Chapter 40: Wonder Potion Announced
The next day, Ginger arrived at Yensid Media with the two babies. She had officially become their legal guardian. Even though they were usually quite naughty, she enjoyed looking after them. She also had more time on her hands since she no longer toured the continent. She would only perform in the Capital District. Currently most of her performances were for the Capital District Pound Ball teams, the Chiefs and the Generals. She would sometimes have joint concerts with Saliyah. These concerts would bring in plenty of money for her. She was barely affected financially by a smaller workload.
Yensid Media had organised a special live show that would showcase the abilities of the two babies. Ginger and several Yensid staff had worked hard with them to accelerate their learning. It appeared it had paid off.
The show was to be hosted by Ricardo. He was one of the most popular television show hosts. He had a unique sense of humour that many Linap enjoyed. He had a weekly show where he would interview different celebrities. He also introduced new performers. They would often perform at the end of his shows.
Saliyah and Ryan were also appearing on the show. They were to be interviewed after the babies’ performance.
The show’s theme song began. Ricardo performed his famous wobbly knee walk across the stage. He swung his arms around wildly before he eventually came to a stop, and so did the music.
‘Good evening to all those you wish to be entertained,’ called out Ricardo. ‘Tonight is a very special edition of my show. I have two incredible guests. They might be young, but they are so smart. In fact, they might be smarter than you!’
Ricardo aggressively pointed at the camera. ‘Yeah, you! Sitting on your sofa. Shovelling popcorn into your mouth. You’re really dumb, but your future children don’t have to be. Despite being morons, most of you care about your children. And most of you don’t want your children to be as stupid as you are. I say aawwww. More of that later. Now let me welcome our first guest.’
The music began playing as Ginger casually walked out on stage. She sat down in the celebrity ‘hot seat’. The music stopped playing.
‘Ginger, you deserve no introduction,’ said Ricardo as he walked over to her left side. ‘That’s why I didn’t give you one.’
Ginger giggled a little nervously. As a loud cymbal clanged.
‘Tell us a little about these super babies before we roll them out,’ said Ricardo as he shoved his microphone uncomfortably close to her face.
‘These babies are only a few months old, but they are doing amazing things,’ said Ginger enthusiastically. ‘Duffo can speak in full sentences and has an incredible vocabulary. Marlon can do basic mathematics. Both of them can play musical instruments.’
‘Duffo, hahaha,’ chuckled Ricardo. ‘Okay, roll these babies out. I wanna see them in action.’
The music began playing as two of the crewmembers rolled out a large playpen with the two babies inside. After the crew left the stage, the music stopped.
‘Hello, babies,’ said Ricardo, using a pretend baby voice. ‘Say something intelligent. Blow my mind.’
‘You look funny,’ called out Duffo.
Marlon nodded enthusiastically.
‘Marvellous,’ said Ricardo as he stamped his foot hard. ‘I am a comedian. What an astute observation.’
Duffo and Marlon began laughing.
‘Isn’t that sweet!’ said Ricardo. ‘They have to be smart to appreciate my talent.’
‘Try asking Marlon a simple maths question,’ asked Ginger.
‘Okay, why not?’ said Ricardo. He then turned to the camera. ‘Hey idiots at home, time to pull out your abacus. You need to keep up with these wonder kids.’
Ricardo strutted around arrogantly for a few moments.
‘Here we go!’ said Ricardo as he did some strange stretching exercises. ‘What’s two plus two?’
‘Four,’ replied Marlon almost instantaneously.
‘Slow down,’ said Ricardo in a dramatic tone. ‘Please, do not show up my brain-dead viewers.’
Ricardo began bouncing around a little.
‘What’s thirty-four plus eighteen?’ rattled off Ricardo as he swung his head to face Marlon.
‘Fifty-two,’ replied Marlon in quick succession.
‘Seventy-six minus forty-one?’ asked Ricardo immediately.
‘Thirty-five,’ replied Marlon without breaking eye contact with Ricardo.
‘Is he right?’ said Ricardo as he slowly turned towards the camera. ‘Ha, I doubt you useless bunch can even remember the questions.’
‘Okay, they speak, and they know basic maths,’ said Ricardo as he gestured for his staff to bring out the musical instruments. ‘Now I want to hear the sweet music they play.’
The staff placed the keyboard in front of Duffo and two drums in front of Marlon. The babies’ faces lit up when they saw their favourite instruments.
They both began playing. The music was not very good, but there was some rhythm to it. Ricardo gestured towards Ginger to get up and dance with him. They did for a few minutes.
Ginger went over and patted the babies on the back to indicate for them to stop playing.
‘I’m going to be honest with you,’ chuckled Ricardo. ‘Neither of you are on the verge of making a top ten hit. However, that’s not really the point.’
Ricardo turned and pointed aggressively at the camera. ‘The point is these babies are more intelligent and talented than half of you losers sitting at home.’
Ricardo turned to face Ginger. ‘On a more serious note,’ he said in a less obnoxious voice. ‘How are these babies, health-wise?’
‘They had a few cuts and bruises from that tragic accident, but they have healed up well,’ said Ginger. ‘Much quicker than expected.’
‘Besides the accident, any problems?’ asked Ricardo. ‘I have noticed they look a little different from regular babies. They have green eyes. Their hair is not as thick. They also seem to be built a little leaner.’
‘The green eyes are a harmless side effect of the treatment when they were developing,’ said Ginger. ‘They are lean, but this is because they are growing a little more rapidly than other babies. They are going to be tall, but that does not pose any health complications. Overall, they are healthier than the average baby.’
‘That is absolutely fantastic news,’ said Ricardo, nodding. ‘Alright, everyone, give these wonderful babies a huge round of applause. You lot at home, get your fat arses out of your chairs and give them a standing ovation. They are the future of Sapey.’
Ginger walked off the stage, and the babies’ playpen was rolled off after her.
‘Next up, we have our gracious Governor Ryan and his spectacular wife Saliyah,’ said Ricardo. ‘Give them the drumroll.’
The drumroll began. Ricardo got down on his knees in a position of worship. Ryan and Saliyah walked on stage.
The drumroll stopped. Ryan and Saliyah stood in front of Ricardo, who was still on his knees.
‘You really don’t need to do that,’ said Ryan as he looked down at Ricardo. ‘I’m not Chief Waldo. I’m a democratically elected representative of the residents of the Capital District.’
Ricardo leapt to his feet. ‘I’m sorry about that,’ said Ricardo in a slightly shaky voice. ‘Old habits die hard. We no longer live under an iron-fisted tyrant.’
‘Democracy rules,’ screamed Saliyah into the camera.
‘Take the hot seat,’ said Ricardo to Saliyah. ‘The governor can stand like a gentleman.’
‘Ever thought about getting more seats?’ asked Ryan.
‘Despite the immense popularity of this show, our budget is shit,’ grumbled Ricardo.
‘When I see James tomorrow,’ said Ryan. ‘I’ll put in a good word for you.’
‘Awesome,’ said Ricardo as he pumped his fist, ‘my salary used to be below the new minimum wage.’
Waldo was at his cottage watching the television.
‘I knew it wouldn’t be long before they would be craving my presence,’ said Waldo as he turned to his wife.
‘Here’s another slice of walnut cake,’ she said as she handed it to him.
‘Looks like another case of a missing cherry,’ said Waldo as he looked down at his cake.
‘I was beyond impressed by what I saw from those babies,’ said Ryan as he positioned himself next to Saliyah, who was seated in the hot seat.
‘They are spectacular,’ said Ricardo. ‘Saying that, the average Linap has set the bar for intelligence incredibly low.’
‘You raise, in a rather crude manner, a very important point,’ said Ryan. ‘I’m a firm believer in equal opportunity. However, if certain Linap are given an unfair advantage, that is not going to be possible.’
‘That is an excellent point, sir,’ said Ricardo, nodding at the camera.
‘Artificially inflated intelligence provides the Alset family with a huge advantage,’ said Ryan calmly. ‘We’ve just witnessed the capabilities of these babies. Both of them will be geniuses. Both of them are almost guaranteed to be successful in life.’
‘Ah, I see you are getting to the point I was alluding to at the start of the show,’ said Ricardo.
‘In short, it would be impossible to stop the Alset family from enhancing their own intelligence,’ said Saliyah energetically as she bounced in the hot seat. ‘A better solution would be to enhance our own intelligence to match theirs. It is impossible to supply enough “blue juice” to our adults, but we can supply, with the help of Yensid Pharma, enough of the new serum to enhance the intelligence of all new babies born.’
‘I would like to add that this is just a proposal,’ said Ryan. ‘We cannot force anyone to have their unborn babies altered with this serum. In fact, I believe we cannot even allow this procedure at all unless supported by the public.’
‘So what is the next step?’ asked Ricardo in a serious tone.
‘Our next step is to hold a referendum,’ said Ryan. ‘This is a public vote to determine whether such a procedure can be offered to all future mothers during the first month of their pregnancy.’
‘So a simple “yes or no” vote?’ asked Ricardo.
‘The voting is simple, but the question is complex,’ said Ryan. ‘This new serum offers a little more than the original “blue juice”. It is not a temporary boost to intelligence. It is a permanent one. It will change our species forever.’
‘That is deep,’ said Ricardo. ‘I can hear the heads of the folks at home exploding as we speak.’
‘Considering the seriousness of the decision,’ said Ryan, ‘we will give our voters a month to decide. In that month, we will have debates from those who support the changes and those who oppose them. I am sure the House of Divine Knowledge will make a strong counterargument.’
‘Ultimately, the decision sits with the residents of all twelve districts,’ shouted Saliyah. ‘Remember, democracy is how we make decisions now. The old guys in robes do not.’
‘I think I’ve already made up my mind,’ said Ricardo energetically as he turned to face the camera. ‘We need to make morons like you go the way of the Sentray. Yeah, that’s right, extinct. Being smart is the future.’
‘You make such a compelling argument,’ said Saliyah as she jumped out of the hot seat. ‘You must participate in one of the debates.’
‘I would love to, but live audiences stress me out,’ said Ricardo as he swung around to face Saliyah. ‘A room full of morons. I admire your strength.’
Saliyah giggled, while Ryan looked a little more serious.
‘That brings our special show to an end,’ said Ricardo. ‘I would like to thank all of you, but I know most of you are just too lazy to get up and change the channel.’
The music began to play as Ryan, Saliyah, and Ricardo left the stage.
Locum was awake and had watched the show. He was not happy with what he had seen.
Sapien Loop: End of an Era
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my @spectrumecons account, and in individual chapters in my @captainhive account.
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