A Global Collusion : The Cover Up

A Global Collusion : THE COVER UP
*loosely created fiction inspired by a true story
Author: Tony Riga

Chapter 1

THE HEADLINES for Monday, March 01st read:

AFC Meets World Leaders Over Fountain Of Youth
-The New York Times

Anthony sat back on the sofa in his penthouse apartment as he sipped his morning coffee, and read about Advanced Foods Corporation (AFC), they were poised to become the global leader in the food industry, and a power broker for their latest product invention. He grinned as he peered over the article that talked about projections of the company’s stock, which he held as part of his compensation package. Early retirement and winters on the Italian Mediterranean. He made some rough calculations of his stock worth in his mind.

The Fountain of Youth project was the largest collaboration between the corporate world and government than ever seen before, and he wondered if it would go as planned. The rewards for success were great, but so would be the fallout from falling short on AFC’s promises, slowing the aging process and creating super-like traits in people. This all came at a fantastic cost. Talks held to-date between AFC’s International Group and dozens of foreign governments had stalled, more than once, for the cost of the project. As beneficial as the product would be for mankind, the cost of it was prohibitively expensive to be considered for regular consumption by all people. For this reason governments were interested in providing the product to select groups in their respective countries, where the powerful effects of the food would be used to create elite groups of people.
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Chapter 2

SMYTHE STEPPED into his office one morning and picked up the newspaper to read the latest news on the project.
The news story read:

Fountain Of Youth Suspect
A leak in the government partners has revealed that there are doubts about the staggering projected costs of the Fountain of Youth project, and that the secretive effects of the product are uncertain. The unidentified source says that the cost of the project is to be as high as two trillion dollars, and that the product’s biological effects are questionable. The source of the leak is still unidentified and says they’ve been privy to undisclosed information about the Fountain of Youth, which is being verified by the International Consortium, in its review of the project with the conglomerate, AFC. It’s anticipated that the United Nations General Assembly will call another session to further discuss the Fountain of Youth project with the government partners.
-The Financial Times

He put down the paper and sat back in his chair, a calm and collected type who didn’t often get upset unless it was staged for anyone watching. We’re following all of AFC’s procedures and the figures all add up. No valid reason was evident for anyone to question the cost of the project, but the hype was getting to be a concern for public opinion it was creating. He considered that the International Group would have to share some information with the media, to quell any suspicions and get back to a positive outlook for the Fountain of Youth.
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