It was now the day of the elections. Polling stations had been set up in every city, town, village, and hamlet in every district.
Voting was a very simple process. On arriving at a polling station, voters would need to hand over the voter card, which would have been sent to them a week earlier. In exchange for the voter card, they would be given a form with the names of all the candidates running in the election for that district. Voters just needed to mark a big ‘X’ next to the name of the candidate they wanted to be elected as governor.
After selecting the desired candidate, the voters were required to fold the paper in half and insert it into a large box through a small slot made in the top of it. Voting was confidential. Several small booths were set up at each polling station. These gave the voters the privacy they needed.
Polling stations opened at sunrise and closed at sunset. Nobody was allowed to vote after this. Once closed, the ballot boxes containing the votes were transferred by armed vehicles to the counting centres in the district cities. A day was allocated to this transfer. The next day, the counting began. Volunteers from across the districts would conduct the counting. Each candidate was allowed to send two observers to each counting centre to witness the vote counting. Yensid Media had also installed cameras at counting centres for extra security. They wanted to ensure it was impossible to cheat. James did not trust the chiefs.
Waldo sent out his family members to several of the polling stations in a last-ditch effort to win over the voters. James sent out the Yensid dancers to distract from Waldo’s family members. The Democracy Chasers simply held up signs reading, ‘Vote with your heart’.
Around midday, the queues to vote had become very long. It appeared the turnout for the first-ever election was incredibly high. Jeff took the opportunity to send out the Pound Ball players to promote the teams, merchandise, and sign autographs. The new Pound Ball season was only two weeks away. Jeff wanted to promote the new star players who would soak up the attention in Ryan’s absence.
With only ten minutes to dusk, the polling stations were very quiet. Large vans arrived. Once the sun had disappeared below the horizon, the guards went inside the polling stations to retrieve the ballot boxes. They placed them inside the vans and then bolted and locked the doors. Yensid Media sent cars to follow and cover the journey of the vans to the counting stations. James was still nervous the chiefs might interfere in some way.
The next day, many citizens found themselves glued to the radio as they listened to commentary on the progress of the vans heading to the counting centres. However, after several hours of listening, most gave up as it was incredibly boring. Instead, they turned on their televisions to watch the Pound Ball season preview.
Waldo was desperately trying to get hold of James. He had finally realised that things were not going well for him. James deliberately made himself uncontactable.
The next day, at dawn, the counting began. Waldo’s family members watched in despair as hardly any votes were put in Waldo’s pile. The stacks of vote ballots for Ryan, Joan, and Sally grew larger. These stacks were transferred to another group that manually counted them. Once counted, the stacks were passed to yet another group to make sure they were not wrongly sorted. The observers walked back and forth keenly, observing what they were doing. Nobody could spot any tampering with the votes. The counting in the Capital Counting Centre was finalised in the late afternoon. Counting in most other districts ended in the mid-afternoon. Lake was the final district to finish counting.
That evening, the results show was broadcast live over both the radio and television. The venue for this event was the Rundo the Fifth Theatre. Candidates from Capital, West, Agriah, and Phoenix Districts were seated in the front row. The candidates from the other districts were unable to make the journey. The rest of the audience was made up of celebrities, elite families, and Yensid Media representatives. The only member of the Alset family in attendance was Patricia. She was Locum’s youngest daughter.
The results were to be announced by the head of the Economic Institute. This was Waldo’s younger brother, Twaldi. He looked very similar to his brother. He had the family trademark thick mane of hair.
Twaldi walked to the centre of the stage to the applause of the audience. He stood behind a small podium in the centre of the stage.
‘Hello, everybody,’ said Twaldi as he stamped his right foot.
The audience laughed.
‘I'm Twaldi. The big lug in the front row is my brother,’ said Twaldi as he clicked his fingers.
The camera panned over to Waldo, who was sitting, leaning forward with his fingers crossed.
‘Enough of the horseplay,’ said Twaldi in a more serious tone. ‘It’s time to announce the results for each district. We’ll start with the eleven lesser districts and finish with our beloved Capital District.’
The audience chuckled.
‘Let’s kick off with Agriah,’ said Twaldi as he swung his left arm in an anti-clockwise motion.
Twaldi ripped open the envelope in front of him.
‘Turnout for Agriah was 94%,’ said Twaldi, nodding approvingly. ‘This district had just two candidates, Chief Strawly and Vector the Ventriloquist. The winner is, with a whopping 72% of the vote, Vector the Ventriloquist. Agriah’s first governor.’
Vector got up from his seat. He strutted up on stage carrying his favourite puppet. Twaldi stepped back so that he could use the microphone at the podium. Instead of making a speech, Vector used his puppet to make fun of the other candidates. The audience found him hilarious.
‘Thank you, Vector,’ said Twaldi as he clapped. ‘That was a superb performance. The next district we have is Carrington.’
‘Oh, turnout was only 48%,’ said Twaldi, shaking his head in disappointment.
James, who was backstage, slapped his hands together in frustration.
‘This district also just had two candidates, Chief Ebirb the Fourth and Blake. The winner is, with a comfortable 62%, Chief Ebirb. Now to be called, Governor Ebrib’
Just a handful in the audience applauded this result.
‘The chief is not in the building, but we can cross over to him live in Carrington,’ said Twaldi.
The curtain behind him opened to reveal a large television screen. The screen went on. It crackled for a few moments before showing Governor Ebirb, who was standing inside the city hall. He gazed angrily into the camera for a few seconds.
‘This is stupid,’ said Ebirb angrily. ‘Leadership is serious. You’ve made it into a popularity contest.’
Then he spat on the ground and walked off.
The audience remained silent.
‘Thank you, Governor Ebirb, for those powerful words,’ said Twaldi, sounding a little awkward. ‘Next up we have…’
Twaldi continued announcing results. The celebrities were winning easily until they reached North. Like Carrington, North had a much lower turnout, and like Carrington, the chief won comfortably. Patricia watched on. She had a smug look on her face.
Twaldi announced the results for the final “lesser” district, Adoy. Yet again, the winner by an overwhelming margin was a celebrity.
‘We have finally reached the moment that all of you have been waiting for,’ said Twaldi as he scanned the theatre with his eyes. Waldo was still leaning forward. Joan, Sally, and Julia were holding hands with their heads tilted forward. Ryan was sitting with his arms around Saliyah.
Twaldi opened the final envelope in front of him.
‘Capital District had a turnout of 99%,’ said Twaldi as his eyes began to bulge as he stared at the results. ‘This district had five candidates: Chief Waldo the Third, Ryan, Joan, Sally, and Julia.’
Twaldi looked over at Waldo, who was frantically rocking in his seat.
‘Let’s start with the Democracy Chasers,’ said Twaldi, sounding a little sheepish. ‘Julia obtained 12% of the vote. Sally obtained 17% of the vote. Joan obtained 28% of the vote.’
The audience applauded. Democracy Chasers looked at each other and smiled.
‘The winner is…,’ said Twaldi as he looked into the camera. ‘Ryan with 40% of the vote.’
The audience applauded loudly. Waldo fell to the ground as he dramatically swung his arms.
‘Et tu, frater! Et tu, frater!’ he said as he gestured towards Twaldi.
Saliyah screamed loudly as she jumped on Ryan. Ryan got out of his seat and carried Saliyah on stage with him. He gently placed her down next to the podium. He used her as a shield while he put the earpiece into his ear. Ryan then positioned himself behind the podium.
‘I want to thank everyone who put their faith in me,’ said Ryan as he looked into the camera. ‘I promise I will not let you down. Tomorrow, I will begin my service to the Capital District and the continent. I have made a few important promises, and I will work on immediately fulfilling them.’
The audience applauded.
‘Pound Ball is close to my heart,’ said Ryan as he placed his hand on his chest. ‘It is both a beautiful and violent game. Sadly, injury can strike at any time. For some, like myself, it comes before we get high-paying contracts. That ends this season. I’m introducing a minimum wage for all players. It will be five times higher than my rookie contract.’
Jeff and several others began applauding in the audience.
‘I know most of us are not Pound Ball players,’ said Ryan as he turned to look at the camera. ‘However, most of us are underpaid. I will be tripling the Capital District’s minimum wage. I strongly urge all other district governors to follow suit.’
The audience applauded loudly.
‘At the debate, I was greatly moved by Joan’s story,’ said Ryan as he gently nodded. ‘Nobody should have to experience that. I can’t change the past, but I can help ease the suffering. All those who have lost family because of unsafe work practices can apply for reparations. My Government will fund these reparations. I implore the Alset Company to match what we offer these families.’
Most of the audience applauded loudly. Patricia Alset did not. She folded her arms and frowned.
‘The land that is not owned as private property belongs to all of us,’ said Ryan. ‘However, some believe they can just take from it for themselves. Yes, I’m talking about mining. I’m introducing a new mining tax. I have support from the new Lake Governor, and I’m confident the North Governor will cooperate. The revenue from this tax will help fund the many new initiatives I have lined up for this great continent.’
Again, the audience applauded loudly.
‘Again, I would like to thank everyone for all their support,’ said Ryan excitedly. ‘The celebration party in the city square begins in an hour. Everyone is invited.’ Ryan waved as he headed off the stage.
Patricia Alset rushed over to greet Ryan as he entered the backstage area.
‘Congratulations on becoming the Capital District’s first governor,’ said Patricia as she hugged Ryan. ‘I want you to know that the Alset family is eager to work with your Government. I’d be the first to admit that my family has a dark history. I want to make a strong statement that our years of exploitation are behind us.’
‘Fantastic,’ said Ryan. ‘So, you are pledging to match the reparations.’
‘I can’t agree to match an unknown quantity,’ said Patricia as she smiled. ‘I can pledge to donate medical equipment and pharmaceutical products that will greatly improve access to healthcare to all residents in every district.’
‘That it is a very generous offer. Thank you very much,’ said Ryan as he nodded. ‘I have to run now. Hope you enjoy the party.’
Ryan walked away, and James approached Patricia.
‘Haha,’ chuckled James. ‘Locum sent you to come grovelling to the new governor.’
‘Diplomacy is important,’ said Patricia. ’We all need to work together to make the world a better place.’
‘More like any desperate attempt to stay on top,’ retorted James aggressively. ‘It’s just a matter of time. Your family is as good as done.’
Patricia gazed into his eyes. James began to snigger.
‘I know what you have been taking,’ she whispered as she moved close to him. ‘If you have not been taking the right dosage at the right intervals, you are putting yourself at great risk.’
‘You are desperate,’ chuckled James as he pushed her back and walked off.
The party in the city square had begun. It was packed with excited Linap celebrating Ryan’s victory and the birth of democracy in Sapey. Joan and Sally walked hand in hand along a bridge that had a clear view of the city square.
‘I’m sorry, I lost you the election,’ said Sally as she squeezed Joan’s hand tight.
‘You lost me nothing,’ said Joan as she looked into Sally’s eyes. ‘You did give me something very special. You gave me you.’
Kelly approached Joan and Sally. They turned to look at her.
‘Hey, Kelly,’ called out Sally. ‘Feels like I haven’t seen you in forever.’
‘There is no Kelly,’ said Kelly as she shapeshifted into the Hat Lady. ‘I infiltrated your group to stop you from winning the election.’
‘Well, that’s rude,’ said Sally sharply. ‘I thought we were friends.’
‘Well, you’re exceptionally gullible,’ said the Hat Lady as she shrugged her shoulders.
‘Whatever harm you intended backfired,’ said Joan firmly. ‘We were fighting for democracy and not personal glory. The tension you tried to cause between us has just made us stronger. Now, stay out of our lives.’
Joan and Sally turned to walk away.
‘NB14583,’ called out the Hat Lady.
Joan stopped and then turned around. She stared at the Hat Lady as tears formed in her eyes.
The Hat Lady shapeshifted into a small girl.
‘Why didn’t you come back for me?’ the Hat Lady asked Joan.
‘My adopted family took me to Carrington,’ replied Joan. ‘It was not possible to come back. When I did finally visit, they said you had died.’
The Hat Lady shapeshifted back again.
‘NB14572, what is your name now?’ asked Joan as she walked towards the Hat Lady.
‘I never got one,’ replied the Hat Lady.
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 
