Chapter 100: The Tourists’ Comedy

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: The Tourists’ Comedy

Along with the eco-tourism planet’s heat, the news of the Eugene family going bankrupt in the space of a single night also took no small share of attention.

On the evening of the 14th of December, a whole series of pieces of evidence pointing at the Eugene family appeared on the Government’s internal network, among them a buried test report on chemicals in textile fibre exceeding the standard, evidence of bribes paid to inspection officials, the use of banned substances to soften textile fibre, substandard weaving-mill Robots that had caused the tragic deaths of nearly twenty workers twenty years earlier, and more.

One thing after another arriving without pause had the councillors sweating as though they had bathed in it. Because besides the information on the Eugene family, in each of their private mailboxes there was also evidence of their own crimes along with a message: *[24 hours. Once it is dealt with, this email will disappear. If not, go and sit in prison with Eugene!]*

This email was encrypted, and even the highest-grade smart unit could not take it down.

At the same time, the scandals in the Eugene family’s private lives were brought out before all the world. Mr. Eugene used filthy methods to squeeze out his rivals, shattering who knew how many families. His son, Jacob Eugene, was more dreadful still. Not only was he incorrigibly philandering with illegitimate children by the flock, he had also used his power and position to assault a great many Omegas who would not submit.

Many years ago when he was still at school, Jacob had also been the ringleader of a group carrying out school bullying and assaults at school.

The Omegas and Betas who had once been his victims, now with protection and anonymous backing from a great power, all cast off their fear at once and stood up to file suit. Tearful interviews, audio recordings and video evidence were put up on the Interstellar Connection network, raising a wave of outrage across the whole star system such as had never been seen before.

Facing the storm of public opinion along with iron-clad evidence that could not be denied, the Third Prince immediately drew a clear line, coldly cutting off every relation and leaving the Eugene family to live or die on its own in order to preserve his own reputation and political road.

Mr. Mason — a crafty old fox in the marketplace — naturally did not let slip this chance of a thousand years. The Mason family’s team of lawyers and financial experts worked at maximum capacity, in smooth coordination with the quiet squeeze from the Hall family’s side, swiftly biting off and swallowing whole the juiciest portions of the Eugene family’s business in the space of a few dozen short hours. Revenge for all the years of being unjustly squeezed.

At first light the next morning, the sheet unilaterally cancelling the betrothal, bearing the Mason clan’s seal, was sent straight into Jacob Eugene’s face just as the interstellar police handcuffed him and marched him out of his house.

Receiving the news, Daniel sat in the sitting room on the planet Sirius, looking at the stormy bulletins on the virtual screen with the sockets of his eyes tinged faintly pink. The smile on his lips was more radiant and more unburdened than it had ever been. The invisible shackles that had clung to him for so many years, that marriage reeking of interest and coercion... had at last been smashed to pieces entirely. He was officially free, able to stand openly and honourably beside the person he loved.

Liam sat beside him cracking melon seeds at his leisure, every so often nodding in praise of the thunderbolt methods of the Mason father and son. The chessboard he had laid out had taken full effect, and drawing in the net this neatly and this ruthlessly proved that Mr. Mason had not disappointed him in the least.

The world outside was noisy with storms, power changing hands at dizzying speed, yet on the planet Sirius, the rhythm of life went on passing gently, brilliantly, full of colour.

...

The three days of the trial soon came to an end, and the three hundred tourists did not want to leave at all.

But this was compulsory, and not wanting to go they still had to go.

One female Omega clung to her chick for dear life, crying as though her parents had died: "My baby, I cannot live without her. Please let me take her home!!!"

The guide said firmly: "You cannot, madam. Once it leaves Sirius, this chick will die. You do not want to bury it with your own hands, do you?"

The Omega girl was stunned, tears still brimming in her eyes: "But why? My house has the most expensive air filtration system, I can buy the highest-grade nutrient fluid for her..."

The guide explained patiently: "Madam, a natural creature needs natural food and its original ecological environment. The nutrient fluid outside is synthesised from chemicals, and this tiny creature’s stomach cannot digest it. What is more, the radiation from the tangle of electronic devices in the Capital would kill it in a matter of days. You love it, so let it stay in its own homeland."

Hearing this, the Omega girl had no choice but to let go, snuffling. She stroked the soft golden down of the chick lovingly one last time, carefully set it back into the brooder basket, blew it a kiss then sniffed her way onto the electric cart to be taken to the transit station.

It was not only the Omega girl, a great many other tourists also produced countless situations that left one not knowing whether to laugh or cry at having to part from the planet Sirius.

At the security scanning gate of the space transit station, the loudspeaker announcement rang out in reminder one more time:

"A last reminder to our guests, please check over all of your belongings, making sure you are not carrying anything belonging to the planet Sirius out by mistake. Once you pass through the security scanning gate, then even if a single flower petal should happen to be stuck on you it will be counted as an offence against our regulations, and every one of your privileges will be stripped away on the business systems of the Martinez family, the Hall family and the Mason family!"

The loudspeaker had barely finished when a security staff member, smiling slyly, took a rose petal and hid it inside her spatial bracelet then walked brazenly through the scanning pillar. The warning siren rang out at once, piercing the ears. The staff member took the rose petal out of the bracelet then went through one more time, and this time the security system gave out no warning. The security staff member said with a bright smile:

"You have seen it for yourselves, our scanners work with the utmost accuracy, so before you pass through the scanning gate, would you kindly check over yourselves one more time, to avoid losing your own privileges."

Everyone immediately checked themselves over, turning out their spatial bracelets to make sure they had not picked up anything by mistake. Of the three hundred people, around twenty wore hesitant faces. After weighing up the gains and losses, one male Beta walked dejectedly over to the table for depositing articles, gloomily taking out a... pebble. This pebble was not a paving stone, but a stone from the bank of the stream, with a layer of green moss on it.

With the male Beta leading the way, those who had happened to "pick something up by mistake" came forward as well, leaving the articles they had taken on the tray. One had taken a golden shower flower, another had taken a frond of fern, another had picked a red rose, another had taken a handful of chestnut burrs, and so on. In short, nothing but things of no use to anyone alive.

One Omega girl took out with regret the pile of souvenirs she had bought at the floating market, such as a wool doll, a bamboo-fibre hair tie and a bamboo dragonfly she had learned to make with her own hands. The security staff member said at once: "Madam, souvenirs are articles permitted to be taken home."

The Omega girl let out a soft "ah", asking back: "They can, they really can be taken home?"

The staff member nodded: "Yes, madam. Souvenirs along with souvenir-making materials sold on the planet have all been engraved with a special commercial product code, so you may take them home."

The Omega girl was left blank for a moment, after which she jumped for joy. She gathered up everything she had just put out and stowed it back in her spatial bracelet, striding proudly through the security scanning gate. Sure enough the warning siren did not sound at all.

Everyone immediately filled with regret, one of them clutching his head as he said: "Mother, why did I not think of buying souvenirs instead of going off to pluck fresh flowers in the garden? Among those souvenirs there were flowers as well!!!"

The groaning of this crowd rang out everywhere, while Liam and Daniel sitting in the monitoring room were already holding their stomachs and laughing themselves helpless. Daniel wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes from laughing so much, saying: "What is wrong with these people? I thought they would at least take something edible home?"

Liam wiped his tears away too: "They are taking them as keepsakes, but by and large they were too lazy to read the regulations, so they did not know that laying out a little money was all it took to carry them home openly."

Daniel snorted a laugh: "The flowers and grasses or the good-looking pebbles I can let pass, but what about chestnut burrs that are nothing but spines? And the ginkgo fruits that stink to high heaven? I refuse to understand their logic."

Liam shook his head as well, going on watching. When the last person came out of the security gate, the warning system had not once sounded. He was rather satisfied with how conscientious they had been.

Daniel shrugged, beginning to open the assessments the guests had filled in before leaving. The greater part were praise, with a small number assessing things objectively. For instance the riverside town district reported that where they stayed was too close to the water, and at night their sleep was sometimes startled by the sound of sea-beasts thrashing in the water. The garden house district had no comments to make, while a female tourist in the hillside house district complained that the road down the slope was slippery, and that she had slipped and fallen twice, and so on.

Daniel compiled all the opinions together then sent staff to go and experience it directly one more time, after which he set out a reasonable way of solving each one.

On the 1st of January 3095, the eco-tourism planet officially went into operation.