CHAPTER 2

Solaria — 2098 A.D.

ALMOST A YEAR had passed since Solaria began searching for other Hubots. The government was an expert at covering its tracks, but people always make mistakes, even the best of them. After several false leads, and a lot of wasted time, Solaria was now ninety-three percent positive she had located a third Hubot.  

Dark sunglasses couldn't dispel the interest Solaria was attracting at the Webnet Café. She had learned quickly that her silver hair and teal eyes fascinated humans. To avoid questions from the curious, she wore sunglasses whenever possible, even though she had the ability to change her eye color through bio-chameleon manipulation. The process required too much energy to maintain for long periods, which wasn't logical if sunglasses solved the problem. She didn't realize the glasses added to her mystique.

Scanning the holovid, Solaria entered a new command on the keyboard and waited. Although the Webnet boasted lightning fast speeds, she found its response time agonizingly slow. Her computer brain processed information in nanoseconds.

There you are, she thought when the webpage finally loaded. The report was on a site run by an individual calling herself Pixie Dust. Like many sites, it promoted conspiracy theories on UFOs, illegal government activities and companies believed to be affiliated with the cover-ups. From the comments posted on the site, most people thought she was either paranoid or a nutcase. Solaria knew otherwise. Pixie Dust's suspicions weren't crazy.

The last entry on the site was several months old and focused on the death of a young soldier. According to Pixie Dust, he claimed the military was involved in covert assassination plots against political, economic and scientific figures.  

The U.S. had banned such activities after an embarrassing incident in 2051. A massive oil spill decades earlier had destroyed the American people's faith in offshore drilling. They demanded that the government shut down the rigs and pass new laws prohibiting future wells from being drilled. Even the influence of the massive U.S. war machine couldn't sway public opinion. Too many lives had been destroyed in the aftermath. Oil would have to be gotten elsewhere. Greedy eyes turned toward Brazil. Massive reserves had been discovered close to their shores. The problem was that their president didn't want to risk his country's beaches either. He refused to negotiate with the U.S. government or the oil industry.

Hungry to maintain military superiority, a prominent U.S. general decided the best solution was eliminating the main obstacle in the deadlock. He ordered two of his men to kill the president of Brazil. Diplomatic relations between the two countries deteriorated when the plot failed. The captured soldiers implicated the general. Embarrassed, the U.S. president apologized. He requested that Congress immediately ban all subversive military activities pertaining to civilian affairs. In theory, the armed forces became strictly a national defense mechanism. Homeland Security and a Congressional committee were appointed the oversight responsibilities for national security. Not everyone liked the decision — certainly not Pixie Dust.

Investigating rumors and reports about subversive and black ops organizations had become her passion. Every blog entry provided detailed information to support her assertions. The suspicious circumstances surrounding the whistleblower's death, as well as allegations concerning a military squadron called Special Unit 33, were extremely well documented. When Solaria read the word 'Hubot' in the article, she knew Pixie Dust was also dead. Certain government agencies wouldn't risk too much exposure.