Quarantine
by Pan
5:
“Please,” the interim mayor said in exasperation. “Would everyone please calm down?”
To his surprise, his words actually had a slight effect—the noise-level in the ad hoc meeting hall actually lowered slightly, and he took advantage of the opportunity while he had it.
“Now look, we’re all in the same boat here.”
“No we’re not!” one of the miners called out, and the murmuring returned to its earlier volume.
“We’re all in the same boat here,” he repeated, trying fruitlessly to beat the volume level of the room. “We all have the virus, and none of us know how it’s going to affect us.”
“Is this why you took the women away?” a voice cried out, somehow making itself heard above the throng.
“We did not take the women away,” the mayor cried, but by this point, no one was listening.
From the back of the room came the loud crack of a gunshot, and the crowd fell silent.
“Ah,” the mayor said, flustered. “Sheriff Tomkins, thank you. Although I should mention, guns are not really…”
“Everyone listen to the mayor,” the Sheriff boomed, and from the tone of his voice, you’d have thought he actually respected the sweating bobble-head at the front of the “hall”.
“Ah yes, thanks. Now listen, as I said, we’re all in the same boat, and surely—surely you saw why we had to separate the genders. Now, some of you have already started showing symptoms…”
A whispering began among the crowd, but the Sheriff’s loud clearing of his throat quickly ended it.
“…and so we really do recommend learning which category you belong in, as soon as you can. I, for example, have been showing signs of Domination…”
A ripple of laughter traveled around the crowd, and the mayor frowned.
“I have, and it’s only going to get more severe as time goes on. So I’ve been doing all I can to learn what’s coming, so I can plan ahead. I’ve bought a new wardrobe and started practicing meditation, so that I have something to wear even as I grow, and I’ll be able to control my more aggressive behaviors.”
“How bad is it going to get?” someone cried out, and the mayor smiled.
“Well, that’s actually an excellent question, so thank you. We don’t know yet, that’s why they’ve split us off. It might be nothing that bringing back football can’t fix”—there was a cheer at that—“or we might end up ripping each other apart.”
The crowd went silent—really silent, for the first time since the interim mayor started speaking.
“Now look, there’s no point in panicking. The boffins—pardon, scientists—have gotten as much information together as they can, and it’s all on your personal consoles. You can often tell if you’ve got Domination, but Docility is a little bit harder—thinking too hard about the symptoms can cause them, and of course Switch is the hardest of all.
“If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to put them in writing, and we’ll address them at the next meeting. And, uh, as this is also our mess hall, please do help us in putting the tables and—…”
At that, the roar of the crowd began again—questions and outrage blurred together as the mayor slipped away from the stage.