"i don't want to do this. i don't want to see this, whatever it is. please don't make me."
"I don't care."
they walked down the enclosed path. it was almost like a tube - straight sometimes, twisted and curvy at others as it navigated around objects outside, and sealed off from the world by a thick glass of some sort. at least it let you look outside.
she felt like a hamster. stuck in its cage and meandering down plastic tubes, exposed for the world to watch and amuse themselves at.
it was not a nice feeling.
they walked for a long time. they had landed here not long ago - perhaps an hour? - at what she guessed was a spaceport no one was supposed to know about. she didn't think many people were supposed to know about what was on the planet either, for that matter.
"i thought they were done showing me things."
"The Lady insisted."
"but why?"
"how old are you, pet?" he stopped and turned around to face her. she nearly ran into him, and stared up into his eyes. "do you need to ask questions every bleeding moment?"
"i want to know why. i don't want to be here."
"all i know is that it's something new. you're privileged enough to get to see it happen. she thinks that maybe you'll learn some more respect for them this way." he turned away and walked again.
"it isn't like it worked every other time," she muttered, and followed after him.
"that will change. i'll make sure of it."
they walked again. after a while, they neared a giant dome. she marvelled at the sheer size of it.
the hexagonal door to it hissed open and they both stepped through. it hissed shut again, and they were run through a decontamination cycle before the next door opened.
through it and down a hallway, and then into another chamber. after a short time in which they were spoken to over an intercom and cleared for entry, the door opened and they were admitted into the main area of the dome.
it was wide and open. seats were scattered about everywhere. important looking people milled around. the far end of the dome was made of the same glass that the tube had been, floor to ceiling; outside, another dome enclosing the one they were in could be seen. it had what looked like metal discs spaced out evenly across its surface.
"so what exactly are we seeing?"
"no more questions. not one. you'll find out soon enough, i'm sure."
they crossed the room and took seats near the window. together they sat in silence for a long while.
"distinguished guests of the federal allied military," said a man dressed in an expensive looking suit, "welcome to today's test. i promise that you will all be quite entertained at what we have to show you today! in a moment we will commence with our explanation of the Device, followed by the test. i shall return momentarily." after that, the man slipped off into the crowd.
she stared out the glass quietly, examining what was out there. the ground was bare for as far as she could see, deep into the horizon; nothing but dead land.
the sky was the color of rust, and there were no clouds.
meanwhile, he was looking through the people who were gathering and seating themselves. he examined each of them for only a few moments, but in that space, he ascertained as much as he could about them. that man carried himself in a way that belied his troubled conscience. that woman there was here to be seen, not to see the test. that couple over there were only together for show.
body language is such a powerful thing, he mused to himself.
he spied Her almost immediately. there, the woman at the opposite end of the room, in the heavy coat. a small group of people seemed to hover around her constantly as they talked. she met his eyes.
he nodded his head slightly in tacit greeting. she nodded back, and that was it.
the man appeared again, this time with another man; he was dressed in the clothes of a scientist.
she rested her chin in her hand, and her elbow upon the armrest of her chair. the opening rhetoric was boring - it always was. things about great accomplishments and wonderful strides. the usual bullshit.
then it got interesting.
"as you may know," the man was saying, "recently there has been talk of some independent planetary nations wishing to wage war against us, and threatening the use of force that has not been seen upon any of our member planets in decades." his face was catlike. something about him made him seem very...cunning. intelligent. "for many years we have not sought to develop new weapons of nuclear capability. today i am here to tell you that this has changed."
applause. some cheered.
"today you will witness firsthand the maiden test of our new weapon. for many years we have been content with warheads that fractured in the atmosphere and rained down destruction upon multiple targets. today you will see we have taken that concept to the next level!"
she was beginning to get nervous and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. she looked next to herself, to him, for some sort of comfort; he was engaged with giving the ceiling a thorough examination. she whimpered softly and noticed that the ground ouside the dome was pockmarked with craters.
"...the way it works," he was saying now, "is quite genius. it works just as any craft-based or silo-launched missile in its method of transportation and re-entry; what it does after that is where the innovation comes!"
"the main compartment jettisons from the body as it descends into the atmosphere; it is shaped not unlike a sort of sandwich cookie, with a circular disc on the top and bottom, and filling in between - except instead of sugary cream, it is filled with death and destruction and years of contamination!" he laughed at his own joke. several others did as well.
for her, it fell flat. she wanted to harm this man.
"as this nuclear cookie descends, an on-board rocket gives it a slight spin; at a pre-determined altitude, the on-board computer calculates its position and, upon arming its payload, launches up to forty separate thermonuclear warheads from around the device, creating a wide circle; each warhead is carried on a small rocket of its own, which guides it to within two meters square of its intended target!"
thundering applause. it was impressive. just hearing about it was. it was inspiring exictement in all of these people.
for her it inspired nothing but dread. a man walked past and handed her a pair of very, very thick, dark goggles. everyone in the room received a pair.
"now i shall step back and let the device do the talking, ladies and gentleman! please put on your goggles!" he sat and hurriedly donned his own.
she pulled them on and the world went almost black. after a moment everything seemed to come into focus again, and she was able to see through the goggles and out the dome. she was conscious of the fact that the she was not actually seeing that; the goggles were merely rendering the image for now until they needed to do their protective job.
silence for five minutes. then the man told everyone to watch the horizon.
she strained her eyes staring in the direction indicated. after a moment something flared high in the sky. it was falling. falling fast. fire surrounded it.
a spinning fireball.
it descended, further and further, like the angel of Death from Heaven.
it was so far away...and yet it felt so close.
everything around it flared again. the man who had explained the device shouted, "that is the launching of the warheads!"
spindly silver lines became visible in the air, even in spite of the sun that shone brightly. the lines grew longer, and longer, arcing down towards the surface of the planet.
finally all of the lines ceased.
in a split second the metal discs on the outer dome ratcheted out and spun clockwise, extending panels, creating a solid shield that blocked the sight of anything outside.
for a few seconds they all sat in darkness. she was breathing harder, and could feel the sweat forming on her brow. she clutched at the arm rests of her chair.
with the same speed the discs retracted, and the goggles stopped feeding her an image. dark glass was all that was in front of her eyes now.
the light from the explosions of the warheads was still fading. that was what the shield was for - to save them from the flash. still the light was so bright she had to squint - it was as if the goggles did almost nothing to help. finally it subsided a bit.
"quickly, remove your goggles, and behold!"
everyone, including herself, stripped them off quickly and stared out the glass.
she sucked in a breath, cupping her hand over her mouth.
there on the horizon rose more than thirty massive clouds, mushrooming up from the ground. the sky had turned from rust to a sickening hue of red.
"do you see, ladies and gentleman?" he was crying out ecstatically. "do you see that? that is the power that we have at our fingertips! imagine each of those clouds as being situated upon a city - wars would be won in a matter of hours!"
the shockwave finally reached the dome, and everything shook. even through all of the protections the sound was almost deafening.
she threw her goggles to the floor.
"no, no, no..." she shook her head rapidly. "why do they do this?"
in her head she thought, because it is beautiful.
"isn't true," she murmured. her heart felt constricted in her chest. everybody was applauding. "it's sick, it's awful, so many people will..."
and yet, she thought, a fitting end for most of them. wretched things.
she looked to him with tears in her eyes. a few escaped and trickled down her cheeks.
he looked at her disinterestedly.
"What's your problem?"
she pointed sideways to the glass where, outside, the clouds rose higher ino the atmosphere.
"that."
he looked past her and met the woman's eyes again. another nod.
"get me out, Zero," she whispered to him, clutching at his arm desperately. "get me out, get me out, i don't want to be here, not here anymore, it's awful...things are happening that i don't like, get me OUT."
"Would you like to walk into that?" he asked, gesturing. "That's what you're asking of me."
she sobbed.
"i just want out," she cried. "out of here, out of everywhere..." out of my skin, out of my head, just OUT, she screamed in her mind.
the sky tinted ruby red and the mushroom clouds hung like spectres of annilihation in the sky.
but there was no more turmoil.
outside, amidst the smoke and dust and the air thick with radiation, it was peaceful.