The Bee Emissary Chapter 16

After Dr. Carlson’s class, I realized he was right. I needed to grow as a person.

Chapter 16:

After Dr. Carlson’s class, I realized he was right. I needed to grow as a person. I needed to confront the realities of the looming Presidential Election and its predicted purulent consequences.

Arriving home, I discovered my next-door neighbors were moving out the day before the Presidential election. I saw them loading their luggage into a van destined for the Dane County airport. It made me feel embarrassed because I didn’t know them well, but regardless, I waved and said, “Have a safe journey.”

The husband of the couple walked towards me. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

He held a boy, perhaps two years old, with beautiful, black, curly hair, large, dark eyes, and an angelic smile.

“Where are you traveling?”

“Ah, my friend, back to Morocco. Our parents insisted we return home at once.” He registered my bewilderment. He looked very sad. “I loved my graduate studies here in Madison, and hope to continue in Morocco to receive a Ph.D. in biochemistry.”

“Why is it so urgent that you leave?” I studied his face closely.

He appeared sad. “My parents, in particular, feel that if elected, General Walters will no longer welcome foreigners, especially Muslims, in your country.”

I stuttered, embarrassed. “I’m...I’m...I’m sorry. I did not know—err—I hope things work out for you.”

He nodded. “And for you, too.”

I reached out; we shook hands. After placing his child in a car seat, I watched the van until it was out of sight.

I started up the steps to my porch. The paper carrier came up behind me and tossed a copy of the Wisconsin State Journal in front of my former neighbor’s door.

“Hey, they just left and aren’t coming back.”

The paper carrier, probably all of 14, responded, “Well, they prepaid for the next three months. This address gets a paper, regardless. Can you contact them and tell them to cancel so they can get a refund?”

“I don’t have their contact information.” She turned and walked away.

I took the newspaper in with me rather than leaving it on the porch.

When I set the paper on the coffee table, I noticed the headline: Walters Expected to Win in a Landslide.

It was the evening before election day. I was hungry, so I grabbed a ham sandwich, potato chips, and a root beer. I munched and read.

An article described Walters’ campaign strategy: Walters combined war strategies with spellbinding oratory. His themes emphasized American exceptionalism and fear of the other. He formed a fractured orchestra as if a conductor, producing a symphony of discordant groups and tribes, stoking fear and loathing. He often said that he alone could bring peace and prosperity back to this great nation. The crowds cheered. For many, the election of Walters became an existential imperative.

His favorability rating skyrocketed to the high 80s as the election neared, giving a sense of inevitability to his winning the White House.

I didn’t pick up the papers off the porch until the day after the election. Monday’s prediction became Wednesday’s fact.

Landslide for President-Elect Deed Walters. I continued to read: The Good Deeds Party won the Presidential election and numerous down-ballot contests. The party secured 20 seats in the Senate and 130 seats in the House of Representatives. The victory was partly because of many Democrats and Republicans switching to the GDP a year before the Presidential Election. They received significant campaign donations and no primary challenges for their loyalty.

One opinion piece made a dire prediction: A Deed Walters win means the last presidential election in our lifetime.

It occurred to me that Stewart was right; people were sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Subsequent issues of the Wisconsin State Journal had various analyses and concerns. One article read: Fueled by frustration and primal fears stoked by the Walters’ campaign, the country followed the general.

Another report alleged pre-election discussions with adversaries: The General had high-level talks with the Chinese and Russians before the election. The report suggested that the General did not care what the Chinese or Russians did as long as their actions did not interfere with American business.

After Walters took the oath of office, becoming president on Saturday, January 20, 2029, none of these stories appeared again.