Victor closed his eyes and let himself gradually sink back into his chair. Two million hits. So few.
“It’s been ten days, Imala. Ten. The whole world should know by now. You said it would go viral.” He knew he was being unfair; Imala wasn’t to blame. But it was maddening to think that billions of people were completely oblivious. It was like being in a burning ship and he was the only person acknowledging the flames.
No. He wasn’t the only one. Imala believed him. Everyone in the recovery hospital thought he was certifiably loco, but not Imala. She had accepted the evidence the instant he had shown it to her. And here he was throwing her efforts back in her face.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m not blaming you. I’m grateful to you. Honest. I just thought more people would know by now.”
“I thought everyone would see what I saw,” said Imala. “I thought this thing would explode on the nets. I never imagined people would be this skeptical.”
“Skeptical is putting it lightly, Imala.” He gestured for the holopad.
“Don’t read the comments, Victor. They’ll only annoy you.”
He gently took the pad from her, pulled up the posts under the vid, and started reading. “‘What a joke. This is the worst makeup and costuming I’ve ever seen. Who put this expletive expletive together? What a load of expletive.’”
“Thanks for the tasteful editing.”
“They don’t believe us, Imala. They’re either dismissive, critical, or downright malicious. They think we made it up.”
“There are people who do this kind of thing as a hobby, Victor. They dress up and make fan videos. Aliens, lost underwater cities, magical realms. They invent whole universes. I’ve followed a few of the links. Some of their vids look nearly as real as ours.”
“Yes, but ours is real, Imala. The hormigas are living breathing things. The destruction they cause? Real. The weapons they have? Real. Their ship? Real. This isn’t fantasy time.”
“Not everyone dismisses the vid. Some people believe us.”
“Some, yes. But have you gone to their sites? A lot of them are conspiracy theorists and loquitos. Crazies. They’d believe a cup of sour cream was an alien if someone told them so. They aren’t earning us any credibility.”
“They’re not all conspiracy theorists, Victor. We have over twenty thousand followers now. The vast majority are intelligent, respectable people. They’re stockpiling supplies, sharing ideas, alerting local governments, pushing the scientific community to get involved. We’re not alone on this.”
“We might as well be,” said Victor. “Twenty thousand followers, Imala. From two million people that have seen the vid. That’s a one percent success rate. And not one percent of the global population, mind you. On global terms, twenty thousand people is…” He paused to do the math in his head. “Point zero zero zero zero zero one six. That’s not even a drop in the bucket, Imala. That’s a water molecule clinging to the drop in the bucket. No, that’s the electron circling the hydrogen atom on the water molecule on the drop in the bucket.”
“You’ve made your point.”
“It’s why I can’t stand to look outside,” said Victor. “I see all these people doing nothing, fearing nothing, preparing for nothing, and I think I’ve failed them. Their lives are in my hands, Imala, and I’m failing. I’m letting them die.”
“You’re doing everything you can, Victor.”
“No I’m not. I’m not doing anything. I’m a prisoner in a recovery hospital. You’re the one doing all the work. You’re the one going to the press.”
“And mostly getting ignored.”
“Yes, but at least you’re engaged. At least you’re doing something. I’ve done nada.”
“You’ve done plenty. You crossed the solar system in a tiny cargo rocket and nearly killed yourself in the process. You let yourself waste away to nothing to get here. You left your family and loved ones. You brought us critical evidence. I say that counts for something.”
“I mean I’m not doing anything now. If no one pays attention, if no one takes us seriously, what I’ve done doesn’t matter.”
“Which is why we’re going to the Lunar Trade Department and getting you released. You’re healthy enough to walk now. Your strength is back. The adjudicator for your case has agreed to see you early. If we play this right, she’ll throw out the charges against you, and you’ll be a free man. Then you can help me. We have a few good leads, and if you’re with me, if we can get you in front of the right audience, maybe we can get to someone with real authority.”
“Who’s the person we’re seeing? What are our chances?” asked Victor.
“Her name’s Mungwai. She’s the department’s chief adjudicator. I tried to get someone else, but she reviewed your file and insisted on seeing us both.”