“Similar. With my virus, it transmitted without symptoms, and it attacked weaknesses in the human body, weaknesses people didn’t even know they had.”

“Mmm – nasty.”

“Half the people who caught it had no symptoms at all. But it could kill anybody. It was a Tattslotto!… the only thing you knew for sure was that you didn’t want a ticket in it!”

“So… I mean…”

“That’s it… my 2020 Perfect Vision had human society – I mean the whole world – breaking down chapter by chapter under the pressure of an absolutely ingenious plague (even if I say so myself – actually I had a lot of help with the virus from a few of my medic o mates – they are brilliant those guys). A plague with the ability to transmit behind everyone’s back… before they even knew they had it…. A guilt ridden virus!”

“Chwow!”

“Amazing!”

“My 2020 Perfect Vision degenerated into a disturbing parody of dishonest and incompetent leaders… a descent into various forms of civil unrest… towards the end, real chaos…”

Dave Brown raised an eyebrow.

Max could not help but wonder –

Was that the end?

Don’t tell us you couldn’t do better than that!

But of course, he couldn’t say that.

“Yeah well…“, was the best he could muster.

“I suppose… it was always on the cards!” Added Pierre.

“Exactly…”

But David Brown was far from finished. He was off and running now.

“Towards the end, before the inevitable Regeneration, the novel plunged into utter depravity… and described an undeclared war between the young and the rich (old I mean, same thing). I had the young quietly rising up against the old… picking on them… marching them to the ATM’s … (the descriptions were truly awful). And so on…

“Horrible Dave.”

“I don’t like it at all!”

“No… I know. But it was some of my best writing,  ever – (not that I was ever much of a writer). It was so revealing of the worst of human nature… or behaviour.”

“Mmm…”

“Yeah…”

There was a quiet interlude, but only momentary.

“Tell me Dave. I know it was only a novel. But why? Why did the young do that?”

“They were egged on, you know, social media. They were under the impression that it was because of the old that the world was ordered to shut-down… like, completely. And they quickly tired of it. And on top of that they knew that when it was all over… they were going to have to pay for it… forever!”

“Shit Dave… this is a shocker!”

“No wonder you couldn’t find a publisher!”

They all had a laugh, even David Brown.