“Our adversaries call us an empire. They spread lies in a desperate attempt to cling to their own power. Consider what they’ve done with that power—built a world with two classes of nations: the third world and the first world. And they’ve let capitalism trample the citizens of every nation—first and third world—segregating us according to our economic value. A person’s place in society determined by how much the world is willing to pay for whatever they can produce each day. This plague is simply the biological equivalent of the same programs they’ve used to divide us for centuries.
“Immari International’s solution is simple: one world, with one people, all working together. If you prefer the old world, if you prefer Orchid, sitting in a concentration camp, waiting for a cure that will never come, waiting to live or die, you can. Or you can choose life, a fair world, a chance to build something new. Choose now. If you do not wish to be part of the Immari Solution, stand where you are. If you want to assist us, to help save the lives we can, step forward, toward the men holding the Immari International signs. The men at the desk will interview you, find out what skills you can offer, how you can help your fellow humans.”
The crowd around Kate began dispersing. Maybe one in ten stood their ground. Possibly less.
Kate hated to admit it, but Dorian had given a convincing speech for anyone that didn’t know what he was truly like. He was a smooth talker; she knew that all too well. As she stood there watching the people flock to the Immari soldiers, a procession of images flowed through her mind. Her father: died trying to prevent an Immari massacre. Her mother: dead at the hands of the plague they unleashed. David: dead at Dorian’s hands. Now Martin, her adoptive father, would soon be their latest victim. He had made so many hard choices and sacrifices—many of which had been all for her benefit, to keep her safe. He had tried to protect her for so long.
She couldn’t leave him. Wouldn’t, no matter what. And she would complete his research.
She felt the pack that hung on her back. Did it hold the keys to finding a cure?
She took a step forward. Then another. She would play the game—as long as she had to. That’s what her father had done. But he had turned his back on them, and they had buried him in a mine under Gibraltar. She wouldn’t relent.
She blended into the growing throngs of people swarming the tables, talking quickly. “There you are.”
Kate turned. It was the middle-aged man that had spoken to her before. “Hi,” Kate said. “Sorry if I wasn’t very talkative earlier. I… wasn’t sure what side you were on. It turns out I am a survivor.”
CHAPTER 35
Outside Ceuta
Northern Morocco
Through the dark of night and the glowing perimeter lights, David could see only glimpses of the massive military base ahead.
The area around it was another mystery. The convoy of three jeeps sped across what David would have sworn was a dormant lava field. Here and there, wafts of smoke floated up from the lumpy, charred ground. The smell confirmed David’s worst fears. Ceuta had been put to the torch. The Immari had dug a trench around this part of the city, then burned it and flattened the remains—leaving an open area their enemies would have to cross to attack. Clever. Drastic, brutal, but clever.
The scene reminded him of something, a lecture. For a moment, he was back at Columbia, before the world had changed, had come crashing down on him, literally. His professor’s voice had boomed in the auditorium.
“The Roman Emperor Justinian ordered that the bodies be burned. This was mid-sixth century, people. The Western Roman empire had fallen to the Goths, who had sacked Rome and assumed control of its administration. The Eastern Empire, centered around Constantinople, now Istanbul, was very much a force in the civilized world. At the time, it was the largest metropolitan center on Earth. It held sway over Persia, the Mediterranean, and every land its army could sail to. The plague that came in 541 changed everything, forever. It was a pestilence the likes of which the world had never seen before—or since. The city’s streets ran red with the blood of bodies.
“There were so many bodies that Justinian ordered the dead to be dumped in the sea. But still there were too many. Just beyond the city walls, the Romans dug giant mass graves, each capable of accommodating seventy thousand individuals. The fires burned for days.”