Campaigning had been underway for just over seven weeks. Yensid Media had been organising nearly weekly events to bring the celebrities running in the election closer to their voters. These events achieved high attendance and were the most viewed shows on television and most listened to on radio.
Yensid Media ran weekly polls to gauge the popularity of the candidates. The celebrities were polling well ahead of the chiefs in most districts. North and Carrington were the only exceptions. The Alset family had a strong influence over the residents in these districts. In the Capital District, it was very close. Polls indicated that Ryan had finally taken the lead over Waldo. Despite their love for Ryan, residents were nervous about change. Most of the residents thought of Waldo as a narcissistic buffoon. However, life had definitely become much better since he had become chief.
The polls were not made public. They were purely for the benefit of Yensid Media, so that they could best market the celebrities as well as bring the worst out in Waldo. James ran a special poll just for Waldo. He would survey his family and closest friends. He would report these incredibly favourable results as evidence to Waldo that he was winning easily.
The night of the great debate had arrived. The debate was between Waldo, Ryan, and the Democracy Chasers. Joan, Sally, and Julia were working as a team even though, technically, they were running as individual candidates.
There was a medium-sized live audience consisting of Waldo’s family and closest friends, as well as a handful of celebrities such as Saliyah and Ginger. The debate was to be aired live across all of Sapey. Large crowds had gathered at public venues to watch the first-ever debate in Sapey history. Demadrian had joined the mothers to watch the debate. They were still rattling off their names every time he entered the room.
Movie star Mickey was to host the debate. He was the most famous actor in the Capital District. He starred as the hero in several action movies. Waldo liked him a lot. He often invited him over for tea and cakes.
The Democracy Chasers were the first to take the stage. They casually walked over to a small lectern on the left side of the stage. The audience was very quiet. Then music began blaring out. It was the Pound Ball theme song. The curtain at the back of the stage opened to reveal a giant screen. It was showing highlights of Ryan’s recovery from his injury.
The Pound Ball music stopped. Saliyah got up from her seat. She began singing one of her newest songs, titled ‘My Hero’. She walked on stage as she continued to sing. A dozen dancers dashed onto the stage from either side. They surrounded Saliyah. The audience began cheering ecstatically. Those at public venues were jumping for joy.
As the song was about to end, Ryan sprinted on stage. He was wearing his Scarecrows uniform. He ran two laps around the stage. After that, the dancers exited the stage. Ryan turned to face Saliyah. They gazed into each other’s eyes. Then Saliyah sprinted towards Ryan. She leapt into his arms. Mickey jumped on his desk. He screamed into the camera and then did a backflip into his seat. Ryan and Saliyah embraced each other for a few seconds before he gently put her down. Ryan bowed and made his way to the Pound Ball designed podium on the right side of the stage.
Waldo’s music began to play. The giant screen began showing clips from Waldo’s promotional video, ‘It’s in my blood’. Every few seconds, the words ‘I’m better than you’ flashed across the screen. Then Waldo entered the stage. He was sitting on a giant gold throne. He wore a large purple and gold gown. He had a huge novelty crown on his head. Eight of his staff, two on each corner, were carrying him and his throne. They slowly made their way to the centre of the stage. The live audience was ecstatic. The crowds in the public venues were quiet. They seemed shocked by what they were witnessing.
Three more of Waldo’s staff ran onto the stage. Using their own bodies, they formed steps in front of Waldo. Waldo rose from his throne. He slowly stepped on his staff as he made his way down. He walked towards the Democracy Chasers. He pointed his finger at them as he shouted, ‘I’m better than you.’ He turned towards Ryan and shouted the same to him too. He finally stood behind the large grand podium in the middle of the stage. The podium slowly began to rise so that he would appear taller than Ryan. The music and video finally stopped.
‘Welcome to the Great Debate,’ screamed Mickey as he turned to face the camera. ‘Our majestic Chief Waldo the Third will debate the legendary Pound Ball star Ryan and those three over there, as he pointed to the Democracy Chasers.’
The live audience applauded in delight.
‘This debate will have three rounds,’ said Mickey, sounding much more composed than he did a few seconds earlier. ‘Round one will be questions from me. Round two will be questions from the audience. Round three will be questions from the candidates to each other. In that round, anything goes.’
‘Just for clarification!’ interrupted Waldo. ‘The questions from you are the questions I provided to you.’
‘Well, of course, you are our great and noble chief,’ said Mickey as he pumped his fist. ‘I will always humbly obey.’
The live audience cheered with excitement. While the audience at the venues groaned in frustration.
‘Let round one begin!’ said Mickey excitedly as he banged on his desk. ‘Question one is for you, Ryan. Why should the residents of the Capital District vote for you?’
Ryan paused for a few seconds as he listened to James through his earpiece.
‘The Capital District has greatly improved during Waldo’s magnificent reign as chief,’ said Ryan as he turned to face Waldo, who was nodding excitedly. ‘However, the residents of Sapey have matured. They no longer need the guiding hand of a great father figure. Instead, they need self-governance from one of their own. I came from a simple country town. I have experienced the struggles of everyday life. I know what it is like, and I know what it takes to overcome them. I’m not sure if someone who has spent their whole life in a palace can say the same.’
Saliyah and Ginger began applauding loudly. The rest of the audience gently clapped. The audience in the public venues applauded and cheered enthusiastically.
‘Thank you, Ryan, for that superb response,’ said Mickey.
‘Excuse me!’ interrupted Waldo. ‘I noticed we don’t have a scoreboard. How are the viewers at home meant to know who is winning?’
‘Ummm, okay,’ said Mickey, cringing slightly. ‘We didn’t really think about that.’
‘Of course you didn’t,’ said Waldo as he turned his head up. ‘Yet another reason why the Capital needs Waldo as Chief Governor.’
A few minutes later, studio employers rolled out a whiteboard with some markers.
‘This is how it’s going to work,’ said Waldo as he rubbed his hands together. ‘Correct answers receive two points. Answers with some merit receive one point. Wrong answers receive no points. Stupid answers receive minus one point.’
‘So, Ryan, you receive one point for your answer,’ replied Mickey cautiously as he could see Waldo holding up one finger on his right hand.
The audience applauded loudly.
Joan covered her face with her hands and groaned.
‘I have a feeling this debate might be rigged,’ whispered Sally into Joan’s ear.
‘Now the same question to you, Waldo?’ asked Mickey.
‘I could rattle off an endless list of adjectives to describe myself,’ said Waldo as he leaned forward. ‘For the benefit of our less articulate audience, I will keep it simple. No one else can do this job. No one else is Waldo.’
The live audience started cheering in excitement. Saliyah shook her head to disagree. Waldo raised three fingers.
‘Amazing answer,’ shouted Mickey as he stood up and applauded. ‘Three points to Waldo.’
The audiences in the public venues looked at each other in confusion.
‘Now the same question to you, Democracy Chasers?’ asked Mickey.
Julia and Sally both patted Joan on the back.
‘Many of us have experienced some improvement in our standards of living,’ said Joan as she faced the audience. ‘However, this is because of technology and has nothing to do with Waldo’s buffoonery.’
One of Waldo’s second cousins burst out laughing. Waldo glared at him angrily.
‘There is still so much poverty and inequality in this world,’ said Joan as she turned to face Waldo, who was standing with his arms folded. ‘That should no longer be the case. I would use the taxpayers’ money to ensure that all residents have access to everything they need. This includes education, healthcare, good food, clean water, and adequate housing. I would not waste it on fancy parties, palace upgrades, every new gizmo invented, or a massive wardrobe of ridiculous and super expensive clothes.’
The audiences in public venues began to cheer energetically.
‘No wonder you look awful and always will,’ blurted out Waldo. ‘You’ll never win respect if you don’t take pride in yourself. You just scored minus one. Tell them, Mickey.’
‘Sorry ladies,’ said Mickey, grimacing. ‘Not the best answer. I’ll have to give you minus one.’
Waldo began blowing raspberries at them.
‘Okay, let’s get to our second question,’ said Mickey as he stared in almost disbelief at the question in front of him. ‘We’ll let the ladies go first this time. Please tell us. What do you believe is Waldo’s greatest accomplishment?'
‘Oh, that’s an easy one,’ said Sally as she grinned confidently. ‘Calling for an election so that we can kick his fat ass out of the palace.’
‘I wear pantaloons!’ shouted Waldo dramatically as he rubbed the back of his hand against his forehead. ‘I’m not just a great leader; I’m also a fashion icon.’
‘Sorry ladies, another minus one,’ said Mickey, grimacing. ‘Same question to you, Ryan.’
Round one continued for another twenty minutes. Ryan politely complimented Waldo while also stating how he would improve on things. Waldo continued making exaggerated, grandiose statements about his accomplishments and his brilliance. The Democracy Chasers continued to attack every aspect of Waldo’s leadership while proposing how they would change how the Capital District was governed.
Round two ran for around twenty minutes. It followed a similar pattern to round one, with the audience asking questions that would solicit positive responses about Waldo. The Democracy Chasers continued their aggressive stances. Several times arguments broke out between Waldo and the girls.
The live audience remained strongly behind Waldo, partially supportive of Ryan, and strongly opposed to the Democracy Chasers. The audiences at the public venues were now actively jeering everything Waldo said and showed the most support for the Democracy Chasers.
‘Before we go on to our final round, here’s a quick recap of the scores,’ said Mickey. ‘In the lead, we have Waldo on twenty-four points, in second is Ryan with eight points, and in last place is the Democracy Chasers with negative sixty-eight points.’
The live audience cheered enthusiastically. The audiences at the public venues jeered and booed in anger.
‘For our final round,’ said Mickey as his eyes moved between the candidates. ‘Each candidate may ask one other candidate a question. No restrictions. It’s a free-for-all. Ryan, I’ll let you kick this one off.’
‘This question is for Chief Waldo,’ said Ryan as he turned to Waldo. ‘You all know I was a Pound Ball player for two years. My career was cut short through injury. Unfortunately, this injury occurred before I could be paid a decent salary. It wasn’t a big deal for me because of my lovely and amazing wife, who earns a lot of money. But not all players are so fortunate. What changes would you make regarding salaries in Pound Ball and in regards to player compensation in the event of career-ending injuries?’
‘There already is a solution,’ said Waldo confidently. ‘It’s called injury insurance.’ Waldo turned to face the camera. ‘How do you expect this guy to be a good chief if he can’t even protect himself?’
The live audience energetically applauded. The audiences at the public venues jeered louder than ever.
‘Your turn, Waldo,’ said Mickey. ‘Ask anyone any question you like.’
‘I have a question for Ryan,’ said Waldo as he began to jiggle. ‘In the dying seconds of the Grand Final, you walked onto the field. That meant your team had eight players on the field. You cheated. If you can so brazenly cheat in a Pound Ball game, what’s stopping you from cheating if, by some miracle, you become the Chief General?’
‘I was there to cheer on my team,’ said Ryan, stuttering slightly. ‘I didn’t realise that I could barely walk. I couldn’t get off the field in time. I physically contributed nothing to the on-field action. Referees did not consider what I did to be cheating.’
‘I bet a ton of money on that game,’ shouted Waldo. ‘Guess who had to cough up the bill? Yes, the taxpayers did. You cost the taxpayers a ton of money because you helped your hillbilly Pound Ball team win the Grand Final. Selfish! Selfish! Selfish! You would not make a worthy chief.’
The live audience remained silent.
‘Ohhkay,’ said Mickey as he turned towards the Democracy Chasers. ‘It’s now your turn to ask a question.’
‘I have a question for Waldo,’ said Joan as she looked across at him. ‘Both my parents died when I was very young. They worked in the Alset-owned mines. They were killed when a tunnel collapsed on them. I was taken to an orphanage funded jointly by the Alset Company and the four Governments of North, Capital, Carrington, and Lake. I spent half my childhood in that appalling place. I made many friends in that time. Most of them died in that place. To this day, the Alset Company has never been held to account for the way they treat their employees. This is because your father, Rundo the Fifth, in conjunction with the three other chiefs, removed all forms of regulation on the types of activities conducted by the Alset Company.’
A tear began to roll down her face as she turned to face the camera. ‘The only indication of improvement has come from Jenna Alset. As a child, she publicly exposed the abuse of technicians. This pressured her father to offer all technicians under him better contracts. They received higher pay, shorter hours, better training, and safer environments. This has not occurred across the board. This is because they are not compelled to do so. As a child, Jenna had the courage to stand up to her own family. As the most powerful chief in Sapey, do you have the courage to stand up to the Alset family? Will you ensure the fair treatment of the tens of thousands they employ?’
Waldo removed his crown. He placed it on the podium in front of him. He ran his hand through the thick mane of hair on his head. He took a deep breath.
‘Your damn right, I will,’ said Waldo as he looked across at the Democracy Chasers. He turned to face Ryan.
‘If I win, they will be held to account,’ said Ryan firmly. ‘I’ll make them compensate every family they ever harmed.’
Waldo nodded. He turned back to face the Democracy Chasers.
‘Do both of you swear on your lives?’ asked Sally as she looked across at both Waldo and Ryan.
‘We do,’ they both said together.
The live audience cheered enthusiastically, and so did the audiences at the public venues.
After the debate, Waldo walked over to the Democracy Chasers.
‘Thank you for such a lively debate,’ he said as he held out his arms for a hug.
‘I don’t think we are quite at that point yet,’ said Joan as she backed away.
‘How about I invite you over to the palace for tea and cake when this is all over?’ suggested Waldo.
‘Maybe, but it might be us inviting you,’ replied Joan.
‘Dream on,’ said Waldo as he slapped his thigh.
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my 
