Darkstone Code-Chapter 832 - 830: Discussing Dignity with the Public
For a Federation citizen, weekends are very joyful because they don’t have to work. They can lie on the black sofa, which others might sanitize their hands after touching, but they can relax on it without a care and even roll around.
An adjacent rack designed for food and drinks is filled with piles of junk food and overly sweet beverages. With just a simple motion, they can enjoy such a wonderful day!
Of course, if there are many people at home, spending time together is quite nice as well.
So on Saturdays, most ordinary people sleep until noon, then get up to watch TV, staying up late into the night.
As for what the TV or newspapers say about people going out to exercise on weekends, that surely happens in Middle Class communities or the wealthy neighborhoods.
They have been sitting in chairs representing status, wealth, and power all week, so they definitely want to move around.
If they were also working over ten hours a day on factory assembly lines, they certainly wouldn’t be jogging in the park or rowing until sweating all over on weekends.
At two o’clock on Saturday afternoon, the prime time arrives. Some choose to watch boring TV dramas, while others opt for political and current affairs programs.
It must be said that the Federation Government leads the world in providing entertainment. From criticizing homeless people on the street to bashing the President, whatever people want to see, the TV has it.
Today’s "Saturday World Watch" is a bit different from usual. It’s a program that takes everyone to see interesting things across the globe.
In this international society just beginning to take shape, people’s curiosity about what lies beyond borders has been translated into the program’s viewership. Many people learn about places abroad through this show.
In fact, often what they learn is not the real foreign landscape, but what certain people want them to know, yet they are still satisfied.
On one hand, without anything to compare it to, they don’t know if what they see is real and will assume it is.
Secondly, everyone desires communication and boasting. They also need to find something fun amid their dull life and work, and talking about some fresh news from abroad is obviously the best topic.
For instance, the once prevalent rumor "Nagariel people defecate anywhere, even women do it everywhere" was very popular in workshops. The latter half of the sentence was trendy; people would smile smugly imagining the scene of women squatting, then share knowing smiles—
If they aren’t considering the possibility of seeing the feces!
But today, the show’s atmosphere seems a little off.
The cheerful opening music is gone, replaced by the host’s grave expression, as though he had lost a loved one, making the audience aware of some issue.
"Recently, the Animal Protection Society conducted a protest at the Bupen Zoo, arguing that humans cage animals to take away their freedom and hence abuse them."
"But they don’t realize, we actually cage animals to protect them!"
"Outside the cage, they have to deal with predators’ attacks anywhere, face food shortages, and most importantly, confront humans."
"Various animal products are bestsellers; everyone hopes to have a lion head specimen above their fireplace and a bearskin rug underfoot."
"But sometimes, we humans are like the animals in the cage..."
At this point, the host paused, tidying up his scripts, then lifted his head a moment later, "When I saw the news footage we are about to show you, I realized peace is actually far from us."
"Here, I hope minors watch this under parental guidance, and for those who are mentally fragile, I suggest you switch channels, because I fear you can’t handle ’the world outside the cage’!"
"So, are you ready?"
As the host spoke, the screen abruptly switched to a specific video content that was strikingly impactful from the beginning.
Several people were lying in a pool of blood, two of them seemingly only in their teens, unmoving, while another teenager showed obvious signs of struggle.
The voiceover came in promptly, "This is a targeted attack that happened in ... region, and the victims were the family of a Federation Merchant."
"The male head of the family was planning a picnic trip with his family during the holiday, but they encountered this attack."
"In the attack, except for their eldest son who survived with severe injuries, the others were killed by the bandits. The targets were their cash, jewelry, a car, and the keys to their house’s cold storage."
"After the attack, the bandits went to their home, stole all their savings and bank documents, and then disappeared."
"The local police, citing a lack of eyewitnesses, have made no moves to investigate or capture the culprits despite our requests."
The scene flashed again to a small and very ordinary store, where a couple in their thirties lay on the ground, the scattered bloodstains indicating they had died.
The store was a mess, and the cash register lay fallen on the ground, loose change scattered around.
"A Federation couple opened a store in ... area, because the products they sold came from the Federation, providing a unique experience for the locals."
"They thought this would lead them to a prosperous life, but they didn’t expect that while earning Wealth through hard work, some bandits set their sights on them."
"According to a witness, around eight o’clock in the evening, a group of masked bandits stormed into the store. The couple had no chance to resist before being shot at close range."
"The bandits took all their valuable items and a large amount of alcohol. Some witnesses suspect it might be the ... Gang’s members."
"However, local police refuse to investigate this case in depth. They haven’t found those attackers yet, claiming that due to the late hour and uncertainty of what witnesses saw, they won’t initiate an investigation without evidence."
...
Such scenes flashed several more times, each showing that those who ventured abroad, on a quest for wealth, did not always fare well.
Each shocking scene silently conveyed that outside the Federation, it is not a peaceful or safe place.
The Federation is like a cage, where people are safe inside.
But once they leave the cage, they must face all sorts of unknown risks.
The wealth of Federation people has become the target for various wrongdoers, who specifically prey on Federation citizens...
From the initial shock and anger, to numbness and even some fear, for the first time, people chose a channel because of a serious issue.
More and more people started watching the program, learning more about the occurrences abroad.
The scene soon returned to the studio, with two guests sitting at the guest table.
They were an expert on international policy and a politician who had served as a local official.
"After watching these videos, I have a question: why are the local Police Station so apathetic about solving these heinous cases?"
The host stared at the two guests, voicing the doubt all viewers shared.
With such severe criminal cases occurring, why do those foreign police seem to not care at all?
Guest A coughed and replied, "From their local perspective, Federation citizens are ’foreigners,’ and combined with the vast wealth disparity, there’s actually hostility and even hatred towards Federation citizens."
"Some regions themselves don’t have stable governance, with some large Gangs even capable of openly confronting the government, so even when such atrocious cases occur, local police agencies don’t prioritize them."
"The fact that the dead are foreigners is key!"
"No one wants to offend locals for some insignificant people, people around them. Their attitude isn’t hard to understand."
The host’s expression became more serious, "Aren’t they afraid of diplomatic repercussions?"
Guest B chuckled, "Diplomacy between two countries is rarely specific to a particular executor, especially at such a base level."
"They’re well aware that even if we protest or issue a diplomatic note, those procrastinating policemen will likely only receive a reprimand, not more severe punishment."
"In choosing between risking their lives confronting local gangs and bandits, or doing nothing and facing no personal loss, they choose the latter."
The host glanced at the script, "I have some stats here: in twenty-four months, or two years, based on the statistics and data we have, over five thousand Federation Merchants have been attacked and killed abroad."
"Almost seven to eight people die overseas daily due to various reasons, and many more are injured, not to mention the case information we’ve missed that local governments help cover up."
"I believe that with the normalization of international trade, this issue has become our greatest fear and least desirable outcome."
"We may find ourselves alone in a certain city of a certain country, isolated, with no help. In such situations, if danger arises, do we really have no options?"
Both guests nodded, and Guest A sighed, "If local governments are unwilling to intervene in these matters, unwilling to provide more security for Federation Merchants, in such situations, we can only pray that those people merely want the money in our pockets and not our lives!"
The host frowned, "Is there truly no solution?"
"We can defeat Gafura, and surpass most countries in technology, yet can’t we solve this tiny problem at all?"
