Amber & Ice

Chapter 32: A Serious Message

By the time they reached the new meeting place in a disused office block on the other side of the river, they were in no doubt that the news blast was referring to Ariadne. A number of articles had swiftly followed the headline, none of them remotely positive or neutral.

The Daily Politics: Disaffected LUP student plants bomb at the Headquarters for the Freedom Institute in London. Ariadne Taylor, a first year student at the London University of Politics, was apprehended late last night attempting to plant a bomb that was rigged to blow during an important board meeting this morning killing all of the Institute’s London based board members. 

Or so the FI would have you believe, Athena thought scathingly. Another article was already flashing across her screen.

The Voting View: Despite enrolling at LUP earlier this year, Taylor has an extremely poor attendance record. “We are greatly saddened by the news that any of our students would attempt to harm another human being. Due to poor academic marks, Miss Taylor was already undergoing disciplinary action at the University, and was going to be leaving us shortly. In light of her recent behaviour, Miss Taylor has now been expelled with immediate effect.”

“Wow, they’re abandoning her, just like that?” Athena asked, ice settling in her stomach.

“Does it really surprise you? And she wasn’t undergoing any disciplinary action; so long as you pay your fees, the LUP don’t care whether you show up to lectures or not. I’d have been out ages ago if that was the case!” Dyo replied, his eyes already scanning the next article.   

The Campaigner: Cassandra Flax, Taylor’s room mate, at the time of the bomb plot, was unsurprised by her behaviour. “I’ve always known something wasn’t right about her. They all says so. {Interestingly, the reported her chosen to omit the fact that the ‘they’ Cassy referred to were actually voices she believed she heard in the walls} She let [people] steal my food too.” 

The Pop Times: Taylor has no living family, however her ancestors have a history of public disorder. Her father, formerly a chairman for the Liberty Group, became infamous seven years ago following a naked protest in Trafalgar Square. Following public backlash, he became a recluse, dying only a year later. 

“In very mysterious circumstances, they ought to add. Ari is sure senior members of the LG bumped him off for speaking out against them. And he only stripped off when partners at the firm told him it was an offence to protest in LG clothing, as it suggested that they ‘endorsed his views’,” Orion added gruffly to this report. 

Taylor is currently being held in Trafalgar Detention Centre, awaiting trial. 

But it wasn’t only the news feeds which were discussing Ariadne. As dawn broke and more Londoners awoke, the feeds were buzzing with speculation. None of it was positive. 

PopGrlXO: Why are people so desperate to harm our peaceful society?

Greenie: I bet she was behind the other bombings in London too. 

Voting_Queen: Those poor people at the Freedom Institute! They work so hard for our best interests.

Yeah right, Athena thought. These posters had no idea what they were talking about.

The_World_is_Ours: The people who planted the bombs are terrorists. 

JonnyT: They are attacking freedom of speech and our right to control the world we live in. 

Couldn’t they see that they were already being controlled? The FI told them someone was trying to plant a bomb and their trust in the system was so absolute they believed them without question. Athena shook her head. 

L0nd0ner: We cannot let terrorism win!

Brown_Eyes25: These people are dangerous. 

Greenie: They should lock her up and throw away the key as soon as they find out who else was working with her. 

One of the interesting quirks of Athena’s society was that punishments were rarely set in stone. Once a trial had been held to establish guilt or innocence, sanctions were often voted on. Straightforward cases had set punishments, which usually fit the crime and rarely consisted purely of incarceration, which was saved only for those deemed too dangerous to be out in public. Shoplifters had to work for free in the establishments they stole from; anyone who broke the indoor smoking ban had to volunteer on lung cancer wards; cycling offences usually resulted in a temporary ban. However the guilty party could always appeal their punishment and send it to a wider vote and were often successful at personalising their sanction once extenuating circumstances and unique factors were taken into account. You had to ‘opt-in’ for jury voting, which the masses tended only to do when a particularly interesting trial was being discussed on the feeds. 

CityLiving: There should be a trial immediately!

GatsbyGirl: Lock her up? Jail is too good for scum like her. 

Toni_Mor: Why should we be paying for her food and board through our taxes for the rest of her life? 

L0nd0ner: Others might see it as an easy option. 

Vote_Life: A serious message needs to be sent. 

CityLiving: We need to teach them a lesson through a severe punishment; something that will ensure no one tries something like this ever again. 

Afterworld: The death penalty should be brought back!

Camp101: Surely that’s too extreme?

Yes! Yes that was definitely too extreme!

xPopVoteLifex: Why? She would have killed hundred of innocent workers at the Freedom Institute, given the chance. 

No she wouldn’t! Athena thought, desperate to defend her friend. Although a nagging voice at the back of her mind questioned what Ariadne’s actions would have been, had she found herself in that very situation…

Coffee&Cupcakes: Someone needs to start a vote and camp. We have to push this through. 

New Vote: Death Penalty for terrorists. Do you vote for, or against?

Against! Against! Athena voted furiously, her eyes wide in shock. How could this be happening? There hadn’t even been a trial yet and the masses were already deciding how to punish her. The situation was spiralling out of control. Why was no one stopping to question whether she was innocent. Oh wait, here was one:

MagicMayhem: Maybe there has been a mistake. Let’s wait and see what the trial uncovers. 

IT_Queen: What, she was just going for a midnight stroll through the FI with a bomb, was she?

VicTB: Some people are idiots.

SamBeck: Maybe the previous poster is one of her friends. Maybe they’re in on the plot to. Someone track that feed name! We’ve got you now!

Great. Now completely innocent people were being attacked to. Was there no end to this insanity? What would they do next?  

Coffee&Cupcakes: Camp rally outside the jail where she’s being held. Muster at 7am sharp. Get everyone you know there. When the authorities see how strongly we feel about this, they’ll have to carry out her death straight away!

“Oh God!” Athena whispered, slipping down onto the cold ground. “We have to help her.”