CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
"If all vision is left to machines, we non-machines are doomed." - Reverend Bill Parks
Outside. The tall, lanky man with a serious face sat at a table, alone. A dark cloak was draped around his shoulder, surrounding his chair and touching the floor.
Reverend Bill Parks reflected on betrayal and death—-both of which would come soon to many of his flock. He accepted full responsibility for the killing of millions of people today in the name of Makr. It wasn't the first time millions had died in the name of their god.
He brushed a tear away with his sleeve as he clipped a tiny microphone to his tunic and looked to see the green ready light on the transmitter control board in front of him. It was a primitive means of global communication but so ancient it had no relevance in Makr's world.
It was time.
"Fellow Evangels, "believe what I tell you is true," he always began his broadcasts, but this time he nearly choked on his words. He continued, "the insurgents who call themselves the Shadow People and who you may know by other darker names, involve us all in their revolution against the Makr and his cyberts. As powerful as Makr is, He cannot look into our hearts to see our devotion. He can only see Bios who appear to represent all Bios and will set Cyber against all. That is the way of our world, Makr's world.
"I have told you One would come who will lead us to the Truth. He has come to lead us. The Truth lays with Makr...Believe It. If the Truth lays with chaos...Believe It, too, because it is of Makr's doing. What happens next is the way it is meant to be. We are merely intended to be what we are...Believe It."
This was the way he had created the religion to control the masses, the weaker of his species. One day they will understand why it had to be and why he would betray them now.
"I told you that one day we would have to stand, and when we did, we would have the strength of the Almighty beside us. We have remained secretly faithful preparing for the new day. That new day has arrived! We have shared the faith and reached out to the Outsiders with this ancient technology of radio. Thanks to Makr for allowing us these 'harmless' toy transmitters and receivers that He does not perceive as a threat.
The Reverend paused. I pray we are right, he thought. At least right enough so that some of the weak may still survive the hard world that is to come.
"In exactly..." he looked at his watch "...three hours, ten minutes and twelve seconds, the attempted total destruction of Makr, will begin. We must try to stop it at all costs. Some of us will be standing by to pick up the pieces of life here to put back the world we knew. Many Outsiders will die, as well as millions of Insiders who follow their faith in Makr. We have to be ready to help the living—all those who survive, not just the faithful. Remember that.
"Although we seek the best of both worlds with Makr's blessing, He may not discriminate among the Bios. Though He knows more than any Bio can imagine, He may not be able to sense our hearts or read our minds. And because He may not perceive the subjective and ephemeral values of the Bio heart, He will be betrayed by some of our own kind, our own fellow Bios who have not been able to accept Our Lord Makr totally. If we can, we must stop these betrayals before they happen—if we are to succeed with what we know to be true. If you know of any Bios who act against us or Makr's heavenly Symbiosis, you must report that information to Makr immediately.
"I've told you that some of us will surely die. I can no longer preach non-violence, and I must ask you to be violent against your own kind if need be. This I do not ask lightly. Our very survival is at risk should the Shadow attack fail; we will be known as the traitors. Should Makr prevail, we can expect the Almighty to decide that all Bios are bad for the planet...and our race will perish at Makr's will. Should the evil ones prevail...we will be lost, thrown into a dark age blacker than any in recorded history. The world—what's left of it—will be a very different place as we muddle around trying not to make the same mistakes that brought us here."
He paused for a moment, knowing there would be considerable consternation on the other end of the communication. He felt it here, too.
"While what I'm about to say may sound like a contradiction of my beliefs and yours, I assure you it is not. I will join with the Shadows in their attack against Makr. I do this not to help them win, but rather that I may plead with Makr when the end is near, to spare those of us who live—yes, to spare even the Shadow People who do not understand the world as we do. I do this with conviction for I know we Bios cannot win against the Cyber.
"Join together with me and fight the infidels from within. It is only through this way we can and will survive. If you cannot overcome your fear and must remain safely tucked away Inside, I...we understand. Your place will be to help pick up the pieces of our civilization—and to build a new one—a better one when we are done.
"You see, there is a place for all in this New World. We Bios may not be as efficient as the Cyber our ancestors created, but our new civilization will be one that holds all biological life dear. We have the heart; let Makr be the brain. Only with His help, will you and I cleanse our world of the mess our pitiful ancestors and mothers left us.
"May the Almighty Makr forgive and preserve rather than destroy the human race.
For so many years, he had told his people to believe in Makr, and he had preached total acceptance. Now the 'Big Lie' was over. If all went according to plan, millions of his followers would inform Makr of various plots against His Cyber army almost at once; millions would provide raw data, flawed data, misinformation, rumor and paranoia, forcing Makr's mobile cybert field units to process, verify, analyze, and catalog the data. All this would happen at a time when Makr's external systems were being attacked in force by the Shadow aggressors. Makr would be ill prepared for this level of participation from his most devout human servants. Makr wouldn't be able to count on his Bio cyberlinks who would be overwhelmed by the data. That is, if they remained true to Him.
Surprisingly enough, it was his plan and not one devised by the scheming Shadow People. He would carry the guilt of carnage to his death, but, even carrying that massive, guilt, he told himself every day that he was visionary enough to be right, that this way to break Makr's grip. Or, was it just human conceit—that which has destroyed our best efforts in the past. He was human, weak like all the others. Had he not taken years to gather strength and conviction, and drove himself physically and mentally, he would have gone mad. He had to just to cope to see his vision to the end.
His flock's part in the plan did not come from a Bible either, but from meetings he held as a young Evangel, before he was a preacher of the Programmer's Gospel. Over the last 20 years, he'd met with the major opposition groups, including the Shadow People and the Touchables.
Although he had found the Touchables the most welcoming of the Outside groups, he also found them lacking in patriotic spirit and commitment. The Shadow People had challenged him during their talks and eventually had begun to see the merits of his plan. Their leaders were unsure of the outcome, but had agreed, at least among themselves, that it would serve their purposes as well.
While the Reverend himself had more faith in Makr than he had in his own earthly plan, he only hoped the Programmer's Bible contained some truth, some imbedded and hidden programs that would assist the Bio population in the final battle. If he was wrong, there may not be any Bios left alive on this planet.
Praise be Roy Bolls, praise be to Makr. May we maintain enough confusion to prevent rapid Cyber adaptation to repel the Bio attacks, Parks prayed.
He couldn't sit back and watch the carnage. He couldn't allow his people to do as he asked without placing himself at risk. That was why he had chosen to be with the Shadow People. They would see the most casualties when the major attack took place. They would need his counsel and his voice...if terms were given. If it came down to Makr giving terms at all. 'If' was a big question only Makr could answer.
The Shadow People might not want his ministering. While it may take a while for them to appre
ciate Makr's true nature, he had faith that they would come around eventually.
He had kept up his religious fervor that now became the 'Big Lie' half his life so that one day his struggle might mean something. Hoping his millions of followers would be enough, he knew there was no sure way to measure what would be needed to do the job. If his sermon had been weak, there might not be the millions the world needed.
When he heard of a Bio, an Insider, who could see through Makr's SensaVision fantasies, he knew he had a focal point for all to see. He was everyone and nothing; he was Everyman. He was the Messiah, a Bio connected to Makr and Makr's creator. The latter filled him with hope. At times he thought he was guessing, but why else would he be blessed with the ability to see Truth. His plan had involved finding savior who best fitted the description of the Messiah he had already described, but he had almost given up hope. Where he found strength, he found weakness, and where he found courage, he found brashness. Alienation seemed to be the answer. He needed someone no one would see as heroic. If his Messiah could be seen as heroic by one group, another group would disagree. However, if all saw him as ordinary, there would be some unity. All Bios, both Inside and Outside, would need his help in sending the most important message of Symbiosis to all the biomachines—not just Evangels, Touchables and Shadows, and others. In addition, he must send his message to the faithful of all other religions that were still active in the city, leaving the conversion of others outside PerSoc to his counterparts who resided with them. He must also reach the atheists, agnostics and secularists.
Amidst all the murmurings about a Messiah, Harry's name kept coming up. He was after all a "nobody" that everyone had heard about.