A month later, news pours out into the bunkers. Apparently, a presidential hopeful had been assassinated.

The tiny TV in the rec room streams videos of him talking over and over again. The videos are from all over the country. 

5275 cannot pry her eyes from the TV. There he is, Julian, the late night optimistic man at the bar. He is wearing a simple cotton tunic with the sleeves rolled up. His face is shaved but everything else is the same. He’s standing on a platform with microphone in hand.

“We need to become educated in who we put in power. And we need to make sure that the people we put in power are educated in the issues and choices that they are making. Facts should be paramount in decision making.”

The footage switches to another scene. This time in what looks like a synagogue. 

"What does everyone want? Freedom? Health? Happiness? Why do we need to be in competition for these things? Why can’t we all have them?"

Again, the footage switches, and here is Julian noticeably skinnier and weaker than before. He has the same tunic on as the first video, but now it looks like it is three sizes to big for him. His eyes are sunken in and he looks like he is holding onto the podium with all his might.

"I know that I have been criticized because I did not go to school in political science or government. I am not a lawyer. No one in my family has held political office. Yes, I was a farmer once. And I was a teacher. And I was a father. If I am not the best candidate for the job, I'm okay with that. But I hope that everyone researches and makes this decision for themselves. Please research the foundations of my campaign and my opponents' campaigns. What are each of our priority areas of action? Who is funding my campaign and theirs? Where is there hypocrisy? Where do we misalign with your values? I hope you know the answers to my questions before you cast your vote. That's all. I hope that the candidate who will best serve the people at large and not just corporations gets elected."

A man to the right of 5275 finally speaks up. "What a quack. That’s a flowery piece of shit." He keeps cussing as he turns his back from the TV and leaves the room.

The TV switches from the Julian montage to an angry group of protestors calling for reform. Holding signs that say, "Government = KILLERS" "What would Julian do?" "Give the power back to the people"

Underneath the live footage, the news banner reads, "BREAKING NEWS: Autopsy released. Poison found in Julian Blanco's system."

What. The. Fuck. Why did I poison him with something that could be detected? I wonder who will be framed?

-----

The first big change that happens is political contributions are outlawed. All political candidates receive the same amount of money to run their campaigns. And after that the entire political system collapses.