Chapter 56: Vote Screwed
The smell of incense burns his nostrils and he wonders how much longer this will take. The last place he wanted to be was a Meek ceremony, but he was forced to go as part of The Hero Project's schedule. Even then, he was inclined to skip it, until he heard what was happening after the ceremony.
The Deacon closes The Meek's "constitution" from his spot atop the stage, clasping his hands and bowing in deference. Travis thought he might hear a reading or two from The Meek's special text, but there was none of that—apparently one must make an adequate donation to the movement to be worthy of receiving that privilege. The ceremony, presided over by a deacon (who looks more like an aged movie star than anything else) was mostly a series of arbitrary rituals and readings from articles about recent Powered mishaps.
All of which served to boil his blood. But he'll get his chance to respond—the real reason he's here is for the debate about Powered rights between several of The Hero Project's Finalists. It's taking place after the ceremony and will be moderated by Constance Obach herself.
And he cannot wait to weigh in.
Thirty minutes later....
"I must admit, I'm terribly excited about this event. We of The Meek believe in an open, honest exchange of ideas to bring us further towards humble inheritance."
Lyra sits perched in front Travis, a tight smile spread across her plain face. She wears her hair pulled in a bun, paired with modest makeup and a traditional suit. But Travis can tell the hair and makeup were carefully done by top-notch stylists and the suit must have cost a fortune. Very slugging humble indeed.
"It is my distinct pleasure to welcome our panel from The Hero Project: outspoken Powered equality advocate, Manbeast; two of the most prominent and infamous Unique Powered individuals, The Crush and Gravitate; our future first son of America, Aaron Victon, known popularly as Jury; and finally our very own Meek hero, Inherit."
The audience goes wild with applause after those last two introductions—it's no secret that The Meek have been capital contributors to the Victon campaign, backing his platform of Powered Regulation. And even though Victon has been performing well in the national debates, the poles are still evenly split. Which means this race is particularly down-to-the-wire, considering the election Tuesday is coming up next week.
Part One of The Hero Project's big Finale will also be airing the next day—so no matter what, Jury's exposure on The Hero Project has been a very, very good thing for the Victon campaign.
Though if Travis is going to do anything to try and lessen the Victons' chances of success, now is the time.
"We here at the Meek movement commend all of the Finalists' many successes, both inside and outside the competition, individually and collectively," Lyra continues, glancing at the rest of the Final 9 seated in the audience. "The Hero Project serves as the perfect example of how diverse ideological representations can come together, in true American tradition."
"But our time is short today, so let's begin," Lyra says, shifting in her swivel chair. "Our first topic for discussion is the rise of Unique Powers and its role in our ever-changing society. Perhaps Gravitate would like to start us off by commenting on how Unique Powers has changed his life?"
"Actually, I have a question for you," Travis respond, gearing up. Now's his chance to speak up—so he'd better not waste it. "What exactly do The Meek believe? And what are you really, a political party or a new religion?"
"The Meek Movement is founded on the fundamental belief that the meek shall inherit the earth—meaning that it is humanity's imperative to regulate the Powered rise with grace and humility."
"That's all well and good," Travis started, "but it really answers nothing. It just sounds like a fancy way of saying you're a cult founded to persecute people you fear, people who are different from you. You haven't said one word about why you actually believe Powers are such a bad thing. Or wait, do I have to pay to get to that level of Meek enlightenment?"
"We here at The Meek movement are used to fielding such heinous, bigoted misinterpretations of our beliefs."
"You're the ones who founded a movement to further hatred towards an entire demographic of people, and I'm the bigot?" Travis shoots back.
"Let me ask another question." Travis say. "How can Powered people be sure Mayor Victon and The Meek won't start rounding us all up, dampening our Powers or imprisoning us?"
"That's a grossly inaccurate exaggeration," Lyra barks.
"Is it really?" Travis nearly shout. "Mayor Victon has threatened me and my family countless times and has proven—"
"Has proven what?" Jury interrupts. "Proven that he has made Hoshi City a safer place to live? Proven that he wants to help Unique Powereds like The Crush? Proven that he stands for justice governing our most powerful citizens? Or that he isn't afraid to stand against those who act without responsibility or experience?"
Jury says this last part directly to Travis.
And Travis nearly exploded.
"Mayor Victon has proven, by aligning with a cult like The Meek, that there are no lines he won't cross for his own political gain," Travis say, slowly and deliberately. "Mayor Victon destroyed my family in the name of 'justice,' but his only agenda was boosting his own career."
"It's unfortunate that you feel that way," Jury says, "but it would seem very few others agree with your version of history, on this matter."
Travis considers firing back, but as he looks around at the audience and their reaction, he's not sure if he's doing more harm than good on this particular subject….
"After what happened to your own parents, how can you not see the light?" Inherit suddenly cuts in.
Travis turns to Inherit and for a moment, his vision flashes red with anger. This kind of anti-Powered rhetoric is exactly what took his parents away from him in the first place…
"I believe in Mayor Victon and what he stands for," The Crush says before Travis can lash out, maintaining an almost-eerie calm. "However, you Meek people fear and hate Powered people and would like nothing more than to see us all murdered—but you hide that dark truth with smiles and rhetoric. You speak of open conversation, but you have no interest in anything but a platform to tout your sheltered views."
"Trust me—I was the king of that once. But not today."
And with that, The Crush stands up, takes off his microphone and walks off stage.
"This is exactly the kind of superiority complex, the kind of dismissive attitude that will doom the Unique!" Lyra yells after The Crush, eliciting boos from the crowd. "Your Powers affect you, affect all of us, in ways you cannot understand! This is exactly—"
"Thanks for the openness and the honesty," Travis say, standing to follow The Crush. "It has been a true revelation."
Part of his wants to stay and say more, but a larger part of him knows that participating any further won't help anything.
He spoke his piece. And he has to hope that there are people out there willing to listen.
Thirty minutes later....
He sit in silence in the Hero Project Transport across from GG, who clearly is searching for the right words to start a conversation after that debacle.
Not particularly wanting to talk to anyone at this moment, he looks out the window and catch another glimpse of one of those The Hero Project Finalist holo-billboards—and it looks like a few things have changed.
The eliminated Finalists are now grouped together by place:
Scoundel: 14th Place.
Frey: 13th Place.
Shula: 12th Place.
Black Magic: 11th Place.
Bearcat: 10th Place
And the remaining nine Finalists have updated story-lines:
Inherit: The Frontrunner.
Jury: The First Son.
Asrid: The Independent man.
Null: The Dark Horse.
Lucky: The Comeback Kid.
Sky: The Rising Star.
The Crush: The Inspiration.
Manbeast: The Soloist.
Gravitate: The Chameleon.
Null's narrative hasn't changed—she has been the clear dark horse throughout the entire competition, having never been up for elimination…
Until this week.
There's no denying that Inherit, Jury, Manbeast, The Crush, and Null have been the five strongest and most consistent performers throughout the competition.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that Gravitate, Lucky, Sky, or Asrid should be counted out.
It only means that these last three eliminations are bound to be shockers.
"Listen, there isn't much to say about Thursday's vote," GG starts, knowing better than to bring up the debate mess he just forced Travis into. And when he don't immediately bite his head off, GG goes on.
"Since only you, Null, and Jury are eligible for the elimination vote, each of your individual two votes automatically go to the other two Finalists, canceling each other out. Which means that the other six Finalists control the vote."
He'd been trying to avoid thinking about the vote for as long as possible, because he already know exactly what GG is about to say next….
"The Populars have you outnumbered three to two in the vote, and given the way that Manbeast is likely to vote, I don't…oh, just look here."
GG pulls up a H-Chip holo-display, finding it difficult to make eye contact with him. And Travis can see why.
PROJECTED 9TH PLACE VOTES:
Lucky: Null & Jury
The Crush: Null & Jury
Manbeast: Gravitate & Jury
Inherit: Null & Gravitate
Sky: Null & Gravitate
Asrid: Null & Gravitate
Doing the math in his head, that would make five votes for Null, four votes for him, and three for Jury….
"But wait, if Lucky and The Crush switch their votes from Null to me, that would make Null and Jury tied at three—wouldn't that make Jury nominated as well?" Travis asked, rearranging the votes in his head.
"Yes, that would be the case. Actually, that's probably how Lucky and The Crush will end up voting, with your approval. I just didn't want to overwhelm you with a tally that shows you nominated in a unanimous vote."
GG takes a pause, then manages to make eye contact with Travis.
"Even with all three of you nominated, there's little chance that Jury will lose the public vote—believe me, I've seen the research. I suppose there would be a tiny outside chance if the media got a hold of something truly shocking, but Rexford isn't bound to let that happen in the short time we have, especially given Jury's campaign exposure and performance in the competition so far…" GG trails off, his face growing grim.
"It just seems that either you or Null will be going home on Thursday night."
Travis don't know what to say.
And actually, he can't say anything to show GG how close he really is to the girl under the Null mask. Or how devastating this news is.
"Is there anything we can do to take Jury down?" Travis ask, hoping GG has come up with some secret, brilliant scheme.
"Gravitate, you need to listen to me when I say this," GG says, growing uncharacteristically serious. "Jury is staying. And doing anything to try and change that will be a monumental waste of time and energy."
Travis opens his mouth to object, but GG just sends him another look—trust me, don't bother.
"But listen, this might actually be a good thing," GG tries. "It would be fairly impossible for you to beat Jury in a head-to-head public vote right now, so it's better that you go up against Null. I mean, she has performed well and certainly has a steady following, but she also seems to scare just as many people as she attracts."
"Plus, I have it on a pretty good record that you really can't trust her," GG adds. "If I were you, I'd do whatever I could to take Null down this week."
Travis just stays silent, it seems like he doesn't want to talk about it.
"Well, you had better hope you're liked better than Null, chickadee," GG says, turning away from Travis to pout.
"Because come Thursday, it's going to be you or her."