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“Now,” said Babe, turning from Prince and walking with her hands held out, like a caring daughter-in-law, to Mr. Kaella, who was at that moment entering the submarine salon.

Chapter 56

When he saw that Prince had sat down in his armchair, Mr. Kaella whispered to Babe, who was standing next to him “Miss Babe, you know, I’m a little tired. I will talk about the Balance in another interview. Here, next week, for example. You now talk to my son…”

Babe was aghast. “What’s with you, old man?” she thought in panic. “How can I talk to Prince?! I have to show him something! Do you want a daughter-in-law like this or not?!”

“That won’t do, Mr. Kaella,” Babe said resolutely. “This is your interview. The viewers want to hear you. Only you, Mr. Kaella.”

“I know that… I’m aware… but…”

“This is what we’ll do, Mr. Kaella. I believe that you are already tired. But you have a written text about the Balance.”

“Yes, I do…”

“We’ll put it up on the teleprompter. You can look at the camera, the text will appear, and you will read it. Without any burden or too much thought. And I won’t ask you anything. Do you agree?

“Alright… But next week a new interview. I want to explain everything in greater detail. This was too short.”

“Of course, Mr. Kaella. We have received countless consumer messages during the show; people are begging you for more interviews.”

“Oh? Is that true, Miss Babe?”

“Yes, it’s true,” Babe responded briefly and ran to the control room to organize the teleprompter.

“But all that wasn’t enough,” Mr. Kaella read his text about the Balance, while looking at the camera. “The state didn’t have enough revenue for carrying out its most basic functions. I increased the taxes and therefore filled the state coffers, but I also increased the poverty of both the people and the sectors of the Company. People had less money to spend. This is why the sectors’ profits dropped. In order to salvage their profits the sectors laid people off. Those that hadn’t been laid off worked all day long for the same salary, so that they too would not lose their jobs. This is how the sectors reduced costs and increased productivity. Those that had been laid off did not have money to spend, and those that still worked didn’t spend it, but saved it for a rainy day. Therefore the cost-cutting did not help the sectors much, because their revenue dropped faster than their expenses. This is why profits waned. And that is why I could collect fewer taxes. This created a vicious circle.”

Chapter 57

Babe again sat at the edge of the couch, next to Mr. Kaella, but her body faced Prince, and she clenched her knees. This humble position was the complete opposite of the great lust that she felt throughout her body. She wasn’t at all listening to Mr. Kaella. She was overjoyed, because she had rid herself of that last fear.

No,… not fear, certainly not fear. She wasn’t in fact afraid of it… she wasn’t. “Why would I be afraid of something that isn’t at all important?” Babe seriously contemplated. “Alright, it’s true that it isn’t important, but it also isn’t insignificant. Actually, it is secondary. That’s it. That’s the right expression. Secondary.”

And she wasn’t afraid of secondary things. Sometimes, recently, when she would think about it she would just get a little worried. She was a little anxious that she might face the same fate as the secretary of the executive producer of her media company, Capital City TV.

That secretary told Babe that while she was once in the producer’s office taking his instructions, he suddenly bent her over his desk, pulled up her skirt and pulled her panties down her legs. While bent over the desk, she listened to the producer unbuckle his belt and drop his pants. When she was pinned down on the desk by the producer’s big belly, she realized that he was having trouble getting close enough. Even though she wanted to, she did not come to his aid, because her panties prevented her. However, after a while she heard his chugging, which she thought was a little suspicious. To eliminate any suspicion she asked

“Sir, is it in?”

“It is… it is…” the producer wheezed.

That secretary was a smart girl. Babe also appreciated her. The same moment she started moving her hips and said

“Oh, how big it is!”

“Some of our sectors were already reporting losses,” Mr. Kaella read his text on the Balance. “There was a growing number of unemployed people. And what did that mean? That I had to give them energy, food, water, apartments, pharmaceuticals… for free? Well that wasn’t possible.

“Then at one moment I realized… that was the moment of my enlightenment, that I have to create the Balance. This meant that every person must be employed and earn enough to pay all the expenses and buy as many shares as possible, for the greatest possible extension of life.

“And how could we achieve this? It was simple. The produced goods and offered services had to be completely spent in a given period of time, so that production and services would continue uninterrupted. That way people would have constant jobs and enough income. This meant that the basic driver of our most perfect and final form of capitalism is constant consumption.

“The modern information systems have calculated for each type of goods and services the time after which the old must be destroyed in order to produce anew. Today we call that seasons. For clothing this is three months, as we know, two years for cars, seven for apartments, for household appliances…”

“No, no… I won’t share her fate!” Babe’s soul cried out. “My hand wasn’t empty! On the contrary! There is something between my Prince’s legs. There is, there is… and that is why you will now see what I promised, my Prince. That thing on my bellybutton!”

Babe unbuttoned the lower button on her jacket and looked at Prince, whose entire body trembled in the armchair.

Chapter 58

Pascal returned to the bathroom. As a well-behaved man he closed the door behind him so that he could urinate, even though he was alone in the suite. While he was washing his hands, he realized that the soaps, gels, shampoos, toothpaste which were arranged in a large box on the dresser — were contemporary. From this season.

“Come on, Pascal,” he forced himself. “Come on, play detective. Did you see how you forgot about her for a moment at least, while you were trying to guess where you were. It hurt less, at least for a moment. Come on… you see that the soaps are new. What can you deduce from that, Pascal?”

“I conclude that this apartment was prepared for me by someone,” Pascal spoke to himself. He pretended that he was not alone and strived for the other person not to notice that he was only thinking about her.

“Excellent,” said the imaginary person and asked “And what do you think, who prepared it, Pascal?”

“What do you mean ‘who’? Seneca and Raul.”

“Is that right? Seneca and Raul? And where did they get this shelter?” said the counterpart curiously.

“Raul certainly doesn’t have it,” Pascal answered obediently. “And Seneca… why wouldn’t the mayor of Megapolis have a shelter for him and his family? One of the most important functions in the State,” Pascal nodded to himself in the mirror.

“Aha! And you’re saying that he built it a long time ago?” the counterpart still wasn’t pleased with the response.

“Yes. At least ten years, maybe even more.”