.
Well, at least I have the certificate to prove it when people look at me suspiciously. And it will reassure my husband, although he hasn’t said anything...
Tzedek laughed again.
I’d certainly keep an eye on this girl’s development if I were you. Few people ask for DNA tests, and I took the liberty of asking for a complete test instead of the usual cheaper one, at my expense, of course. All three of you are very healthy and we don’t see any genetic problems.
The sudden cry of the baby was heard clearly.
Excuse me,
Raquel said, going to the bedroom. She picked up the baby from her crib and gently cradled her while she returned to the dining room. Sofía quieted down immediately.
I don’t know how to thank you, Mr. Tzedek. I don’t know why you went to so much trouble...
Raquel started to say, when Tzedek stopped her with a gesture of his hand.
Your work is very valuable to us. We’re following your progress all the time, and we know your ability and your team’s. I don’t want you to have any problems distracting you. And now, I won’t bother you any more, I just wanted to meet you and give you the good news.
Realizing that Tzedek was taking his leave, Raquel thanked him and walked him to the door, carrying her baby on one arm.
Sofía looked at Tzedek and seriously scowled, then looked at her mom and smiled at her.
Raquel, if you need anything, if you have any problem, don’t hesitate for a second to come ask me for help. Whatever it is, you can count on me,
Tzedek said as he left. Raquel saw him climb into the car that was waiting for him and for a moment she thought he was smiling. Suddenly he looked at her, became serious and waved good-bye as the vehicle started up.
Raquel waved back, looked at Sofía, and noticed that she was looking towards where Tzedek had gone, once again with a serious face and a frown. "How strange," she thought. When she went back in, she left Sofía in her crib and spent a few minutes looking at the folders with the analyses that Tzedek had brought. Everything looked good.
"Everything is fine, let it go," it seemed like a voice insisted in her head. And when she looked at her daughter again, she no longer cared about the color of her eyes.
HOODED MAN
Caracas, June 23, 2014. 2:35 a.m.
The man strolled through the city at night, as was his custom. Despite the heat, he wore a lightweight hooded jacket, which he wore over his head so that his face was barely visible. Passing through the entrance to an empty lot, he heard struggles, screams, occasional barking, and the cry of a baby. He looked everywhere and saw no policeman. Actually, he didn’t see anybody. He went closer.
Hey, friend, mind your own business,
said a guy who was at the entrance of the lot. His pants were stained with blood, and it was clear he’d participated in whatever was going on.
Oh, but this is my business,
said the hooded one, coming closer.
The man grunted and showed him a gun he was holding in his hand. The hooded one could see the whole picture now. In one corner of the lot, thrown naked on the ground among garbage and glass, was a woman. One guy held her arms and hit her in the head every time she tried to resist or scream. The other delinquent was naked and raping her, mounted on top of her. Everything was covered in blood. He saw bits of torn clothing thrown around. A few feet away there were a pair of motorcycles and a baby stroller, with a newborn baby crying, and a little dog tied to it, lying on the ground, moaning and barking every so often. It looked like they had kicked it or hurt it somehow.
There were just those three men. The surrounding houses were, of course, hermetically sealed.
What is it you don’t understand, friend? This is a private party. But since you’ve come by to visit us, you can pay the toll,
growled the evildoer, pointing the gun at the hooded man’s chest.
The man holding the woman’s arms was distracted, and she took the opportunity to get a hand free, with which she dug her nails into the face of the degenerate on top of her. She plunged her thumb in his eye and pushed with all of her might while the man let out a wild scream.
The guy holding the gun turned his head. In that fraction of a second, the hooded man took out the pistol he had in his pocket, aimed it at his chest and fired twice. The man yelled and pulled the trigger reflexively. The shot hit the hooded man in the shoulder, pushing him as if he’d been punched, but it didn’t hurt him. He grinned slyly while the other one clutched his chest and died as he fell to the ground.
The hooded man took a step forward and took the gun out of the man’s hand. The other two men had stopped, frightened. The one who had been holding the woman had got up and reached for his weapon, but it slipped from the blood on his hands. The intruder in the hood aimed, and again fired two times with precision, the first shot to the chest and the next to the head. Blood splattered the other guy who was holding his face. He left the woman and froze, staring at him with one eye.
Did you enjoy that?
the hooded man asked, looking him directly in the eye. The naked man grabbed his head, and the stranger said, I see.
He fired two quick shots at point-blank range into the man’s genitals. The guy collapsed to the ground, screaming.
He cocked his head as if listening to something, then asked, Why do you think you deserve an ambulance? Though it would be interesting to see how your life would go if you did survive. But don’t worry, the police will come in a little while.
He looked around. The streets were still empty, and the houses closed, and he added, shrugging, Or maybe not.
The woman was crying, and with great effort had curled up into a fetal position. She couldn’t move because of the pain; her body was full of cuts and bruises. She was bathed in her own blood, that came out between her legs, in front and behind, and from other places. She raised her head a little and looked at him with desperation through a half-closed eye. The other was swollen shut.
You won’t want to live with those memories, believe me,
he murmured, and shot her in the head. He went over to the baby stroller and without hesitation, fired his gun once more. The crying was cut short. Wild apes,
he muttered, shaking his head, and then sighed. He bent down to pet the dog, which backed away, frightened at the sight of his hand with six fingers.
Poor little thing.
He untied it and the dog half walked, half crawled towards the body of his owner and laid down there.
He shook his head. He made sure he wasn’t covered in blood, looked at the slaughterhouse before him, and looked around to make sure no one was there. Then he walked calmly away, leaving the moans in the distance.
He pulled off his hood, revealing a handsome face with neatly cut brown hair, no beard, and sky-blue eyes. He spent the rest of the night at the hotel. The next day, he paid the bill, and driving his sports car within the speed limits, left the city.
It would be one of the many unresolved crimes added to the statistics. When the police arrived, to their surprise one of the men was still alive. Unfortunately for the police, he didn’t say anything coherent (The devil got into my head, oh my God forgive me.
) Before they could take him, he bled to death. For a couple of weeks, there had been similar cases almost every night, and because of the description by distant witnesses, they were calling him ‘The Angel of Death.’
He’s beautiful like an angel,
an old woman told the police, but because of her age and poor vision, they could not take her testimony very seriously. Until now, they hadn’t found any pattern or one single clue to catch the killer. No fingerprints, no eyewitnesses, or motives. And they would never find them.
DECISION
Buenos Aires, May 24, 2016. 2:15 p.m.
Tzedek got the news on his private page. He had a small army of people he paid to very carefully read and select articles from the news services and the most important scientific sites. Their job was to find notes of interest to him, according to a list of subjects that he had provided them, verify their veracity, check it against all possible sources, and make sure beyond all doubt, even consulting with those involved or mentioned, that the news was true, and not speculation or fantasy like those which circulated so much on the internet.
Thanks to this system, he didn’t receive an avalanche of news all the time, but just a few every day. But he could be assured that each one of these few was true and verifiable, like the one he was reading now:
NOAA, May 23, 2016.
The symbolic limit of 400 ppm (parts per million) of carbon dioxide (CO2) was exceeded at the measuring station in the Antarctic for the first time in four million years. This limit had already been exceeded in the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii, but the distance from the South Pole to the main sources of CO2 emissions in the world had delayed the increase of the same there. Although CO2 does not directly determine global temperature, it’s an important factor in its increase. The furthest part of the southern hemisphere was the last place on Earth where CO2 hadn’t reached that mark,
commented Peter Tans, the chief scientist of NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network. Global levels of CO2 will not return to levels under 400 ppm during our lifetimes, and probably for much longer afterwards...
He quickly read the titles of the articles that he had to read.
2015 was the hottest year since temperatures were registered, and the first months of 2016 have already exceeded those.
The temperature of the ocean’s surface exceeds historical records.
The Arctic was eight degrees above the average in April.
17ºC confirmed at the Hope base in the Antarctic.
Ocean levels at their highest since record-keeping began.
Thirty-six consecutive years of glacier reduction.
Deadly heat wave and drought in the northern hemisphere.
He got angrier as he read the list. All of this in one day? When he reached the end, he smacked the desk. A cup of pencils fell to the floor.
He heard noises outside, light knocking on the door and the secretary asking, Is everything okay, Mr. Tzedek?
"Of course not! Everything is wrong, that’s how it is, damn it."
Everything’s fine, Violeta, something just fell. Go ahead with what you were doing.
The third screen showed the images from the security cameras, and he zoomed in on the one that showed the door of his office from the outside. He saw Violeta listening for a moment, then shrug and return to her desk. His secretary was not used to his fury. If she only knew what he was capable of, of what he’d done in the past, she wouldn’t have asked if everything was all right. She’d have gone running home. But of course, she didn’t know anything, and she was well paid. All of his employees were, since he had so much money it would be impossible to spend it all. He was so rich, he literally didn’t know how much money he had.
He rested his elbows on the desk, head in hands, grasping his hair and forehead. He missed Lonia. Everything was easier when Lonia helped him.
Uff,
he snorted. He put his hand on the right side of his desk, which activated a mechanism that lifted a console. He pushed a button and the door locked, not with a key but with a security system worthy of a vault. Another button, and polarized armored windows showed a beautiful view from the eighth floor, the top one of the building. Finally, he clicked an intricate key and a large panel opened on the wall to the left. From the space that was now in sight, a full desktop with three screens slid out, but instead of three computer screens, these were three enormous screens five feet tall.
He stood up to move his chair to face the new desk and sat in front of it. He pressed his hand on an unmarked space to the right of the desk and the screens lit up. A series of symbols lit up on the surface of the desk, while the screens filled with similar symbols. He pressed several sequences at high speed, both on the desktop and on the screens, observing new data chains. A map of the whole world appeared on the right-hand monitor, using the Goode projection, while the center screen showed the Earth as if it were seen from space. He pressed some symbols again, and a dozen red points lit up in both images. A label with a name appeared next to each point. The points were scattered all over the world, and no two were close to each other. He searched in Europe and pointed his finger at Spain. The globe went to the screen on the left, while on the center one an empty video screen appeared, with a message below in the same strange symbols. A few minutes passed, and the point he had pointed to turned blue and the video lit up. Tzedek reclined and closed his eyes. Suddenly he was in a white room, standing in front of a young and exuberant woman. It was a room without furniture, doors or windows, as if it were inside a white box.
Father,
said Althaea, except that what he heard was ‘πατέρας.’
Daughter, I really wish you’d come here with me.
They continued speaking in ancient Greek. The time has come. We’ve talked about it several times, and it can’t wait any longer.
Right this second? Can we at least wait five minutes?
Don’t be impertinent. You know this has been going on several years, but we should have done it decades ago. Now the damage is extensive and will be irreversible for centuries,
answered Tzedek, rubbing his beard.
Althaea sighed. Father, can I make you change your mind?
"We’ve gone over this time and again. Read the news, or go out to the street and interact, or better yet...go on the internet and you’ll see a sample of human stupidity in all its splendor, Althaea. There’s no fixing it. Human imbecility exceeds any positive force. If they all killed each other, it would be sad but nothing to worry about, but you know very well that they’re destroying the planet. Our planet, Althaea. You convinced me to wait until we implemented the internet, with the hope that they’d use it to better themselves...give them the opportunity to wake up and access all the knowledge of the species."
‘Who would waste the opportunity to increase their knowledge?’ you told me. Do I need to show you a social network?
Looking down, Althaea replied: You’re right, Father, it’s stronger than they are, and the truth is I’m sorry. How are you thinking about doing it?
There’s only one way I can think of to take care of the problem and you know what it is...
We already tried that and we failed, Father.
You know very well that our technology had deteriorated from being so old. Now we can use the new technology that we got them to develop and use it to our benefit.
Althaea sighed again.
As you wish, Father. What should I do?
Contact the others. Tell them what we’ve discussed several times now. First of all, we need to confirm my experiments.
I’ll do it,
Althaea said, looking sad.
Contact me directly when you’ve talked to everyone,
ordered Tzedek, and with a gesture interrupted the connection.
Althaea stared at the empty space: See you soon, Father.
Tzedek sat up and paced the room. He rubbed his beard again, a habit he had when he got nervous. He stopped suddenly when he realized it. Maybe he should cut it off. He went to the console and communicated with CERN.
How much do you think we still need?
Tzedek inquired once his technical contact was on the screen.
In the last test, we got to 14 TeV. For 200 MTeV, we’d need decades and many modifications, assuming everything goes well, that there are no accidents or sabotage, and that it’s possible.
And at the local level?
It works perfectly. We can’t do too many tests, but we transferred more animals and they arrived fine. This is going to revolutionize the world,
the technician exclaimed.
No, it won’t. Nobody is going to transport a package from one place to another in the world if they have to pay the equivalent of the electricity consumption for a complete nuclear power plant for months,
said Tzedek, though he knew he was lying. The military would kill for equipment like that. To be able to transport troops, soldiers, ammunition and supplies, whatever, from one side of the world to the other, instantly? It was the dream of every general, and every demented terrorist. That was a double-edged sword. Few applications, and most of them dangerous.
Maybe we’ll find a way to use less energy,
speculated the technician.
Maybe. But theory suggests not,
opined Tzedek, and hung up.
He paced the room once again. This more or less confirmed what he already knew, so there was no danger. On the one hand, he was disappointed, but at the same time he felt a great relief. They were still far from being able to create an interstellar portal. It seemed an impossible task, but he knew that it was not.
TRAGEDY
Buenos Aires, October 28, 2021, 2:00 p.m.
Doctor...Raquel Navarro?
the nurse asked.
Raquel nodded slowly. She was in a hospital bed, in an intensive care room. Her husband Juan Carlos was seated at her side.
Sign here, please. It’s the form to authorize organ donation.
Raquel looked at the pages, took the pen with difficulty, and signed the last page.
Thank you,
said the nurse, and then turned to Juan Carlos. Can you come with me for a moment?
In the hallway, the nurse advised him: It would be best if you speak with your wife to... say good-bye to your daughter. She has only a few hours left. The medication is at maximum now.
Juan Carlos nodded, and thanked the nurse. When he returned to the room, he looked at his wife for a moment, whose eyes were closed. Her face was cadaverous. A tube was in her nose to carry food to her stomach and a mask provided her with oxygen. A tube in her arm hydrated her and gave her the strongest analgesics there were, while several cables connected her to different monitors.
Juan Carlos was emaciated, too, but from tiredness. Hours spent by his wife, doing paperwork, taking care of his little daughter Sofía, almost eight years old, working. They’d been preparing for this for weeks, since they found out that the treatments weren’t working. Right now their daughter was at home, alone. At least they could leave her alone and not worry, since she was a very responsible little girl and able to take care of herself. He sat next to Raquel and rubbed her head gently, without waking her. It was hard to think that only six months ago, she’d had a mane of brown hair (the same color as his own hair) that reached her waist. After Sofía’s birth, she’d got weaker very slowly, so slowly that they hadn’t paid attention to it. They attributed it to lack of sleep, stress, anything but the real culprit. When she started having more serious symptoms, it was already too late. Everything had happened so fast that he still couldn’t believe it.
His cell phone vibrated, and he saw that it was a call from Pedro, his half-brother on his father’s side. He stood up, walked a few steps away so he wouldn’t bother his wife, and answered. After the usual greetings, Pedro told him:
Dad isn’t well. He won’t eat food any more. The doctor says his organs are failing and he has only a few hours left.
Dad is ninety years old. The last time I saw him, he didn’t know who I was. I’m sorry but Raquel...her death is imminent, they say she won’t last the day, and I have to go get my daughter,
said Juan Carlos, with a lump in his throat.
Juan Carlos, it’s Dad. You exist because of him, you can’t not come.
At that moment, he noticed a peculiar scent and he noticed that a very tall female doctor had come in, who woke up his wife and started talking to her in a low voice, but he got distracted by his phone call again.
Raquel needs me now, and this is the family I chose, not one I got without asking for it. I’m not going to abandon my wife right now when she’s about to die. And my daughter is a little girl who needs me now more than ever. I hope you understand.
Dad remembered you today. He asked me where you were. Come over because in a few hours you won’t be able to see him again and you’ll regret it.
Really? He’s awake? Can you put me on with him?
Juan Carlos hesitated.
He heard Pedro cover the phone, but he still hear him say:
Dad, Juan Carlos wants to talk to you,
and then heard the answer clearly.
Who?
After a few sentences he couldn’t understand, he tried to get his brother’s attention on the phone.
Pedro. Pedro!
Finally he came back on the line, and before he could say anything else, Juan Carlos told him:
If my wife dies while I was seeing Dad, I would never forgive myself. Never. That would be something I’d regret the rest of my life. I’m sorry, but no.
Always the same selfish you.
Pedro...
he started to answer. He was angry, indignant over his brother’s stupidity, but it wasn’t worth spending any more time on it. He noticed that the doctor who had come in before was gone. Good-bye,
he said, cutting him off, knowing that with that, he probably wouldn’t speak to his brother again for several years, if at all. Pedro wasn’t going to forgive him, and he couldn’t empathize with his brother’s lack of understanding. How could he expect him to leave his wife to go to his father’s death, who didn’t even know who he was? For him, his father had died a long time ago.
He quickly went to their house and came back with their daughter. On the way, he explained that it was time and her mother was finally going to stop suffering.
As soon as they got there, they both sat down, one on either side of Raquel. Sofía was not afraid, but took her mother’s hand and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Raquel barely smiled, but then made a gesture of pain. Juan Carlos looked at Sofía, so small and so mature at the same time. He couldn’t stand it anymore and began to cry.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door and a priest came into the room. Speaking to Juan Carlos, he said:
May God bless you, in your hour of pain. I’m here to administer the last rites to your wife.
Your services aren’t necessary, we aren’t Catholic,
explained Juan Carlos, a little annoyed by the interruption.
The priest raised his hands and reported:
There is also a rabbi in the hospital, if you need spiritual comfort that I cannot offer you.
Spiritual comfort? Please leave, Father. My wife is about to die and we don’t need spiritual comfort of any kind,
he commented angrily.
A slight blush rose on the priest’s cheeks who announced:
I see. Well, I hope that when she meets her Creator very soon, at least she’ll recognize that she should have believed in Him when she had the chance.
Are you crazy? Get out!
he shouted, losing his patience. Keep your mystical threats to yourself! Jerk. Leave before I kick you out,
he continued shouting, as he stood up and went over to the priest. He was six feet tall and bulky, so the priest retreated quickly. Juan Carlos slammed the door behind him, almost hitting him with it, and went back to his daughter.
Dad,
Sofía said with tears in her eyes. What if the priest is right?
If there were a god who created everything, daughter, he also created the pancreatic cancer that’s killing Mom, and also the pain that she’s suffering. A priest will never admit that to you, or he’ll tell you that ‘everything happens for a reason,’ or ‘God works in mysterious ways.’ The truth is there’s no excuse for it. An all-powerful god, in my opinion, would be a sick degenerate, observing all the evil in the world without doing anything about it. But don’t worry, he doesn’t exist. They are just myths so that people aren’t afraid of death.
Sofía pursed her lips, but didn’t say any more.
Raquel was conscious now, looking at Juan Carlos. Then she looked at Sofía, who came closer to her.
I don’t like the smell.
Sofía, I’m sure Mom doesn’t like it, either, don’t be mean to her.
A tear slid down Raquel’s cheek. She tried to slowly bring her hand to her face, and Juan Carlos rushed to her side.
Do you want to talk?
he asked her. Raquel nodded, and took a deep breath, followed by a moan of pain. They looked each other in the eye.
Juan Carlos went to the other side again. When Raquel was able to relax a little, he lifted the mask.
My daughter,
Raquel said with difficulty, I love you. I love you both. And Dad...is right. I...want...to stop suffering. Be good...with Dad,
and closed her eyes.
One monitor sounded an alarm, and then another. Juan Carlos put the mask back on immediately, but Raquel stopped breathing.
A nurse came running in, saw the monitors and then looked at Juan Carlos, who nodded before going back to the other side with his daughter. The nurse ran out, and he said:
Come on, Sofía, they’re going to take Mom for the ablation.
The nurse came back in with two stretcher-bearers, who transferred Raquel’s dead body to a stretcher, and they hurried away with her. The nurse took a moment to tell them:
My condolences. Take all the time you want, and when you’re ready, please go to Reception.
Juan Carlos hugged Sofía, who started crying with him. He couldn’t help but ask himself how he was going to handle raising a seven-year-old girl by himself.
Are you sure that Mom won’t be in heaven? When my school friend’s mom died, she said it was better because her mother was in heaven, watching her from there.
Juan Carlos again felt that fury that he’d repressed and tried to control himself.
Sofía...daughter, Mom is better because she isn’t suffering any more. Sometimes it’s better to die than suffer for no reason. And in some way, she will be alive in our memories. When you remember Mom, the love she gave you, the good and the bad things, her talents and her failures, she will be alive in your mind.
At that moment, he would have given everything he had and what he didn’t have, too, to be embraced by his wife and daughter, instead of just by his daughter. And that’s why he hugged her harder, while the tears fell.
Dad...
What, daughter?
What’s thablation?
Juan Carlos was shell-shocked for a second, and then couldn’t help but smile over his daughter’s confusion.
It’s ‘ablation’ and it means, that since Mom isn’t using them anymore, they will take out some of her organs that still work, like her eyes or her kidneys, and they’ll use them to save the life of another person, who is sick and their organs don’t work.
Sofía made her mouth into a big O.
You mean that there are people who use dead people’s parts?
Yes, but the organs they use aren’t dead. Mom died because her brain, what is ‘her,’ died, but some of her body parts can still save other people. But to do that, they have to take them out right away, before they die, too.
I understand,
Sofía said. So, really, part of Mom is still alive...can we see the people who will have parts of Mom?
For me, it’s enough to know that even in death she saved other lives, but if it’s important to you, I’ll find out if it’s possible.
Sofía sighed and hugged him again.
I’m going to miss her so much.
Of course. Me, too.
Are you going to get married again? Some of my friends, and in the movies, when a mom dies, the dad gets another one.
Juan Carlos looked at her and seeing her pursed lips, supposed that Sofía was jealous.
A mom isn’t something you buy at the supermarket, Sofía. Though you don’t understand it now, I don’t think I could fall in love again. At least, not for now,
he answered. Then they started picking up Raquel’s things that were left in the room.
His cell phone vibrated. He looked and saw there was a text from his half-brother. It was a long message, and with a quick glance he saw that it included words like ‘he died,’ ‘selfish,’ ‘loser,’ and ‘son of a bitch.’ He didn’t bother reading it. He archived it and turned off the phone. "There are still a lot of formalities ahead," thought Juan Carlos, and remembering his father and his wife, sighed. Now he was alone and he had a daughter. As a first step, he had to arrange things in order to work at home. Being a programmer, he shouldn’t have any problems being able to do that.
MEETING
Buenos Aires, October 29, 2021. 2:00 p.m.
Tzedek watched the screen while little by little the points on the map turned from red to blue. In a little less than ten minutes all but one had turned blue. Finally, Althaea’s changed to blue, too. He gestured, and the three screens divided into four parts, each screen showing a different person, and he could see himself in the first one. Each of the others had a similar set up and could see it at their end, together with all the others. Finally, he sat down, closed his eyes, and found himself in the white room in a circle with the others.
Thank you for coming,
said Tzedek, in ancient Greek.
You know we don’t have much choice, so save yourself the hypocrisy and get down to business, I have a lot to do,
Halius protested.
Halius, please, can we go even one minute without one of your stupid fights?
Damaris interjected.
You can call it hypocrisy if you want. For my part the feeling is sincere and you know it, Halius. This wasn’t a courtesy call, I’ve called this meeting because you must prepare yourselves and I don’t want to repeat it ten times. We’ve already discussed it, and the time has come.
Please, Tzedek, how many times have we gone over this? It didn’t work before, I don’t see how it’s going to work now,
objected Nikaia.
If I’m remembering right, it was Nogah who assured me that helping them develop technology wasn’t going to end in disaster. And nevertheless, here we are. But this time it isn’t a continent in danger but the entire planet. Do I need to remind you after so many years what our objective is?
Tzedek, many of them are as intelligent and sensitive as we are, despite their limitations. Are we going to throw all that away?
Nogah argued.
My intention is to leave those who are worthwhile unharmed. We know how to do it. And if my plan is carried out, we’ll have more than enough time to do it. We know that they’re destroying our planet. And the advances being achieved no longer justify what we’re losing.
The others looked at each other.
They’ve been violently destroying it for more than two hundred years, why act right now? You say we’re not even close to our goals, but renewable energy, particle accelerators, genetic engineering and space exploration are converging right where we want to go,
Halius questioned.
That’s true, but you know very well that there are only a few thousand of our elements against billions of...parasites. The planet doesn’t have that many years. What’s more, if you’d been looking at the climate studies, you would have noticed we’ve already passed several irreversible thresholds, and even acting right now, it’s too late to reverse most of the climate change and water pollution. All we can hope is to save the best and try not to lose what we’ve achieved so far. Our planet will be very different in the coming years, and we will have to look for special places to survive,
insisted Tzedek.
But Father, they’re making huge efforts, what about the electric cars, solar panels, wind engines, and all that progress?
What the hell good are thousands of electric cars with hundreds of millions of gas burning ones? The plan was that they would run out of oil fifty years ago to force them to develop sustainable systems, but they continued to discover deposits and refining their extraction techniques!
shouted Tzedek, gesturing towards Althaea. His hand went through her arm. Yes, it’s true, some humans have a conscience—they are exactly the ones we need to save. The others are a burden, a cancer on the planet and for us.
And how are we going to do that, exactly?
asked Ponteus, intrigued.
The complete plans are in the computer and each of your parts in it.
We saw that. Do you realize that the logistics of maintaining these cities in secret, especially when they start to become populated, will be almost impossible? What happens if they launch a missile at us?
Niobe said, worried.
Marsan gave her a fake smile and pressed his lips together.
"You know we have technology, money, and resources to do all we want and more, Niobe. You’re not idiots. Do what I ask. This time it has to go well. The design of the plan has been underway for five years. Everything is already thought out to the last detail. In six more years I want to see everything finished. That’s an order. Now proceed.
They all inclined their heads, saying in unison:
Yes, Tzedek.
Tzedek gestured, the room dissolved and all the screens went out. He stayed awhile looking at the blank monitors. He was confident that he was doing the right thing, but so many things could go wrong, a chill ran down his back.
He forced himself to remember that the most important thing was his mission, and that everything else was secondary.
CORRUPTION
Buenos Aires, January 2, 2026. 2:00 p.m.
Like everyone else, Juan Carlos used web services and programs from government agencies, and he wanted to cry every time he did. Knowing that he could do much better, months ago he had applied to offer his services to the government. He’d been asked for background information, guarantees, demonstration programs, and many other things until in the end he was called for an in-person interview, to which he was now going.
Leave your cell phone here,
a secretary told him before sending him into the office of the systems manager, Miguel Martínez.
Miguel was young. He had him sit down and had him waiting awhile, while he reviewed some papers. In addition, he was smoking, which was prohibited in government agencies. Juan Carlos was sure he was doing it on purpose to make him nervous. The bad thing was, it was working.
Well, you know. Let’s see, your proposal is to make a system employing fewer people and taking less time. That doesn’t benefit anyone,
Miguel said.
Seriously? It benefits the State, which will pay less money to have a better quality product in less time.
The State is everyone. If we have to lay off hundreds of employees in the systems area, the State is harmed because they are part of it. We have more families without work, in a bad mood, and they are not going to vote for us.
We could teach them to work in the new system...
Teach them?
interrupted Miguel with a sarcastic laugh. I see you’ve never worked with public employees,
he commented, looking through his papers. No. What we must do here is incorporate their men as an external team. Of course we must discuss the guarantee, the maintenance they will get, and our part.
Our part?
Of course...the ‘return,’ friend. Or why do you think they should choose your work instead of any of the other hundreds of providers?
Because as we demonstrate, our product is better.
That’s fine, but people are obligated to use the systems. It doesn’t matter if they’re excellent or crap, if they complain there will be more of an opportunity to hire people in the complaints area. And Globalixte, our current provider, gives us 50% of what it charges to distribute among all involved,
Miguel said with a wink.
Juan Carlos sat with his mouth open.
What? 50%? If I took that out of what I charged, I wouldn’t even cover my costs.
Ah, then you’ve miscalculated your price. It’s not my fault if you submitted such a cheap offer.
Juan Carlos stopped cold.
Besides, I see you plan to use a little-known development language for the job,
Miguel said, shaking his head. It has to be in a recognized Microsoft language.
It’s impossible to do the work in the budgeted time in Microsoft languages, this is a code generator that is much more efficient and reliable, because it avoids...
Miguel interrupted him:
Microsoft brings us millions of pesos in support and free products...not to mention the ‘personal’ monetary aid. We can’t afford to leave them out.
But...it isn’t the right tool for...
Let’s do this—think about it and resubmit the offer. Keep in mind the figures I mentioned to you, and let’s move on,
Miguel finished, standing up.
Juan Carlos understood that he was being thrown out, so he stood up. Miguel didn’t offer him his hand, so he didn’t, either, and on leaving the office, retrieved his cell phone. He realized then that they had kept it not to avoid interruptions, but to avoid possible hidden recordings.
When he got home, Sofía was waiting with lunch already prepared. Juan Carlos dropped his things, sat down and took his cup, thoughtful. He looked at his daughter and saw that she was looking at him, so he smiled at her.
Hello, daughter.
Hello, I was wondering if I was invisible or what. What’s up?
Sofía asked, as she came up and gave him a hug.
What happened was that I got a hard reality check. I thought I could make a difference, but they put me in my place.
They didn’t like your system?
she asked, sitting by his side.
Yes, they did, but the place is, as I’d feared, a rat’s nest. They’d never let me implement my system there. They want me to do it in an inefficient language, with people who don’t know the job, and it isn’t possible under those conditions. They are going to steal millions from the budget thanks to that, and even if I get some of that, they’ll blame me when things don’t go as specified in the design, because of them, of course. On the other hand, it’s a lot of money,
he calculated, looking at his mug.
We need the money...are you sure it’s as bad as you think?
She got up to get her cup and plate.
Look, the only way to know for sure is get into it and do it, but the indications I have are the system they’re running now, which is very bad, and the experience I had in the interview. The guy was so corrupt it seemed like a joke. Unfortunately, it isn’t,
Juan Carlos said thoughtfully.
And you don’t think you could change things once you’re working there with the people?
she asked as she came back to his side, this time with her lunch.
They’ll never let me talk to the people, that was pretty clear when I suggested we could make things better with training. No, and I was thinking that I’m sure that they take a cut from the salaries of those poor devils, too. There’s a reason they have so many doing so little. Moreover, it’s possible that many of them only collect a salary to give their share to these guys, and don’t know anything about systems. The only way to change that would be from within and with absolute power. A supplier will never be able to change anything, I don’t know who it would be.
Wouldn’t that be the Systems Chief you talked with?
she asked, and started to finish her sandwich.
Maybe, but who knows how far the corruption goes? Let’s suppose that I was the Systems Chief, and I fired who needed to be fired and changed what needed to be changed. Besides that, I would surely have to face the threats and lawsuits from the unions, the press, internal sabotage, and what happens if the AFIP boss comes next and tells me that I’m crazy and forces me to undo everything? Or worse, they fire me and undo everything anyway.
He reflected while he drummed the fingers
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