Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 111: A difficult conversation

“… and that is why we should limit the use of Events to those who have proven themselves on the field of battle!” the man, who happened to be wearing a fur coat in the tropics as some kind of bizarre fashion statement, finished off his two-minute ‘speech’. And the only reason the tirade hadn’t lasted even longer was the hard 120 second limit on how long a given person could talk. If they surpassed that limit, one of the local [Mages] would cast a spell that prevented the sound of their voice from travelling across the room.

One way or another, the speech would end, others could respond for the next two minutes, and then the next speaker would talk. The rules were draconian and thoroughly enforced, but the mess was big enough as it was even with them, Isaac shuddered at the idea of how this would have gone otherwise.

“How the fuck would that ever work?” someone else snapped “You know what, just give me some of whatever you’re smoking and be done with this affair, sounds like that’s some good …”

The voice suddenly cut off, followed by the speaker’s mouth moving soundlessly as he responded in kind, but someone had clearly silenced him.

“Once again, please refrain from personal attacks or random interruptions.” The voice of the nominal chairman rang out. He’d been calm and collected in the beginning, but that had long since changed. For another few rude interruptions, he’d hidden it well enough that most people hadn’t noticed, but even his iron will and god-tier poker face could only carry him so far.

Another person calmly raised their hand and waited to be called upon. When that happened, their statement was almost as impolite as the last speaker.

“You do realize that Events provide incredible rewards that few people will be willing to pass up, right? If we tell people they aren’t allowed to get anything out of the Event, they’ll ignore us outright. Remember how spectacular a failure trying to ban alcohol was? This will be worse.”

The next speaker asked “Which time?”

“Every time. Banning something many people want and can get fairly easily will never, ever go well.”

“Oh y- …” the original speaker lost his temper, but noise cancelling magic could shut down a screaming match better than anything they’d had before the [System], at least when it came to an in person meeting.

“… would anyone else like to reply to Mr. Denisovich?” the chairman sighed. A few people mouthed insults and several rude gestures made it absolutely clear what people thought of him and his statements, so he decided to move on.

“Up next is Polizeirat Habicht of the German Federal Burau for the supernatural.”

The chairman didn’t quite sound like a man who’d lost the will to live, but it was a close thing. Still, he was certainly doing better than practically anyone else in his position would have.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I stand before this august body not as a summoner, but as a representative of the German government. As such, I present to you a proposal: none but a select group of researchers and other, large-scale organizations that work towards the public good will summon monsters from the Event for the first six hours after it begins. These organizations include, but are not limited to, the Dungeon Guild of South Korea, the Independent [System] Research Group, …”

The sheer amount of ham in the police officer’s speech could have fed a family of four for weeks, and it drew a fair amount of chuckled, but there was a good reason for that. He was treating this entire group of disparate people, including academics, government officials like himself, professional monster hunters and even just a few powerful people who thought they were far hotter shit than they really were, but had gained enough strength to warrant an invite.

The latter group was nodding along, actually considering the whole thing, which was probably a lot more than they likely would have if this had been another ‘egghead’ blathering on. They were being respected here, and they appreciated it. Hell, they’d probably rarely been addressed like this before. Habicht was treating them like they mattered, like they had a place at the table, and that had garnered their respect and consideration.

Of course, many others were internally rolling their eyes at what he was doing, but they weren’t really the people who mattered. The ones who did, well, they realized what he was doing, understood the reason behind it and thought all the more highly of him for it.

“… in addition, this same proposal has been submitted to the UN security council and will be submitted to the general assembly tomorrow. I hope that it will have the support of some people present here. Thank you.” He nodded and stepped back away from the podium, heading towards his seat before anyone could ask questions. The proposal was effectively set in stone now, all he wanted was to make sure that everyone new about it.

And instead of questions directed at the speaker, the response to that offer was a general swell in murmurs and whispered conversations.

The next person to speak was an elderly woman who couldn’t have looked any more like a historian if she tried, and given that she was announced as “Dr. Boulet” and belonged to a society that researched European history, that seemed to be exactly what she was.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for agreeing to let me speak.” She began, looking around the room for a brief moment, acknowledging important individuals with her gaze, while people began to wonder just what a historian would talk about, then continued mere moments before the silence became unbearable.

“Thus far, we have heard a lot of opinions, a lot of plans, a lot of abstract ideas on what we should do and how we should do so. I’m not going to do that, that’s not why I’m here. Instead, I’d like to provide some perspective on what it is we’re discussing.

“Somewhere between one and two-hundred-thousand people die every day, and a similar number of birth’s occur. Against the current world population of seven point seven billion, that is barely anything, a mere rounding error in the grand scheme of things, a tiny mistake while taking the census, that’s all it would take.

“On June 21st, 2022, we lost eleven million people. More people died in one day than soldiers lost their lives throughout the entirety of World War 1.

“In one day, a measurable percentage of the human race was wiped out, something that even the deadliest wars in human history took years to do.

“It might not have been phrased that way in between the reports on what the Event materials could be used for, but make no mistake, this was a cataclysm, an occurrence that has reshaped the world as we know it, even if those changes vanished amidst everything else the [System] altered.

“So while we discuss plans for the future, please keep in mind, this is more than just a small inconvenience that needs to be discussed. The choice made here and now can and most likely will shape the future of this world. Thank you all for listening.”

While there was a smattering of applause, most people were looking … shocked, dismayed, and other variations on unhappiness, but there was also a large group that had a ‘deer in headlights’ look, as if they’d been called out on something. Which they technically had been, given that few enough of them had been thinking of the whole matter in those terms.

Isaac nodded at her in approval. People had been talking about all this, the danger the [System] posed, in abstract terms. Now though, they’d been slapped by reality, which had been shot into their faces as if fired from a canon.

He certainly hadn’t needed the reminder, but it was a good that everyone had gotten it.

The next speaker had something more normal to say, but after that speech, it didn’t really have much of an impact. Not that Isaac would have expected anything else, given how not-earthshaking it was.

More people came and went, some rattling off scripts that had clearly been prepared prior to the history lesson, others hastily altered to match the new, dour mood that had settled in the conference room.

Finally, a familiar face stepped up to the lectern.

“Up next is Guildmaster Seon Yoo-jin from South Korea.” The chairman announced, his voice that of a hundred-year-old man on the brink of passing on.

Going so late might have been a mistake, given that everyone was tired and had probably also formed an opinion based on what everyone else had said, but then again, you only got one speech and there was a certain power to having the last say.

“Everyone, I know you’ve already heard a lot of propositions, a lot of suggestions, a lot of plans, so I promise I’ll be brief.

“In case you aren’t already aware, I represent the entirety of South Korea’s summoners, and it has already been decided that we will give the scientists six hours of grace before we ourselves will use the Event. This will save lives by ensuring that the desperate scramble for information as well as the devastation that followed during the last Event will not repeat themselves and I hope you will all join us. And if you’re planning on charging ahead, remember this: whatever instincts you’ve acquired over the months of battling monsters with regards to their fighting power, they won’t apply during the Event.”

With an imperious look on his face, Yoo-jin returned to his seat, his expression making it abundantly clear what he thought of anyone who charged ahead to fight in this event on their own.

People’s attentions further waned during the next few speakers, the last ones, but when the final person stepped up to the lectern, most of them perked up again.

Professor Bailey had been the one who’d mitigated the first even from apocalyptic to ‘merely’ exceedingly destructive and had thus truly earned the right to have the ‘final word’.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Professor Adam Bailey, and I’m a [System] researcher. Throughout the course of my work, I’ve discovered many hidden facets of the magic that now infuses this world. And I’m sad to say that many of those facets are beyond dangerous, things that could easily get a summoner killed if they aren’t carefully accounted for.

“It is an indisputable fact that the [System] has brought us incredible things, such as the ability to heal almost any injury, conquer famine and disease, literal magic.

“But it is equally indisputable that it has brought with it incredible danger as well. Living natural disasters, man portable weapons and even abilities that can unleash destruction on a scale that is normally reserved for heavy military or even nuclear ordinance, but even compared to all of those things, an Event is unmatched in its destructiveness.

“My team and I will be working tirelessly to understand everything there is to know about this Event and the monsters it brings. Unless this Event is markedly different than the last one, we’ll have every monster up to and including Tier 6 and their loot properly cataloged. This information will be made available to everyone, regardless of nationality of ideology. We do this for the safety of the world, not to help any one group gain an advantage. Any help towards this goal would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for listening, I hope everyone has a good flight back.”

Applause rang out, but it abated fairly quickly as people filed out of the room, some slowly waking up from the stupor they’d fallen into during the discussion. In the beginning, there’d been huge fights and arguments, but everyone had quickly grown tired of those. And the people who hadn’t, well, they’d ended up stuck in a permanent bubble of silence that was only removed when they properly raised their hands to talk, and even then, it got slammed back down with lighting speed if they overreacted.

Isaac wasn’t in much better shape, though in his case, the reason was that he’d been so incredibly focused on everything that was said that his brain was now thoroughly fried.

He managed to have a few conversations with people, and the rest of the team did the same with no small amount of success, but he soon collapsed onto a random bench and fell asleep. Hopefully, this had been enough.