Chapter 480: Vaccine Hearing... Are You Trying to Be Foolish?
If the "Viper" Aleso knew that his target had been sent directly to the Tower of Heaven due to this unsuccessful probe, he would probably be in tears:
Why on earth?!
Why are they being so cautious? Any slight movement, and they shove the person under the watchful eyes of legendary mages. Do you lack confidence in Mage Nordmark’s combat abilities?
If you’re really afraid of trouble, just send him back to his mage tower, why take him directly to the peak!
But he doesn’t know. So, Mr. Viper is roaming from bar to bar, market to market, pricking up his ears to eavesdrop on various whispers, all the while filled with doubts:
Who is so considerate to stir up trouble?
It definitely isn’t their own people! He’s just a field agent, without the authority to issue such commands to local spies. And certainly, those lying in wait wouldn’t organize such a mess—
The chance of success is next to zero!
And the benefits, there seems to be no benefit at all, sending a bunch of poor people into the city hall’s prison, and then having to figure out a way to get them out. What’s the point? What’s the point of making such a scene?
"The organization of the poor people’s protest went well." It’s still that high-end villa in the garden district, by the club’s long table, someone contentedly lit a pipe:
"It fully expressed the displeasure and protest of the public, especially the poor and small business owners. Hmm, one gold coin each, that’s about eight or nine hundred thousand gold coins, and this money will ultimately be passed on to the poor!"
"Exactly! A laundry shop collects 100 gold coins, they definitely can’t continue, and if they close down, a hundred laundry women will be unemployed…"
"Previous tabloids, comics, tavern performances, and the protests conveyed by you gentlemen, were finally ignited by yesterday’s event. The latest news, the council has decided, to hold a hearing in five days to discuss the vaccination law!"
"Exactly! Those magicians, inventing something new today, something new tomorrow, when they run out of money, they reach out to us. If they want to raise taxes, they must go through a hearing, otherwise we won’t survive!"
The wealthy merchants and nobles all nodded. Please, who really wants to smash and loot?
In this world, the arms of commoners cannot twist the thighs of professionals; any magician could easily flatten an area. Making a fuss is just showing an attitude to those pushing for the hearing:
"Look, even the commoners can’t stand it anymore, you said before it was for their benefit..."
For this, when they incited people to riot, they didn’t even allow them to bring stones or sticks. It’s said that what was thrown at the scene were just mud dug from the ground and dog poop picked up right there...
"Alright, gentlemen." The speaker announcing the news of the hearing clapped his hands:
"Since the council has already decided, we also need to show some sincerity. In the next few days, whether it’s tabloids or tavern minstrels, tone it down a bit. Make reasonable arguments, but for now, let’s put aside the sarcasm, ridicule, and rumors."
"Let’s also discuss who should speak at the hearing, and how to present..."
Several men with curly woolen hair huddled together, darkly mixing it up. On the long table, tabloids, manuscripts, and pamphlets quickly piled up.
And buried in research, Garrett was bewilderingly pulled out of the lab. Before he could settle down, a pile of pamphlets already rustled in front of him:
"What’s this?"
"You’re attending the hearing in five days! This is the proposed bill, these are the opinions that have appeared on the market recently, take a look, and be prepared to rebut them at the time!"
"...But why do I have to go? I’m just the inventor of the vaccine, not the policy maker!"
Protests were in vain. Obviously, more than one archmage thought "Since Garrett is the inventor, he definitely knows more than others, it’s definitely right to bring him." The laboratory door closed behind him, and Garrett had no choice but to bury his head in the piles of paper.
Five days later, the hearing about whether to promote universal vaccination took place in the large meeting hall of the city hall—the same hall where Garrett had publicly debated the establishment of a public health organization.
Archmage Grom represented the review committee, along with representatives from the three major churches, local nobility, and wealthy merchants, either attending or observing, packed almost to the brim. At the very back of the large hall, they even specially let in a group of commoners, apparently to ensure that all perspectives were considered Garrett sat next to Archmage Grom, looking around, feeling quite relieved:
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Not bad, not bad, attending the hearing this time, finally not shouldering it all by himself. There were Archmage Grom, medical mages, and even a mid-level mage from the divination school sitting calmly on the other side of Archmage Grom, seemingly prepared to testify.
Huh… would testimony derived from divination spells be effective at this kind of hearing?
Garrett wasn’t sure. However, priests from the natural god’s church groups, the Temple of the God of War, and the Temple of the Spring Goddess, who had helped during the smallpox vaccination, were also behind them. Well, their words should be somewhat objective and fair...
The first item on the agenda was the distribution and reading of the draft of the "Vaccination Law." Garrett had already seen it, and most of his attention was now on observing the attitudes of the others:
"Vaccine inoculations to be overseen by the public health department..." There didn’t seem to be any opposition to this, it appeared everyone thought it was normal;
"Funding for vaccines to be outlined by the government, with insufficient budget for the year to be supplemented by special tax revenue..." This point made the faces of the wealthy merchants and nobles a bit uneasy, seemingly reluctant to be taxed;
"The authorities are required to sign agreements with legitimate practitioners to promote free vaccinations, with the costs to be covered by the authorities..." The priests of the natural god were pleased, the Temple of the God of War was indifferent, the Temple of the Spring Goddess had mixed reactions;
"All children must be vaccinated within three years of age, otherwise the parents will be penalized; vaccination registrars are responsible for informing parents and recording vaccination information..." Hey hey! I haven’t done clinical trials for children under three yet! Why are we implementing this now!
As soon as the draft was read, the debate stage began immediately. A man wearing tortoiseshell glasses stood up from across Garrett, waving a pamphlet called "The Anti-Vaccinators," and began his passionate discourse:
"Outbreaks of disease primarily originate from poor environments! Ensuring environmental hygiene and clean air is the only way to eradicate diseases, and so-called vaccinations are useless!"
What? Garrett pressed against the table in front of him, ready to rebut. The man pushed his glasses up and tapped on the table with the pamphlet in his hand, making a snapping sound:
"Injecting pathogens into the human body contaminates the blood, harms the entire body, increases the risk of contracting deadly diseases like syphilis, and threatens the lives of those vaccinated!"
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