Hon. Seminar
Through the Eyes of a Villain, America 2034
It was the President’s State of the Union Address in the year 2034, and the first in a series of events that would change the world was about to occur. Security was the tightest it had ever been due threats on the event from an anonymous source. The address had begun; the military and secret service had been in position for weeks. A slight breeze blew, and an unnerving sense of malice was ever-present among the men. For security purposes, the streets were blocked off from the event for several blocks. No car, no individual could get through the perimeter unless escorted by military personnel, except for one, who appeared out of nowhere. The man cloaked in black walked confidently down the center of the street towards the capitol steps.
“Halt, stay where you are, or you will be fired upon.”
The man in black ignored the statement and proceeded to walk with arms outstretched as if daring the soldiers to fire. Stopping in front of the capitol, he reached for an object at his belt…. “He has a weapon! Open fire!”
A torrent of bullets came at him, but they did nothing. They all seemed to go straight through him. Even tank fire did nothing… The troops formed a wall in front of the steps and continued to fire but to no avail. The man in black came within ten feet of the troops and stopped. They noticed he wore a mask, dull white in color, which with the rest of his ensemble gave any onlooker the impression of death.
“I’ll be inside…”
With that, he faded away into nothing, leaving the troops beyond without any rational thought.
Inside the capitol, the floor was in chaotic with fear. The Secret Service rushed to the President. “Sir, security has been compromised. We have to leave.”
The President agreed without saying one word and proceeded to follow. President Mathews was from old southern money and was not religious, but had managed to convince the public otherwise. To those who knew better, it was obvious he was a cowardly, spoiled man but to most, these traits remained unseen.
Before the secret service could get the president out, an invisible force prevented anything from getting through an exit, a shield of some kind. A moment later, a sound like a clap of thunder came the from Podium, everyone became silent as the man in black phased into the room.
The secret service immediately opened fire on the man in black, but they had no more success than the troops outside. People cleared a path as the man walked towards the president, and the secret service tried to tackle him but fell straight through him.
“Now that everyone is done trying to kill me, I will do what I have come to do!”
“What is that?” asked President Mathews, cowering in the corner.
Walking towards the president the man in black leaned in and whispered in the president’s ear, “Justice, Mr. President. Justice...” The man then moved away and addressed everyone present.
“I have recently acquired the means to serve justice to this man, as you have all seen, and I will do that now.” The man in black pointed a small device in his hand at the President and pushed a button.
“For the death of a loved one Mr. President, I cast you into oblivion for the rest of your life!”
As President Mathews faded away, he asked the man in black, “Who are you?”
The man in black responded, “A man you underestimated.”
A sudden look of understanding came over the president’s face.
“Michaels…,” and with that, the leader of the
The man in black was Colin Michaels. He removed his mask, exposing his face for the whole world to see, walked to the center of the room, and vanished.
Within hours of the president’s disappearance, an army of some
two thousand soldiers stood outside Castle Michaels. The castle was perched on a cliff overlooking
“Sir, the shield has collapsed!”
General Arthur raised his head to the proud position his men were accustomed to, straightened his uniform, and said, “Very well, prepare for advancement onto the grounds.”
Attack helicopters and tanks went first, but within two miles of the castle, the helicopters fell out of the sky and the tanks were dead in their tracks.
“What’s going on?! Why are my choppers falling out of the sky?” said the general.
“We seem to lose power within a two mile radius of the castle, sir.”
“So that’s how he’s going to play… Prepare the troops, non-electrical based weapons only, and I shall lead them in myself.”
“Sir, with all due respect, we can not jeopardize the command. You can’t go.”
The general paced alongside the willow trees that established the perimeter of the grounds, running his hand through the drooping branches. He looked down at the ground and said in a tone that of an ordinary man, “Colonel, I believe Colin Michaels is a good man on the inside, despite what he’s done, and I wish to speak to him to before the end. He has only bettered the world until today, and I would like to know why.”
With that, General Arthur led 300 of his troops onto the grounds and up the drive towards the castle. Everyone was tense. They knew what the inventor had in store for them. For he had turned the entire world upside down in a matter of minutes this past evening, could disable all military equipment that used electricity, not to mention vanish at will.
The general looked on with awe at the beauty of the grounds. It was no typical site. A lush garden, mazes, sculptures, ironwork – the architecture of imagination was all around him, and he felt somewhat sorry as his troops marched behind him, destroying it all. Finally, he approached the front of the castle and gave commands for the troops to cover all entrances and exits.
“Colin Michaels, come out. There is no where to run.”
The only reply was silence with soft murmur of the waves hitting the base of the cliffs below. At that instant, a dull hum could be heard, some kind of low frequency noise, and the air itself was charged, crackling with any movement. Then, to General Arthur’s horror, each of his troops slowly faded into nothing, and the noise and electric charge in the air ceased.
“I thought it would be better if you and I talked in private, General.” A figure appeared in the doorway to the castle, slowly approaching the General. It was Colin Michaels.
Drawing his sidearm, General Arthur exclaimed, “What have you done to my men? Where are they? I demand an answer!”
Colin approached him cautiously with open arms. “Your men are fine. In fact, better than fine. They are where I will be in a few moments, my new home. When our business is finished I will restore them.”
“The only business I have with you is that of a
“That won’t be necessary, General. Take this. It will help any worthy adversary I may have. I realize what I have done is treason against my country, and I shall be hunted for the rest of my life. I expect all of you to do your job, and I know you will.”
With that, he handed the general a small, red leather-bound book, and the same electric charge resumed accompanied by the hum. This time the very earth on which they stood shook, and it was far more intense than before. Colin Michaels took several steps back, nodded his head, and faded away, along with the entire castle. General Arthur stood with absolutely no idea on what to do next; he merely stared into the cavernous hole where the castle’s foundation once was. His stare was broken by the charge in the air once more, and this time the general feared that he too would disappear, but instead his troops phased back into existence.
Back in his tent, General Arthur delicately opened the little red book.
This is the journal of all the events in my life, what I have done, and why I did it. Take what you will from these pages. –Colin Michaels
Three separate bookmarks for different entries were left for the general to read, he started with the first.
Sept. 21st,
2009
I really don’t know
what to write. There are no words for what I feel at this moment. I am completely empty. The happiest and saddest events of my life
have come on the very same day. Yesterday I completed my life’s work. Wireless energy is now within my grasp. The woman I intended to spend the rest of my
life with is now gone. I have now come
to know that sadness is more powerful than happiness. Yesterday while walking
on
Doug Mathews hit us on
Sept. 20th, and there’s nothing that can be done. His family is one of the wealthiest and most politically
powerful in the country. They bought the
police before they even began to investigate, and the car somehow disappeared. The police claim they are still looking, but
they know who did it. If I have to get
this man myself I will, and I will go to the ends of the earth to do so. I will wait for his own
moment of glory, and return the favor he bestowed upon me.
I’ve done it. I have perfect phasing technology. I have shown that space itself has a resonant
frequency, and when the frequency is stimulated, matter can be phased in or out
of this universe into a parallel one of variable similarity. At the same time, I now have the ability to
phase matter from other dimensions into this one. This technology will be kept secret, for the
world isn’t ready for such things. I am
not ready for such things… I will
fulfill an oath come the third Tuesday in January. President Douglas Mathews is now within my
ability to destroy. I will not kill him,
but condemn him to a life of misery in a bleak, unforgiving, alternate universe. I have come to accept that when the task is
done, I will be viewed as a vicious monster.
Every day I wonder if I could have put him away when I was young. Have I wasted my personal life in agony? When this is over, I shall leave this
universe entirely. The only thing I will
leave behind is the journal, to a worthy adversary whom might benefit from its
contents.
General Arthur now understood why Colin Michaels did what he did. He paced in his tent feeling both pity and disgust for the man. After pouring himself a glass of bandy, he said, “Colonel, get everyone who worked for Michael’s R&D. The president is not dead, and we have a man to hunt.”