The Gangster by Scott Sigler

Author:Scott Sigler
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Genetic Engineering, aliens, Football, Space Opera, Sports, alien, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781939366047
Publisher: Empty Set Entertainment
Published: 2021-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

A Memo from ICCE

A printed memo to the Imperial Council of the Creterakian Empire, hand-carried by a representative of the Creterakian Ministry of Religion (CMR).

The capture and isolation of Quentin Barnes has caused unforeseen negative effects.

Mistakes were made in his initial apprehension. Witnesses were not detained and isolated. Those witnesses have contacted multiple media outlets with the information that Imperial forces arrested Barnes. The general public is now operating on the knowledge that Barnes is being held captive by the Empire in an unknown location, or that he may already be dead.

In particular, Rebecca Montagne, HeavyG, spouse of Barnes, has repeatedly utilized the media to share her story of Barnes’s arrest. An Imperial edict has been issued that Montagne is fomenting dissent, and that media outlets should be aware that she is spreading false news.

All Imperial ships and garrisons have been notified that Montagne is to be taken into custody on-sight, under the guise that the detainment will be for her personal safety. The standing order is to detain her as quietly as possible. At the time this memo was written, she is still at large. Montagne is presumed to be aboard the Hypatia, the private starship of Quentin Barnes. The whereabouts of that ship are unknown.

Montagne is now number one on the Empire’s Most Wanted list.

While the CMR has isolated many threats in the past, it has never done so with a sentient as famous as Quentin Barnes. Based on an evaluation of media mentions, randomly sampled intergalactic communications to determine occurrences of Barnes’s name, the number of followers he has in various churches dedicated to him, and the amount of merchandise sold that bears his name and/or jersey number, Barnes is, quite possibly, the most well-known sentient that has ever existed.

It is possible that the CMR did not properly account for his public prominence and the potential subsequent impacts removing him might incur.

The reaction from the galactic populace has, thus far, resulted in the loss of over 500 sentient lives and caused over 20,000,000 credits in damages to Imperial facilities.

In previous situations where isolation of a popular sentient generated protests and adverse public reaction, the property damage and loss of life was far lower. In those instances, we were able to either wait out the reactions, which tended to fade quickly, or completely eliminate the primary groups of protestors.

With the situation of Quentin Barnes, neither of those options seems likely.

In the thirteen days (standard time) since isolating Barnes, galaxy-wide protests have increased from one or two a day to as many as ten per day. Protests are increasing in both frequency and in the average number of sentients involved in each event. Instead of fading away, the protests seem to be gaining momentum.

As for detaining and/or eliminating the protestors, at this point it would either overwhelm local holding facilities or result in a loss of life estimated in excess of four million sentients. The CMR feels that either of these options would generate an exponential increase in further demonstrations.

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