The Last Place to Stand by Aaron K. Redshaw Read Free Book Online

men were solid. Good soldiers with good hearts. They wanted to serve with Samuel because they believed in him. They believed there were people still to be freed and that many of them just didn't know there was a different way to live. People trapped in a society that burned them out and threw them away.
    “Men,” said Samuel.
    “Yes, sir,” said the men.
    “Tonight we spend the night in the heart of the enemy's camp.”
    “Yes, sir,” they all responded.
     
    They had traveled for a couple of hours when Adam caught up to Samuel. “So I was just wondering,” he said in his raspy voice.
    “Yes,” said Samuel.
    “We have been able to rescue people mostly by contacting Little Brother. Why go this route? Why take the chance?” Little Brother was a network of Waldenese whose purpose was to be eyes and ears in the society of the Technos case violence was planned against the Waldenese. Their second function was to watch for people who looked like they might be ready to cross over to join with the Waldenese.
    “It's because of Little Brother that we're doing this,” said Samuel. “There have been signs that something big is about to happen in the technology of the Technos. If it's something that will be used against us I want to know about it. If it's just another brain experiment I want to know how it will affect survivors who come to us in the future.”
    The skyscrapers were clearly visible now, and the sun was starting to get warm. “So this is not a rescue mission, but information retrieval?” asked Adam.
    “That's right,” said Samuel.
    Adam thought for a moment, but then hesitantly asked, “So if I die, it will not be for a person, but an idea?”
    “Both,” said Samuel. “If we know what they are going to do to people in the future, we may determine how to help them. If it is a weapon or something that may be used as a weapon, we can prepare our people to flee. And that would be saving lives. Either way, it is for the sake of people.”
    Adam looked relieved. “Good,” he said. “If I die, I want it to be for people, not for things or ideas.”
    Samuel smiled. “You have a good head on your shoulders, Adam, and a good heart. I would have thought less of you if you hadn't brought this up. It is always for people. I believe that as much as you do.”
     

Chapter 17
    Going through the city, they hid under baggy clothing and tried to cover their faces so that cameras would not pick up on their identities. It was only the cameras they needed to avoid. People were so busy receiving feeds and doing other activities related to work, that their presence among the city folk was undetected. But cameras record everything, and there were even programs that analyzed camera feeds to look for suspicious behavior or to match with known Outcasts or criminals.
    Buildings were lighter in frame than in the past. New construction materials made it possible to have thinner supports, thinner walls, even thinner windows. Windows were more like a bubble material that never broke rather than the heavy and dangerous glass of the past. Cement was not used at all in construction due to its weight and how brittle it was. High density plastics made up the walls and ceilings.
    On the outside, the city looked very clean. Vandals and other no good citizens were executed on sight. If you were not productive, and even worse, if you were destructive, you were eliminated. That was the law, and if cameras picked up any such activity, robotic units would be sent out to your location in order to enact swift justice. Needless to say, the streets were very clean, public property unmarred.
    Though the city had crowds of people walking past each other, no one spoke. All that was heard was the sound of shuffling feet, everyone busy in their own world. Likely there were occasionally people without this newest feed technology, but they felt so uncouth that they kept silent hoping no one else noticed their social ineptitude. They still exchanged