Ark-13: An Odyssey Read Online Free PDF Page A

just being reasonable and just," Jake explained.
    A silence formed in the room as they met a stalemate of opinions. The eyes in the room naturally turned to the Chairman. Sigh ran a finger through his white mustache as he considered the points made.
    "So... we need to decide collectively if we are gonna follow the order to detain Meredith."
    He adjusted himself as if he was on the fence and started around the table.
    "Alright, Jim... Do I have to ask?"
    "We have to follow the order." Jim stated with such certainty that he tried to sway any dissenters among him with his tone.
    "Sophia?"
    "We should not follow the order."
    "Jake?"
    "We should not follow the order."
    "Andrew?"
    "We should follow the order.
    "The vote is 2 in favor of following the order and 2 in favor of rejecting the order..." Sigh summarized to the Assembly. He leaned back in his chair and glanced over the table. The other councilmen awaited his word, silently. The tension in the room built.
    "It is important that we keep our principles close to us. If we do not, we will change. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not some legal analyst or political scientist. But I think, if are told to incarcerate one of our own, we should at least be told why and given a proper reason..."
    Sigh scratched the stubble on his jaw before speaking his final verdict.
    "Let her go... Assembly dismissed," Jim exhaled a disappointment while a fervent grin came over Jake. They ascended from their seats and exited the Council Chambers. Sophia walked alongside Jake and together they walked back to the Pen.
    "Here's to sticking it to the Bridge!" Sophia smiled over at him. Jake couldn't help but crack a victorious smile. They walked up the Loop another hundred feet until they came to the Pen.
    "You didn't have any guards?"
    "Didn't need any. Only people with this keycard can get in or out." Jake fished the white keycard out of his pocket and scanned it under the red light. A green light flashed indicating granted access. The door hissed and slid open immediately, revealing a shocking sight before him.
    Meredith Jones was gone.
    At first he did not know what to think, paralyzed in shock and confusion. It wasn't until Meredith's words echoed in his head that he could make sense of it.
    I think they're after me... I saw something Jake, something that exposed the truth. GENESIS lied to us.
    Jake's eyes fell to the crease in the middle of the floor, he visualized the ground opening up and dropping Meredith through a chute to some unknown location. His hand tightened into a fist as he realized what had happened.
    "GENESIS took her..."
     

Chapter 7
Requiem for Earth
    Log Entry # 3
     
    Everything is different now. Not only did the world die that day but so did we. We left ourselves behind when we boarded the Ark. But who was I, before everything came crashing down?
    It was one week before launch. I was in my small office above the antique store. Out the window I could see the seagulls circle the harbor. This was probably my favorite sight of Earth. I turned the TV on in my office and the local news was on the scene. Apparently, some guy was stopped by the cops because he was screaming about how he saw the world end. His name was DeAndre Graves and he apparently disappeared in the woods for a few months and then came back with a premonition of the end of the world. Everyone wrote him off as crazy. Turns out his vision was right.
    So DeAndre Graves walked into a convenient store and decided to hold up the place. It didn’t take long for the hostage scene to become a full blown media circus. He made no demands, he just wanted to be heard. Everything that came out of the poor bastard’s mouth sounded insane.
    “Can you believe that guy? It took hours of talking to him and then he just willing went to jail,” Doris asked, as she brought a coffee into my office.
    “The world is a crazy place, full of crazy people,” I responded.
    “What do we got on the docket today?” Doris was my