act8mini

Shhhh, hush. This is the Frontier Department of Mama John's. Keep a low profile.

They're passing out medicine to the Infected?

In Columbia, many things operate in a way unlike elsewhere in Terra.

For example, consider the wasteland pioneers— Pioneers, the lifeblood of Columbia's westward expansion, the writers of Columbia's wilderness stories, the protagonists of the Columbian dream.

They sign a contract with Mama John's and open up land in the barren wastes, establishing residential areas for Columbia and its companies.

Depending on how they work, companies will also provide them with medicine and supplies, as a sort of wage.

Here, take this.

The solid and liquid components are packaged separately. This is the medicine they distribute?;......;What... What on earth...?

This is the medication that they give to the Infected. You are the expert here, I doubt you need me to explain.

This is not an Oripathy suppressant.

Of course not, you know better than me. This half is a generic painkiller and the other half is a nutrient solution.

Why?

It's not a question of why, don't you see? They don't need to sell real suppressants.

These pioneers, Infected from all over the world, have never seen a real Oripathy suppressant.

Though these things can't actually suppress Oripathy itself, they can relieve the symptoms of the disease. The product of Mama John's works, and works quickly, and that's good enough for them.

The concept of 'suppressant' is new to Terra, and naturally they wouldn't know.

Since they can make painkillers, they don't need to make real suppressants...

Why do they care about our technology then?

Hahahaha... That story would be even more interesting.

Did you know, before Mama John's became a big name, they were just a donut chain. How could they have mastered the technology to produce drugs?

All their pharmaceutical production lines are purchased from other companies such as Beachbrella, Tower Mountains, Rhine Lab...

Now that they sell painkillers as suppressants and make so much money, do you think the other pharmaceutical companies will sit on their hands?

They've been thoroughly beaten down by other companies, but they've also learned a whole lot. This time, they've decided to directly off their partner, something that is distinctively Columbian.

With your batch of samples in hand, I suspect the landscape of their cheap drugs will soon change.

A more efficacious drug with a stronger analgesic will convince more people that this in fact is an 'Oripathy suppressant.'

How can that be allowed?! Rhodes Island's samples are not Oripathy suppressants at all. Those samples haven't been tested for safety yet and might have serious side effects. We haven't...

Let me tell you what will happen next.

Mama John's will use your technology to make more and more 'suppressants' at lower costs.

Of course, those poor pioneers will become the guinea pigs.

Will they die? Let me tell you the truth. Even without Mama John's, they will still die—

—Columbia's frontiers have been bought with the blood of the pioneers. Their life expectancy is not long regardless.

But those who remain, those whose lives were not claimed while paving the wilderness, are ever more likely to work for them in exchange for these so-called suppressants.

This medicine gives some short-term pain relief. Maybe it can even buy them a few extra years.

Then, the newspapers across Columbia's major cities will publish headline after headline of their great achievements, right on the front page.

'Mama John's Strides Into Pharmaceuticals, Bringing New Hope to the Infected!'

Impeccable!

As for the truth, it is not at all important compared to the actual effectiveness of the analgesics.

Of course you can tell these poor people, 'those drugs that you're taking can't actually cure Oripathy, but can best be regarded as expensive painkillers and placebos.' And then what?

You keep telling the truth, saying that even the best suppressants by far can't bring back their completely normal lives and that they will continue to be accompanied by sickness and pain until they die.

On the subject of Oripathy, Rhodes Island indeed stands at the bleeding edge in this world, so you know the truth. But is it a truth that they can stomach?

And this... is Columbia, my friend.

Nothing will change, and everything makes sense. People come to Columbia with hope, create value with hope, and die with hope.

But we can't just sit around and watch them use Rhodes Island to...

See, this is very practical.

You cannot save them, nobody can save them. Not to mention, it is difficult even to protect yourselves now.

For the Infected who harbor hope in their hearts, hope never existed in the first place, and you know this better than they do.

You should contact your people sooner rather than later, and find a way to get back.

You're right, Mr. Cannot.;......;I don't want to admit it, but facts are facts.

Doctor...

I know, that hope is a cruel thing indeed.

When you realize it can't be undone, when you realize you are powerless, when you find yourself nothing but desperate...

Hope is enough to drive a perfectly good person mad.

People believe what they want to believe, and that makes them feel much better.

You look over at Amiya. You watch her ears slowly droop, her eyes filled with sadness, then stained with helplessness.

The two of you have seen much, but you both will see more still. You both understand all this, and in fact, there is no need for the wasteland merchant to explain it again.

In the distance, along the border between the wastelands and the sky, the sun slowly sinks.

Day is about to draw to an end in Terra's wastelands. The light is about to fade, and the twin moons will soon take its place in the sky.

The sun will still rise tomorrow, but not every Infected will see the coming dawn.

Even if there are enough drugs to suppress Oripathy in this place, it is too late for so many more. Nothing will change.

Nothing will change?

But— Mr. Cannot.

Even if hope will continue to bring us pain, I still think it's worth it.

If we give up on hope, what is the meaning of everything we've had to endure?

Doctor...!

Oh! Quite the rousing speech, friend.

You did not convince me, for you will find it hard to do so, but I felt the sincerity of your emotions.

I do like how you still refuse to bow to reality despite having seen it, though to be honest, you've already embarrassed yourselves.

Let's put that speech aside for now. I know that you two are very practical people, so I will also pose a very practical question. I'm quite curious, what will you do next?

You've already arrived at the Messenger Outpost at the border, and you will be leaving this place soon.

Do you plan to turn around and head back? What then?

To be frank, my friend, unless you have some way of getting your things back from them, you will have a very hard time resolving these matters.

Will you charge there single-handedly with all guns blazing? Should I lend you a burdenbeast so you can look like a hero of the vale from the indigenous Columbian peoples' folklore?

Oh, I almost forgot, you can't fight.

Mr. Cannot, please don't say that about the Doctor.

No, Amiya, he's right.

Sometimes, we don't necessarily need to use force.;We can use their own ways to resolve the problem— and I just happen to have some practice.;In order to get Rhodes Island out of here safely, we have to get crafty.

From the sound of things, you plan to appeal to reason?

Four days later

4:01 P.M. \ Clear

Columbia Detention Center

Alright, you can leave now.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Doctor!

It went well, Amiya.

Don't do that again! I was really... I was worried sick!

You played your bag of tricks quite well, my friend. Very clever.

I'm glad that the little excursion I took you on was not in vain, nor was me waiting out here for a few days. I really did underestimate you.

But, I am a bit scared of you now, my friend.

I'll take that as a compliment.;...It's alright.;To be honest, I was a bit scared too when I woke up to a bucket-head.

I... I still don't understand... what happened.

Simply stated... our clever friend here voluntarily surrendered to Columbian Customs and Border Protection, saying that your company had smuggled a batch of Oripathy-related drugs into Columbia.

If you know anything about Columbian laws, you should know that Oripathy-related drugs are the most strictly-regulated medical products.

The company that lobbied to implement this law in the past spent a lot of efforts to monopolize the drug market in Columbia.

The information provided by our friend here definitely alarmed the Columbian Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Arts Units, and Originium, and they certainly aren't easy to deal with.

Per protocol, the Bureau's security forces went there in no time and seized all items in this smuggled product trade.

But, we have complete contracts and records of our cooperation with them, which should be easy to find...

Hahaha, that's the important part.

Miss Rabbit, when they chose to attack you, they had no intention of leaving any footprints. They have destroyed all evidence of this cooperation, and nothing would match up in the investigation.

So what kind of situation will prevent a company from leaving behind any evidence of a transaction?

What else but shady business.