The scene in front of them was nothing they had seen before. The horizon was moving, they were facing the open sea when the vehicle went to full stop, but now land was appearing to the right of them, and they could see tall building start to sway from side to side, then one crumbles and falls. Smoke and ash was in the air, red glow could be seen among the debris before them. As the one building falls the flames erupt up and out into the city taking more buildings down with it. More fire balls erupt and they start to see, from their view point, the hair line cracks in the earth below.
Jasmine finally breaks her gaze, “I cannot watch, we have to leave and get out of here.” She gets up and moves to the back cabin. Gregory did not hear a word she said, but once she got up he blinks and removes his focus from the scene of horror that had captivated him. He quickly follows Jasmine, “Philomena, close front cabin door.” “Closing.”
“Philomena access device secure data, program StreamJump 532ED.”
“Streamjump deployed, access granted.”
“Display all log entries going back Thirty Three days.”
“Accessing….Displaying…”
On the panel before them many file entries start to scroll by, and as it scrolls a summary popup appeares by each one. They see their names in a few of the files, which confirm that the ISDA had suspected them and were ready to send them to detention from the first time Mr. Bill made contact with them. Investigation was ongoing from before that time as well. They see other records of citizens getting ushered into the ISDA offices and never leaving. Many urgent communications were displayed about the flight of many citizens in the last hundred years. Leaving the grid of citizenship and not seen ever again.
She notices that a few log entries were missing, and right after that a communication one week later. “I did not realize that the bug I placed into the stream was going to go beyond the complex we lived.” Jasmine points to the communication she was looking at.
‘We are forced to shut down the whole stream, it seems that it has been infected by the GoodNews virus, which has spread throughout and we cannot contain it while the stream is live. Shutdown will commence in ten minutes to purge the system. We know who started this and I will catch them and they will pay.” It was signed Lead ISDA Officer Bill Welchmier.
Then three days later the communication log seems normal, “Looks like they tried to clean it for a week and failed and finally had to shut the stream down for three days to clean it up, wow!” Gregory glances back at Jasmine, “and you did not have any clue that was going to happen?”
“No I did not, it must be that GoodNews file, I thought it was too complex. It had some code that would appear on my device after I would get to a certain point in my reading, like it was keeping track of my progress. I think our now friend Saint Philomena was better at tech than I thought.”
The last few logs show that the ISDA knew about the disaster to come and the magnitude of it.
“They hid that from all those people, not only is the planet shifting a little but it is cracking and the whole planet is moving on its axis. See there, they cannot explain any of it.” Gregory points out the different logs as they slowly scroll through.”
Jasmine notices that the last log that Gregory was talking about had images, “Philomena, access image files from log 1.32.2257.043 .”
“Accessing…Displaying..”
Images appear and it shows different images from space of the planet and its moon. There were a lot of mathematical markings on it, but the most obvious ones were showing that the moon had started to move closer to the planet. Also the other planets in the solar system were collapsing on their orbit as well.
“My God, how could they just ignore all of this and not inform the people that now have lost their lives. They could have at least left the City Zones were everything is built to the max, up and out.” Jasmines voice was uneasy and a lump had grown in her throat.
Gregory put his arm around her and pulls her closer to him, “You know as I do that the lies of the world they served to us on a perfect silver platter.” Gregory sighs.
Jasmine closes her eyes for a few moments, “Thank you God for saving us from the lies.” “Amen,” Gregory responds.
“Philomena, close view screen, and disengage device access.” “View screen off… Access to device memory disengaged.”
Jasmine pulls Mr. Bills device and inserts her own, “Philomena, access file Lemach, input destination.”
“File accessed….destination acquired…Link down…estimating current position…estimating destination position…destination programmed.”
“let’s get out of here and catch up with our new family.”
“What about him,” Gregory turns around and looks at Mr. Bill.
“He will have to come with us, we cannot go back or drop him off anywhere at this time, and he might not survive. The nano’s will take a while to work, and we will see what happens.”
“If he does survive he is going to be in shock.” Gregory looks at Jasmine with a smile, “I guess lets go, you are in charge.”
“Philomena, commence course to destination, gradual speed to two hundred.”
“Engaging forward drive…”
“It is interesting that Philomena…” Gregory pauses, “Saint Philomena helps us escape the attack from that strange demon, and now another, you naming the vehicle Philomena, which is helping us escape now.”
“If I could have a child now that is the name I would give our girl.” Jasmine says with a slight sadness in her voice for now she knew her loss. The loss of her four children, one of those children which is Gregory’s. She would not be able to have children since she had the Citizens production service remove her reproductive organs five years back. She was not thinking of anything but herself, not thinking of any future, she had all the time in the world. They promised her that they could engineer a child if she wanted to. They encouraged it, since they had a ninety nine percent guarantee of any type of child they wanted.
A tear trickles down her check as her mind thinks of days passed. Gregory notices her sadness and hugs her. “Remember what we know now of the one true God, He can do anything, and He loves us.”
“I know that now, but the choices of the past open wounds that are still healing.”
“I love you my wife,” he pulls back and smile at her and she looks at him and chuckles, “you are not going to get tired of that are you?”
“Nope, never.”
They site down in the back cabin and slowly start to doze off. After hours pass by “Destination reached… unable to comply with landing instruction…” Philomena’s voice interrupts their sleep.
They rouse themselves as the message is repeated. “Destination reached… unable to comply with landing instruction…”
“Philomen, provide details.”
“Landing not possible without injury… landing survival zero percent.”
“Where the heck are we?” Gregory asks puzzled at the information.
“Philomena, open access to front cabin.”
“Warning… heat index in front cabin at one hundred and fifty degrees and rising…opening front cabin door is not advised… do you wish to continue with request?”
“Philomena, cancel request.”
“Request cancelled.”
“Philomena, move to safe zone closest to destination.”
“Request accepted… calculating…processing… engaging..” The vehicle starts to move slowly, what felt like backward for about two minutes and then stops. “Request complete.”
“Philomena, open door to front cabin.”
“Request complete…” The door starts opening and before them they see a large mountain red with fiery liquid spewing out of it and flowing down its side. Ash covered the sky right above it. As they are watching a jet of hot lava shoot out of the mouth of the mountain and spills into the sky followed by a loud thundering sound.