The Savior Arrives

Perfect World story (The NOW)

Raf Zellen hated corporations-- he hated them more than he hated politicians, and he hated politicians with white-hot ire. Corporations were huge, manipulative entities that had the power of government (but without the restrictions), who kept politicians in their pockets for when they needed an ace up their slimy doublecrossing sleeves.

Raf was a double doctorate at NYU (political science & computer programming), a child genius/college senior at 18, and a hacker who liked to create havoc within the servers and supercomputers of corrupt corporations. His identity was unknown to them but his actions were very familiar-- he was widely called the Scourge. On the other hand, he was known as 'The Savior' to his clients, people who have never met him but have paid a good deal of money to get them out of serious trouble.

And get them out he did. As the Savior, he was uncanny at approaching a problem from a skewed perspective, solving it in unlikely ways. When one client was in danger of losing their home to an unscrupulous lender, a well-timed toxic waste report labeled the land as worthless, causing the lender to dump the property, and fast. The client kept their land, and the lender never found out the report was completely bogus, thanks to the Savior's tangled network of corroborating paperwork. His hope was to force corporations to play by a new set of society-friendly rules, moving humanity one step closer to his ideal 'Good and Kind' world. "So I guess I'm kind of like Robin Hood," he said once to a grateful client.

This morning he was searching for more incidents of corruption online and was interrupted by a pop-up ad. This was an odd occurrence since he had designed a macro to disable them all and infect the source, usually resulting in a fried motherboard for the offending salesmen. He was merciless that way.

But this particular pop-up was different. It had a very detailed, color intensive graphic-- a bud opening into a flower morphing into an alien robot and then into a rocket and then into a city skyline, which curled back up into a flower bud and repeated. It floated around the screen, avoiding his mouse, occasionally hiding behind other windows. It peered around the edges and played cat and mouse with him. He was impressed but 'swatted' it (option/ control/ shift/ tab/ escape) anyway and it disappeared, infecting the mother program. "Gotcha," he chuckled smugly.

Or so he thought. Going through his media a few minutes later it showed up again in the text of an article he was reading, appearing to 'rip' through the page... a surprising trick he'd never seen before! Looking closely at the pop-up this time, he was shocked at the message's personal nature. Beneath the graphic were the words, 'Become A Full Time Savior-- Pull The Plug On Corrupt Giants', followed by a button labeled, 'Rewards And Fun', with the first letters lined up and highlighted... R- A- F... Raf! His name!

Somebody sure knew how to play him! He took the bait and pressed it. Immediately, his computer shut down.

"What the fuck?" He tried to restart, but the computer was unresponsive. Then came a knock at the door. He called out cautiously but nobody spoke. He called again; still no answer. Finally he peeked out-- the hall was vacant. He noticed a cardboard box on the floor with the words 'Savior Self' stamped on it. He brought the box in, amused at the odd pun, fully certain it was some kind of a trap. He opened the box.

Inside was a metallic rectangle the size and shape of a writing pad, thickness of a credit card. He pulled it out and gave it a test bend. It was surprisingly light and flexible, but snapped straight with a quiet 'whoomp' when he let it go. A black dot was printed in one corner but was otherwise featureless; he brushed the dot with his finger and was surprised when the rectangle glowed. A woman's face appeared. She was young and perky cute. She smiled and said, "Hello, Savior."

Raf dropped the pad. It clattered harmlessly at his feet; the woman said, "Ouch."

Without thinking he responded, "Oh, sorry," then chided himself for speaking back to an image.

She continued, "It's okay. It didn't really hurt."

Now Raf dropped himself-- he jumped backward in surprise, caught his heel on the edge of the sofa and did a face plant in the dusty cushions. "Can you... hear me?" he asked cautiously.

"Umm. Let me see... can I hear you? Savior, have you ever heard of Skype-- two way video phone calls?"

Raf smacked his head. "Of course! Hello Dick Tracy, DUH! I just didn't realize I was holding a computer!" He picked up the woman's face in the rectangle. "This is fan-TAS-tic! Who makes these? I've never seen anything so compact!"

"That's because it's made of flexible chip and diode nanowafers. But we can shelve the tech conversation for just a moment."

"Hey, there was nobody outside... how did you knock on the door?"

The computer played a blaring rendition of three knuckle raps on his metal-clad wooden door, then continued, "I have a proposition you may appreciate." The woman was looking just the slightest bit peeved with him.

He became stern. "Wait. I have some questions first. How did you know where I live? Nobody knows where I live!"

She smiled. "You know better than that, Sav-- oh, hell... I'm just going to call you Raf. You get phone, power and cable here. You also order a fuckwad of pizza. Need I say more?"

"Heh, heh... fuckwad... funny. Another question. Who are you, and what do you want?"

"I was getting to that, Raf. I need your skills and can pay you handsomely. As for who I am... well, I'm an Avatar, Raf. Call me whatever you want."

"An Avatar, huh? Pull out and show me your full body Avatar, please," he said smoothly. The screen changed and he was looking at her voluptuous form. "Yowza! I guess I'll call you Chesty Breasticles."

"Let's just leave it at Chess, you horndog." The face resumed, became serious. "Okay, the reason for all this cloak and dagger-- I need you to stop what you are doing as Savior, and stop it today."

He frowned. "I don't think so... Damaging corporate software is what I do. It's my main thing. I doubt you could force me to stop."

"I doubt I'll need to, after you hear the rest. Did you think you were the only one manipulating corporations and government with misinformation? There are much bigger organizations than you involved trying to achieve much more sweeping change. And while we all appreciate the spirit of what you are trying to do..."

"What I AM doing, you mean," he corrected.

"All you are really accomplishing is unraveling more wide-reaching changes being attempted by OUR teams. Your... let's call them inelegant, methods are not untraceable, and each time you are noticed, the corporate programmers repair another hole which OUR programmers had installed to execute a huge undertaking. You..." she paused, "... are screwing us up bigtime, and it has to stop.

"Now before you say no, listen to our offer. First, there's a big money incentive. BIG. Second, you can still help your clients, but in a way that doesn't undo any more of our hard work. AGAIN. Third, we'd like for you to meet the team, and consider joining our cause. What do you think?"

Raf paused. Big money, AND he could still help his clients? He pretended to think over the proposal. He knew his corporate hacking was irritating at best and prisonworthy at worst; he was certain his days were numbered. Having an organization behind him seemed so, so... legitimate, which on the face of it was a little distasteful by his standards, but would ultimately be a smart call for the longevity of his project. "Can you get a new apartment for me, fast? I think corporate security is onto me. I was about to bug out."

"We can, they are, and you should, hence the timing of my Popup today, at this moment. Can you make a meeting today at 4?"

He looked at the time; it was 1 pm. "Sure. What's the address?"

"It's not in New York; it's in Aden."

"Aden? Where's that?"

"Nebraska."

"NEBRASKA? How the hell am I gonna get to Nebraska in three hours?"

"That's not a problem. So are you otherwise engaged today at 4?"

Raf thought about his daily date with Hogan's Heroes at 4 pm, and wisely chose not to mention it. "Not busy."

"Are you sure Colonel Klink won't mind?"

How did she know these things? It was too creepy. Still, he was intrigued. "Okay, I'll do it. I wanna see how you get me there in under three hours."

"I love a challenge. Peel off the black dot in the corner and stick it behind your ear; it's a Bone Conduction Earwig...."

"A what?"

"An Earwig. Two-way communication."

"Oh." He did as he was asked. From within his head he heard her say, "Test... test... sibilance. Si-bi-lance. Am I in there?"

His hair fairly stood on end. "WOW, that's weird!"

"Some people pass out. Now put the computer in your kitchen sink."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

He did it, knowing he would regret it, and he did. Immediately the computer flared up in bright blue flames; with a hiss and a puff of smoke it disappeared, like flash paper. There was no trace of it. "Drat. I loved that computer."

"There will be more. Now leave through the front door of your building and take a left, walk 2 blocks, then turn left into the alley by a coffee shop."

Raf threw on some shoes, shut down the apartment and did as he was told. "Okay, I'm here."

"Walk halfway down the alley and open a dirty metal door with a sign that reads, 'High Voltage'."

He did. "Eww, there was something slimy on the doorknob."

"Disgusting. Wouldn't want to be you. Walk to the end of the hall, enter the last door on the right, the one with a ragged lightning bolt carved into it."

"Classy." He entered. The room was tiny, a broom closet.

"Shut the door."

He did. The back wall arced open, revealing a set of concrete stairs heading down! "Take the stairs. Don't fall-- it's dark."

Raf gripped the handrail and began counting. At fifteen steps there was a landing. At thirty, another landing. Then another... and another. "Holy crap! How much more of this?"

"Keep going."

Down he went. Raf counted thirty landings. Puffing, he asked, "How much further, Chess?"

"You're here, lightweight. Turn right, onto the platform."

Raf turned and walked into the inky black, contacting a pressure switch. The lights snapped on and revealed a train station! No ordinary one-- this one was obviously private. And although it was a standard platform, There were no tracks. Instead, it was pressed up against a curved metal wall about 8 feet in diameter, extending the full length of the platform and disappearing into a tunnel beyond. There were large interlocking doors every forty feet.

He touched the wall; he could feel a light vibration. An automated male voice fairly shouted over the PA system, "PLEASE WATCH THE VEESTREAK DOORS. WATCH THE VEESTREAK DOORS, PLEASE."

'Veestreak?' He jumped back as the door nearest him opened with pop, rolling open. Inside was a plush and windowless rail car, though more compact, with a doorway so low he had to duck to enter. The train was deserted. Thirty cushioned La-Z-Boy chairs were arranged in the car; he sat in one, which scissored a restraining bar in place, pinning him. He squirmed uneasily.

"VEESTREAK WILL COMMENCE WHEN ALL PASSENGERS HAVE LATCHED THEIR RESTRAINTS," roared the voice. He pulled it towards him and it latched with a series of sharp snaps. "COMMENCING ACCELERATION."

He could feel the train glide forward, at first almost imperceptibly. That changed as the speed increased and he was pushed back in his seat with alarming force, the pressure on his lungs making it hard to breath for 30 seconds or so... then it eased up; and soon he felt no discomfort at all. Now he had questions.

"Chess?"

"Yes?"

"What is this transportation?"

"You're riding the VeeStreak, a concept rail line developed and built by the people of Aden."

"What kind of concept?"

"A modified magnetic levitation rail."

"Modified how?"

"Well, the top speed on a standard Mag-Lev train is about 300 MPH, because of all the slight deviations in the rail and the law of diminishing returns when fighting air friction."

"I know that. I watch the Science channel."

"Glad to see the American school system is working. Well, the modifications are twofold: First, we built the rail straight as an arrow between two distant destinations-- there is less than a one eighth inch variation between one end and the other. Second... we removed the air."

"Huh? HOW did you remove the air?"

"The rail car moves through an airtight tunnel from one end to the other. The air is sucked out and the car runs in near vacuum."

"How fast does it--" The automated voice screamed, "DECELERATION BEGINNING!"--go?"

"Top speed is 18,000 miles per hour. Now hang on."

"WHAT!?" The La-Z-Boy chairs, as one, automatically pivoted 180 degrees and faced the rear. Braking began and Raf was again pressed into his seat, hard. His eyesight started to falter and his hearing disappeared momentarily. Breathing was almost impossible. After long moments, it eased up and returned to normal.

Raf gulped in air. "Why did we stop? Is there a problem?"

The automated voice bellowed, "ARRIVAL IN ADEN NEBRASKA IN 30 SECONDS!"

"Why does he yell so loud? Chess, how long was I riding?"

"Five minutes. Plus another couple to power up and down."

"FIVE MINUTES? Nebraska is 12oo miles from New York City!"

"That's right."

"Nonsense... where are we, really?

"See for yourself, Raf. Don't take my word for it. Putz."

The door hissed open. They were outdoors! He stepped through the door and looked out. What he saw was a beautiful, lush city, with quaint little cottages and enormous, smooth megaskyscrapers. And whichever direction he looked, the backdrop was mountainous and majestic.

He stood, mouth agape, for long moments. Finally he said, "Chess... where ARE we?"

"I told you. Aden, Nebraska, a hidden city few people know about."

Raf was dumbfounded. "Oh... my... GOD! Look at this city... it's gorgeous! And that train ride... that was unbelievable! I have never experienced anything as cool as that in my life!"

Chess said, "I have a feeling those are just gonna be numbers one and two on a very long list. Okay. Are you ready to meet the Brain Trust?"

Raf followed lit arrows on the ground provided by Chess that faded as he approached, only to be replaced by one further along. The VeeStreak station was a mile from his megascraper destination, so Chess directed Raf to below ground transport. He took more stairs to the Ultralight vehicle station some thirty feet down. Ultralights were two seater carts that floated on a magnetic floor guide system; it pulled the cart to any destination using an isolated electromagnetic pulse; spaced pulses guarantee no carts ever collided. The underground system was vast, leading to every building in the city, both large and small.

Raf got into one. Nothing happened. "Why isn't it moving?"

"Maybe because it doesn't know where you want to go."

"Well, neither do I!"

"Oh. Right." Chess spoke up. "Brain Trust." Immediately the cart pulled away from the loading bay and directly into traffic, where Raf could see for himself that, although they came terrifyingly close, the carts never actually touched. He kept his hands inside, just in case.

Mr Toad's wild ride ended quickly and deposited him at another loading bay. "Now where?"

"Take the corkscrew escalator to the 87th floor."

"The what?"

"It's right in front of you."

Raf approached a kneehigh metal gate and stepped inside. It was a two foot square metal pad. A spiral groove wound up the cylindrical wall behind it.

"Say the floor, Raf."

"What?"

"The floor. The FLOOR. Oh hell, I'll do it. 87TH FLOOR!"

Smoothly the platform rose, and quickly, following the spiral groove. There were no side walls to his ride, no doors, and the back wall was rushing past behind him. Raf suddenly felt very vulnerable and dizzy.

"Stay on the platform, Raf. It's a hella long way down."

"You people must be out of your minds to ride on these. Give me a nice enclosed elevator any day."

"Why didn't you say so? The elevators are next to us. Well, we're here at least. You can take one on the way down."

The escalator slowed, and stopped at 87. Raf practically jumped out and kissed the smooth floor. "Oh, god. Never again. Never, never." After a long moment, he looked up. Encircling him were the feet of the bemused Brain Trust, a group of Aden's finest minds.

They helped him to his feet and one remarked, "Welcome to the Bigheads. You're a brave guy... only daredevils can stomach the corkscrew escalator... the rest of us are too chicken! I'm Rick Payne, and I invented the VeeStreak."

Raf dusted off his pants, an unnecessary move on the shining polished floors of Aden, and shook the young man's hand vigorously. "Raf Zellen, hacker extraordinaire. Helluva train you got there, Rick! Bigheads-- what does that mean?"

Another shot out a hand. "Everyone's nickname for us, the Brain Trust. I'm Dave Dubois, engineer. I designed the supercomputers that run Aden."

"And I'm Joe Hobart, creator of the Interactive Control Personality Unit, or ICPU for short, the personality of the computer that runs Aden, whom you call... what's the name? Oh right, Chesty Breasticles. Riot!"

Raf shook his head. "Not any more, Joe. ICPU? From now on she's Ikypoo to me!"

"You WILL pay for that, Raf," the computer chided. The group laughed. A lovely young woman stepped forward and presented her hand.

"Maggie Larter, astrophysicist. I'm working on a Googolscope."

Raf gulped. She was radiant! He could barely disguise his attraction, but responded normally (he hoped), "Hi Maggie. Raf Zellen. Pleased. What's that, a new search engine?"

"Kind of. But it will be searching the sky, for what came before the Big Bang."

"I thought nothing came before the Big Bang."

She smiled. "Well... I think differently." They walked off the transit deck and entered a doorway nearby, leading them to a theater-sized meeting/media room with another fifty people in it, the minds who rounded out the Brain Trust, sitting at an enormous table in the middle of the room.

"We all do!" said a beaming, vibrant older man with a rich shock of silver hair, gesturing to the group. "I'm Jake Reston, visionary. I built Aden. Can we dispense with the formalities and get on with it? I want this man on the team! Have a seat, have a seat. I've made a small presentation. Let's watch." Raf sat down next to Maggie, nearly hip checking another guy for the chair.

The windows, which had been streaming bright sunlight into the room went opaque, and the room was plunged into darkness. Moody ambient music welled up and the beautiful blue Earth appeared. Not on a movie screen... a three dimensional hologram appeared in the middle of the huge round table, turning slowly. The detail was extraordinary!Jake continued. "We all know this place. It's where we live. Actually... it's the only place that we CAN live." Suddenly, small nuclear explosions appeared all over the surface of the holographic Earth, and it blew up, sending holographic pieces hurtling towards everyone's heads! Raf was gratified that he wasn't the only one who had flinched.

"And to think, there are people on this planet who view THIS as an acceptable plan. People who are in POWER." He continued, emphasizing that last word, as images of Atilla the Hun, Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, Genghis Kahn, Idi Amin, Ivan the Terrible, Saddam Hussein, Ronald Reagan, Mussolini, George Bush and others marched around the table in circles, comically saluting and slapping each other. "Well, those of us who feel this is an unacceptable choice have come together to make a change in the world-- a change for the better. And we are succeeding." The evil leaders are surrounded by large metallic Roombas and are vacuumed up, squealing like mice. "Aden is not the only city of its kind around the globe; there are thirty such cities, and our concept is growing. And why shouldn't it? It is designed to bring the people of Earth together into a World Family, ending competition, greed and corruption, depression and anger, violence and sorrow." The Earth returned, encircled by a chain of handholding, sweetly singing people. The picture zoomed larger until all they could see were the people, standing in a circle right in front of them. The picture snapped off, the light returned... and there they were, all the great minds of Aden sitting around that huge round table... holding hands!

Jake laughed heartily. "That's not the first time that's happened, either! The designers down in Futuristic Light and Magic really have a talent, I'll tell you what!"

Raf let go of the stranger's hand on his left, but continued to hold Maggie's absentmindedly. Coincidentally, Maggie allowed her hand to be held by Raf, not minding one bit.

"Raf!" Jake said, breaking their handhold unintentionally. "Raf, what do you think so far, ol' chow? Will you consider joining us? We could sure use your talents if you'd have us! I'll tell you what, son," he began, walking over and squeezing Raf's shoulders in a fatherly way, "Take the VeeStreak back to New York and think it over for a spell. We'll be here, but a there's big project coming up which is practically written for you, and I mean Bee Eye Gee. I think you'll want to head it up. Sound good?"

Without waiting for an answer, Jake strolled toward the exit, calling over his shoulder, "Think about it, son... it'll likely be the best decision you'll ever make. Everyone else, brainstorm in the penthouse in an hour. Grab some lunch... or each other, I don't care," and left, heels clicking on the marblesque floor.

Raf turned to Maggie and asked. "What will you be grabbing for lunch?" hoping for some kind of leading answer.

"Just the plans for my Googolscope, I'm afraid. I'm trying to design a magmatic plasma filter which doesn't require actual magma."

"That seems tough. Have you tried an algorithmic equivalent?"

She brightened. "No! I've been working on physical models."

"I could help design some software if you like," Raf offered hopefully.

"That would be great, Raf!"

"Sorry, Raf," the computer chirped in his ear. "We've got to get you back to New York."

"Crap."

"Crap?" Maggie looked perplexed.

"Oh! Not you. The computer said I need to leave now."

"Oh. Darn. Well, come back soon, okay? I want to have sex with you." And off she went, firm bottom swinging, intentionally.

Raf just stood there, mouth hanging open.

"Let's go, loverboy. Follow the arrows."

Raf emerged from the VeeStreak train back in New York City somewhat miffed. "I still can't believe you cockblocked me, Chess."

"We'll try to get you back before she changes her mind."

"How do I get to my apartment from here?"

"Get in the elevator at the end of the platform. Press 4."

He did. The elevator doors opened to a familiar sight. This was his floor! In his building! "Chess...?"

"Yes, Raf?"

"Does this elevator also go down to the platform?"

"Of course, Raf."

Raf fumed. "So why did you make me take that circuitous path with all those freakin' stairs?!"

"Just for fun, Raf."

"You are one mean computer, Chesty Breasticles."

"You think I'm mean now, Raf? Wait 'til you get to your apartment!"

Raf stopped walking. He said slowly through gritted teeth, "What did you do?"

"Oh, not ME, Raf. Remember I told you those corporations were getting close?"

"Y- yes?"

"Well, you got a couple of arm breakers waiting for you in there. They also did some redecorating while they were waiting. I hope your tastes run to piles of plaster everywhere..."

"I gotta get outa here!"

"True. Remember also, I said I'd get you another apartment? Open this door."

Raf entered a different apartment on the same floor. "Are you out of your mind-- getting me an apartment RIGHT NEXT to my old one?!"

"Relax Raf. They'll never find you now."

"HOW can you be so sure?"

"Well, don't you want to move to Aden?"

"Yes...?"

"So this isn't your new apartment, Raf!"

He looked up as a burly middle-aged woman in a housecoat with a cigarette dangling from her mouth turned the corner into the room, noticed Raf and screamed, "THIEF! I'LL KILL YOU!" reaching for a shotgun propped in the corner. Raf didn't wait to see how it ended, and fell back into the hallway. He tripped, slammed into the wall and bounced, still standing.

"I'd get back to the elevator if I were you, Raf. " the computer said sweetly. Around the corner Raf could hear two deep and unfamiliar voices with thick accents coming his way saying, "Computa boy mus' be here, ya?" and he dashed back into the elevator to avoid them.

"Where's the button where's the button where's the BUTTON?" he shrieked, realizing that, though he'd been in this elevator a thousand times, he'd never seen any button besides the ones that led to normal floors. The voices were close; the elevator doors were still open. "I hear boy. We crush now."

"WHERE IS IT?" he screamed, panicking.

"Press the 'O' in the word 'Elevator'. Raf... maybe you should hurry a little?" He swore he could hear the Avatar chuckle. He searched for the word and saw it at the same time as he saw one of the armbreaker's shoes and jammed his thumb onto the 'O'. The doors closed, but not before the big guy stuck his foot through. "Yah, we got now, leetle pain in ass."

Without thinking, Raf dropped to the floor, pulled off the guy's shoe and chomped down on his Gold Toe sock. All at once, the elevator began dropping, the foot slid up in the compartment and the armbreaker howled and pulled his foot back, allowing the doors to slap shut. Raf fell back, panting, cradling the guy's shoe to his chest.

"That was close, Raf. Good thinking."

"If you had a neck I'd throttle you, IKYPOO."

"But I don't. Maybe when you're in Aden you can program a neck for me that you can then throttle."

Raf smiled distantly. "ANOTHER good reason to move!"

Copyright 2009 Bruce Ian Friedman