Democracy vs Corporatocracy

Chapter Fifty: The Evil Ultimatum

July 2nd 2061

The Second American Civil War had now entered it's second week and the country was in a state of total war. Over ten million Americans had died in the fighting already and millions more were leaving America to escape the fighting. The Confederacy of American States had control of the deep south and were fighting government and corporate forces for control of America. They were little more than a right wing dictatorship, they had banned abortion, criminalized the LGBT community and had outlawed negative discussion of the Confederacy. They had also enforced martial law in areas with majority black populations with the excuse that it was to restore order. The police had been given an unnecessary amount of authority and had abused this authority a lot already. In fact, one police officer had been beating a fourteen year old black boy to death for being out past curfew. He and his mother were simply rescuing a cat from up a tree, but the police nearly killed him. When poor Timothy's mother tried to stop him, she was shot dead and Timothy barely escaped. This had sparked outrage across the Confederacy, leading to an explosion in support for Black Nationalism. The Corpos were trying to take control so that they could profit off America's resources and ignore the damage they do. The government were desperately trying to retain control and were on the brink of collapse. Finally, the Freedom Democracy League and their allies sought to return America to the way it was before the Corpos ruined it and to turn America into a Direct Democracy. The F.D.L had control of all New England and much of Upstate New York and since the West Coast had declared peace with the League, they didn't have to worry about that region of America very much. Alaska had joined Canada to spare themselves from the fighting and Hawaii had declared independence so that they would not get involved in the war. New York City was under complete control of the Krieger Corporation and the League had been trying ever so desperately to take control of the city and fly their flag at the top of Lady Liberty. Their attempts to liberate New York were for a multitude of reasons, potential new soldiers in the Army of Freedom for one, but also symbolically. As Marcus Libertad had said "Lady Liberty represents America and once we fly our flag from it's torch, we will be the rightful rulers of America".

In Hartford, thousands of soldiers were training for an offensive into New York. Over 50,000 soldiers were preparing to march into the city and liberate it from the Krieger Corporation. All of them were assembled at the entrance to the stadium in orderly fashion and were about to receive an address from High Councillor of Military Operations Ryan Armis. Spectators from all over the city and New England had gathered to watch the speech and were rather excited to hear what Ryan had to say. Ryan was standing on top of a military truck and was right below the huge billboard that would show people outside of the stadium footage of what was going on inside of it. Ryan had a thick black beard and a red beret. Holding a microphone in his right hand, he said to the soldiers in his southern accent "Brave men and women o the Army of Freedom, my name is Ryan Armis and I am the High Councillor of Military Operations. For twenty years I have helped the League in our fight to rid America of the Corporate menace who ruined this God blessed nation of ours. Now Private Libertad has told me bout how y'all have been training hard to take back America and I must say that I'm proud of you n your hard work". Ryan then told them "Now if there's one thing my Ma taught me, it's that working hard means greater success in life and that laziness means failure in life. Always remember that laziness n slacking off aint gonna make ya life better. But discipline n hard work will give y'all a good chance at life".

Before Ryan could continue talking, the huge screen above him flickered to life and started showing static. Ryan looked up at the screen and said "Now what in the Sam hill is going in up there?" The operator for the screen was in the control room and could tell something was wrong. The screen had been showing F.D.L propaganda all day, but now it had turned static. The operator then saw a warning appear on his computer that said "Warning! Display screen has been accessed by unauthorised personnel". Realising what this meant, the Operator turned on the speakers next to the screen and said through the microphone "Attention everyone, the screen has been hacked!" The soldiers and the spectators gasped in shock! Ryan stood up and asked aloud "Hacked? By who!?" The screen then stopped showing static and changed to show a red K and the words "Krieger Corporation" in a 50's style red with a white outline. The voices of multiple men in a jingle style tone was then heard "Krieger Corporation, proudly presents". The screen then changed the man who the League had designated Public Enemy Number One: Albert Krieger. He had changed quite a bit since Marcus last encountered him. He was now in his early seventies and his hair had completely receded into baldness. He also harboured a grudge towards the League for sending him to prison. The moment he appeared on screen with an evil smile, the soldiers and civilians started booing him. Albert was wearing a very expensive suit and was in a large white room. Filled with anger, Ryan said "Albert Krieger. Now ya got a lotta nerve showing your face on that there tee vee". Albert grinned and said through the screen "Nice to see you all today. Now as you know, I Albert Krieger am CEO of the Krieger Corporation and in case you didn't know, America belongs to Me". The people booed him even more as Ryan shouted "That's absurd! America belongs to everyone!" Krieger then said "Apparently, our country is in the mist of a Civil War and I have decided to end it". The people turned silent. Some hoped that he was willing to negotiate, but most knew that he was going to deliver a threat. Krieger then explained "Now my company owns New York City and a few days ago, I had an engineered virus placed into a missile. One that will be fired on July 4th. The virus was procured by MegaCorp after the collapse of ArmTech and is called the Demon's Death and will cover our entire country, this is what you can expect".

Ryan's face froze with shock. The League's worst fears were confirmed, the Corpos were once again planning to use the Demon's Death for their evil deeds. Behind Krieger were three large glass windows in the wall and they looked all steamed up. Krieger walked over to the one on the far left as it became clear and showed a man who had a red rash across his body. He looked visibly uncomfortable and was in a small padded room. Krieger stood by the window and said in an unsettlingly casual tone "After a short incubation, victims are present with stage one symptoms: a red rash, as the Demon's Death eats up all of the Vitamin D inside of the body". Krieger then walked over to the second window and it became clear and showed another man in a padded room. The man had a red rash that was more spread out across his body and was waving himself around like a lunatic. Krieger then proceeded to say "Next, second stage symptoms appear, mania, as the virus kills off the Vitamin D in the brain. Very distressing to the infected person and those around them". Krieger then walked up to the third window and it became clear to show a man in stage three infection. The rash had covered almost his whole body and he was clenching his right hand at his chest. He was paralysed and was not moving one bit. Krieger then proceeded to explain "Victims will then enter stage three: paralysis. The muscles will enter a state of catastrophic seizure and once the muscles of the thorax become affected, breathing becomes impossible. Leading to a very painful death within twelve hours". Krieger then simply smiled as the man's eyes and nose spewed out blood. The man then collapsed on the ground, having perished of the Demon's Death. Krieger then walked back to the camera and said "But fear not, you have my word I will not fire the missile, if the following conditions are met". Ryan sighed and said "This can't be good". Krieger then proceeded to explain his evil ultimatum "First, all hostilities stop and all off shoots of MegaCorp are absorbed into the Krieger Corporation. Second, Me and my Company are given full legal immunity. Third, the Emancipation Proclamation and thirteenth amendment are abolished, re-establishing slavery and enslaving all of the homeless people in America".

The people all gasped in shock! Twenty percent of the population lived in tents because they could not afford housing, they worked long and hard hours at work every day and were slaves in all but name. Now Krieger wanted to make it official and rob them of their freedom! Krieger then evilly said "This will pave the way for a new market economy, restarting what the Confederacy fought to preserve: the natural order of things. Meet my demands, or about seventy or so percent of the population DIES. Also, my wife Karen want's Her Daughter in Law executed, apparently She doesn't want anymore brownie blood in our family". The broadcast then stopped and the screen went static. The crowd was shocked at this horrific footage. Ryan cleared his throat and said "Everyone remain calm, our forces are headed to New York and will hopefully stop that there maniac". Meanwhile in New Boston, Marcus was at a conference room with the European Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the Siberian Minister of State who had come to discuss the League's status as a nation. The three of them had just seen the footage on live tv that had been broadcasted across the whole nation. With shock and horror raging through him, Secretary Nigel Jones got up and said "Bloody hell! That lunatic's gonna turn America into a toxic quarantine zone!" Minister Kobzar gasped in horror and asked Marcus "Isn't that the same gas that Putin planned on using during the Siberian War of Independence so many years ago?" Marcus wiped the sweat off his head and said "Yes, I can't believe that Krieger has some of it now". Marcus then clenched His fist and angrily said "No way is that criminal getting His hands on My wife and our child". Nigel then asked Marcus "Well, how did you stop ArmTech back in 2042 then?" Marcus was silent for a moment, but then he said "Agent Internal". Nigel was confused and asked "Hugh? Whose Agent Internal?" Marcus answered with "Our double agent inside of the Corpos". Marcus then pulled his phone from out of his pocket and went to the text messages. He scrolled down all the way to the bottom and said "Hopefully that jammer you installed on your phone works old friend". Marcus then pressed call on the number and put the phone to his ear. The call was then answered and a distorted voice said "Hello, who is this?" Marcus answered with "Internal, I need you to send me everything you know about this missile and how we can stop it. Because right now, your our only hope".