“You see that?” A man pointed his finger out to the distance. He looked down to another man, laying near him.
“See what?” The man had his eyes covered with his forearm.
“It’s gonna be a lot easier to see if you open your eyes.”
The man sighed, removing his forearm and sitting up, “Man, you know this heat ain’t good for us.”
“Yeah, I know…” He smirked, “But hey, maybe the president guy will help us get into that tower. They sure as shit got AC in there.”
“Maybe.” The man rubbed his eyes. “Well damn it, now you got me wanting to go see that bastard speak.”
The man chuckled, standing and offering his friend a hand up. They began walking towards a sizeable pedestal.
A soft, yet consistent noise filled the air, growing in volume as it drew closer. Everybody looked towards the noise to see a black limousine. It drove to about 10 feet away from the stairs to the pedestal. It’s door opened, the driver stepping out, he rounded the limousine and opened another door. The crowd began looking in awe as a man in a dark green suit stood up from the inside. His hair was slicked back, going down the length of his skull. He sported eye glasses that lie on the edge of his nose. His hand quickly shot up as his middle finger reasserted the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He cracked a smile as his hand dropped from his face, revealing the two rather deep dimples drilling into his cheeks. He looked up, his eyes revealed a deep green colour, spiraling around his iris like his head was a violent storm. Another man approached him, this one stood some inches taller and sported a dark green suit.
“Ah, President Desangue! What a pleasure it is to see you could make it to your own speech.” President Desangue looked into Scott’s eyes. They flowed with warm brown and red strands surrounding his iris; an explosion of Autumn in his head.
“That’s Derram Desangue to you!” Derram winked as Scott smiled from his humor. “Only hardly known acquaintances get the liberty of calling me President or Mister.”
“Understood, sir.” Scott reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, holding it out to Derram. “I did, however, go the extra mile and type up your speech for you: Times New Roman font, size 12, bold, italicized, and underlined title, just the way you like it.”
Derram grabbed the paper and unfolded it to see Scott’s words marking the page, “Oh Scott, you are indeed an angel of sorts.”
“And wonders?”
“And dreams. Had it not been for you picking up my slack these people would’ve been speechless at my speechless speech.”
“It is what I do best, making sure others are happy and well-prepared for the tasks ahead.” Scott smiled, his teeth showing. Derram unfolded the piece of paper and stepped up onto the pedestal. As he settled, he read the first line of his paper.
“Greetings, people of Earth!” Derram briefly covered the microphone and spoke under his breath, “If that wasn’t the most cliche way I could’ve started this…” He uncovered the microphone and cleared his throat, proceeding to give his speech:
“As we all know, life has been very tough for mankind this last year. Ever since the meteor hit the Earth in 2047, our supplies and resources have been beyond limited. All of our budget has gone from escaping this planet to colonize Mars, to simply ensuring survival here. I know, leading a group such as this will not be easy, but I feel I am the best man to do the job. As such, with my leadership, I am implementing some new rules:
All non-government bodies currently residing in the Residential Splotch will now have access to a garden and fresh filtered water, courtesy of Doctor Chemino Jinlaggi.
A presidential term is a mere 4 years, not enough to get anything done. As such, I will be leading you until the day I die.
Any and all acts of aggression towards a government or non-government body will result in immediate imprisonment and from there, potential execution by the hand of Tenebrous Litigator Devin Saito.
All government bodies will carry a firearm in order to defend and enforce.
Failure to abide by any of these rules will, again, result in immediate imprisonment and from there, potential execution by the hand of Tenebrous Litigator Devin Saito.
On a happier note, we are currently attempting to discover different scientific breakthroughs to make life on this Earth more bearable for all of us. Chemino Jinlaggi has already developed a coolant barrier we will be ready to test in two years.
For the time being, this is President Derram Amento Desangue, bidding you all good luck until next we meet!”
Derram stepped down from the pedestal and the crowd roared. Scott welcomed him at the bottom step, reaching his hand out to shake Derram’s.
Derram felt Scott’s touch and pulled his hand away, “Oh you don’t want to-”
“Yeah, I kinda forgot that’s a thing you do.” Scott chuckled nervously, rubbing his hand down his shirt to dry it of the sweat Derram’s had accumulated.
“Who thought it was a good idea for me, the president, to give a speech in front of about ten-million people?” Derram asked, blankly sarcastic.
“I dare say you did.” Scott looked towards the limousine, “Shall we be off towards civilians to their homes?”
Derram looked over to the mass of people standing in the large crowd, all of which being escorted by Defense Agents back to their homes.
“I say I’ve had enough heat for one sitting. We should head back to the Head-Quarters before I lose my mind.” Scott led Derram to the door of the limousine and opened it for him. As Derram sat, Scott closed the door and looped around, getting in the seat beside him.
Scott looked at the driver and requested, “Back to the Head-Quarters please, sir.” The driver nodded as they began to drive off. Scott looked back at Derram, he noticed the new president’s eyes. The darted from corner to corner, galaxies formed and yet his complexion remained calm as a stone statue.
Derram examined the sky, deep into thought. Reality had faded completely. “Is it truly? Of course it is, the Eternal Northern Lights say so. It is power. But is power what I want? Is power what I need? That I cannot say I am certain of. It is a bizarre mixture of wanting the best of everyone and yet wanting everyone to be placed outside of misery’s reach. A damning thing as such. I know damn well I will be placing first in the race to Hell, but for a sin like this I cannot deny my fate. I instead must embrace it. Whatever I do, is for the best of humanity.”
Scott nudged Derram’s arm, “You okay there bud?”
Derram nodded, “Yes. I beg of you however, do not let me destroy anything. I do not care what the cost may be of stopping me. If you must end my life to prevent me from doing something irreversible, it is not only accepted, but welcomed.”
“That is rather… intense.” Scott looked at the chair in front of him, processing Desangue’s request. “Are… you sure about this?”
“As sure as I ever have or will be.” Derram looked at Scott for a brief moment, his thought train pulling into another station, “When we get back, I will need you to pay a few respectable members of the community a visit in my favor. I will need their presence in a meeting to decide the fate of planet Earth and its inhabitants.”
Scott returned a nod to Derram. “Consider it done.”
Derram looked out the window to see the Presidential Election Defense Organization Head-Quarters, “We are home, Scott.”
YOU ARE READING
Age Of Impossibility
General FictionA meteor strike renders all but a plot in Cuba to be uninhabitable. The remaining humans have gathered what resources they can to survive in this new world, but the most pressing question reamins: "Who will guide us through this perilous world?"
