"You will stop the investigation or I'm blowing up your scientists."
"You... what?"
This one had really caught me by surprise.
"What are you talking about?" I asked the man.
"You know what I'm saying. I'm in front of your colony ship office. I have bombs attached all over my body. Explosives, made out of household liquids. You want to know how much trouble I went through to get them? That's right! I had to pleasure 5 dealers at once to get my hands on these regular household items! You must stop the investigation, and the black market has to work - because if your government could provide the basic s**t, these innocent products wouldn't have turned into military grade explosives in your citizens' hands!"
"Hurting people won't gain you any supporters. Explosives are never a good argument. Black market operations are a crime, and if you think the government is at fault, you must engage in politics, not terrorism. We are providing our citizens with-"
"Dictator!" the man shouted. "War this, apocalypse that, scarcity my f#&% *&#! You are the worst in the history of mankind, using the downfall of our civilization as an excuse to fulfill your desires!"
"Admiral, are you hearing this? What do you think?" I asked.
"Yes, sir. Loud and clear. I think we can listen to him a bit longer."
"Corrupt scums." the man continued. "She is the admiral because she was a Martian, isn't that true, Mr. President? She is the fleet admiral of our only fleet, because she supported you when you ran for presidency back on Mars, isn't that true?"
"There is absolutely no truth in that. She is one of the only in our fleet qualified to-"
"According to whom, the navy of the Republic of Mars?" the man interrupted again. "I'm glad it didn't live longer than it was supposed to!"
"This is irrelevant." I said. "The Alliance and the rest of the Federation both fell before Mars did, and this proves no point whatsoever."
"Oh, push it on the Earthlings! Of course! Push it all on the planet that made it possible for your Martian state to come into existence in the first place!"
"We are blaming no one. We failed as humankind, as a whole. It was no one's fault in particular. A new kind of being appeared right in the heart of our civilization and turned hostile, secretly, hidden by manipulation."
"And you used this chaos to satisfy yourself. As long as you are in the president's office, you shall not find peace!"
"What do you want me to prove?" I asked the man.
"Nothing. I know I'm not bringing you down from your dictatorship seat. Just stop the black market investigation and at least let your people get some peace!"
"How will we trust you?" I asked. "How do I know you won't detonate the bomb once I give you what you want?"
"My name is Yamongno Omnongova. I'm an electrician. I was born in Central Africa, and have been living in Sweden for 6 years before the apocalypse. I have a family. I have 2 little kids to feed and care for. I don't want to do this as much as you don't want it to happen." he said. "But I'm not afraid to push the button if you think I'm a coward."
"Admiral, what do you think now? Should we listen to him?"
"Yes." she replied. "I'm sure we can come to an understanding."
"Alright..." I said. "Mr. Omnongova, this black market business hurts people, and you know very well. There has been murders over simple disagreements or misunderstandings. We want to ensure the safety of our people, and letting the black market run would be-"
"At least we won't starve to death, how about that you heartless $#&%-@? I would rather get shot instead of seeing their weak bodies tremble in a corner due to malnutrition and infections."
"Mr. Omnongova... Yamongno, look, the black market might seem like the better option here, but if it continues for any longer, we will run out of resources before we know it. If we didn't have a good reason to ration what little stuff we had, why would we do it? To lose votes and be cursed by the entirety of our species!?"
"It is hard to believe a guy who mixes his lies with the truth." he said. "I just want you to let go of the black market. If it is the wrong option, we, all citizens, are ready to pay the price."
"This is not a choice." I said. "Living in this city are the last humans in the universe, ever. If we make a single wrong choice, it is game over."
"And so you are not fit to guide us through this."
"Politics." I said. "That's what you need, Mr. Omnongova, form a party and bring my government down!"
"With no elections, that is useless."
"Admiral?" I asked once more. "Should we listen to him a bit longer?"
"Your call this time." she said.
"Then I say we should... not."
"Roger that."
As soon as I said the word, the very distinct noise of a stun blaster echoed through the corridors of the underground city. The guard force, by Admiral Mei's command, had neutralized the suicide bomber, without detonating the explosives.
"We won't have to listen to him anymore." the Admiral said.
After that, I've got the news that our scientists and engineers had started to leave their secret protective shelter one by one, which has been built during the construction of the Interstellar Transports Design Bureau office. Some smart architects and civil engineers had correctly presumed that such a shelter could be of use one day. So even if the ground forces had failed, our scientists and their work would be fine.
Despite that, Admiral Mei and the guard teams had also performed very well today, and everyone deserved a commendation for a job perfectly done.
Except for me.
The words of the suicide bomber were not entirely false, and it was time for me to think about things.