Chapter 160: President Finch finally communicates.
Sunshine thought Damien and Morris’s awakenings would be the end of surprises that day but an expected and yet, still surprising thing happened.
President Finch addressed the nation or as much of the nation as he could.
Government drones had flown over different cities, starting from 2:30, just as lunch was being wrapped up on Fortress Four. Each drone carried a per-recorded message that was aired to the people at exactly 3:00 p.m.
"Citizens of this great Republic--listen closely.
I am President Finch, the legally elected president of this nation. I swore an oath to uphold the constitution and defend you but the traitorous Secretary Of Defense Ceasar, the quack turned on me when the meteors fell.
He and his men shot and killed some ministers and loyal servants of this state that resisted their coup.
You have heard lies. Lies like my failure to serve because I died in acid rain. Lies that I was infatuated with a woman and went into hiding with her.
No such thing happened. I was almost assassinated by the traitor and nearly lost my life.
But they failed.
And now, the world they tried to control has collapsed. The White house was destroyed by alien birds. Our cities are ash. The borders are meaningless. The governments are ghosts. Law and order is a myth as some Superhumans, bandits and the rich are claiming territories.
I want these people to know that they are not leaders.
I am still here.
And I am still your president.
You may ask: what does a title mean in a world without structure?
It means everything.
Because power is not given. It is claimed. And I claim it now—not for vanity, not for vengeance, but because someone must.
I am that someone.
To the traitors who betrayed me...us. We will not forgive them. We will not forget. Your reckoning is coming Ceasar the quack. That is if you have not been digested in the intestines of the aliens birds yet.
Soon, our soldiers will reclaim the White house and establish a new government. To the superhumans out there and the wealthy willing to stand with me, you will all be welcomed.
And to the people—those caught between ruin and survival—I offer you this truth:
You cannot forget that I am alive.
And I am watching.
I do not promise peace. Peace is a luxury we no longer possess.
I promise order.
I promise justice.
I promise that the Republic will rise—not as it was, but as it must be. Hardened. Purged. Reborn.
There will be trials. There will be fire. There will be blood.
But there will also be unity.
And in unity, there is power.
You may ask: why now? Why speak after so long?
Because the silence has become dangerous.
Because our children who are living in ashes deserve to know that there was once a world of laws, of dignity, of hope—and that it can be built again.
Because I will not let my legacy be written by cowards.
I am and I will be your president until we win this war against nature, until the last bunker crumbles, until the last voice is silenced.
But mine will not be.
Not today.
Not ever."
The transmission ended there. The drones continued their flight, casting shadows over the ruined cities as they continued on their way to spread the message further.
Someone jeered.
People mumbled their dissatisfaction. In all that they had heard, there was no promise to send help of any kind. There was no plan for how they proceed. Just an affirmation that Finch was still the president.
He was such a coward that that he did not even share his location.
"What a clown." Hades sneered.
Sunshine laughed. This message had actually come earlier than in her previous life. Finch had escaped the white house after winter. In this life, he had escaped much earlier, it seemed.
Why was that?
Was it because of the attack by the watchers?
While she was asking herself this, some people were eyeing the watchers that were sunbathing on the bubble nervously.
In that speech, they were said to have destroyed the White house. Was it there intention to destroy their base? Is that why they were not going away?
Major Elio was not interested in that speech. It was time to test the new weapons and that was all he cared about.
Him, some soldiers, Sunshine and Hades were all out if the field in the first wall. Targets had been set up at the furthest end of the field and a variety of guns were laid out on the table.
Meanwhile, the walkie-talkie around Hades’s belt crackled with static and a comms officer’s voice came in.
"Sir, your friends are requesting for a channel to be opened so that they can communicate. Do I have permission to establish a communication?"
Hades grabbed his radio. "Permission granted."
There was some more crackling and then Jon’s voice came in.
"Did you hear this shit?" he asked.
Sheldon laughed. "He is inviting us over. What for? His presidency was not favorable to the rich and he wants us to use our money to solve his problems."
"I am not going." Jin declared.
Hades rolled his eyes. "You are not the only rich people in the nation. Stop making this personal because it is not about you specifically."
Jon snorted. "He called for rich people and we are rich people. It does not get anymore personal than that?"
Suddenly, they heard some scrambling and Tracy’s voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Bob, I am finally hearing my baby. Hades Quinn, return my baby to me and I order you to get rid of whatever you are using to block me from listening to him. It is bad enough that you catnapped him and now you are...."
Hades made static noises with noise...."Can’t....signal....." and then he threw the radio to Owen. "Tell them that we have guns for sale, some blankets made from the mutated sheep wool and their share of the things we hunted and gathered in the forest. Give them a price list."
When Owen left, he turned and looked at the soldiers. "Testing time everyone, these guns are not going to shoot themselves."
O’Toole sighed and mumbled. "More money, more drama."
Major Elio fired a weapon, and it hit a target five miles away.
Through binoculars, they saw a soldier waving a green flag. It was being used to signify that a perfect shot had been made.
While others whistled or clapped Sunshine frowned. The results could not be trusted because the shooter had super sight. They needed accurate data when they were selling the guns.
"Let someone else try." She ordered.
Nimo stepped up.
Hades cozied up next to Sunshine to share an idea that had been running through his mind for a while now. "On a scale of one to you must be out of your mind, what do you think about us teaching children ten years and above how to shoot?"