The young have aspirations that never come to pass, the old have reminiscences of what never happened. It’s only the middle-aged who are really conscious of their limitations — that is why one should be so patient with them.

— Saki
Chapter 8, Page 8

Chapter 8, Page 8

All right, no polls and no announcements this week. Just a wordy page that’s the end of our short flashback. Now the fight can get back underway.

↓ Transcript
Lola: Peter, I assume --
Peter: I'm against it, of course. Even in a best case scenario, genetic therapy still has a 1% death rate. And we never use it on newborns or the elderly. This plan of yours could kill millions. I'm appalled.
Lola: All right. Joey?
Joey: Can't say I approve, Lola. You're taking the teeth out of the human race. Insuring that scrappers like me will never be born again. No. No, I can't say that I like it.
Lola: I...didn't expect that objection, Joey... Now, Jacob, before you --
Jacob: Will it end the killing?
Lola: What?
Jacob: Will it be the end, Lola? The end of the bloodshed? The end of us? Will the world be at peace after this? Can you promise me that if we commit this one last mass murder, then we'll all be able to retire?
Lola: Yes, Jacob. I promise.
Joey: She lied, of course.
Jacob: Of course she lied. Lola's a politician as much as a scientist. I think she won her Nobel prize for lying.

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Discussion (6)¬

  1. Jerden says:

    Our poor idealistic (at least in that moment) protagonist.
    Of course it never ends.

  2. Zarpaulus says:

    Joey objected? Seriously?

    I’d have expected him to appreciate the lack of competition.

  3. Ming the Merciless says:

    Joey is right!
    The King of Gods was Indra, the God of war.
    He was credited with bringing light and rain and took men out of darkness…fighting evil and injustice…Humanity rose fighting incredible odds, against lions, tigers, cave bears, and it’s the epic battle that made the species emerge.
    Taking the teeth out like it’s currently done by the new age leftards lead to inevitable genetic collapse.

  4. Sonja says:

    When his fist hits the table, this “star” looks a little strange.

  5. Remus Shepherd says:

    Heh, thanks, Sonja, I know. I typically show action special effects with white borders…but the table is pure white. I should have made it a darker shade. So I was forced to do a dark star and it doesn’t look consistent. I might fiddle with that SFX, if I get a better idea on how to present it.

  6. Darls Chickens says:

    The trick is easy to tell, hard to do. When she tells the lie, for that brief moment she makes herself believe it. It’s the masters of that ability that scare me the most.

    Jacob is much less shocked than I expected. “My vote released Guayaquil?” …or does he suspect Joey is lying, too?