The Mendelssohnian Theory: Action Adventure, Sci-Fi, Apocalyptic ,Y/A (8 page)

Just like every morning over the past few weeks, Adam was thrown
out of his bed by Sergeant Clay, who urged him with short, sharp commands to
squeeze into a training outfit and show up within exactly four minutes and
twenty seconds on the entrance floor of the organization’s secret training
facility. It was a subterranean hangar south of the city of Ipswich, England,
secluded and cloaked by identiruptors, (identification disruption ©), which
prevented its discovery by hostile elements, including the police and the
European army. Elizabeth had sent Adam there during the course of his training,
and the place was supposed to serve as his home for the next twenty-one
weeks.

Half an hour later, Adam was already cursing in his heart
Elizabeth, himself and the weight he had to carry on his back while running up
the mountain, which appeared endless to him. Greenwich, the military training
robot (Military Training Robot ©), colored green and khaki for camouflage,
sailed effortlessly by his side. The robot, which served as the sergeant’s
assistant, read Adam the time and progress rate required of him. Adam was nine
and a half seconds behind schedule and found it hard to believe anyone in the
world would have managed such a pace while carrying a load twice his own body
weight. Upon reaching the mountaintop, he stood, respiring heavily, and viewed
the road he had passed. In spite of his aching body, he felt proud of managing
to accomplish his mission, even if he was behind time. The strained physical
activity could not relieve the pain of his loss, but at least it tired him
enough to make him think of Naomi less. His responsibility for her death had
tortured him, and every time he sat inactive by himself, his sense of guilt
threatened to swallow him whole. That was why he was happy with the exhausting
training that forced him to concentrate on the pain caused by the physical
strain he felt in his muscles and his body.

The sergeant got off his hover-bike (Trembling Jet ©) and
gave Adam a pitiful look. “You must be very proud of yourself,” he told Adam,
who smiled at him through the veil of tiredness that enveloped his head, “move
on to the next stage,” the soldier added and pointed ahead. Adam’s face
twisted. It was an entirely different plan with entirely different weather
conditions. In front of his eyes, as if from nowhere, a forested swamp area
gradually manifested itself. At the same time, the place where they were
standing began to change. The temperature rose, the sunlight intensified and
the air became humid and vaporous. The snow was gone, the land straightened
itself and Adam balanced himself so as not to trip. He immediately knew that he
would have to cross the swamp now in order to complete the morning training
session and earn a good meal and some rest. The sooner he completed the task,
the longer his rest time before the afternoon mental sessions followed by the
hand-to-hand combat sessions that he loved and eagerly awaited. He took off his
clothes, leaving only the protective suit that covered his skin, a t-shirt, and
comfortable army pants.

The large training complex included the latest practical foglet
(Foglet Value’s ©) chambers on the market. Those were large simulators equipped
with swarms of replicating nanorobots (Nano Robots Swarm ©) of various types.
With a single metaphoric press of a button, the nanoswarms could imbue the
training course with the qualities of any work or fighting environment,
according to the selection of the device’s programmers. This wasn’t a virtual
reality of the type common in the previous century. The blurring swarms were
‘the real thing’. The reality created in the Foglet Chambers, as they were
called, was real to both the physical body and the senses.

“Come on,” said the sergeant, “let’s get a move on.” And Adam
did, cursing but moving on.”

When he returned to his room, it was already way past
noontime. He undressed, took a shower and then, while standing naked in front
of a narrow mirror hung carelessly on one of the walls, examined his body.
During the four months he’d spent in the training complex, he had received a
series of nano and micro material injections. He was told that the nanocells
would take some time to become fully productive and synchronized with his body
and therefore, it could very well be that he would feel weak during the weeks
following the injections. In any event, he’d been told by the base’s medical
staff that, as long as the central brain implant is inactive, the miniature
robotic cells would not manifest their full power.

Adam got dressed and headed out to the classroom, where the
afternoon studies were about to take place under the tutelage of Elizabeth. She
had reached the secret training complex a few weeks after him, and he was happy
to discover she was to be his guide. He loved taking lessons with her and loved
spending time with her. She instilled a sense of calm and tranquility in him,
even though she always demanded that he make more of an effort and her demands
seemed exaggerated and beyond his abilities. Elizabeth thought differently. She
believed in him and an iota of her belief had finally clung to him.

“I see you’ve managed to survive the sergeant’s morning
training session again,” Elizabeth welcomed him with a smile. Clay had already
updated her with today’s results and that the boy’s progression rate was
satisfactory. The nanocells were spreading in his body and assisted in the development
of his muscles. His health was excellent; his senses began to improve and were
almost at the edge of their basic capabilities. Soon the brain implant will
become operational and will interface with them in perfect functional harmony.
Elizabeth wondered what would happen to Adam after the interfacing process is
completed. Will the Mendelssohnian chain he is destined to complete finally be
revealed? Will he be the answer to all humankind’s troubles, or will he simply
be revealed as another false messiah? ‘What if it’s all just one big mistake?’
she thought to herself. She was worried for him and had concerns for his life
and the lives of the people who trusted them and cooperated with them, even
though they were aware of the fact they were risking their lives. Of course,
she did not share her worries with Adam and hid her concerns about his shrouded
future from him. “Have you already practiced the use of the radius processor
(Radius Processing Unit ©)?” she asked.

Adam raised his arm and examined the subcutaneous touch
screen on his middle finger. He tapped the screen and Elizabeth’s hand shook.
She examined his arm and smiled with satisfaction, ‘I’m a fast learner’ the
message the boy had sent her said. That was right; he was fast. During the course
of the following two hours, Elizabeth practiced with him the use of various
instruments added to the collection of improvetegrated abilities of his body
and mind. “Don’t think,” Elizabeth said, “act!” And Adam attempted to put his
mentor’s constant mantra to practice.

When his head began to ache and he began to scratch his
dehydrated eyes, Elizabeth concluded the practice and sent him to the
hand-to-hand combat hall. It was another Foglet Chamber, converted into a
boxing ring. Sergeant Clay would sometimes serve as his sparring partner, but
more often, the chamber itself would create his rivals. Some of the blurred
androids were human, others were predators and sometimes, when the right mood
would strike the sergeant, he would combine a man and an animal in a single
body. This time, it was a man who faced him. The simulated man, tall, blue-eyed
and cropped hair, examined Adam with indifferent tranquility, but Adam knew he
was at least as tense as he was. The man’s serenity was almost total and Adam
felt a slight shiver of fear pass down his back. He shook his head and
concentrated on the figure in front of him. The man moved to attack mode and
Adam also moved to a defensive-offensive posture. His suit became active automatically.
The man attacked and Adam was amazed by his speed. He barely managed to evade
the experienced warrior. Something in the man’s movements and efficiency as he
spun around the ring, seeking his adversary’s weak points, seemed too real to
Adam. Adam was shorter than his Competitor was and more agile. The fear that
filled his heart sharpened his senses. He misled the warrior with a precise
kick to his right foot and immediately turned around and with his other leg
kicked the center of his body with great force, or at least aimed a kick to
where his adversary’s body was supposed to be, the warrior was faster than Adam
and managed to evade the second blow. He immediately jumped to his feet,
grabbed Adam and threw him beyond the ring. Adam fell to the ground, outside
the fighting area. He arrested the blow with a somersault and jumped up into a
defensive position. In the corner of his eye, he spotted the body of Sergeant
Clay, his throat slit, and immediately he realized the battle was not just
another training game, but a fight for his life. He broke outside the sensory
foglet chamber and ran along the narrow corridor, lined with many doors, which
surrounded the underground training hangar. He heard the warrior running behind
him and increased his pace. While running, he sent Elizabeth a warning message.
It will probably be confused and illegible, but he hoped Ellie would realize
the danger he was in and come to his aid. If only he could manage to reach the
morning training complex, he might be able to create a confusing reality and
evade his pursuer. A door opened to his left just as he passed it and two
additional men emerged from behind it and joined the first pursuer. Adam
reached the sensory blurring chamber and managed to lock himself inside, a second
before his chasers reached it. He hurried to the control unit and randomly
selected one of the patterns that appeared in front of his eyes. The chamber
began to change with a smooth and sweeping motion. Residential buildings
appeared from nowhere, alleyways stretched horizontally and vertically,
skyscrapers pierced the sky, the scents and sounds of the city struck his
senses and urban darkness filled all that he saw with shadows. He rummaged
behind the command box and pulled out two thick microchips. The vision blinked
for a moment, then steadied. Now his pursuers won’t be able to change the
pattern of the nanocells in the sensory foglet space. He did not think he would
be able to evade them but hoped that his flight would give Elizabeth and her
people enough time to come to his aid. If only they would come.

Adam did not wait to see his pursuers shatter the door he had
locked just seconds ago, but jumped into the imprint of the darkened city and
disappeared into its alleys.

The three pursuers spread between the city streets, covering
equal sized areas. They advanced in a systematical and orderly manner so that
nothing would elude their senses. Whenever one of them reached an intersection,
he turned away from the group. In that way, they were able to spread out
simultaneously in a fan-like formation across several alleys while distancing
themselves from one another. The right-hand pursuer advanced slowly down a
darkened alley. His eyes, which were in tactical mode, identified movement.
Statistical data, target size, and distance estimations appeared on his
eyepiece screen. He continued to advance slowly toward the living body that was
apparently standing motionless. When he reached a distance of six feet from the
target, he lunged toward it and caught his prey. To his surprise, an oversized
alley cat fought him and scratched his cheek. He emitted a high-pitched scream
and pushed the cat away from him. Before he was able to stand up, a well-aimed
blow to his throat knocked him on his knees and blocked his windpipe. The image
of Adam could momentarily be discerned in the shadows, then the pursuer’s mind
clouded and he fell on his side. Adam hurried to return to the darkness and
quickly distanced himself from the body lying on the ground. He knew this
wasn’t a training game and every mistake would be accompanied not only by
painful punishment, but with certain death. He waited below an iron staircase
and watched the place from which he estimated another pursuer might come to the
aid of his friend, following the scream he emitted just before he’d been
neutralized. He stood still and tried to appear as small as possible. Only the
rustling sound of the wind accompanying the blow that was aimed at him had
saved his life and he managed to evade the hand that attempted to kill him. He
rolled aside, spraining his shoulder during the evasive maneuver, attempting to
spring toward the darkness, but hands sent from somewhere forcefully grabbed
his neck and attempted to strangle him. He tried to release himself in spite of
the waves of pain his shoulder was sending down his hand. The nanocells began
to operate in the damaged area and he felt their itch. He forcefully stepped on
the attacker’s leg who groaned with pain, then bit the hand that’d grabbed him.
The man released his hold and jumped back, but clung to Adam’s shirt. Adam lost
his footing and that gave the man an opportunity to regain his balance and grab
him while hitting his face. Adam protected himself as well as he could from the
blows and tried to release himself, but a stronger blow to his head stunned
him. At the same moment, an unusual sensation began to pass through him.
Electrical heat waves washed his body, which toughened and filled with energy.
The attacker was stunned. His prey’s body became larger and wider in front of
his eyes. In the darkness, Adam’s eyes glittered with unnatural light, and the
man recoiled, feeling the young man looking at him, through him, around him,
penetrating his body and seeing straight into his soul. He felt his soul tear
from his body and draw into the eyes of his rival. For a moment, he loosened
his hold on Adam before regaining his composure and resuming his attack. This
inch of hesitation was all that Adam needed. All at once, his mind had cleared
and ordered the rest of his body to act brutally. With a swift and smooth
motion, beyond human capabilities, Adam twisted his wrists and released himself
from his enemy. He rose to his feet, lifted his attacker with his healthy hand
and threw him against the wall of the nearest house. The thrown attacker hit
the wall, his head bent unnaturally and he fell down. Adam approached him,
checked, just as he was instructed during his training in the foglet simulator
and discovered that the man was dead. A part of him was stunned and frightened by
the deed he had done for the second time – he killed a man, took the life of
someone who was alive a moment ago and was now lying motionless at his feet,
while another part kept analyzing the situation and seeking escape routes.
Possible solutions with a higher probability for a successful outcome appeared
as data on his eye-screens.