The Society (A Broken World Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

lying if I said that I hadn't considered doing exactly that. The unfortunate reality though is that far too many of our people pay only lip service to the ideals found within the precepts. Even if that weren't the case, the addition of stress has been proven to reduce people's ability to realize the best version of themselves. I have a depressingly large section of the storage on my computer terminal filled with the results of research studies that prove that particular fact over and over again."
    He paused as though inviting comment, but I was already feeling like I'd overstepped my bounds.
    "As for your other concern, Skye, it's true that the general technology base of the cities beyond the barrier is tragically primitive, but it never pays to underestimate the ability of humankind to turn even relatively simple inventions to terrible ends. The little technological progress that has been realized over the last few decades has been disproportionately focused on developing new ways for people to kill each other."
    "I understand, sir. The cities are still a threat, but one which we are honor-bound not to wipe off of the face of the planet. How can I help?"
    That earned me another proud, almost paternal, smile. "We have a number of different methods for gathering information about the activities of the various petty warlords in each of the major cities—everything from electronic and radio surveillance to semi-autonomous mobile listening devices that we've maneuvered into place over the course of years. Up until now, that has always allowed my predecessors to head off any developing technology that could cause us problems."
    "That's not the case anymore?"
    "No, Skye, I'm afraid not. We're getting reports of a new warlord rising to power in the city inside of Sector One. He's begun the construction of a device—one that has the potential to destroy everything our ancestors spent such unimaginable effort building."
    "What kind of device are we talking about, sir?"
    "It's a power source—one that will serve as a foundational technology for a whole host of weapons that will be more than capable of penetrating the barrier and killing us from hundreds of miles away. My first instinct was to call in airstrikes and make sure that we destroyed the prototype Brennan is constructing, but unfortunately our best efforts have not been equal to locating the precise position of the generator."
    "Meaning that we can't blow it up—not without destroying the entire city."
    "Correct, and given that this new warlord has constructed a jammer capable of interfering with the signals from our normal micro drones, I can't use our normal methods of tracking it down. What I'm about to ask you is unprecedented, Skye.
    "In the entire history of our people this has never been done before, but our Society needs you to go undercover inside of that city and locate the device that Brennan is building. We need you to be our eyes and ears inside his headquarters—we'll send you in with a special transmitter capable of piercing the jamming—so that we can make sure the device is never used against us. It's a mission more dangerous than even the ones undertaken by our brave military men and women, but you won't go in unprepared. We have enough time to train you before you'll need to leave—all indications are that Brennan's device is still months away from completion."
    An overwhelming fear of the unknown surged through me for two full seconds—seconds that felt like an eternity—and then the fear retreated back inside me, chased away by the mantra I'd heard since childhood.
    "Will I have to kill him, sir?"
    The Citizen-President pursed his lips for several seconds before shaking his head. "I don't believe so. The construction of the device requires very rare, very specialized components that he'll never find again. The destruction of the prototype should be sufficient to make sure that the integrity of the barrier is never threatened.
    "If I'm wrong though,