Chapter 1

All beginnings have an ending!

Chapter One

 

London, England. Year - 2256.

 

 

This was the moment that he had waited his whole life for; this was the moment that all the planning, work and deceit had been for. All these people gathered here hung onto his every word as if he were a modern day prophet. Then he thought again, no not prophet that wasn’t good enough, instead saviour, yes he liked that much more, he subconsciously nodded at the thought. Feeling the eyes of the huge crowd upon him he felt the reassuring surge of confidence pass through him, deciding that he actually felt quite God-like, he considered how lucky these people must feel to be in his presence. He chuckled to himself, thinking how easy it had been to trick this many people, as the thoughts passed through his mind.

 

The immense Pantheon echoed as the vast crowd cheered the speaker; nearly half a million people were squeezed into the colossal building. From inside, the cavernous auditorium stretched into deep darkness from one end to the other, the only internal lighting glowed down, illuminating the stage. The enormous building dominated the London skyline for miles around, once the site of the Olympic village this herculean monument now stood as testament to the vast power of Earth’s ultimate leader, the Doyen.

The London Pantheon’s sleek oval shape and its dome shaped roof rose dignified and proud on a man made hill, an intimidating flex of the Doyen’s global power.

The low lighting within the main hall enabled the crowd to look down upon the brightly lit stage at the centre, resulting in an intimidating place for any speaker to address an audience. The crowd settled down once more to listen to the deep and mesmerising voice of one of Earth’s greatest super-politicians.

 

“And I have a vision of salvation in the face of our oblivion” the man’s voice echoed, bouncing off the walls. The applause grew louder once more, the vibrating sound of hands clapping, feet stamping and cries of approval reverberated through the ancient building once again. As well as the half a million strong crowd that were present at this defining, landmark occasion, many of the rest of Earth’s 38 billion people were watching on television sets, hanging on each word of the speaker.

Ever since De-borderlisation happened on Earth, two hundred years ago, the Earth’s population had grown dramatically. At the time the population had been around the seven billion mark, with China contributing large swathes of people to this figure. The governments of many countries had agreed to open borders to increase trade routes, initially only small changes had taken place.  

England completely lost its borders with Scotland, Wales and all of Ireland to form the United Kingdom. Denmark, Sweden and Norway formed the new country of Scandinavia, mainland European countries such as France, Spain and Germany became Europe. Then gradually over time larger changes took place, with China losing borders with Thailand then Mongolia and finally India and Pakistan, forming a new super-country called Chinastan, the name later reverting back to China.  The U.S. was one of the last countries to remove its borders but in the face of China’s new power it had no choice and borders with Mexico and Canada were dropped. Lastly, all the South American countries formed an alliance to become Rio Plate. Over time and as a result of many wars and conflicts these new countries finally dropped all international borders and Earth became a place to roam freely.

 

The war between China and Russia saw both countries decimated financially and consolidation was sought by the ruling parties. The same happened when the United Kingdom fought Scandinavia and Rio Plate fought the U.S. Eventually Earth became free of borders and was ruled by the newly elected Global Government. The creation of a new Global Government also saw the creation of a new, all powerful and cross cultural Super-Politician.

 

The new, all powerful, Global Government needed a base for its vast powers and while traditional places such as Washington and Beijing were considered, the Doyen chose London. Due to its location looking down over the rest of the world, London proved to be an exceptional choice. The Doyen also chose wisely as London was the financial epicentre of the world, no where else on Earth could such enormous riches be seen. No longer did traditional townhouses line the streets as the less fortunate squeezed into run-down apartment blocks, now huge mansions were the only residential properties available in the ‘Golden Capital’. And every inhabitant held unquestionable power and riches beyond inquisition. On this cool summer evening one of these vastly powerful political lords spoke to the world.

 

Meanwhile, riotous applause broke out inside the Pantheon, shouting and whistling echoed around the vast space.

“The greedy rich are controlling the Earth’s valuable resources, they need to be stopped” the speaker proclaimed with his right arm stretched out above his head, the index finger pointing defiantly. The audience that were gathered here and the billions watching at home believed this man was the one man who could stop the human race’s ultimate destruction. The speaker, Ki Direto was an Afrina and the people of Earth’s only hope in the fight against crime and greed. Ki Direto epitomised the oppressed people of Earth, he came from the lower classes that he represented, but there was something more defined about him. Direto stood taller than many that he spoke to but not noticeably so, his face was strong with canine features but soft feline eyes that he owed to his Chinese heritage. He held himself as if he was important and confident; he spoke in a soft and clear way which comforted the people he spoke to. Those who sought Ki Direto’s attention, and found it, felt as though his eyes burned through their own, like he was reading their thoughts.

 

Many years ago when de-borderlisation had taken place Earth’s population had become increasingly transient and nomadic. As a result of this nomadic behaviour new races of people were created. Most prominently, many African men took Chinese women as wives creating Afrinas. Ki Direto was a result of de-borderlisation and it was his ambition to fight another result, the massive pandemic of greed fuelled crime. Every section of society had been affected by problems of law and order and now, with no oil or coal left on the planet, crime had gone into overdrive.

 

The gathered crowd broke out into deafening chants of “Ki Direto, Ki Direto” as the speaker stepped towards the microphone again. Direto smiled in satisfaction as his name resounded around the auditorium.

“Global people of Earth” began Direto. “Now is the time to act against the corruption that governs this planet” Direto stood defiantly staring into the volatile crowd, he knew that his speech was being monitored by the Global Government and its secret police force. The fact that he had even taken the stage would have been seen as a defiant act against the powers that ruled the Earth and its ultimate leader, the Doyen. Now that Ki Direto had spoken out against the government it would be seen as a criminal offence, but Direto had been cunning in his defiance. Over the last few years Direto had built up such global support that the government were rendered powerless to stop him, he had even been elected to the government as a means of controlling him. Ultimately, it hadn’t worked. Ki Direto was now so popular that many thought it was inevitable that he would become the next Doyen, spelling disaster for many of the ruling council who had become rich and fat on greed and crime.  The love that the people had for Ki Direto could be felt in the atmosphere of the Pantheon, the air almost crackled in anticipation every time he stepped towards the microphone. With his hand outstretched towards the crowd they fell silent as if spell-bound by his very presence.

“The Global Government has lied to you for years” Direto spoke as if it were a sombre occasion and the audience were silence by his words. “Brothers and Sisters, they have taken away everything you once counted upon as your own. We have no oil. We have no coal and the air is polluted. They have bled this planet dry for there own benefit” The crowd erupted once more and shouts of “truth be known” and “liars” could be heard all around, it felt as though the temperature within the Pantheon had increased in seconds. Ki Direto stepped back from the microphone, the crowd were now incensed, snarling and growling like wolves, and he knew now was the time to deliver the knockout blow.

“And the greediest of them all is the Doyen” Direto spat the words as if they tasted rotten.

 

The Pantheon fell silent, the crowd watched and waited as if they had become a single being, seemingly breathing in perfect unison. There were gasps of shock around the hall, people stood open-mouthed as if disbelieving their own ears.  It was one thing to speak out against ministers but to question the morality of the Doyen was something that nobody ever dared to do.

“The Doyen has controlled the people on this planet for over thirty years and he has removed each of his opponents systematically” Direto frowned into the microphone. More shocked gasps around the Pantheon, Direto was now accusing the Doyen of murder, either Direto had some very damning evidence or he had sensationally and publicly become extremely mentally unstable.

 

Punishment for even the most meagre crimes was expulsion, a process that due to the desperate need for living space on Earth meant being fired into orbit. The most serious crimes were punishable by a system of bloodletting that allowed the body to die slowly and painfully, nourishing the parched earth both during and after death. Prisoners were sent to extermination camps in the South Pole, the only inhospitable place left on Earth, where millions of rotting corpses decomposed, piling on top of each other. Long brown trails of liquid ran into the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans providing a flow of much needed nutrients that would eventually drift around the world. At this moment Ki Direto looked as if he was set to be sailing on a ship to the South Pole in the very near future.

 

“The Doyen and his government must be tried for crimes against Earth, we must end the corruption” cried Direto, the last few words carried slowly across the vast space to maximise their potential. Suddenly, the Pantheon shook as the crowd erupted into ear-splitting applause, the sound lighting up the night beyond the ancient building for miles around. In adjacent fields cows ran scared, sheep huddled together in fear of the noise and birds scattered from trees. People watching at home cheered at their television sets and ran out into the dim streets to celebrate with their euphoric neighbours. More and more people diverged onto the pavements and soon the trickle of long oppressed citizens became a raging torrent, a bulging, pregnant river that had burst its banks.

 

Inside the Pantheon, Ki Direto was smiling into the crowd, waving at various people, engulfed in adulation. The atomic noise of the crowd showed no sign of abating, for the people of Earth their prayers had been answered, someone had dared to speak out. Ki Direto tried to bat away an errant fly that seemed to jab towards his left eye, with the fly gone he continue to smile into the crowd. Almost as if Direto had paused in time the red dot of the laser sight, that had bothered his left eye, came to rest in the centre of his forehead. Nobody heard or saw the small window in the eves of the Pantheon shatter inwardly, sprinkling fine shards of glass onto the floor, fifty feet below.  There was no sound that accompanied the flat, disc like bullet as it spun ferociously through the hot night air. Just one centimetre in diameter with a small hump at its centre, which housed a microscopic bead of enriched plutonium. The bullet had been designed to be fired from a gun with no recoil noise and pinpoint accuracy of up to four miles away, making it the perfect weapon for an assassin or sniper. The laser sight was now locked onto Ki Direto’s forehead, guiding the bullet to its destination. The disc like bullet sliced into Direto’s head exactly between each eye leaving a brief red angry strip before exploding on contact with his brain. All around the crowd were still wildly rejoicing, too busy to notice the stunned look on Ki Direto’s face. The back of his cranium was ripped away from the rest of his head; skull and brain flew into the crowd, covering a woman who was dancing deliriously with an old man. Direto’s eyes burned bright red flames as if hell had laid siege to the cavities and his once strong features melted like molten candle wax.

 

Three miles away, deep in the undergrowth, on top of the tallest of a series of gradually rising hills, the man who had just shot Ki Direto exhaled a slow and sad breath. He lay in the prone position, with bushes and leaves pulled over him to act as camouflage, extending slightly from the mass of foliage was the muzzle of a Samhain 2K. The Samhain was a short and stubby sniper rifle that fired small atomic discs with an accurate range of four miles, fixed on top of the Samhain was a Monoclees Laser Sight, its red beam capable of piercing through brickwork to give the user x-ray vision sight. The man holding the Samhain pressed the safety catch on and laid the butt of the weapon on the ground; he stretched his neck slowly from side to side and relaxed both arms. Giving out a barely audible groan the man bent his back upwards, feeling the spine click against the resistance of his muscles. After laying in the same position for seventeen hours the man felt the relief wash over him as he moved his legs, his extending hamstrings pleasantly burning in the warm night air. 

 

Checking to see if anyone was close by the man threw off the branches that lay over him. He had picked clothes that were dark and would conceal him in his environment but also that he could still walk in them without arousing suspicion, enabling him to roam without much baggage. Over his head he wore a woollen balaclava that was tucked into his brown cotton shirt. Automatically the man began dismantling the Samhain, unscrewing the muzzle and snapping the Monoclees Sight from its cradle, he then carefully folded the hollow butt back on itself forming a case in which he placed the muzzle and sight. Slowly he rose to a crouch and then stood up to his full height, stretching as he did so. The man was tall but not noticeably so. He reached to his face and pulled off the woollen balaclava, his straight jet black hair was matted with sweat, his strong canine face sparkled in the moonlight and his soft feline eyes were bloodshot and weary. The man slotted the folded away Samhain into the false compartment of a wicker case over which he put a tray of assorted hooks and reels. After snapping shut the catches on the wicker case the man reached into the undergrowth and pulled out a long, thin bag that contained a fishing rod. With one last look around to make sure he wasn’t being watched Ki Direto began the long walk back to his car on a hidden track two miles away, looking like nothing other than a tired night fisherman.