Read LZR-1143: Evolution for Free Online

at the map with him as he spoke, which we did.
    “I’ll tell you what we know, which ain’t enough to feed a hog for a week” he said, pointing at the map. “Ain’t nothing about this shit that’s top secret. Anything we’re doing you can see with your own eyes. What you see here is the best idea we got on how far the shit has spread from the fan. We’ve got sporadic com links, fuzzy sat pictures, and almost zero chatter on civilian bands. Last time we heard from Atlantic Command was three days ago, and we have no idea on the disposition of at least three quarters of the civilian command structure. We are still in contact with command and control in the Pentagon, but other than that, our coms are real sketchy.”
    He pointed at five pulsing red dots spread out over the maps of several states, blinking slowly on the semi-transparent glass. His finger jabbed a different point each time he named a city. I stared at the massive board, looking to make sense of the lights. For an instant, my eyes wouldn’t focus. I grabbed the edge of the table to steady myself suddenly.
    “New York, Boston, Philly, Pittsburgh, Atlantic City.” He intoned them slowly, almost reverently. “All gone. Or near as. Should be festering flaming sores on the earth by now. Firebombed to hell. Thousands of pounds of ordnance from us, from the Limeys and from some helpful cruise missiles launched by some chicken-shit Frenchies 600 miles away. Those fois-gras munching snail-eaters didn’t want to get too close—at least not close enough for search and rescue work.”
    He snorted in derision.
    Turning toward us, he seemed to need to explain. “Orders came down about six days ago. Take out the major population centers. Keep the infected numbers down, maybe control the infection rates and keep folk from trying to get to the larger cities. Didn’t sit too well with a number of us, let me tell you. Damn sure didn’t like passing that order to my people. But we followed through. Just finished up with Atlantic City, in fact.”
    “I noticed,” I said, almost under my breath.
    Kate looked stunned, despite having witnessed New York’s demise from the helicopter when the Liverpool launched several days ago.
    “But surely there was … I mean, they can’t be doing this up and down the coast, can they? The living people … the infrastructure … it will take years to recover what we’re destroying.”
    I knew what she was thinking. We might have a cure. Don’t be too hasty to destroy what we might be able to save. Except we didn’t know yet whether we had the answer. Only a smaller question.
    Before he could answer, I broke in.
    “Have you heard back from the other ships? I mean, there are more right? You can’t be the only one out here.”
    It was a logical assumption. Naval vessels would have been largely insulated from the infection. Self-sustaining, they produced their own water and power. They held ample supplies of food and ammunition, and they could stay under way for weeks on end.
    “Hell no, son. Big E ain’t the only ship in the water, she’s just the oldest. We got carrier groups from here to Cuba and from Seattle to San Diego doing cleaning and search and rescue ops. So far, so good. No casualties yet. The zombie bastards don’t really shoot back at the cruise missiles and laser guided bombs, and we don’t let anyone on board who even sniffles funny.”
    He looked up at Kate, eyes narrowing slightly.
    “I know what you’re thinking ma’am, and while I’m angrier than a pregnant badger in a sack, I ain’t got one lick of discretion. Aside from that, these things ain’t goin’ away. We have got to do something to thin their numbers.”
    He leaned back against the table and crossed his arms, a large frown bringing the corners of his eyes down. Outside, the roar of an engine broke through the silence as he paused, and he turned to watch the tail of an F-18 disappear from view. Steam drifted up from the catapult below, and he