Deasil Street

10.2

Emma wasn’t sure why she had invited Simon, he was practically a stranger.

She was nervous enough without him around as it was. It was her first age-up since reuniting with her mother, and she wasn’t sure what was going to happen. It was something of a relief to be presented with a cake, some cards and a few presents.

Really it was enough that she was here with her new parents, and had so much more to look forward to in life now. She blew the candles out, knowing she had good school grades now, an address to use to get a passport, driving license, a bank account and one day a job.

Everyone wished her well and commented on how well she looked as a young adult. She was happy of course, but suddenly had butterflies. Could she make adulthood work after such a shady time as a teen?

Megan was used to reading between the lines – you had to in her line of work. She was getting an increasingly uneasy about the news, both in the papers and on TV.

They were reporting the peaceful protests in some of the big districts, but she had the feeling something important was wasn’t being said.

She felt that the testimonials were being edited, or pictures being chosen too carefully… There was something off.

The fact that whatever was going on was effecting sims from the rural swamps to the rich suburbs and everything in-between… the papers were reporting it too calmly. In didn’t chime true.

She decided to consult Edward. He was a mentor and a friend, and was well connected. If anyone knew what was really going on, he would. For his part, Edward was flattered that he was now her first port of call. He admitted there was something going on, and agreed to fill her in. She rushed next door to hear what he had to say.

“I’ve spent a lot of time cultivating friendships with some of the richest and most influential Sims in the country. Appaloosa is a bit of a backwater, but they often visit the nearby Riverview as a country retreat of sorts. Keeps me in the loop.

A while back I heard things that worried me. About the drought and the vegetable plant disease. You know, the blight?

Edward sat her down and began

to talk.

“Exactly. That got me wondering too. A bit of digging told me the answers were being kept in a secure facility in our own little backwater. Far away from the usual media spies or criminal masterminds… but I’m here. So I stole them.”

“How could they have been ready for a drought and a blight no one knew was coming?”

“Well you’d expect a sudden drought and shortage of vegetables to drive food prices sky high. But that didn’t happen. The government had stockpiled a ton of food and were ready for it.”

“We’re both too young to remember, but weather round here wasn’t always just sunny. The big secret is this… the government created a machine to keep the weather artificially calm and warm.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t built to be on permanently. The original scientists thought it could be used short term, for sports fixtures or something.It’s been completely misused.

The drought and the blight, even the earthquake in Bridgeport are all symptoms of it breaking down.”

“What is in the documents we stole? What caused the drought and the blight?”