For years by now, the Confederate States of Vinland have been in turmoil. This is because unlike the Gardarikian Federation and the Almagna Empire they were a democracy. And in democracies, when the people have something to say, they are free to say it.

President Monroe Bennett's conduct had been contested ever since he came to power, but it had been sporadic: a few protests here, a senator raising an issue there, nothing the head of state couldn't handle with a little. of gab. And when the gab wasn't enough, well, Bennett and his circle knew how to silence people.

However, since Queen Mackenzie had left the NMWA and founded the Eden Union, the protests had increased exponentially, as many people saw Eden Union as the answer to their problems. Bennett had tried to keep the population at bay as best he could, but as Eden Union grew and showed all its prosperity, calming the people became more and more difficult.

Bennett had seen his power become more and more fragile, and in addition the large financial groups he had always appealed to had abandoned him one after the other. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to hold his position as other candidates made their way to the presidency. The worst of them was Alonzo Carter, a detective who suddenly chose to become a politician and publicly challenged him, calling him a hypocrite who based his campaign on lies, while he instead aimed for a just and sincere nation. All bullshit: in short, when had you ever seen a politician who told the truth? Bennett found Alonzo Carter ridiculous, but unfortunately the same was not true for the population, who instead supported him more and more.

And then, a year earlier, that scourge called RE/SYST had arrived, a damned group of hackers who had exposed many wrongdoing by several people in Bennett's administration. Defense Secretary Randall had even been forced to resign and there were rumors that he had left the country. The discovery that so many politicians so close to Bennett were corrupt had further diminished support for him, and many council senators had begun to despise him. Alonzo Carter obviously rode the wave and gained even more popular support, with the result that many had begun to advise Bennett to step down as well.

Bennett obviously hadn't listened to them. He was the legitimate president of the Confederate States of Vinland and he would not have given up so easily, and he certainly would not have succumbed to any detective who enjoyed playing politician. But his determination hadn't stopped him from being dragged into the council chambers to confer with the senators.

"Bullshit!" he did nothing but yell. "I am an honest politician! A strong pillar of our society!"

But his words did not convince the people gathered in the hall. "If you are so honest, then why do you have so many individuals in your administration turned out to be guilty of various crimes, such as bribery, extortion and extortion?"

"You can't blame me for what others have done!"

"Sure we can. You are the president, ergo it was your job to make sure your circle was made up of honest and respectable people. If you were not involved, he is still guilty of negligence, a characteristic that we cannot tolerate in the head of state"

Bennett couldn't believe that in those few years he had lost so much consensus. At the time of his election the senators gathered in that room were all on his side, and many of them even licked his shoes to be able to ingratiate themselves with him. Now they were doing nothing but throwing a spanner in the works, and what was worse, they had the power to carry out an impeachment lawsuit against him.

"Mr. Bennett, with all due respect, it sounds very strange that you were unaware of all the wrongdoing professed by the people who worked alongside you" the senators continued. "You will understand that our concern is entirely legitimate"

Bennett cursed RE/SYST in his mind; he was the fault of those stupid hackers if so many scandals had come to light. Even though he had branded them as a terrorist group, neither the National Guard nor the military had ever been able to find them. Now, however, he could use them in his favor: "If I were as guilty of wrongdoing as my supporters, wouldn't RE/SYST already disclose such wrongdoing? I would have been the first to be hit, don't you think?". In fact, RE/SYST never disclosed his crimes because Bennett was concerned with making them disappear completely with the help of foreign nations; however, that card could be very useful in convincing the senators.

Unfortunately, however, he didn't receive the success he hoped: "Even if there are no accusations against you, mr. president, remains the problem that you have never noticed anything. So either you were negligent and naive, or you just kept quiet. In both cases you don't make a good impression on us"

Bennett was about to reply, but suddenly a guard entered the room: "RE/SYST has started a live broadcast on a global scale!"

Both the president and the senators were taken aback: weren't RE/SYST streams that strange lately, but on a global scale? Such a thing had never happened before. What did those hackers have to declare that was so important?

Very quickly everyone left their seats and ran out of the room, including Bennett; the president went to his office and switched on his laptop to listen to the broadcast. What appeared before him was the image of an elderly woman, whom the nation had long known as Nero, the head of RE/SYST. Bennett had ordered the secret services to identify her, but expert programmers had finally determined that her old woman was just a mask and that Nero's true appearance was very different and sadly unknown.

"People around the world, this appeal is to all of you, whether you speak, swim, fly or simply live here on this planet. About fifteen hours ago, RE/SYST managed to break into the military information systems of the Almagna Empire and discovered something terrifying. Three years ago, the Gardarikian Federation, the Almagna Empire and the Confederate States of Vinland brought together the best of minds to create a weapon of apocalyptic power; the Prettania Kingdom and the Republic of Meilong also contributed in part, even if they immediately declared themselves opposed to the project and did everything to stop it. And so, the superpowers of the planet have created a bomb capable of razing an entire city to the ground in one fell swoop and potentially causing the end of the world as we know it; they called it an atomic bomb!"

Bennett nearly choked on his own saliva as he listened to Nero's words. How? How was this possible? How did RE/SYST hack the most defended and secretive network in the world? His eyes were wide open as the video of the first nuclear test played on the screen.

"What you are seeing is but a tiny device; over the past three years the three superpowers of the NMWA have continued their studies and have designed and built weapons hundreds, perhaps even thousands of times more powerful than this one. From what we have learned, the most powerful of them would have the power to obliterate everything within a radius of at least ten kilometers. In addition, these weapons once exploded release an immense amount of radioactive waste that would rain on immense areas, causing permanent damage to all forms of life. If enough of these weapons, just a few hundred, were detonated, the human species and all other life forms would be wiped out and the planet would become uninhabitable forever within a few days, because the amount of dust and radioactive elements raised would infect the atmosphere by forever changing our climate; even breathing would become lethal. In addition, the bombs would raise an amount of ash that would obscure the sun for years, extinguishing all forms of plant life and consequently exterminating those few creatures that survived the poison and radiation. What will remain of Eden will be a gray and cold ball of debris, lashed by radioactive storms and with unbreathable air, where nothing and no one, not even the most adaptable or the most intelligent life forms, will ever survive"

As Nero spoke, the screen filled with data and files that reported the veracity of his words; Bennett was sure that this information had already been disseminated over the Internet as well. The president knew there was no way to disprove RE/SYST: those hackers had millions of evidence to back them up.

"If we allow this barbarism to happen, and those villains detonate the nuclear bombs as they aim to do, then we will all be guilty of our extinction. Therefore, RE/SYST appeals to your common sense: no matter who you are, of any nationality, species, race or creed, you must stop them! You have to stop them before it's too late! It is above all to you that I address, citizens of Vinland, Gardarikian and Almagna: do not allow your heads of state to destroy your home and your families! And to all the nations that still support these fools who are desperately trying to keep their concept of superpower steady, I ask you, do you really want to side with those who will spell the end of the world? Every bit of power you take away from these men will help avert the apocalypse; is it not therefore good and right to oppose them? Stop them, all of you! Do your best, even in your own small way, to prevent the world from being destroyed! RE/SYST will fight against these men who practice evil calling it justice, but it will not be able to win alone. We need everyone's help! Please, if there is something that is dear to you on this beautiful earth... stop them!"

The transmission stopped and the screen went black again. Bennett was now as white as a rag. It was over: that was the final blow for him. Because… actually contributing to the atomic bomb project had been illegal, at least for the Constitution of the Confederate States of Vinland! Each project first had to be approved by the senators in order to be implemented, whether it was a national or international project; but most of the nation's politicians knew nothing about nuclear bombs, because Bennett had acted in great secrecy thanks to his contacts with the military and army generals. In practice, not only had Nero's speech deprived him of any popular consent, but he had also exposed his guilt!

Bennett jumped to his feet and ran for the door. If such a thing had happened a year earlier, he would have mobilized his allies in the army to take control of the country by force; but due to the actions of RE/SYST many of his friends had been arrested and he no longer had any support. Now he had only one solution: escape, get to his private jet and run to the Almagna Empire or the Gardarikian Federation, and convince them to offer him the necessary support to start a coup.

Very quickly he reached a narrow corridor, beyond which there was a secret parking lot where his car was already waiting for him; an escape route that he had cleverly studied to prepare for a possible defeat. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side: in the corridor in fact a firm voice reached him from behind and ordered him to stop. Bennett turned and found a gun aimed at his forehead, held by the hated Alonzo Carter. Bennett thought about pulling his, but several guards appeared behind the former detective and surrounded him. Cornered, the president had no choice but to raise his hands.

Alonzo approached him and quickly disarmed him. "I knew you were a son of a bitch, but even I wouldn't have imagined you were a genocidal maniac" he whispered venomously.

Bennett wanted to head butt him, but he knew it would do no good. It was over. However, before being taken away, he wanted to get rid of a curiosity: "How did you know I was going to run away from here? There were much more likely routes that I could have taken"

"You're simply an idiot, Bennett. A shrewd man would have checked the people closest to him"Alonzo replied.

The now former president did not understand. "What do you mean"

"Claire" Alonzo whispered sourly. "She was my sister"

Bennett's eyes widened, and suddenly everything was clear to him. Claire Carter was a former employee of him; initially a member of his inner circle, but then she had begun to question many of Bennett's political views. She eventually became too unpredictable to handle, so she Bennett had her killed. So Alonzo was his brother? "Did she tell you about my escape plan?"

"She told me a lot before she died, Bennett. When I learned that an attacker had put a bullet in her head, I understood that it could not be a coincidence" Alonzo replied, and then approached his ear: "You always asked me why I had given up my career as a detective to run for president. Well, now you know: I wanted justice. And now I will have it. You're done, Bennett; if it goes well you will spend the rest of your days behind bars"

And having said this, he spat in the face of the former president; Bennett wanted to reply, but the guards hauled him away. He was escorted out of the government building and loaded onto an armored transporter that would take him to a maximum security prison; while he made that short journey, Bennett was stormed by the angry mob that had already begun to gather around the government building. Fortunately, the agents managed to take him away almost unscathed, although dust and rotten fruit were thrown at him and spotted him from head to toe.

Bennett was supposed to spend the rest of his days in a cell awaiting his trial, but the day after his capture he was found hanged in his cell. Investigators chose to believe in a suicide, although the doubt remained forever that he had been killed by his guards.

Three days after Bennett's fall, Alonzo Carter was proclaimed interim president of the Confederate States of Vinland. His first act, welcomed with extreme joy by the population, was to abandon the NMWA forever.