Chapter 21: For the Love of Democracy
Joan had no problems promoting democracy over the radio. It appeared she was right. It seemed that Yensid Media only cared about the money and not the message. Sally was right about students listening to the radio.
In the following weeks, democracy became the hottest topic among the youth. The Democracy Chasers arranged, with the help of youth groups from several schools across the Capital District, a protest in the Capital City demanding they had the right to choose their leaders. Yensid Media promptly covered the protest.
Waldo was in his palace watching television with his wife. His favourite weekly magic show was being broadcast. The show was abruptly interrupted with reports of the students’ protest. Footage showed students marching with signs that had ‘Election Now’ and ‘We Want to Rule Ourselves’ written on them. Someone was even carrying a sign of Waldo’s face with a big red ‘X’ through it. Waldo stared at his television in horror. He grabbed the telephone and called James.
‘Good afternoon. How may I help?’ said James confidently into the phone.
‘It’s Chief Waldo the Third,’ blurted Waldo. ‘I’m very angry. My favourite show was interrupted. It was interrupted by this outrageous student protest. Some impudent punk defaced an image of my greatness. How can you allow this to happen on your channel?’
‘This definitely looks bad,’ replied James timidly. ‘Don’t worry, I can fix this.’
‘Oh, I’m not worried,’ said Waldo angrily. ‘I think you need to be worried. Get yourself over to my palace now.’
‘No problem, chief,’ said James calmly. ‘I’ll be over immediately.’
Waldo slammed the phone down.
Half an hour later, James arrived at the palace. Waldo’s butler escorted him to the media room. Waldo was leaning forward, watching the television.
‘I hope this is more to your liking,’ said James confidently as he approached Waldo.
The broadcast of the protest had ended. The channel was now broadcasting interviews of Linap in the street. They were asked about what they thought of Chief Waldo. Every interviewee answered favourably.
‘This is definitely an improvement,’ replied Waldo as he glanced across at James.
‘I’m sorry to have caused you so much anxiety,’ said James as he stood by Waldo’s side. ‘I tell my media teams to cover the most important news. This stood out to them as important.’
‘I pride myself on my kindness and generosity,’ said Waldo. ‘In return, I only ask for loyalty.’
‘You have my 100% loyalty,’ said James as he bowed his head. ‘You also have my 100% honesty.’
There was a pause in the conversation as Waldo pondered what James had just said. He then nodded his head.
‘Honesty is good,’ said Waldo. ‘Tell me honestly, what are these protests about?’
‘They have been sparked by an idea,’ said James. ‘This idea is rapidly becoming a belief. It is the belief that our society has evolved to the point that the residents can self-govern. They want to choose the best among themselves.’
‘That sounds incredibly serious,’ said Waldo frowning.
‘As you can see, this belief has become very popular among the young,’ said James. ‘All those at the protests are teenagers. The interviews I’m currently airing indicate that the adults are still fully in favour of your leadership.’
‘Great,’ said Waldo, sounding upbeat. ‘We’ll get the schools to set them straight. That’ll be that.’
‘It’s not quite that simple,’ said James. ‘A more authoritarian approach may exasperate the problem.’
‘I see what you mean,’ replied Waldo as he began twiddling with his hair. ‘I might be inadvertently making their point.’
‘These children will soon be adults,’ said James firmly. ‘It is likely they will maintain these beliefs and be able to spread them more widely. Within a few years, this could become a serious problem.’
‘Problems, what problems? Tell me more,’ demanded Waldo as he grew more agitated.
‘More frequent and larger protests,’ said James. ‘This could lead to social unrest if their demands are not met.’
‘You mean they will try to overthrow me!’ said Waldo as he raised his voice.
‘Not immediately,’ said James. ‘It’ll be stronger demands for elections. The longer you resist, the more unpopular you will become. If you eventually cave to them, they will vote you out. If you don’t cave to them, they will throw you out.’
Waldo leapt from his seat. ‘This can’t be!’ he shouted. ‘Who’s behind this evil?’
‘The group “Democracy Chasers” appears to have organised this event,’ said James. ‘However, they are being funded by someone else. I strongly suspect a wealthy family.’
‘I think I know who’s behind this treason,’ shouted Waldo. ‘The Alset family couldn’t be content with just being richer than me. They want my throne.’
‘Calm down, chief,’ said James as he tried to coax Waldo back into his seat. ‘You’ll make yourself ill. None of this has happened yet. There is no proof that the Alset family wants you removed.
Waldo sat back down. He took several deep breaths.
‘Then again,’ added James, ‘Locum did publish his granddaughter’s essay titled “Democracy: Our Saving Choice”. It does feel like it could be inspiration for today’s event.’
‘Alas, the great Waldo falls from his laurels,’ bellowed Waldo as he dramatically dropped to his knees.
‘This will only happen if we do nothing,’ said James as he gently placed his hand on Waldo’s shoulder. ‘This disaster can be averted.’
‘What must thy great Waldo do to prevent this nightmare from unfolding?’ said Waldo as he looked up at James.
‘First, you need to get back in your seat and relax,’ said James calmly.
Waldo shuffled around. He grabbed the arms of his chair, and he pulled himself up. He then flopped back into it.
Waldo’s wife entered the media room. She was carrying a tray with a plate of donuts and two glasses of fruit juice on it.
‘I heard all the commotion,’ said Waldo’s wife. ‘I assumed you were hungry.’
‘This is more than mere tummy rumblings, darling,’ said Waldo as he pretended to be stoic. ‘Our greatest enemy marches relentlessly towards our doorstep.’
‘Sounds wonderful, sweety,’ said his wife as she placed the tray down next to him. She then kissed him on the forehead. She then looked across at James. ‘It’s a pleasure to see you here today, James. Your entertainment shows bring so much joy into Waldo’s life.’ Then she exited the media room.
‘Perfect example as to why it is critical for a chief to have sons,’ said Waldo firmly as he looked at James.
‘Yes, quite so,’ said James, looking a little perplexed.
Waldo looked at his donuts. ‘Chocolate-sprinkled ring donuts, eh,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘It’s definitely a lesser donut. Caramel-centred, that is a donut worthy for a true leader.’
‘Anyway, shall we get back on topic?’ asked James politely.
‘Yeah, sure,’ said Waldo as he took a big bite out of his donut.
‘The push for democracy is inevitable. It is not a threat now, but it will be one day,’ said James. ‘I say we deal with it while we can.’
‘You make no sense,’ said Waldo as he continued eating. ‘If it’s inevitable, it can’t be stopped.’
‘We don’t deal with it by attempting to stop it,’ said James as he raised his hand, pointing his index finger upwards. ‘We deal with it by embracing it.’
‘Great, give up now so they won’t beat us later,’ said Waldo angrily as he shook his plate.
‘We wouldn’t be giving up. We would be winning,’ said James confidently. ‘All the adults are firmly behind you. Look at the television. Every adult interviewed supports you.’
Waldo frowned and then he smiled.
‘The children are the ones against me,’ said Waldo confidently. ‘But voting would be restricted to adults.’
‘Of course it would be,’ said James as he smugly smiled. ‘They would also have no further grounds for protest because we would have given them what they want.’
‘Yes, exactly,’ said Waldo, pumping his fist.
‘On top of that, who would run against you?’ said James. ‘There are no prominent political figures outside of your family. The Alset family members are known by their brand and not by face.’
‘Damn,’ said Waldo excitedly. ‘You are a genius. The Alset family would never see this coming.’
‘Better than that, my chief,’ said James as he got up from his seat. ‘You will be sending a message to the young that you care about their opinions and you are not afraid of letting them have a say.’
‘Even though they won’t actually have a say in this election,’ laughed Waldo as he stood up to hug James.
‘You shouldn’t be the only one taking this “risk”,’ chuckled James. ‘The other chiefs need to step up and have elections too.’
‘I’ll be onto that ASAP,’ said Waldo firmly. ‘We will have a joint announcement. If those guys can’t cut it, they’re out.’
Waldo picked up the two glasses of fruit juice. He handed one to James.
‘Let’s toast your great idea and my awesomeness,’ said Waldo as he held his drink high.
‘Let’s also toast this wonderful thing called “democracy”. No longer the vehicle of our demise, but your vehicle of success,’ responded James as he held his drink high.
The two laughed for a little while longer before diverting their attention back to the television, where the interviews praising Waldo continued.
About an hour later, James left Waldo’s palace. After he walked through the gate, a female wearing a large hat greeted him.
‘Did he bite?’ she asked.
‘He took the bait and half the line with it,’ chuckled James.
The two locked arms and walked off together.
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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