There was silence for some time.
"Well," said Kip eventually, "my first thought is that if we gather everyone together then it makes it far easier for GSKM to kill us all. My second thought is that remaining silent and hidden also makes it far easier for them to kill us all. No matter how horrified some people will be at our appearance - but that can be greatly ameliorated if we can somehow get to the others and give them all the updated solar skull - it is surely obvious to any reasonable person that we are still human beings, and legally we have the same rights as anybody else. GSKM have already committed multiple murders, we can't possibly hold them to account for that on our own. Even if it were possible for you to muster enough military personnel to destroy GSKM, which I very much doubt, I know that I cannot ever put my name to wholesale killing - that would be sinking to their level and replying to one evil by committing an equal evil. Besides, how we react to this has ramifications not just for us here and now, but for the whole future of humanity."
"What do you mean?" asked Pixel.
"Putting aside for the moment our current predicament and the grotesque motivations of GSKM," continued Kip, "this procedure is revolutionary and has saved all of our lives. If control of it can be wrenched away from GSKM and it can be properly regulated and transparent then it could save millions of lives in the future. And so you can see that how we behave now is of the utmost importance and goes way beyond our own personal fate. If we physically attack GSKM and kill people then the world will see us as monsters, as murderous robots and nothing more. We will be judged as less than human and any future benefits of this technology will have been squandered. Moreover, it could also encourage other similar organisations in the future to have another go at creating a race of electronic soldiers. So, as I see it, the best course of action, both for the three of us and everyone in this room, and for our whole species in the future, must be a peaceful one. We have to be seen to be acting in a non-violent, logical manner. Like it or not, we are at the vanguard of this technology, and we are the representatives of this procedure, this totally new way of existence to the world. We must ensure that it is us that represent this technology to the people and not GSKM. Sorry to sound portentous but this is a heavy burden and we must carry it with dignity."
Another silence ensued as everyone digested Kip's words.
"Well," said Gizmo, "certainly food for thought. I have to admit that much of this I had never considered, Kip. I'm doubly glad to have you amongst our ranks."
"I agree with everything you said," said Pixel, "but what do we actually do about it?"
"There is only one option I can see," said Kip, "one possible way that we can all remain safe and manage the way in which the world discovers our existence. I think we have to take our case, all the information you have gathered on GSKM, to the World Council."
"That's a huge step," said Marty. "Once we take that route, there can never be any going back. And, forgive me for sounding like a military man, but once we put ourselves in their hands it would prevent us from taking drastic action to defend ourselves, or launching a pre-emptive strike against GSKM. We would be restricted by International Law."
"Yes, but so would GSKM," said Kip. "If we do not take this course then our only remaining option is an all out war with a huge global organisation. Given what we know about GSKM and their immediate intentions towards us, and the lengths to which they have already gone, I don't see how we can possibly suffer anything but a defeat in that scenario."
"And," said Swan, "who is going to make these decisions? Who is entitled to a vote?"
"That," said Gizmo, "is something that has been on my mind for some time. It is perhaps the most insurmountable problem facing us."
"If I can look at this from a practical, dispassionate point of view," said Marty, "as someone who is very familiar with the procedure but has not personally undergone it. I'm looking at the logistics of whatever operation we decide to undertake. We have the resources and experience to protect ourselves - the other thirty five do not. The more I think about it the more I realise that it would be folly for us to attempt to protect all the others. I still have military contacts and we can easily obtain all the equipment, transport and firepower we need, but in reality securing the safety of the thirty five other Jars, not to mention their families and anybody else with them, is totally beyond our capabilities. As soon as GSKM become aware of our intentions they will fight back and they will easily outgun us. We could probably rescue a few of the Jars but we would almost certainly be signing the death warrant of all the others. This whole situation is just too big now. I agree with Kip, I think we have no choice but to alert the World Council."
"What do you think, mum?" asked Swan tentatively.
"I agree that this is now too big for us to fight it on our own, and I reluctantly concede that we must fight, in a manner of speaking."
"Okay," said Gizmo, seeing Jed and Swan nodding along, "we seem to have reached a consensus. The question now is how exactly do we proceed?"
"At the moment we have the element of surprise," said Kip, "but that won't last for long so we have to make our first move count. As I see it we have two options. One, we drip feed the minimum of information and proof to the World Council that will make them take action and hope it is enough to put the brakes on GSKM's imminent plans to murder the others. Two, we go all out and present them in person with one or more Jars. Each plan has pros and cons but I think we need to decide today and act upon that decision immediately."
"Perhaps," said Pixel, "we should all spend a few minutes reflecting upon this momentous decision. I'm sure the others could do with a break and some refreshment."
*****
GSKM Office, England
Robbie and four others were bleary eyed after countless hours of searching through hundreds of books for any indication that Kip had gleaned some item of dangerous information about GSKM prior to his procedure. They were onto the final stack of books when one of his colleagues shouted an exclamation.
"What is it?" asked Robbie. He hoped for something that would justify his suggestion to search the books but was equally hoping that they would not find anything too explosive. The woman passed a single sheet of folded paper to him. He read it with growing anxiety.
"Okay, finish going through the rest of the books. I'd better take this upstairs."
A little over an hour later Robbie sat uncomfortably in front of a huge screen and stared at the video feed from New York. He had personally met only one of the seven people facing him but he knew all too well that they were at the very very top of GSKM. If he were to be liquidated, it would be these people who would push the figurative button.
"And that is everything?" asked an especially scary looking man in his early sixties. Robbie knew that this man had personally given the order to kill many of the Jar Heads for what he himself considered to be fairly flimsy reasons. There was no question that he could put out an order to liquidate Robbie and have totally forgotten his name fifteen minutes later.
"Yes, sir," he replied, licking his lips nervously. "That and the data we've sent you is all that remained at his home." Robbie didn't like the way the man's eyes shifted across to Hugo for conformation, as if he himself was some underling not to be trusted but he did his best to show neither any irritation nor relief when Hugo nodded his agreement.
"Well, Hugo," said another of the big wigs, a severe looking woman in her mid fifties whose voice alone scared the shit out of Robbie, "this would seem to indicate a wider problem. If this man, a mere biologist, had such suspicions about the procedure beforehand and was wary of us, then somebody has clearly not been doing their job properly."
Robbie looked at the floor and desperately hoped that he wasn't about to become the scapegoat for this.
"Okay," she continued, "instigate operation Doomsday XSS immediately. You know what to do."
The screen went blank.
"Shit," muttered Robbie, "it's all over. I know they already decided t
o kill the current subjects but I thought we would continue with the project."
"No time for snivelling," said Hugo derisively, "pull yourself together man, you know the procedure. Get on with it."
Robbie nodded and gratefully ran from the room. Even as he sped towards his office he had made up his mind. He was sure that a hurricane of shit was about to hit the fan now. All this order meant for them now that they had no Jar Heads within their jurisdiction was the destruction of all files and records pertaining to the research and procedure and their sole client. At present the intention would be for GSKM to carry on with all its other business but Robbie knew that was never going to happen. He was sure that, with three of the Jar Heads off grid they weren't just going to stay quiet and forget all about it. Something unprecedentedly huge was going to happen sooner or later, and there was no fucking way on Earth he was still going to be around when it kicked off.
It would take him twenty minutes to fulfil his role in the Project XSS destruction process. After that he would clear his office, go home and pick up the emergency travel kit he had recently prepared, and catch the next flight to anywhere.
*****
Arizona ranch
"Any last minute suggestions?" asked Marty. Nobody said anything. "Is the encryption and cloaking all in place?" Jed inspected a laptop screen and nodded. Marty took a final look around the assembled group, knowing that this would be the last moment of relative normality they would see for years to come. He could, of course, just walk out and disappear but the thought never even occurred to him. He was in this just as much as Giz, Pixel and Kip. He turned back to his laptop and pressed the send button. Then everybody fell silent as they waited for the reply.
*****
World Council HQ, Geneva, Switzerland
"This is unbelievable."
"You doubt the evidence?"
"No, no, of course not, I just mean... bloody hell, you know exactly what I mean."
The head of the council wrapped his knuckles on the table.
"Okay, we've all seen everything now. I propose that our first act should be to protect these thirty five people who are unaware of what GSKM have in store for them. It is crystal clear that under all relevant laws, as well as any conceivable moral system, they are still human beings and what GSKM are intending to carry out is nothing less than murder. Any naysayers?" He looked around the table. "Proposal accepted." He turned to the head of tactical operations who was waiting in the doorway. "You have the addresses of the thirty five people, please arrange protection for them immediately. This is top priority, use all the resources you need to accomplish your task." The man nodded briskly and left, closing the door behind him. "Right then, now we must decide what to do about GSKM. I think it only fair that we share this discussion with the people who brought this to our attention, and offer them the same protection as the others. If you could all turn towards the screen."
Everyone shuffled their chairs so that they were facing in the same direction. It took a few minutes for the call to be accepted. When the picture finally came through, many of the council had to suppress a gasp at the image they were greeted with.
"Apologies," said Kip, "we should have prepared you for our somewhat strange appearance. These are new protective pseudo skulls we have recently created. They are solar panels that replace the nutrition liquid which made us dependent on GSKM. Apart from that we are still what they refer to as Jar Heads. We decided that we needed a collective noun to distinguish ourselves from everyone else, to make conversation simpler, so, for the time being, we refer to ourselves as Jars. I am Kip, I'm a biochemist."
"I am Pixel."
"And I am Gizmo, I was the first to have this procedure. I trust that you have taken our information seriously?"
"Of course," said the head of the council. "We've had concerns about some of the people employed by GSKM for some years, but we never suspected anything on this scale. Anyway, you will be pleased to know that we have begun an operation to secure the safety of the other thirty five... Jars. As you obviously know they are spread far and wide so it will be a few hours before we know that they are all definitely safe but it is well in hand and I am confident of success unless GSKM decide to act immediately.
"And so we come to the further matter of what can be done about GSKM. I don't have to tell you that the world has never seen anything like this. If I may be so bold, Gizmo, the fact that you have never appeared in public in five years shows that you are aware of how negative the reaction to your appearance would initially be."
"Spot on. And we believe that GSKM were relying on that to keep us hidden. Their long term idea seems to have been to let the social isolation take its toll on us and then, when we were mentally weak, offer us what they hoped we would see as a way out. Doubtless if everyone had been allowed to live there would have been some who developed strong resentments and began to see non Jars as the enemy, thus making them ripe for recruitment in whatever campaign GSKM wanted to wage. Those people would see it as giving their endless, meaningless lives a new purpose. If they came to feel that they were totally separate from the rest of humanity, perhaps even above everyone else, then they would feel little to no compunction about inflicting violence and death upon the world at large. You can imagine, I'm sure, what an asset it would be to have a group of soldiers with human intelligence and logic but no need to eat, drink, sleep, no physical desires and no emotional connection to the enemy. And with a suitably reinforced skull cabinet they could be almost invulnerable. It only took Kip a few hours to design our solar skulls, imagine what GSKM's team of boffins could invent with their resources? Some kind of bullet proof, bomb proof casing perhaps. There would be no need for medics, no supplies, just find a way for them to operate weapons and point them in the right direction."
"Quite," said the council leader, "a terrifying prospect. A race of super soldiers. Well, rest assured that, the moment all the other Jars are safe, we shall be rounding up GSKM employees and conducting a meticulous investigation into this whole business."
"But there are tens of thousand of them all over the world," said Pixel, "how would that even be possible?"
"True, they are a huge organisation, but not quite as big as us," he smiled. "Besides, GSKM have existed for a long time as a legitimate company. It is only fairly recently that this other work began, and I'm confident that only their very senior people have any knowledge of this Project XSS monstrosity. We believe that no more than a few hundred people are involved, and we certainly have the resources to round up all of them. Indeed, a list is being drawn up as we speak, and plans are being made."
"I strongly suggest that you begin rounding them up immediately," said Gizmo. "They monitor all of us constantly, apart from those of us who can counteract their surveillance. As soon as one of them is reached GSKM will know and begin to act. If you wait then you'll probably find all their offices empty of both personnel and any evidence."
"I think it's already starting," said Marty, walking into the room. He stood facing the screen. With his military experience he cut straight to the point and didn't seem in the slightest bit intimidated at speaking to the leaders of the World Council. "I'm picking up unusual activity from some of their servers, I think they are shutting down operations. They know the game is up and I'm pretty sure that they've begun the process of abandoning ship."
The council leader hung his head for a few moments, then leaned forward and pressed the intercom. "GSKM may be alert to our plans, instigate the round up immediately. Pull people off other assignments and focus on the New York headquarters." After receiving an acknowledgement of the order he turned back to the screen. "Well, we can do nothing now but wait and cross our fingers."
*****
GSKM International HQ, New York
"Say that again."
"We arrived at the target's home and there were armed guards outside and what seemed like a whole delegation from the World Council. We turned right around but someone is giving chase. What do
we do?"
"Lose them, you idiot."
He cut the call and was about to instigate the Total Doomsday procedure, the final self-destruct sequence that would effectively dismantle GSKM and consign it to the oblivion of history, when all power to the building shut down. He could already hear the noise emanating from the lobby and knew that he had precious little time left.
"Oh well, we had a good run, I suppose," he muttered to nobody in particular, taking the pistol out of his desk drawer and placing the barrel against his skull.
*****
a remote village, Western Australia
Tam was the last of the Jars to be removed from his home, being the furthest away from any outposts of the World Council. There were few dwellings in the quiet, dusty street and the troops were perhaps too relaxed, knowing that all the other Jars were safe and the process of rounding up GSKM's senior people was well in hand.
So they didn't bother to cover up Tam for the ten second journey from his front door to the waiting vehicle.
From nowhere a small boy of about seven appeared and screamed at the fullest extent of his lungs. The ramshackle house next door, separated from Tam's residence by several metres of patchy, sunburnt grass, had seemed abandoned but now a man appeared, leaning out of the front window.
"Daddy, daddy, there's a monster!" he screamed, pointing at Tam and the man accompanying him along the path.