Humanity Falls: Humanity’S Final Fight for Freedom Begins

By J.J. Marshall

Landon Corbett is spiralling out of control.
From the wastelands of London to an isolated mountain village; from New York City to the International Space Station, Landon Corbetts revenge knows no limits.

Alec is at the heart of the war that now rages between the two factions of humanity. Caught in the middle, he no longer holds the key to peace Alec is the key to peace. Landon Corbett wants him dead and the Alliance of Spheres on Earth is only too happy to hand him over for the chance to save the lives of everyone on Earth.

But from those with corrupt morals to those with hearts of passion and gratitude, Alec and his friends are given the chance to fight one more time. And after six months, the war is reaching its climax. There is only one resolution to stopping the Board of Officials: cut the head off of the snake and kill Landon Corbett. But he remains as elusive and dangerous as ever.

Alec, Jonah, Sky, Jay and Trent have suffered terrible losses, but the biggest loss is yet to come and it will leave none of them untouched.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jan 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491891858

J.J. Marshall

I am currently studying a BSc Physical Geography Degree at the University of Reading in Berkshire, England, with the intention of pursuing a career in teaching secondary school pupils. I was born and raised in England and am presently twenty years old. “When the World Ends…” is my first publication and I’m incredibly excited to be working with the people at AuthorHouse in bringing my story to real, tangible pages! Writing has always been a hobby and a passion of mine from a very young age; I can recall writing a novel on my first family computer which was inspired (as well as a being blatant rip-off!) of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. It was really this book; the first full novel I had ever read by myself, that inspired me to write for myself and to create worlds beyond our own and fictions that can redefine the past or give suppositions about the future. I would list J.K. Rowling as one of my top inspirations, as well as the likes of Anthony Horowitz, Ian Banks, Charlaine Harris and Suzanne Collins. I also draw inspiration from TV shows and scriptwriters, such as Joss Whedon, J.J. Abram, Maurissa Tancheroen, Steven Moffat and Jane Espenson. Their work and the way that they construct characters and stories spur and challenge me to create my own little realities. So welcome to one of my little realities! I hope you enjoy it.

Book preview

Contents

Six Months Later…

S O M E W H E R E

I N

E N G L A N D…

1.  New Beginnings

2.  What about Oxford?

3.  Spies

4.  A Minor Disturbance

5.  Alpha Team

6.  Safe Haven

7.  Hot on the Trail

8.  Trent

9.  Missing in Action

10.  Christmas

O X F O R D

11.  Oxford

12.  The Preservationists

13.  Death or Nothing

14.  The Church on the Outside of Town

G L E N R I D D I N G

THE ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT

15.  Dispensable and Useful

16.  The Village

17.  No Longer Human

18.  Homecoming

19.  The Raid

20.  A Clear Message

21.  There Are No Words

22.  A Demonstration of Power

23.  Initiating the Resistance

N E W  Y O R K

24.  Welcome to the NYS

25.  Targets

26.  War is Coming

27.  Keeping Secrets

28.  Cry the Pain Away

29.  A Call for Mercy

30.  We Stand Alone

31.  Gains and Losses

32.  Jonah

33.  We Are Not Nothing

34.  The Last Stop

35.  No Longer Hidden

36.  Los Angeles

37.  The War Has Already Started

38.  Annihilation

39.  The Mole in Their Midst

40.  The Manhattan District

41.  Sacrifice

42.  For All of Them

43.  The Battle of Great Piece Meadows

44.  Time to Run

45.  The Impossible Prisoner

46.  The Last Resort

47.  The Wastelands of America

48.  Propaganda & Revolution

49.  A Story of Fate

50.  The Funeral

51.  Captured

52.  Strangers in the City

53.  Last Minute Recruits

54.  Houston City Hall

55.  Houston City Jail

56.  Back to Where it Began

57.  Reborn

58.  The Fight to Remember

59.  Brothers in Arms

60.  The End

61.  He Smiled

62.  . . . To New Life

T O

B E

C O N C L U D E D

Acknowledgements

Dad, Nan and Grandad—I’d like to dedicate

this one to you, for everything you do and have ever done.

Six Months Later…

In the wake of the Board of Officials’ attack on the London Sphere and the subsequent destruction of the city, Commander Lincoln of the U.S. New York Sphere openly declared war against the Board.

Almost overnight, the ISS and MoonBase1 fell under the now-fascist regime of the Board of Officials. Every fledgling uprising was crushed and the people fell into silent and unwilling order.

Before a counter-attack against the Board could be conducted, other Sphere Leaders called for an Alliance of Spheres on Earth and met to discuss the next steps. Whilst it was decided that they would unanimously declare war, they would not attack immediately and proceeded to gather intelligence in order to prepare.

In Space, President Cadmar Davies assembled the remainder of the Board of Officials: the disgraced Landon Corbett and last-surviving ‘loyalist’ Takeshi Sato. Together they decided they need an army, but with the majority of the humans under their control resisting the call to arms, they concluded that compulsory conscription was required. All men and woman over the age of sixteen were sent to MoonBase1; half of which has been converted into a training facility.

Soon after, the Board of Officials discovered that moles for Earth had been activated amongst their people. This, and much resistance from conscripted civilians, led the Board to take drastic action. Overseen by Mr. Sato, all conscripted civilians would be subjected to ‘cerebral scans’—a process to eliminate spies in the eyes of the public. But in secret: a brainwashing programme to convert all conscripted civilians to their cause.

Presently, the programme is 45% complete with further ‘cerebral scans’ scheduled each day for the next four months. The Board of Officials decided that this would set their agenda: once their militarised, brainwashed army was ready they would go to war.

S O M E W H E R E

I N

E N G L A N D…

Chapter One

New Beginnings

THEY WALKED TOGETHER, slowly side-by-side, through the barren field. A long, long time ago it had been extremely fertile and crops had sprouted from the soil and bathed in the sunlight, their fruit ripening until fresh for the picking. Now there was nothing.

The ground was baked by the ongoing drought. Huge cracks had opened up all over the surface; great gaping chasms that seemed to go down limitlessly into the earth. There was no sign of any life as far as their eyes could see, though they were hindered by the dark of night. There was only the Moon and stars to guide them, but they daren’t look up. If they had learnt anything in the time they had spent unprotected by a Sphere, it was that prolonged UV exposure to the eyes would ultimately cause them to go blind. Even though the suits they wore protected their skin from the UV, the visors on their helmets were not 100% safe.

‘I think we went too far’ Sky panted, getting hotter by the second inside her suit. She attempted to step-up the pace but the suit was so constrictive that it was not only uncomfortable, it was also difficult to go any faster.

‘We’ll make it’ Alec reassured her, stopping to glance behind them. The flat horizon, dotted by the rooftops of the town from which they had just come, was slowly changing from deep, dark black to lighter tones of blue.

‘Sunrise is ten minutes away’ Sky replied, not waiting for Alec and forcing him to try and catch up with her. ‘These suits can’t withstand direct exposure’.

‘Maybe we did go too far’ he muttered. He glanced down at the large, bulging sacks which they had just filled from the last town. They had taken what they thought they could make use of: water bottles, tools from an old garden shed and some packets of seeds that Sky had discovered lying buried beneath rubbish. Jay was constantly going on about the state of their cooking utensils and they had managed to get a whole bag-full of new equipment.

‘If we ditch some of the stuff we’ll get there faster’ Sky suggested though she knew Alec would have none of it.

‘We’re almost there!’ he insisted, surging forward despite the discomfort. He managed to catch up with her just before she put on another burst of speed.

The field came to an end and began to slope away. It was gradual at first but became steeper and steeper until it was no longer possible to walk down. Instead Alec and Sky sat and proceeded to shuffle down the slope whilst pushing their bags ahead of them. Behind them the crest of the hill was illuminated by the first rays of sunlight and the sterile expanse of land before them was lit up by the dull, orange light. It had once been a river valley, but the river had shrunk to less than a quarter of its original size and now only a small stream remained.

The slope flattened out as they reached a rocky ledge. Moving quickly as they anticipated the oncoming sun, they edged along the ledge parallel to the riverbed until they came across the entrance to their cave. It was barely big enough for them to crawl through, and while Sky could manage it Alec was forced to drag himself along his front.

‘That was cutting it fine’ he heard Jay tell Sky disapprovingly up ahead. Alec emerged from the entrance tunnel, relieved to be able to stand inside the cave’s main chamber. It was a huge, round space with a high ceiling which echoed loudly. When they had first found it, the ceiling had featured ancient stalactites from where rainwater had once seeped down through the surrounding limestone. Many of them had fallen down due to the vibrations caused by their voices and Trent had been quick to remove the rest of them to avoid injury.

‘We went a bit further than we intended’ Alec explained as they took off their sun-suits. ‘We made it to the other side of the town and found an old supermarket. There wasn’t much that was of use to us; it’s all too old now, but there were some things’.

‘If you were going to go that far you should have left earlier’ Jay said. He sounded very displeased. ‘Next time prepare better’.

‘Sorry, Jay’ Alec said sincerely and Sky nodded in agreement.

‘Just thinking of your safety!’ Jay responded with a big, beaming smile. ‘Now, you two scoot off and get some sleep! We’ve got work to do in the water room later and I want you two well rested!’

‘Okay’ Sky and Alec sighed simultaneous. They smiled back at him tiredly before heading off to their sleeping quarters. There was just one passage that led away from the main chamber and it was possible to access all other areas of their cave system. The sleeping quarters were the farthest away, up a sharp incline. The water room was up a flight of steep steps which they had cut into the rock whilst the entrance to the washroom was just before the steps.

As they entered the sleeping quarters, Trent and Jonah were just waking up.

‘Morning!’ they welcomed cheerfully. Jonah sat up and stretched his arms fully into the air before shuffling out of his sleeping bag. It was extremely dark and they saw each other as nothing more than shadows.

‘Goodnight’ Sky and Alec responded wearily as they settled into their sleeping bags.

Trent and Jonah left as quietly as they could, leaving Alec and Sky to go to sleep. As they lay down Alec stared up at the high ceiling; too high to see in the darkness. They only had a limited supply of candles so they were only used when absolutely necessary and never in their sleeping quarters.

Alec rolled onto his side and saw Sky lying in her sleeping bag beside him, face-down with her arms spread. He reached out and took hold of her hand. As soon as their skin made contact he felt her tense up and she icily withdrew hers inside her sleeping bag. She shuffled and rolled onto her side so that she lay with her back to Alec.

‘Goodnight’ she said stiffly.

Alec rolled over and lay on his back. He sighed heavily and folded his arms across his chest. Despite his initial frustration at Sky, he knew he only had himself to blame for the cold-shoulder she was giving him. In front of everyone else she acted completely normal, but they could all sense a change in Alec and Sky’s dynamic after Oxford… they all knew what had happened in Oxford. At first Alec had blamed himself entirely. But the more time that passed and the more he spoke to the others, he came to realise that whilst he might have been responsible, there had been no other choice. Jonah, Jay and Trent had all admitted that they would have acted in the same way had they been in the same situation.

Alec shut his eyes, blocked all thoughts out and wished for sleep to come.

* * *

There was just something about the sight of the Earth from the surface of the Moon. It seemed so far away, so remote and distant that it was hard to believe he’d ever been there. Before he had been selected from the citizens of the London Sphere to move aboard the ISS, he had worked as a teacher of history in one of the City’s few-remaining public schools. Upon reaching the ISS he was assigned duties in the education center on Level

1; his involvement within the London Sphere being deemed as appropriate experience for teaching that particular level of social class.

He was only twenty five, but he’d already seen so many things he wished never to see again. The poverty was the worst aspect, especially some of the younger children who could barely read or write.

But now that London was destroyed, he and everyone else beyond the age of 18 had been forcibly conscripted into the Board’s Military just over six months ago. His teaching days were over, though there was another new aspect to his life.

A few days before the Board announced compulsory conscription into their military, he had been contacted by a former colleague on Earth who had taken a diversion from teaching into politics and had been in the Liberty Tower the day that the London Sphere had fallen. It was then that he had been filled in on the secret agenda of the Alliance of Spheres on Earth and from that day onwards, he was a double agent. In order to gain trust and to avoid the cerebral scanning, he had played ball and slowly gathered information; relaying data to Earth via messages on the Internet.

Though somehow he had always known that a time would come when not even his dutiful work within the military would allow him to be overlooked.

And so here he sat, in a bleak and white-washed waiting room. His gaze was raised to the glass ceiling which was wholly-filled by the Earth, just suspended in Space.

‘Blaze Mumbleford’ a metallic voice announced over the tannoy. He sucked in a deep, nervous breath and stood up as the door opposite him opened. ‘Your cerebral scan is due. Please enter the door and follow the directions. The doctor will see you now’.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the reflective glass door as he approached it and straightened his posture. Walking slouched, he looked tired and worn down; there were bags under his eyes and he readjusted his glasses to try and cover them. His light brown hair was tousled and messy; as untamable as ever.

Blaze followed the illuminated signs along the corridor beyond, gaining a sense of dread with every step that he took. The corridor gave nothing away, sticking with the same design that covered the entire medical offices of the MoonBase1 Training Facility. Every wall was painted pure white and were nothing more than blank expanses that seemed to stretch onwards forever. All attention was subsequently drawn upwards to the glass arched ceiling which always showed the ever-changing faces of Earth. Currently they were focused over the Atlantic Ocean with the Americas on the left, largely in darkness, whilst the European continent was on the right and slowly experiencing the sunrise.

‘You have arrived’ the voice over the tannoy announced as Blaze ran out of illuminated signs to follow and was confronted by a plain white door. It opened automatically and Blaze found himself disappointed that there was no change in decoration inside the room.

‘Sit down on the bench, please’ the doctor in the room indicated. He was dressed in a white lab coat but what he wore underneath Blaze couldn’t see. His back was turned and he was leaning over his desk, making notes on his Tablet. ‘Make yourself comfortable and I will be with you in a moment’.

Blaze sat down on the padded bench slowly, transfixed by the bizarre looking device that was next to it. It looked like one of the old-Earth hairdryers that they used to have in the salons; a big round machine with a space for someone’s head to go in. It was wired up to numerous monitors and beneath it was a chair with straps on the arms and legs.

‘No need to look so terrified’ the doctor said, doing his best to sound cheerful. He startled Blaze, who hadn’t realized that he had moved from his desk. Now the doctor stood in front of him and he could see that the man was short—very short in fact—wearing an extremely smart and expensive suit. His expression carried all the tell-tale features of someone of Japanese origins.

‘My name is Dr. Sato; I will be conducting your cerebral scan today’.

Chapter Two

What about Oxford?

WHEN ALEC EVENTUALLY woke it was with a start—as always. He sat bolt upright, gasping for air and fighting off the last traces of the nightmare that lingered in his mind. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light he noticed that Sky was clearly already awake and had left. He paused for a moment and let the images of his bad dream dissipate from his mind: a city on fire with flames raining down from the sky. People ran into the street from their flaming homes; ablaze and screaming in agony. All that Alec could do was stand helplessly and watch the suffering. Until a shard of fire fell from the sky directly overhead and killed him where he stood.

At which point Alec always woke up.

He stretched and slowly stood. There was a sore, tender spot in the middle of his back from where he had fallen during their trip last night. He stooped awkwardly to pick up his wash kit and headed for the washroom.

It was his favourite room in the cave, simply because of the miniature waterfall that cascaded into the small gorge which they had carved themselves. When they had found the cave, they had not been surprised to find running water within it. After all, it had been carved by hundreds—if not thousands—of years of water erosion. Whilst the main chamber was dry, two small caverns beyond it shared the same stream of running water; it flowed beneath a rough, rocky wall from one to the next.

They had decided to place the washroom downstream of the water room so that they didn’t contaminate the otherwise fresh drinking water. Together they had carved a small gorge in the wash room to create a small waterfall, under which Alec now stood to take his first shower of the day.

The water was icy cold and it stung Alec’s skin like a thousand tiny knives stabbing every inch of him. But, as always, he quickly numbed to the discomfort and did his best to enjoy it. He wasn’t going to complain and it certainly did the job of waking him up in the morning.

Although it wasn’t morning. Alec judged by the brightness of the cave that it was sometime during the mid-afternoon. Whilst the cave was completely light-proof, the glow of sunlight ebbed down the entrance tunnel and cast a dim light into the main chamber.

He stepped out of the shower and dried off quickly before the air could suck all of the heat out of him. He’d brought clothes with him so from the wash room he went straight to the main chamber where Jay had prepared food.

‘Sky said you found some tinned goods’ Jay said cheerfully as Alec wandered into the room. There was no one else in there and he wondered where they all were. ‘So you’ve got some kidney beans. They’re a bit out of date but… well, we can’t complain!’

‘Thank you, Jay’ Alec smiled as he accepted the food. The more time they lived in the cave together the more and more he came to accept Jay as a father-figure. It wasn’t something that Jay was imposing on Alec—not at all. But being the oldest and the most mature, Jay had automatically assumed the carer-role and had taken on the responsibility of looking after them all.

‘Sky said you fell last night’ Jay said as he went about tidying the main chamber. There wasn’t much to tidy, but Sky had recently made a broom from long blades of dried grass and Jay took great pleasure in clearing the dust on the floor.

‘Just a slip’ Alec replied between mouthfuls.

‘Did your hurt yourself?’

‘Only a bit, I’m fine’.

Jay shook his head and tutted. He dropped the broom and strode over to Alec. ‘Let me take a look’.

Alec reluctantly set his food down and lifted up his shirt. He heard Jay wince.

‘Yeah, that’s going to bruise nicely’ Jay mumbled and gently tested the area of Alec’s back around the injury with his fingers.

‘Ouch’ Alec gasped.

‘Even more now’ he chuckled and set Alec’s shirt back down so he could continue eating. ‘You have to be careful out there’.

‘I know. I try my best’ Alec smiled earnestly.

‘We don’t have extensive first aid or medical supplies’ Jay went on. ‘Anything more than a bruise or a graze could be lethal’.

‘Okay’ Alec nodded. ‘I promise I’ll try to be careful. Anyway it’s my last turn to do a night shift; Jonah and Trent are doing the next few. I think they’re considering going west over the other side of the valley to see what they can find’.

‘They’ll have to set off early if that’s what they’re planning’ Jay said sternly, not sounding too pleased about his son’s exploratory intentions.

‘Where is everyone now?’

‘They’re in the water room’ Jay responded. He stopped abruptly to correct himself. ‘Well, Jonah and Trent are. They’re expanding the water hole and assessing whether or not we might be able to expand the room’.

Alec nodded his silent agreement. Thinking about the room, he realized that it was only the size of a standard shower cubicle and could do with being a little bigger. ‘What about Sky?’

‘She’s gone into the tunnel’ Jay sighed, clearly not happy about this. ‘I did ask her not to but you know what she’s like’.

‘What does she hope to achieve down there?’

‘She just wants to know if there’s anything there I think’ Jay shrugged. He pretended that he wasn’t bothered whilst everything that he said and did suggested otherwise.

At the end of their miniature hallway which led off the main chamber, there was a small opening at ground level which only Sky could fit through. She had been curious since the first day but Jay and the rest of them had managed to deter her from looking—until now.

‘Well I’m going to go and help the others’ Alec said, standing up and moving to wash his dish in a bowl of water which Jay had collected.

‘I’ll do that!’ Jay leapt in before Alec could even start. ‘Go on, on your way’.

Alec smiled and thanked him before heading off to the water room. Jay did whatever housework he could in an effort to make his life feel normal. It was this and the fact that his body had too many age-old aches and pains for him to do too much physical labour. He had been in agony for weeks after they had carved out the gorge in the washroom and consequently everyone had agreed that Jay should take it easy. Jay hadn’t been happy about it at first but he’d gradually found other things with which to occupy himself.

As he drew closer to the water room he could hear each dull ping of metal on rock as Jonah and Trent’s pick-axe struck against the limestone. It was a relatively soft rock but it still took some effort to remove large chunks of it. He ascended the small flight of steep steps and reached the water room.

‘Afternoon’ Jonah called as Alec stepped into the jagged, rocky entrance. They had lit candles and placed them on little rocky shelves around the room so they had as much light as possible.

‘How’s it going?’

‘Not bad’ Trent heaved as he swung the pick axe and knocked a hefty chunk of the floor through. The water was flowing beneath the floor and for the first time Alec realised that it was just a ledge over the water. If they knocked the entire floor away the stream could fill the whole room. ‘Want to grab a bag and help Jonah collect the rubble over on that side?’

They only had one pick-axe between them. Alec guessed that Jonah had already had a go and Trent would carry on until he grew tired. Then it would be Alec’s turn.

‘So’ Jonah began as Alec took his place next to him and began gathering bits of loose rock. He knew exactly what Jonah was going to ask because he’d gotten into the routine of asking it any time that Alec had spent a significant period alone with Sky. He seemed to obsess over it and was often more interested than Alec himself was. ‘Have you got her back yet?’

Alec closed his eyes and breathed deeply. ‘No’ he said bluntly. He wished that he could have the axe now so that he could channel his frustration into smashing the rock.

‘Soon, it’ll happen soon’ Jonah assured him but he didn’t sound completely confident. Alec wasn’t sure what it was, but sometimes Jonah didn’t seem to like the fact that he and Sky were together. If anything, it seemed he was happier now they were apart, despite the things he said.

‘No, I don’t think so’ Alec responded as he always did. This time he decided to shake it up a bit in the hopes of getting Jonah to stop asking once and for all. ‘Have you ever had a girlfriend, Jonah?’

Jonah looked at Alec for a few seconds before looking away, blushing. ‘No’ he admitted. He didn’t like being challenged.

Alec laughed and so did Trent. ‘No… you can tell you’ve never had a girlfriend’ Alec countered playfully. ‘It’s not that easy. Girls are… difficult’.

‘You’re talking like you’ve had experience’ Trent entered their discussion and Alec could sense that mockery was coming his way. ‘We all know Sky was your first girlfriend’ he teased.

‘Yeah, well’ Alec floundered. ‘It’s a well-known fact that girls are difficult!’

‘Or are they only as difficult as you make them?’ Trent continued to wind him up whilst Jonah chuckled.

‘Well either way’ Alec said responding rashly as he began to succumb to their teasing. ‘I don’t have her back. Besides it only lasted for just over two months, some things just aren’t meant to work out’ he shrugged and hoped that the conversation would end there.

‘She smiled with you’ Jonah added. ‘She laughed. When the London Sphere fell all of her family and friends were killed. She lost them all and the first time I saw her smile after that was when she was with you’.

‘And now look at her’ Trent continued. ‘I haven’t seen her laugh in months and she’s throwing herself into dangerous situations without a second thought… you were good for her’.

Jonah nodded in agreement. There was a hint of reluctance and he avoided making eye contact with Alec.

‘Well it just didn’t work out’ Alec repeated. He threw some rubble together noisily in the hope that the noise would smother their attempts to reconcile his relationship with Sky.

‘Have you spoken to her yet?’ Jonah asked.

‘No’.

‘Not since Oxford?’ Trent’s jaw dropped. ‘Mate, you should have talked about it by now! What happened in Oxford… things like that can’t go left unmentioned, no matter how hard it was’.

‘Well…’ Alec was all out of excuses. He sighed and loosened his grip on the bag, letting the handle slide through his grasp until it landed on the ground with a thud. ‘When I get the opportunity…’

‘You were out all last night with her!’ Jonah interrupted. He looked up for the first time and there was a hint of resentment that they’d been able to go out together.

‘And when it feels right’ Alec continued. ‘Then I’ll speak to her’.

‘Oi, you lot’ Jay grumbled as he waddled into view across the doorway. Despite food rationing being even more severe now than when they had been in the ISS, Jay still had a huge frame. ‘I can hear you gassing like a bunch of girls’ he smiled, throwing Alec a wink. ‘Get to work’.

‘Yes boss!’ Alec responded sarcastically but resumed work nonetheless.

‘Someone put his pushy pants on and pulled them up a bit too tight today’ Trent muttered under his breath whilst grinning excessively.

‘I heard that!’ called Jay as he wandered away again.

Chapter Three

Spies

‘NOW IF YOU could just sit back and make yourself comfortable’ Dr. Sato instructed as he shuffled closer to the bench upon which Blaze sat.

No matter how much he leaned back, there was no way Blaze was ever going to feel comfortable. There was something slightly unsettling about the capabilities of the machine beside the bed. Every instinct in his body was screaming at him to run, but Blaze knew better. He had heard the stories about those that tried to flee. All traitors and cowards were locked up together in an airlock and, when the room was eventually full, the exterior doors were opened and they were all sucked into space.

‘First I’m going to ask you some questions’ Dr. Sato turned back around holding a clipboard and pencil in his hand. ‘This will test your aptitude and mental compatibility with the machine’.

‘Compatibility?’

‘Not all civilians would be responsive to the machine’ Dr. Sato explained briefly. ‘For some it would do more harm than good’.

‘Okay’.

‘Let us begin’ Dr. Sato perched on the end of bench. ‘What is your full name?’

‘Blaze Mumbleford’.

‘Date of birth?’

‘Twenty second of October, 2080’.

‘Place of birth?’

‘London Sphere, Britain’.

‘Occupation?’

‘Teacher of Earth History’.

‘Earth residence?’

‘London Sphere, Metropolitan Zone Seven’.

‘Siblings?’

‘None’.

‘Parents?’

‘Deceased’.

‘Okay’ Dr. Sato paused in his questioning. ‘You’re doing well so far’.

‘How will questions about my life on Earth test whether I’m compatible with your machine?’ Blaze couldn’t help but wonder.

‘If two flowers in the vase are green, what is the colour of the third and fourth flower?’ Dr. Sato asked slowly, lowering the clipboard and looking Blaze right in the eye.

Blaze froze and all his muscles tensed. He had heard that precise question only once before—when he had been enlisted as a spy for the Alliance of Spheres on Earth.

‘B-blue’ he stammered. ‘And green’ one colour to confirm that he was a spy, the second colour to confirm whether or not he was willing to be activated; green for yes, red for no.

‘Now you see why my questions were so important’ Dr. Sato dropped his façade and extended a welcoming hand towards Blaze. ‘I had to make sure your personal details matched the list I had been given’.

‘You’re a spy?’ Blaze was dumbstruck. ‘You’re on the Board of Officials… but you’re a spy for Earth?’

‘I was converted about six months ago’ Dr. Sato decided to share some personal information with Blaze to bring things level. ‘I was no longer approving of the Board’s motives, methods or aims. Not that I ever really did, if I am honest. But the actions of Alec Corbett gave me a way out and a way to make a difference. I realised that action needed to be taken and that I was in a unique position to help those on Earth’.

‘Dr. Sato, I find this hard to take in’ Blaze admitted, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bench. ‘How can you possibly have gotten away with this?’

‘Please, call me Takeshi’ he insisted with a smile. ‘My conversion to Earth’s cause occurred when I was kidnapped by an organisation known as The Untouchables.

‘The terrorist group?’

Takeshi chuckled. ‘Oh far from it. They were the motliest bunch I had ever seen, led by a seventeen year old boy’.

‘Who?’

Takeshi smiled broadly. ‘Alec Corbett, of course’.

‘I’ve heard of his name but I never thought it could be true’ Blaze leaned forward with excitement. ‘Landon Corbett’s son is really working against him?’

‘I’m afraid it’s rather more complicated than that’ Takeshi began drifting off in thought. He had only contacted Alec once in the six months since the fall of the London Sphere and their conversation had been enough to convince Takeshi that Landon Corbett was beyond twisted and sick-minded; he was purely evil. ‘Essentially though, yes. Alec is moving against Landon and the rest of the Board’.

‘So where are they now?’ Blaze eagerly pressed Takeshi for details. ‘Why aren’t they fighting still?’

‘The Board believes Alec Corbett and his friends to be dead, having been killed in the fall of London’ Takeshi said. ‘Though Landon is adamant that somehow Alec survived. Of course, I know he did—as well as his friends. But Landon doesn’t know for sure and refuses to rest until he’s seen Alec dead with his own eyes’.

‘So where is Alec Corbett now?’

‘When I spoke to him to him last they were fleeing London, going between towns and cities in search of food and shelter’ Takeshi explained.

‘So you don’t know where he is now?’

‘I should imagine they’ve gone into hiding. If I were Alec, that is exactly what I would do. As soon as he so much as moves or reveals himself, Landon will send every bit of firepower we have down upon that young man until every trace of him is obliterated’.

‘If he’s on Earth’s side then why isn’t he fighting with them?’ Blaze continued to utter every question that popped into his mind.

Takeshi sighed heavily. ‘There are those on Earth that believe Alec Corbett helped to start this war. By not only exposing the Board of Officials as corrupted and unjust, he also broadcast to the whole of Humanity the execution of Prime Minister Stone’.

‘What’s so wrong with showing everyone the truth?’ Blaze frowned.

‘Sometimes people cannot handle the truth’ Takeshi replied. ‘Often they would rather believe a lie and live in "peace" rather than know the truth. I believe this to be the case of many of those on Earth’.

‘But they declared war’.

‘They had no choice. If they had not then there would have been major uproar that the Board had been allowed to murder the British Prime Minister and destroy London. There’s no way they could let them get away with it’.

‘So they declared war reluctantly, is what you’re saying’.

‘Indeed. I believe that is the attitude of many on Earth. That is why there is no conflict yet’.

‘The Alliance must be gathering information’ Blaze told him. ‘Surely they want to be as well-prepared as possible and know everything about the Board’s intentions before engaging in war?’

‘No, they’re scared’ Takeshi corrected him. ‘They know that if it comes to a war, they stand very little chance of winning. You saw how totally annihilated London was—that wasn’t even a dent in the Board’s Military firepower’.

‘They have weapons themselves’ Blaze countered defiantly. ‘If anything the Board is in a worse position; one blow to the ISS and everybody could be dead’.

‘And if the Spheres on Earth are destroyed then they will be exposed to the atmosphere and unshielded UV radiation’ Takeshi said. ‘Both environments are equally hostile and deadly. If this war happens—and I know it will, as it is the Board’s intention to go to war as soon as all cerebral scans are complete—then it will be the end of all things’.

‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ Blaze nodded. ‘M.A.D. Just like the nuclear standoff between the Americans and Soviets in the 1960’s’.

‘Quite’ Takeshi agreed. ‘Only this time the Board has no sense or reason. They want the destruction of everyone on Earth. It would make them feel less guilty about leaving them behind’.

‘But they wouldn’t feel guilty about murdering all of them?’

‘In their eyes… Humanity on Earth is like any creature or insect that is suffering. They believe that by killing them they’d be doing them a favour; putting them out of their misery, as it were’.

‘But people are living down there’ Blaze was horrified. His eyes were wide and his mouth was suddenly bone dry. ‘And they’re used to the quality of living and despite the conditions for the most part they’re happy. They have their families and their friends; jobs and lives’.

‘The Board of Officials are of such a mindset now that although they would never admit it, I believe they see themselves more as controllers of humanity—including life and death—than simply those that govern and keep order’ Takeshi shared his grim theory.

‘So have they always wanted to rid themselves of humans on Earth?’ Blaze wondered.

‘For a few years… as long as Mars has appealed to them as the next destination for humanity’.

‘Why not take humans on Earth with them?’

‘There is not the capacity, both in terms of Space Shuttles and living space on Mars itself’ Takeshi explained. ‘They simply believe it would be better to take the existing human colonies already in Space and populate Mars with a smaller, more manageable number’.

‘This is insane’ Blaze shook his head and got to his feet. ‘How can they be allowed to get away with this?!’

‘There’s been no one to stop them. Until Alec Corbett stumbled on the path to a better future’.

‘You don’t think he was wrong to expose the Board?’

Takeshi shook his head adamantly. ‘Not at all. It was the wakeup call that Earth needed. They need to realise that they’ve been given the opportunity to save themselves. They’re more than capable of destroying the Board—they have the means to do so. They’re just too scared to do it’.

‘Which is why they’re gathering intelligence before attacking’ Blaze realised. ‘Once they have the upper hand, then they can strike’.

Takeshi nodded. ‘And I hope they will win’.

There was a pause in the flow of their conversation. Blaze let his eyes wander around the featureless room and they eventually came to rest upon the glass ceiling and the huge Earth beyond.

‘What do I do now?’

‘Continue as you were’ Takeshi replied as if the answer was simple. ‘The information you’re providing is very useful. I’d also like to notify you that your status is now active’.

‘Active?’ Blaze didn’t understand.

‘Tension is mounting between the two sides. There will come a time when the spies embedded in the Board’s Military will need to rise up. By activating you, I am preparing you for this possibility’.

‘When?’

‘I don’t know’ Takeshi shrugged. ‘But you will receive a communication and when you do, you should act upon its instructions immediately. In the meantime you should spread the word amongst those you trust. We will need as many people as possible to fight for Earth here. Though whatever you do, don’t expose yourself to anyone that has had a cerebral scan’.

‘Why?’

‘The scan re-programmes their brains so their loyalty is purely to the Board’ Takeshi warned him. ‘To expose yourself would be certain death; if they don’t kill you instantly they’ll restrain you and take you to be killed’.

Blaze headed back to his habitation on the other side of MoonBase1 with a heavy feeling in his chest. He wasn’t quite sure how he felt about being activated. In the past, the lifestyle of a spy for Earth had always been something that he’d considered to be exciting—just like the old movies. But since those times he had gradually come to think that he would never be activated—that they would have no need for a teacher in their arsenal of spies. He had pushed away any thoughts of ever living that life and had instead turned his lifestyle into something much more mainstream, albeit less exciting.

‘Hello handsome’ Luna cooed as he stepped through the front door. She tiptoed across the cold linoleum floor and wrapped her arms around his neck, planting a kiss on his lips and beaming up at him. ‘Someone needs a shave’ she tickled the stubble around his face with her finger.

‘What’s for lunch?’ he asked, peeking over at the kitchenette.

‘A surprise!’ Luna enthused, skipping back across the room after leading Blaze to the sofa in the middle of the room and depositing him there. The kitchenette was behind him. The living room was very square with a tiny table in the middle of a cluster of sofas. The bedroom and bathroom were along a short hallway opposite the small kitchen area.

Luna picked up two plates from the kitchenette and then sauntered back over to him. ‘Look what I managed to get my hands on!’

Luna put the plate down in front of him and his mouth began watering instantly.

‘Spaghetti?!’

‘From a tin’ she picked it up and waved it for him to see. ‘But it’s better than that artificial corned beef we’ve been having’.

‘Damn right’ Blaze said between mouthfuls. Whilst the food was soft from having just been cooked, it was very dry. But to Blaze and Luna it was the tastiest thing they’d eaten in a long time.

Once the distraction of the food had been demolished, Blaze was reminded of the news he had to tell Luna. They had come to the ISS together from Earth just over three years ago, and had even been permitted to stay with each other at the MoonBase1 Training Facility when they had been conscripted. He knew that Luna was no loyalist when it came down to it; like most people she resented the Board even more for forcing them into their Military. What he didn’t know was how Luna would respond to the news of him being activated and fighting for the freedom of one side whilst being in the military of the other.

‘Are you alright?’ Luna asked. She paused to study his expression. He hated how easily she could read him. Usually she could explicitly distinguish whether something was wrong or if he was hiding something. In this case it was both. ‘Was your scan okay?’

‘I wasn’t compatible with the machine’ Blaze replied. Luna had already had her scan but hadn’t said anything about it. Whilst the Board said it was to eliminate spies, everyone that was subjected to a cerebral scan was never quite the same afterwards. He hadn’t noticed any changes in Luna’s behaviour…

‘Not compatible?’ she asked curiously. Blaze wished he was able to read her as well as she could him. He took a deep breath and decided that he’d simply just have to be open about it. He cared too much about her and she was too important to him for him to keep secrets.

‘When I was in London, a few months before we came to the ISS, I met a man who worked at the Liberty Tower’ Blaze spoke slowly and Luna listened attentively. She sat cross-legged on the sofa beside him and her gentle, blue eyes gazed calmly into his. ‘He told me about the prospect of an alliance of Spheres on Earth and that they were in the process of talking and forming this coalition’ he took a breath. Luna sensed his apprehension and gently squeezed his leg encouragingly. ‘He recruited me, to work for this alliance. Since we moved to the ISS, and especially MoonBase1, I’ve been relaying tactical information about the Board, their intentions and military to Earth’.

Luna sat perfectly still and said nothing. Her face betrayed no emotion; no disappointment or surprise, nothing. Her body seemed to slump slightly but Blaze couldn’t tell if she was relaxing or whether her new posture was due to disappointment.

‘Say something… ?’ Blaze pushed gently. Her eyes averted away from him before flicking back with a new energy in her gaze. ‘I love you’ she smiled, the biggest smile.

Blaze cracked a grin. ‘What made you say that?’

‘You know I’ve had my cerebral scan’ Luna replied. ‘You took a huge risk in telling me this’.

‘How do you know?’ Blaze frowned.

‘Because I’m a spy too’.

Blaze almost couldn’t believe his ears. Luna smiled, amused by his reaction. She took his hands and squeezed them tightly. ‘Welcome to the Resistance’.

‘What happens now?’ he asked in a hushed voice. He felt slightly bewildered and intimidated by the fact that Luna was already a spy.

‘We wait’ she said as if it were obvious. She returned to her plate of spaghetti with renewed enthusiasm. ‘We carry on as normal. There’s a working group of Resistance members within the Board’s Military—I’ve only met with them twice but they know their stuff. At the moment we’re just gathering numbers. Currently there are only sixty two of us, but we’re going to need many more if we’re actually going to make an impact when the moment comes for us to strike’.

‘But we don’t know when that will be?’

Luna shook her head. ‘Only when Earth are ready to make a tactical advance, undermine the Board and strike them where it hurts the most—only then can we rise up’.

‘We’ve been told nothing else?’

‘That, and not to make too many friends’.

‘Why?’

Luna looked up. A trace of sadness coloured her voice. ‘Because you don’t know who you’ll end up having to kill’.

Chapter Four

A Minor Disturbance

THEY HAD BEEN knocking away at the rock in the water room for over three hours when Jay eventually came by and called for them to stop and have some dinner.

‘Kidney beans!’ he announced heartily. His optimism was the only thing that smothered the fact that their food had been the same for the past three days. It was no one’s fault that their diet was so unvaried. Not one of them could say they’d rather be back on the ISS eating the dreadful instant meals.

‘Where is Sky?’ Alec looked around the main chamber and saw no sign of her.

‘She’s still beyond the tunnel’ Jay mumbled quietly, knowing that Alec would not respond well to the news.

‘It’s getting near nightfall, we’ll need to depart soon if we’re going