The Next Stage: Chapter One: All Points Bulletin

By James K. Wadley

Set in the distant future, human-kind has evolved by 1% and super-human abilities such as flight,telepathy, and energy projection are as common as our 5 other senses. Enter Bryyan Jacksson and Lynnea Misaki, two strangers who mutually discover that the all-powerful upper-class families that control the politics and economics of the new global market are corrupted and self-serving beyond the level of criminal. Caught between the power struggles between the Orchards, the Risollos, the Langleys, and the Hallmarks, Bryyan and Lynnea randomly encounter each other as kindred victims of the mafia-style class warfare. They agree to join forces, his hi-tech weapons and gadgets and her ability to control magnetic fields, to stop a single criminal, the utterly insane free-lance hit-man known only as Phoe, and expose the under-world dealings that are supposedly necessary to keep the social structure working.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James K. Wadley
• Release date: Jul 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301830619

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The Next Stage

Chapter One: All Points Bulletin

James K Wadley

Copyright 2013 by James K Wadley

Smashwords Edition

In order to survive the high speed progression of technology, the human brain evolved by 1%: over 90% of the human population has developed genetic extras, abilities that a hundred years earlier would have been considered magic. The power to fly, or heightened strength, or telekinesis, are as common as being able to see or speak, and these abilities have become specialized through familial blood-lines and environmental necessity, and there are a spectrum of variations. Even those born with physical and mental handicaps have the extras, compensating for their weaknesses and giving them greater social value.

Ushered into a post-computer era of self-reliance, this slightest of evolutions has given new meaning to the human condition: homelessness, war, mass starvations, and many other curses on man-kind are cured, and violent crime is rare because everyone now has an ability to defend themselves with. To deal with the sudden surge in empowerment to the masses, the world governments came together and strengthened the United Nations into a global economic and military leadership organization (a little self-control, it was democratically agreed, was better than no control at all). Many technologies stagnate as scientists focus their attention on humanity’s natural genetics and pure physiologies, but the desire for entertainment media and news culture still exists to perpetuate consumerism.

The world has never been more at peace. Humans have proven once again why we are the dominant species of life on this planet. This is the next stage of our ascension to ultimate superiority.

T H E N EX T S T A G E

Chapter One: All-Points Bulletin

Bryyan Jacksson waited patiently behind some palettes of stacked boxes. For the last three hours he had remained hidden in this spot, a warehouse at the end of nowhere, waiting for four cars to arrive. The first two had arrived fifteen minutes early, but Bryyan had finished preparing his spot a couple of hours before so it didn’t matter. The third car showed up twenty minutes later and an argument broke out between the five male passengers, two of whom had automatic rifles out and ready. For almost three minutes, Bryyan debated calling the situation hot and jumping in, but the argument was soon quieted and he remained hidden. Forty-eight minutes later, enough time for the first car to go on a cheese-burger run and come back, the fourth car finally arrived and Bryyan got ready to make his move.

He tapped a miniature electronic device in his ear and whispered:

Alex, it’s twelve fifty-five a.m., Thursday. Suspects have arrived and I’m going to turn the lights on’em. I sent in a call for some back-up five minutes ago. I’ve identified Phoe, Damien Risollo, and Tayl Tweedley, along with three un-subs. He took a soundless breath and exhaled. Okay. This is it.

Bryyan double-tapped a button in the palm of his right hand and a pair of short, metal wings popped out of the back of his leather jacket. He pulled two Caywood .9mm hybrid hand-guns out and disabled their safeties. The humming from his jet-pack’s rockets began to increase as they reached maximum, and Bryyan moved his legs and braced himself for the blast-off.

With a loud roar from the rockets, he burst through the palettes he had been hiding behind and started firing shots at his targets. He flew towards and then over the heads of the six men, peppering them and the cars with explosive rounds. His primary targets were the cars, using the explosions to cause as much damage and confusion as possible.

Phoe, Damien, and Tayl looked genuinely surprised at the sudden attack. One of Damien’s body-guards stood protectively in front of him while the other two fired back at Bryyan. Two of the cars burst into