The Troll (3 page)

“
Psi
may have been well-intentioned at inception, but unfortunately, its
potential was harvested by terrorists. I don’t blame Psi for
what you did anymore than I blame gas instead of Hitler for the
systematic execution of millions of people.”

The
Magician let loose a laugh but he wasn’t mocking Surfer. He was
genuinely laughing as if he appreciated the reference. He finally
caught his breath and focused his attention back to Surfer. “You
were caught on the outskirts of Chicago, trying to break into the
city with your partner who is known as Wigeon. Please explain to the
court what you were doing.”

“
You
know what I was doing.”

“
Please
tell the court.”

“
Why
do you go through these formalities as if they mean something? Why
not put a bullet in my head now and stop wasting everyone’s
time?”

“
Everyone
is given a chance.”

“
I’m
confused as to how you hold the world hostage and say we have a
chance at the same time.”

“
Please
answer the question,” Magician said with a pleasant grin.

“
In
Vegas, there is a secured building which houses a fail safe: A
portal
which can shut Psi down.”

“
Then
why were you in Chicago?”

“
To
take the Rainbow from you.”

“
What
is the Rainbow?”

“
The
thing that appears after a storm,” The Surfer said,
sarcastically.

Suddenly,
the Magician’s smile faded and his face became distorted in
rage that lasted seconds as he thrust his hands forward and an
explosion of blinding fire and dust cracked in front of Surfer’s
face. The Surfer’s eyes went wide and he almost toppled in his
seat as the courtroom roared with laughter. He was being made a fool
of on a whole new level: Insults and tricks and pointless games
before they tossed him from the top of the building…it was all
designed to scare the daylights out of anyone with similar
aspirations.

When
the smoke cleared, the Magician’s face was plastered with his
friendly smile and he leaned against the witness box awaiting an
answer.

The
Surfer rubbed his eyes and wheezed. They waited as his breath came
back and the Magician calmly asked again. “What is Rainbow?”

“
It’s
just a memory stick.”

“
And
what does it do?”

“
If
what I’ve heard is true, plugging it into the system in Vegas
means Psi will be overridden everywhere. It means people can be
free.”

Before
the Magician could answer, the Moderator was on his feet, speaking
for the first time. “Who says they’re not free?”

Everyone’s
heads turned and the room went quiet. The Magician stood back as The
Moderator approached.

The
Surfer turned with a smile, happy to address the man he really wanted
to spar with. “Taking something by force means enslaving it.”

“
We
cleaned up the streets,” the Moderator said. The court nodded
and muttered in agreement, if only because it was their leader
speaking. “What was the world before? Some utopia? I watched
the news Surfer. It was story after story of murder and dirty
politics and crime. All that…gone with the stroke of a key.
Many many people died,
and if I could have fixed things another way, I would have.”

“
Many
people see it differently, and those of us who do, fight to change
the world back to how it was before Psi.”

“
I
don’t get it,” Moderator said. “What was the point
of the fight? Surely you don’t believe there was ever a way
you’d actually get the Rainbow.”

“
All
opinions fall between the fuzzy borderlands of unquestionably true
and unmistakably false, and you don’t know what we’re
capable of. You don’t care what’s best for the world. You
were just a nerd, watching TV instead of going on hikes with friends,
drooling over porn instead of making love to a beautiful woman. Your
greedy mental state steeped you in electronic media and you found
your wealth without any time to reflect on what you were doing. You
acted on anxiety, rapid emotional swings from euphoria and boredom
and frustration that threatened to tip into despair. And all the
while, having this unshakable conviction that happiness was around
the corner, as soon as you found some semblance of importance or the
next raise came along or the delivery guy delivered the Bow-flex you
never used. But you found comfort on-line—a bunch of angry
geeks like yourself. Put enough people like you together and get them
sharing the intimate details of their disease and what you have is a
recipe for a revolution that would only strengthen the weaklings. No
one denies it was clever, but it wasn’t right. Don’t try
to convince me you believe it was right.”

“
You
got me Surfer. I just wanted a juicy steak to come home to every
night, except I believe it was Charles Darwin who once said: How
could a selfless individual ever live long enough to reproduce? Why
would natural selection favor a behavior that made us less likely to
survive? He who was ready to sacrifice his life, as many a savage has
been, rather than betray his comrades, would often leave no offspring
to inherit his noble nature.”

“
Darwin
also knew altruism was everywhere. It’s a stubborn anomaly of
nature. Bats feed their own when they’re hungry, honeybees
commit suicide with a sting to defend the hive, birds raise offspring
that aren’t their own, humans leap onto subway tracks to save
strangers. Goodness is not a losing life strategy.”

“
I
love this, you and I talking,” Moderator shot back quickly.
“You never stood a
chance, but you’re at least the closest thing I’ve ever
had to a rival. Everyone else is on a
leash,
and even though I hate those of you who run around without the chip
in you, I’d be
lying
if I told you I didn’t enjoy the chase.”

“
You’d
enjoy it more with a fair fight on a level playing field.”

“
I
once took over the world with a dozen people. I don’t think I
need to prove to you that I can defy the odds.”

“
Maybe
no one saw it coming because no one expected anyone to do something
so shitty.”

The
Moderator ignored the remark and scratched his head instead. His neck
twitched and he suddenly looked up and spoke fast. “I was a
pioneer before this, you know that? The good jobs were in programming
and I was good. I was really damn good. I worked for Circular Prime,
where they manufactured the chips. I started on an assembly line and
soon, I was tweaking the design to perfection. I quadrupled the
speed. They were forced to dial back on their customer service
department because no one complained. Our consumers had the chip
inserted and data would upload because their brain wanted it to. They
blogged with their minds, had access to anything they wanted,
instruction guides, gaming, porn, you name it. They were able to
control their own network using their brains, and I was the guy who
perfected the process. Back then, I had no dreams of domination.
That’s for certain. Now, you want to believe I’m just an
evil guy who had world domination on my mind, but life was dandy as
was. I made good money, loved my work, loved the attention it got me,
the prestige that success had to offer, the booze…my goodness
I had some good times in the clubs night after night and I wore a new
suit every day. I would have done that forever, but the powers that
be patented a similar, but lesser quality, Psi. When I objected, what
do you know? Goodbye day-job. Hello unemployment line.”

“
What
does that have to do with everyone else?”

“
Nothing.
What does everyone else have to do with progress? Nothing. You were
all just fine test piloting your couches, but unfortunately, when
gods fight, they step on insects.”

“
I
already know what happened to you.”

“
I
have a hard time believing many men in my position would have acted
differently. In those times, everyone was disposable. They’d
say to pack a box and don’t let the door hit you on the way
out
and we all wanted to believe that it couldn’t be business as
usual without us there, but it was never true. Then, they ousted the
wrong man.”

“
So
you became a terrorist.”

“
I
don’t see it that way. The difference between living in the
city with us and being a part of the rest of the world is tantamount
to being a house-pet versus an animal in the wild. Which is really
worse?”

“
What
are you going to do with me?” Surfer finally asked.

“
Let’s
do something different,” The Moderator said with a sudden
smile, as if a light-bulb lit up over his head. “You and I have
been chasing each other for awhile. You’re special Surfer. We
could debate the pros and cons of Psi all day, but since you believe
the world is better off without and I believe the opposite, maybe we
let the people decide.”

“
You’ll
track and kill anyone that votes my way. How is this a fair
resolution?”

“
Turn
on the monitor,” The Moderator said, and suddenly, one wall of
the court was a giant computer screen with a flashing dash. “Those
of you watching, trust that your honest opinion will not be punished
today. I simply want you to tell me what we should do with The
Surfer. Should we inject him with Psi and release him? Should we
execute
him? Today,
because The Surfer is special, I will allow him more leverage than
I’ve given in the past.”

The
Magician started an applause and most of the court followed. When the
applause died down and silence filled the room, they turned to the
screen.

“
Go
ahead,” The Moderator said. “I know you’re all
watching.”

The
dash flashed and everything fell silent.

“
Does
anyone believe I should show The Surfer mercy?”

It
flashed.

“
You
see that?” The Surfer said. “They’re afraid of you.
They comply because they are afraid to tell you the truth: The world
is better without Psi.”

The
Moderator’s neck twitched and his jaw clenched. He waited
another moment and turned back to the court. “I guess this
means I make the verdict.”

Then,
a single ding sounded throughout the court and everyone looked up.

The
user-name was Iris and the message wasn’t a verdict. It read as
a challenge: GIVE THE RAINBOW TO THE PEOPLE. THEY WILL EITHER GIVE IT
BACK OR ELIMINATE PSI. YOU WILL HAVE YOUR ANSWER...

The
Moderator’s forehead wrinkled and he raised an eyebrow. “What
do you mean by that Iris?” he said, looking up toward the
camera.

IRIS—YOU
CLAIM SURFER NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO TAKE THE RAINBOW AND BEAT YOU. YOU
ALSO CLAIM WE WANT PSI…WHY IS THE RAINBOW SO GUARDED IF YOU
BELIEVE PSI SHOULD LIVE ON?

“
We
guard it from terrorists like The Surfer!” The Moderator
shouted into the air.

IRIS—IF
YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOU SAY, YOU WILL GIVE US A CHANCE TO TAKE THE WORLD
BACK.

The
Moderator turned to a morbidly obese man named The Weatherman. “Trace
this,” he said.

As
if answering the question for him, the screen dinged and he read:
IRIS—I DON’T HAVE PSI.

The
Moderator laughed nervously as The Weatherman ran off to find out who
the mystery user was. He turned to The Surfer, who seemed equally as
confused, but whose eyes were filled with hope. He turned back to the
screen. “Who are you Iris?”

IRIS—PART
OF THE RESISTANCE. WE’RE LARGER IN NUMBER THAN YOU THINK AND WE
HAVE RESOURCES YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE. WEAPONS, VEHICLES, A
DEVICE THAT CAN EXTRACT PSI FROM THE BRAIN…

“
What
is it you want?”

IRIS—GIVE
THE RAINBOW TO THE PEOPLE.

“
That
won’t happen.”

IRIS—FROM
YOUR FORTRESS, YOU’RE STILL AFRAID. YOU ARE A COWARD BEHIND A
BUTTON.

The
Weatherman returned, wiping sweat from his forehead. “It’s
true. The user doesn’t have Psi. Untraceable.”

The
Moderator’s face was rigid. He wasn’t happy to be
challenged…to be called names by an unknown enemy. “What
does this have to do with The Surfer?” he asked.

IRIS—THE
WORLD HAS BEEN SHITTY UNDER YOUR RULE FOR TOO LONG. YOU BUILT A
SHIELD OVER CHICAGO AND PUT A BAR-CODE IN OUR HEADS. YOU CHEATED. YOU
GET THAT, DON’T YOU, YOU IDIOT? YOU TOOK THE WORLD BECAUSE YOU
CHEATED. THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS GIVE US A CHANCE TO TAKE IT BACK.