Chapter 200: Aftermath

"I accept" Jocelyne smiled at those words. She had predicted that Sobek would accept, but she clearly she couldn't be one hundred percent sure, not until he himself confirmed her agreement. "You made the right choice" "I decide to hope so. I want to trust you" Sobek said. "But I have one condition: we will fulfill our obligations when you fulfill yours. We won't give you prisoners back in advance and we won't give you meat in advance. As for the stocks, you can take them the moment the peace treaty enters into force, given that you have fulfilled our request to leave our territory; but as for the flesh, it will be delivered to you every time you deliver us a member of our people, and a prisoner will be returned to you every time you free forty of our brothers. This is the deal, take it or leave it. I won't accept exceptions on this" A wise man once said that trusting was good, but not trusting was better. Sobek had no doubts that if he immediately fulfilled his part of his agreement the humans would then try to get smart. Therefore he preferred that every trade be fair and balanced. Jocelyne nodded. Although she had not mentioned that clause in previous negotiations she had expected it, so she had no problem accepting it. "I think that's right" she admitted. "There is nothing more?" "No. We can agree with each other" replied Sobek. Jocelyne beamed. She had made it. Peace between dinosaurs and humans could be said to be assured! Now all that was needed was government approval. "I will contact the Commission immediately and let them know your decision" he said. "With a little luck (and a lot of cunning) by tonight our peoples will no longer disagree" "I hope so" ******** Let's jump back a few hours. While Sobek was intent on reflecting on whether or not to accept Jocelyne's proposal, a storm was brewing on the other side of the world. In the city of Frisona, in the Meilong Republic, it was the dawn of a new day due to the time zone; there was the main editorial office of the Daily Bugle, one of the most important giants in the media field. The editorial director was J. Janiah Jameson, as well as its founder. Many in the office called him a tyrant because he demanded absolute respect for deadlines. In recent weeks, however, the dictatorial director had become even worse, since the world was going through an absolutely unexpected situation and therefore every day there was burning material to publish. In particular, Jameson awaited the report on how the negotiations were progressing from one of his best reporters, Peter Terence. It would have been the scoop of the century. However, since he had not received any news for a few days, Jameson had a strong suspicion that communications were being intercepted and sabotaged to prevent the disclosure to the public of 'uncomfortable' topics. While he was reflecting on this topic his computer chirped, signaling the arrival of an email. It came from an anonymous user. Jameson opened it almost casually, but found it contained an article. It took him two seconds to recognize the style of his best reporter, and less than a minute to realize how hot the stuff he had just sent him was! "Let it be published immediately! I want the first page and the exclusive direct!" he ordered coming out of his office like a tornado, jolting all the poor workers. "But, sir, we don't know who it belongs to... as far as we know, it could very well be fake news!" someone tried to protest. But Jameson wasn't certainly scared. "I recognize that boy's handwriting when I see it! This article is authentic, I tell you! That little bastard has found a way around the wiretapping! Let's not waste time, the press isn't certainly stopped by censorship!" The poor workers knew that arguing with their editor was a lost cause, so they resigned themselves and began editing the newspapers that were published in the early afternoon. Incredibly, the other two journalistic giants, Total Newsporter and Free Talking, also published similar articles on the same day. Jameson realized that Peter's comrades must have found a way around the wiretapping too. It didn't matter: an exclusive remained an exclusive anyway! That day nothing else was talked about: the media became a battlefield where the three journalistic giants tried to grab more spectators. The news was literally clogged up and would be for many days to come. And obviously people on social media had exploded. There was no shortage of critical comments, but most people were absolutely in favor of the peace proposal. Journalists knew how to convince people and the masses were easily indoctrinated by the power of the media: in not even a day half of the planet's population knew what was happening in Cartago and believed themselves in favor of such a solution. Everything as planned. ******** "Thanks, Ellie. I would never have done it without you" "That's what friends are for, isn't it?" Alan felt the bittersweet taste in his mouth. He appreciated Ellie's kindness, but being called a friend didn't make him jump for joy. There was also one thing that worried him: "Why did you want to come with me? Now they will understand that you helped me" The two were no longer at Ellie's house: they were in the university where Alan had a permanent residence when he was not working in the field. Alan knew it was only a matter of time before the governments realized he had screwed them, so he had no qualms about getting in the door. The problem was that Ellie had come with him. "They will understand it anyway. Nobody is invisible on the network. As soon as they carry out a deeper investigation they will realize that I was the one who helped you" Ellie replied casually. "It doesn't matter, that job had tired me out. I'd rather go back to our old gang. I doubt Ian will have any grievances. You don't have them, do you?" "I... no, of course not" Alan replied. He felt guilty: Ellie until the night before her had had a safe and well-paid job, stability, and now because of her she had lost everything. "But are you really sure? In short, everything you have worked for so far..." "It doesn't matter. That job didn't make me happy, and neither did the life I was leading. I want to go back to doing what I like" Ellie said, then looked at him intently," Hey... it's not your fault, okay? It is my choice, exclusively mine. You have nothing to do with it" Alan didn't know if he was more upset by Ellie's decision or by the fact that she had told him that he wasn't at all responsible for that choice. For some reason he felt sidelined. Arriving at his study, Alan threw open the door to find Ian Malcolm asleep on top of his desk. He was tempted to throw it to the ground, but he held back for the sake of civility. Ellie walked over to Ian and gave him a light pat on the head; the scientist woke with a start and almost fell in surprise. "It's nice to see you again, Ian" the woman greeted him. "Ellie?" Ian looked confused for a moment, then his typical arrogant expression returned to his face. "I had to figure it out. This old bum just can't help but impress, huh? You will have to keep it on a leash" Ellie blushed visibly. "You stayed the same, I see" she laughed. "Oh no, now I have a daughter and a girlfriend. Waiting for me at home now that I think about it. Damn, this reunion between old friends lasted a whole night" "Stop it, Ian" Alan told him. "How was the night?" "Oh well, all as expected. Nobody understood that you sneaked out, I made sure to have a long and enlightening conversation... with myself" Ian replied. "Oh, by the way, in case someone had overheard and asked you for more information, know that now you and I are fans of minigolf and that two years ago Hammond took us both to have fun at a legendary foam party" "Ok, I left this room with the knowledge that my reputation would be destroyed forever" "Destroyed? Are you joking? I think you have earned the admiration of many students of the academy. Today's young people like teachers who know how to have fun" "So why is everyone staying away from you?" "It's a question of charm. They know that I would overshadow them with my charm and my higher mind, so they step aside in their awareness of being inferior" Alan wrinkled his nose. He didn't know if the universe had borders, but Ian Malcolm's ego certainly didn't have them at all. "I guess you have done your homework too" Ian said as he pulled out his smartphone. "Let's see what the news says... but look, the newspapers talk about nothing else! I'd say the plan went well, folks!". He pointed to Ellie, "By the way, she's with us now, right?" "Do you have any doubts?" the woman asked him rhetorically. "Of course not, it was impossible for me not to get on the boat. Like I said, this old man is irresistible"Ian said, patting Alan on the shoulder, who seemed undecided whether to attempt suicide or punch him in the face. "Isn't it beautiful? The old team back on track! Oh, well, we're not the only ones this time. We have people to introduce you, Ellie..." ******* In Odaria, due to the time zone, it was still late at night, but despite this Markus Jersey was still awake. He was used to working late and certainly the current anxiety he felt for the safety of his daughter certainly did not help him sleep. By now he used to spend his nights in his study, and so he immediately learned of the news that was circulating all over the world. Clearly as soon as he heard the words 'dinosaurs' and 'embassy' mentioned on the news he realized that his daughter must have done something, so he wasted no time and quickly went to search through the Internet for one of the main articles that talked about the matter. As soon as he finished reading, everything was finally clear to him! Markus burst into a laugh full of pride when he finally managed to understand his daughter's scheme. He finally understood why she had told him to buy any herd in the nation! Odaria wasn't a country focused on farming or large-scale agriculture; the food came almost entirely from foreign imports. Therefore, most of the nation's farms didn't include dinosaurs, which could only be raised by wealthy landowners who could afford to keep and feed them, but above all simpler animals such as cattle and goats, which were more accessible to people of the low class. But now, those farms were worth more than gold! If humanity was preparing to replace dinosaurs with other animals, then whoever had control over the farms hitherto considered 'secondary' would have dictated the entire market! The shares of the Jersey family would have skyrocketed! There was talk of a profit of tens of millions! Thanks to Jocelyne, not only peace between humans and dinosaurs was possible now, but the Jersey family would likely become the richest and most powerful family in the nation in two or three years, and possibly even a giant overseas! "Ah, girl... I wish I could say that you are all your father, but the truth is that you have far surpassed this old fool" Markus murmured with all the pride a parent could ever feel. ******** Markus Jersey wasn't the only one to spend a sleepless night. In his villa, Billy Kimber was also awake and intent on reading the news. "I was right to send her" he murmured. "We've got our stocks back, and with them we can maintain our economy. That girl is a real wonder" As the richest man in the nation, Kimber was delighted to see his finances safe. As he read on, however, his mood changed a little as he finally understood why Markus Jersey had bought so many herds in the previous days. As a good tycoon as he was, he could understand that his position as the richest in the country was at risk. Still, he couldn't be angry. He had only admiration for that young woman. "Well done, Miss Jersey. Well done..." he laughed. "You screwed us all, huh? Okay, the first round is yours, I'll give it to you. You deserved it. But the game has only just begun, and I won't give up the cup that easily!" ******* In the NMWA room, world leaders were busy discussing the latest news they had received. "Is it possible to confirm these rumors? Our wiretapping did not detect any of this" Palma asked. "I believe they are true" queen Mackenzie replied. "The newspapers that published this news all belonged to the same agencies that sent reporters to document the negotiation. Furthermore, the articles are too detailed to be false" "I agree. Apparently the reporters have found a way to get around our wiretaps" Palma murmured. "Is it possible to establish how they did it?" "Our best agents are already investigating. And anyway, this is irrelevant at the moment. This information is already known by the public, we can no longer do anything to stop it. Even if we stop the diffusion, the news is now also on the Internet" World leaders grumbled at those words. None of them liked that the news went viral. Newspapers around the world were very convincing in pointing out how much such an agreement would guarantee lasting peace and a victory for both sides; on the contrary, there was not a single mention of the costs that governments and private agencies would have had to incur to change the global energy and food system. With what face could they now refuse? People wouldn't certainly have taken it well. Unfortunately, most people trusted those who spoke simply and convincingly, and who discussed things they could understand. On the contrary, explaining financial matters to people was tedious and difficult, and many would not understand, and would have limited themselves to ignoring the person who was speaking, preferring to rely on the one who instead explained things that they understood. "Do you think the dinosaurs will have accepted?" queen Mackenzie replied. "Well, they would have no reason to not" the NMWA president replied. Many shook their heads. They evidently hoped the dinosaurs would refuse. "We will know more as soon as our correspondent gives us his daily report"