It was not going to be enough, Brenard and I had seriously underestimated the lifespan of this movement.

“Why is it so much harder to get people to do something good for themselves than it is to fleece them and laugh?” I sighed as I watched the news while simultaneously in a video conference with Brenard, who was in Australia today.

“Yeah, you would think prosperity and wealth would be easy sells,” Brenard agreed. “But then, the whole issue we are fighting against is the fact that people are idiots.”

A fair point, that. If you had to make a convoluted plan to reduce the amount of idiots around you, chances are you were surrounded by idiots. And you can always count on an idiot to do something idiotic.

Somewhat witty observations aside, this was fast approaching a point that I had wanted to avoid. Though Brenard and I joked about it, this issue was no laughing matter. Anti-vaccers and alternative medicine bullshitters were causing real harm- oftentimes, deadly harm and almost always economic harm. The very best they could do was nothing at all- and the worst result was painful death.

Creationists were admittedly less overtly harmful, but their opposition to science had a definite impact on the progress of the human race. Less scientists, less money for science, hampering the spread of new discoveries- these fools might not directly hurt people, but I could see that the unintended consequences of their actions cost lives.

“Kevin…” Brenard looked uncomfortable, even on screen. “I hate to say this, but…”

“Yeah, I know.” I sighed again, “I will call you after I get it done.”

If my next call became public, it would undoubtedly fuel ethics debates in classrooms for the next century. Was what I did good, was it bad? How much is one life worth when compared to the well-being of society? Kids in ethics classes could debate that constantly, but they are only deluding themselves- there is an objective right answer, it just isn’t a pleasant one.

A lot of the things I do operate under the butterfly effect, I change something small and inconsequential somewhere and that snowballs into massive movements in society around me. I can do this because of the sheer amount of data and processing power available to me that allows me to come damn close to modelling real life in human society, albeit on a small scale. Loosening up the accuracy a bit allows me to use it in a far broader sense, and to know where to poke to make people do what I want without ever seeing my hand.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

-Is what I would like to say. In reality, it is far less powerful than it seems or I would be able to solve education with a wave of my hand. Sometimes things need more of a prod than a poke to get moving.

And at the worst of times, they require a shove.

The news agencies were going wild with the story, a man had gone to a rally of kids who were gathering to support science in education- and shot the speaker. A seemingly senseless act of violence that was without a doubt, my fault. If I was not so busy I would hate myself more than I already do, but this was not something I could let go to waste.

I had to tie this death into the movement, make it look like speaking out against it was the same as supporting the child’s death and then ram it home as hard as I could. One of the senators I kept in my pocket- the pocket lined with ruber to prevent the filth leaking out- put forth the bill, though anyone with half of a working brain could figure out that he did not draft it. Though if people had more than half of a working brain this whole thing would be unnecesary.

A two thousand page behemoth that, once you cut through the legalese shit and the special extras put in to bribe certain blocs of the House of Representatives, boiled down into a few simple concepts.

First, the elimination of anything but established scientific thought from public schools. People would no longer have the ‘freedom’ to choose ignorance, they would accept reality and be better for it.

Second, graduation from high school and the requirements for college degrees would be managed by the federal government. Private schools were free to teach religion, but anyone who wanted a high school diploma and a shot at college needed to have basic knowledge of the world around them.

Third, mandatory vaccinations. Vaccinations are the single greatest acheivment in medicine, driving many of the worlds most deadly illnesses to the verge of extinction- and some idiots think it is a pharmaceutical plot. They hardly even make money on vacciines! I have friends in big pharma, and they make most of their money off of medications that people have to take daily for years- which is a problem I will need to address at some point as well. Fuck, I have a long to do list!

And finally, that all claims to cure or treat a disease must be approved by the federal government. Bullshit artists who peddle fake cures to desperate people are despicable in ways that I find hard to describe. To make money offering snake oil disguised as hope is disgusting- and it would no longer be tolerated.

Thousands of lives saved, tens of thousands- if not hundreds of thousands- enlightened and better educated, and billions of dollars of wasted money saved. This bill was a wonderful thing for the country, and I had to kill a kid to get it to happen.

I need another drink...