Cody was standing in a nearly antique store using a public payphone with a stack of quarters.
"Hello? Yeah, hi, I am looking to share data on the soil collapse. I am a professional in the field with documents I am willing to share to benefit the public."
"Sir, we will redirect you to a call service to ensure the validity of your claim. Please wait a few moments."
….
….
After a few dollars worth of quarters, he got a musical tone that let him know he was being contacted.
"Hello, Sir, may I have your name and occupation?", a male voice on the line said.
"Well, I cannot give you that. But I am currently employed by a company that analyzes soil samples in labs and makes reports for the farmers in question."
"I see, and what data do you have to prove this?"
"Hahaha, I have our report portfolio for the State of West Virginia."
The line went silent.
"Hello? Hello? Anyone there?"
"Hi, who am I speaking to? Oh...you are anonymous? I see, any proof? Oh, but no actual documents? Um, Sir, can you send the files with proof?"
Cody set up a throw away account within a throw away account, then he blacked out the information and converted it to a picture format to get rid of any ability to remove the layering. He could only hope his knowledge was enough to stop him from getting linked to it.
Cody walked them through the process of getting the file downloaded and letting them look at the information. He answered any questions that they had and apparently they had an expert on the line as he was explaining to make sure his experience was legit.
After a few minutes of deliberation, they came to a conclusion. He would go on in 2 minutes.
…
…
…
"Hello, you are going to go live, are you ready to speak to the world?"
Cody gulped, "Yup, I think."
He heard a producer count down from 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2....
"Hello, who do we have on the air? I was told that you have some information?"
Cody left silence as he braced himself and changed his voice to that of a southern drawl.
"Howdy! The name is George Washington. I do happen to have some information that is being hidden by the government. Now before I release the information, I do understand WHY the government is going through all of these NDA contracts. It is for a good reason, panic."
"Panic you say? But why are you releasing these?" She adjusted herself in her seat.
"Well. I come from a family that wouldn't stand for this, and I believe it is my civic duty to provide the truth with the country."
"And what truth would that be?"
Cody sighed, "That the statistics of the soil in the state of West Virginia are basically, fucked."
The new station panicked for a moment as they tried to live beep it, but failed.
"SIR, PLEASE, you cannot say that on television. If you want this to continue, you need to adhere to our station's rules."
Cody laughed, "Sorry, I was just being honest. And, in a moment I will read the reporting numbers so the actual experts are able to have something to put in a public model. You can place the numbers on screen but it won't help the general public.
Basically, yall deserve to know that the agriculture industry is probably not going to...exist in WV...please do not panic. Panic is how you kill people and make the government correct. Do you WANT the government to have MORE power? Then act normally. PLEASE. Don't be stupid, now here are the numbers."
As Cody read the numbers and the file was released on the internet, the world exploded in reporting.
Other countries began to report that they have issues and that this is a global issue.
The president of the United States immediately went to a press conference to discuss the majority of the issues. And they were taking a lot of flak for not sharing.
Cody hung up the phone and got in his Papaw's truck.
"Well, that went well." Ira put the truck in drive and headed home.
"Did you listen to the conversation?"
"Not really, I listened to the local station and they were trying to calm people and they didn't do much explainin'. Do you think it went well?"
Cody shrugged, "I am not sure, I am just going to not think about it too much…"
His Papaw gave him a smile, "If you can't change it, don't worry about it."
Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, and every single media outlet was filled with either the audio rip or the transcript of the conversation.
Jason called Cody as he got upstairs, "YO, YO, YO, THAT WAS AWESOME!!!"
Cody began to sweat, "What was awesome, my report I did for the company?"
Cody coughed a few times to get the point across…
"Ahh, yeah, that was amazing, excellent work."
Secretly they were both checking every form of social media.
Cody remembered his phone and cracked it in his hands, then he ran downstairs and threw it in the microwave.
"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, OH NO, oh no, oh...no." Cody collapsed on the ground.
The cell phone had been in his pocket and he didn't think about the third party data after being so caught up in the drama.
His Grandpa came in and sat down, "So, whatcha' cookin'?"
Cody looked up and didn't laugh, "Not funny."
Papaw shifted and cocked his head side to side, "I thought it was."
Cody sat there with his head between his hands, "Paw, I fucked up. I had my phone on me and they could track my data as I move, plus, who knows what apps sell data. I am so freaking boned."
"Kid, don't worry about it. You did the right thing. People are already talkin' 'bout it all over the news. They say that you are a Hero, so cheer up, you defended freedom today."
Cody just sat there and grabbed a beer with his Paw.
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A strange looking bird creature was reporting to another even stranger looking mantis, "Sir, they released the information. The humans know about the Shift."
An insectoid sigh was released through an air tubule, "It is of no matter. We shall find this person and not reveal their information, they may make waves with the Anchor already in place."
The avian fluttered for a moment, "Sir, do you think we will have a species leader with the amount of experience they will get?"
The mantis' mouth opened and closed as if it was unsure of what to say.
"It wouldn't receive that much experience from an achievement, but it may unlock an interesting Way," said a blue feathered bird as it walked into the room.
Both the Mantis and the Avian snapped to attention by placing their appendages behind themselves.
"Relax, this is just a routine conversion. Pretend I am just a regular Admiral."
They responded in unison, "Yes, Admiral of the Third Fleet.