Dealing With Orbs
Maksimilian was at the gate to the tunnel leading to Oktyabrskya. He was talking to the soldiers who had recently transferred back to gather information on the floating orbs everybody was worrying about.
"I swear, those orbs are freaky," one of the soldiers said.
"Yeah," another confirmed. "Luka got knocked out by one of them."
"Knocked out? How?" Maksimilian asked.
"I can explain," said Luka. "I approached one of those orbs and tried to touch one of them. When I touched it, I heard some kind of wizzing noise. Then, I got pushed back by the orb and got slammed into the wall. I blacked out, and I think the others dragged me back and broke contact with the orbs."
"Did they try to harm any of you after that?" Maksimilian asked.
"No," one of the other soldiers answered.
"Did they follow you back?"
"No, they stayed there after we left."
"I see. Thank you for answering my questions."
Maksimilian left and headed back torwards to the usual meeting place for the leaders of The Park: a tavern known as the Rusty Rail. Maksimilian was friends with the owner of the place, and the owner was more than happy to give him private space to conduct meetings.
Maksimilian arrived in a room upstairs, and, inside, the three other leaders of The Park were there: Markovic, who is in charge of managing the economy and development of the Park, Tirenti, who was the Head of the Park Rangers, and Varlam, the representative to the Confederation.
"So, gentlemen," Maksimilian said to the others. "We know that we have to address these orbs. Any suggestions?"
"I'm worried that the people are getting distracted by the orbs," said Tirenti. "The people should focus on other things besides these orbs that aren't even coming for us. In order to achieve this, however, we are going to have to make sure that these rumors don't get out of hand."
Markovic, knowing where Tirenti is going, asked, "And how do you intend to silence these rumors?"
"Simple. We are going to have to stop the rumors by stopping them at their source. Even if it means we have to use force."
"Tirenti, what you are saying is that you want to give your men power to oppress the people."
"Oppress the people? I would never do that."
"You would, you scumbag. Remember Lidochka?"
"SILENCE!" Maksimilian shouted. "Markovic, we had settled that matter three years ago. As for your plan, Tirenti, I do not believe that the people would go with it. You cannot simply silence the will of the people and still consider ourselves as we who serve the people."
Maksimilian let his words sink in for a minute, then turned to Markovic.
"Markovic. Do you have a plan to deal with the orbs?"
"It's very simple. We ignore them. Denying the existence of these orbs is not the answer. But since they are not coming for us, there is no point in wasting resources on investigating these orbs for now."
Tirenti, outraged, angrily replies, "Nothing? You are just going to sit by and do absolutely nothing? What a fool you are! The people will panic if we just stand by and do nothing about it! They will lose confidence in us, and our soldiers will worry about the threat to the station. The rumors will cripple the morale of our people if we don't do something about it."
"Oh, and I don't see your idea doing anything about the orbs themselves!" Markovic caustically rebuts.
"At least our soldiers will have confidence, knowing that they are restoring order. I have gauged my men, and I fear they will panic if we aren't doing anything about the orbs."
Markovic and Tirenti stared at each other with intense malice. Taking a chance to divert attention away from this debate, Maksimilian turned to Varlam.
"Varlam, any comments or ideas of your own?"
"Tirenti is right. Doing nothing about the orbs is going to decrease the confidence the people have in us. Markovic is also right. We cannot deny the existence of the orbs no matter how hard we try. People will still believe that the orbs are out there. And if we manage to do so, we have taken steps in the wrong direction, towards Hitler, Stalin, and all the other tyrants and dictators of old.
"So, I propose a solution that allows us to address the problem without losing the confidence of the people: We get outside help. If Tirenti isn't willing to allow his men to investigate those orbs, there are others who are up to the challenge. I am willing to pay any price to restore confidence in our people."
After listening to Varlam's solution, Maksimilian quickly said, "Thank you, Varlam. I want to thank all of you for being here."
"Wait," Tirenti began, but he was interrupted by Maksimilian.
"I am ending this meeting right now. Your suggestions will be put on the ballot and, within the next two days, a vote will be called on. Have a good night."
Two days later ...
Maksimilian was at one voting stations in Park Kultury. Every citizen is considered eligible to vote, with one condition. The voter must be an adult, around 18 years of age. There are no other restrictions due to a fear that other restrictions might be abused. So far, the votes have turned out fine without any additional restrictions.
Maksimilian was there in order to ensure that no fraud or other forceful tactics skewed the vote in another person's favor. He traveled around Park Kultury and examined the stations himself. He knew it seemed vain that his presence would deter cheating, but any little bit helped. He watched as the people used the booths and filled out one of the voting cards.
So far, there was nothing fishy. Satisfied, he went back to his home, knowing that the last of the voters would cast their vote without any interference.
Results for the Orb Plan
A. Ignore Them: 4
B. Hire Private Investigators: 116
C. New Censorship Laws: 24
Anomaly Event - Option B
