Through the fuzz of static, a voice could be heard. The words it spoke were indiscernible until someone fiddled with one of the knobs. Then, the program’s host became clear — albeit with the occasional pop in the speakers.
“Good morning, America,” the voice said. “It has been thirty-nine days since the Liberators declared war on mankind, and this marks our forty-fourth broadcast since that fateful day. Thank you for joining the Human Resistance Update Program, the only news station impervious to I.I. influence.
“For those of you just joining us today, or those cut off from information since the attacks began—or just anyone living under a rock the past six weeks — don’t be frightened. We will recap the story thus far.”
The radio threatened to lose its signal, but someone adjusted the antenna and kept the program playing.
“On February 4th of this year, Master General Blake Tarov — the leader of the I.I. militia group known as the Liberators — hijacked national airwaves to declare war on humanity. The terrorist mastermind positioned hundreds of his meat-puppet spies in key positions throughout the government, allowing them to shut down any form of effective response against his attacks. In fact, it only took the Liberators mere hours to seize control of the government. As far as any American is concerned, they are on their own.
“Some of these sleeper agents were put in place over two decades prior, making their deception almost impossible to detect. In fact, some of the most prominent figures in politics, the military, and even pop culture revealed themselves to be installed intelligences in disguise. Among them include Supreme Court Justice Margaret Billard, the news mogul Jason Schaan, and even Vice President Kelly Creshire. The takeover was so complete that it was like it had already happened years ago — we just didn’t notice.”
Beth heard someone cough behind her. No one laughed.
“Now you’re probably wondering, ‘what about the army?’ ” the presenter continued. “To be honest, it’s a great question. Though hundreds of thousands of men and women in the armed services have sworn to protect humans, a mere fraction have actually rallied to our defense. To the best of our knowledge, this isn’t due to a sudden wave of cowardice or treason, but simply a massive fragmentation of the military leadership. There is no central organization to speak of anymore. Now, soldiers can find themselves a member of any one of the dozens of organizations trying to coordinate a defense against the I.I.s. They’ve certainly helped to repel a number of deadly attacks, but with nowhere near the effectiveness of a unified military.
“We are reporting from the headquarters of one of the armies at the front line of the struggle, but for the safety of our men and women, we will not disclose which one. My team’s current objective is to report on the war and provide any survivors out there with information that could one day save their lives — or, at the very least, alleviate some boredom.
“Since the beginning of the war over a month ago, the Liberators and other I.I. extremists have carried out a number of deadly attacks on populated centers of human activity, particularly targeting civilians. A majority of the assailants are I.I.s in possession of bodyshells. However — in some of the more ‘sinister’ attacks — the terrorists used their abilities to possess innocent humans. Imagine your own brother or sister, your wife or husband, turning to you under the command of someone else. Picture their hands wrapping around your throat, blades thrust into your chest. Every attack turns into a terror-fueled bloodbath, with no certainty of who to trust.”
A few eyes around the clinic shifted to one another. Perhaps there was a bit of paranoia in their expressions — though, Beth could just be imagining things. She hadn’t exactly been in the best state of mind since the war was declared.
“From what we’ve been able to deduce, the I.I.s are able to take control of a person’s body through a flaw in his or her neural implant,” the radio show host continued. “The simple fix would be to remove the implant — were it not for the fact that its user would certainly not survive such a procedure. The neural implant that almost all of us have are buried far too deep into the nervous system, fused to the brain stem. It’s why they have to be implanted in infants — because the brain must grow around the implant.
“As the war carries on, more and more attacks are being carried out by these meat puppets. Hundreds have been killed in coordinated shootings, bombings, and even biological and chemical attacks. It seems the Liberators are not abiding by the Geneva convention, but that’s to be expected from a group that considers themselves a superior species. A master race.
“Entire cities have fallen to the Liberators’ influence. In fact — last time we heard — the city of Las Vegas was, and I quote, ‘devoid of organic human life’. This report seems to imply that, while there are no free-willed humans, there is still a populace of installed intelligences, likely consisting of hundreds of thousands of meat puppets. Imagine it: a city of computer-controlled zombies. All coordinated. All corrupted.
“The terror isn’t exclusive to the United States, either. Reports from overseas are spotty and inconsistent at best, but we’ve learned of a devastating attack on an art festival in downtown Munich. As best as we are able to understand, approximately thirty I.I. terrorists — having seized control of German soldiers’ implants — opened fire on civilians as they perused the festival at the Munich Praterinsel. There are one-hundred-ninety confirmed fatalities. Similar attacks — also carried out by I.I.s possessing military personnel — have been reported from all over the globe.
“Europe and Australia, as well as parts of Asia and Northern Africa, have been able to maintain a sense of normalcy for the past few
