Chapter 37: Pangean Politics

Harker took one look at the surroundings and frowned. He had heard reports that there were sounds of weapons being fired at this area. Thankfully his soldiers managed to contain the commotion with claims that it was some practice.

He immediately spotted his main concern. The drone was placed on the table, and it looked like it didn't receive much damage from the crash apart from the damaged wing. Harker sighed in relief.

"Now Harker, let's get down to business. I'll ignore your spying attempts and hope that that served as a valuable lesson." Seeker smiled.

Harker clutched his fist. The last thing that the drone captured was Seeker firing three rounds of bullets that wounded his men. What was interesting was how Seeker didn't use the scope of the gun.

"Now General, on to business. You know about Pangean Politics more than I do. Who's who in the political arena?" Seeker asked.

"Every politician in this damned country. That's why I never meddled with politics. Generals, National Managers, Vice-National Managers. We all know that the Pangean Nations has the most unique government system. Even I wouldn't know where to start or who to deal with. I was never interested in having that kind of power anyway."

"Your advantage is your silence in this matter. Given your very conservative nature, no one would expect you, the silent and headstrong General, to aim for the Presidential Seat. So who has the highest chances of being President if President Colestar is voted out?"

"Hyron of the Indo-Pangean." Harker answered without missing a beat.

"But it's impossible. Granted the nature of our country, he needs to hold at least more than half of the Senator in each Pangean Nation in order to have a shot at winning."

"As I said, your disinterest makes it the most appealing nature. Prove yourself as a man of this Pangean Nation. If you reach a status similar to that of a hero when Colestar gets voted out, you'd probably be nominated by Hyron, should you accept."

"A hero? War's like that don't come easily, Seeker."

"Oh, don't worry about that. The best way to temporarily halt Dragon's advances is to start a war. If he sees strange movement within this nation, he will have to think twice before rallying his forces in. Especially if you get deployed on foreign land to fight the war."

"But there are no wars." Harker answered again, trying to sound as respectful as he can.

"I said, don't worry. I'll start one. If things go according to plan, then by this time next week, we should be having one."

There was silence.

Everyone present continued to stare at Seeker.

"It's none of your concern." Seeker laughed as he noticed the silence.

"We'll just have to play it by ear. I'm not perfectly sure things will go as intended, after all. For now, our main concern is how to get our current President evicted."

"And how do you propose to do that?"

"Kidnap all media heads of these three countries. Turn them into Programmed Slaves. Once we have that, we can kill his image."

"I don't get it, Zeek. Why the media heads? Why not kidnap the Senators and leaders directly?"

"Too risky. If we aim for the media heads, we would be aiming for only five individuals. Going with the senators would take us quite a bit of time and effort. Not to mention the risk of discovery."

"That's all? Just the media?" Meryl asked, unsure of the plan.

"The media is the making or the breaking of a nation." Seeker smiled.

"Regardless of how good or reputable a person character is, it is subject to public opinion. Imagine hearing and reading news about Colestar every day about his mistakes and blunders?"

"Colestar has an almost impeccable reputation. He literally is one of the best presidents our countries ever had." Charles voiced out.

"And yet, because of my plans, he must fall. Doubt, Doctor. That is the main goal for now.

"How can doubt be helpful?" Harker asked immediately. He expected a far more complicated plan.

"Doubt is the ultimate feller of leaders, General. Doubt is the most important ingredient to win the country. Right now, the whole country sees Colestar as this great President. But mark my words, he isn't the first great President to ever be done in by the media and the horrifying effects of doubt."

"So let's say we manage to take over these media outlets. What happens then?" Harker listened.

"The media does its magic. Any news event regarding the President can be switched to have a subtle title or presentation which can damage his character."

"How?" Meryl asked with a confused expression.

"Let's take the current event. The President just denied the ongoing legislative movement concerning to remove the mandatory 13th-month pay and make it optional. Almost every news outlet praised this and gave positive news title."

"Aren't they just reporting it as it is?" Lynd asked in confusion.

"President denies appeals for optional 13th Month Pay. Urges companies to promote family time for workers." Seeker recited a title.

"It's positive news reporting. They shifted the focus on how the President wants to encourage companies to give proper compensation for their workers to have time for their families, especially on the holidays."

"Right. Because that's what it is." Meryl nodded.

"Really? What If I changed the title to; President denies appeals for optional 13th Month Pay, January Resignations at an all-time high? Now I shifted the point of view of this article to show the cons of the article and not its pros." Seeker smiled.

"But I'm sure the people will see the benefits if they read the whole article!" Meryl argued.

"If they read it. That's the beauty of the media. The government, or specifically the President, cannot charge libel against the media. The whole article may contain it, but how many, amongst all readers will read the article? Some will just glance at the title page and create their own interpretation."

Meryl couldn't retort after this. She had been doing the same thing after all.

"The first article title was very positive. In fact, it's hard to find any negative arguments to counter that. But the second article reveals the flaws of the President's move and does not provide anything positive that readers will have to say. And the worst thing is, both news doesn't seem to be biased as it appears to just be reporting the truth."

Meryl remained silent at Seeker's example.

"A simple news article like that will make people question the validity of his move. That's how powerful the media is. It can make something positive look negative or something negative looks positive. Only those with high levels of critical thinking will catch on in this attempt to badmouth the president. But let's be honest. That's not common nowadays."

Charles gave a light chuckle agreeing with Seeker.

"And that's what we'll have all the media do. If one media outlet does it, it can be buffered by another who presents the positive. But imagine if all media outlets present these subtle negative attacks. And the trick is, they don't attack the President directly. They attack his regime. If any of those under him or supports him makes a blunder, they capitalize on that. Put it on the headlines and slap the President's name on board even if he really has nothing to do with it."

"Will that work?"

"It worked for the previous President. It was comical, really. A problem at the main highway which caused great traffic and delayed thousands of workers. And then they slap the President's name on the report. I mean, what has the President have to do with anything in that? Shouldn't the news focus on the Traffic and Land Development organizations?"

"I remember those! But I really hadn't thought about it like that." Meryl contemplated.

Harker ignored the casual joining of these other teens. For such a serious topic, Seeker took his time to explain it to these youths. But because Seeker valued their input, he just stood quietly. He noticed Alean has been awfully quiet during this entire discussion.

"The President may or may not address the issue. A little negative presentation of a good news and do it constantly, and you can build up the hate for the President. Once that settles in, it would be your time to shine, General."

Harker simply nodded.

"I agree with your estimations. But will 'doubt' be enough to make the people ride on the hate train?"

"It will. By making people doubt his character, it will make those who hate him, hate him all the more."

"Our main concern is how to make the masses hate him then. After all, his current reforms are all quite noble." Charles added.

"Indeed, it is. But any action, regardless of its noble nature, will always cause reactions. He has been focusing on eliminating three things within the Pangean Nations. Foreign hating culture, the division between the three nations, and lastly, poverty. So what do you think would be the possible groups that will rally against him?"

"Will anyone want to go against those? They are noble causes, after all." Meryl frowned at such a stupid question.

"Naïve." Alean finally spoke.

"Seeker's right. These three agendas have agitated a large group of people. Indo-Pangea, who has long been the least progressive of the three Pangean nation, hate how they always get the low end of the deal. With Colestar's attempts in uniting the three nations, the political and rich groups who control Indo-Pangea will undoubtedly be against this. In fact, we are already seeing several politicians in Indo-Pangea who have revealed their disdain in this movement. Seeker, you plan to use those groups against Colestar to stir the fire, correct?"

Seeker nodded.

"Malay-Pangea, who had taken the brunt of the damage during the Colonist war, is the most fearful and hateful among the three in regards to foreigners. No doubt, there are active enemies of Colestar in that Nation. And our country, the Phil-Pangea, has the most poverty-stricken area. By increasing wages, businessman in this country may want another president in." Lynd interjected before Alean could speak.

Everyone was shocked at Lynd's sudden analysis. They looked at him strangely.

"Wow. I bet that was what Alean was going to say." Seeker laughed.

"More or less." Alean gave a charming look at Lynd.

Lynd blushed as he, too, was surprised at his own monologue.

"We have groups in each country who can fuel the fire that can start the bandwagon of hate. If the media subtly introduces a series of bad news about him, then doubt will surely appear. There will be people who will fight for his cause though and attempt their own counter-reforms to uplift the image of the president."

"That is the problem. The masses love him." Harker interjected.

"Wrong. The masses are entertained by him. Only a few love him. Once people see several news reports of poor service, their entertainment will turn to disgust. The masses is an easily controlled group of people. If they see a trend in politics, they follow that. If we control all media outlets in the three Pangean Nations, we can mind-control the masses. Trust in the stupidity and shallowness of the masses, General." Seeker smiled.

"It's true." Alean nodded.

"I'm not convinced." Meryl spoke once more.

"Having these groups wouldn't do much, Zeek. I mean, they are the minority."

"You forget the political opponents of the President. Politics is a game of patience. They have to know when and how to strike. There are only two politicians who are actively pushing their campaign against the President. It does not signify that the President has many allies. It only means that to most of his enemies, it isn't the right time to strike."

Harker and Alean smiled at Seeker's words.

"How sure are you that the President has many enemies?" Meryl frowned.

"Naïve little girl." It was Harker who spoke this time.

"As long as the concept of 'Self-gain' exists, any king of this world will always have enemies. These politicians will follow and pursue the path that greatly benefits themselves. Seeker does not mean enemies who hate the President. But enemies who will turn against the President should the right opportunity present itself, giving them more to gain." Harker turned to Seeker and laughed.

"Who would have thought that your manipulative and scheming nature would be as strong as your physical skills..."