The team of six androids landed close to the group, rapidly taking up their offensive positions with their weapons raised. Professor Ranjith now turned all the way around to face in the same direction as Rosita and the crowd. One of the androids, clearly the leader of the expeditionary force, stepped forward to converse with him.

‘You are required to come with us professor’ he firmly stated ‘…and Rosita as well.’

‘What is all this about?’ questioned professor Ranjith. ‘And why are your weapons pointed at us? Your programmed conscience does not permit you to do harm to humans.’

‘We are from the Delta Air Infantry Division’ rebuffed the leader ‘and we have been fully trained to deal with all foreseeable scenarios, with the provision to use force if necessary. My men have taken up positions required for riot control.’

‘What?’ exclaimed the professor confused. ‘By whose authority are you here?’

‘We are under the direct orders of Commander Ho Ling’ replied the leader.

‘What the heck is he up to now?’ mumbled the professor under his breath, gritting his teeth as he patched through to Ho Ling’s Signal Bracelet.

‘Hello professor’ responded Ho Ling.

‘What is going on here?’ asked the professor as calmly as he could manage, ‘I am standing here with weapons pointed at me!’

‘Oh, I see. My guys have obviously contacted you’ replied Ho Ling unperturbed. ‘Don’t take them to heart - it’s merely part of their training.’

With that Ho Ling instructed the android division to stand down.

‘What are we doing with a military contingent when we have no enemies to fight against?’ questioned the professor. ‘The peaceforce is sufficient to handle all safety concerns in the future...’

The peaceforce was a combined unit of humans and androids whose task was to actively liaise with the public and take steps to prevent crimes before they occurred, as opposed to policing the situation after the fact.

‘Oh yes, we are certain that they’ll do a superb job’ responded Ho Ling confidently. ‘The rapid reaction infantry divisions are merely emergency forces for situations that threaten our internal stability. Anyway, this is precisely the reason I’ve arranged a high profile meeting. We’re gathering to discuss all of the national security concerns of the future and would like both you and Rosita to be in attendance. The android division will escort you to the meeting point.’

‘I can’t just leave right now - I’m in the middle of planning some important future…’

‘That will have to wait’ barked back Ho Ling. ‘This conference takes precedence over all other matters. I’ve already arranged for all parties to be here. You will have to postpone whatever it is you’re busy with…’

With that, Ho Ling abruptly cut off the transmission.

The androids helped the professor and Rosita into a two-man flying vehicle, locking in their destination. The craft rose steadily and flew off, with the androids flying in escort, three on either side.

The professor and Rosita, escorted by the team of androids following closely behind, walked along a lengthy tunnel that led up to the reception area of the building. The acoustic echo of the lit passageway caused Rosita to instinctively lower her voice to a tremulous whisper.

‘We’re being treated like common criminals’ she mumbled. ‘Do they honestly believe that we are in fear of their weaponry when we have the protection offered by the fruit of the tree of life?’

‘No Rosita…’ cautioned the professor sternly ‘you must take care of yourself. Make no mistake… If they were to discharge their weapons we would be instantly killed as death and the grave have not yet been taken out of the world.’

‘Oh…’ she exclaimed in stunted surprise. ‘Then, in that case, what will happen when the virus is in full effect in the world?' she mused, 'Won’t all of the inhabitants start to age - and die? And shouldn’t we ensure that all of the planet's inhabitants have immediate access to the fruit of the tree of life at the exact moment that the virus takes effect?’

‘You needn’t worry about that’ reassured the professor calmly. ‘Satan will release the power of the two trees at exactly the same time.’

‘Why would he do that?’ she argued. ‘Why would he help us? And why would we trust him?’

‘Because Satan does not believe that anyone can succeed or make a success of the world as long as they possess the knowledge of both good and bad - And I fear that he is correct! Nevertheless, we must do everything in our power to safeguard this crop. We must take every conceivable action to ensure that the light is not hidden from them - and they then dwell in the darkness, so that they may escape the inevitable fate that awaits many of those who dwelled on the Old Earth.

Rosita nodded.

‘I do wish though’ she strayed ‘that we could have at least come up with a way to live in a world without money. I still remember those days when my dad was laid off from work and the rent was due’ she recollected, ‘Those were tough times for my family and it's sad to think that we can come up with no better solution other than a return to a world in which money’s too tight to mention.’

The professor and Rosita, on taking the corner, entered the reception area and found Ho Ling milling about.

He immediately moved in closer and warmly welcomed the professor, vigorously shaking his hand, visibly pleased that they had arrived on cue. Masilo, staying further back, waved a greeting.

‘Where are all the others?’ asked the professor impatiently. ‘And what time is this meeting meant to start?’

‘There is no conference’ apologized Ho Ling. ‘I needed you here for a matter of greater concern.’

‘And what would that be?’ asked the professor upset, yet sufficiently curious.

‘We’ve come up with an antidote…’ Ho Ling smugly announced ‘…to the virus!’

Masilo, remaining in the shadows, turned to check on the reaction of the two visitors.

‘Really - And how did you manage to do that?’ inquired Rosita bewildered.

‘This building, despite appearances, has some of the most sophisticated lab equipment on the planet,’ Ho Ling explained. ‘We’ve been undertaking experiments to find a cure and, with the successes that we’ve achieved and the substantial progress made, we are confident that we can remedy the anticipated effect of the virus even before it strikes. We’ve been working on this for a lengthy period of time and are at a stage where we can easily manufacture sufficient quantities to immunize the entire population.’

‘What sort of successes have you managed?’ asked the professor intrigued.

‘Working with an extensive animal population, our research teams have managed to get them to display some of the less desirable behavior that we are accustomed to. But after treatment, these same subjects quickly return to their gentle state. Needless to say, living within this overly sensitive population, we’ve been forced to keep this lab’s existence a cardinal secret.’

‘Even though you’ve succeeded in this regard,’ suggested the professor, ‘it would not be advisable to administer such a wide scale treatment to a human population without further testing. That, it goes without saying, would be irresponsible and potentially catastrophic’

‘Well, that is precisely the dilemma we are in’ Ho Ling pointed out. ‘The four of us being the only ones who possess the knowledge of good and bad - we are the obvious candidates for any such trial. But before we delve into that we must firstly show you all of our research data to date.’

Ho Ling instructed one of the nearby androids to activate the cinematic holographic projector set to display a prepared presentation that could be viewed by all. Ho Ling intermittently interrupted the recorded footage to clarify certain points as it played through. This was followed by a guided tour of the facility, which left the two visitors noticeably impressed.

‘You’ve made some remarkable progress’ admitted the professor, ‘all of the findings are pretty conclusive.’

They sat down to enjoy some refreshments as the androids went about their duties under the charge of Masilo.

‘Yes,’ responded Ho Ling, ‘we’ve put great resources and our greatest effort into this endeavor.’

‘Well, I really appreciate you sharing all of your achievements with us’ commented the thankful but weary professor Ranjith. He got up to leave, already beginning to feel that he and Rosita had overstayed their welcome.

‘Where are you rushing off to?’ queried Ho Ling. ‘We haven’t even come to a decision as yet.’

‘A decision?’ retorted professor Ranjith, ‘On what?’

‘We still need to test the antidote on a human subject’ commented Ho Ling.

‘Even with all of the progress you’ve made’ advised the professor, ‘it will yet require many more years of research before you reach such a stage.’

‘Under ideal conditions’ responded Ho Ling, ‘we would have that time frame - but unfortunately we don’t have that luxury. There are only two months remaining before this world is changed.’

‘The world will still be around when it is time to do your tests’ reminded the professor. ‘There is no need to blindly rush forward for some sort of a utopia.’

‘We’ve done enough research!’ screamed Ho Ling impatient. ‘This is the time for action!’

‘Well I wish you luck in your endeavors’ responded the professor taking Rosita by the hand as he moved to leave. ‘We have duties to return to...’

‘Wait!’ pleaded Ho Ling, ‘don’t leave as yet. I am confident that we can succeed in this. All we need is a preliminary test and I was hoping that the two of you would stay and assist us in that regard.’

‘Assist you… In what way?’ asked the professor stopping and turning to face Ho Ling as he spoke.

‘I was hoping the two of you would volunteer for this important task.’

‘Volunteer…?’ exclaimed the professor. ‘Absolutely not!’ he affirmed. ‘If your antidote has your full confidence, I do not see that you have a problem. Both you and Masilo are equally viable candidates.’

‘Well professor, as you well know, there are always unforeseen risks in first time endeavors. If there were some minor side effect or complication we could not afford to spend our valuable time in recovery. The people of this planet fully depend on us for leadership and guidance.’

‘Look’ consoled the professor ‘as much as we would like to be of assistance to you we have duties of our own that must be attended to.’

‘You consider what you do to be a duty!’ rebuffed the emotive Ho Ling. ‘Embarking on a frivolous campaign of spiritual enlightenment is not a duty - it's a foolish waste of time. We are the ones fulfilling a duty! We are the one’s taking charge of all the crucial matters affecting this society!

Today I am generously presenting you with a chance to make a valuable contribution to this cause - to play a vital part in doing something of worth! If we succeed in this, we will, within seventy-two hours, immunize the entire population of the planet and secure the future of the world. This is clearly a phenomenal achievement by anybody's standard.’

‘Well I’m sorry that you feel that way…’ sympathized professor Ranjith, ‘but we will have no part of this!’

Professor Ranjith and Rosita walked towards the open door but their path was instantly blocked by two of the Air Infantry Division androids that had earlier escorted them to the lab.

‘I’m afraid I cannot permit you to leave’ cautioned Ho Ling. ‘What we are doing here is of greater importance for the planet’s future and sacrifices will have to be made.’

Professor Ranjith spoke into his Signal Bracelet in an effort to initiate a call but it failed to function properly.

‘Your Signal Bracelets will not transmit from within this building’ said Ho Ling smugly, ‘All communication to the outside world has been blocked.’

With that he ordered the arrest of the professor and Rosita, instructing the androids to take them to the operating room.

‘You cannot possibly have governmental approval for such activity!’ shouted the professor as they were being dragged off.

‘Governmental approval’ smirked Ho Ling. ‘I am the government in here!’ he fervently boasted. ‘Once this antidote is widely distributed, everyone will be forced to acknowledge that what I am doing here today is for the saving of this nation. I will certainly be vindicated - and in a short space of time we will have a society that would take you an eternity to build! In only three days I will raise up a spirited nation, free from the plague of emotional distress!’

‘You can't let him get away with this...’ professor Ranjith screeched, appealing to Masilo's greater sense of sensibility.

‘It's the only way we'll start making changes...’ Masilo blurted out in response. ‘Take the evil out the people; they'll be acting right!’ he retorted, tentatively looking up at the professor. ‘That's just the way it is... We're going to help this entire society to regain control of their mainframe.’

‘Darn!’ groaned the professor, angered by the fact that he and Rosita had been so easily fooled. ‘Why is it the more we change, the more we stay the same?’ he grumbled.

Professor Ranjith and Rosita were taken off to their separate rooms. Ho Ling instructed the inoculation team to administer their separate doses four hours apart, starting first with the professor.

He then walked off to sit down on his favorite chair that usually stood close to one of the large reception area windows. Quietly he recalled a past conversation in which a fellow student had related that, during the critical moments of the Cuban missile crisis, President Kennedy had walked over to stand by a window and, for a brief moment, stared out into oblivion.

Masilo walked into the passageway and sat down on a chair by the window on the opposite side. Staring briefly at the outside scenery, he shifted his attention to Ho Ling. Then, looking down, he removed his Signal Bracelet and, as was their norm, initiated a game of gin rummy. During these tense hours, the two men operated their networked devices in silence and, though it was possible to glimpse each other in the window reflection, they felt as though they were continents apart.

Four hours later an alarm popped up on their respective holographic displays. The two men turned and faced each other. Momentarily frozen, Ho Ling jumped up and rushed towards the laboratory area with Masilo at his heels, both men chasing the stream of androids flowing into professor Ranjith’s room.

The two medical teams, working with a rushed coherence, frantically attempted to stabilize the professor who was demonstrating signs of allergic shock. The room was filled with a stifling suspense, exacerbated by the fact that the androids communicated using their in-built radio devices.

Ho Ling frantically sought an explanation, shaking the hapless androids for a clue, interrupting their progress while at the same time barking instructions for even more teams to assist. But amid his panicked reaction, the androids stepped back in unison and stood in two neat rows at the side of the professor’s bed.

‘What are you all doing…?’ screamed the fanatical Ho Ling, ‘This is no time to be idle!’

The lead android of the first team turned to respond to his stressed inquiry.

‘There is nothing more that we can do’ he explained, turning to face Ho Ling. ‘He’s slipped into a coma.’

Ho Ling, responding forcefully, scurried about ranting and raving while spurting abuse, instructing the androids, in no uncertain terms, to keep working until they had revived the unconscious professor.

Masilo grabbed his hysterical compatriot and scrambled him out of the room, pushing him into the adjoining hallway. Subdued by this overpowering force, Ho Ling gave up the fight and, with a knowing dread, slid lifeless to the floor, collapsing hands held over face in repentant delusion.