Chapter 672 - 315: Reshaping the United States
The smell of gunpowder hung heavy in the hallway.
...
The massive brawl on Capitol Hill quickly became the talk of all of Washington, spread by countless eyes and phone calls.
All the members of Congress were stunned.
They were used to following the orders of their donors.
But now, the donors were fighting amongst themselves.
On one side was the energy and military-industrial complex, demanding industrial security and supporting Pittsburgh.
On the other were the pharmaceutical and financial groups, demanding market order and sanctions against Pittsburgh.
Both were behemoths, and they couldn’t afford to cross either one.
The lawmakers who had intended to pick a side on the issue now all chose to remain silent.
They hid in their offices, watching the titans clash, not daring to take a stand.
Washington was paralyzed.
This paralysis was exactly what Leo wanted.
As long as Congress failed to reach a consensus, the Federal Government couldn’t muster the unified will to intervene.
Then, the battlefield would return to its most primitive state.
Victory would go to whoever held the tangible assets.
...
Inside a studio at the CNN headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York.
The morning live newscast was underway.
The camera focused on a female scientist, who was weeping uncontrollably.
She wore a white lab coat emblazoned with the Pfizer logo. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were filled with despair.
In the background was a darkened laboratory, lit only by the ghastly red glow of an emergency light.
"Ten years of hard work... All gone."
The scientist sobbed at the camera, her voice catching.
"We were storing samples of our latest targeted drug for childhood leukemia in that cold storage unit. They needed to be kept at negative eighty degrees. Now... they’re just useless fluid at room temperature."
The host, his expression grim and his brow furrowed, took over in a judgmental tone.
"This is a murder of science. A crime against the future of humanity."
The headline scrolling at the bottom of the screen was a glaring, blood-red:
PITTSBURGH’S TYRANT CUTS POWER TO R&D CENTER, STALLING NEW CANCER DRUG RESEARCH
"Because of a single mayor’s political ambition, because of an irrational, populist frenzy, we have lost our chance to conquer cancer."
The host slammed his fist on the desk in anger.
"Leo Wallace claims he’s protecting the people, but what is he really doing? He’s cutting off the march of civilization. He’s holding our energy supply hostage. He’s using darkness to extort the light."
This was the mainstream media’s assault.
The New York Times ran a front-page photo of a crippled data center in Delaware with the headline: ’When Thugs Control the Power Grid’.
The Washington Post published an editorial lambasting the weaponization of energy as a new form of domestic terrorism.
The pharmaceutical conglomerates deployed all of their media resources.
They tried to seize the moral high ground, using lofty words like ’science,’ ’progress,’ and ’humanitarianism’ to crucify Leo on the cross of anti-intellectualism.
They wanted the public to see Leo as a madman willing to destroy humanity’s hope for his own selfish gain.
...
Pittsburgh. The Media and Public Opinion Control Center.
Sarah Jenkins stared at the wall of televisions.
Five of the six screens were broadcasting news attacking Leo.
"They’re smart."
Sarah said, her tone flat as she held a glass of ice water.
"They’re avoiding the topics of drug prices and supply cutoffs, talking only about the damaged samples and ’science.’ They want to shift the focus, make the public forget what started all this."
Standing beside her was a man in a plaid shirt, his face covered in stubble.
He was Mike, a media consultant sent by the right-wing faction of the Democratic Party and a former senior producer for Fox News.
"It’s the classic victim narrative."
Mike was chewing gum.
"They’re trying to play the victim, to make everyone think Pfizer is some poor, bullied rabbit while you’re the big bad bullies with a club."
"Too bad."
Mike popped a bubble of gum.
"They picked the wrong opponent, and the wrong battlefield."
"This move would’ve worked ten years ago. Back then, people respected science, respected the experts. But now? People only care about their wallets."
Mike looked at Sarah.
"The Energy Association is ready."
Sarah nodded and turned to face the control console.
"Let’s get to work. We’re going to reshape reality."
...
Eight o’clock at night.
On the highest-rated right-wing talk show in America.
The host, Tucker Barnes, sat before the camera.
His expression was exaggerated and quizzical, his brow furrowed into a question mark.
"Good evening. I’m Tucker."
"Today, CNN told us Leo Wallace is a bad guy because he cut the power to a pharmaceutical plant in New Jersey."
"They said that plant was researching life-saving medicine, and that we should be very sad about this."
Then, Tucker smirked.
"But... they didn’t tell you the other half of the story."
A photo appeared on the screen.
The photo showed a dilapidated apartment in Pittsburgh.
An elderly man sat on a tattered sofa, a prescription in his hand, his eyes vacant.
"This is Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh today."
Tucker’s voice dropped.
𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
"This man’s name is Johnny. He’s seventy-eight years old, and he’s been a steelworker his entire life."
"He’s sick, but he can’t get his medicine."
"Because Pfizer and Johnson—these two so-called ’guardians of science’—have cut off the supply of all life-saving medicine to Pittsburgh."
"And the reason? Because they didn’t think they were making enough money. They wanted to punish the mayor who was trying to save the poor some money."
The image on screen changed, switching to a brightly lit Pfizer R&D center.
"And this... is New Jersey."