Observing the planet, Adam could sense the effects of global warming through the attributes of his host. He could feel the deep rumbling of Antarctica’s polar ice as it melted, fragmented, and collapsed; he could taste the acidification of the oceans… the seas poisoned with mercury, the marine life dying — the cancer spreading throughout the world’s food chains.
The aftermath was a sobering, gut-punching lesson delivered by Mother Nature as terrifying images of humanity’s obituary raced across his mind’s eye.
Tens of thousands of acres of crops — America’s breadbasket — shriveled beneath a dense smoke-gray sky, the drought delivered by changing weather patterns — photosynthesis disrupted by man’s refusal to abandon fossil fuels.
The images accelerated into the very near future, mass starvation leading to riots, cities burning to the ground, the dying feeding off the dead, disease rampant…
As he bore witness to his species’ demise, the terrifying scenes gradually disappeared behind a blizzard of snow which steadily blanketed Earth’s continents.
Adam knew what had happened, he had felt the toxins blanketing the atmosphere, baking the planet and melting the polar ice.
Greenland’s ice was melting — it had been for many years, releasing a steady tsunami of fresh water that was seeping into the North Atlantic Current — a warm water conveyor belt which circulated heat across North America and Europe.
It was saline that mobilized the current, and now Greenland’s melting ice had finally and irreversibly shut it down—
— summoning an Ice Age and the extinction of man.
Adam opened his eyes as the extraterrestrial vessel silently shot straight up into the star-filled heavens and disappeared.
Part 3
“In a brazen challenge to international efforts to limit global warming, this is an all-out assault on the protections we need to avert climate catastrophe.”
“According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions.”
“The Pentagon cannot account for 25 % of what it spends.”
Michael Andrew Sutterfield
SS #711-19-0878
GVP Unit: PA-762-32443
AGE: 13 years, 3 months
GRADE: 7
SEX: Male
ACADEMICS:
Student continues to make acceptable progress in mathematics, language arts, and history while demonstrating exceptional work in his elective classes in quantum physics.
SOCIAL SKILLS:
Moderate levels of disdain were demonstrated toward a BLACK (male) GVP instructor. Unacceptable levels of intolerance were demonstrated toward a MEXICAN (male) GVP instructor.
NEURO-BEHAVIOR PREDICTORS:
A flat line in neuro-synaptic activity was detected during Phase-IV (follow-up) of the Risch-Avery protocol, confirming potential sociopathic tendencies. Series S-7 through S-12 will be added to the curriculum and student retested in 12 weeks.
FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:
Mandatory private consultation with the subject's Parents.
Edward and Tina Sutterfield followed the academic aide into the school administration office’s empty waiting room.
“If you’ll have a seat, Dr. Mallouh will be right with you.”
Edward Sutterfield dropped his 233-pound frame into one of the vacant chairs. “A ten-hour shift, and now you have me scheduled for a school conference? What the hell’s wrong with you, Tina?”
She leaned in, mumbling under her breath. “Don’t start with me, Ed. The person who called me last week said we both needed to be here.”
“What’s the point in enrolling our kid in virtual school if we can’t have a virtual meeting to discuss whatever the problem is?”
“No one said there was a problem.”
“Oh, please. You think we’d be here if there wasn’t a problem?”
The door opened, revealing a Middle Eastern man in his early thirties. He was dressed in a white collared shirt and tan slacks, his black mustache and short-cropped beard matching his jacket and bowtie.
Edward glanced at his wife, his expression a tapestry of prejudice.
The brown-skinned academic flashed a smile. “Mr. and Mrs. Sutterfield? Sorry to have kept you waiting. Dr. Mohammad Mallouh, District-8 counselor. Won’t you come in?”
The couple entered the counselor’s office and sat.
Dr. Mallouh closed the door behind them and took his place behind his desk. “I’ll get straight to the point: Michael has been diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder.”
Tina covered her eyes.
Her husband seemed more annoyed than shocked. “So he doesn’t have many friends… that’s a disorder now?”
“Ed—”
“Mr. Sutterfield, this is a bit more serious than not having friends. Your son has been diagnosed as a sociopath, a dangerous condition found in about three percent of the general population.”
“Sociopath… is that like a psychopath?”
“The conditions are very similar.”
“And you think you’re qualified to render this kind of decision about my kid, Mohammad? I think maybe we should get a second opinion.”
“This is not my diagnosis, Mr. Sutterfield. The GV pod’s results have been checked and double-checked.”
“What a hunk of crap. The porn pods decide who’s crazy now, do they?”
“Actually, that was the reason they were originally designed. With the advent of zero-point-energy, the World Union required a non-intrusive means of identifying ASD subjects in order to prevent them from gaining access to zero-point weapons.”
“I don’t understand. The machine targets them?”
“No, Mrs. Sutterfield. It identifies them. It’s the dark side of introducing an energy source as potent as zero-point-energy. There are always those individuals who would attempt to exploit it to power a weapon. The Global Village was devised as a means of tracking that particular segment of the population.”
“Christ, you make it sound like the kid’s a child molester.”
Tina Sutterfield teared up. “I knew there was something wrong when we found those dead stray cats. Then this last time with the turtle—”
Edward took his wife’s hand. “Our son is a loner, but he’s not a terrorist.”
“Can’t you just prescribe a pill or something?”
“I’m afraid there are no magic pills. Mrs. Sutterfield. The biological seeds of sociopathic behavior are present in the person’s brain at birth.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
“It means, sir, that your son is missing the innate ability to care about others.”
Edward felt his blood pressure rising. “So what’s the solution? Do we lock him up and toss away the key?”