Chapter 2: Cody Snowden?
Cody woke up and hopped online, "Oh, GREAT, new manager."
He had been working from home for a WHILE now, as the virus had caused another wave of death, and people still didn't take it seriously.
'These reports look way off, the pH is all over the place.'
He jumped in the voice chat that his team had set up and asked, "Did you guys see the peach farm pH levels?"
He heard silence, then his friend James said, "Dude, did you JUST get here?"
Cody winced, "Yeah, I took a day off, I had a personal emergency. Any idea what we are looking at?" Cody shared with him the exact file to make sure they were on the same page.
James just laughed, "Yeah, that is correct. Those numbers have been checked over 100 times with multiple labs being contracted to…"
Cody nearly had a stroke, "What? In a DAY?"
James laughed, "Yeah, I thought you got the in person jobs yesterday, that's why I didn't message you at all, figured you were a chicken without its head. They flew lab samples all over. And. Word on Reddit is that this isn't localized."
Cody gasped.
James nodded to nobody for dramatic effect, "Yup, this is agricultural collapse."
Cody stood up and went to turn on the TV.
The new channels were speaking on the subject but they had no private data to share.
Cody got messages from his boss and his manager demanding to speak with him.
He called James, "Yo, uh, why do the bosses want to see me?"
James was confused then it hit him, "OH, you didn't sign the NDA, did you?"
Cody was confused, "What NDA?"
James smirked, "Oh, you are probably the only free man at the company then. We got hit with a serious NDA as the Department of Homeland Security declared it a…..haha...nevermind. I CAN'T tell you, KNOW what I mean."
James became super serious, "Mr. Yang, you are not authorized to have those documents, sharing them without the NDA would get you fired, but sharing them WITH the NDA would be literal treason."
Cody was picking up what James was putting down, "So, if I went to the News agency to discuss a topic, I would just be FIRED, and NOT JAILED?"
James laughed lightly, "Now you understand what I meant, you DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT VIEW OR DOWNLOAD ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE COMPANY UNTIL THE NDA IS SIGNED."
Cody moved the file over to a USB drive that he had from school, then he went down stairs and told his Grandma and Papaw.
"Yo, gotta' go, I am going to tell….qualified people…?" Cody was confused, but James understood.
"G and P? Okay, just remember in the court hearing that I warned you multiple times it was under company policy subsection 2442:21b tha-" Click.
Cody smiled and his Papaw saw the weird interaction.
"What is going on?" Said the old man.
Cody shouted, "Grandma, come look!" Then he turned the Television onto NBC.
"We have Thomas J. Vilsack on-the-air, he is the United States Secretary of Agriculture."
"Hello, please just call me Tom."
"Hello Tom, it is nice to speak with you again, our viewers were very concerned about the news yesterday, do you have any update for us?"
"Well, I can assure the American people that there is no massive concern. We are in a pandemic and the interruption is to be expected. We project the soil properties to stabilize over the coming weeks."
The news anchor cleared her throat, "Do you think you could share any information with the public on this?"
"Uh, Ma'am, this is being led by the Department of Homeland Security, if I were to share information on this, it would be a felony. Just know that this is not something to be seriously concerned about."
Cody jumped up, "BULLSHIT! This is serious!"
Grandma Betty looked at him strangely and then shared the look with Papaw.
"Son, we simple folk ain't as smart as you. You mind helping us understand what has you so worked up?"
Cody took a deep breath.
"Grandpa, this is serious. I looked at JUST the pH balance of the soil, and it broke records….BOTH WAYS. The fluctuation is impossible. It would take a freaking terraforming machine to cause a soil shift like that, it is completely unrealistic."
Cody was sweating when his Grandparents didn't react.
"Situation report?" Papaw said.
Cody looked at him, he was doing his Marine stuff. "Bad."
"How bad?"
"World-ending bad." This caused his Grandpa to look flustered.
"Issue?" His Grandpa continued.
"No. More. Farming." The flash of fear went over his Grandmother's face.
"Then do not worry about it."
Cody stared at the man, "How do we not worry about it?"
"Easy. Play poker." His Papaw laughed and looked at his wife who was freaking out.
He realized they didn't understand, "Son, the world will end or it won't. There is no need to get worked up, focus on the important stuff."
Cody thought for a moment, "So, should I commit treason?"
His Papaw looked interested, "Explain."
Cody explained how he had skipped his login yesterday and just let it run to hope he wouldn't get caught. Then about how the government had apparently clamped down on this as soon as they got reports that it was accurate and not a hoax.
"Now the government won't let anyone see the files without the NDA." Cody leaned back.
His Grandpa caught on, "But you didn't sign a NDA, did you?"
"Nope."
They all smiled, "Then why not go share the news?"
Cody looked nervous, "I would lose my job, my life, I would have no reputation, I would never be able to work in the field again…."
His Grandpa sighed, "Cody Yang. Is it the right thing to do?"
Cody looked solemn, "I am not sure. After the pandemic, I don't know if telling the public will help or make it worse."
Ira continued, "Do the people deserve to know?"
Cody nodded, "Absolutely."
Ira smiled, "Then it sounds like you have work to do."
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