Lunar One

Bill Larantz stepped out of a door accompanied by				These micro-robots were beyond state-of-the art.
three, armed security officers. They turned left				They were so far undetectable by any system or
down the long corridor, walking methodically slow. He				device - of course this would be so, for just so long,
noticed the dark blue stretch uniforms they were				perhaps two or three months longer and then he
wearing, which had a bright-yellow triangular shaped				would have to improve and miniaturize them yet
stripe across the front, centered by a large chrome				again. He had infected the Chief executive because
star - the symbol for the World Federation.				he had heard rumors of an ultra-secret convention
"What's it like to work as a security officer?" He				comprised of the most elite and wealthy individuals
asked cheerfully, hoping to somehow break the				on the planet. And he wanted to record this meeting
solemn atmosphere of his companions. But it was to				in its entirety as this might just be the breakthrough
no avail as they didn't respond nor even acknowledge				event that could completely expose the true
that he had spoken.As they marched along Bill				intentions and nature of the World Federation.
surveyed the faces of the officers and found that				He sat down at the computer, slid in the twelve inch
they looked straight ahead intently but saw nothing.				Super-Disk-ROM and began correcting the books as
It was as if they were locked inside their heads.				requested but at the same time infected the
The corridor was oval shaped and dimly lit with neon				network with several virus code mechanisms. He also
lighting that streamed along each side behind glass				planted a few million hardware and program
covers. The walls were faced with a gloomy				nano-bots in the main computer so as to redesign
blue-gray material, which was disturbing to look at.				and reconstruct the whole system from afar - all
They quickly approached a large four section portal				undetectable of course. In not too long a time he
at the end of the corridor, next to which was				would have such total control over the company
located an elaborate keypad. The lead officer deftly				software that he could do whatever he wanted with
typed a code in order to gain access to the entrance.				it and the users would only see what he wanted
The large door opened up by the two top sections				them to see, nobody ever suspecting anything
separating and moving up while the bottom sections				different.
separated and moved down respectively. Passing				In just four hours time he had successfully installed
through the opening they entered a spacious white				the proper corrector modules that would right the
colored chamber at the center of which was an				entire database while taking care of his own agenda
enormous console. Surrounding the control panel was				as well. There was not much else he could do at this
a bright florescent-green field, which extended up				point but sit back and let everything takes its course.
from the floor about eight feet.				10:15:00-AM-09/10/2110
They continued on heading for the green field. The				Erick Land was a little more than just a bit nervous
doorway behind them closed with a surprising boom				as he walked about with the personnel director who
giving him a bit of a start. He could feel his heart				was currently giving him his orientation. You see this
flutter for a moment and then it quickly recovered				was his very first day on a job he had been striving
when he realized what it was. Upon entering the field				at for more than fifteen years. Somewhere in the
a large three-dimensional head appeared before them				back of his mind he felt as if somehow something
sporting a very menacing look. The group took a few				would go wrong and all of his hard work would be
steps closer and then stopped abruptly.				for naught. This was mixed with intermittent positive
"Bill Larantz please step forward," a loud voice blasted				feelings and thoughts like "Wow I really made it."
from some unseen speaker system. Bill complied a				The Personnel director - Harve Migel - started his
little weak in the knees.				orientation lecture with, "I am going to give you a
"I am Holax Maddan, Chief Arbiter West-zone district,				complete rundown of the Lunar One control station,
World Federation," the voice continued fatefully.				a little of it's history and what it is exactly that we
"Case WF-SH-448xx7 Sentence hearing				do here." Harve stated this importantly and you could
commencement 4:45:00pm-07/24/2110," Holax said,				tell that he thought that working here was of a very
as if it were an aside, sending the communication to				high status. He continued on with, "We abbreviate
some other unknown audience.				the prison facility to L-1 and the control station to
Attention was quickly directed back to him however				L-1-Con. Now, L-1 is located at Anderson crater 150
as Holax said, "You have been convicted of the				kilometers south of where we are here at Freundich
following crimes: Three counts attempted overthrow				crater, which is the home of L-1-Con. We have to run
of the World Federation, Two counts conspiracy				the prison remotely, as the inmates that are sent
against mankind and Two hundred counts murder of				there are the most dangerous in the solar system.
Federation personnel."				We control - by way of robots and robotic systems
There was an abrupt momentary pause as the large				and equipment - the entire L-1 facility. We feed the
head glared at him grimly, then it continued with,				prisoners, keep watch on them, maintain the grounds
"Because of the violent and terroristic nature of your				and structures, and additionally administrate all new
crimes, you have been categorized as a Level Six				construction and planning all from L-1-Con. The
Convict - maximum danger and destructiveness to				inmates come in by small one-way capsules, which
society. Therefore, this court hereby sentences you				become - upon landing - prison cells. All supplies and
to life imprisonment at the maximum-security				equipment are shipped from here via automated
Lunar-One criminal institution. You will be leaving at				mini-rail, so as not to allow for a way of escape. The
8:30am-07/25/2110. All of your personal records are -				mini-rail cars are so small that there is no way that
as we speak - being deleted from all databases. You				any human being - including a small child - could
are no longer Bill Larantz, that identity has been				possibly fit aboard it. Additionally there is no way to
permanently erased just as if you had never been				carry or produce oxygen on the rail cars, making it
born. You are now the property of the World				doubly impossible as an escape route. So you see we
Federation. Your identity is now L-1/INM-448xx7. As				have here the most escape proof prison ever
the property of the WF you can and may be				constructed, one hundred percent fail-safe in my
subjected to any psychiatric-experimentation,				opinion."
including drugs, shock and surgery. Do you have				Harve paused for a moment in his speech to take a
anything to say for yourself before your sentence				drink of water from his refrigerated thermos unit.
begins?" Holax asked in conclusion with a most				And then he continued with, "Now the history of L-1
invalidating tone and expression.				and L-1-Con began thirty years ago when
"I am neither a criminal nor a terrorist!" Bill began his				construction was initiated. It took the better part of
challenging retort looking squarely in the eyes of the				ten years to finish and the first inmate arrived
giant head facsimile before him. "Me and my fellow				nineteen years ago. Since then more than seven
Freedom Fighters are attempting to restore liberty to				thousand prisoners have been sent here, not one has
this planet that the World Fe---," he attempted to				ever escaped and it is not expected that any ever
say but the hologram image vehemently cut him off				will. The idea for L-1 was conceived by Helmer Aswit,
midstream with:				he was a noted psychiatrist and prison director. The
"We don't want to hear any of your old-world				current inmate population is four thousand, one
democratic ideas here. Personal liberty was a failure,				hundred and fifty six. This is due to the fact that
as everyone knows, for it is just too dangerous. The				since The One World Order has taken over Earth,
American Republic is out and the One World Order is				various prisoner rights have been dropped and the
in. You have failed to keep up with the times and				government can now use these prisoners in any
just like all the rest of your freedom-advocate				experiments they see fit. About forty percent of the
brethren, your true purpose - while beating the drum				prisoners who have died at L-1 were due to
for liberty - is to commit crimes and protect				psychiatric research tests."
criminals," Holax stated with finality and evaluation.				Harve again halted for a time as they made their
As Bill considered the ridiculousness of the statement				way around a large wall, on the other side of which,
he had just heard and the comical seriousness with				was an enormous computer control center. Erik
which it was uttered, he suddenly broke out into				couldn't believe how many people he saw running all
uncontrolled laughter.				manner of computerized equipment; things so
The head's features became enraged as it bellowed				high-tech and advanced that it was beyond belief.
to the security officers, "Restrain this criminal at				The center stretched out in all directions and was
once!"				about the size of a stadium. As he stood there
The three officers complied in a hectic manner, by				dumbfounded Harve resumed. "Here is where it all
pulling out their electrified nightsticks, turning them on				happens. This is where you will be working once you
and touching them to Bill's midsection in unison,				complete your entrance program, but for now let me
sending him into immediate violent convulsions for a				give you a tour. As you can see there is quite a bit
few short seconds, after which he collapsed				of personnel needed to operate L-1." He stopped and
unconscious to the floor.				looked at Erik somehow sensing that he wanted to
9:45:00-AM-08/15/2110				comment.
John Smith was not his real name, it was actually				"Wow! I never imagined that it would be anything like
Nolan Pool, but that name was just too unique. You				this. It's almost overwhelming," Erik stated with
see Nolan had the fortune or misfortune - however				obvious awe.
the case may be - of having been born with the				"Yes it can seem that way when you have not been
most average features. He had the mean height of				given any information beforehand. As you know
five feet eleven inches. His brown hair and brown				everything that we do here is top-secret and
eyes were very common. To accentuate this he				confidential. This is why you signed the pledge stating
wore run-of-the-mill clothes and shoes, had an				that you will not disclose anything about what we do,
average-Joe hair cut and maintained a work-a-day				what you see or what you know concerning L-1 and
manner in all of his actions.				L-1-Con, under penalty of imprisonment," Harve
Now most people who were quite average in looks				responded in a "this-is-to-be-expected" attitude.
would have probably considered this to be a real				They continued the tour for the balance of his first
problem and might have tried to make themselves a				day. Late that night in his quarters, Erik pondered on
bit out of the ordinary in some way, by getting an				the next six days, which was how long his entrance
odd haircut, donning strange clothes, or something.				program would take. His mind then went on to the
But not Nolan; instead he thought of it as an asset,				next eighteen months - the length of his first tour at
an advantage to be utilized to the fullest. All the while				L-1-Con; he hoped that all would go well. He also
he was growing up he practiced being ordinary. He				looked forward to his three-month leave after his
specifically watched films and movies to spot the				first tour, although it was a long way off, it was a
people who didn't stand out, which were usually in				good goal to work towards. He felt pretty good
the background and were quite often missed by				about everything now, minus the apprehension and
everyone else. He would then mimic their every				anxiety he had earlier. He thought, "it's all going to
move, practicing and drilling constantly, getting their				work out fine." A few short moments later he was
actions down cold. He would then seek out new films				sound asleep.
and movies for more every-day characters and then				2:25:00-PM-09/22/2110
mimic them and so on...				It had been nearly two months since Bill had been
He was now fifty-seven and having made this				sentenced back on earth. He had taken off the very
average behavior a habit for many years now, had				next morning on a prison airbus, top-security of
become a true master of the common man, his				course. He rode the bus for fifteen hours to Houston
every move a letter-perfect regularity. So good in				where he was transferred aboard
fact that he was now able to virtually disappear. He				Space-Elevator-One - better known as the thriftiest
could get multitudes of people to become unaware				way into space. This grueling journey was most
of him. Everyone he met and even those he saw on				unpleasant and lasted five - seemingly unending -
a regular basis had a very hard time remembering his				days. At the end of that time, already some two
name. Some would try hard for a while to pay				thousand miles in space, he was transferred to an
attention to him and keep track of him, but after				enormous earth-moon-space-barge where he was
only a short time they would begin to lose him,				placed aboard a small capsule - later to serve as his
eventually he became just part of the background. All				prison cell upon reaching Lunar-one. Traveling on the
communication to him would start being on an				barge was not too bad; he actually almost enjoyed
automatic basis. And he went about his business				himself. But this only lasted for two days at which
making very certain that he kept all of his actions				time the large ship entered the lunar orbit. Once on
mundane.				the far side - with the earth no longer in view - he
Nolan had done very average in High School and				and the capsule of his imprisonment were ejected
College, though he could have done much better, but				from the barge towards Lunar-One at Anderson
that would have gone against his every-day guy				crater. It took the capsule under three hours to get
persona. After finishing school he became a reporter				there. Upon entering the crater, you could see what
for a newspaper in Pittsburgh. He was not an				looked like some lunar settlement city scattered
exceptionally great journalist, but could get into				across it. His capsule was not going to land on the
places and get stories that others could not, because				surface, but instead sought out one of four large
of his invisible man ability. He worked at the paper for				shafts that led deep underground. Once it had made
the better part of ten years and gradually befriended				it to the shaft it was heading for, it began to slowly
a beautiful woman columnist named Stasha. They				descend going down, down, seemingly to the depths
worked together closely for years as good friends				of hell. The capsule stopped descending at about one
and eventually fell in love with each other, ultimately				point five kilometers underground and found an
marrying. Yes he could remember those times vividly.				empty pre-constructed concavement, which it
That was back in the old days when the United				entered and then finally came to rest. A short time
States was still intact, before The One World Order				after that he could see various robotic machines
had taken over. They had a really great relationship				doing a multitude of operations to adapt his capsule
as she was the one to stand out and he was just				to the Lunar-One system complex.
the opposite. And because he was so average he				Bill knew that he had a very limited amount of time
took nothing away from her. Nobody ever really				to save himself. If he wanted to make it out of here
noticed them as a couple, but rather her as a star				alive, he would have to act extremely fast, as he
journalist and beautiful woman. So that worked out				was aware of the fact that all technically trained
great because he didn't want distinction at all and she				prisoners, were used in experiments that ended with
lived on it.				death - usually within the first six to eight months of
Each year their love grew stronger and stronger and				imprisonment. This was - he figured - because they
understanding between them was inviolable. They				were trying to prevent escape. However, he had
became such a great team together that they felt				been planning his breakout well before he had arrived.
nothing could get in their way and could therefore				In fact, he had been planning for it since the inception
accomplish anything. And so it was they endeavored				of the Freedom-fighter movement, over five years
together with the intention of changing the world for				ago.
the better. But sometimes it seems that perfect				He had smuggled - hidden deep within a cavity in one
situations such as theirs are not meant for a world as				of his teeth - less than one microgram of
imperfect as this, and - just when it seemed that				nano-replicators. These nano-bots were capable of
things could not possibly get any better - the				replicating at the rate of two-ex per minute. He had
wonderful individual that he cherished so dearly, was				earlier programmed them to activate upon touching a
murdered, ending forever their life and love together.				micro magnet to the cavity in his tooth, which he had
She had been working on a story and was				hidden in a plastic toothpick. And now, two months
uncovering evidence of a secret state government				later, he had nearly two tons of nanobotic material.
conspiracy, proving that revenue allotted for				He had to be extremely prudent in his programming
education, was being used instead to drug children				not to amass too much in any one area, as it would
between the ages of six to twelve. The				be detected. And so, during production, he carefully
"medications" being administered - though legal -				dispersed the microscopic material all throughout
would in effect render all of these young people				Lunar-One. He had developed a large array of
mentally disabled, thus permanently nullifying their				different kinds of micro-equipment, each and every
chances of getting any kind of education. And so				one of which, was designated a particular task. He
when she had uncovered and exposed too much,				had a whole series of computer reprogramming
the vested-interest-powers-that-be did her in but				nano-bots. The first thing he did with these was to
good. They did not just kill her but riddled her body				infiltrate the whole network, including all of the
with thirty plus rounds from a semi-automatic				robotic equipment. Then he began to create a
machine gun.				system wide simulation of L-1, using the digital
He was - to say the least - overwhelmed and				footage he had collected from the video recording
devastated by his loss for nearly a year. He couldn't				devices, located throughout the prison.
think or function. He went through the daily motions				He wanted to be able to handle every conceivable
of life - eating, dressing, showering and working - kind				variation, so that those monitoring L-1 at the
of on an auto-pilot basis, never really doing any of it				base-station would believe that they were seeing
at all. He had completely lost his purpose and drive to				actual signals and not simulation. This was especially
go on living. But then one day he realized what he				difficult to do for those robots that traveled
must do. He needed to avenge his wife's tragic death				throughout L-1 being remotely operated by L-1-Con
by exposing the responsible group as the bloodletting				personnel. He had accomplished this goal three days
totalitarians that they were. And so his every waking				ago and was at this time, slowly, one by one,
moment was spent ferreting out their dastardly				switching from video signal to simulation. He had to
schemes and plots.				be very cautious in doing this, because each time he
He soon discovered that the group he was after				switched a machine over there was a split second in
was much larger and higher up than he had expected.				which there was an absence of signal transmission
The true source was a corporate elite that ran the				and this caused interference on the receiving end.
entire planet. The more he penetrated the operations				This sort of thing was not too unusual in ordinary
of these people the more hate he developed for				operations, as electronic equipment tended to do
them. He realized two years ahead of time that				that from time to time. But he didn't want to get too
something like the World Federation was on its way.				carried away on this, because were it to happen too
He knew there was nothing he could do to stop it				frequently, someone could very easily become
from arriving. But knowing this did not, in any small				suspicious. And so he usually picked equipment that
way, deter his determination to rid the world of this				was not in operation temporarily. Sometimes
atrocious group.				however, he had to pick one that was in operation -
He of course no longer worked for any newspaper,				due to the time factor - knowing very well that the
as they had all been taken over and slanted with WF				change in signal would be seen at the base end.
propaganda. His methods of both finding and				The next step he had planned was to record as
distributing the truth about The One-World-Order				many of the Psychiatric experiments as possible from
were simple and insidious. He would get jobs in which				the robotic-testing equipment. He had already
he would correct the books of large corporations,				captured twelve prefrontal lobotomies, twenty-two
thus enabling him to poke around and research,				electric-shock treatments, over fifty
collect evidence, then move on to the next gig and				pain-drug-hypnosis sessions and about twenty-five
do the same. After a while he would have the				other miscellaneous tests. He figured he needed
information necessary to release an exposé				about double that amount to produce enough variety
over various private media such as underground				of simulations. He was also in the process of gaining
computer networks and home broadcasting				access to the entire computer network. He
(television and radio). In addition he would publish				desperately needed to do this, so that he could find
articles anonymously in various secret evolutionary				out whom they would be choosing for each
and revolutionary magazines, papers etc.				experiment. He felt a great deal of anxiety with
Nolan walked along Canal Street heading for Saxon				regard to this, because his very survival depended
center - the newest fifty story corporate office				upon it and he had about another month of work to
building in lower Manhattan. As he went along he				go to complete it.
noticed the people on foot near him, but they				Now because he couldn't have any equipment in his
noticed him not at all. Their expressions were all very				room, he had to infect himself with various nanobotic
nervous as they tried to avoid the many security				systems. He had for instance, nano-synapse signalers,
cams above the street. Everywhere you looked				which converted nano-signals to nerve-signals that
there were cameras of various kinds, there were				could then be seen in his mind as pictures. He had
different sizes and shapes, placed in every type of				also, synapse-nano receivers, which would take his
location. They were all perfectly designed to watch				thoughts as commands and convert them to
your every move. The people were no longer free				nano-signals. And in addition to that, he had a
and the atmosphere was anxious and troublesome.				nano-digestive detoxification system, which filtered
Upon reaching the front doors of his destination he				out all drugs, toxins and poison while he ate. He had
took care to enter the building in the exact manner				discovered that they were already doing some kind
he did everyday and was not thrown off by the				of test on him, using nerve drugs and he therefore
unexpected, "Hi" from some unknown passerby.				had to act as if it were affecting him by dramatizing
He responded with an average "Hello" and a slight				the effects, lest anyone become suspicious. And so
bow of the head then continued on. He made sure				he worked intently on, burning the midnight oil in a
that each and every step and motion that he took				race against time, to both save his life and escape
was an exact duplicate of prior ones he had taken				from this godforsaken man made hell.
each time before. He stepped into the elevator and				3:15:00-PM-12/21/2110
monotonously pressed twenty-four, watched the				Noland had successfully infected thirty-three people
doors close and started on his ascent. It took some				with nano-bots in the last six months. He had
time to reach floor twenty-four, what with all the				selected the most likely candidates he could find that
stops made along the way but finally he arrived and				were likely to attend the conference of the elite. As
the doors opened. He stepped out and turned right				it turned out, only eight of those he had chosen
to walk up the long corridor towards suite 2469.				actually had made it, but that was more than enough
Once he had reached the correct office he rang a				for his needs.
buzzer located next to the door. Shortly thereafter a				The great convention was being held near Groom
voice from an intercom said, "Good morning Mr.				Lake, Nevada, in a location known as area 51 - a top
Smith, come on in."				secret government base. It had started nearly an
The door latch-light went from red to green and then				hour ago and all the equipment he had implanted was
he opened the door and entered. "Hello Mr. Benkins,"				functioning excellently. As he was constantly in need
he said as he closed the door behind him. He noticed				of modernizing his nano-bots, he had a system in
that some unknown person stood next to Benkins.				place within each person infected that would
"Ah-Jim right?" Benkins asked, obviously already				construct each advance and then gradually replace
having trouble with his first name.				the previous technology with the new. So far there
"It's John sir," he replied, not in the least disturbed by				had been no sign that any of his micro-equipment
his forgetting.				had been detected, which was all very good and well,
"Oh yes John that's right. I would like you to meet				but on the other hand, he still could not be relaxed
Daran Oldemayer, he is the Chief Executive officer				about it, as each moment that passed brought an
of our company," Benkins introduced nervously.				increased possibility of it occurring. He only hoped
"Pleased to meet you," Nolan said, as he shook the				that he could get enough data to expose them
VIP's hand making sure not to be effusive, keeping in				enough to bring about their demise.
his usual everyday manner as well.				He noted the many VIP's that were attending: there
"Nice to meet you," The executive said, not meaning				was the President of the World Federation, the
it at all as he had an attitude of "I am the most				Secretary of Prisons, the Secretary of Health and
important person you have probably ever met."				Mental Stability, four Sector Governors and over
"There are the files that I need you to correct				one-hundred International Corporate officers from
today," Benkins said distractedly as he pointed				the worlds largest enterprises. Eight of the corporate
towards two or three Super-Disk-ROM cartridges of				leaders were infected with nano-technology and they
one hundred "googol-bit" capacity - one hundred				were unwittingly sending him signals just as if they
googol bytes of information. And then he continued				had been spies working for him intentionally. One
with, "We were just on our way to our quarterly				executive in particular, Daran Oldemayer, CEO of
meeting so I will check back with you later. Alright?"				Saxon Software Incorporated, was the central
"Ok Mr. Benkins see you later on," Nolan said quite				terminal through which all digital information collected
nonchalantly and noticed that they didn't even stay				was being channeled. Noland thought back to the day
to hear him finish, as they had already left. The VIP				he had met this man, the day he had infected him,
he had greeted was not aware that he had infected				he had been so smug and self-important, and here he
his hand with over a million nano-percept recorders.				was betraying his fellow power-mongers.

Human Rights

Lunar One