Gene. Sys. by Aaron Denius (best ereader for comics txt) 📕

I take Rene’s serious tone as a hint, and I sit on the bed. It’s twice the size as the one I had, and the second I sit down, I realize just how tired I am. Even though I was unconscious for a few days, my body and mind need a conscious rest.

“Do you think the others are ready?” Rene asks.

“For what?” I think I know what he means, but I want to make sure.

“For the end, the Ragnarok. For survival.” He looks at me with care. Throughout everything, he has always loved me as his son.

“I’m not even ready,” I say, prompting him to frown. “But we will do everything we can to survive. What’s going to happen when it starts?”

Rene takes a deep breath. “Within an hour of pressing the button, all the nuclear weapons around the world will detonate. The one here in Cairo should be last. By then, we will have flown all of you to your bunkers around Africa.”

“What about Grant?” I look around the room. I know that he left to make sure that all those nuclear weapons were ready.

“If things are going according to schedule, he should be finished arming the weapons in Russia and China by now. He will be heading to Australia and the Americas after that.” Rene shifts in the chair.

“Have you been talking with him?” I thought that we would never hear from him again; his goodbye felt final. “Do you think…”

“Communication is limited to the compound. Unfortunately, we can only send information to mainframes that have been hardwired,” Rene interjects.

“Like to the computers at the nuclear missile sites?” I remember learning in one of my earlier classes about how there was a time where everyone in the world could communicate with each other instantly, all through the use of satellites. Now each of those satellites in the sky is just a ghost ship, adrift in the orbit of the earth, time and solar flares rendering them all incapable of their job. Now the only computer communication that isn’t local is done through hardwired cables that were placed centuries ago.

“Listen, Atom, there is something that we need to talk about with regards to these attacks, and I feel you already know more than you think.” He leans closer to me.

“What do you mean?” I’m nervous. I don’t know what he thinks I know.

“I believe these attacks were aided by some internal information, and I believe that you might know something about that.” Rene stares at me. I know that he’s alluding to the information that Grant told me about the group of scientists. Grant also said to keep the information to myself, so I don’t know what to do.

I look at Rene and study his eyes. Grant was worried that Rene might try to go public with the information to try to out the scientists, but I don’t think that is the case now. “Grant told me that he had been hearing of a group of scientists who were looking to disrupt the plan. He didn’t know who was part of it, but he wanted me to keep an eye open.”

“Why didn’t he tell me?” Rene says to himself more than he does to me. He’s hurt that Grant wouldn’t confide in him.

“He was afraid that you would have tried to call them out before he had figured out who they were. He didn’t want accusations flying around.” I’m trying my best to justify Grant’s actions to Rene.

“Have you seen anything or anyone do anything suspicious?” he asks.

I think about the first time I saw Dr. Kivuli. I was with Titan in the medical ward, and Hawk was arguing with Brianna. It was odd, and I remember not liking Dr. Kivuli from the instant I saw her, but nothing about that moment raised any alarms. It just felt weird.

“Nothing yet,” I say.

“Okay. Well, I put you in Grant’s room because I want you to look through all his work, see if he has any information lying around. Also, watch the monitors. Take note of any suspicious activity.” Rene grabs a tablet from the desk, and with a swipe, he turns on all of the monitors. Images from around the compound appear. One of the monitors shows the other Genesys gathered in a semi-circle, listening to Dr. Kivuli.

My eyes are transfixed on the screens so I don’t notice Rene stand. When he drops the tablet on my lap, I look up.

“One more thing,” he adds as he steps to the door. “There is a list of four valuable skills that you all need to learn. I don’t think we have the time to have you all in each class, so split the Genesys into groups of three and have each group learn one specific skill. Your teachers will be waiting for you tomorrow. You all can teach each other what you’ve learned.”

“Okay.” I barely hear him because my focus wants to return to the monitors.

“Atom, if you see anything, you tell me. Don’t do anything on your own. We need to make sure we catch those who want to stop this.” Rene gives me a stern look. He wants to make sure I understand. I nod, and he walks out, closing the door behind him.

My eyes return to the screen for a few more moments, and then they wander back to the tablet. I’m curious about what these classes are that Rene wants us to take. I turn it on and call up the list:

Languages – Learn the 25 most popular languages in the world. 

Survival skills – Learn how to make weapons and traps to gather food. Also, learn to farm and cultivate crops.  

Mechanical Engineering – Learn how to take apart and put together vehicles and other mechanical systems.

Computer/Electrical Engineering – Learn how to take apart and put together computers, radios, and other electrical components. 

I read the list over a couple of times and realize that I’m going to have a tough time choosing the right