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The first cluster was discussing Senator Ryoing around since the dead first started getting up and walking If you’re killing so people, doesn’t it sort of contradict the spirit of the thing if their corpse is going to get up and i more people? Most death-row inmates stay there until they die of natural causes, at which point the governoing research on the cure Everybody wins, except for the unlucky prisoners who get eaten by the newly deceased before they can be recovered

The next group was talking about the potential candidates Senator Ry a favorable reception, since they were calling his closest competition respectively “a cheap show-biz whore”—that would be Congresswoht”—that would be Governor Tate, originally of Texas, and currently the single loudest voice claiood Aot back to its moral and ethical roots Whether this would stop the zorounds never seemed to come up, which was a pity, since I liked the idea of zo your passport before they decided whether or not they were allowed to bite down

Satisfied that I wasn’t likely to hear anything new in this crowd, I started casting around for a conversation worth joining The one nearest the doors looked pro on, and that’s usually a sign that interest is warranted I turned, walking close enough to hear as going on

“The real question is whether he can keep his pro He looked to be in his late fifties, old enough to have been an adult during the Rising and part of the generation that embraced quarantine as the only true route to safety “Can we trust another president on’t coe of the zombie population of the national parks?”

“Be reasonable,” said one of the woered species because they oing to do anything to ht keep another et attacked by a zombie deer,” countered the roup of college students who crossed a proscribed stretch of the Canadian border looking for cheap weed,” I interjected All heads turned ed “That’s a Level 1 hazard zone It’s forbidden to almost everyone outside the armed forces and certain branches of the scientific coust and I didn’t soiously follow aniories: “We need stricter laws” and “Daras right” I don’t think people should be allowed to keep anio a out the rest of the largeinto the wilds of Canada without proper gear, you deserve what you get, even if that happens to include being attacked by an undeadto you, h,” I said “Still, the facts of the event are pretty well docu mildly amused, one of the otherladyto the incident with the h Turning his back pointedly on the three of us, he orous condemnation of the senator’s stance on the death penalty that was going on just a few feet away

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him deflated with facts before,” said the woman, and offered her hand “I’ll have to remember that Rachel Green I’m with the local SPCA”

“Dennis Stahl, Eakly Ti his press pass in a brief show of solidarity

Relieved that lasses would cover the more subtle points of my expression, I took Ms Green’s hand, shook once, and said, “Georgia Mason I’n”

“Mason,” said Ms Green “As in ?”

I nodded

She winced “Oh, dear Is this going to be unpleasant?”

“Not unless you’re in the mood for a debate I’enda, not forward my own Besides,” I nodded to Carl’s back, “I’ opinions about large aniree to disagree on that point, don’t you?”

“Fair enough,” she said, looking relieved

Mr Stahl laughed “Rachel gets a lot of flack from the local n trail treating you?”

“Are you saying you haven’t been reading our reports?” I asked the question lightly, but I wanted to hear the answer Journalistic acceptance is one of the last things any blog gets We may be accepted inside the community, but it’s not until the traditional news media starts to take our reports seriously that a new feed can honestly be said to have established itself

“I have,” he said “They’re good A little rough, but good You care about what you’re reporting, and it shows”

“Thanks,” I replied, and glanced to Ms Green “Did you enjoy the presentation?”

“Is he as sincere as he seens that he’s not,” I said, and shrugged “Illusions of journalistic objectivity aside? He’s a nice guy He has good ideas, and he presents the to be our next President Not that the two are mutually exclusive, but still”