Chapter 96: The Sapiens
James’ stunt caused all at the meeting temporary sickness for a few weeks. It did not affect their plans. The biggest businesses bought up the Government’s assets. The revenue from the sales went back to the pharmaceutical companies. Rezif Company had now surpassed Bramley Company as the largest pharmaceutical company in Sapey. The vaccines proved to be completely ineffective. In some cases, they caused even more disease. The treatments were considerably more effective, but they needed to be ongoing for the positive results to continue.
The Government continued to subsidise healthcare, but it came at a great cost. Expenditure outside of healthcare was almost nonexistent.
James and Jeff became isolated in the business world. Yensid Media and the Pound Ball League were bankrupt. Ginger physically recovered from her injuries, but she was never the same again. She rarely spoke to anyone. She completely refused to talk about what happened the day the convoy was attacked.
Jason Bramley lost the next election. A candidate from the House of Divine Knowledge replaced him. This election had the lowest turnout in history. Only twenty percent of eligible voters voted. There was some unrest, but most of the population even lacked the energy and willpower to do that. There was widespread demoralisation as more than three quarters of the population were experiencing abject poverty. This population was rapidly declining as the older generations were rapidly dying because of poor sanitation and the inability to pay for the privatised healthcare. This decline was going to inevitably increase. Birth rates had dropped to record lows, and it appeared many of the second generation were infertile.
Another decade passed. There was consensus in the scientific community that a cure to the genetic disorders was not possible without changing the genetics of their species. Back breeding using females from the old Linap was no longer possible. There were still a few males who could breed with the new Linap. Marlon appealed to start another back breeding program. It was declined. Several new Linap females took it upon themselves to back breed with old Linap males. They hide in small towns. One of these females was Alma Bramley, the younger sister of Jason Bramley. She and her baby hid in a small town just outside of Adoy. The Government no longer had resources to hunt them down.
Marlon agreed to work with Rezif Company to develop fertility drugs for the next generation. After many years of trials, they finally had some success. The first second generation couple gave birth to a child. This child had the same generic problems as her parents. The population of Linap was falling incredibly sharply. It seemed like this trend could not be reversed. Almost all the old Linap had died. Ginger, James, and Twaldi had died within a year of each other. Jeff and Waldo put all of their resources together to help as much as they could.
Elections had officially been suspended. An emergency Government was formed. Twelve governors of equal authority replaced the position of one governor. These governors consisted of the twelve most senior Linap in Sapey. These governors were Waldo, Jeff Yensid, Marlon Carvaress, Trafalgar (Head Philosopher), Gettering (Head Theologist), Reveileb, August Rezif, Jason Bramley, Maskameera Wolf, Octavius Spiro (President of Spiro Company), Henry Kosh (President of Aivr Company), and Charles Leaw (Owner of Leaw Food Company). Decisions were now made based on consensus. Reveileb had been fighting for a change in Government structure for a long time. This new structure was not exactly what he had envisioned, but he believed it was a vast improvement.
Another year passed, and the population of the Linap had fallen by another twenty percent. Even the first generation of new Linap were dying of various different diseases. Treatments had only moderately improved. The fertility of the next generation was very low but had improved a little with the help of Marlon’s fertility drug. August Rezif called an emergency meeting of the governors to vote on his proposal to save the Linap. They met in the old city hall. They were seated in a small circle facing each other.
‘I have called this meeting today because our species faces dire circumstances,’ said August as he looked around the circle. ‘I have come up with a rather drastic proposal, but I believe it has a chance to preserve our species. I have consulted with Marlon Carvaress, and my company will work with his to make this proposal a reality if the proposal receives a majority vote today.’
‘I’ll let you have the floor, my friend,’ said August as he gestured towards Marlon.
‘I do not see any cure outside of genetic modification,’ said Marlon. ‘I am unable to propose any genetic modifications that, according to Business Sector leaders, meet the standards of maintaining species integrity.’
‘In other words, his proposal for back breeding or any significant manipulation of genes based on the “others” is unacceptable,’ interrupted Maskameera in a haughty voice.
‘Yes,’ sighed Marlon. ‘But, apparently, creating a Linap-Sape hybrid is acceptable.’
Both Trafalgar and Gettering gasped in shock.
‘Calm down!’ said August firmly. ‘I’d like to add a little context. There is no plan to continue our species as a Linap-Sape hybrid. I’m proposing the creation of this hybrid to help future generations who will struggle with certain tasks.’
‘Surely, developing robots would be a better approach,’ said Trafalgar. ‘We have no business doing the work of a higher power.’
‘Haha, we are the higher power,’ chuckled Maskameera. ‘Well, maybe not those three,’ she added as she pointed at Waldo, Jeff, and Reveileb.
‘They’re talking about creating a slave race,’ said Marlon as he looked over at Trafalgar.
Waldo folded his arms and shook his head in disapproval.
‘Such hypocrisy,’ remarked Maskameera as she pouted her lips at Waldo. ‘Slavery was your father’s legacy.’
‘Robots can only get us so far,’ said August. ‘Even then, they still need maintenance, repair, transportation, and programming. We would need artificial intelligence for this to even be a feasible solution. However, this is a path I’m willing to explore at some point.’
‘Your hybrid proposal may not be feasible either,’ said Marlon. ‘We need a workable hybrid combination. Then, they need to mature. Then, they need to be trained before they can be put to work. We could be talking about decades. During this time, our population will continue to dwindle. Where will the resources come from to make this a reality?’
‘Is a workable hybrid possible?’ asked August.
‘Based on the parameters you have laid out, yes.’
‘That’s all I need to know,’ replied August as he nodded his head.
‘Your problems are not hard to solve,’ added Maskameera. ‘All Linap will be transferred to the main cities of the Capital, West, and Phoenix. The rural areas will be designated as no-go zones and wastelands. Robots can do the farming. Other materials can be obtained from recycling the property of the dead.’
‘There is a second part to my proposal,’ said August. ‘We will create an inferior but more rapidly bred Linap-Sape hybrid. It will be smart enough to do simple tasks but too dumb to question anything.’
‘If we succeed, what happens when the population of our intelligent hybrid species swells to greater than our own?’ asked Henry.
‘It won’t matter,’ replied August. ‘They will never know we exist. We will just need to ensure our future generations can tap into their natural shapeshifting ability.’
Both Marlon and Jeff sighed.
‘Any more questions?’ asked August, looking around the circle. ‘If not, let’s take a vote on it.’
There was a brief pause.
‘Okay, let’s vote,’ said August. ‘Raise your hand if you support my proposal.’
August, Maskameera, Henry, Jason, Charles, and Octavius raised their hands.
‘Looks like a tie,’ said August, looking at the six who did not raise their hands. ‘What concessions do I need to make to win your votes?’
‘I want assurance that the hybrid species won’t be treated as slaves,’ said Waldo.
‘You’ve got to be kidding,’ remarked Maskameera as she looked around at the others. ‘You’re not qualified to be part of this Government. You’re old, fat, and incredibly stupid.’
‘I fully support what Waldo said,’ said Marlon firmly as he gazed across at Maskameera.
‘So do I,’ said Reveileb, Gettering, and Trafalgar together.
‘Me too,’ added Jeff.
‘Agreed. They will not ever be slaves,’ replied August. ‘It’ll be written in divine law, under the protection of the House of Divine Knowledge.’
‘I need more assurance than that,’ said Reveileb.
‘What are you suggesting?’ asked August.
‘Separation and decentralisation of power,’ replied Reveileb. ‘Power can never be allowed to sit with so few. The new species, wherever they might reside, must have and be able to choose their representation in Government. Elections must be used to elect governors of equal power from anywhere in Sapia. The new species must be allowed, through meritocratic processes, to rise to any position within any of our great institutes.’
‘So, in other words, you’d have them rule us,’ remarked Maskameera as she wildly gestured.
‘If we are truly the superior species, that’ll never happen,’ replied Reveileb.
‘Are these the terms of all six of you?’ asked August.
One by one, the six who did not raise their hands nodded.
‘Fine, if you give my proposal your full support, Reveileb’s new proposal of governance will be written into divine law,’ said August in a frustrated tone.
‘This is insane,’ shouted Jason. ‘I do not support this ridiculous ultimatum, and neither does Maskameera.’
‘I do not support it,’ said Maskameera angrily as she glared at Jason.
‘Let’s vote again,’ said August.
This time only Maskameera and Jason did not raise their hands.
‘Then it is settled,’ shouted August.
After the meeting, the newly appointed Head Enforcer stopped Jason outside the old city hall. The former commander of the flying vehicle division and several other enforcers accompanied him.
‘Sir, we are placing you under arrest for mass murder,’ said the Head Enforcer as an enforcer handcuffed him.
‘This is outrageous,’ shouted Jason. ‘You can’t arrest me. I’m important.’
‘That’s what happens when you outlive your usefulness,’ said August as he passed him.
Maskameera, who was walking behind August, looked at Jason and giggled.
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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