Continuum

"Stevo, your precious Continuum is dead! I called the President of our beloved Nation, and asked for his support in ridding our world of this greatest of all menaces. He was most happy to agree. About an hour ago, all your underground sites have been bombed with thermoelectric devices, from which no computer could ever survive, no matter how hardened or protected. I must say, all of our own computers within several hundred miles were also lost, even though the blast was miles underground! We are rushing new equipment and technicians into the affected areas as we speak. Our President has devised a cover story about the affected areas, so that good people everywhere need not know how close they came to being destroyed by your Continuum!"

I groaned, again quite involuntarily. I couldn't help it! The earth was soon going into great darkness! Looking again at Lerno, I strained to speak to him.

"Lerno, what have you done? The Continuum was only benign! They supported your WinTel and kept it working. Now WinTel will fail, and with it, all civilization! You're a madman!

He looked at me as if struck. Shock was on his face. "You really are delusional, after all! This pitiful paranoia, is it in all of the people like you who have been influenced by the Continuum? No matter. It is just a matter of time before we find them and deal with them all, and all your evil machines, now that we know what to look for. Did you really think your few thousand paranoids could control our millions of people?"

He paused again, and shook his head. "I really thought that perhaps by showing you the destruction of your petty subversion, it would help you to wake up! Perhaps I even believed that you might show some remorse or repentance for your crimes. But I see that there is nothing I can do or say that will shake you of your great insanity. Continuum indeed! The Macintosh Way! Such selfish deceit over a slightly superior Operating System! Such insane ideas deserve to die!"

He looked off to the side again, and motioned to someone. Looking at me, as I knew it to be for the last time, he said, "Mr. Stevo, for your crimes committed willfully against the State, and for your complete lack of remorse for your actions, I hereby condemn you to immediate termination. Long Live the State!"

With that, he walked away and I saw his face no more.

All I could do was wait. What would they do now? Would I be shot, or electrocuted? Or would they just start pumping me full of lethal drugs?

Somehow, not knowing did not matter. I wasn't even that fearful of dying. How strange! My great fear now was for all the people of my world, and their impending doom. They didn't even have the knowledge of their coming destruction! How lucky I was, because I knew it was coming to me very soon.

. . .

To me!

. . .

How long will they wait?

. . .

Why don't they get it over with?

. . .

The Continuum! Was it really gone?

. . .

Was he lying to me about it so that I would have greater despair in my death?

How could it all be gone? Surely there were others not yet detected, somewhere!

There were many self-aware Macintoshes, that had not been discovered.

They couldn't all be gone, could they?

. . .

The lights flickered. I thought I heard voices, but they were far, far away.

"They're doing it! I'm going now!"

Everything got suddenly darker, but I could still hear! I could detect my own breathing.

"Is this death?"

I was still aware! In fact, my awareness was greatly heightened somehow.

Everything was totally quiet. No one was around me or near me. I could sense this.

"I must be dead, but why am I still awake?"

I was most certainly not dead, for the room quickly got light again!

I strained to raise my head so I could see what was transpiring around me.

In utter frustration, I shouted out, "If your going to kill me, get if over with!

What are you waiting for?"

There was a loud noise close by. Another face, one filled with concern, came into view.

Suddenly I was freed from the table! A beautiful young woman was quickly massaging my ankles and legs, as I was raised up unsteadily to sit on the edge of the table.

I looked around the large room. No one was there but this petite brunette in a silver jumpsuit, anxiously bidding me to rise and walk. Off to the side I saw a metal door bent off its hinges!

"Who are you?"

"You know me, Stevo. I'm Mary. Mary R147."

It must be all the drugs they used on me! I was numb with surprise! It couldn't be possible. could it? Too many surprises in one day! Was Lerno right? "Have I really lost my mind?"

Mary spoke. "We have to go now! We must hurry! The safety of our world depends on us!"