Read Orbs II: Stranded for Free Online Page A

weapons. If you remove their shields entirely, they succumb to our atmosphere.”
    “So you are saying we need to find a way to knock out their shields altogether?” Holly asked.
    Bouma smacked his palm on the table. “Like a massive electromagnetic pulse grenade?”
    “Precisely,” Emanuel replied. “But there is a catch. Alexia thinks the electromagnetic disturbance is the source that actually powers the nanobots, essentially recharging them.”
    “I’m impressed, really,” Sophie said. “The discovery of humanitarium, the nanobots, and the source could be a game changer. But this is all academic. We need something practical. We need a weapon now. ”
    The image of the nanobot disappeared and Alexia’s face appeared over the console. “I would like to answer that, Doctor Winston.”
    Sophie nodded her approval and sat down to listen to the AI.
    “I’ve been studying the disturbance outside ever since we sent the drone into the field. Without an EMP simulator or a similar device,it has been difficult to learn much about it, but the drone was able to detect and determine that the wavelength the Organics used to knock out our communications is constant,” she said. “As you may know, an EMP is typically a one-time event; once it is set off, the damage is done quite quickly. This is something entirely different. Take a look.”
    Her hologram transformed into a solid blue ninety-degree angle. A sudden pulse burst across the graphic, curving and making a steep climb until it suddenly flatlined.
    Emanuel pushed his glasses farther up his nose. “So this is worldwide?”
    “Yes, Doctor.”
    “And it hasn’t changed since day one of the invasion?” Sophie asked.
    “That is correct,” Alexia replied over the com. “As you can see, the wavelength has a defined lead point. It built up rapidly and then evened out, but it did not dissipate, as you would expect with a human-generated EMP.”
    “It’s like one big surge,” Bouma said under his breath.
    “Let’s cut the crap. How do you shut this surge off?” Overton asked, placing a dirty boot on one of the middle tables. He glanced defiantly at Sophie, who met his gaze. Neither looked away.
    “That is a good question,” Emanuel said, breaking the tension.
    Alexia’s voice sounded distant. “My apologies, but I’m unable to determine the source of the surge.”
    “So it could be coming from the Statue of Liberty, or from the moon for all we know,” Overton replied.
    “It would make more sense if it were coming from the Earth’s orbit,” Alexia replied.
    Sophie felt her lips moving, but she couldn’t form the words. She knew the source was likely Mars. After all, she’d found that the magnetic disturbance that caused the solar storms of 2055 originated on the Red Planet. But the government had never released that information. It was classified, and NTC had threatened her career in order to keep her quiet. Folding her hands, Sophie kept her lips sealed. She didn’t want another reason to piss Overton off.
    “If we don’t know the source, how can we shut it off?” Bouma asked.
    “Maybe we won’t have to,” Sophie replied. “The electromagnetic grenades knock out the Spiders’ shields almost completely, right?” Sophie asked.
    “Yes,” Bouma said.
    “So, we just need something more powerful. To reverse the surge and use it against them,” Sophie said.
    Overton reached for a cigarette, but his hands came back empty. “Shit,” he muttered. Looking back at Sophie he said, “I know where you’re going with this. There are large-scale EMPs like the one used on China years ago. But nothing I know that has ever been used on a worldwide level. But . . .”
    “Go on,” Sophie said, cautiously.
    “Setting off several strategically placed, high-capacity EMPs at fifty thousand feet would probably do the trick. We would just have to find a way into a military installation with high-yield EMPs and reconfigure them, then find a way to deliver