The Frequency of Oblivion
1567 Words
The Australian outback was a furnace.
Marcus wiped sweat from his forehead as he looked across the red dirt at the radio facility. It rose from the plain like a metal insect—antennae pointing at the sky, dish arrays angled toward the horizon. The test broadcast was scheduled for noon tomorrow.
Claire handed him a water bottle. “How many inside?”
“Nikolai says a dozen. Maybe more.”
Damian scanned the perimeter. “They have motion sensors. Heat detectors. We can't get close during the day.”
“Then we go at night.”
---
They waited in the shade of a rock formation.
The sun set. The stars came out. The temperature dropped.
Marcus checked his gear. “The broadcast is controlled from the main building. If we destroy the transmitter, the test fails.”
“What about the code itself?” Claire asked.
“Elena is working on a counter-measure. But she needs the source code. That's on a server inside.”
“So we need to copy the code and destroy the transmitter.”
“Same as always.”
---
They moved at 10:00 PM.
The facility's perimeter was lit with floodlights. Guards patrolled in pairs. The antennae hummed with low-frequency energy.
Marcus approached the fence. Damian cut through with wire cutters.
Inside, they hugged the shadows.
The main building was concrete, windowless. A steel door. Keypad.
Marcus pulled out the bypass device Elena had given him. The lock clicked.
They slipped inside.
---
The building was a single open room.
Racks of servers lined the walls. A massive transmitter sat in the center, cables running to the antennae outside. Screens showed frequency maps and countdown timers.
A man stood at a console. Grey hair. Lab coat.
“Marcus Cole. I was wondering when you'd come.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Dr. Heinrich Strauss. I was the lead engineer for the original Lazarus Account. I built the first transmitters. Now I've improved them.”
Marcus raised his Sig. “Shut down the broadcast.”
“It's already scheduled. You can't stop it.”
“I can stop you.”
Strauss smiled. “The transmitter is linked to my biometrics. If I die, it broadcasts immediately. If I'm arrested, it broadcasts. If I even lose consciousness, it broadcasts.”
“Then you're going to shut it down yourself.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because if you don't, I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life in a sensory deprivation tank. No light. No sound. No human contact. You'll go insane in weeks.”
Strauss's smile faded. “You're bluffing.”
“Try me.”
---
Damian moved to the transmitter. “The cables are shielded. We can't cut them.”
Claire went to the servers. “Copying the source code.”
“How long?”
“Ten minutes.”
The door burst open.
Guards. Armed.
Damian fired. Claire fired.
Marcus grabbed Strauss. “Call them off!”
“I can't. They're not mine. They're from the consortium's remnant.”
“Then you're useless.”
Marcus pushed Strauss aside. He ran to the transmitter.
The countdown timer showed 11 hours, 42 minutes.
He pulled the bypass device from his pocket. Elena had programmed it to disrupt any frequency. He attached it to the transmitter's control panel.
The timer flickered. Then stopped.
“The transmitter is disabled,” Marcus said.
Strauss stared. “No.”
“Yes.”
---
The guards were still firing.
Marcus grabbed Claire. “Time?”
“Got it!”
They ran.
The door. The fence. The darkness.
Behind them, the facility's alarms blared.
---
They drove through the night.
The desert was empty. The stars were bright.
Claire held the USB drive. “The source code.”
“Elena can build a counter-measure.”
“And Strauss?”
“In custody. The FBI is on their way.”
Marcus looked out the window. “Another one down.”
“Forty-two? No, forty to go?”
“Thirty-nine. We got the Japan facility and Australia.”
Claire leaned against him. “It's a long list.”
“We have time.”
---
They flew back to the cabin.
Margaret was waiting on the porch.
“Australia?”
“The transmitter is disabled. The source code is with Elena.”
“Good. One more.”
Marcus sat on the porch step. “How many of these facilities are there?”
“Dozens. But we're finding them. One by one.”
“And the people behind them?”
“Also dozens. But we have names. We have locations. We'll get them.”
---
That night, Marcus sat on the porch.
The stars were bright. The woods were quiet.
Claire brought him coffee.
“You're thinking about Strauss.”
“I'm thinking about how many engineers built these weapons. How many people believed they were doing the right thing.”
“They were wrong.”
“They knew they were wrong. They just didn't care.”
She sat beside him. “But you stopped them.”
“We stopped one. There are more.”
“Then we stop them too.”
---
His phone buzzed.
A message from Elena.
“The counter-measure is ready. It blocks the radio frequency code. But we need to distribute it. Every radio tower. Every broadcast station. It will take time.”
Marcus typed back: “How much time?”
“Weeks. Maybe months. But we'll get there.”
Marcus put the phone away.
Claire looked at him. “What was that?”
“Progress.”
---
The next morning, Marcus received a visitor.
Not a threat. A friend.
Nikolai walked up the driveway.
“The network has identified the next target. A facility in Canada. They're building a code that can be transmitted through television signals. Anyone watching will be affected.”
Marcus stood up. “Where in Canada?”
“The Yukon. Remote. Hidden.”
“When?”
“They're planning a test broadcast in five days. You need to stop them before then.”
Marcus looked at Claire. “Canada.”
“Canada.”
---
They left the next day.
Private plane. Marcus, Claire, Damian, and Nikolai.
The Yukon was cold and white.
The facility was hidden in a valley, accessible only by snowmobile.
Marcus drove. Claire held on. Damian followed.
The building was a former military installation. Concrete bunkers. Antennae.
Marcus approached the main door. Locked.
He picked it.
Inside, the facility was warm. Racks of servers. A massive control console.
A woman stood at the console. Dark hair. Cold eyes.
“Marcus Cole. I was wondering when you'd come.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Dr. Irina Volkova. Elena's sister. The one who never left the consortium.”
“Your sister helped us.”
“My sister is weak. I'm not.”
Marcus raised his Sig. “Shut down the broadcast.”
“It's already scheduled. You can't stop it.”
“I can stop you.”
She smiled. “The transmitter is linked to my biometrics. If I die, it broadcasts. If I'm arrested, it broadcasts. You can't win.”
“I don't have to win. I just have to disable the transmitter.”
He pulled the bypass device from his pocket.
Irina's smile faded. “What is that?”
“The end of your plan.”
He attached the device to the console.
The screens went dark.
The transmitter hummed. Then stopped.
Irina stared. “How?”
“Elena. She's always been smarter than you.”
---
Damian grabbed her. “It's over.”
Irina laughed. “You think I'm the only one? There are dozens of us. Scattered across the world. You can't stop us all.”
“We can stop you.”
Marcus called the FBI.
---
Irina was taken into custody.
The facility was destroyed.
Marcus stood in the snow, watching the sunrise.
Claire was beside him.
“Another one down.”
“Thirty-eight to go.”
“We'll get there.”
---
They flew back to the cabin.
Margaret was waiting on the porch.
“Canada?”
“The facility is destroyed. Irina is in custody.”
“Good. One more.”
Marcus sat on the porch step. “How many of these facilities are left?”
“Too many. But we're making progress.”
“Are we?”
Margaret looked at him. “We have to be.”
---
That night, Marcus sat on the porch.
The stars were bright. The woods were quiet.
Claire brought him coffee.
“You're thinking about Irina.”
“I'm thinking about how many of Elena's family have been on the other side.”
“People choose their own paths.”
“Do they?”
She sat beside him. “You chose yours. That's what matters.”
---
His phone buzzed.
A message from Nikolai.
“The network has identified the next target. A facility in England. They're building a code that can be transmitted through public Wi-Fi. Anyone who connects will be affected.”
Marcus typed back: “Where in England?”
“London. Hidden in a data center.”
“When?”
“They're planning a test in two days. You need to stop them before then.”
Marcus put the phone away.
Claire looked at him. “England?”
“England.”
- Writer
