Chapter 8

“It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. President.” Amanda reached out her hand to shake the hand of President Melville. “I voted for you. It was the first election I was eligible to vote in, and it was a no brainer. Your opponent was less than desirable. That might explain why you won with such a margin. I don’t think that there’s been such a one-sided victory since Ronald Reagan defeated Walter Mondale in 1984.”

Tucker Melville laughed as he shook the young woman’s hand. “Well, thank you very much. Please, everyone, have a seat.”

He waited until the women found seats on the couch on one side of the office before taking his own position opposite them on the other couch.

“First off, I would like to say thank you to all three of you for your excellent work on the project so far. The reports I am reading say that we should get as much mileage as possible out of this. I know that you three know everything we are trying to accomplish, and the fact that you are so willing to commit as much as you have to this means a lot to me. It will hopefully make this situation the least awful it can be.”

The three nodded or spoke their thanks, and the President continued.

“So, what brings you three lovely people to my office on such short notice?”

Sharra started off the conversation. “Well, Amanda has something she would like to propose to you. We discussed it extensively with her first, and when she convinced us, I knew she would have to do the same to you as well. She has a change to the project that she feels will make the impact that much greater, and more effective.”

“Alright, Ms. Mickelson, you have my attention.”

“There is a lot of thought behind this. I had actually been thinking about this since a week after filming started.”

Amanda went on to explain all the reasons why she would be viewed as a hypocrite after the film was released and why that will undermine the message, possibly significantly, without actually explaining what her solution would be.

“I see. And if I am guessing correctly, you have a solution to this.”

“It’s simple, actually. Have someone actually term me on camera, followed by cutting up the body, cooking the meat, and serving it, all on film. And all of that in a single take like the Chinese did when they ambushed Sharra, Ms. Anderson, I mean.”

Tucker Melville was obviously not expecting that answer, as evidenced by his face turning white as a sheet, and a wide-eyed, horrified expression coming over him.

“What did you say? No! I can’t allow that! That is ... no!” the President sputtered as he tried to get the wheels in his mind turning again. “That is not the kind of ending you deserve after doing this service for your country! I can’t allow this! No!”

“Mr. President, please let me explain. There are a lot of reasons why this is the only path left for me to follow in this.

“There are two choices. Term, cook, and serve me, or don’t.

“If this isn’t done, I will be viewed as just another Hollywood elitist, someone who used their position to avoid the sacrifice that millions of other girls and women in the population will be required to perform. And you know that there will be many people in the entertainment industry that will do just that. They will make every argument that they can think of to save their lives if and when they are selected. And you will split the country between the haves who are able to avoid this, and the have nots, who will end up in the food supply. That will tear the country apart the same way it did during the Vietnam War when The Best and The Brightest were able to shield their children from military service and being sent to Vietnam.”

Amanda paused to let the President think about that for a moment, and he nodded for her to continue.

“You need a way to undermine that entire argument, and make sure that the rich and powerful are contributing their fair share to the Act. Otherwise, you will have the same problem, but with much higher stakes. This will make the protests back then look like a Fourth of July parade.”

“But, killing you? That’s horrible! Isn’t there some other way?”

“This whole situation is horrifying, Mr. President. People are going to die one way or another. If nothing is done, I will most likely be one of them. If cannibalism is removed from the solution, I may be one as well. With cannibalism in the solution to bolster the food supply, I will most likely survive.

“But I won’t want to. Think about it. I will be viewed as way worse than anyone else, because I helped set this in motion. I will be viewed as an elitist who used their position to save their own life, while actively working to kill and eat everyone else that gets selected. That would be hard to live with. Not impossible, but very, very hard. Still, I could get through it with going to therapy for the rest of my life. And I have saved enough money and invested wisely that I would never have to work again.”

“Well, then why not fight to survive, like everyone else will be doing in the next decades?” The President broke in, trying to find anything he could think of to talk her out of this and save the life of this wonderful, articulate, and incredibly beautiful young woman who was sitting here in his office arguing that she should be killed and eaten.

“Because I can live with what others will say about me if I never show my face in public again and avoid anyone seeing me. I will be one of the most famous actors in history when this comes out. I will have to live on the equivalent of a deserted island, but it is possible.

“But the one thing I can’t do is avoid the guilt and pain in my heart and soul. I feel it already,” she said almost in a whisper as she reached out and took Sharra’s and Gilda’s hands on either side of her in a fierce grip that was almost painful for them. “It eats at me, knowing that I will have helped all these women accept their fate. Not just now, but for generations to come.

“Once I am successful with the women today, that will set the pattern and way of thinking that will propagate throughout the generations. And I will be the one that did this.

“I can’t go on living with that. It is too much to bear,” she said, tears coming at last as she tried to hold herself together. “This is already worse than anything I have ever experienced in my life. And it’s only going to get worse. A thousand times worse. The nightmares are horrible now. I may never sleep again after this. And I will most likely end myself, take my own life, within the next year.