Kill Switch: Chapter 32
My Understanding of the World Crumbles Before My Eyes
I take the glass of water from Elijah and drink, kind of like a big fuck you, and then I hand the glass back, never once breaking eye contact.
“You think I’m an idiot,” I say, “because I killed The Withouter Hunter, but you know what? I think you’re spineless for letting him massacre half of your village on a near daily basis.”
Elijah clenches his fist, his gaunt face scrunching. “You need to understand, Vonn, that your actions have endangered the lives of everyone in The Without. Bunnfield has been monitoring Upper Management’s chat, and it’s clear that Middle Management is planning an airstrike tonight. Any stragglers out there will be scorched. And if the bombs happen to hit this cave system, we will all be dead. Vonn Industries plans to set an example, that much is clear, an example written in blood, and what’s worse, we have compromised our moral position.” Elijah breaks eye contact.
“I don’t see it that way,” Claudette says. “The thing is, Elijah, that The Withouter Hunter has killed hundreds of Withouters over the years. He had it coming. That’s just karma.”
“Exactly,” Bunnfield says. “At some point, we have to fight back, Elijah. And not with words and ideas. But with fists and bullets. The people out there –” he points toward the mouth of the cave. “–are hungry for war.”
“We’ve been at war for years,” Elijah says. “A war against the machines.”
“It’s not the same,” Bunnfield says. “Monkey wrenching derricks isn’t going to change anything if the enemy is willing to kill in return. We have to fight fire with fire.”
Elijah straightens his back. “So let me get this straight, Bunny. You’re suggesting that we become everything that Vonn Industries has described us as: blood-thirsty killers?”
“What I’m suggesting,” Bunnfield says, “is that we take destiny into our own hands. Who gives a shit what Upper Management thinks of us? Or what Vonn Industries says in their PR reports? Or what influencers say in their feeds? We know who we are.”
Elijah scratches his beard. “Does everyone here agree with Bunnfield?”
“Nobody is questioning your good intentions,” Claudette says. “We are all very grateful for your devotion to the cause. Your books have given voice to the movement. Hell, you devoted years undercover, climbing the corporate ladder at Vonn Industries, and even though Operation Digital Disruption failed, we gained a lot of valuable insight into the inner workings of Upper Management, insight that we can use in our fight against The Within. But here’s the thing, Elijah. What Vonn did last night, it resonated with everyone in The Without. That’s not nothing.”
Elijah hangs his head. “I’m willing to admit that my monkey wrenching methods might be too benign to be effective, but at the end of the day, I’m still able to sleep, even with the noise of bombs going off in the distance.” He lifts his head. “Perhaps I’m selfish, but I cherish my sleep, and I know, if I taint my soul with the inequities of murder, that I will never sleep peacefully again. Human life is sacred, and I’m afraid I might lose something vital if I forget that, so, it is with great sorrow that I am stepping down as unofficial leader of this motley village. Put simply, I don’t agree with the direction that our clan is headed in, but I’m wise enough to read the writing on the wall, and to not impede the inevitable. So consider this my final peaceful protest” – Elijah pumps his fist in mock triumph – “Elijah’s Last Stand, as it were.” Then he sits back and sighs. “Anyway, that’s all the spirit I can muster for the time being, so please, if you all don’t mind, get the hell out of here and leave me the fuck alone. It’s time for this old man to mope.” He eases down, shuts his eyes, and flicks his hand dismissively.
Bunnfield looks at the rest of us, his eyes wide and alert. He stands and gestures toward the exit.
“Wait a second,” I say. “Operation Digital Disruption.”
Elijah opens his eyes. “What about it?”
“Now that we’re in the news cycle, it might be a good time to deploy it.”
Elijah scowls. “I thought you wanted to go to war. Fight fire with fire, as Bunnfield put it. Go out and kill.”
“If necessary,” I say, “but before that, why not offer our side of the story? Give peace a chance, you know?”
Elijah waves a dismissive hand. “Even if we were able to break into dNet’s mainframe, nobody would be swayed by our calls for peace, not when we’ve just murdered a Withiner. We would be tagged as hypocrites and cancelled.”
“I think I know a way to deal with the backlash,” I say. “My only question, how do we get inside the dNet mainframe?”
“It’s practically impossible,” Claudette says. “You have to pass through all these security checks, then ride an elevator up to headquarters. There are armed guards everywhere. AI machine guns. It’s a suicide mission if you don’t have clearance. That’s why Elijah worked so hard to climb the corporate ladder, so he could install the device without suspicion. Then walk out and never return.”
“Do we have maps?” I ask.
“Yes, sort of, based on what Elijah saw at headquarters, but he only had access to certain sectors.”
I scratch my chin. “Why not dig an entry point?”
Claudette scrunches her forehead. “What do you mean, dig an entry point? Like, through the ceiling of The Within?”
Ceiling. I’m now as confused as Claudette looks. “Like the hole Elijah and I dug earlier, except, instead of just digging a random entry point, we strategically dig straight into the mainframe?”
Claudette looks from me to X, and then back to me. “They don’t teach y’all shit at prep, do they?”
“What do you mean?”
“Headquarters isn’t in The Within,” she says. “It’s in The Without.”
My understanding of the world crumbles before my eyes. I look at Bunnfield and Cosmo, who both nod.
“It’s true,” Cosmo says. “The elevator goes all the way to The Without. According to Elijah’s reports, there’s a military base, a launch pad, a bunch of warehouses, some barracks. Vonn Senior’s mansion overlooks the entire operation.”
“Can I see the maps you have?”
“Sure,” Cosmo says, tapping away on some olden time iPhone. “Here you go, mate. All the maps we have.”
The maps have been drawn up with the same software that Icon Games uses, so I’m able to familiarize myself with headquarters rather quickly. According to the first document, the ground beneath the complex is undergirded by a huge block of steel, which explains why The Withouters have never tried to dig their way into the mainframe; the top is meanwhile covered by a laser-proof dome, so entry from above seems equally unlikely. I flick to the next document. A series of overlapping grids and detailed drawings paint a stark picture: bots surveil the perimeter, sentinel towers crenellate the dome; sensors, cameras, and AI machine guns jut out of the walls. Claudette was right. It’s guarded like crazy. I hand the phone back to Cosmo.
“We have to find a point of weakness in the exterior,” I say. “It’s the only way. We can’t outmuscle Vonn Industries on the battlefield. They have an entire army. Weapons of mass destruction. They would demolish us in less than a day.”
I catch Claudette and Bunnfield exchanging a surreptitious glance.
And then Elijah, rolling his eyes, says, “they’re going to demolish us anyway, Vonn. That’s why you should have never killed The Withouter Hunter. I’ll be amazed if we live to see tomorrow.”