The Last Passenger

by Will Dean

‘Panem et circenses,’ says Frannie. ‘Superficial appeasement of the people. Credited to Juvenal, I believe, a Roman poet born after Christ’s time. It means the powerful remain powerful by way of distraction and cheap satisfaction of the most base and immediate needs of the masses. No need for meaning or civic involvement. Give them cheap bread and entertaining circuses, or in this case, a sadistic show set on an ocean liner, and said masses will remain distracted, quiet, and docile. The powerful stay powerful and the others stay – well, the others.’