Disclaimer:
There could be some very questionable political stances in this chapter, I would even dare to say disturbing ones. Clearly, I don't agree with such statements, I mostly need this chapter to reach a certain point which will be the base for the next few generations in the legacy.
From Luke's diary
When I returned back home from the library, I found Lyra impatiently waiting for me in the kitchen. That's unexpected, to say the least, we usually don't have much to talk about. Not knowing what to expect, I ended up asking her, very cautiously:
Luke: Did something happen?
Lyra: That's exactly what I wanted to ask you! It's 8 PM already, did you really stay at the library with Misty and Serena for this long? I thought you would have been bored a lot sooner!
Luke: Well, it went better than expected.
Lyra: Misty wrote to me right away, she told me Serena’s been making eyes at you all afternoon!
Luke: (glowing) ... what?
Lyra: Ah ah, then you like her back!
Luke: Just stop talking nonsense!
Lyra: You don't want to confess, huh?
This is something Lyra started practising when hearing dad talking about his job, and which she refined after asking our uncles for some help. Unfortunately for me, she’s gotten really good at telepathy.
Luke: Hey, that's unfair!
Lyra: Ah ah, I see, she even gave you her number! Then she really likes you!
Luke: ...
Lyra: And you got a serious crush on her too, no doubt about it!
Instinctively I would have wanted to tell her to quit right away, but I didn't have any element to use to support my incoming rant. Actually, she was probably right.
Unlike me, she understood this stuff right away.
Lyra: What are you waiting for, call her back! I'm sure she can't wait to see you again!
Calling her back had been one of the most intimidating things I had ever done, but somehow I had managed to. We met again the next evening, in a bar not far from home.
Serena: Hey, hi Luke!
Luke: Hi!
To greet me, she immediately hugged me tightly, without giving me time to think about what to do.
That was the moment when I realized Lyra was absolutely right, I liked Serena in a way I couldn't put into words. And it seemed to be the same for her too.
I don't remember exactly if I was the one kissing her, or if it was the other way round. It doesn't even seem that important, after all. What really mattered is that, without a shadow of a doubt, it was the most natural thing I could do at that moment.
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A week later
From Leo's diary
We all went voting yesterday, we were impatiently waiting for the announcement of the final results. Claire was the most exhausted I've ever seen her, and I can't say to be in much better shape right now.
Leo: Where's Luke? They could start the broadcast at any moment now.
Lyra: You don't know, really? He's just found a girlfriend, and it also seems to be quite serious, they've been together for all the last week! Most likely they're watching this stuff together, too.
Claire: (exhausted) Oh, I see. Well, good for them then...
Both I and Claire watched back on Lyra with astonishment, we had been caught off guard by what she had just told us and, admittently, we also felt a bit guilty for not having noticed it before. Objectively, in the last few months, we've spent so much time following Claire's job to have neglected our children a bit too much, otherwise we wouldn't have missed it. We'll have to find a way to fix it, as soon as these elections are officially over.
In the following few hours, also Orion, Silas, Aster and Roberta joined us. It was almost as if we were trying to cheer each other up.
Orion: In the last polls, how many points did you have?
Claire: 23%, if it were confirmed we would be the first opposition party.
Roberta: Well, that would be better than nothing, isn't it?
City after city, all electoral districts transmitted their results. The numbers kept being summed for hours, until the final results were finally announced.
TV: ... and these are the final results: Mr M. wins the presidency with 51.6% of the votes. At a large distance, follows Mrs S. at 22.5%, Mr G. at...
Claire: (Frustrated) C'mon, really? With the number of parliament sits his party got, it will be hard even to do any opposition in Parliament!
Claire thought she was defeated all along the line, and none of us found anything positive to say about it. At that point we were in the hands of Mr M., and a lot of possible horrible scenarios suddenly became more plausible than ever.
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Mr M. proposed his first law on TV a month later, with the confidence of someone who is aware to have the support of the large majority of the Parliament, and thus will be able to see all his proposed laws passed in a short time.
Aster's home
Mr M.: (on TV) since when I got elected, the protests in the Spice Market District are getting worse and worse, and many aliens were already arrested for their despicable actions. At this point it is evident that keeping waiting for the settlement of peaceful coexistence is just a waste of time. This situation is only posing a concrete danger to our public safety, no one can deny it! The situation is getting out of hand, and we are urged to take drastic measures to solve the problem...
Roberta: (worried) I have a very bad feeling about this...
Aster: Me too...
Orion's home
Orion: All this noise for a bunch of exasperated aliens who set on fire a few rubbish bins? What a crybaby...
Silas: Look at his face, it's not a game anymore.
Orion: ...
Silas: (resigned) I guess that soon we will have to put plan B in action and go back to Sixam, you know?
Mr M.: (on TV) ... we therefore intend to propose a mass displacement of all individuals with alien ancestry in a province designated for them, in this position. Over there they will be allowed to do whatever they want, but they will no longer be able to interfere with the rest of us in any way.
By saying this, he indicated an area in the middle of the desert on a map behind him. Looking closely, it seemed to be the area surrounding the town of Strangerville.
Orion: What nonsense is he talking about?
The moment of general bewilderment was interrupted by his cell phone, which suddenly began to ring insistently.
Orion: What do you want, Celine? I don't know if you're watching the TV, but we're in quite big troub... (puzzled) What, do you need the frequencies of the first channel?
Silas: 482 MHz, if I'm not mistaken.
Orion reported the value to Celine, listened to the last part of her message and then closed the call by saying:
Orion: She says to prepare us for plan C.
Silas: (surprised) Oh. I see...
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We followed the whole announcement in total astonishment, no one expected such a move from Mr M.
Claire: he can't do it, it's just unethical!
Luke: ...
We didn't have time to fully process the message and its consequences, when the normal audio of the transmission was replaced by a loud electrical buzz, which quickly turned into a completely different voice. We did not know who was sending it, but the voice was unmistakably that of an alien.
TV: We didn't want to reach this point, but you forced us to. We have tried in every way to build a peaceful coexistence in recent decades, but you humans did nothing but work against us and seek hatred. We therefore turn to all the aliens who are listening tonight: they can kick us out of our homes and towns, but we must remain united! It may be hard at first, but together we will be able to overcome any difficulty. Brace yourselves, because a new Sixam is about to rise again!
The message was closed with an insult to Mr M., and only at that point the control over the TV program was handled back to the original broadcasters.
The shocked expression of Mr M. and of the TV frontmen was priceless, but we weren't any less shocked than them. We didn't have the time to metabolize what Mr M. new law would have meant for our future, when we had already to worry about who interrupted the program, and what their intentions could have been.
Within half an hour, our life was completely turned upside down again, and we could not do anything to avoid it. What should we do now?
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