The Last Days of Krypton (31 page)

While the foolish dissidents in
other population centers were shocked and sickened by the obliteration of Borga City, Zod used the opportunity to strengthen his position. Even before his small victorious group paraded back into Kryptonopolis, he had made his preparations.

Aethyr raced ahead to distribute glorious propaganda so that his followers would learn of the event in exactly the way he wished. Towering information screens portrayed the retaliatory strike as reasonable and necessary. Most of the citizens of Kryptonopolis would already accept whatever Zod told them; anyone who expressed concern or seemed overly distressed—particularly if the person had connections to Borga City—was efficiently removed from the crowds and quietly reassigned far from the others.

Zod returned to his capital, bearded chin held high, eyes bright with victory. Nam-Ek strode boldly beside his master, his muscles bunched, his hands clenched into fists the size of large rocks.

No-Ton and the other technicians had also been recalled from the isolated mountain outpost; Zod didn’t want any of them near the Rao-beam generator, at least until the uproar had died down.

Riding among them all, watched carefully by the guards, Jor-El looked broken and deflated, as if deeply ashamed that his invention had been used in such a manner. The pale-haired scientist kept his gaze turned away, but the Commissioner noticed an occasional flash of anger in his eye. Maybe Jor-El wasn’t as much under control as Zod had hoped. He wondered if the defeated mood might only be an act. What if Jor-El decided to turn his considerable talents against Zod?

On the journey back, Jor-El had defiantly revealed that he’d sent a warning to Borga City, that he’d informed Shor-Em of the impending destruction. At first Zod had been outraged by the defiance, but then he grudgingly realized that survivors—witnesses—would only tell the tale and emphasize the lengths to which the Commissioner would go. No one could doubt his seriousness now. The many refugees would spread out, seeking food and shelter, and Zod was not inclined to help them. They still had to prove they had learned their lesson.

Fortunately, according to initial reports, Shor-Em and his haughty sham Council had insisted on staying inside the city. They had been annihilated along with everyone else who believed in them. A perfect solution. This had indeed been a successful undertaking, and he would make certain everyone knew it.

As the small band of troops passed between the crystal towers and into the Square of Hope, Zod raised his hands and his voice. “Borga City and its corrupt and dangerous leaders brought this fate upon themselves. It was a painful decision for me, but now we must put an end to this debilitating struggle, this civil disagreement. There are some survivors, innocents who evacuated in time, and they are dispersed to other cities. Let us hope they have accepted the truth now. Krypton is at last safe from traitors to our way of life.”

The members of the Ring of Strength and their deputies lined the streets of the capital. They automatically responded with shouts and cheers. Koll-Em was the loudest of them all, barely able to contain his vindictive joy that his older brother had just been vaporized.

Zod gave a preoccupied nod, as if he were talking only to himself. “In seven days I will hold a vital summit in Kryptonopolis. I command that all city leaders present themselves to me. Anyone who does not attend will be seen as an enemy of Krypton.” He marched forward with his loyal followers, sweeping into the government palace with Aethyr and Nam-Ek beside him.

Jor-El pointedly remained outside.

Lara was physically sick after hearing of the destruction of Borga City. She clutched her rounded stomach. “All those people! Even if two-thirds of them escaped in time…”

Jor-El rocked her in his arms. “I don’t know what to believe anymore, but I certainly don’t believe
him
. He will not focus on any problem other than how to achieve his own ambitions.” He felt the crushing weight on his conscience of having created a tool that killed an entire city. “Zor-El was right. For too long, I tried to convince myself that the Commissioner was the lesser of two evils, that his actions would ultimately benefit Krypton. But after this…after his minions attacked our mother and Alura…” He raised his head. “Now I’ve got to do something about it. I can’t hesitate. The responsibility is mine.”

Lara reacted with alarm. “Zod will be watching you more closely than ever.”

He shook his head. “Speed is my best ally. If I slip away tonight while the Commissioner is still reveling in his victory, I can blindside him. He withdrew everyone from the Rao-beam installation. Now is my chance.” Jor-El held her by the shoulders, feeling steel inside. “What kind of world will our baby be born into if I let Zod wipe out entire cities on a whim? Whatever happens to me, at least my child can be proud.”

“Then I’m going with you, whatever it is you intend to do.”

“You can’t, Lara.”

Her eyes narrowed indignantly. “Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I’m incapable. I won’t let you leave me out in the cold.”

He smiled with great love for her. “That’s not why I want you to stay. I need you here to cover for me. Give me an alibi if Zod suspects anything.”

“Oh, he will suspect—but I’ll find ways to deflect him.”

“Lock down our quarters. If anyone asks, tell them I cannot be disturbed, that I’m focused on my cometary calculations. Zod should believe that.” He kissed her. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Hold off any questions until then.”

In the darkest, quietest hour of the night, Jor-El crept through a window in their bedroom and furtively made his way out of Kryptonopolis. He dodged the overconfident Sapphire Guards patrolling the streets. After Zod’s recent show of strength, most of the people were cowed and cooperative. But not him.

When he reached the Rao-beam facility high in the mountains, the ever-present smoke and soot in the air made him think of the funeral pyres of burned innocents. He shuddered. This Rao beam had been constructed to save Krypton from the pressure buildup in the core, not to annihilate entire civilian populations. Zod had smeared Jor-El with their blood, and he felt violated.

Though the rig’s solar-generating crystals were dim and the focusing mirrors had been removed, enough charge remained in the central battery for Jor-El to do his work. In his hubris, Commissioner Zod had left the facility empty during his “celebration” in Kryptonopolis, but soon he would surely send a contingent of soldiers to guard the equipment. Jor-El had to act swiftly.

Working alone in the dimness, he knelt to remove the access panel from the central generator. He shifted internal crystals, rewired control circuits, and built a feedback loop. Sparks began to swirl inside the main dangling crystal. Then he climbed up the high derrick, hand over hand on the cold metal bars, to the heart of the Rao-beam projector. After using a prybar to twist the focusing rods into near-impossible angles, Jor-El scrambled back down. The metal handholds were already growing hot as the beam projector built up to an overload.

Zod would never again use this device as a weapon. Jor-El would make certain of that.

He sprinted back toward the empty monitoring shacks as the crystal throbbed. Internal lightning bolts ricocheted in its facets as the giant gem swayed in its cradle. Shards of the scarlet beam flashed off the prisms, then turned in upon themselves. When the buildup reached its critical point, Jor-El expected the mechanism to burn out.

But it was more spectacular than that. Wild and chaotic red beams splashed onto the crystal heart, striking the focusing rods and reflecting at the wrong angles. Spearpoints of light sprayed in all directions. Jor-El ducked into the shelter behind the dented shack moments before a swerving beam melted the roof clean away. The tall derrick began to shudder and thrum wildly. The vibrations increased.

Strafing crimson bolts struck the support girders, cutting off the derrick’s legs, and the whole structure began to topple toward the steep cliffs. With a groan that sounded like a dying scream, the structure tilted farther over. Only one support leg remained fastened to the boulders now. The central crystal dangled, spun, and finally broke free of its support cable. It shattered on a cliff ledge far below in a hail of blazing light and broken glass.

The flurry of beams died away, but gravity and leftover thermal energy continued to take their toll. With a wrenching noise, the last of the support legs tore free. Steel bolts sheared off, and the entire construction scraped down the cliffside like sharp fingernails on a polished slate board. The twisted derrick finally came to rest, while boulders pummeled the wreckage.

Unnerved yet exhilarated, Jor-El went to the edge of the precipice. He could barely make out the tangled ruin wedged into the boulder field far below. At last he felt satisfied. He had disarmed Zod, at least temporarily.

Now he had to race back to Kryptonopolis before anyone noticed his absence. His alibi needed to be perfect.

After the annihilation of Borga City,
all those who had signed Shor-Em’s inflammatory declaration knew they could not stand against Zod. They had already seen the towering nova javelins, and now the boiling scar in the middle of the marshes was a stark reminder of what any continued defiance would earn them. The many survivors of the city lived in squalid temporary encampments out in the marshes, while others made their way to Corril, to Orvai, to the villages in the mountains or river valleys or the coasts. After the disasters of Kandor and Argo City, this was one more wave of people who saw their very planet falling apart.

Now Zod had to convince them that he was the only person who could hold their civilization together.

Bowed and beaten, the sullen city leaders traveled to Kryptonopolis for the summit meeting, as commanded. Though not entirely contrite, they were clearly afraid to cause any trouble. The refugees and witnesses of the blasted city had already spread the word, told of the horrors they had seen. They feared Zod now—feared him completely.

He observed the supposedly meek representatives from his government palace. He wanted to kill them one at a time until someone revealed who had committed the sabotage at the Rao-beam installation on the very night of his triumph. His inner fury had not abated since he’d learned that some terrorist had wrecked the facility. The gall! He’d had no immediate plans to use the beam weapon again—mainly because no other major city lay in the correct path—but Zod was outraged that someone had defied him. He could not tolerate that.

Loyal Sapphire Guards brought the individual rebel leaders into his office as they arrived, nineteen of them so far. The intimidating guards had clubs and hand weapons, but Zod’s control was firm enough that the mere threat of violence made actual violence unnecessary. Each city leader stood before him; some looked broken, while others retained a foolish but impotent anger.

“Who sabotaged my Rao-beam installation?” Zod demanded of them one at a time. “Who committed this traitorous act against all of Krypton?”

No one gave a satisfactory answer. No one knew anything.

Since these men had capitulated so swiftly and willingly, Zod was certain they did not have the strength of character to do anything so bold and defiant. They paid lip ser vice to their resistance but didn’t have the spine to stand up to him. They were, however, pleased that some mysterious stranger had dared to do something they had not. Three of the men who showed a last spark of defiance warranted additional questioning, and Koll-Em took great glee in inflicting pain. Again, none of them knew anything.

For good measure, at Aethyr’s suggestion, Zod also called in No-Ton for questioning, as well as all the technicians who had originally worked at the installation. When destroying the Rao beam, the saboteur had known exactly what he was doing. Since he was a member of the Ring of Strength, No-Ton was indignant at the very idea of the Commissioner’s suspicions, and Zod was quickly convinced that none of those workers had been involved, either.

When he summoned Jor-El, however, Zod was surprised to sense a change in the scientist’s mood. Before he could even ask, Jor-El said, “Is it a crime for me to be thankful that you have lost a deadly weapon? You have ignored the real threat of the comet. Loth-Ur’s Hammer is coming in less than four months. You have just wasted another week. I beg you to turn your attention to that far more critical situation.”

The Commissioner sighed. “As you requested, I passed the data on to a team of scientific advisers. They have assured me your projected orbits are inconclusive. There is nothing to worry about.” In fact, he’d been hard pressed to find any scientist besides Jor-El with a working knowledge of celestial mechanics.

Hearing this, Jor-El’s disbelief was quickly replaced by a wash of anger. “Commissioner, when have you ever questioned me before? Can you afford to take the chance now?” Zod was troubled. Indeed, he had accepted Jor-El’s science and theories in every previous instance, but now he obviously didn’t want to believe. Jor-El pressed the issue. “Are you sure the others aren’t just telling you what you want to hear?”

“Does that make the conclusion wrong?” Zod rose to his feet. “I admire your science, Jor-El—I always have. But you do not see the larger picture. If I pull back all of my manpower right now to work on this theory of yours, then the other city leaders will pounce like carrion dogs! I don’t dare show weakness or hesitation. My glorious plans for our future will go up in smoke if I lose Krypton!”

“If we don’t do something about the comet, we will all lose Krypton.”

“If you’re right.”

“I’m right.”

“You sound rather arrogant and self-assured.”

“I’m right.”

“In that case, do everything in your power to help me achieve a swift and decisive resolution to this civil war. Then I would have no other distractions.” Zod lowered his voice, abruptly changing the subject. “You know something about what happened at the Rao-beam facility. I can see it in your eyes.” He realized he would have to play this carefully. Too much was at stake, and he had too many unfinished projects for which he needed Jor-El’s expertise. While the Commissioner had a host of other scientists and engineers in his employ, none of them could hold a candle to Jor-El.

The ivory-haired scientist didn’t answer, and Zod suddenly drew the obvious conclusion. Jor-El was protecting his brother! Yes, of all the city leaders he had summoned, Zor-El remained among those conspicuously absent. Zor-El knew the installation’s vulnerabilities as well as his brother did. Yes, Zor-El the firebrand…intelligent like his brother, but also a loose cannon, prone to precipitous actions without thinking through the consequences. Destroying the Rao beam was exactly the sort of thing such a man would do.

But Zod had learned not to ask questions when he did not want to know the answers. He couldn’t afford to lose Jor-El. Not yet. “I will be watching you carefully.” He called the Sapphire Guards waiting outside his office door. “Take him back to his quarters. Make sure he and his wife are prepared and cooperative for our presentation later today.”

Aethyr came to wait with Zod in his office as the fateful hour approached. He stared out the window into the plaza where crowds had already gathered. “This is the dawn of a bright new day,” he said to her, as if starting his long-anticipated speech.

Aethyr’s red lips pressed together in a frown. “It would be brighter if Zor-El had come.”

Zod’s expression darkened. “I have already decided that we must deal with Argo City. I am convinced Zor-El is the one who destroyed the Rao beam.”

She was startled but not surprised. Zod straightened his dark uniform. “Come, it is time.” He took her by the arm. Surrounded by guards, he and his consort walked together out to see the noisy crowds in the Square of Hope.

Zod took his place at the foot of the towering statue, with Aethyr and Nam-Ek nearby. The Sapphire Guards had cleared a wide area around the beaten city leaders. Zod wondered how many of those defeated men knew the story of what Jax-Ur had done to those he had vanquished. A smile crept onto his lips.

On cue, Aethyr turned to face him and shouted, “We all bow to Zod.” She bent her knee before him and lowered her head. Nam-Ek followed suit, the massive silent man submitting to his leader.

“We all bow to Zod,” said Koll-Em as all sixteen members of the Ring of Strength did the same.

The Commissioner raised both hands as if dispensing a benediction. “And now, my city leaders, all those who join us in a united Krypton—kneel before Zod.”

Hesitantly at first, ashamed and obviously feeling coerced, the gathered leaders got down on their knees. Like ripples spreading out from a stone dropped into a still pond, all the people in Kryptonopolis submitted, dropping to their knees around the colossus statue.

Zod found it all quite satisfactory. “Shor-Em once sneered that my title of Commissioner was insufficient for a man who would rule Krypton. In this one thing, he was correct. So I no longer call myself a Commissioner, for my Commission is gone. Nor will I take the title of Council Head, for that would serve only to remind us of our weakness.

“Defending Krypton requires an entirely different sort of thinking—military thinking.” He drew a deep breath. Some of the people turned their faces to gaze adoringly at him, while others averted troubled eyes. “From this day forward, I shall be General Zod.”

General Zod. The title felt so appropriate, so perfect. That announcement should have been the climax of his day.

But then, stealing his glorious moment, the newly grown crystal spires around the square began to shimmer. Flares of light skirled along the facets like electrical bursts, tracing lines of inclusions and flaws.

“What is this?” Zod demanded, forgetting that the voice amplifier patch remained at his throat. His alarmed voice rolled like thunder across the square.

People milled about in confusion; the defeated city leaders cringed, as if this were some sort of punishment from Zod. The crystal spires shone brighter, and the smooth facets began to display an image, a dark-haired man with a steely expression. Cold claws raked down Zod’s spine as he recognized the man.

Zor-El’s voice boomed out. “You do not speak for Krypton, Zod! Argo City defies you. I defy you. And in their hearts, I know that all those here defy you.” His image shouted at the uneasy crowd. “Zod is a criminal against our race. May his reign be as short as it is unwelcome. He tried to abduct or kill my wife and my mother—my wife and mother!” He made a sound of disgust.

Zod shouted, “Stop that signal! How is Zor-El doing this?”

Out in the audience, Jor-El turned quickly away. Lara whispered something in his ear. Then Zod knew that the pale-haired scientist must have modified the tall crystal structures to function as gigantic communication plates.

Before Zod could call the Sapphire Guards to seize Jor-El for interrogation, the Argo City leader called out through his many identical images projected through the facets, “I call on all Kryptonians, all true Kryptonians, to stand against this man who claims to ‘protect’ us by destroying our cities, who resorts to murder to prevent anyone from criticizing him. Zod has shown his true colors.”

The face of Jor-El’s brother flickered and vanished. The crystal spires stopped glowing. And the uproar began.