THE “PANIC OF 2020”-2
780 Words
“WE GOT SOME DATA FROM the WHO about yet-another Chi-Com virus like their SARS and Bird Flu, and the WHO execs labeled it a 'global public-health emergency'. After some people died of it in WuHan, the Chi-Com's put a couple million people into quarantine. So I took the step of shutting down all Chinese nationals coming into the US if they'd been in China recently.
“But we were missing a lot of data. So I put a task force in place to gather more data instead of waiting for it to come in.
“One fine day in March, I was sitting at my desk and these two doctors march into my office with the latest WHO findings, plus some report from an Imperial College in the UK – who estimated that the U.S. could be winding up with 2.2 million dead from this pandemic.
“And that meant we probably should follow their lead and lock everything down.
“Of course, it turned out that they were quite wrong about it. Hugely wrong. But we didn't find that out for over a month.
“By then, we'd followed their 'best suggestions' and pushed half the country or more out of their jobs and onto unemployment. Lost all the jobs we'd built into the economy since the character who had the job before me started in. A lot of jobs. Great Depression-type magnitude. Bad. Very bad.
“But didn't you hear about all this from here?”
I took another sip of tea before responding. “Sure, D. J. But since the 'news' media is mostly wrong, and the pasture walks, plus all these spirit-guides around here keep me in good health, I didn't pay much attention. Besides, I've got job security in taking care of these cattle here, plus my writing. And then there is having a freezer full of beef, and a garden out back, plus a small orchard. Worst part was going to town.”
“How's that?”
“Oh, when people heard about things shutting down, then they stocked up on stuff. Their favorites. Like whole rows of bread would be gone, and the rows above them would still be there. Tee-pee, sanitizer, dog food, and frozen pizza's. And a few days later, it was even worse – all the bulk containers of anything were gone, and then people also bought up the higher-priced versions of what they'd left on the shelves a few days before.”
D. J. had wide eyes at this.
“Now, don't get all concerned. I don't really need much that I have to have from town. And within a few weeks, the shelves were all stocked up again. It's mostly that I like to pick up a few things on my way home from the livestock auction. That auction is what passes for my only real social activities these days. Other than solving ghost's mysteries, that is. Writing is kind of a solitary work. But I like it that way.”
The President shrugged. “Good for you. Wish everyone had a life this good.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I tried out those things called 'cities' for awhile. Sat out the L. A. riots. Put up with all manner of weird stuff happening – crime, homeless, porn shops, Hollywood celebrity types. A bunch of non-sensical stuff. Just doesn't happen out here. Especially celebrities.”
D. J. sipped his own tea and thought this over. “Different worlds. But you get what you sign up for, I suppose.”
“That's for sure. I love the quiet out here.” Then a thought struck me. “You know, we've got a pond with fish in it, and a small boat down there...”
D. J. shook his head. “Maybe one day.”
“Or maybe a week. I told you Sal could get you back just after you left. Of course your tan would be improved and maybe add a few extra pounds.”
He put a wry grin on his face. “That's if I could take the quiet.”
I nodded. “Yeah, there's that. But it's a standing offer. Bring the missus – we've got a spare cabin if you don't mind minimizing.”
“OK, I'll take that into advisement. Almost better than Camp David.”
“I won't touch that line with a ten-foot pole. But then, I'm biased.”
D. J. nodded. “So, where was I? What do you think of this mystery so far?”
I frowned. “Kinda straight forward in retrospect. A disaster in the making. Mostly horror/action-adventure instead of mystery.”
My guest nodded, leaning forward onto the arms of his Adirondack. “It's pretty straightforward, but doesn't explain everything.”
“No, you're right. OK, we have the setup – except we don't know the villain yet – who was behind this scene.”
D. J. looked into my eyes and frowned a bit. “Some old enemies who were up to their usual no good, as you can expect...”
III“By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.”
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- Writer
