The Lottery Council: Epilogue

Clearly, this being a work of fiction, in real life there's no grand conspiracy, or group of nefarious conspirators out there deliberately giving people cancer by holding an anonymous lottery. However, the story does beg the question; are there conspiracies between our own government and other powerful entities working against the best interests of American people?

First, you would have to answer a question that may sound simple, but is in fact anything but: What constitutes a conspiracy? According to the Cambridge dictionary:
conspiracy
noun [ C/U ]
US/kənˈspɪr·ə·si/

a secret plan made by two or more people to do something bad, illegal, or against someone’s wishes:
Now here, the waters get a little murky. For example, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) allows phosphate mines and the aluminium manufacturers to dispose of fluoride -- a dangerous and harmful chemical -- by selling it to municipalities as a "cavity preventative" to put in drinking water. Toothpaste containing fluoride has a warning that you should only use a "pea size" amount (1/2 gram). One gram (the normal adult amount) typically contains 4 mg. of fluoride. According to warning labels, if that amount is swallowed, you are encouraged to contact the Poison Control Center. However, one 8 oz. glass of drinking water also contains 4 mg. of fluoride... Where is the warning? Is this a conspiracy? It is certainly collusion. Something else that points to a possible "fluoride conspiracy"; If you Google fluoride there are warning posts if you look for them. However, the vast amount of information indicates the "beneficial" aspects of fluoridation... more collusion???

This is no isolated occurrence. I saw an ad a while back for a Rheumatoid Arthritis medicine, the possible side effects are: "Tuberculosis, Lymphoma and other cancers and also, death" All of my favorites! Yet this compound has also been declared safe by the FDA. One other important element -- the people on the FDA oversight boards that make the determinations as to whether or not drugs are safe, are typically recruited from the big pharmaceutical companies, the people they're hired to police. Do I even have to ask the question???

There is instance after instance where the people we elect and/or hire that are entrusted with the responsibility of looking out for our safety and welfare typically turn a blind eye to obvious dangers in favor of corporate interests. I came up with a quote in another story that I think is almost universally applicable when viewing the relationship between politicians and corporations: A politician is only as good as the corporations that pay to get him [or her] elected. It seems that the only way to get protection from government is to be declared an endangered species -- and at the rate things are going, we may not have long to wait!

Another problem in identifying conspiracies is that rarely do the conspirators jump up and declare: "This is a conspiracy!" Conspiracies are nebulous, ethereal affairs conducted out of the public eye. The name conspiracy itself implies stealth and subterfuge. In the legal world (conspiracy against the government), it's a little more clear cut -- the only thing necessary is the accusation. For proof of that just read the RICO statutes. It is then, generally speaking, incumbent upon the accused to prove himself/herself innocent. The world of conspiracies then is the world of subterfuge, deceit and degradation. The point of the story was to point out possibilities... the world of conspiracies in works of fiction is just that, the world of possibilities. This was an extreme manifestation of possibilities, but not altogether unrealistic, I think.

I want to profoundly thank everyone that has taken the time and effort to read my story. I sincerely hope you have found it at least a little bit enjoyable... that's why I do it. Don't be surprised if our intrepid adventurers return (there's no shortage of conspiracies these days), either in a sequel, or elsewhere. Who knows, Jack may even use his own name lol!