Chapter 573: Consortium and Members (Happy New Years Eve/Please vote for the big chapter)
Chapter 573: Consortium and Members (Happy New Year’s Eve chapter, please vote for me)
It's dark at night, but the bustling business district is still brightly lit.
The bright moon looks dim and pale under the light created by humans.
When the taxi passed by the entrance of the dark bar, He Ao could vaguely hear the rhythmic music inside.
The night in Wetterland is a mixture of noise and silence.
Bustling business districts, endless entertainment venues, dynamic music, people are silent in this seemingly eternal hustle and bustle.
On the other side, there are the lights of office buildings that stay on all night, the rumbling machinery of factories that never stop, the tired people coming and going, and the lifeless residential areas of Plant District.
Some of the big screens outside the mall were showing Ned's campaign ads, and some were showing the evening news.
The crowds flowed like ants under the magnificent buildings made by humans.
"There are only three days left before the mid-term elections," said the host, who was wearing a large suit, slightly fat and with a thick accent, sitting in front of the studio.
"To be precise, excluding today and March 1, the official election date, the candidates actually have only two days left to prepare for the mid-term elections, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."
He raised his hand, and a chart appeared in the upper left corner of the screen, "In this midterm election, all members of the House of Representatives will be re-elected, and one-third of the members of the Senate will be elected. We have a
The Senate seat is among the quota for this re-election.
"We have analyzed the House of Representatives in the last issue, and today we will analyze the Senators.
"There is a big difference between senators and representatives. According to the federal constitution, representatives only have a two-year term, while senators have a six-year term. A longer term in office means that they can make more changes to the federal parliament.
influence, pushing for more bills.
"Senatorship is also one of the offices most likely to lead to the federal presidency."
A new photo appeared on the chart. It was a man in a suit who looked gentle and confident. It was Ned.
"According to the current survey, the current Senator Ned is the most vocal person in this election. His support rate is about 30%, making him the candidate with the highest support rate at present.
"Ned is an old-school federal senator. During his tenure, he promoted a number of laws that were beneficial to the entire federation. He has served as a senator for twelve years.
"His uncle was also a senator from Wetland, and his grandfather once served as the vice president of the Federation. The entire family has a high influence in the federation and can effectively use its influence to push the federal government to pass bills that are beneficial to Wetland.
.
"During this campaign, he claimed that after being re-elected, he would promote federal assistance for street children, propose a bill to protect employees, and promote the implementation of the tax cut bill,"
The host closed Ned's photo, "At present, Ned is very likely to be re-elected as a senator. Except for Ned, the other candidates do not have high support rates in the survey. Desan, who ranks second,
Gram's support rate is less than 13%, and others do not even exceed 10%.
"And this Desanke is a new candidate. This year is his first time participating in the Senate election. He is only thirty-seven years old. According to him, he once worked as a worker in Plant's industrial area for a period of time.
, and later went to university and became a lawyer.
"He made many campaign promises that were beneficial to employees, so he received more support in the Plant District and the Enst District in the south, which have more employees.
"But because he has no previous experience in government, has neither served as a member of the city council, nor has a good family environment, even voters who support him do not have much confidence in his ability to govern..."
He Ao stared at the screen showing the late-night news in the shopping mall. The screen had no sound and was far away from the ground. The audience could only understand the host's words by reading the subtitles on the screen.
While he was looking at the screen, the taxi driver in front also glanced at the screen, but the driver quickly retracted his gaze and continued driving without caring.
He Ao looked at the driver's calm expression through the rearview mirror and said slowly, "It seems that many people are paying attention to the mid-term elections recently."
"Elections are all like this."
The driver put his hands on the steering wheel and looked at the road ahead that stretched to the end of the night. "After all, it is only at this time that we seem to be important."
"Senator, do you have anyone you want to vote for?"
He Ao leaned on the chair and asked softly.
"No, I haven't voted in years,"
The driver shrugged, patted the steering wheel with his hand, and sighed, "When I was young, I always felt that I could choose an excellent leader. Later, I slowly discovered that no matter who I choose, my life is not the same.
There is no change, so I won’t bother to choose later, since the end result is actually the same anyway.
"Each of these candidates stood up straight and acted very capable and reliable, as if they were chosen by God to become a certain councilor or mayor. But God never chooses people, they are chosen.
, just selected by the consortium.”
The driver turned the steering wheel and turned the taxi to the right side of the road. "In fact, when electing a member of the parliament, it does not depend on how capable or talented you are, but on whether you are famous enough, whether you have money, and whether you can pay."
We can afford the cost of publicity.”
The driver looked at Ned's poster outside the window and pursed his lips, "No, this is the richest person running for senator this time."
He leaned on the driver's seat, the vehicle speeding under the neon lights,
"But where does this money come from? Federal law says that you can provide financial support to candidates through small donations from supporters, but how much of the money for these ads, these videos, and the money that buys celebrities and TV stations is through
Made possible by small donations from ordinary supporters?
"I wonder if you are willing to donate money to these politicians to provide them with a life of luxury and luxury.
"Anyway, I don't want to. With the money I earn now, after paying the rent, paying off the credit card installments, and paying off the academic loans, there is almost nothing left. I want to donate money to them, but I don't have the money to do so.
"
Having said this, the driver laughed and glanced at the magnificent shopping malls around him, "These candidates need advertising, publicity, and hiring people to organize speeches for them. All of this requires money, and this money will not be generated out of thin air."
, If you can’t get it from poor voters like us, you can only go to the consortium.
"When you take other people's money, you have to do things for them, so just listen to those so-called campaign promises. They say they are running for us, but they are actually running for themselves. Although we hold the votes in our hands,
, but we actually don’t decide whether they can be selected.
"The consortium decides who to invest money in, who has more exposure, and who is seen by more people. Of course, people with high reputations are more likely to be selected.
"As for those who are unwilling to cooperate with the consortium and do not obey the will of the consortium, the consortium will not give them money, and even send people to destroy their speeches. Even if they really want to do something, no one can see them.
Naturally, they had no votes and eventually disappeared into the vast sea of people.
“So for these candidates, the key to deciding who wins is not us who hold the votes, but the consortium who holds the funds.
“These candidates will only be responsible to those who really decide their destiny, so no matter how fanciful they say or how beautiful their campaign promises are, they are just a means to temporarily deceive those of us who have no money.
"Once they are really chosen, they will only reciprocate the favor of the consortium that spent a lot of money on them."
The street lights in front gradually dimmed, and the bright yellow taxi disappeared into the night. "That's how the federation is. Even if it was the late-night news you just watched, that news would never appear on the screen in the bustling business district just now.
"What the host said, although he appeared to be neutral on the surface, was actually praising Nied and belittling other candidates. At first glance, he was another paid candidate."
"You seem to know a lot."
He Ao asked softly.
"I went to college before," the taxi driver took out a cigarette, then he hesitated and asked softly, "Do you mind if I smoke?"
"Please."
He Ao nodded.
"When I was in school, I was the vice president of the student union. At that time, I also thought about becoming a politician,"
The driver opened the driving window and lit a cigarette. As the hazy smoke rose, he said slowly, "The more contacts I got, the more I discovered that there was no money, no support, no visibility, and almost no one would vote for it.
I vote.
"I couldn't even raise enough money for my first speech. At first I tried to find those who supported my candidacy to see if I could raise some money, but then I couldn't get through to them.
"It took me several years to figure out the rules, and I went to those consortiums and factories to seek financial support. I had no qualifications or background, and almost no one even looked at me.
"Later I finally found a factory that was willing to 'invest' in us unknown rookie 'candidates'. This factory invested heavily in worthless rookies like us. I knew very well that they didn't appreciate me.
Just cast a wide net and see if you can get lucky.
"This factory's requirements are very pure. If you take their money, you have to do things for them."
The driver took a puff of cigarette and said, "My parents are both ordinary workers. I know how bad the factory environment is and the intensity of their work. When I first wanted to run, I hoped to rely on my own strength to promote changes in the factory and improve people like my parents."
Same people's living conditions.
“But the consortium behind that factory asked me that if I succeed in the election, I will help them push for bills to lower wages, push for bills to further relax factory environmental restrictions, and prevent bills that raise the minimum wage from being introduced in parliament.
"Although I had expected it, when I heard this request, I was still stunned for a long time."
The driver held the cigarette in his mouth, and the air-conditioning and darkness were sucked in from the car window at the same time. "On one side is the capital investment opportunity that I have been asking for for a long time, and on the other side is my own ideals and ethics."
He took a deep breath of the cigarette, took it off his mouth, and stretched it out the window, "Then I thought, screw it, whoever wants to do this kind of thing can do it.
"I left that factory and ended all my dreams."
The sweeping wind blew the cigarette butts and flew into the night with the flames. "At that moment I knew that I couldn't change the world, so I found a job and drove a taxi, even though the taxi company and the factory were just as bastards.
, but at least I'm free when I'm driving through the wind."
The cigarette on his fingertips burned to the end. The driver put away the cigarette. He felt a little sad for a moment. He glanced at He Ao's listening expression through the rearview mirror.
"I'm sorry that you have to listen to me talk about so many things."
"It's okay," He Ao smiled, "I quite like hearing these things. My mother is a writer. She often took me on trips when I was a child. Everywhere she went, she would take a taxi and communicate with the taxi driver.
Listening to the driver tell different stories, hmm..."
He Ao's tone paused for a moment, "But your story, among all the stories I have heard, is considered legendary."
"Yeah?"
The taxi driver laughed, "Actually, the candidate industry is not that mysterious. After crossing that threshold, many things are similar to other industries. Your mother sounds like a very interesting person. The stories she writes must be very attractive.
People."
"yes,"
He Ao looked out the window. He activated his super memory. In the invisible night, the thoughts that surged like a tide spread into his perception. "She is barely a best-selling writer. Most of the time, her thinking is a little...
There is no limit to what I can do, and of course, when I make mistakes, she is as fierce as any other mother."
In the deepest part of the city, there seems to be some kind of undercurrent surging. In fact, this is not the first time He Ao has felt this undercurrent. He had felt it before when he was looking for the location of Jace's previous laboratory.
once.
But this time, in this surging trend, He Ao felt some familiar atmosphere that he had only been exposed to recently.
"All mothers in this world are the same, and so is my mother."
The driver glanced at He Ao's face through the rearview mirror. He looked at the nostalgia and memories on He Ao's cheeks and realized that he seemed to have asked a bad question. He did not continue to delve into this issue.
Instead, he stepped on the accelerator and asked,
"The end point you located seems to be an abandoned industrial building, and it's a manual urgent order. Is there something wrong with you coming over so late?"
"I have a friend around there."
He Ao withdrew his gaze and replied softly.
He raised his bracelet and took a look at the content on it.
The information interface on the bracelet is currently showing the chat history between Haixi and him.
The previous chat records were all normal. Haixi told him that she had arrived in Plant and was about to meet her 'old friend'.
As usual, He Ao asked her if she needed help, but she still refused.
[We have been friends for many years. It is normal to meet once and exchange information. This matter is absolutely safe. Don’t worry. We will meet at Zarot Street at one o’clock in the morning. I will give you the data chip then.]
These are Haixi's original words.
By that time, Heao had already finished cleaning up the house, and he immediately left home and headed to the Plant District.
Then the next message will be ten minutes later.
[15 Vicente Street, Plant District]
That's a positioning message.
After that, Haixi never responded to He Ao's messages, and He Ao couldn't get through when he called her.
