George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 215

“Scientists once thought that the world would soon run out of oil. TV channels predicted the end of the modern era with documentaries depicting scenarios of oil depletion, the very foundation of modern civilization. This fear fueled the rise of renewable energy sources.”

Hydroelectric, wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, and even nuclear power were all touted as replacements for dwindling oil reserves. But even if energy sources could be replaced, there was no way to replace plastic, an essential byproduct of oil.

“But they were wrong. Humanity always finds a solution.”

That’s right. Humanity has also found alternatives to plastic. After all, oil is formed from decaying organic matter. Therefore, there’s no reason it couldn’t be extracted from plants like corn. But plastic isn’t the most important thing right now. No, plastic doesn’t even matter. Because what’s about to be revealed is…

“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a new era.”

The shale revolution.

“The Age of Shale.”

As shale oil rigs began drilling, a tremendous amount of light, tight oil was extracted. This light oil became the foundation for changing the global landscape and solidifying America’s dominance. It was also a core project of the Bush administration.

– We no longer have to conserve oil! You are witnessing the end of the era of high oil prices in the 21st century!

“And it’s a perfect re-election platform for the President. It’s hard to imagine anything more certain than this.”

As the chief of staff used the remote to turn off the TV, the screen went black with a soft click. He held a copy of the report that Bush had been reviewing, fresh after processing reports and diplomatic correspondence from Afghanistan.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

This national project was his top priority; he made sure to check its progress every week, no matter what else was happening during his term. If he laughed, it would be with joy. If he cried, it would be with emotion. The promise of shale oil was so captivating that it made him momentarily forget the difficult challenges ahead.

“Just four more years of suffering.”

Four more years of the same relentless pace. This was no joke. He might actually die from overwork. What’s so special about death from overwork? If you die from fatigue you can’t manage, that’s death from overwork.

“Terrible.”

But on the other hand, he was also pleased. The position of president is one that people elect you to, right? In other words, it means he was chosen as the representative of the people. What made Bush happy wasn’t the absolute power that came with the office, but the fact that he had been chosen by the people. To put it nicely, he valued honor and reputation more than power or wealth.

Having held this position, he had tasted enough power to be sick of it, and he had accumulated enough wealth to be satisfied, so he became even more focused on his legacy. It started with ‘I can do better than this!’, but now he acted out of a sense of duty: ‘Who else but me can do it?’

“This is important, but the cure is more important right now.”

If it weren’t for Super SARS, he would have been fully focused on shale oil. But seeing the world stock market reeling because of the outbreak, he was about to explode with frustration.

“It turns out the Chinese cure is unstable.”

What he received wasn’t even a formal report, but rather unorganized research data. Therefore, he was scheduled to receive a detailed verbal briefing. A doctor entered the office, dressed entirely in white, except for his skin. His clothes, of course, and even his hair were perfectly white. Perhaps due to prolonged research indoors, his skin was unusually pale for a man.

“It’s only been two days. Is there any progress in the research?”

The doctor was a familiar face. As the chief manager, he usually reported three or four times a week. However, Bush usually visited the lab directly for those meetings, and it had been almost two months since the doctor had visited the White House.

“It’s more of a leap than progress. A cure will be completed soon. I don’t anticipate any delays in the mass production scheduled to begin in a week.”

This was welcome news. He was more anxious than ever because of Super SARS. Beyond the global stock market concerns, he also feared infection. How could he manage state affairs if he contracted an incurable disease?

For now, cocktail therapy [a treatment using a combination of drugs] would be effective as long as he remained relatively healthy, but it was usually a last resort, along with surgery, when all other options were exhausted. He really didn’t want to resort to it.

“About the Chinese cure being unstable, what exactly does that mean?”

The report mentioned instability, but he couldn’t grasp the specifics. He wondered if it was chemically unstable or if it caused instability in those who took it, but the lack of detail only amplified his questions.

“The Chinese cure is quite similar to the one we’re developing, but if used as is, it will cause some side effects. That’s what I mean by unstable.”

“Side effects?”

“Mildly, abdominal pain, diarrhea, chills. These are basic things, not even considered serious side effects. People with heart problems shouldn’t take it, as it can cause permanent damage to the circulatory system. But even that’s not the biggest issue. The most important thing is this.”

The doctor presented a draft report containing the data. Bush was practically illiterate in biotechnology, but even he could recognize the highlighted word in red letters: it was impossible to miss.

“Decreased sexual function?”

“In short, yes. More precisely, erectile dysfunction and decreased sperm count. To put it bluntly, you’re so frustrated you can’t even get it up, and even if you do, it’s like a seedless watermelon.”

He felt a pang of pity for the experimental rat couples who had become sexually disabled due to the experiments. Their reproductive instincts were still present, but they were under extreme stress because they couldn’t perform. Some researchers, unable to bear it, suggested ending the experiments and euthanizing the rats, but the person in charge believed there was still more data to be gathered and insisted on keeping them alive.

And it seemed the person in charge of this research had a similar idea, even ordering an increase in the number of these experimental groups. There were hundreds of rats who lost their sexual function and became enlightened [a sarcastic reference to their suffering]. If there’s an afterlife, surely everyone involved in this research will go to hell.

“But that doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen, right?”

“Yes, well, as I said, it’s a possible side effect. And it may sound irresponsible, but the reaction to medicine varies slightly from person to person. There’s a perfect standard for things, but not for people. Though there are similarities.”

Bush was so frustrated with the report, unable to understand even half of it, that he couldn’t take it anymore. Chemical formulas were beyond him. The chemical symbols he knew were only very basic.

Even if it’s basic, he may be a little better than other people because he’s heard it here and there, but at least he can’t see the results that the doctors came up with without interpretation.

“Is this all you’ve gained from studying the Chinese cure?”

“If we had obtained this cure a little earlier, perhaps. But since it’s similar to the cure we’ve developed independently, it’s not very meaningful. Still, if you want to find meaning, it means we can discard one of the samples we were developing.”

“Why discard it?”

The doctor stroked his white beard a few times, organized his thoughts, and decided to cut out the professional jargon and speak plainly.

“Because it’s almost the same as this one. If we’re optimistic, we saved some budget. If we’re pessimistic, we just wasted it.”

“There’s no budget that’s truly wasted. Even if we just wasted it, we can learn the lesson to never do it again.”

“Ah, you’re positive.”

The position of US President is one you can’t hold without that kind of thinking. There were too many variables to dwell on the negative. It was better to maintain optimism in normal times. Otherwise, every day would feel like it was about to collapse.

“To sum up, the Chinese cure has some side effects.”

“That’s right. Whether you can dismiss them as ‘some’ is another matter. But as I said before, there may be individual differences. It’s possible that only a handful of Chinese men who take it will become impotent.”

Even if that wasn’t the case, he was about to mobilize the CIA to find out if the Chinese who took this were really experiencing the side effects that the doctor said.

“···Thank you for quickly resolving my curiosity.”

“You’re welcome. After seeing each other every day, I can roughly see what the President is thinking. Some of my friends have the same personality as the President. Even if that wasn’t the case, I just went to another team and said the same thing about these side effects.”

“It must have been a little fun.”

“No. I could hear screams from the team that was researching this sample and some other similar samples. It was quite a sight to see disheveled, unkempt adults screaming sincerely.”

The doctor didn’t bother to add, ‘My ears hurt a bit.’ Even without that, his ears still ached. With those words, the doctor left the office.

“Fortunately, it seems most things are going my way. When the situation is under control, it’s okay to take a breather.”

As long as the current United States does not get out of control, it can handle any situation.

“That doesn’t mean the documents will decrease.”

Even as the President was talking to the doctor, the tower of reports was growing taller. It had been only up to his waist a moment ago, but now it reached his chest.

Bush stared blankly at the documents and said,

“These documents are completely out of my control. I should gradually reduce them in the future. I don’t want to have nightmares of being collectively assaulted by documents in my next term.”