Liora Yoael

FIRST CHAPTER: Opening scene-inciting incident. Something Bad about to Happened. Tragedy sets in motion introduces antagonist-MX Leon, and mystery of the book tone.

 Genre: Sci-Fi 

                                            THE DESTINY CODE

                                                                                          By Liora Yoel

                                                          CHAPTER ONE

                                TWO WORLDS MERGING TO FORM THE ONE

He was not armed heavily – that could not be risked with the security drones programmed for firearms or direct-energy caps.The kill would have to be Old World – swift and by the blade.

The assassin was dressed for the occasion – in formal white;a face in the crowd, a presumed participatorin theregional wealth ofthe Greatest Show On Earth.

Ishmael’s orders were simple:eliminate the great Infidel, MX Leon, enemy to both the people and the state, not to mention toAllah himself. The devil Leon was a creature beyond the sands, possessed of magic and technology that could only be characterized as the epitome of evil and an anathema to any True Believer. Leon promulgated more than technology – he espoused heresy, madness, and vile ideas for the future of Man. He had to be destroyed. In the name of Allah and all that was holy, no matter the cost, no matter the loss.

The young assassin knew this was a suicide mission – his probability of success was one in a thousand. It would be hard trying to corner MX in private. Yet try he must.

He gripped his curved knife, a jagged thing, serrated and unforgiving. Once thrust into human flesh and withdrawn, internal organs would be eviscerated, strewn into a gaping heap of dying flesh. The key was proximity. He took a breath and followed the royal sheiks – bedfellows to the Great Satan known as MX Leon.

Patience … patience … such was needed in a time to kill.

* * *

Once everything was better - even the prospect of a superior future. We are a city on a hill – and the eyes of the world are watching us.MX Leon could not help but reflect on those glorious words by John Winthrop, the first governor of the Pilgrims on their journey to the New World five centuries ago. What Leon was witnessing today epitomized that holy sentiment; today was not so much an event as it was a phenomenon, the like of which he felt, if there was a God, He was surely here and in earnest participation.

Neom City was a technological marvel of architecture with towering edifices a mile high juxtaposed against the Saudi desert. The grandeur of its opening ceremony was fitting, an extravagant affair attended by the wealthy and the glamorous.  Nothing like it hadbeen seen in this part of the world for a millennium. To the average camel and herdsman, it was a spectacular frenzy of light and sound.To MX Leon, the U.S. Ambassador of the United Corporations of America to Space, it was a piece of landscape which could be leveraged, utilized – exploited. More importantly, Neom City was emblematic of the people who helped create it – Saudi sheikhs, who both admired MX Leon and feared him. The fear was certainly economically based, but MX Leon represented something far more dangerous to the ruling class: he was the existential threat to their up-til-now undisputed reign on their society. The culture of a thousand years gave sway over all other things in this part of the world; the needs of the few outweighed the needs of the many. And few put up vociferous objection.

Yet, in a way, Saudi money held much influence in the scheme of things, and MX recognized this; he had twenty-four hours to sell his luxurious overpriced space capsules to further his goals of creating an inviolate space surveillance system. This was a self-imposed window, of course. MX Leon needed no one for anything. Time was his premium, to be allocated accordingly. Still, there were alliances at play here, relationships, trusts of a sort. An honor among thieves, if you will; One could ostensibly be the most powerful man on the planet, yet still needed the will of the people, even if that will was manipulated regularly for the greater and singular good.

Now, as MX Leon took in the vastness of this ancient terrain, presently illuminated with a million lights and lasers shooting skyward over Neom City, festooned over every building, every turret, every walkway, he marveled privately how much the world had changed in the past decade. To the north, he could see the silver railway that a joint Israeli/Chinese endeavor had been realized back in 2023. Chinese domination of the maritime gateway in the Middle East was now a foregone conclusion. In fact, the route between the Port of Neom City and Port of Haifa, currently handled by China’s SIPG,was of considerable concern to Leon. His one great adversary in China, Ion Enterprises, was responsible for this vast interconnectedness,and this threat would have to be addressed soon enough. Leon had already formulated plans to create his own port highway,and this one would also include a space elevator in the Port of Haifa (should all things go swimmingly with the Israeli endorsement). In this way, China would be properly intimidated and more open to negotiation for a “sharing of the pie” down the line. But as it stands now, the SIPG operation was an impressive achievement. Another technological marvel layered in the sands. Once, Leon thought in his more melancholic moments, of which there were few, the past had seemed like a simpler place. 2030 was much different than 2020. Much different indeed…

On this second of October, but a few months short of the year 2031, at the vast young age of fifty-two, MX Leon sat astride a rather irksome camel. His host, one Prince Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, rode parallel to Leon, clicking to his own camel – a nine-million-dollar wonder known affectionately as Zahra.

“What do you think of our utopian paradise?” Mohammed asked Leon while reaching outto scratch his camel’s ear.

Leon chuckled and nodded. “Indeed, it is a suitably chic address for shady Monegasque and Russian oligarchs. Then there is Tong Xin, the famous Chinese industrialist, residing along with a litany of retired crypto hacks on the floating gardens that stretch toward the magnificent Italian-style villas. Reminds me of Silicon Valley with Monaco thrown in for good measure. It’s opulence at its evil best. What’s not to like?” 

“Yes, it is rather remarkable,” the prince replied proudly, taking in the vastness of a city he planned to resource for hundreds ofbillionsof dollars.

“That, my friend, is an understatement,” Leon remarked amiably.

“This is where it all began, MX Leon,” Mohammed said with undue formality. “And I thank you for attending the Neom City opening. I realize how busy you are.”

“Never too busy for a good friend.” Leon nodded politely to the prince.

In fact, Leon was rather impatient for this ceremony to end. As the founder of Space Tease Enterprises, he had places to go and promises to keep. Not to put too fine a point on it, but time was money. Bad enough he had to be here for this ignominious event, but in a few hours, he was expected by the powers that be to attend a science event in Israel. Another annoying distraction to his main agenda of motoring the world to the stars. Still, there was etiquette that had to be observed. These abysmal niceties had to be endured.

Mitra, Leon’s camel, snorted discreetly from the wrong end. Leon rolled his eyes as the stench of the animal’s rectal issue assaulted his nostrils. The prince seemed not to have noticed.

The man is probably used to the toxic foulness of camel farts. Probably thinks of them as Chanel No. 5.

“Remind me of what TEASE standsfor again,” Mohammed said. “It’s a rather complicated acronym.”

“Technological Empowerment and Advancement of Space Exploration,” Leon said tonelessly, knowing quite well that Mohammed understood what TEASE meant.

THE DESTINY CODE-Chapter One, First Scene .docx