★Memorable Author: [El_Roy_1999] And Tomorrow...The World! •22pp•

[El_Roy_1999]

At the same time, Ruth was gladly relaxing. She was lying on her bed and felt soft fingers release the tension in her muscles. She had taken a warm bath and now was just about dozing off. She mumbled:
"This is incredible. Thank you very much. Where did you learn to do this?"
The chubby woman next to her smiled and directed Karel's robot arms to another part of her body. Her "victim" moaned with pleasure. The woman answered:
"I learned it in India. After leaving university, I continued my studies there. Actually, there wasn't much structure to it, but I enjoyed the time there. I wanted to improve on the psychology ideas of Doctor Freud."
"You studied under Doctor Freud?"
"I did. It was more of a pass-time. My family is quite wealthy and they eventually realized I wouldn't get married and be their precious little jewel, so they let me go my own way. Besides, my older brother now has five kids, so I'm free to do what I want. I first did some fashion design and then studied medicine. Hence psychiatry, thus Freud."
"Still, it's unbelievable. This is so relaxing."
"When I was at the ashram, they didn't want to teach me at first, but I persevered. If you're a woman, you've got to fight."
"Amen to that."
"I insisted and eventually, I got the opportunity to just listen. After a year, they had grown accustomed to me and let me learn. It was a great experience."
"So that's where you met him?"
"Yes. The Master was training at the same temple. He was much further in his studies, of course, and he still is, but I instantly took to him. When he called me some time later, I joined instantly."
"It was the same with me."
"You do something else, though."
"That's right. I still can't really believe it. I have killed a man and I feel little remorse. He was a criminal, a murderer and all around horrible. Still, it makes me feel strange."
"You have to relax and let it go. You can't change this and you did it for the good of mankind. It was personal and it was true. What more can you ask for?"
"I don't know. I'm just not sure whether I wanted to be a killer."
"Sometimes, you have to accept what you're becoming. Maybe it is just a part of a chrysalis."
The kneeling woman hit another spot and sent her patient into a groan of relaxation.

[El_Roy_1999]

When the sun went down, Gladys and O'Hara climbed back down. She landed nimbly on the ground and whispered:
"From what I saw, the big building over there is the administrative center of the factory district. We should find what we are looking for in there."
O'Hara agreed. He took point and advanced quickly through the shadows of the smaller alleys, climbing over containers and garbage. Back here, the science-utopia seemed much more real. He helped her once or twice, but in the end, they reached the center quickly and quietly. They had switched back to the military gear, hoping to evade any guards.
As they reached the back of the building, Gladys realized how big it was. She asked:
"How are we even going to find anything in this thing?"
"Well, they have to find their own stuff, so they'll probably have a record system. We just have to find that and then we should do nicely."
"Fine. So how do we get in?"
O'Hara pointed up.
"Since you're such an excellent climber, why not do it again?"
"If you give me a boost."
He nodded, leaned his back against the wall, put his fingers together and crouched down. She ran up to him and stepped on his hands just as he stood up, propelling her in the air. She flew up, grabbed a pipe with both hands and pulled herself up. Once she was there, she climbed further up, making him dizzy with her speed. Finally, she reached the service door of the air condition system and let down a rope for him.
Once he reached the ledge, he asked:
"Where did you learn to do this? This is really impressive!"
"My parents accepted a little gymnastics even when they still thought I would just be a housewife. It came in handy."
"Sure did. Now let me get us inside."
He took out his army knife and broke open the lock.

[solitariodude]

Thanks for keeping this going! It's starting to read like a weekly serial...

[El_Roy_1999]

Actually, that's the style I'm going for. I hope you keep on enjoying it.
I really appreciate your support! Thank you very much.

[El_Roy_1999]

Ruth rolled on her back. She enjoyed Hilde's company and had to admit that the woman was really comfortable in her own skin. For herself, this was still a point of contention. She wasn't a classical beauty and her now athletic body hardly fit the ideal people wanted. She tried to remind herself that society's idea of beauty was irrelevant now that she worked with Jacob and that the future would see beauty in utility and strength, not in some weird rules some artists or tailors had come up with. Still, she lacked the other woman's confidence.
Hilde smiled at her and said:
"I think I know what you are thinking."
"Tell me."
"I know the look. It means: 'How do you manage to just be so calm?', isn't that right?"
Ruth acknowledged this:
"I'm impressed. Doctor Freud was clearly an excellent teacher."
"I would rather say that I have developed a certain experience of the feelings people have. But to come back to your initial question: I can ease your way into this new psychological form, if you want to. There is some truth in the duality of Eros and Thanatos."
"What do you mean?"
"I had a lot of time to think about the implications, and there is a drive to love and procreate, but there is also a desire to destroy and to kill in every human being. I believe I could find a way to unite these desires in you and to help you become a true fighter."
"I have to admit I don't follow entirely."
"No one does his work better than someone who truly loves it."
Ruth wanted to say something, when Karel suddenly descended and declared:
"There are intruders in the main administrative center. Should we send troops to verify?"
Ruth thought about what Hilde had said and answered:
"Get them ready, I'll lead them myself!"

[El_Roy_1999]

Gladys went in first. The corridor was quite narrow, there were pipes on the walls and thick bundles of electric wires snaked along their way. She had her gun at the ready and advanced carefully. After a few moments of walking, they reached another, similar door that led deeper in the building. As she emerged from it, she realized she was now in the depths of the administrative center. There were large machines that rattered and clackered, there were vacuum tubes glowing dimly in the gloom. She waved for O'Hara to follow her.
The pair walked on and finally found a door marked with "control room". It was locked. Gladys turned to O'Hara.
"Could you do your magic again?"
He nodded and rammed his knife into the lock. There was an unpleasant noise as he tore open the mechanism. He looked at her apologetically.
"This is loud, but it's all I can do. We should have asked Yorkow to teach us. He is a trained locksmith and showed me a few of his tricks. I'd be damned if I could do this."
Gladys nodded slowly and thought to herself that this job required so many skills that she had no idea on how to learn. She'd have to talk to each of the other soldiers once this was over.
O'Hara opened the door and stopped. The room was impressive. It was quite large and bright, with many complicated-looking devices. There was a large central machine that looked like a cinema organ.
There was no one inside. Gladys followed him in and asked:
"What does all this do? I thought we'd find some ledgers or files, but instead, we get a music hall."
"I have never seen anything like it. I wonder how this works."
He approached it and asked:
"Can you play this?"
She thought about it for a second and said:
"I learned to play the piano. I can try."

[El_Roy_1999]

O'Hara kept a lookout on the door. His submachine gun was still at the ready. He said:
"Whatever you do, do it quickly. I'm not certain we haven't been spotted. There might have been an alarm."
"I didn't hear anything."
"There could have been a silent one. You never know."
"Whatever. I'll try to figure something out."
She laid her hands on the weird keyboard and struck a random chord. There was a slight rattling noise, a metallic clang, and a few letters showed up on a brass roller display in front of her. She nodded to herself and said:
"I think I've got something."
"Go on! I'm quite certain I heard some footsteps."
"What should I play?"
"I don't know. Try 'automaton'. That's what the other woman kept talking about."
"I'll try."
It took a few attempts to get the keyboard to spit out the correct letters, but then, she found it to work extremely quick, much faster than a regular typewriter. The rollers spelled out the word, Gladys pulled a stop on the organ, there was a faint grinding noise and the organ spit out a roll of perforated paper. She stared at it.
"What is that supposed to be?"
"I don't know. Do another thing, we'll take the stuff with us and let the eggheads at HQ find out what it means."
"What should I try?"
"Why not 'weapons'? This operation must have pretty crazy stuff."
She did what he asked her. Just as she pulled the stop, the footsteps got louder. They had to be quick.

[El_Roy_1999]

Ruth had dived into her suit, had strapped on her armor and picked up her gun as the alarm continued to ring. By the time she ran out, a small squad of guards had assembled. She looked at them and said:
"We've got to be quick. There's someone in the administrative center. As far as we know, they are intruders, probably spies. We've got to get them alive. I really want to know who is behind this."
The troops snapped to attention and bellowed their agreement.
Moments later, the squad entered the building, carefully proceeding from corridor to corridor. Ruth led from the front. Inside, she was afraid, but she fought the feeling down and concentrated on her duty. With Jacob away, she had to hold the fort. On the other hand, she was scared. She didn't want to kill again and seriously hoped the intruders would surrender once they realized they were outnumbered.
She cursed under her breath when she understood where they had gone. If they had reached the core access room, they would be able to print out any information they needed. Sure, it was coded, but if anything got out, the organizations advantage would dwindle. She ordered the troops to surround the door and listened. There was the faint rattling of the perforating machine. The intruders had managed to get the machine to work. She had to act now.
With a quick sign, she ordered the assault.
The troop charged, kicking open the door and forcing their way in.
Inside, a huge man stood guard and opened fire.
His submachine gun spit out a wave of bullets. Ruth felt that she was hit, but she didn't care. She just hit the man with full force, using his stance against him and sending him on the ground. Just as she recovered and tackled him, she realized that there was another person in there. She ordered the guards to spread out and look for him or her. Meanwhile, she tried to hold down the man as one of the troops prepared an anesthetic. Just as the needle approached his shoulder, he suddenly jumped up, lifted her in the air above his head and sent her flying. She smashed into the trooper with the syringe and winced as she was injected. With a groan, she tried to get back up, but the huge man had made short work of the other guards. He forced the gauntlet and shouted:
"Get going, I'm holding them off!"
There was someone sprinting amidst the gunfire. Ruth couldn't think straight anymore as the drug started working. She aimed her gun at him and fired, taking him right between the eyes.
The Irishman instantly fell.
She thought she heard a woman's voice shout out, wondered who that might have been and blacked out.

[El_Roy_1999]

Gladys fell. She had escaped the killing zone, run through the corridor and jumped through the service door. Tears were streaming from her eyes. O'Hara was dead. She hadn't actually seen him die, but the shot had been unmistakable. She had never expected something like this to happen. She knew that people died in wars, but she hadn't imagined it would be like this. Somehow, she had thought it would be heroic and, well, full of pathos. The brevity of it all had shocked her.
She landed on the ground with a crunch and rolled to recover. Her legs hurt, her body felt bruised. She was aware that lingering here would kill her, so she ran. Gladys disappeared amid the buildings, ducked through alleys and finally reached the fields around the industrial complex. The two streams of paper were still fluttering in her hand, so she tried to roll them up and hide them in one of her pockets. She jumped into a ditch and looked out.
In basic training, one of the sergeants had told her to never look back, but she couldn't bear not knowing. Behind her, the entire building complex was bustling with activity. Searchlights probed the area and troops patrolled the streets. She had to leave now before anybody found her tracks.
The young woman ran out into the fields. She realized she would have to walk for a long time before she actually reached a safe place. Contacting the others was impossible since O'Hara had carried the radio and she didn't want to risk leading her pursuers to her allies.
Finally beating back her tears, she shouldered her remaining equipment and set out into the darkness. Getting a headstart now would probably save her life.

[solitariodude]

  Still enjoying it and always looking forward to more!

[El_Roy_1999]

Ruth woke up. She instinctively reached for her gun, her head hurting. It wasn't there. She tried to focus, but only realized she was in her room after what seemed an eternity. She looked around and noticed that there were two nurses and Hilde watching her. She groaned:
"Where is my gun?"
"It's in the armory, where it belongs. You were out for two days." The shorter woman looked a little worried. "How do you feel?"
"Not too good. What happened?"
"You got hit by a bullet. It almost killed you."
Ruth was shocked. She had only vague recollections of what had happened. Slowly, memories flooded back. Had she killed somebody? Again? She had to ask:
"What about the intruders?"
Hilde and the nurses exchanged glances. Ruth insisted:
"Tell me! Did I get them?"
Hilde sighed:
"Yes. You shot one in the head before passing out. The other one escaped and is still on the run. The guards are looking for him, but they haven't found him yet."
"I see."
The wounded woman felt horrible. The medication was wearing off and the realization she had killed again flooded in. It was a terrible feeling. She swallowed and said:
"What did you do with the body?"
"We checked him. No signs of any allegiance. The equipment was simple and completely generic, we found nothing special on him. The only thing that set him apart from other people was that he had one of these cyanide capsules. He didn't use it, though."
"I understand. So we have no idea who we are looking for." She could feel her headache returning. "We should reorganize the guards and double shifts. There might be other intruders. It was a mistake to keep this place open. Apparently, we are now at war. Fetch the commander of the guard. We have to talk."
She thought for a while, then said:
"I thank you for your help, but I would like to talk to Hilde alone. Could you give us a moment and get the commander?"
The nurses nodded and left. Ruth said:
"I have thought about what you said before I left. I want to try this. Make me a better fighter."

[El_Roy_1999]

At the risk of repeating myself: Once again, daily life is busy, so it may take a few days to continue the story. But don't worry, I'll be back soon.
Thank you for your understanding!

[El_Roy_1999]

Gladys laid on the ground as flat as she could. She had dozed off after finally collapsing, but was now wide awake. The buzzing of a biplane had woken her and she had just scrambled for cover in one of the hedges. The pilot hadn't seen her, at least she hoped so. She waited until the machine had disappeared and set out again. She had managed to get her bearings using her compass and was now walking eastwards to the edge of the farm cooperative. Continuing all night, she figured she would reach a street and follow it, maybe even meeting someone not affiliated to the cult. She laid her hand on her gun. And if not, she would take the vehicle anyway.
This was her second night on the road and she was still surprised how doggedly they tracked her. Only by wading through a creek had she managed to get away from a bloodhound team. She was still cold when she even thought about it. She must have really seen some secrets they definitely didn't want to get out.
She walked on and fought back the need to just lay down and sleep. It wasn't yet the time for this. Besides, whenever she closed her eyes, she saw O'Hara's face. She hadn't expected this war to become so personal so quick. On the other hand, who was she kidding. It just proved what the others had said: She was weak. She gritted her teeth and continued. She'd show them what she was capable of. She'd survive this and she'd avenge O'Hara's death.
Nodding to herself, she walked on through the shrubs and furrows. She sure hoped she'd reach the road soon.

[solitariodude]

Keep it up whenever you can, still looking forward to every new installment

[El_Roy_1999]

The gray dawn slowly illuminated the countryside as Gladys finally set her foot on the dusty road. After stumbling through the fields for hours, she immediately felt energized. She stretched, adjusted her backpack and marched on quickly. There was still quite a march in front of her, but she now had a clear path. Things were looking up.
At around 10 o'clock, she had left the farm complex. There had been a few patrol airplanes, but she had hidden herself from view and hadn't been spotted. The road had the joined a larger one and now she was quite sure she was out of the cult's reach. The next vehicle she saw, she'd stop.
In the end, it took another two hours of plodding around on the dusty road before she heard the coughing and rattling of an engine. Her feet were now so sore she had no idea how she could go on walking and the tiredness was making her mind play tricks on her. She had to stop this car. She stood in the middle of the road and waved her arms. She kept the gun at the ready should the driver refuse. She was pleasantly surprised to see the Ford T chug closer and stop. An old man with a large beard looked out and asked:
"What are you doing here, young lady?"
"I need you to bring me to the next town. It's really important."
He seemed a little confused by her clothes, but said:
"Fine. Get in."
He got out, opened the passenger door and held it open for her. As she walked by him, he said:
"By the way, lady, you are wearing pants."
"Indeed."
She sat down. His confusion led him to acquiescence.
"Fine."
He closed the door and walked to the driver's seat. Then, he climbed in. Gladys realized that he was taking forever. She had to be quick and this man was just taking his sweet time. Still, she didn't want to do something rash. She asked him:
"Could you please be quick? It's really important."
"What could possibly be important around here?"
That's when the plane's silhouette appeared on the horizon.