Zoey Is Too Drunk for This Dystopia (Zoey Ashe #3)

by Jason Pargin

“Why, it’s Will Blackwater,” said a voice from behind Zoey, “the man who will be responsible if one day my car spontaneously explodes.” Zoey turned to find that Leonidas Damon, visibly made-up for the cameras, had approached with an entourage that included a few young assistants with tablets, all looking stressed out of their minds. Will looked bored to see him. “I’m curious, do you think the introduction of prohibition and black markets increases or decreases the number of people getting blown up in cars?” “I agree there is less crime when everything is legal. Where we disagree is on whether or not the suffering of innocents increases or decreases.” “What we disagree on depends entirely on whether or not our conversation is conducted on-camera. And the only reason you or anyone else think crime is rampant in this city is because the worst of it gets splashed across everyone’s feeds in real time. The media pours snuff films into every eyeball until the citizens grovel at authoritarians’ feet and say, ‘Please, please take away my freedom.’”