The Deadline Approaches

"Hey Harry, office hours are over, let us go catch a drink," Kevin said as he walked up to a lean person who was working on his system. Kevin rolled his eyes when he saw that Harry did not respond. He had noticed that Harry seem to become more paranoid and restless as days went by.

Harry would spend most of his time in this command centre. Kevin doubted if he was even going to his home. Harry's rumpled appearance indicated that all the workload had taken a toll on him. Harry's skin had gained a sickly complexion and became pallid from the lack of exposure to sunlight. From time to time, he would be muttering under his breath and talking to himself.

Kevin felt pity when he saw those bloodshot eyes. He knew why Harry was behaving this way. It was not just him, a cloud of gloom hung over the whole military command centre these past few days.

The countries which had come together to discuss the 'Organisation' have decided not to ignore this threat anymore. A panel had been found comprising leaders of the Elite countries who would start negotiations with that 'Organisation'. If the 'Organisation' failed to comply with their demands, then war was inevitable.

Anyone who knew anything about that 'Organisation' would understand that once military action was taken, the scale of the war would be colossal. Some have started referring to this war as 'The Last War'. Because after this war, humanity might lose all its war-making potential. No one was sure if the countries which plunged into this war would come out the same.

That 'Organisation' has 'advised' against such an action. It had given a time limit within which all these countries had to stop going forward with this alliance. And, if these countries did not comply with this request, then there would be 'consequences'. The message was simple and straightforward. But, this one letter was enough for some prominent countries among the European Union to take a step back.

Kevin had mixed feelings when he heard this news. The coming days were going to be crucial in deciding the future path of humanity. No wonder everyone felt a heavy sense weighing on their hearts.

Kevin felt it too, but he was able to close his eyes and divert his mind with distractions. Kevin knew that he was not a suitable material to take up this responsibility. Since Kevin could not do much, he might as well try to ignore. It was fine as long as Kevin gave his all.

But Harry was not that kind of guy. He truly loved his country and was willing to bear the responsibility even if he knew that there was little he could do. He would stretch his mind and body to its utmost as long as he felt that he would make even a tiny bit of difference. Kevin knew that and admired him for it.

Harry was currently trying to hack into the server of an agricultural company. This company had been recently acquired by the 'Organisation'. Three years ago, this company had come out with a new variety of wheat which they named s 'G1'. These seeds were sent for validation to the three regulatory authorities which are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

When eminent agricultural scientists conducted studies on these seeds, the results were astounding. This plant was the ideal variety of wheat variety whose value could be equated to its weight in gold. The protein content was gluten-free and 35 per-cent in comparison to the standard 11-13 per-cent. It could grow in all weather conditions or soil varieties. The water required was also very less.

This wheat plant was not susceptible to pests and did not require pesticides. The yield was a mind-blowing nine metric tonnes/ acre (average yield is 4.4 metric tonnes/ hectare). The taste was also better, and the wheat had many other micro-nutrients hitherto unseen in different wheat varieties. Another shocking characteristic was that even if it rained during the harvesting season, the yield or the storage of this wheat was not affected.

Until now, no negative aspect of this wheat variety was found except that it will cause the collapse of all the other agricultural companies. Another effect was that the cost of wheat-related food items was going to plummet, and it was going to be a significant leap for humanity towards eradicating malnutrition.

These seeds have already come into circulation in countries belonging to Central and South America. There was no visible adverse effect. It was ideal in all aspects. It was so perfect that all the agricultural scientists were put to shame.

The most shocking aspect was that the results of this variety were entirely put under the wraps. In the last three years, no one, except for the relevant authorities, knew that such a plant was going through regulations. All these results have already spread into the public domain. The people have started questioning the government's motives in delaying the approval for these seeds. (The average time taken by the government to authorise the usage of a GMO seed was three years)

This shocking discovery alerted the government of the infiltration of this 'Organisation'. Obviously, without internal support, such astounding results could not have been kept a secret.

The US Cyber Command suspected that the files (both electronic and physical) about these seeds were artificially implanted in these regulatory authorities. But it could not come up with factual evidence. The 'Organisation' did not leave any clues. This situation was not limited to the US; the same thing repeated all over the world. It was as if the 'Organisation' did not even care about masking their contempt towards these countries' regulations.

As the information about this 'G1' variety has leaked into the public domain, there was very little that the government could do to stop this approval. The influence that the 'Organisation' had in the country through its corporations could not be underestimated.

Harry and his team was currently tasked with the mission to infiltrate the servers of this agriculture company. The government wanted to know if these seeds were as perfect as they seemed. They couldn't believe that the 'Organisation' would give out such a variety, at such a low cost, without an underlying purpose.

But, no matter how much Harry and others tried, they couldn't get in the company's system. But Harry did not give up. This means was the only way that Harry could keep his mind steady. He had heard a piece of worrisome news, a few days back.

Amanda was missing. No one knew if she had abandoned her duty on her volition or if something terrible happened to her. This info was an extra concern for Harry as if his plate was not full with other issues.

Harry let out a breath as he stretched. He couldn't complete the mission. He felt that no one else could do it as well. It was like he was armed with stones and wooden pikes to destroy an iron fortress wall.

Harry's eyes lit up when he remembered his friend 'Addy2219'. Maybe he should ask for his help. Addy had never disappointed him when it came to the 'Art of hacking'. It was not convenient for Harry to contact Addy from his office. He felt warm when he saw that Kevin was waiting for him.

Harry accompanied Kevin to a bar and sat in a corner as Bmore club (Baltimore Club) music played. As usual, they ordered National Bohemian beer and soft crab sandwiches. The replay of the 'Super Bowl' finals was playing on the Television. The 'New England Patriots' were playing the 'Atlanta Falcons'.

"Harry, shall we go for a movie? 'John Wick: Chapter 2' is playing," Kevin asked as he dug into his sandwich. Harry shook his head as he indifferently looked at the match while he drank a little. His eyes became cold when he saw an ad playing 'MYNE technologies, reaching for the stars'.

Harry noticed that negative news had occupied the media space. Corrupt politicians were being exposed, human rights violations of the US army in foreign countries have emerged again with new leaked videos. The most prominent among these was the sex scandal between a US diplomat and a Saudi prince.

Though he did not have concrete evidence, Harry felt that 'those' people were planning this 'White and Grey Propaganda' against his country. Their target was the 'demoralisation' of the masses. It seems like this 'Organisation' wanted the citizens to lose faith in their system and country.

Any system is not perfect as the human being himself is riddled with negative aspects. But when the population was exposed to this rotten part only. It creates a false impression that the situation is dire. This impression deals a massive blow to people's psyche and makes them anxious and confused.

Harry was one of those few who knew that war had already started, but the current battlefield was the minds of people. It was 'psychological warfare'. The success of the 'Organisation' was evident. Many eminent people and think tanks have come forward to oppose the government's move to create an Alliance.

Harry had to agree that these people did have a point. The 'Organisation' had not done anything to harm anyone. The companies under them are the most law-abiding and contribute significantly to the country. The government, on the other hand, does not have a clear idea about the real purpose of that 'Organisation' except that it was slowly undermining their influence.

The destruction of the Zumwalt- class submarine and the deaths of 'Blood water mercenaries' were classified information, and the citizens were kept ignorant about these acts of aggression. The civilians did not know that this 'good and responsible' corporation had methods of creating monsters who could take down a whole military squadron single-handedly.

The populace did not know that this organisation was the one behind the new drug, which was making many university students into drug addicts. The ordinary public was not aware that this organisation possessed highly advanced military technology, which caused quakes in the hearts of military leaders.

The one source of solace for Harry was that all the countries had recognised the underlying danger of this 'Organisation'. The response has been mostly positive, and all the leaders are on the same page.

As the one who was privy to all this information, how could Harry remain peaceful when the 'deadline' set by that 'Organisation' was approaching? Harry's heart could not stay calm when he thought about the possible retaliatory actions planned by those 'anomalies'. There were four days to go, and the clock was ticking.