Read The Atlantis World (The Origin Mystery, Book 3) for Free Online Page B

world, and we’ve got too many mouths to feed. We have an opportunity. We can eliminate some of our own who we can’t care for and at the same time , convince the Immari sympathizers not to go over. It’s our only play. Continuity and the Orchid implants are the key. We’ve got to build an army of our own—from the strong within our ranks.”
    Paul swallowed. “I… need some time to think—”
    “Time is one thing we don’t have, Paul. I need those codes. I’ll remind you that I have Natalie and your nephew.”
    Paul felt himself involuntarily step back. “I… I want to know the plan.”
    “The codes.” North glanced at the soldiers outside the glass doors.
    Paul took it as a threat. He took a seat at the table and spoke softly. “I assume you’ve been trying to crack the codes?”
    “For over a week now. NSA says they could be in within a few days, but when the satellites went down, we decided to call you. We’d really like to get those codes the easy way.”
    Paul nodded. He knew what the hard way would be. He tried to push the idea of being tortured out of his mind and focus on what would happen if he turned over the codes. He saw two possibilities. One: North was an Immari agent and he would use the codes to kill countless people. Two: America and the Orchid allies were about to make the greatest mistake in human history. And they were possibly going to frame Paul for it. He needed to know more. He needed time to form a plan. “Okay. Look, I’ve been at home for two weeks. I didn’t know any of this was going on. I agree that our back is against the wall. I will turn over the codes, but you should know that the Continuity program has multiple levels of security, including trap doors and protocols that ensure Continuity staff are the only ones who can send new therapies to the implants each Orchid District resident has. You need me. I now understand the threat we’re facing. All I ask is that you make me part of the solution.”
    North took a seat and pulled a keyboard close to him. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” The screen changed to show a series of statistics. Paul recognized some of them.
    “You’ve done a physical—”
    “A short one, yes. We’ve done a large-scale inventory of the entire human race—everyone under the Orchid flag.”
    “To what end?”
    “There are two lists here. Those we can save—the ones fit to fight or contribute. And those who aren’t.”
    “I see.”
    “We need to use the Euthanasia Protocol on the unfit list, and we need to do it now.”
    “People won’t stand for this. You’ll have riots—”
    “We intend to blame the Immari. They’ve taken the food and power. This isn’t a stretch. If they could take Continuity, this is exactly what they would do: euthanize the weak. The death of millions will energize the survivors to stand against the Immari threat. And it would take away the Immari selling point: eliminating the welfare state. With the weak gone, we can offer everything they can. The world the Immari sympathizers want would already be here.” North moved closer to Paul. “With a few keystrokes, we can win this war before it begins, before the cataclysm. Now I need your answer.”
    Paul glanced out the glass doors. His staff was arriving, but the guards were directing them away. There was no way out of this room.
    “I understand,” Paul said.
    “Good.” North motioned to the guard, and a skinny young man carrying a laptop entered. “This young man has been working on the Continuity database. He’s going to follow along with you, Paul. He’ll be watching and taking notes, including your access code. For redundancy, of course.”
    “Of course.”
    Paul began typing on the keyboard while his new “assistant” got set up.
    A few minutes later, Paul opened the main Continuity control program and began walking him through it. “The Euthanasia Protocol is actually a pre-programmed therapy…”
    Fifteen minutes later, Paul entered his