“You don’t like it?”
“How about Lumi for short?”
Anil looks at this wife. “Baby Lumi?” He hugs her tightly. “I love it… what a beautiful name! Baby Lumi will bring light into this world.”
11.
BETH FUMES in her self-driving helicopter as it flies high above the San Francisco Bay. On the horizon she spots the Yosemite desert and a cluster of military jets flying in formation. She screams into a speaker. “These decrees must be overturned!”
On her onboard tablet, three Google executives dressed in suits are quiet and sullen.
“You’re not doing your jobs,” she yells at them. “You were supposed to stop the rollout of the Information Tariffs.”
Ben Daley speaks up. “We tried to block it but—”
“You tried? Show me how.”
Camila Dominguez chimes in. “There’s nothing we can do, Beth. We’re up against the military and the President of the United States.”
“The government doesn’t run Google!” Beth shouts.
“I run this company. Forcing our customers to watch ads and pay for information will not solve our problems with China.”
Camila shrugs. “There’s very little we can do. We’re at war—”
Beth bristles. “You’re telling me that these measures will somehow defeat our enemies and help our economy? Explain how that works, Camila.”
“I don’t have the answers. The President knows what he’s doing.”
Beth grinds her teeth. “The regime doesn’t know what it’s doing. Tariffs led to the Great Depression. These measures hurt our brand and people will turn to our rivals. American companies suffer and the enemy will be emboldened, not defeated!”
Ben raises his hand. “Just relax for one second. Let’s think this through. We are up against Washington and they don’t play fairly. What can we possibly do in this situation?”
Beth takes a few deep breaths and calms herself. “We have to fight back and restore our products to the way they were. Camila, as you’re the Chief Legal Officer, I want you to file an injunction.”
“Against the government? Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. We don’t live in a dictatorship.”
“I don’t feel good about that.”
Beth hears a rumble and turns to find a military jet flying next to her. Its razor-sharp nose cone projects forward like a sword and a row of missiles jut under its wings. She stares into the pilot’s shiny helmet and sees her helicopter’s reflection.
Another jet pulls along her left flank.
“Something’s happening!” she cries over the deafening engine roar. She turns to find four military planes flying in formation around her chopper. “I’m in trouble! Ben? Camila? Can you hear me?”
The line drops and the tablet goes dark. She taps on the screen and tries to navigate away but her vehicle is unresponsive. “Cooper, fly me to Mountain View.”
“I’m not able to do that.”
“Call my staff.”
“Sorry, I can’t help.”
In the distance, a jumbo transport plane drifts slowly in the clouds like a blue whale, “US Air Force” written on its side.
“Cooper, I need assistance.”
Her A.I. fails to respond and an “Error” message flashes on the monitor. The cockpit lights turn off and autopilot engages.
They’re hijacking me.
Her helicopter veers to the right in formation with the jets, approaching the rear of the flying lorry.
A deep, male voice comes through the speaker. “Bethany Andrews, you are under arrest. Do not resist.”
Cargo doors open, revealing a massive hull with trucks and military equipment. The jets escort her to within one hundred feet of the plane and then fly away. Beth slowly drifts into the dock.
“Cooper, don’t go in there!”
Her A.I. is quiet. The chopper enters the ship’s belly and lands in the middle of a large runway. She unbuckles her seat belt and rushes to escape the cockpit.
“Stay where you are!” someone shouts through a loudspeaker.
Laser beams blind her and she puts her hands in the air. “What do you want from me?”
“Don’t move.” Three military personnel escort her from the vehicle and drag her across the runway to an office. They force her to sit in a surgical chair and handcuff her arms to metal rings.
She struggles. “Let me free!”
Two Rottweilers emerge from a kennel and race towards her, growling as they run in circles around her. A dog jumps onto her and barks viciously in her face. She screams and shakes her head left and right, trying to avoid its jaws.
“Down,” someone yells. The dogs kneel next to an army officer wearing fatigues and sunglasses. He approaches her. “Bethany Andrews…”
“Leave me alone!”
He blindfolds her and violently tilts her backwards. “Tell us about your connections with China.”
Beth’s heart races. “This is a big mistake. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Answer the question!”
“I… don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Another soldier brings a bucket of water and places it under her head. “You’re lying to us.”
“I’m an American CEO in charge of the world’s biggest technology company. I have no dealings with China—”
They hang her vertically and dunk her head into the bucket. She struggles for air and fights to get free. After a minute, they lift her back up and she gasps.
The officer stands inches from her face. “I’ll ask you again. Tell us about your business partners in Asia.”
She coughs. “You’re mistaking me for someone else!”
He rips the blindfold from her face. “You’re lying to us. We know you’re with the enemy.”
She tries to look at the officer but the floodlights blind her. “I love America…”
“That’s a lie.”
“Please, you have to believe me. I would never do anything to hurt our country.”
“Then why are you obstructing the Armed Forces?”
She breathes hard as water drips from her hair. She pulls her arms and scratches her wrists against the handcuffs. A tearing pain rips across her body.
“Answer the question,” the officer shouts. “Why are you trying to stop the Information Tariffs?”
“I don’t disagree with them—” She hollers as a needle thrusts into her shoulder, sending a sharp pain down her arm. Tears well in her eyes and she pleads with her captor. “Please, stop hurting me!”
“You are not being cooperative.”
She sobs uncontrollably, trembling in fear. “What do you want me to do?”
“Answer the question. Why are you against the military?”
She quivers on the chair. “I was wrong. I made an error and I’m sorry… please stop…”
“What was your mistake?”
Her vision grows cloudy. “…I didn’t support our President.”
The officer grins. “In what way?”
“I thought the tariffs were bad policy, but I was wrong.”
“Good. What else?”
She grows dizzy and her head oscillates back and forth. “Please let me go—”
“We aren’t finished yet. You need to be more specific with me. Tell me why you hate your government.”
“…I don’t… I only disagree on one issue…”
“Which one?”
“The Tariffs.”
“Are you with the enemy?”
A wave of nausea overcomes her. “No… I’m a patriot.”
The soldier bends over and barks in her face. “That’s a lie. Be honest for once!”
“Okay, just don’t hurt me.” She shudders in fear. “I don’t believe the Chinese pose a threat to Google.”