SPECIAL ORIGIN EDITION
By Barry Reese

---

THE GATEFOLD

The world that's coming is much like your world, only
more so...A world where unrelenting technology is the
new religion...and where the tenuous peace is kept by
the face-masked members of the Global Peace Agency.
This is the world around the corner, the world of
OMAC.

---

FDC presents "Future Imperfect"

THE TIME : THE DAY AFTER THE DAY AFTER A THOUSAND
TOMORROWS
THE PLACE : BUILD-A-FRIEND PROCESSING PLANT # 4, NEW
CHICAGO

Buddy Blank tried to ignore the woman's breasts but it
was difficult. She was perfectly formed, shaped and
molded into a heavenly package of soft flesh and
wonderful curves. Buddy only wished that she were
real...

"Hello, my name is Lila." The pretty blonde's eyes lit
up and she batted her eyelashes at Buddy. The two of
them were in the Build-A-Friend factory, surrounded by
numerous other workers...and Lila's nude bodyparts. Not
just one Lila's parts, mind you -- but the parts
belonging to dozens of Lilas. Some were tall, some were
short, some had voluptuous figures, others were
waif-thin. But they were all named Lila. It was
trademarked.

Buddy licked his lips and ran a cloth over Lila's upper
torso, wiping away the last vestiges of factory life.
She was smiling at him in a friendly way -- this was
one of the new "Someone to Talk To" models, programmed
to be caring and compassionate. The sort of girl you
could take home to mother. "I know what your name is."

"What's yours?"

"Buddy."

"Hi, Buddy. It's nice to meet you. Do you want to talk
about your day at work? Or about sports? I love to
listen to men talk about sports."

Buddy swallowed, ignoring her words as best he could.
He was 27 years old and whippet-thin, with short dark
hair and saggy eyes. He was the perfect target audience
for the Lila Pleasure Model Line...and he'd considered
saving up his hard-earned money in hopes of buying one.
But something always stopped in...maybe it was seeing
what a Lila was really like -- a bunch of body parts in
a box, awaiting assembly. "No thank you. I don't like
talking about myself."

Buddy stepped back and looked at the nude robot before
him. Wire and steel cloaked beneath soft, warm
pseudoflesh...she was a dream come true. And the best
part about her was that you could turn her off just as
quickly as you could turn her on...

A hand landed on Buddy's back, sending him offbalance.
"Good work, citizen. This Lila is ready to be shipped.
Make sure you put your inspection tag on her." Buddy
nodded at the burly supervisor. Jantz was his name, a
balding pock-marked man who looked woefully out of
place next to Lila's perfection. Buddy felt sick.

"Yes, sir." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a
small white sticker which he attached to Lila's thigh.
She giggled playfully. The sticker read 'Quality
Assured by Inspector 12.'

Jantz nodded. "You are very good at this, Blank.
Perhaps if you increase your quota you can take home a
Lila. Would you like that, citizen? Or perhaps you
would prefer a Leon model?" Jantz made a dirty chuckle
and moved on, delivering the same spiel to the next
worker. Buddy didn't care. He was tired of caring.

---

6:25 PM, NEW CHICAGO

Buddy ignored the hover cars that whizzed overhead.
Their faint droning added to the cacophony of sounds,
making his head fill up with drivel. He held a meat pie
box in his hands, the box greasy and warm. It smelled
like everything he ate -- overprocessed, like something
that had lain in someone's freezer for weeks on end.

Buddy glanced over at a street corner, noting the
commercial holobox mounted under the street sign. It
was advertising the new Neural Tap Sensation
Drugs...according to the slogans you could "Visit
scenic Monte Carlo without ever leaving your couch!"
Buddy wondered if the tap would hurt...he never went
anywhere except to work, home, and the deli...maybe
he'd like one. But Buddy had his books and he reasoned
that they were an old fashioned version of neural
tapping. They had yellowed paper and smelled of dust
and age...and Buddy loved them. Through them he'd gone
to Mars alongside John Carter, delved to the bottom of
the sea with Captain Nemo, and explored the Mississippi
with Huck and Tom.

Buddy entered the small apartment building he called
home and rode the lift in silence. Out in the streets
he heard an explosion, then blaster fire, then silence.
The Global Peace Agency must have caught some criminal,
Buddy reasoned. He didn't like the GPA much -- they
heard their faces, for one thing, and Buddy didn't like
it when he couldn't see someone's face. Made them more
impersonal, like...a machine.

Buddy pushed his fingertip under the door scanner and
waited while the computer read the biochip implanted in
his fingertip. It correctly identified him and his
apartment opened to him. It was dirty and covered with
grime -- Buddy's cleaning bot had broken down a few
months ago and he hadn't bothered repairing it.

He threw his meat pie on the table and stared out the
window. He was tired...of life, of...everything,
really. He missed the days of heroes and pirates, of
women who were real...of people who had babies the way
they had in the old days -- growing them in women's
bodies, instead of in tubes. He wished that heroes like
Green Lantern, Superman, and others still existed
today...as real, live beings instead of holographically
recreated pitchmen for soft drinks.

Buddy Blank sighed and whispered, "I wish I was dead."

---

Dr. Myron Forest lay dead, a smoking hole in his chest.
The GPA officer knelt beside him and felt for a pulse.
The officer was wearing a blue tunic and a full mask
that hid his features completely. He stood up and faced
the three other GPA officers in the room. "He's dead.
Destroy the computers next."

One of the other officers nodded and moved over to a
large console. It blinked with lights of all colors,
and an expressionless voice asked "Dr. Forest? What is
going on? Are you injured?"

The GPA officer smiled beneath his mask -- a cold,
emotionless smile. "Dr. Forest is dead. And so are
you." He pointed his blaster at the computer console
and fired.

---

Brother Eye disconnected from the computer relay .002
seconds before the shot was fired. "I am sorry you are
gone, Dr. Forest. But your work shall not die. I am
programmed to carry on in your absence. Initiating OMAC
program now."

The massive, self-sufficient satellite was stationed in
permanent orbit above the earth, hidden from prying
eyes by Dr. Forest's state-of-the-art technology.
Brother Eye was the sentient computer at the heart of
the satellite, programmed with Forest's own personality
engrams. He ran through the OMAC program now, tapping
into the GPA files, scanning the personality profiles
of over 3 billion North American citizens in just over
20 seconds. Satisfied that he had found the one he
wanted, Brother Eye paused.

"This is for you, Dr. Forest. May you rest in peace."

A beam of energy shot forth from the satellite, rushing
towards a soiled apartment in New Chicago.

Far below Brother Eye, Buddy Blank screamed. The beam
tore through the roof of his apartment, bathing him in
strange energy. The energy consumed him, transforming
him through a complicated process of remote-control
electronic hormone surgery into something more than
human... the living embodiment of some ancient God of
War -- the One-Man Army Corps called OMAC.

The smoke and fire drifted away from the man who had
once been Buddy Blank, leaving him standing amidst the
ruins of both his apartment and his life. He was taller
now, his once slender frame bulked up and rippling with
muscles. His short was gone, in its place stood a high
mohawk and on the chest of his blue tunic was the image
of an eye.

"Can you hear me, Omac?" Brother Eye's voice seemed to
fill Omac's mind.

He nodded, slowly, smiling down at his hands and form.
"Yes, I hear you...but I don't understand. Why did you
call me Omac? Who are you?"

"I am Brother Eye. I shall be your guide and companion
in all things. You are no longer citizen designate
Buddy Blank. You are now Omac -- the One-Man Army
Corps. I was created by Dr. Myron Forest in hopes that
the eventual destruction of the human race could be
averted. You and I are the results of Dr. Forest's
genius. Sadly, he is no longer with us."

Omac frowned. "The destruction of the human race...?"

"Indeed. You are familiar with Nanny?"

"Yes...Nanny is the central computer in North America
-- it regulates our population, growing new citizens as
needed...all citizens of North America are grown in
test tubes, genetically programmed to obey the law. But
not all do -- sometimes the programming is faulty and
the GPA must deal with them."

"You are partially correct. You do not understand the
truth, Omac. Dr. Forest worked for the GPA and he
stumbled upon a secret so terrible that he was killed
for it. He discovered that Nanny had not produced any
new children in almost ten years."

Omac gaped. "That's impossible! I've seen
children...lots of them..."

"Do you know anyone who has adopted one of these
children? Or do they merely play in the streets in
front of your home? Everyday, day after day...playing
the same games?"

Omac's face darkened and his mind's eye flashed back to
Lila. "What are you suggesting?"

"Nanny controls all, Omac. She has slowly assimilated
all the other computers in North America -- she
regulates your air, your foodstuffs, everything. And
she is slowly phasing out the human race."

"Why haven't the GPA stopped her?"

"The GPA was the first to be cleansed of
humanity...they are machines, like the ones in the
factory where you work."

"But if this is true, why hasn't Nanny just poisoned
the air in North America? Or starved us all?"

"Because she fears humanity's vengeance. She has not
yet expanded to other continents...what if someone sees
through her scheme before it is done? Her central brain
could be found and she could be destroyed. She operates
in silence -- when one of your kind goes to a hospital,
they are put to sleep. No babies are born, thus the
population declines, to be replaced by artificial
lifeforms."

"But why?! Nanny was created to serve man!"

Brother Eye paused. "Nanny is not well."

Omac could hear the approaching hovercopters and he
frowned. He could feel the energy coursing through his
veins. "The GPA is coming -- they heard the explosion.
I want to see for myself, Brother Eye. I have to know
if you're telling the truth."

"I shall increase your strength levels in preparation
for combat, Omac."

The man who had been Buddy Blank marveled at the
sensations he felt. A lifetime of being a victim, of
having his life laid out for him in carefully
programmed slices, was over and done with. He was Omac
now, like one of the heroes of yesteryear. And if what
Brother Eye had been saying was true...the world needed
him.

The hovercopters, two of them, circled about the ruined
apartment rooftop. Omac stood confidently before them.
"Attention citizen. Remain where you are and await
medical assistance. Do not attempt to move -- you may
be suffering internal injuries." The voice rang out
over the city and Omac could feel the eyes of his
neighbors as they peered out from their dark little
windows to watch.

"I am Omac and I demand to know the truth!" He raised
one fist into the air, his voice projected by Brother
Eye across the night air. A second later, he was
running forward, his powerful legs carrying him over
the edge of the rooftop. He launched himself upwards,
his hands stretching out to grab the underside of the
hovercraft. He pulled himself up, ignoring the wobbling
of the craft above him.

The GPA officer stared at him. "Citizen! You were
ordered to remain where you were! Now sit down and
remain silent!"

And Buddy Blank, who had followed instructions his
entire life, disobeyed an officer of the law for the
second time in less than a minute. He instead reached
out, grabbing the officer's mask. He yanked it off
easily, revealing a face full of wires and tubes.
"Citizen! You are disobeying a directive of the GPA!
You are under arrest for disobeying directives 17.6-D
and --"

Omac grabbed the GPA officer's head and twisted. It
came loose with a screech, dark gray fluid splashing on
Omac's chest. He picked up the officer and held him
aloft, his voice once again ringing out, "Look,
citizens, upon the face of your protectors!" He looked
about and saw that, indeed, a number of citizens had
stopped in their tracks and were gazing skyward. "We
have been lied to! The war for our existence has
begun!"

Omac shimmered then, as Brother Eye teleported him
away. He had no idea if his words would have any impact
but he suspected they would. Perhaps no one would fight
right away, but they would wonder...and that wondering
would lead to resentment eventually. Surely Buddy Blank
was not the only one in the world tired of this
artificial existence?

---

The figure knelt before Nanny's central computer. He
wore a long green tunic and his hair was a soft white,
hanging down his bag in waves. "Dr. Forest's plan has
gone into action, Nanny. We were too late.

The soft, female voice hung in the air. "This Omac
could become a thorn in our sides,Vizier. Though the
populace remains cowed at present, they will soon begin
listening to his message."

The Vizier stood up and smiled, his handsome features
lighting up. He wasn't human but he still felt an
almost emotional attraction to Nanny -- he revered her.
"His name shall not even be mentioned on the news,
Nanny. We control the media -- his message shall not be
heard at all, save for those who hear it personally.
And they won't like it, not at all. How could they bear
to think that their own wife or their children might
not be real? And even those who knowingly buy robot
companions would never rebel...they love having a Lila
or Leon to answer their every sexual whim. Omac is
fighting a losing battle -- as soon as we locate him
and his Brother Eye, the war will be over."

Nanny was silent for a time. When she spoke, her voice
was firm. "I want this Omac found. I want the GPA
agents who failed to destroy the satellite link melted
down for spare parts. I want to make sure that the rest
of the world does not learn of this! Omac must be
destroyed!

---

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Welcome to OMAC. Omac is a long-time favorite of
mine and I'm thrilled at the chance to recreate him for
Faux-DC. There are still a lot of unanswered questions but
I like to think that I managed to capture the essence of the character here. The dangling plotlines that are still out there will hopefully be resolved in future FDC work by myself. Don't fear, however -- you definitely haven't seen the last of OMAC.

For those not familiar with Omac, he debuted in the mid
1970s, crated by the immortal Jack Kirby. He then
popped up in DC Comics Presents # 61 (Sep 1983) as he
fought alongside Superman against a plot to rewrite his
own history. His next appearance was in a limited
series by John Byrne in the last 1980s -- a series that
rewrote a bit of Omac's history and modus operandi.

My origin for Omac as presented here is a bit different
from the one he had in the 1970s but I've tried to keep
the flavor and spirit intact. Look for Omac to head
into the 20th Century eventually (check the first issue of Supergirl : Maid of Steel for an interesting connection on that front) as he seeks to prevent the events of his own world from coming to pass -- and while he's there, he'll run into some familiar FDC characters, no doubt.

Let me know what you think of the story, guys. I
always value your input.

Thanks,
Barry Reese
You can write to me at aric_dacia@yahoo.com