Cody's+Group

//The Lazarus Code//

Noah stood calmly out the window of the White House's western corridor with a small white laptop computer in front of him, the sun shining brightly in his eyes. He surveyed the lawn, watching clouds pass by, and trees sway in the wind. He could see a man slightly taller than himself, slowly working away at some bushes in front of the window. The man was doing a good job making the government look inviting and peaceful, it seemed like everyone thought it was. Except Noah. Noah had his own conceptions about the government. The man looked up from the hedges and saw Noah was watching him. Noah turned away from the window and saw the men he had gathered for a meeting were ready for him to begin. He was surrounded by three older men in suits. They were government officials gathered for a meeting unexpectedly. The man furthest to the right, wearing a blue suit with a pink tie was Secretary of State Stephen Fredericks, to the left, in a gray and black suit without a tie was Vice President Henry Roycewicks, and between them, in a black suit ordained with countless small medals and military badges was President Allen Brodheimer.

//"Twenty-million dollars?"// Asked President Brodheimer, taken back at the audacity of this so called "inventor." "Yes Mr. President," replied Noah, "although the price may seem expensive, I can assure you that you will find it to be a worthy investment."

"So, how does this device work exactly?" President Brodheimer asked with a hint of sarcasm. Noah smiled, he knew exactly what these men thought. They must think he was crazy to propose such an outlandish idea at an impromptu meeting such as this. Fools, he thought with a slight snicker, I should have asked for more money to hand this device over to idiots like these... "Mr. Paige?" the Vice President interjected.

"Yes sir," Noah replied, still chuckling quietly to himself, "please allow me to explain why I have brought you all here on such short notice." Noah turned on the small laptop computer, and extended a small antenna from a platform sitting next to it. "I'm sure you all know how a Lazarus Chip works, however, for me to properly explain my system, allow me to give a brief summary. At birth, every American citizen is given a microscopic computer chip, that is harmlessly implanted in the frontal lobe of an infants brain. The chip is in a basic sense a small radio that is controlled by the Central Media Station in Bandside, Iowa. The chip is controlled by the media, which is obviously controlled by the government."

Noah paused and set a single pencil on it's eraser, so that it pointed straight to the ceiling. "The C.M.S. sends out series of messages that support the government that enter the mind of every American citizen 327 times in a single day. The messages span from auditory advertisements to visual commercials. But what if the government could use this same frequency to control the American people?"

Noah paused once more to bring up a program on his laptop entitled //The Lazarus Code// and smiled smugly to himself as he did so. "The broadcasts are constant and uninterpretable; until today gentlemen." President Brodheimer shifted in his chair, now interested in what was being presented. "What I propose to you today," Noah continued, "is a broadcast superior to the Media broadcast, a system that can override the media, and the government itself. I call it the Lazarus Code. This broadcast will insert the commands of its master into the minds of anyone it is assigned to, which has a national potential. No more would the government need to rely on the media to send out its supportive messages and worry if those messages were ever used to overthrow them. Complete and total control over the American people can be yours today, if you are willing to pay me."

Secretary of State Fredericks jumped out of his chair, sending his pink tie fluttering in front of him. "This is ridiculous!" Fredericks exclaimed, " I designed the Lazarus chip and broadcast thirty years ago, and I can assure you there is no way you could override that system; it's perfect!" Noah stood quietly, staring at the Secretary of State blankly; calmly and said, "It //was// perfect. I understand your frustration Mr. Fredericks, but I assure you that The Code is fully functional." "Ridiculous," Fredericks retorted, "simply ridiculous." Noah smiled again, he had anticipated such an uproar, and had come prepared. "Mr. Fredericks," Noah spoke as he walked to the Secretary of State, "if you are so confident in your perfect system, would you kindly be the first to test my theory?" Fredericks paused and glanced at the President. "Fine," he said, with a trace of anxiety in his voice, "I would be honored to prove you wrong." Noah's eyes lit up with delight. "Excellent!" Noah exclaimed almost too quickly.

Noah had done his research, he knew that his proposal of a superior broadcast would anger the only man in the room with a Lazarus chip- the Secretary of State, and he was ready to demonstrate his machine on him. Noah rushed to his laptop, wildly clicking its keys and readying the machine. "Mr. Fredericks, could you please stand here?" Noah motioned to the center of the room, with his other hand hovering above the keys of the laptop.

Fredericks walked to where he was told, keeping his eyes fixed on Noah's in a heated stare. "Brace yourself Mr. Fredericks." Noah commanded with a smile.

Noah pressed down on the enter key, causing the laptop to make a sharp beeping sound. Frederick stood motionless, unaffected, and smiled briefly. He opened his mouth to make a remark, but it was stopped. His eyes widened and he stared blankly at the wall in front of him. The laptop beeped once more to mark the end of the transition, and Noah picked up a microphone attached to the computer with trembling hands. He turned to face the computer and whispered into the microphone, while the President and Vice President stared in awe.

Suddenly the Secretary of State snapped to attention. He thrust his right arm into the air, palm down at a 110 degree angle. His view sharpened on Noah and he opened his mouth to speak.

//"Heil Hitler!"// Fredericks exclaimed with furious intensity, causing The President and Vice President to jump in their seats. //"//Mr. President," Noah spoke nervously, "You are now staring at a Nazi soldier, who has undying obedience to Adolf Hitler, whom he believes is me." Noah picked up the microphone from the table once again with more confidence, and cleared his throat. //"Forward march, three paces!"// Noah yelled into the microphone, his eyes wide with wonderment.

Fredericks marched forward three paces, his hand still outstretched. He reached the edge of the table where the pencil stood erect, eyes still transfixed on the blank white wall before him. Noah knew that now was his chance to prove the effectiveness of his system. //"ALL HANDS ON DECK!"// Noah exclaimed, his voice cracking with anxiety.

Without hesitation, Fredericks brought his outreached palm down on the pencil's tip, causing the object to puncture through the other side of the Secretary's hand. Blood spurted from the gaping wound in Fredericks right hand, splashing on his pink tie. But Fredericks did not let out a single acknowledgment of the pain, his eyes remained transfixed on the white-washed wall. President Brodheimer stared, mouth-open in awe. Noah smiled triumphantly at the success of his program. He set down the microphone and moved to his laptop.

"Brace yourselves gentlemen," Noah spoke to the two men staring at Fredericks. Noah clicked the enter key on the laptop, resulting in another shrill beep that filled the room, and Fredericks eyes lit up once more. He looked down at the pencil lodged between the bones of his fingers, pouring blood over the tabletop. Fredericks let out a tremendous scream, clutching his hand and waving it in the air, all while the pencil was still sticking through his hand. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the carpeted floor. Noah broke the silence. "As you can see gentlemen, the Code is in prime working order."

President Brodheimer leaned back in his chair as the Vice President ran to the phone on the side of the room to contact the nurse on that floor. "How long does this broadcast work for?" President Brodheimer asked calmly.

"The initial broadcast will go out for 5 to 7 minutes." Noah replied, "but after that first increment of time, the broadcast will buffer itself for ten minutes then it will be re-sent, and can no longer be shut off."

President Broheimer smiled broadly at Noah's last statement, and proceeded to reach in his jacket pocket and pull out a small, black checkbook.

"Twenty-million dollars," The President spoke as he wrote, "to Mr. Noah Paige, the greatest inventor of our time." Noah smiled, shaking the President's hand. "Here's to a new future Mr. President."

Noah turned with his check and walked out of the room, just as the nurse was sprinting in. As Noah walked through the busy halls of the President's wing of the government building, decorated with hundreds of portraits of the 'majestic' leader. The paintings glared at him all down the hall with intensity that was unmatched by any other painting he had seen, most likely because the government desired the President to seem the strongest and most powerful man on the planet. He smiled and thought to himself. "Everything had gone according to plan." The President had paid him for his work, and had paid him well. No one had asked him why his Lazarus chip was not sending messages to his brain, or how he had created such a device. Luckily, with a few surgeons born before the switch over to the Lazarus chip, he could think clearly and rationally, allowing him to see the flaws in the original broadcast's design. Still, he couldn't help thinking of how people would be controlled by his system. But at that thought he produced the check from his pocket. He gazed at it lovingly, 20 million dollars, all his, he thought. He quickly put it back in his pocket at the thought of thought of someone stealing his fortune.

"Free and rich," He said with a chuckle,"and the world is perfect." As Noah turned the corner of the long hallway, a billy club came rushing toward his head, followed by a loud crack as he fell to the floor. He dropped to the floor quickly and a shadowy figure looked over his body. "Take him to the surgeon, we need to get him implanted now." A dark figure demanded.

Noah opened his eyes and looked around the abandon office he occupied. The room was dark and cool, like a cellar or a basement, he assumed whoever had attacked him had left him in the storage area of the building. He was lying on the floor, clutching his head. There was a splitting, indescribable pain in his head, like the worst migraine he had ever had. A small stream of blood had dried under his nose and a large bruise found itself on his forehead. It felt as though his whole body was in incredible pain, his legs ached tremendously as he tried to get up. Noah paused and thought about the situation. How could anyone attack him in such a secure area? Noah shuddered and reached into his pocket. The check was gone.

"No!" Noah exclaimed to himself and the lifeless walls of the windowless room room. "Twenty-million dollars...gone."

He tried to think about what had happened, but his thoughts seemed enveloped in a fog of confusion and misunderstanding. He tried harder to remember something, anything, but to little avail. Suddenly, an image entered his mind. He saw the Secretary of State talking to a much younger man, speaking to each other about something, about what, he could not quite understand. Then he saw the younger man give a small piece of paper to Fredericks.

"My check!" Noah said with much relief, "Fredericks has it!"

Noah knew that he had to get that money back from the Secretary of State, surely he would use it to override the Code, and send out the media broadcast once again. Noah had to stop it. The pain in his limbs had ceased now and he was overcome with blinding rage. He would not allow Fredericks to get away with what was rightfully his. Noah limped over to a window in the corner of the room to check his appearance. He wiped away the blood and fixed his hair to cover the bruising as best he could. He checked his back pocket for his cellular phone and turned it on.

The screen illuminated with the message "//__The Government is here to help you!"__// with the Presidents ever present face behind it. He quickly switched past the message to the building's structure page. Noah scrolled through the titles of floors until he reached Room 128 - The Secretary of State's office. Noah didn't need to find directions to the office. He had memorized the way there when he had entered it before. Noah closed his phone and placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it. The door was unlocked, and Noah stepped into a staircase that would lead to the main lobby. He took from his pocket a small knife and readied it. Noah covertly placed the weapon back in his pocket and walked up the stairs.

As he reached the top of the steps he reached out to grab the knob with his cold palms. He slowly pushed the door into the lobby. He walked quickly through the bustling room on his way to the elevator on the other side, walking past countless computer stations all blaring different government messages to the operators. He stepped into the glass confines of the elevator and clicked floor 12 several times in a vain attempt to hurry the process. As the doors were closing, a woman with long red hair was rushing in. She stuck her red stiletto through the closing doors just in time to enter the elevator. She smiled at Noah and gave him a quick "hello" and clicked floor thirteen. Noah murmured a "Hello." back and avoided eye contact.

"Hi, I'm Janet.", the woman said as she reached out her hand, "I'm a media correspondent here in the western building." she extended her hand to Noah. "Noah", Noah said anxiously as he shook her hand, "Noah Paige." he looked away in an attempt to end the conversation. "You know what I heard?" Janet asked. "The government is going to start scanning American citizens for their Lazarus chips in order to get an idea of where the most radical rebellion groups are located. I think that's wonderful really, to have that kind of power." "I didn't hear about that." Noah responded wanting the conversation to be dropped.

"I've always liked the idea of the Lazarus chips." She continued, "Lazarus was a story in the bible you know, a story about how things are not always right, but will be made right in the end. It suits the device well, like how we may not always be perfect...'" she paused and looked out the glass wall of the elevator, "but the government will always make it right in the end." Noah looked nervous, was she on to me? he thought, why was she so interested in the Lazarus chip?

The elevator made a shrill beep, and Noah bolted through the door, but stopped. He felt guilty somehow, and he turned around to look her in the eye. He knew that because of him, she would never be able to think freely and wonder in her own thoughts. His hands clenched and his brow began to sweat a little. "I'm sorry." Noah said, and he continued towards Fredericks' office.

As Noah furtively entered, the Secretary sat behind his desk. He seemed to be anticipating his arrival but still had question in his tone when greeting the inventor. "Mr. Paige? What brings you here? Please sit down." "I think you know, Fredericks." said Noah while he sat down in a seat in front of Fredericks desk. Noah was taken aback that the secretary would take him as a fool. "Before you to tell me, I was just wondering what you were doing without your Lazarus Chip?" Fredericks asked. Noah just stared for a while puzzled at Fredericks' question. He rubbed his forehead in curiousness and felt his skin raised in the shape of a small, rough rectangle. His dry hands began to sweat while he felt his chip. Suddenly he heard a man screaming in his head. "//THE PRESIDENT IS HERE TO HELP YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. LIFE WITH THE GOVERNMENT IS A PROSPEROUS ONE. PRESIDENT BRODHEIMER IS HERE TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE EVILS OF ANARCHY AND COMMUNISM!"// Noah threw his head around looking for the man talking in his ear only to see no one, and the horrible truth was realized. He had forgot how loud the chip was, and what an awful sound it made. "A dead giveaway was your ability to construct such a great tool, being able to have control over anything so great is an incredible thing." Mr. Fredericks said, jerking Noah out of his state. Fredericks looked at his bandaged hand and briefly smiled. "But," he continued, "we can't have people walking around without a chip. That's why there is a death penalty for anyone who defies the rules." Fredericks paused and smiled broadly. "But i think today, that punishment does not fit the crime." Fredricks proceeded to take out the check and tear it to pieces. "Now we're even."

Meanwhile in the presidents office two floors above, the President fiddled with his new machine setting it up for it's first of many uses. "Quite the problem solver, isn't it Roycewicks?" The President asked the vice president. "Yes Mr. President. The media has always been such a nuisance to our work." Replied Roycewicks. The machine made a low rumble noise and a shrill beep and began to send out a transmission.

Noah felt a strange tingling sensation run down his spine and his vision blurred temporarily, then became sharper than ever before. He felt as if he were somehow stepping away from the controls of his psyche, and letting some other force take over him. What was most peculiar was that Noah felt as though this sensation was very familiar, maybe he had seen it before... "Before you go Mr. Paige, I believe I want to express something to you that I've been working on," Fredericks went on,pacing the floor, "I am not a man who is willing to hand the fate of the free world over to a single man with a machine."

Noah was shaking in his chair, he couldn't control himself. He could feel his feet moving beneath him, but he had not willed them to do so. He had positioned his feet ready to lunge, and reached his hand in his pocket, gripping his knife. And everything around him was completely silent. Suddenly Noah Was on top of Fredericks with his knife stabbing forth into Fredericks chest. "Ahh, what in the..." Fredericks started to say, but he stopped. He caught a glimpse into Noah's eyes. The dazed look... "That look..." Fredericks thought, "I looked that way when Paige put me under control of the machine!"

Noah's looked in the reflection of the window of the office and watched his body grab Fredericks body and throw him out of his chair onto the ground, as if he was watching himself from afar. Noah watched himself, horrified, throwing Fredericks like a rag doll to the wall, and watched himself throw his body against him, pummeling the Secretary of State with the knife. Noah felt blinding rage toward Fredericks, all his hard earned reward made meaningless with the flick of a wrist. Yet, somehow Noah felt that these emotions were not his own. He could feel himself hitting Fredericks with all of his might, thrashing him about. Noah realized at last what was happening, he was a slave to his own machine. Noah watched himself push the Secretary back against the white-washed wall. But Fredericks was strong, Noah watched as the Secretary got up and pushed Noah away. Fredericks grabbed a glass paper weight from the table, and brought it down with crushing force onto Noah's head. Noah stumbled and tripped over to the doorway. Fredericks wearily limped toward him and Noah opened the door in hopes of finding a weapon on the staircase, he realized this as his only remaining option.

Suddenly as Noah rushed out the door he felt his mind reenter his body, bringing substantial pain to his head where Fredericks hit him with the paperweight. "The broadcast," Noah spoke with agony, "it must be going through the buffer."

This was the only chance he would have and he knew what he had to do. He ran down the steps and into the lobby briefly looking behind him to see if Fredericks was chasing him. There was no sign of him. He quickly ran to the first woman he saw, her long red hair fell down her back in a manner that seemed very familiar... Janet! He rushed to her and grabbed her by her shoulders and shaking her, knocking her glasses to the floor. He was so panicked, he didn't know how to begin, so he spoke with the first words that came to mind. "The government is overriding the Lazarus chip and taking over the broadcasts. They will be able to make every citizen in the United States do whatever they want." Noah explained. She blankly stared "Uhh.. what?" She asked, confused and afraid. Noah didn't have enough time to explain further. He ran to a short man in a blue blazer probably a media consultant, the White House was teeming with them. He spoke the same words frantically to him. "What?" he reacted, somewhat shocked, having heard what was said to Janet and now to him, he was starting to understand. Noah let him go and raised his arms in the air, clapping his hands, getting everyone's attention in the room. He stood on top of a desk in the center of the busy room and began kicking supplies to the floor to get the attention of the room. He screamed at the top of his lungs what he had said to the others.

//"THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO SEND OUT ITS OWN LAZARUS CHIP BROADCAST! THEY WILL BE ABLE CONTROL EVERYONE IN AMERICA IN A MATTER OF DAYS! IT IS UP TO YOU; STOP THEM NOW!"//

He hadn't been paying attention. He saw a security guard look down the hallway toward the screaming. Noah knew that his time was running low, and sprinted off into the other direction, screaming at the top of his lungs the government's plans. Noah scratched frantically at the newly placed rectangular bump on his forehead in a vain attempt to remove the device. A security guard stepped ominously out from behind a corridor and removed his handgun from it's holster. He fired once but Noah ducked into a office. Noah slammed the door behind him and locked himself inside, barricading himself in the small room. He sighed and turned around, unaware of what he was to encounter. He turned to the livid image of a security guard pointing a handgun in his face.

"Do not move." The guard said calmly. Noah froze in place, praying that the guard would lower his weapon; that he would be spared.

The guard holstered his firearm and brought back his clenched fist, ready to strike Noah. "At least I'll be //alive",// Noah thought. The last image to enter his view was that of a fist rocketing toward his left eye.

When Noah opened his eyes again he found himself bound to a hospitial bed. As his vision became less and less blurry he looked around the room. Syringes, wires, a steady beeping, it was a hospital. Noah looked down and saw his hands handcuffed to the rails of the bed. He looked over to the bed next to his, it was Fredericks, with several major injuries, but nonetheless alive. Noah realized the vanity of his attempts at freedom; it was too late now. He looked through the window of the room out into the hall and saw Vice president Roycewicks talking to a shorter, skinnier man wearing a lab coat. Noah could faintly hear their conversation.

"Yes, that is what is necessary now." Roycewicks said, "Fredericks was planning on overthrowing the President, using the Lazarus Chip scanning project to locate armies of radicals, who were without their Lazarus chips. He was going to recruit them to lead an uprising against the government." The doctor appeared shocked and disgusted.

"Alright," the doctor said nervously, his hands trembling as he produced a syringe from the pocket of his lab coat, "then Fredericks will be taken care of, but what about the other man? I was informed by my chip recently that he's a radical attempting to stir up rebellion in the public." Roycewicks looked at Noah. "You heard right." Roycewicks said, "but he has larger opportunities to fulfill for us." Roycewicks smiled. "Yes sir." the doctor replied. Noah's head lolled back on the pillow, his eyes welling with tears and his face becoming red, burning with sorrow and regret. "How?" he sobbed, "How could //I// do //this//?" He gritted and grinded his teeth and banged his head against the pillow, sending his hair flying into his face. His last thought as a free man was an awful one, one filled with self loathing and fear.

"Because of me", he thought, "those tyrants will prevail." Noah felt a familiar tingling sensation run from his newly inserted chip to his spine, flowing across him and engulfing him like a wet blanket, causing his whole body to shutter and seize up. He could feel his mind begin to relinquish control over his body to something else... but to what he could not quite remember. His teeth clenched and then released, allowing the muscles in his face and neck to relax. Noah felt as though he was watching himself once again, as if he was in some sort of horrid theater of heart wrenching pain. His next thought was a simple one, and a joyful one at that. It washed over him like a ray of sunshine and filled him with hope that was not his own.

"//THE PRESIDENT IS HERE TO HELP YOU AND YOUR FAMILY..//."

Noah smiled.