World War Z_ An Oral History of the Zombie War ( PDFDrive )

BURLINGTON, VERMONT
[Winter has come later this season, as it has every year since the end of the war.
Snow blankets the house and surrounding farmland and frosts the trees that
shade the dirt track by the river. Everything about this scene is peaceful, except
for the man with me. He insists on calling himself “the Whacko,” because
“everyone else calls me that, why shouldn’t you?” His stride is fast and
purposeful, the cane given to him by his doctor (and wife) serves only to stab at
the air.]
To be honest, I wasn’t surprised to be nominated for vice president. Everyone knew a coalition
party was inevitable. I’d been a rising star, at least until I “self-destructed.” That’s what they said
about me, right? All the cowards and hypocrites who’d rather die than see a real man express his
passion. So what if I wasn’t the world’s best politician? I said what I felt, and I wasn’t afraid to say
it loud and clear. That’s one of the main reasons I was the logical choice for copilot. We made a
great team; he was the light, I was the heat. Different parties, different personalities, and, let’s not
kid ourselves, different skin colors as well. I knew I wasn’t the first choice. I know who my party
secretly wanted. But America wasn’t ready to go that far, as stupid, ignorant, and infuriatingly
Neolithic as it sounds. They’d rather have a screaming radical for a VP than another one of “those
people.” So I wasn’t surprised at my nomination. I was surprised at everything else.
You mean the elections?
Elections? Honolulu was still a madhouse; soldiers, congressmen, refugees, all bumping into one
another trying to find something to eat or a place to sleep or just to find out what the hell was
going on. And that was paradise next to the mainland. The Rocky Line was just being established;
everything west of it was a war zone. Why go through all the trouble of elections when you could
have Congress simply vote for extended emergency powers? The attorney general had tried it
when he was mayor of New York, almost got away with it, too. I explained to the president that we
didn’t have the energy or resources to do anything but fight for our very existence.
What did he say?
Well, let’s just say he convinced me otherwise.
Can you elaborate?
I could, but I don’t want to mangle his words. The old neurons aren’t firing like they used to.
Please try.
You’ll fact-check with his library?