Chapter 85: They Are Asking to Be Poisoned
Pardi was right. The next day, residents of every region were out on the streets, demanding the solution be introduced into their water supply as soon as possible. The media were in place to cover the protests. Every news channel spoke out in support of the protests. They insisted that the Carvaress Company supply the solution as soon as possible.
Several media companies gathered outside the Carvaress offices. Pardi came out of the building to address the media. Several microphones were shoved in his face.
‘I understand the urgency. I understand your demands,’ said Pardi. ‘What happened in Adoy and Jeed was horrendous. It is particularly painful to me because we came so close to saving all those lives. However, I am very proud. We got the solution into West and several other regions. No incidents or issues have been reported in any of these regions.’
‘When will the other regions get their solution in their water supplies?’ asked a journalist.
‘I have rapidly increased the production of the solution. I am throwing all my wealth and resources into producing enough for the whole country,’ replied Pardi.
‘Yes, but when? We want dates! We need dates!’ shouted a journalist.
‘The supply of solution in storage will be sent immediately to all remaining southern and the central regions that have access to the Central Agriculture Zone and thus the wastelands,’ informed Pardi. ‘Sufficient quantities of solution will be ready for the rest of the country in under two weeks. This solution will be delivered as soon as it is ready. I promise you, we will not see a repeat of Adoy and Jeed.’
‘How about our food?’ blurted another journalist. ‘Surely, eating mad Sapes will infect us too.’
‘Sapiens are our top priority,’ replied Pardi firmly. ‘The regions have plenty of food in reserve, and Sapes in the regions will be drinking treated water from the mains. Infected Sapes outside the regions will need to be culled.’
‘What about conspiracy theorists?’ asked another journalist.
‘Parliament is voting on strict action against them,’ said Pardi. ‘Let’s have faith in their ability to stop them.’
To avoid further questions, Pardi quickly turned around and re-entered his building.
Parliament was in session. A few quick speeches were made in favour of introducing the death penalty for accused conspiracy theorists. This was followed by the special news report from Adoy and Jeed.
A few of the representatives who were aligned with the House of Divine Knowledge spoke out against the proposed law based on its harshness and the subjective nature of misinformation claims. They appeared to be in the minority.
The votes were cast. Eleven of the twelve governors voted in favour of the bill. The result was met with cheers and applause. The law was going to be implemented the next day.
Lily had been closely observing the events in Adoy and Jeed, as well as the outcome of the vote in Parliament and Pardi’s speech. Lily had distributed the water samples to as many laboratories as possible in West. She even sent a few samples to neighbouring regions. She was using every relevant contact she had made during her time as a governor. She knew she was very short on time, as the solution would be reaching many regions in the coming days.
In an attempt to speed up the process, Lily shared all the information she knew about the solution with the scientists. She knew that any action she took needed to be supported by ample evidence that the solution was toxic. She believed that if she lacked evidence, she would be accused of being a conspiracy theorist.
Two days passed, and finally she had a response from a scientist. He confirmed the presence of toxic chemicals in the solution. He provided Lily with a detailed breakdown of all the chemicals and the likely effects this solution would have on Sapiens at various concentrations.
Lily immediately contacted representatives and former representatives who she strongly believed were loyal to her. She told them to meet her in West as soon as possible. Lily was planning a press conference. She wanted strong support for what she was about to reveal to the public.
West Representative Leanne found out about the messages Lily had been sending out from a former representative from another region. She was angry at her message, her plan, and her lack of respect for her. She informed the other representatives in West. The four representatives had a private meeting with the Head Enforcer to discuss the steps they needed to take against Lily.
The next evening, the media had agreed to let Lily hold a press conference. She gathered on stage with two representatives and nine former representatives. The twelve of them held hands on the stage for about a minute in a show of unity for what Lily was about to say.
Lily walked forward to the podium. ‘Today, I have some very important news I need to break,’ said Lily. ‘You have all been lied to. You have been lied to by us.’ Lily paused for a few moments to gauge the reaction from the media. At this point, they were silent.
She continued, ‘The solution being added to the water supply is toxic. At high levels of concentration, it can even be fatal.’
The media and the small crowd that had gathered began booing and shouting ‘conspiracy theorist’ and ‘arrest her’. The onlooking enforcers did not move to arrest her. They stood in silence. After several minutes, the noise died down.
‘I understand your anger. My accusations are extremely serious. They are also true, and I can support whatever I say with facts and evidence.’ Lily turned towards the scientist, who provided her with information regarding the solution. ‘I will let the expert explain to you what is in the solution and what it can do to you if consumed in sufficiently high quantities.’
The scientist got up on stage and walked up to the podium. ‘I have tested the water supply and have found alarming levels of toxicity,’ said the scientist. ‘If consumed, even over a short time, it could cause serious long-term illness and could be fatal to some.’
The crowd briefly made a rumbling sound but soon became silent as they watched the representatives and former representatives raise their hands together. A slight smile appeared on the scientist’s face as he glanced across at Lily. Lily started to feel a little uneasy as she started to sense something was not right.
‘That was the result obtained from a sample of water before the solution was added,’ said the scientist, emphasising the word ‘before’. ‘Now that the solution has been added, the toxins are gone.’
The representatives, both present and past, unlocked hands and stepped back and away from Lily. Lily could not believe what she was hearing. She moved back up to the podium, pushing the scientist aside.
‘Yet again, it looks like you have been outed for your lies,’ shouted a reporter.
‘I did not lie,’ responded Lily angrily. ‘This scientist is an imposter. Why would I invite someone on stage to contradict me publicly? I’m not a fool.’
‘She thought I would support her because she offered me a bribe,’ shouted the scientist. ‘She would do anything to discredit the Government so that she could take power again. She would do anything for power. She has already proven that just a few weeks ago.’
The crowd started to chant, ‘Liar! Liar!’
Lily moved to the side of the podium so that she could be in full view. Before their eyes, she shapeshifted into her Linap form. The crowd and media went silent.
‘It’s all an illusion. We can shift to whoever we want to be,’ Lily shouted. ‘We have been deceiving you for generations.’
She turned to the others on stage, hoping they would back her up, but they just stood frozen in fear.
‘No more lies. No more deception. Let them see who we really are.’ Everyone just stood in silence.
Enforcers came on the stage and grabbed Lily. They quickly dragged her off. The media and the crowd remained silent. The scientist got off the stage and scurried away. Once out of sight, the scientist shapeshifted into Leanne.
Enforcers had secretly captured the real scientist who had presented the evidence to Lily. The other scientists Lily had contacted had also determined the solution was toxic. They did not speak up, as they had been threatened with violence if they did so.
Meanwhile, the trains had reached the remaining southern regions and some of the central regions. Without any resistance, the technicians were able to add the solution to the water supply. Every day, several trains left the Carvaress production plants. They were on target to have the solution in every region within just a few days. It did not appear that this operation could be stopped.
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