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Speaker 1: Fast Food Horror is an abby normal production written and

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created by me E J. Miller.

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Speaker 2: Welcome listeners to Fast Food Horror. This is season three,

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Episode one. Our first tale, penned by E. J. Miller,

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is titled Next.

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Speaker 1: I'm Next. They're coming from me Next. I'm not sure

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how much time I have left, but I am next.

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I'm going to use my last few minutes, my last

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few breaths to to well, to confess and ask for

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forgiveness since what has been happening these past few years

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was is my fault. I was a Level one auditor

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in the Division of Revenue and Taxation. Basically, I was

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a government accountant and a number cruncher among hundreds and

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hundreds of number crunchers, all competing to move up the

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food chain. The higher one moves up, the more comfortable

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and dare I say luxurious, the government living accommodations were,

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as compared to the rest of the population. The more

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power and standing when accumulated, which transferred to your children

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and family. By extension, it afforded you in yours a

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certain status and privilege that the general citizenry did not have.

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Everyone in the division, or as everyone calls it, the

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DRT realized we were operating right up to the margin

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and dare I say sliding towards a deficit. The costs

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the providing for the citizenry and the money being brought

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in were almost at a one for one. If anything

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out of the ordinary happened, if an emergency arose at

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drew out a storm, a hurricane, a tornado, an earthquake

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higher than a level four on the Richter scale, or

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sweeping force fire or wildfire, the government might not be

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able to provide, and dare I say drastic measures would

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be enacted. We were constantly looking for ways to cut

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the budget. Where could we trim unnecessary expenditures, even though

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quite honestly, we were operating on a shoe string budget

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for at least providing for the general citizenry, And where

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can we find new income that didn't involve taxation, because

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quite honestly, we had already taxed everything our people's had.

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There was no more blood to squeeze from that stone.

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And that's when the idea came to me. There was

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really nothing left to cut. Taxation wasn't an option. We

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were having issue finding a new product, or finding one

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we could steal and make cheaper to offer to the

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rest of the world to make money at it, we

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needed to really re evaluate the assets we had. I

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was watching a movie at the recreation and entertainment area

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in my development. It was one of those old movies

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from back when my parents were young, before well, when

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things were different. The movie took place in a prison,

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and what caught my attention was during the course of

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the day, the prison made use of the inmates by

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having them make license plates the cheapest labor you could

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find with the useful product, thousands upon thousands of the

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cheapest workers you could find. They worked on road projects,

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building projects, they did laundry, and even worked in the kitchens.

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We had prisons with ample amount of prisoners that were

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being housed at a manageable yet high cost. I suggested

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to the Minister of my division that we could offset

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the cost of their housing by doing the same having

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them performed the in house labor and services required to

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operate the prison under strict supervision maintenance, laundry, cooking, contracting

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out their services to private companies, or even bordering entries

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to perform farming or other labor intensive activities. To my surprise,

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they liked the idea. They moved forward with the first phase,

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making the prison almost self sufficient within months, eliminating paid

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staff with inmates who began performing all the general labor tasks.

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I suggested adding a guard here or there per shift.

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As the prison population was spread out from their cell

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blocks throughout the day. I was rewarded as the cost

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of the prisons was greatly reduced and found myself and

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my family upgraded to a more comfortable living quarters, complete

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with its own bathroom, no longer sharing a communal lavatory.

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Six months in, they started approaching private businesses and contracted

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out the inmates as suggested, to work on farms and

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road crews in all manner of labor intensive jobs. On

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the chief. This not only increased the output of the

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national farms, which in turn gave us a surplus of product,

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giving our citizenry more to eat and something we could export. This,

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along with the contracts to the private business, meant that

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the prison workforce was now turning a profit. A year

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and a half in, my family and I were given

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our own private home to live in, with our own

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kitchen and a car so we could travel about freely.

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My children were taken from the public education centers and

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placed in the elite private schools, and I was made

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a minister in the DRT. After three years of success

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along this path, it was decided to take it to

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the next step, the next phase, and we approached the

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surrounding countries and city states about contracting out our most

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successful product. Contracts and agreements were signed, and our prisoners

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were set to work building roads and bridges, constructing irragas,

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and all sorts of other municipal projects of our bordering neighbors.

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Our state media outlets sung the praises of our projects

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our inmates were completing, both locally and worldwide. They outlined

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the great impact it was having for all, and the

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prosperity it was garnering. It was something we should all celebrate,

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and all the citizenry concurred. It was a source of

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pride for all the greater good unless you were an inmate.

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Of course, as the years passed, you can imagine we

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went from barely operating and providing for the citizenry to

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being dare I say, almost prosperous. For the first time

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in many, many decades. We had a surplus of goods.

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We were able to export an import the citizenry was

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even able to go to a six day work week,

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and some even a five day work week, and the

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privilege of those at the ministry level and higher, especially myself,

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increased to keep up with the demand. Though, as our newest,

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most successful export was doing so well, more laws were

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enacted to increase the supply, more laws where imprisonment was

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the punishment. I'm not talking about a mere thirty days

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in a holding center, but years behind bars for in

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fractions that would have been dealt with by a fine

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or more expedient means. New prisons had to be built

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along with the new laws, but it didn't matter. As

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the prosperity of the country grew, so did the population

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an ever increasing supply of the product. We just had

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to learn how to catch more of them to satisfy

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the demand. I have learned many lessons over my years

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as a servant of the government, and especially as a

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minister of the DRT. People are inherently greedy. More is

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never another, especially to those who don't necessarily have to

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do the work, but definitely want to remain in power

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and enjoy the perks of that power. As my plan

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was such a national success, the source of our national

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pride and prosperity. Those of the People's National Council, the

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overseers of our nation, requested I find a means, a

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way to increase the output of our national product. I

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can only imagine what perks and privilege such an answer

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to the problem assigned would amass myself and my family,

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the wealth, the status. I was blinded by what I

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could attain should I find the answer without considering It

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was also about this time that my father in law

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became ill. He was already elderly and well no longer

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of the workforce, not only because of his association with

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myself and my title, but because of age. We were

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informed by the People's Medical Services Center that he would

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need a liver transplant and was put on a waiting list.

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But due to his age, he was well down that list,

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and due to the supply of such things, we had

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to quickly come to the realization that we might have

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to say goodbye, no matter my status, no matter my

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power and privilege, unless the supply of such things could

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dramatically increase. With some persuading in some favors, I was

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able to move him up the list. Power does have

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privilege and privilege is of power, but that didn't change

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the supply of livers. Because I did love the old

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man and my wife. I kept doing research and more

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and more research to try and find an answer. But

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no matter where I looked, I found that worldwide, the

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plight of those waiting for organ transplants was quite long,

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as was a time one stayed on the waiting list

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until they either received such thing or expired due to it.

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So many people world wide waiting and searching, hoping and waiting,

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willing to pay anything, such a large demand. And that's

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when it came to me what some would call a

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dark idea, what many many people in other countries saw

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as inhumane, but at the time what I saw as

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merely a means to protect and insure my family's future

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and to save my father in law. We had a

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fairly large amount of criminals on death row. They would,

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within weeks of being convicted, be shuffled from their mortal

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coil and would no longer need those organs. I had

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found the supply to the demand and a means to

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increase the country's output, a new export of valuable, valuable

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export to the world. If you had just the means

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harvesting our products began immediately, and a new ministry outreach

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program was begun, contacting those worldwide searching for such a

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valuable commodity. No price seemed too high, and those in

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search of such things paid what some would consider exorbitant costs.

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They traveled to our country, made use of our people's

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medical centers for the operation, and went home to their

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countries with a new lease on life, or at least

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it extended one. Millions upon millions of dollars streamed in

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with each surgery, and after ten years of its installment,

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became a ninety billion dollar export business for our great country.

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And because of its success, I rose to a member

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of the People's National Council. My rise was celebrated, and

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for some time I was held in quite a high regard.

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There seemed to be a never ending demand of our

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product worldwide. No price too high, liver, kidney eyes, whatever

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organ one might want or desire, one could have for

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the right price. Here's how the process went. Every death

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row inmate was given a complete physical, a screening, including

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their family's health history, to ensure the best product for

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our customer. When a customer contacted us, we found his

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match and began the process. If the customer only needed eyes,

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the eyes were taken and the inmate was left in

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a peaceful, drug induced state. I'lbeit blind until the next

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organ was required, for which he was a match, until

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we could no longer keep the inmate alive by medical means,

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in which case his family was informed that the death

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sentence was carried out and their loved one was no

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longer with us. So how did I get here? How

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did I become next? As I told you, more is

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never enough, especially when they want to hold on to

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the power or gain more of it. I had ambitions

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as I kept rising up the ranks, as I kept

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amassing more and more power and privilege and wealth. As

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observers saw me as a rising star on the People's

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National Council, someone that was single handedly with his ideas

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leading the country to heights never seen in some time.

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I never considered that my success could also be a threat,

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a threat to those who wanted to remain in power.

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I won't bore you with the details, because I'm not

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sure I have long enough to tell you about all

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the trumped up charges that were made against myself and

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my family. The fabricated emails that were made between myself

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and other high ranking Council members, ministers, and various military

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officials conspiring to overthrow the sitting Senior Master Council member,

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up to and including his assassination. I was arrested, as

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were every member of my family. The charge was treason,

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and I was sentenced to death. And because of my

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privilege and power and always ever increase in demand, I

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found myself quickly at the head of the line. Next,

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there were no cries of injustice from those across the world.

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The media already had their story fed to them, like

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good little dogs that they are by their master, so obedient,

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there was no one coming to my rescue. The machine

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I had built would continue to work, the product and

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the demand never ceasing. I have become expendable, and because

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of my threat to those higher up than I needed

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to be eliminated. I wonder what they'll take first? Will

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I feel any pain? I was always told the inmates

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felt no pain? Or was that just a lie I

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was fed? I wonder how long they'll keep me alive?

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How many organs will they harvest until I expire, If

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I'll be conscious or at least semi lucid. Over the

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days or weeks or months, they keep me in my

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drug induce stupor until I have no value at all.

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Will they take my eyes first? Will they take a

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kidney or two and just keep me on dialysis? Will

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they take a lung or maybe both and keep me

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on a ventilator. Will I still be conscious when they

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take my heart, letting the machine do all the work.

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The truth needs to be known. The truth needs to

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be told. It's been going on for years, the dirty

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secret of our success, what we've been doing to our

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own in the name of prosperity, in the name of

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greed and all for power. But even I it's architect,

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was expendable in the end,