Anna's Ether - Chapter 7 - Briefed
William walked through the large tunnel which was dimly lit by electric lights covered by thick glass sconces, one every few yards. He was surprised when Lt. Robson pointed down the corridor and let him walk to the briefing room alone. I'm on an island, after all, not likely I'd simply swim the English Channel and make my escape, is it now? William thought. He entered the briefing room where two men and a woman were seated at a conference table. He was stunned to see Nigel, one of the men from Martin's camp seated at the table. He was wearing the uniform of Martin's enemies.
"William!" Nigel walked over to William and introduced him to the others. "William, this is Colonel Torres and Major Burke. Colonel, Major, this is Mr. William Sinclair." Nigel Said. He pulled out a chair for William and took his seat across the table with the others. Col. Torres began with some friendly banter, asking how the flight was, and what it might be like to be jutted so far into the future. William interrupted him, looked at Nigel and asked: "Can you explain why you are here Nigel?" Nigel smiled, "Colonel Torres will do a much better job of explaining our situation to you... Colonel Torres?" Colonel Torres was a tall man of Basque ancestry with dark eyes that almost seemed to penetrate the soul. He slowly stood up and waved the remote in his hand "Display slide one" he commanded. An image of a man undergoing brain surgery was displayed. "As you can see Dr. Engel is removing something from the base of the man's brain. The patient in this image is our Nigel. Dr. Engel is removing the implant in much the same way he removed the device Martin's people implanted in you, William." Col. Torres said. The next image was video. "Magnify, implant, full screen." Col. Torres said. The image showed what appeared to be a robotic insect, legs moving, something akin to a tick. The implant would attempt to borrow deeper into the tissue as it was being removed. William felt sick to his stomach. "That's not what you removed from my neck, is it?" He asked. "No, this is what they implant during the 'Ritual' as they call it." said Col. Torres. "Normally, this type cannot be removed without the death of the patient," Major Burke added.
Major Burke was an attractive redhead with a pleasant Irish lilt. Now William had never heard of a female soldier, much less a Major. He kept his judgments in check, however, and soon came to respect the Major's military prowess. "Nigel survived the removal only because we equipped him with a counter measure implant before he underwent 'The Ritual'. You see Nigel was sent to Martin's camp to gather intelligence for us. We've been planning your rescue since the day he found you in the snow." Maj. Burke said. "He's a spy?" William asked. He was quite relieved knowing Nigel was what appeared to be one of the 'good guys'... provided this wasn't yet another deception.
As the briefing went on, William was shown overwhelming evidence that Martin was indeed the enemy. Not only his enemy but the enemy of all humanity. By the end of the briefing, he felt confident these people were telling him the truth. William found himself wanting to help them defeat Martin in any way he could. "So he lied about being able to bring my wife back?" William asked. "Yes, he did. I'm sorry William." Maj. Burke replied. William shifted all his grief into a burning anger focused on Martin. William's face turned red and he abruptly stood up and with his voice low and shaking said, "How can I help you kill Martin!" The room went silent. After a brief pause Col. Torres stood up. "I know this is a lot to digest in a day Mr. Sinclair. It's good to know you're with us. We have a plan for defeating Martin, and you William, are key to that plan's success. William sat back down, the raging fire in his heart fading into glowing embers that were stoked every time he thought of Martin. Whatever the plan, William was fully committed.
