3 views
The Thirteenth Step
#WritcoStoryChallenge
The virus spread far and wide, eliminating everything that stood in its way.
"Hello my name is Mr. Smith", the clean heavy set man said in his country north Kentucky accent.
" I am here to talk to you about
p.b.t's and the honnocker method".
The small group of maybe twenty adults watched mister Smith with undivided attention.
"Ok so about twenty years ago the Saar's virus and it's many variants made a jump". He proceeded to explain that saars a man made spike protein virus had been causing manking troubles for a long time.
He then continued to explain that because of progressive jump the virus had made twenty years ago the effects of the virus where so detrimental to ones health that mankind had had to move into government and privately owned indoor cities with synthetic oxygen and known as a intermetros.
Mr. Smith then explained how to read p.b.ts personal blood tests and how to use them. Then he got into the honnocker method that says what to do if an infection caused by the jump the ergon variant breaks out in the city basically a person must put in a code into the honnocker app then a coded piece of paper that says the results of the p.b.t
if the p.b.t comes back positive then when the result is scanned into the honnocker app it locks down the entire qaudrant and a strong intoxicating powder that would first cause euphoria then kill after a deep sleep was induced , would be administered to everyone within the entire sector.
The class seemed appalled that so much life could be taken so easily Derek Ward a twenty five year old freshman said to Smith.
" that would kill my whole family are you sure it's that dangerous that we have to exterminate all those people"
Smith looked at him with a grim expression and said to him "oh yes I'm certain".
after the class let out Derek along with the others picked up their p.c's.
tiny computers that would accompany them the rest of their lives they where extremely advanced and a person could do a lot with one. However they where always a grim reminder of the implications of activating the honnocker application.
Derek was twenty five year old male with brown short hair blue eyes and we'll kept facial hair. he was generally honest person and he didn't have much problems making friends, He was going to skip finishing school apl together but had decided to go into science and try to save the world from the deadly variant.
He was extremely gifted at science and mathematics and he had been reading everything he could about science for as long as he could remember.
Derek after leaving his studies quickly made his way to A-13 one of his favorite spots to socialize and drink he walked inside their was new music playing oddly it was new but it sounded old thanks to some new audio effects a new form of classical music called simply awe had taken his intermetro lovingly called the stash box by some of it's occupiers the real name of the place was Atheos, but it would Always be the stash box especially by it's poorer occupants in A sector.
The music had flooded the heads of many with so much emotion they had began to cry upon hearing it
however when he walked into the bar he walked to the back to the V.I.P area in the third door on the left his significant other Jennifer Jagdon waited patiently Jennifer was a thirty six year old p.c specialist she could do anything on one of the tiny computers. she had been taught by her mother when she was a youth and had continued learning her whole life. she was a beautiful woman with a soft but serious face and a healthy physique.
Derek walked into the V.I.P station and greeted Jennifer " how goes"? he asked her with bright eyes "do well". she replied in a loving tone.
Derek and her proceeded to talk about the days events Derek talked about finishing school and Jennifer spoke of work and lunch. The two ordered food and drinks and continued to converse and laugh as the strong drink slowly kicked in their moods where elevated. then they began talking about the honnocker application a grim subject. Derek asked her if she had ever looked at any of the source code and she said yes just to make sure it was secure enough that nobody could go crazy and kill everybody.
She said that it was pretty intelligent code but she could write something better. Derek was barely impressed everybody knew what p.c head she was. Derek then told her that he had an idea that they would write some better code and they would write in some code the left their living quarters untoxed if their was an outbreak just in case it wasn't as contagious as they thought it was. She didn't want to mess with it at first but after some convincing she gave in fine I will go to Lauras tomorrow and we will begin working on it. Laura was Jennifer's best friend and was quite proficient at coding with the tiny computers. Derek walked her to her living quarters kissed her and they parted ways.
The next day Derek awoke from a troubled sleep he had been dreaming he was in a minecart he had seen one in a old movie the minecart was moving through some kind of hellish volcano it steadily went down and down closer and closer to the lake of magma that waited at the bottom.
He would look at his hands he would look at the top of his hands and say I have perfect hands then he would look at the underside of his hands they where splashed with what looks like blood and he would say I do not have perfect hands. When they got to the very end he had awoken before being consumed by the molten lava.
he showered changed and then he went back to finishing school he was in a trade program for plumbing he had taken just because his little brother was passionate about it his little brother Joshua Ward had started finishing school immediately and he was nineteen years old he was a decent man he had blond hair unlike his brother they had different mothers but the same father.
Josh and Derek had always been close
anyway while they where in the plumbing class together Derek had told Josh him and Jennifer's crazy plan. Josh thought he was joking at first then he lost it he said loudly your an anarchist a terrorist you guys are crazy Derek calmed him down and explained " listen we just don't want to be killed automatically when the honnocker application is activated, This variant has been around for twenty years now I was five when this all started I still remember how life was before we all moved into interpolises. Listen Josh it's been so long we may have developed some kind of immunity to it or it may have changed in way that makes it less contagious, Do you really want to be exterminated if their was a breakout? Josh thought for a moment and replied "I guess not man but you guys are crazy"
Derek told him with relief that he had to tell him about their plan because they shared the same living quarters. " a lot of my friends don't trust he governing force they say that theirs a lot we don't know"
Josh had also seen some propoganda from the movement a group of people from a different interpolis that had been trying to get the governing force to let them out of the city they where in to deal with the virus on their own terms.
Josh told Derek about what he saw a short video with strong security policy enforcers battering and killing a small group of members of the movement. after the executions their was a brief message stating that it was their god given right to live where they wanted that they knew that the virus wasn't as serious as the governing forces had initially implied and that if they where interested in liberation and true freedom to keep their ears open for a branchof the movement to start in there sector.
The two continued on with their plumbing studies then afterwards they both agreed to go to Lauras.
where her and Jennifer would hopefully be working on the new code for the honnocker application.
They arrived about an hour later
Laura and Jennifer had been talking for a while and had only just started messing with their p.c's when the two arrived "hello all" Laura beamed at Josh and Derek "All well"? they replied "of course she responded they all hung out and spoke for a while Laura said that at first she was weary about breaking such a serious policy but after some of the stuff she had been seeing on the television about the movement and stuff she had changed her mind.
"I mean who's to say that we are all automatically going to get the virus if one person dies from it". Derek replied, "you just leave it to old dad here to save your life when the shit pops off ". Jennifer and Laura both erupted with laughter " oh yeah you will be out knight in shining armor" Laura sarcastically added the group of them hung out together the rest of the day the guys watched the girls execute code and navigate various menus and settings.
about secen o clock everything was finished they would not be dying if the virus made it into the interpolis " well I guess that does it" said jennifer. Derek kissed her passionately and said "that's my girl right there" she giggled nervously and then life went on like normal for a while.
on the day the virus came it had been a day just like any other Jennifer had just finished the work Josh and Derek where at their Living qaurters eating some leftovers it started with a man in government dress running straight through all the sectors yelling at the top of his lungs," the ergon variant has made another jump and A sector is infected he yelled maniacally" people couldn't believe what they where hearing they looked shocked and appalled rumor spread quickly in these indoor cities.
the first man died in the hospital at three thirty three in the morning that night. ajoeh Derek Laura and Jennifer where all excited and terrified .
Trudy Buxworm was a middle aged woman with a house full of cats that's what she thought was making the light hissing noise in her living quarters as the noise continued she began to feel euphoric then she slipped into a deep sleep.
Josh and the others had agreed to wait two hours after the gassing to try to leave their living quarters at five thirty am. they all met up in front of A-13 the ground was littered with bodies of people that had known what the hissing was and had freaked out and left their living qaurters in a hurry the owner of A-13 was sprawled on the ground a thin layer of green vomit was stuck to her face Josh looked at her appalled and said " that could have been us man".
the group had went into A-13 which was closed when the tox emissions had been released since the bar was empty they decided it would be there base of operations. the group.
they had had a couple of free drinks and the guys had consoled the girls and calmed them down they had turned on the television to watch the news. a skinny man with parted hair had came on and was explaining the tragedy when something odd happened the screen had scrambled and the form of a large black man with a camouflage bandanna was slowly revealed the man said "hello all" . he took a shot of what looked like some kind of alcohol he cleared his throat and said " this is tobius Blackburn I apologize for interrupting your morning news". "but I must tell you what's really going on here recently".
their was a new scientific achievement their is a new kind of synthetic mucus RNA. can tell your body to begin producing it completely filters out the saars virus deeming it ineffective".
as you all know this means our freedom, but the governing forces are drunk with power, they have been living like kings in these interpolises for the last twenty some odd years" "and as we have learned in our recent efforts to achieve freedom". "They have decided that life is better this way and they have no intention of ever letting us out". "What that newsman was getting ready to tell you was that the A section of Atheos also known as the stash box has had its first case of a new varient of the saars virus"." I regret to inform you that this isn't true the governing forces over top of the Atheos interpolis decided when they heard about the new mucus cure that they would invent a new varient and they would kill off several sections of each interpolis that had like minded governing forces oppressing them", "sadly this is most of them".
The four survivors could not believe what they where hearing they listened intently. Tobius continued on about the movement and what everyone needed to do to get vaccinated and leave the interpolises after he was finished the group went to the back and had another drink
" can you believe this shit" said Derek to Jennifer. " No I am as shocked as you are". Laura chirped in " my father said it would be like this he I always just thought he was a conspiracy theorist".
after they where done in A-13 they hacked the main doors to the tunnel to barnose, the next interpolis, they followed the tunnel to barnose they had made fake governing force identification signals so they could travel with no problems.
and from their they got in touch with the leader of there local movement branch. he told them that they would be getting the RNA vaccine over the course of the next week. And they would hopefully all be free again by the end of the month the day that people began leaving the interpolis the most beautiful awe they ever heard played Jennifer was moved to tears.
3 months later
Derek and Jennifer Josh and had gotten much closer ;) where all sitting on the beach in a place that used to be called California the hot sun shone on the cool waters "all this because we took a chance Jennifer gleamed"
"give me liberty or give me death" Derek replied "it's so much better out here". said Laura. the group had been through a lot but thanks to science all was well now the four spent the rest of their days raising children and rebuilding society. Derek and Lauras children grew up to be great computer code generators and Josh was a courageous leader of his people and considered governor of their California city. he married Laura and they had several children two turned out great and one was a little too into farming to be considered a success.
I leave you with this absolute power corrupts absolutely always question authority and try to do what you think is right. it was probably stupid to be messing with the code for something that can kill a whole city sector but that's what they did.
thank you.
© T.L3
The virus spread far and wide, eliminating everything that stood in its way.
"Hello my name is Mr. Smith", the clean heavy set man said in his country north Kentucky accent.
" I am here to talk to you about
p.b.t's and the honnocker method".
The small group of maybe twenty adults watched mister Smith with undivided attention.
"Ok so about twenty years ago the Saar's virus and it's many variants made a jump". He proceeded to explain that saars a man made spike protein virus had been causing manking troubles for a long time.
He then continued to explain that because of progressive jump the virus had made twenty years ago the effects of the virus where so detrimental to ones health that mankind had had to move into government and privately owned indoor cities with synthetic oxygen and known as a intermetros.
Mr. Smith then explained how to read p.b.ts personal blood tests and how to use them. Then he got into the honnocker method that says what to do if an infection caused by the jump the ergon variant breaks out in the city basically a person must put in a code into the honnocker app then a coded piece of paper that says the results of the p.b.t
if the p.b.t comes back positive then when the result is scanned into the honnocker app it locks down the entire qaudrant and a strong intoxicating powder that would first cause euphoria then kill after a deep sleep was induced , would be administered to everyone within the entire sector.
The class seemed appalled that so much life could be taken so easily Derek Ward a twenty five year old freshman said to Smith.
" that would kill my whole family are you sure it's that dangerous that we have to exterminate all those people"
Smith looked at him with a grim expression and said to him "oh yes I'm certain".
after the class let out Derek along with the others picked up their p.c's.
tiny computers that would accompany them the rest of their lives they where extremely advanced and a person could do a lot with one. However they where always a grim reminder of the implications of activating the honnocker application.
Derek was twenty five year old male with brown short hair blue eyes and we'll kept facial hair. he was generally honest person and he didn't have much problems making friends, He was going to skip finishing school apl together but had decided to go into science and try to save the world from the deadly variant.
He was extremely gifted at science and mathematics and he had been reading everything he could about science for as long as he could remember.
Derek after leaving his studies quickly made his way to A-13 one of his favorite spots to socialize and drink he walked inside their was new music playing oddly it was new but it sounded old thanks to some new audio effects a new form of classical music called simply awe had taken his intermetro lovingly called the stash box by some of it's occupiers the real name of the place was Atheos, but it would Always be the stash box especially by it's poorer occupants in A sector.
The music had flooded the heads of many with so much emotion they had began to cry upon hearing it
however when he walked into the bar he walked to the back to the V.I.P area in the third door on the left his significant other Jennifer Jagdon waited patiently Jennifer was a thirty six year old p.c specialist she could do anything on one of the tiny computers. she had been taught by her mother when she was a youth and had continued learning her whole life. she was a beautiful woman with a soft but serious face and a healthy physique.
Derek walked into the V.I.P station and greeted Jennifer " how goes"? he asked her with bright eyes "do well". she replied in a loving tone.
Derek and her proceeded to talk about the days events Derek talked about finishing school and Jennifer spoke of work and lunch. The two ordered food and drinks and continued to converse and laugh as the strong drink slowly kicked in their moods where elevated. then they began talking about the honnocker application a grim subject. Derek asked her if she had ever looked at any of the source code and she said yes just to make sure it was secure enough that nobody could go crazy and kill everybody.
She said that it was pretty intelligent code but she could write something better. Derek was barely impressed everybody knew what p.c head she was. Derek then told her that he had an idea that they would write some better code and they would write in some code the left their living quarters untoxed if their was an outbreak just in case it wasn't as contagious as they thought it was. She didn't want to mess with it at first but after some convincing she gave in fine I will go to Lauras tomorrow and we will begin working on it. Laura was Jennifer's best friend and was quite proficient at coding with the tiny computers. Derek walked her to her living quarters kissed her and they parted ways.
The next day Derek awoke from a troubled sleep he had been dreaming he was in a minecart he had seen one in a old movie the minecart was moving through some kind of hellish volcano it steadily went down and down closer and closer to the lake of magma that waited at the bottom.
He would look at his hands he would look at the top of his hands and say I have perfect hands then he would look at the underside of his hands they where splashed with what looks like blood and he would say I do not have perfect hands. When they got to the very end he had awoken before being consumed by the molten lava.
he showered changed and then he went back to finishing school he was in a trade program for plumbing he had taken just because his little brother was passionate about it his little brother Joshua Ward had started finishing school immediately and he was nineteen years old he was a decent man he had blond hair unlike his brother they had different mothers but the same father.
Josh and Derek had always been close
anyway while they where in the plumbing class together Derek had told Josh him and Jennifer's crazy plan. Josh thought he was joking at first then he lost it he said loudly your an anarchist a terrorist you guys are crazy Derek calmed him down and explained " listen we just don't want to be killed automatically when the honnocker application is activated, This variant has been around for twenty years now I was five when this all started I still remember how life was before we all moved into interpolises. Listen Josh it's been so long we may have developed some kind of immunity to it or it may have changed in way that makes it less contagious, Do you really want to be exterminated if their was a breakout? Josh thought for a moment and replied "I guess not man but you guys are crazy"
Derek told him with relief that he had to tell him about their plan because they shared the same living quarters. " a lot of my friends don't trust he governing force they say that theirs a lot we don't know"
Josh had also seen some propoganda from the movement a group of people from a different interpolis that had been trying to get the governing force to let them out of the city they where in to deal with the virus on their own terms.
Josh told Derek about what he saw a short video with strong security policy enforcers battering and killing a small group of members of the movement. after the executions their was a brief message stating that it was their god given right to live where they wanted that they knew that the virus wasn't as serious as the governing forces had initially implied and that if they where interested in liberation and true freedom to keep their ears open for a branchof the movement to start in there sector.
The two continued on with their plumbing studies then afterwards they both agreed to go to Lauras.
where her and Jennifer would hopefully be working on the new code for the honnocker application.
They arrived about an hour later
Laura and Jennifer had been talking for a while and had only just started messing with their p.c's when the two arrived "hello all" Laura beamed at Josh and Derek "All well"? they replied "of course she responded they all hung out and spoke for a while Laura said that at first she was weary about breaking such a serious policy but after some of the stuff she had been seeing on the television about the movement and stuff she had changed her mind.
"I mean who's to say that we are all automatically going to get the virus if one person dies from it". Derek replied, "you just leave it to old dad here to save your life when the shit pops off ". Jennifer and Laura both erupted with laughter " oh yeah you will be out knight in shining armor" Laura sarcastically added the group of them hung out together the rest of the day the guys watched the girls execute code and navigate various menus and settings.
about secen o clock everything was finished they would not be dying if the virus made it into the interpolis " well I guess that does it" said jennifer. Derek kissed her passionately and said "that's my girl right there" she giggled nervously and then life went on like normal for a while.
on the day the virus came it had been a day just like any other Jennifer had just finished the work Josh and Derek where at their Living qaurters eating some leftovers it started with a man in government dress running straight through all the sectors yelling at the top of his lungs," the ergon variant has made another jump and A sector is infected he yelled maniacally" people couldn't believe what they where hearing they looked shocked and appalled rumor spread quickly in these indoor cities.
the first man died in the hospital at three thirty three in the morning that night. ajoeh Derek Laura and Jennifer where all excited and terrified .
Trudy Buxworm was a middle aged woman with a house full of cats that's what she thought was making the light hissing noise in her living quarters as the noise continued she began to feel euphoric then she slipped into a deep sleep.
Josh and the others had agreed to wait two hours after the gassing to try to leave their living quarters at five thirty am. they all met up in front of A-13 the ground was littered with bodies of people that had known what the hissing was and had freaked out and left their living qaurters in a hurry the owner of A-13 was sprawled on the ground a thin layer of green vomit was stuck to her face Josh looked at her appalled and said " that could have been us man".
the group had went into A-13 which was closed when the tox emissions had been released since the bar was empty they decided it would be there base of operations. the group.
they had had a couple of free drinks and the guys had consoled the girls and calmed them down they had turned on the television to watch the news. a skinny man with parted hair had came on and was explaining the tragedy when something odd happened the screen had scrambled and the form of a large black man with a camouflage bandanna was slowly revealed the man said "hello all" . he took a shot of what looked like some kind of alcohol he cleared his throat and said " this is tobius Blackburn I apologize for interrupting your morning news". "but I must tell you what's really going on here recently".
their was a new scientific achievement their is a new kind of synthetic mucus RNA. can tell your body to begin producing it completely filters out the saars virus deeming it ineffective".
as you all know this means our freedom, but the governing forces are drunk with power, they have been living like kings in these interpolises for the last twenty some odd years" "and as we have learned in our recent efforts to achieve freedom". "They have decided that life is better this way and they have no intention of ever letting us out". "What that newsman was getting ready to tell you was that the A section of Atheos also known as the stash box has had its first case of a new varient of the saars virus"." I regret to inform you that this isn't true the governing forces over top of the Atheos interpolis decided when they heard about the new mucus cure that they would invent a new varient and they would kill off several sections of each interpolis that had like minded governing forces oppressing them", "sadly this is most of them".
The four survivors could not believe what they where hearing they listened intently. Tobius continued on about the movement and what everyone needed to do to get vaccinated and leave the interpolises after he was finished the group went to the back and had another drink
" can you believe this shit" said Derek to Jennifer. " No I am as shocked as you are". Laura chirped in " my father said it would be like this he I always just thought he was a conspiracy theorist".
after they where done in A-13 they hacked the main doors to the tunnel to barnose, the next interpolis, they followed the tunnel to barnose they had made fake governing force identification signals so they could travel with no problems.
and from their they got in touch with the leader of there local movement branch. he told them that they would be getting the RNA vaccine over the course of the next week. And they would hopefully all be free again by the end of the month the day that people began leaving the interpolis the most beautiful awe they ever heard played Jennifer was moved to tears.
3 months later
Derek and Jennifer Josh and had gotten much closer ;) where all sitting on the beach in a place that used to be called California the hot sun shone on the cool waters "all this because we took a chance Jennifer gleamed"
"give me liberty or give me death" Derek replied "it's so much better out here". said Laura. the group had been through a lot but thanks to science all was well now the four spent the rest of their days raising children and rebuilding society. Derek and Lauras children grew up to be great computer code generators and Josh was a courageous leader of his people and considered governor of their California city. he married Laura and they had several children two turned out great and one was a little too into farming to be considered a success.
I leave you with this absolute power corrupts absolutely always question authority and try to do what you think is right. it was probably stupid to be messing with the code for something that can kill a whole city sector but that's what they did.
thank you.
© T.L3
