The Wacky World of Tom Gilford

The dark night gave no visibility to what might be slinking through the streets. Oscar picked this night to creep over the broken, uneven sidewalk. He kept his thin body close to the decaying buildings, hoping not to be detected by the armed troops constantly patrolling the area. Sound of a vehicle coming closer made him dive into a pile of bricks lying haphazardly in an alley. He hoped his black clothing would conceal him from the hovercraft's spotlight swinging back and forth. If caught, it would be the end. He would be taken, and his family depended on him making it back safe and sound.

Oscar knew the area well and only went out to find food for his starving family; a wife and two young boys. Escaping this time, he made his way to the defunct restaurant where canned food still remained. Supplies were becoming scarce. He felt the rats brush against him, their red eyes glowing. High boots kept him from getting bitten, but he feared one would jump on him from above. Filling his bag and pockets, he made his way back to the entrance and waited for the patrol to pass. He entered the apartment building where they had found inadequate housing.

The world had been besieged by an imposter. Tom Gilford was the most hated man in the world; yet the most powerful. Tom and a brilliant scientist by the name of Ivan met at Oxford University. They became embroiled in the dark world of London during college, obsessed with creating mass robots they could control, thus taking over the world. Once graduated, they began their devious work. Tom had the gift of persuasion and obtained an endless flow of cash from various banks, knowing it would not be repaid. The bankers were so impressed by his grandiose ideas they practically begged him to take the money. Tom obtained a massive warehouse where experiments with robots commenced. He used his political prowess, to catapult him straight to the Presidency. It seemed the entire world was brainwashed. Once the first robot was programmed, it was easy to duplicate. The sadistic Ivan experimented with homeless people, separating their hearts and brains from their bodies. He kept their organs alive with a computer; bodies were temperature controlled. When done testing, they were buried in a mass grave. This, the duo called the exceptional phase designed to keep exceptional IQ persons from escaping. All of this took decades to achieve but the duo did not waver in their mission. Robots were shipped, armed and ready to strike; and they did, from every corner of the globe.

The Residential neighborhood Oscar lived in was one of many around the world that had been razed by the robotic Leveler bulldozers. It was a matter of time before the apartment buildings would be next and they would be buried beneath the rubble. Oscar lay awake evenings trying to figure out how to save his family. Where could one go when the entire world was being patrolled by robotic demons.

Fort Knox became headquarters for Tom and Ivan. Weapons were seized by programmed Metalgator Robots, who crawled over every inch of the earth seeking them. Watergators skimmed the surface of water detecting anything beneath their depths. The magnetism wore off; now everyone realized what was happening. It was fate accompli and couldn't be changed. Power had been relinquished to the wrong duo. Now people who had not yet been caught, lived in filth and poverty, barely sustaining day to day.

Robodivers were programmed to take captured humans to a newly constructed undersea laboratory/prison where the experiments with the homeless could be carried out. Construction had been aided by engineers, excited about the program although unaware of the actual intent. The engineers were under the assumption that sea life would be studied, not humans. Herded like cattle and shoved into the Robodiver's hollow shell, the frightened prisoners sat on benches for the trip to Seahub. Any movement detected as escape brought them to the ground by the Shockobot. Once they knew what would happen, all sat still, afraid to move. Around the world, more Seahubs were planned.

The sound of hissing made the captured prisoners aware oxygen was deployed, and they felt the Robodiver submerge. After what seemed like a long time, banging and trembling began. Robots pushed prisoners into a single file line where they were shoved into a dimly lit tunnel. They found themselves in an electronic world. Seated at long tables, Roboservers fed them seafood. The famished prisoners ate until they were sated.

Once fed, the acceptable prisoners were ushered into sleeping rooms with three tiers of beds as far as the eye could see. The exceptional prisoners, of course, had their brains and hearts removed and bodies temperature controlled. Along the gigantic Seahub were portholes: looking glasses into the sea. It became the only means of entertainment for them. Sometimes frightening octopuses, goblin sharks, zombie worms, and spider crabs floated by or peered into the porthole. It only served to confirm how trapped they were. That became their life, eating, sleeping and watching sea life through the port until they were prodded into the assembly room to work.

The undoing of Mr. Gilford was an exceptional human, Josef, who was so scientifically gifted that he fooled the computer into believing he was only acceptable. This gave him the opportunity to secretly place a chip from the assembly line into a robot and start to re-program it hoping that he could duplicate more and more of them.

One day a female kept blinking at him and nodding her head. He wondered what she was doing. That evening, in the sleeping room, he stood beside her bed. She whispered, "I know what you are trying to do, it won't work fast enough. I can help. I am a Banshee Fairy and can disappear. I was sent here by our wizard, Zephart, the Mighty. Normally, our world pays no attention to yours. Zephart feels this time, we need to interfere. We are capable of unleashing mythical creatures who will wreak havoc on what is happening. Josef, will you accept our help?"

"Of course, we will! I don't know anything about your world. What do we need to do?"

"Nothing Josef, nothing at all. Things wil happen. Do not be afraid, we will free you but it will take time. You must promise never to speak of us and what you know."

"I promise," Josef said, "we are grateful for any help."

In the morning Josef looked for the lady but she was gone.

Months later, on the Earth above, skies became dark. Zephart The Wizard had implemented his first plan. Loud fluttering was heard and hovercrafts congregated to see what was going on. Screeching and crashing abounded. Large dragons descended from the skies, their hot fiery breath melting the mechanics of the hovercrafts making them crash. When it was over, hovercrafts around the world lay in a heaping pile of metal. The dragons vanished as quickly as they had come. Gilford's patrol had been eliminated.

"What the hell just happened?" Tom yelled.

"No idea," replied Ivan. "Now we have no patrol."

"Better think of something, and fast," snarled Tom.

At the Valley of Spirits, the great magician, Zephart, bent with age, pulled on his long white beard. He was trying to figure out a way to destroy Seahub. Speaking to no one in particular he said, "Those needy humans have no powers, they will need oxygen to survive. I am not concerned with the robots or computers. Once they are submerged in salt water, they will be useless. I am going to call on Poseidon, sea God, for answers."

"My dear Zephart, so good to see you again. This will take an army of mermaids along with Kraken, great beast of the sea. He will be strong enough to lift Seahub close to the surface, then break its seal. The heavy robots and computers will sink. Mermaids will bring prisoners to the surface and lay them on a platform. Once Seahub is empty, I will create a strong breeze and blow them to shore. What would these humans do without us, aye?" stated the athletic, dark bearded Poseidon.

"Bad news, bad news," squealed Ivan.

"What now?" said Tom.

"We are under attack, Seahub has been destroyed!"

"What are you talking about, that's impossible."

"No, it's a fact. Seahub is no more."

"We are ruined," Tom yelled. "I thought you knew what you were doing?"

"I do, I did, I don't know what's happening."

"Exactly!" Tom slammed out of the room.

A flaw in the escape was thousands of tubes with hearts and brains, along with bodies, now floating on the water. No way to save these exceptional people. It was a terrific loss of gifted humans.

Zephart paced his room in the castle. His pointy shoes squeaking with each step. He thought, Humans are really incapable. I will disguise our dwarfs and send them up with anything the survivors can use to make temporary shelters.He walked down the long, stone staircase to where the dwarfs resided in the caverns of the castle and gave them instructions.

Back up the staircase again, the winded wizard shouted to his assistant, "Call Talos, the iron man, we need his deep footsteps and weight to create earth homes for those in cold climates. Once that is done, have him open the doors to Fort Knox and destroy the robots. Send The Phoenix with him to capture Tom Gilford and his scientist Ivan. I will put them in a trance until humans are ready to deal with them. Likewise, get rid of robots everywhere on the globe. Assemble an army of Cyclops if you must."

Tom and Ivan, with their narcistic personalities never once envisioned another human could outwit them. Little did they know it was an undergrown world of mystical magic who had actually done the deed.

The restoration had begun but it took years to bring the world back into any semblance of what it had been prior to the takeover. Nonetheless, for uncaptured humans living in poverty, like Oscar and the captured prisoners who had been trapped in Seahub, freedom had finally come.

Once all communication and the power grid had been restored and a majority of people could view the news, a National Day of Victory was declared. The now villainous Tom and Ivan would have their fate broadcast for all to see.

Down below, Zephart had a new prance in his step. He gleefully told his assistant. "I have a perfect solution for the nasty Tom and Ivan. Call the head Banshee Fairy, I have a final job for the fairies."

The Banshee Fairy that had been sent to Seahub bowed before Zephart. "What may I do for you, Great Wizard?" she asked.

"Oh, lovely fairy, one final thing and then we will be done with the humans for eons. Assemble a dozen of your best fairies. Bring them to me, I will transform them into human policemen. Currently I have the evil duo, Tom and Ivan, in a trancelike state so they will be easy to move. Take them to the missile site we have prepared on Earth and place them inside the missile. Make sure it is locked securely. Once that is done, have one of your fairies report back to me and I will release them from the trance; I want them to be fully aware of what will happen next." Chuckling, he sent the fairy on her mission.

Tom and Ivan, with most of the world watching, were shot to Saturn where they can be seen floating in space by telescopes and observatories around the world.

Josef was humbled by the notoriety he received but credit belonged to The Field of Spirits and Zephart the Wizard along with all of his mythical creatures. Josef never revealed who had truly saved the world, as promised.


.......................................................................................................................................................................................................
1,997 words
Challenge: Combine dystopian government, cyberpunk, magic, high tech, evil corp., orcs, elves, dwarfs, dragons, over-the-top science fiction and fantasy
Science Fiction Short Story
March 2023