"Winnie, I don't think Patella knows that this is a game." Everyone looked at the wolf that was now standing stiff-legged in front of Stu's basket. The low rumble coming from her throat signaled that indeed, Patella did not know this was a game. She did know that a form of venison was standing in front of Winnie and he was knocking people down and stealing food.
Winnie went back to the blanket, pulled Patella to her, and whispered in her ear. "I better stay here," she said. Patella relaxed and resumed guarding her picnic basket and the venison waiting for her inside it.
Will put his arms out from his side and said, "Ready."
"On three," Doc called, and Granny gave the count. As the charge started, Will spun slowly in a circle, both hands raised in stop positions. All the rescuers went down when a palm pointed at them. When they started to get up, Will spun in another circle and the results were the same. Everyone was pinned to the ground. After three attempts, Hank called, "We give up," and Will lowered his hands.
"Who has chocolate in their basket?" Will called.
"We do," Reese said. "Peanut butter and chocolate sandwiches."
"A ransom of one piece of a chocolate and peanut butter sandwich is required to release all the baskets," Will said. "Good choice of sandwiches, Lucas" he added.
"It was Reese's idea. I know you had a hidden sling and it took a couple of seconds at least to power it up," Lucas said as he put one piece of Reese's chocolate/peanut butter inventions into Will's hands. "You were using a gravitational beam from the weapon array to flatten us, but there was no weapon in your palm so you must have transferred all the weapons into the sling technology somehow. The sling is probably in the shape of a human body now with the weapons in the part of the sling covering the hands. But how did you hide the sling when everyone was trying to find it?"
"The science on that is a little over your head, Lucas."
"Tell me anyway."
"Let's eat first," Will said.
"Can I play with your nose?" Reese asked.
# # # # # # # #
With the picnic over, everyone was keen to hear how Will had performed his tricks. He pulled them into a tight circle around him.
"I have new slings for everyone. In terms of flying and invisibility, the new slings operate exactly as before. However I've made changes so that you don't have to worry about anyone accidentally touching you and feeling the filaments. The sling packet is hidden about five centimeters above your head. It is designed to stay in invisible mode. You have to send it an instruction to become visible and I'll do that now."
Lucas smacked his head and began groaning.
Everyone looked. Yolanda appeared concerned about the possible aftereffects of peanut butter and chocolate sandwiches until Lucas said, "Will, that was terrible!"
Nobody understood.
"I asked Will how he had hid the sling and he said the science on that was a little over my head. It's a pun. Will told a pun!"
"Wizard, you're going to have to leave the family now," Izzy said. "That joke book you gave him for Christmas is going to haunt us forever."
"That seems like a harsh punishment," Will said. He really leaned on the beginning of the word punishment.
Granny stood up, found Will's magician hat, and pulled it down over his head until it covered his mouth. "Nice people don't tell puns," she accused.
Applause followed. Most likely they were clapping for Granny but both took bows.
"I will continue undeterred," Will said and removed the hat. "Observe," and he pointed a finger upward. A flat packet appeared above Will's head. "This normally invisible packet contains the sling and a number of other electronics. The sling will be discharged from the packet and will fit snugly around your body on a verbal or mental command that you set."
"Be very careful here. The sling takes up to two seconds to become fully operational. If you are suddenly confronted with danger, you can't be fumbling around trying to remember the activation code. It must come immediately to mind. It can't be a word or series of words that you might commonly use in conversation. And, it can't be a mental image that you might struggle to remember. I've chosen the image of a braided ring as my On Switch because if I'm in danger, that's the first thing that is going to go through my mind. Deploying the sling accidentally is a small problem; not being able to deploy it immediately is a much bigger problem. Everyone needs to select their On Switch carefully and you need to practice getting surprise attacks to the point where you can activate the sling immediately and without thinking."
"We'll set up proper training sessions," Hank said. "Do the slings come in different sizes?"
"One size fits all. The packet above your head has enough filament to completely enclose a normal body. Yollie won't need a new sling as she gets bigger. Nor will the youngsters. The filaments enclose your entire body no matter how you are positioned when you give the instruction. Standing, sitting, lying down – it makes no difference. You should also be aware that the sling is either completely around you, or totally off you. There is no in-between mode. You can't fly around with your head visible and everything else invisible like Doc did at Franklin's trial. I'm now activating my sling, and because the packet is visible, so will the filaments be visible."
A moment later, Granny asked. "Why didn't my bow knock your sling packet away?"
"The packet is artificially tethered to your head with a proximity charge so that in normal conditions, it will always stay close to your body. But nothing physical is tying it to you. Included in the packet are avoidance sensors that will react to anything that could endanger the packet. If you were crawling on your hands and knees in a tight tunnel, the packet would position itself flat on your skull. It would do the same thing if you were swimming. If someone waved a hand above your head, it would automatically rise out of reach. The avoidance software will handle most circumstances, but I expect something might happen that I haven't thought about. You may use a thought command to release the tether completely and you can reattach it with another command. However there isn't enough power in the packet for the sling to deploy if it's too far away from your body. Release the artificial tether only in emergency situations when you have no choice."
"How far away can you be from the untethered sling and still have it come back?" Hank worried about danger to the kids.
"You have to be in the same general location as when you untethered it. Say that you've moved to another room, and there are walls between you and the untethered sling packet. The sling will try to find you, but it's not smart enough to go around solid obstacles."
"What if something happens to you and the sling is untethered," Lucas asked.
"Like what?"
"Well, like being attacked, or having an accident as you're running away trying to escape the thing that caused you to untether it in the first place. Remember Operation Hot Dog when we thought you and Izzy had fallen to the ground and were unconscious?"
Will went into one of his thinking trances. Let's peek inside his mind for a sec.
The brain plug would give us co-ordinates, but we wouldn't know you were in trouble...and, without a tethered sling, you wouldn't be able to call for help...except you could unscrew the brain plug...but if you had fallen and were unconscious...doesn't hurt to have redundancy...simple change to the plug...add an automatic untethering if unconscious?...No. Waking groggy and not having a sling would make things worse...
"It's an unlikely circumstance, but so is untethering. Good question, Lucas. I'll adjust the brain plug so that a system-wide distress call will sound if you fall unconscious. I'll need everyone's brain plug for a minute before you go."
"How about an automatic I'm unconscious distress call whether the sling is tethered or untethered, Will?"
"Good call, Doc. That'll give us even more redundancy."
"Armaments?" Wolf asked.
"As Lucas figured out, they are now part of the sling itself. You now have two braided rings that can fire simultaneously i
f that's what you want, and as you saw, you can cover a 360-degree area around you. One ring is in the left hand, and the other is in the right hand. All of the powers are the same as our previous weapons and the instructions for firing the weapons remain unchanged. But now, someone can shake hands with you and won't feel the sling; two seconds later you can have a laser in your hand."
"Parental controls?" This from Yolanda.
"As before."
"What do we do about Liset," Yollie asked. "For example, if we suddenly had to leave the compound."
"I have a sling for her that is like everyone else's. But most of the functions in Liset's sling are inaccessible to her. TG and Yollie, you have enhanced parental controls in your slings that will allow you to activate Liset's sling remotely, issue commands to her sling, override completely any commands that Liset gives her sling if you need to, and issue a Stay close to me command that will attach her sling to yours if that's how close you want her. It uses the gravitational beam function and you can give her as much space away from you as you wish. Only you can turn on her weaponry functions."
"What if she turns herself invisible? Is there a sensor that can detect her?"
"No. I didn't want the slings to have anything that might permit their detection. But if you believe that Liset is hiding invisibly somewhere, you can turn off her invisibility function remotely."
"What about Patella?" Winnie asked. "Does she get a sling too?"
"Yes. She will have her own, and like Liset, it comes with all the same powers as normal slings, but with most of the powers turned off. Winnie, you're receiving the same kind of sling as TG and Yollie. You can control the functions on Patella's sling that you have been given access to. Your parents have control over what sling functions you can access on your own sling and on Patella's."
"Why did you give Patella access to weapons, Will?" Doc asked.
"The software operating both the sling and the weaponry is somewhat complex. Creating different kinds of slings would have been difficult. I chose to give everyone the same sling but with some powers that could be put under lock and key. Patella doesn't need a weapons array. But if Winnie's sling somehow became disabled, she would be able to use Patella's sling as her own. In such a situation, it would be good if Winnie still had access to weapons so that's why I gave Patella a proper sling. Theoretically, if somebody had a disabled sling, by standing under another warrior's sling packet, you could have the effect of a double sling. I didn't test this out, but I think it would work."
"Other limitations," Hank prompted.
"The sling has invisibility, flying, as well as lasers, magnetic and gravitational weapons, but those are designed for offense. They can protect you from objects moving slowly towards you, but the sling can't stop or deflect a bullet or an arrow. If an enemy with a knife surprises you, the sling won't stop him from stabbing you."
"If you're in trouble, make a strategic retreat," Hank instructed.
"Or else you'll be dealing with me," Yolanda added. "And the sling doesn't have an anti-mom capability."
Back to the Table of Contents
Chapter 11
Narrator: Sunday evening, June 30.
The directors' meeting this evening was unusually heated because it forced the Wilizy adults to make some difficult choices. They had known that a second shipment of new brain-bands from North Korean would be coming, of course. Stealing the cargo off the first North Korean freighter could only be a delaying tactic. That gave them a chance to formulate a plan on how to respond to the threat of new brain-bands being installed throughout the entire province. The extra time hadn't helped.
A small number of directors wanted to prevent the second shipment from arriving. However, the majority had concluded that Zzyk would consider one lost cargo as an unfortunate accident. He wouldn't be so naive the next time. Giving Zzyk reason to believe that the Wilizy could extend its reach across the Pacific was far too risky. The vote wasn't close and this option was never mentioned again.
Many directors were in favour of trying to prevent the DPS from installing the brain-bands once they had arrived. Those who knew Zzyk the best said that it couldn't be done without casualties and without risking discovery of some of their secrets. Hank suggested that Zzyk's plan for the installation would incorporate the use of a massive armed presence that would compel their citizens to gather in one place. The old football stadiums came to mind. Then they'd release the citizens one at a time after the brain-band had been installed and tested. TG agreed that this is what Zzyk would do although he wasn't sure how much of an armed presence would be needed. Albertans were very docile. The DPS might do two cities at a time. Regardless, countering the massive force was simply not feasible. The prevention option was also eventually discarded.
The sticking point for some of the Wilizy was the knowledge that each new brain-band would be tested on its victim. Hank, Will, TG, and Izzy remained unmovable as others called for the Wilizy to stop this blatant torture from happening somehow. Their message: "We can't stop this from happening. But in time, the random tests of the brain-bands will disappear. We need to focus on the broader picture."
Granny suggested that perhaps the Wilizy could do something that would reduce the impact of the torture. From that suggestion, the WZBN was soon broadcasting brief fifteen minute lessons on a new type of dance – lessons that were repeated regularly throughout the day. Only old timers might recognize the melody. It was from an extremely popular invigorating tune from ancient times named When the Saints Go Marching In. When played in a hot beat, it was virtually impossible to stand still. However nobody was going to recognize the lyrics.
Oh, when the goons, come marching in,
Oh, when the goons come marching in.
I will try out my dancing shoes,
When the goons come marching in.
Oh, when the goons, push their buttons,
Oh, when the goons push their buttons.
I will try out my dancing shoes,
When the goons push their buttons.
Citizens were shown how to march during the first stanza, and then encouraged to vibrate in place during the last stanza. Will and Izzy demonstrated the dance and even threw in some jive steps. Will hammed up the electrocution as did Izzy. The tune became very popular.
# # # # # # # #
TG found the date that the brain-bands would be shipped on the North Korean factory computer. He also found that The Citadel's order for spare parts for their solar panels had been placed only a few days after their armed forces had returned to base at the end of their training exercises in early June. But the North Korean factory had no record of any ammunition being ordered or shipped in the last six months. If replacement solar panels had been ordered, why not ammo too? Either this factory didn't manufacture ammunition, or they were hiding the fact that they handled ammunition.
Finding the source of the ammo was not going to be easy. They decided that they'd take a very close look at the cargo coming off the next North Korean freighter. They knew what the brain-band cartons looked like; they also knew what the replacement solar panels would be packed in. They'd photograph the cartons on anything else coming off the ship in any quantity. Perhaps it could be ammo and perhaps the factory name would be shown.
Doc's plans for a harmonica and singing contests were coming along nicely. He had formed a committee of volunteers: Granny, Yolanda, Yollie, Theo, and Winnie. The B.C. film studio was going to send a camera crew that would record the contests in each city; later, all the contestants would have their efforts broadcast on the WZBN. Wizard would arrange for the camera crew to stay with the families that had agreed to host Momaka.
Notices of the contest were now circulating on the WZBN and Theo was reporting some interest. Some had asked if they could have harmonicas with their singers. The group decided, "Why not?" It was going to be a low-key event. Anything that they could do to encourage more entries would be good. They'd make up the actual sche
dule after the deadline for entries had passed. They'd need a Master of Ceremonies who wasn't a Wilizy since DPS agents were bound to be at each contest. They were thinking about mid-August or late-August dates.
# # # # # # # #
Over in London, Mike's pub was experiencing a lot of changes. The wait staff had quickly learned about Mac's fight with Pug. A couple of days after she started work, the waitresses approached her to complain about the two bouncers demanding half of their tips for protection from the patrons. They were edging into demanding other favours as well. Mike fired Pug and Mug that evening.
Mac acted as the pub's entire security force while the help wanted ads ran. She sat in on the interviews and recommended two retired soldiers for the openings. "You don't want thugs who only know how to react after a brawl has started," she told Mike. "You want trained men who will act before a brawl has started. These soldiers have those skills. They'll treat your patrons with respect and handle issues discreetly."
Mike had agreed to let Mac install surveillance cameras with a view of the cash register. One day later, Mike caught three of his bartenders skimming cash and fired them. Mac suggested that no further job interviews were needed. Three men from the last job posting could tend bar. They were retired soldiers too, but these three had worked in Officer's messes. They also would treat Mike's patrons properly.
After the firings, Mac adopted very stringent security for herself. She knew that she would be blamed for the firings. About a week after Pug had been fired, she felt eyes on her. When a soldier has that feeling, she knows that a bullet could be coming any second. Mac ducked back into the pub's staff entrance. The buildings around the pub were all multi-storied. He could be behind any dark window. Or more likely, he could be on a dark roof looking down.
Would he ambush her with a long gun? Likely not. Pug was a brawler. Even if he acquired a gun, it would be a handgun that would be next to useless from a roof. Could he be waiting in a dark alley on her way home? Possibly. A handgun from an alley could be fatal.
Mac just happened to accidently find Pug's employment file in Mike's office desk, copied the information she'd need, and slept on the cot in the bar's storeroom that night. Early the next morning, she left Mike a note that she needed a couple of days off and left the pub. An hour later, she was on the roof of the building opposite Pug's flat before he awoke.