- Pronouns
- He/Him, They/Them
Feel free to jump in here however, but bear in mind that it's incredibly unlikely you'll have strike teams/military forces in the area within 3 hours, unless you're a neighbouring nation.
"The Greeks called them sirens, beautiful women who lured unwary ships into dangerous waters. The Arabs claimed they could walk on land and mate with humans. The Britons made them into omens of bad luck, both the predictors of misfortune and the causes of it.
All were wrong."
This was how Jackson Delves started this most extraordinary of shows. His famous tones formed the backing to a series of artistic depictions of 'mermaids' throughout the ages, interspersed with quotes from writers and philosophers on the subject, forming a professional, emotional vt, only ending when Jackson spoke one of his trademark phrases; "We'll have the truth... after this." He had the undivided attention of his audience.All were wrong."
And he knew it. The smug smile, with just a little too much teeth that was another of his trademarks, was more evident than ever as he spoke with his producer during the ad break. No autocues were here, indeed Jackson was famous for his criticism of other television presenters, but those in the know could see this was an elaborate show planned to the last detail. Every word had been poured over in hours of meetings, every syllable consulted upon. The entire script had been the subject of days of arguments, rewrites, and on one occasion, a fist fight between two of the writers. The result was a show planned to a tee. The result was a show unlike any other before.
The ad break ended, and the lights came up, revealing the studio for the first time. It had been completely redesigned for this one show. Gone was the famous 'Desk of Discovery', and the benches facing it. In there place, a large platform in the middle of the set, with a large blanket covering whatever was on it, and seating on three sides, with an empty area for the host to move around in.
"For 12 years I have appeared on television, 12 years that I have been revealing that most important of things, truth." Jackson paused, a look of sincerity on his face. "We, as educated people, have always denied the supernatural and proclaimed our species to be the only one with 'intelligence'." Jackson smiled. "Tonight, here, now... I prove that to be false." He grinned, and with a flourish removed the covering whilst shouting, "I reveal to you... the world... Homo Aquaticus!"
The crowd gasped as the what was under the coverings was revealed, the blogosphere, twitter, social networking sites and internet chat rooms around the world going crazy as the main event of this most strange of circus acts was revealed to be a tank of water, with a single occupant.
The occupant of the tank was short, no more than 4ft 6in, and female, with an ill-fitted black swimsuit barely covering her body. Her hair was short and scruff, as if it had been cut with a sharp object, rather than scissors or a razor, and was a deep black, matching her eyes, which showed considerable distress as she was thrust into a world of heat and cameras and light by her captor, the ever-grinning Jackson Delves, the 'hero' of what he called 'truth television'.
Her dark skin shone as more than 30 lights lit up the platform upon which her tank was placed and she swam around the tank, able to move 5 feet before the chains attached to her ankles lost slack, and she was stopped in the water. Each time this happened, she let out a guttural screech, causing some in the crowd to cover their ears or turn away. The camera zoomed in and she bared her teeth as its light hit her, revealing teeth that were sharp and pointed, drawing a gasp from the crowd.
Jackson exuded arrogance as the camera panned back to him, a look of triumph on his face. "Our scientists estimate that this subject is a young adult female, perhaps 22 years old. It was found in an area of the North Pacific few would dare go to by a sea exploration team doing research for a nature documentary of mine, which is how we can show you here, exclusively, evidence of intelligent life beyond humans."
The camera angle changes, and a timer appears on screen. "In exactly 2 hours 53 minutes time, enough electricity to fry an elephant will be released, in 3 second bursts, into the tank, along the chains and into it's body. This will be repeated until it is dead. Unless..." Jackson pauses, the watching audience holding a collective debt. "Enough of you vote for her to survive. And to make it interesting, for every kill vote, I will donate $10 to a charity for children living in absolute poverty."
Jackson looks around at his audience, before the camera zooms in on his face. "So... people of the world, do you kill what could be the only one of it's species, whilst simultaneously saving thousands from death? Or do you vote to save it, and let thousands die?
Happy voting." Jackson finishes, the show going to another ad break, as in the background security were seen taking up positions between the stage and the crowd.