Fractured: Athena Rising

PROLOGUE

ELYSIAN CITY:

PEMBROKE ACADEMY

TWENTY YEARS AGO

Peter Dalton stood in the front of his class as the students watched his every move. He was well respected in this Academy as an instructor and mentor and you can tell by the looks on his students’ faces that they hung on every single word that came out of his mouth.

I would like to introduce you, for the first time, to the one student who went above and beyond her call of duty. Peter paused as his friend, Walter Kane, walked in to sit in the back row. This one young woman, at the age of seventeen has mastered the field of gene therapy and has brought to my attention the first ever cure for cancer that this country has ever seen. The crowd of students erupted. And as you may well know, we need to keep this within the confines of this classroom until the FDA accepts and grants GC-410B into a released to the public status. I will need, before you leave, for you to sign a confidentiality clause. Not only for this student’s safety but for your own, as cancer is a much debated, hot button issue. Now without further adieu, may I present to you the newest member of Olympus Tech’s research team and the youngest consult to the Department of Defense….Doctor Dana Webb.

The classroom erupted in applause and it slowly died down as nothing happened. Walter Kane looked surprised as he waited for his newest employee to walk into the classroom to finally give her speech.

I’ll be right back. Peter said as he walked out the door in the back of the classroom. As he rounded the corner in the quiet hallway, he noticed Dana leaning against the lockers, holding her stomach as she tried to keep the nausea away. Dana, this is your day. He said.

I don’t know if I can do this. She said, holding her nerves as best she could. She took a few deep breaths as the color faded from her sweaty face.

You deserve this. Peter said, rubbing her shoulders. You are the brightest mind in this history of this school. You’re going to change the world.

Dana looked at him and he could tell that being the inventor of the cure for the world was weighing heavily on her. She didn’t know if she was up to the responsibility and she wasn’t completely sure that she wanted to be remembered in the history books. This was definitely a game-changer and as Dana stood there, she remembered being a little girl standing on the diving board for the first time, looking into the ominous blackness of the pool below her.

But I don’t know how much of it was my mind and how much of it was my body that got me here in the first place. She said sadly. I know how this works.

Peter looked to the floor. What we have between us is no one’s business but ours. No one knows that we’ve been seeing each other and even if I wanted to, your mind would take you farther than any idea I may entertain of swaying the decision based on our physical relationship.

So it doesn’t matter at all? She asked. What happens to us when all of the wheels go in motion?

Peter smiled as he pulled a ring box out of his pocket. I was hoping to give this to you after the ceremony but I think now is the perfect time.

Oh my God, really? She beamed. The color almost immediately returned to her face.

Yes. I want you to marry me. Peter said. That is as long as you can make your speech and handle the rest of your life objectively. I’ll be behind you every step of the way.

Oh my God, yes. She said through her beautiful, enormous smile. I’ll marry you. She gave Peter a deep kiss and he slid the huge ring on her finger. Now I definitely want you to celebrate with me.

After the ceremony. He smiled. And you don’t need to worry about the legality of our marriage. You’ve been emancipated so it’s already legal.

If I cared about that I wouldn’t have started dating you. She smiled. I guess I have a speech to give.

Yes you do. I have to talk to your new boss while you tend to your peers. He said as Walter Kane walked out into the hallway.

Is everything okay? Walter asked. I don’t want my rising star fading so quickly.

I’m fine. Dana said through her huge smile. I’m really…really fine.

Good. Walter said. I will see you after dismissal to go over your appointment at Olympus Tech. And we’ll get you a nice crew for you to utilize however you see fit.

Oh my God, thank you. She said as she took a deep breath before disappearing into the classroom to give her speech, shaking off the last of the nerves that lingered in her fingertips and toes.

I couldn’t help but notice the large ring on her finger, Peter. Walter smiled. You’re an old dog.

That is just to keep her in line. Peter said. Dana is going to change the world but she needs someone to guide her in the…right direction.

"You do know that the FDA will never pass that little cure of hers. It’s not in the country’s best interests. Hell, it’s not in our best interests."

I know, Walter. Peter said. "Like I said, I need to keep her close to the vest so I can sideline everything right under her pretty little nose.

The Fortune 500 companies are voting in six months to appoint the next President of the United States. Her cure would all but destroy my chances at running this great land of ours. Think of it, by this time next year, this country will be doing whatever we dream of it doing, Peter.

Dana walked up to the podium, visibly resisting the urge to throw up on the microphone. She smiled nervously at the class, who were for the most part clapping more out of a course requirement than being congratulatory. Dana picked up on the shallow, self-serving sentiment and immediately took the microphone.

Hi. She said nervously. For those of you that don’t know me, my name is…Dana Webb.

There were crickets in the room. She looked into the eyes of everyone in front of her and she couldn’t help but see the resentment oozing from them. Her relationship with Peter Dalton wasn’t necessarily a secret in the social circles and they were making it known.

I’ve known all of you over the course of my time at Pembroke and I’ve had the privilege of working with some of you on various research projects. Dana cleared her throat and sipped the water from the bottle that was already there. I hope that water wasn’t some research project.

Dana laughed and again, her colleagues mumbled and chuckled out of necessity.

She continued cautiously. I know that my age was a spot of contention for just about my entire career here and trust me, growing up with my mind made me a little more than lonely through my entire life. But when I arrived here, regardless of my age, I was finally among my peers. For the first time in my life, I was among people with the same goals that I have always held. And this award…this…whatever it is…stands for my dedication to helping this country. All we can ask from what we do is that the results of our work benefit the greater good. Science is the search through the unknown, to find a truth bigger than any of us and in that search, I am grateful to be on this journey with all of you. You should all be as proud as I am for what we are trying to accomplish. I share this award with all of you.

There were finally some idle claps crawling up from the back of the room.

This award itself means nothing compared to the good that can come to the sick people across the United States, the people who are living with a disease that until today meant a sentence of radiation and for the most part, the end of hope. That is the reward and regardless of my age, I believe we can all agree that scientific advancement should only serve the people. We have great gifts within us…all of us, and we need to utilize those gifts to help the people that can’t…or don’t. Today, science will extend life and that is the best award that any of us can ever hope to achieve. As I stand here today, we are collectively harvesting hope for the future generations of the world.

Dana smiled at the actual applause she was getting. She noticed some journalists in the back, snapping pictures and jotting frantic notes in their notebooks. She didn’t like that aspect of this whole thing. Growing up behind the eight-ball, so to speak, she was a little shy about being in the limelight and she knew that for these last few moments, the world will remain the calm, inquisitive place she was comfortable in. As soon as the microphone grows silent, her world was going to be radically different.

And there are two student-instructors that I would like to speak with for a few moments when I’m finished with this little commencement speech that I am doing horribly with…so Drs. Reynolds and Palmer, would you please indulge me in a possibility of working alongside me? You have been instrumental in our efforts and it would be a privilege to work alongside you.

She looked to the side of the room and saw the two men standing together. She made sure they were watching and she was immensely happy to see them smiling back at her. And in that instant, she felt as if she was worthy of the acclaim she was receiving.

From the bottom of my heart... She said to Reynolds, Palmer and the rest of her colleagues, thank you and I love you all for being a part of this…and a part of my life.

NINETEEN YEARS AGO

President-Appoint Kane, we’re ready for you. The aide said as he got the last of his makeup applied behind the desk in the Oval Office. The lights are on and the teleprompter is to your left. We’re going live, so any pauses will not be edited.

I understand. President Kane said. Thank you.

The aide walked away and President Kane looked into the teleprompter, trying to get a gauge on it before the man by the camera finished counting down on his fingers. He looked at the camera man and he saw his fingers going from three, two and one.

My fellow Americans, President Kane said. Good evening. I know a lot of you around this country are watching this telecast with a sense of confusion at what you are watching. I understand that in the past, you have all voted for your choice as the best candidate to be sitting in this coveted seat and I sincerely appreciate your rise to civic duty. But as you can see, my name wasn’t on the ballot and yet here I am, speaking with you right now.

President Kane paused for a healthy moment, clearing his throat before continuing.

My name is Walter Kane. And in the past, this country has been swayed farther from the rationality that our forefathers intended and into the treacherous world of political in-fighting and petty squabbles. The country did not come first. The people did not come first. Hubris came first and our leaders became more concerned with their political careers than they did with the welfare of our great nation.

Walter Kane cleared his throat and reset his steely eyes into the camera in front of him.

We are no longer capable of rational decisions that would elevate this country into being the great power that it once was. With the advent of reality television, we now share the same concept of a pseudo-political reality, which is that we no longer have to work to be well-off, financially speaking. From being an overnight internet sensation to a sudden pop star without bleeding out an ounce of work to being a rich housewife that people find riveting, we have concluded that our country-wide addiction to the inane has put a black eye on our culture and rest assured that the logic has seeped into the political climate, where the flash and showmanship cast a heavy shadow on an honest work ethic for the benefit of the people it serves. We have effectively sold our collective souls to be noticed for anything and our levels of decency have descended so far that it seems that we can only be successful reveling in the depravity around us. And that logic, that style-over-substance logic ladies and gentlemen, began to leak over into the mainstream media. That misguided logic…that misdirection and nonsense took the place of the legitimate contenders for the most important office in the world. That logic is what is killing this country. It is effectively eating this country from the inside out and no one knows that’s it been happening under our noses for years.

Walter Kane cleared his throat one more time.

I am the CEO of Olympus Tech, and as you know our brand has arms in numerous special interest groups within this country and worldwide. Within my network of associates, I want you to know as of today that our debt to China has been paid in full. Let me be clearer. Our National Debt has been cleared and China no longer holds us in an economic choke hold. Based on the recent media frenzy concerning the rich finally paying their dues with taxation, we thought it was necessary to step in and clear the debt. That alone has eliminated the nonsensical debate that served as a distraction for what the issues really were. No more loop holes to close, no more endless debate based on misguided hubris.

Walter Kane paused to let that sink in before he started again.

We’ve effectively pulled the wool from everyone’s eyes. No more lies, America. For decades this office was won by buying votes, suppressing voters to win states based on red and blue color affiliation. The media outlets played the race card in attaining our first Black President but everyone denies any negativity aimed towards him that are based on his skin color. Again, it is another clever distraction to take you away from the real issues that happen to all of us, regardless of our skin color. While we are all caught up in the story of a President, the people behind him on both sides are collectively eating each other to use the hype to their advantage. America, you deserve more in your leaders. You deserve more than your leaders playing on your emotions in a paparazzi-style campaign.

Instead of wanting our President to lead, we cleverly question his citizenship and make a mockery of the very makeup of our forefather’s vision. I want you to understand that I know it was not the President’s fault. He solely wanted the seat to help the country according to his vision. I admire that in any American. It’s the media that made the man a racial novelty and the country has been divided ever since.

We can’t have it both ways, America. We can’t have people complaining about being singled out based on anything when the media itself is doing that to reach its own political goals. And when we reach the point the reality television stars have become political figures to help win the Presidency? Well, I think you’ll all agree that this pathetic circus that we’ve comfortably called a government needs a ringmaster.

Walter took another deep breath.

"So, as you all know, Washington D.C. is run by people with numerous side interests. It always has been and it always will be, with slick lobbyists hijacking the public interest and public trust for personal gain in the secrecy of the political machine and hidden Super PACS. And we have reached out to all of those Senators and Congressmen, and women…and we collectively decided that it was in the best interest of this country that we stop our blatant lying to America. We are not succumbing to the ridiculous hype any longer. Our country’s growth to its full potential is paramount from this point on.

We have effectively done away with the Republican and Democratic parties and all but abolished the nonsensically radical Tea Party movement. From here on out, on a yearly basis the Fortune 500 companies will convene and appoint the CEO of the most globally profitable company to the Presidency. We will honor the leader of the company who has contributed the most to the GDP. Let’s be honest and clear about one thing, America. Your votes have not counted in decades. The almighty dollar has always risen to the occasion when it came to elections so we decided that we will utilize that and strip away the lies. We have effectively taken away the mind games.

There is a fine line between capitalism and socialism, America. Make no bones about it, we have been a socialist nation for nearly a century, but since corporations have run your lives and not the government, we disguised it as mere capitalism. This has always been a Republic, as it states in the Pledge of Allegiance, something on its own that has been rewritten and nearly forgotten in our overly-sensitive social climate. Nowhere in the Pledge does it say that we are a democracy. You had one vote and after you voted, the baton was handed off to the money machines that couldn’t care less about whose name you voted for.

No more, America. This is our new vision, which is void of any moniker that is meant to deceive you.

Walter Kane paused.

This is God’s world. Kane said. One nation under God. And under God’s word as spoken in the Bible, here are some of the changes that we will be implementing and as of tomorrow, they will go into effect nationwide.

The FCC will be called upon to step up restrictions on television programming and access to the internet. We will provide you with suitable subject matter that will inspire creativity and inhibit laziness and contempt. We are no longer accepting of adult websites or pornography in mainstream culture or reality television.

We will no longer require the use of cable news in any form, as it is a cancer that is systematically killing the soul of this country. It has made a mockery of the government that should be working for you, not for itself. We want you to use free thought, Americans. We don’t want you to tow a company line to adhere to the paid-for opinions made by the respective owners. We will be uploading a set of guidelines to our website for you to read. We have determined what you should be seeing, reading and listening to, so I suggest that you read up on them as they will be entered into law as of tomorrow. Anything being utilized that it not government sanctioned will result in a financial penalty.

As far as music is concerned, we have re-established the long-forgotten PMRC and those officials will oversee the music industry to make sure that the music allowed over the airwaves adheres to our moral and decency standards, for the benefit of our children under the watchful eyes of God.

It will, as of tomorrow, be illegal to actively believe in any faith other than Christianity. Freedom of religion in a country that resides under one God is hypocrisy in its truest form. We will begin coordination with the local churches and we will now require that every citizen participates in Christian studies three times a week. Anyone caught studying or practicing a religion that contradicts Christianity will immediately revoke their citizenship and be deported. Worship of any other deity, other than God Himself will be deemed an act of treason against the United States.

Beginning tomorrow, every citizen in the United States will be fitted with a sub dermal tracker, which will be used to monitor the whereabouts of each citizen. All transactions, whether it’s personal or monetary, made from anyone in this country will be logged and stored in your unit, as well as your GPS location. And yes, your Christian Studies will be logged as well, to make sure that everyone is abiding by God’s law. You will from now on be accountable for all of your actions and you will never again blame the government or society for your problems. It’s time to rise up and take your place in the world, Americans. Be accountable.

No woman is granted the ability from this day forward to bear more than two children. In the event that you have twins, you will no longer be allowed the ability to conceive after their birth. The doctors delivering the children have been instructed to inhibit pregnancy after the second child. Their procedures will be documented and entered into the national database, to prevent any unnecessary lawsuits from either side. In the unlikely event that triplets are conceived, the third child will be donated for placement into our foster care system. This will alleviate any issue with couples struggling for conception. But the same rule applies to adoptive parents. Your limit is two. Population is not something to be taken lightly and we have determined as a group that the maximum number of manageable family members is four, based on previous statistical trends and earnings reports. Now I know you are asking yourself the question What is I already have three or more children? We do not intend on taking the additional children from you if they were born, or conceived earlier than today. Your income levels will mirror your additional family members. We are speaking solely about new births and conception after tomorrow’s date, not the families that existed before my administration.

In response to the overwhelming debate over women’s rights and equal earnings, we have decided that it is only fair that the woman in every household will be responsible for the upbringing of the family. They will be allowed the opportunity of employment; however employment that will not interfere with the hours required raising the family. Family is the most important part of America, it has always been the heart and soul of this great nation and it is paramount that there is someone there to make sure the children grow with the value that we are putting forth.

The debate on gay marriage is effectively over as of today. Beginning tomorrow, every citizen in this country will be required to be inoculated every six months. God’s word as read in the Bible strictly forbids homosexuality and as we are all God’s children, so does the United States of America from this day forward. We have found a medicinal cure for homosexuality and again, if you choose to not be inoculated, you revoke citizenship to this great country of ours. Not being inoculated is your right, however it will be considered an act of treason and you will be asked to leave.

As of tomorrow, it will be illegal for any citizen of the United States to label themselves as anything other than American. We will not use labels to describe ourselves based on ethnicity or sexual preference, as the latter will be been remedied as of tomorrow. Labels are killing this country and splitting us down the middle. There are no more African Americans, Caucasians, Asians or anything else. We are Americans through and through, regardless of nationality. Be proud, be American.

To end the never-ending racial sensitivity issues that have permeated this country since the day that a reality star questioned the President’s authenticity; we are now signing into law an amendment that makes interracial marriages illegal as well. Again, this is under God’s strict word, as it is written in the Bible. And as you will soon see in your Christian studies, I am telling the absolute truth, from God’s word to your ears. We are not racially against any citizen and I want to make this absolutely clear…we have no intention of reinstating Jim Crowe laws in this country. Our citizens, whatever their color or nationality, will have the same opportunities to live to the extent of their own ambitions. However we cannot, under God, legalize marriage or relationships outside of their own races. It is another distraction and we can’t risk that being used as a tool of misdirection ever again.

Our justice system is flawed, America. Again, televising anything and everything has eaten at the soul of what this country was founded upon. We have given power to opinionated spokespeople and pundits on cable that drastically influenced the decisions that should rest with the judges themselves. We will now be outlawing the airing of any courtroom proceedings and as I stated before, those cable channels will cease to exist. Their influence and social disease is over. We will once again see fair trials in our justice system.

Our prison systems will be shut down immediately. We have begun our process in which each Governor of the 50 states has designated a portion of their largest city to stand in as the prison system. This portion will be walled off and guarded. This will kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. We will not have to gentrify and rebuild, keeping costs low as we will be able to utilize the current prison systems and merge them into our growing job creation agenda. Imagine a building that once housed the criminals in this society, now bearing life to a factory or a shopping mall. Every defendant on trial will be afforded on one federal appeal. If that defendant loses the appeal, they begin their sentence within a walled-off Fourth Ward, which is located within the proximity of their crime.

Concerning immigration, Walter Kane said. We have a simple solution. We no longer require immigrants and potential citizens to take an exam to belong here. Instead, we require that immigrants work for a period of two years in a Ward Four of their choice. If they can make it among the convicted rapists, thieves, killers, junkies and pedophiles, they will receive their green card as a bonus for rising up to their civic duty. Immigrants will prove their worth to be Americans. They will endure a trial by fire, so to speak.

And finally I am going to tell you, America that in an effort to go green; we have decided unanimously that each Ward Four will be responsible now for disposing of our recently deceased. Every buried corpse within this country will be exhumed and sent for disposal immediately to eliminate their carbon footprints influencing our environment negatively. Any future deaths will be federally funded, alleviating the stress to the families for having to pay for it. After an approved ceremony, the body of the recently deceased will be shipped to our cremation facilities, where they will be cremated and returned to you. This will keep control over what is exposed to the beloved ozone.

This is the new America. We will be behind you every step of the way and we want you to succeed. From here on out, the only deterrent to your success is yourselves. We have effectively taken out any factors that can be twisted around into an excuse for your failures or non-attempts in being successful. We are done with the distractions in this country. Along with the politically correct act that was passed long ago, we have strayed from our core values and became a nation of victims. We need to thicken our skins, America. We need to stop paying lawyers in frivolous lawsuits over non-issues. That money should be going through this country to build it up, not to tear it down. That money should be used for you and by you, not defending yourselves in court over name calling.

We will no longer monitor what you eat or what your children eat. It’s time you take parental responsibility for your decisions. It is none of the government’s business what you do for yourselves or your children and it’s not fair to ruin businesses based solely on parental incompetence and the failure to admit it. You can’t refuse the government stepping in by calling it socialism and then turn around to rely on the government to bail you out and be your scapegoat when you can’t accept your own shortcomings as a parent. If you want this to be a working republic, you need to assume some responsibility for your failures. Turn them around and make them successes. And under God, I am assured that we can do this as a country. We can do this for ourselves and we can strive to be a better place to live.

"In the words of President-elect John Fitzgerald Kennedy during his inauguration address on January 20, 1961:

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

Welcome to the New America.

Welcome to a world where you are going to be restricted by nothing more than your own ambition. The country is yours once again. Enjoy it, use it and may God forever Bless America.

EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO

Dana pulled back from the table and dropped her soldering iron. She looked at the microchip with a smile and then immediately at the chimpanzee that was sitting in a chair in the corner, smiling at her. The chimp’s head was delicately wired to the databank next to him and as Dana flipped a button, a picture of Dana materialized on the television next to the chimp’s head.

I put that image in there. Dana smiled as Dr. Reynolds stood next to her in the lab. Dr. Palmer was by the chimp, making sure the chimp’s head didn’t burst into flames. Let’s see the FDA deny this technology.

I see that the chimpanzee seems to have a fascination with you in a bikini. Reynolds said with a big smile. I can see the fascination. Is that bikini even legal?

I make no apologies for my body or the clothing that lacks the ability to cover it successfully. She smiled.

The iridium has cooled. Palmer said. The chip is ready and I think we’re a go for human trials, Dr. Dalton.

I told you to call me Dana. She said. "And I think we’re ready for the next phase. We’re ready for embryonic