The Eden Effect (20 page)

‘I assume Tracey would get in touch when she arrives,' said Natalie. ‘I think she will want to go ahead with the interview. She is bringing a crew and it's a pretty expensive exercise for the station.'

‘I just wish I didn't need to sneak behind Arthur's back. He knows about the interview and says he is okay with it, but I don't feel comfortable speaking to him about it.'

‘He's a big boy, Martin,' Natalie replied. ‘I'm sure he'll cope. He's bound to run into Tracey, anyway.'

‘He's probably at Don's, hoping she'll come in for lunch. That's where they met. He says he's over her, but I bet he's not. She's not someone who would be that easy to get over.'

‘Steady Martin. Remember me? Your wife. Not that sort of information your wife wants to know. Are you trying to make me jealous?'

‘You jealous? You haven't got a jealous bone in your body. You know I love you. And anyway, what would I do with a woman with legs? No, you are the one for me, my dearest.'

‘You know how to charm a girl, Martin,' Natalie said, laughing. ‘I love you too. I'm not jealous. What would a fox like Tracey see in you anyway?'

Martin's mobile rang.

‘Hello Tracey. How are you? Yes, they've been and gone. Lots to tell you. You're half an hour away. Okay. Check in first and come over. Natalie and I are here,' he added.

‘That was Tracey, she will be here in a couple of hours. She wants to check into the motel first.'

‘What about Arthur? He's likely to be back by then.'

‘What would you like me to do, Natalie? Hide Tracey under the table. Arthur said that he's okay with it, and while I don't believe him for a minute, neither do you by the way, if he's here he'll just have to face Tracey and that's that.'

‘I hope you're right, Martin. He's so vulnerable. I don't want to see him hurt.'

Tracey was at the door ninety minutes later and fortunately Arthur had not yet returned home.

‘I'll go make us some coffee,' Natalie said.

‘I could use one, Natalie. It's been a long drive and I had a late night last night. Make it strong, black, no sugar.'

‘Okay,' Natalie could be heard to call from the kitchen.

‘Let's have it Martin. What's the verdict?' Tracey got straight to the point.

Martin spoke for the next 10 minutes. Natalie brought in the coffee, sat down the cups quietly, and tip toed out. Tracey drank her coffee quickly, not taking her eyes off Martin as he spoke. He was doing his best to explain but realised that he was struggling. But Tracey seemed to understand.

‘Let me see if I've got this right,' she said. ‘After twelve months without all the horrible news, people were happier. Much happier. But for some reason the statisticians are not happy. Well, to hell with them. It's the people that count. That's how we're going to spin the story, Martin. This has been a win for the people, well done Martin.'

‘Just a minute Tracey. You're going to spin it? Where is this coming from? No spin. I want this report as straight, factually and honestly. Spin Tracey, really?'

‘As you wish Martin. I'm sorry, no spin, we'll do it your way.'

The taping was scheduled the next morning. Tracey was adamant that it had to be done immediately. The official media release was due that day and she wanted the segment to air the day after that. Martin agreed. He realised that it would mean that Arthur would have to do the delivery round himself. He'd done this before and would cope. And there would be the extra bonus that Arthur would be out of the house and would not have to see Tracey.

The camera was rolling at 8:30am the next morning. Tracey introduced the segment and then turned to Martin and said, ‘Martin, welcome. I understand that the results of the trial are available and a media release is expected. You have seen the results and have permission to let our viewers know. This is another exclusive for Today, Now. Martin, over to you.'

This time Martin showed no signs of nerves. He looked straight at the camera and spoke with confidence.

‘Thank you, Tracey. I'm pleased to say that the trial was positive, strongly so. By every measure taken, the people of Eden were happier, more content and had a better outlook on life at the end of the twelve months. And this appeared to be a direct consequence of not being exposed to, how I should say it, unpleasant news. Unfortunately, however, for reasons that are complex, the results did not achieve statistical significance. So while the people are happier, the scientists are not. That pretty much summarises it.'

‘So, I suppose this is a matter of good news and bad news,' Tracey said.

‘That's one way of putting it,' Martin replied.

‘So, congratulations are in order, Martin. It has been a long haul, a lot of effort and I assume a lot of expense. On another topic, there's a question I would like to ask. Can you confirm that the people of Eden are to be paid for participating in the project, and if so, can you comment as to whether this would have affected the results?'

Martin did not immediately reply. He looked to be taken aback at the question. He was not. Tracey has forewarned Martin that she would be asking that question. It was widely known that people had been promised payment, and Tracey felt that Martin should deal with that up front.

After a short pause Martin began.

‘That is correct, Tracey. We have asked the people of Eden to participate in this trial and it would have no doubt cause some of them some inconvenience. The amount in question is fair compensation for the effort and is not large. If you're implying by your question that people would have responded favourably because of the promise of payment, then let me clear this up immediately. Everyone was to receive payment, but not until after the completion of the project. Payment did not depend on how the surveys were completed, and in any case, the identity of the participants were coded and we have no knowledge of how anyone responded. So, payment would not have influenced the results.'

‘Thank you, Martin. I'm glad you've cleared that up. If anyone wants more information, the full report will be available on our website from tomorrow. For now, back to the studio.'

‘And we are out,' the Director announced.

The interview was aired the next night, and this time it rated well, not just in Eden.

The Eden Effect, as by now everyone was calling it had become widely known. Much discussion followed with varied opinions being expressed by people who had watched the show as to whether the experiment was a success or failure, or perhaps a bit of both.

And the mainstream media took interest too. Contrary to Professor Malcolm's prediction, the media took great interest in the Professor's media release and in Martin's interview. While Martin had insisted on no spin, the media had no such qualms. Editors tried to come up with catchy headlines, all of which contained the words ‘milk' or ‘milkman'. The reports were reasonably factual, but all contained references to Martin's status as a milkman, and all questioned what right such a low member of society had been taking on the noble profession of journalism. Not in so many words, but the meaning was there.

A rival Network aired a special report on news content and its effect on people. The interviewee was a professor of psychology from a university in the United States, few people had heard of. He pontificated for twenty minutes on the importance of news and the even greater importance of the public's right to know. Know everything, the professor stated bluntly. And it was the Media's duty to provide them with that knowledge. That program also rated well and the subject of the Eden Effect had begun to achieve even greater prominence.

There were dozens of letters to the editor published in all three dailies. The spilt was roughly fifty-fifty for and against. There was one editorial in the national daily condemning the whole concept of censorship of the news, as the editorial called it, and also reaffirmed the right of the public to know.

Back in Eden, Martin and Arthur were rather bemused by the furore that had been unleashed. At the same time, excited. The little project in Eden had taken on national prominence and had metastasised to all corners of the globe.

Overall, reporting was far more negative than positive. No surprise as the media had a vested interest in the status quo. What upset Martin most was the blatant misreporting and the spin, which all forms of the media were good at. And if one took the media reporting at face value, one could only conclude that the social experiment, the Eden Effect had been a total failure. Much was made of the fact that the results were not statistically significant and if were meaningless. The positive results from the trial received less and less prominence and finally were not reported at all. Anyone watching, listening or reading about the subject could only conclude that the whole enterprise had been a failure, a waste of money and a waste of everyone's time. End of story.

And yet, despite all the negative reporting and despite the seemingly incontrovertible proof that the Eden Effect had no affect at all, it actually kept growing and spreading, both in Australia and around the world.

In Victoria, several large regional centres had joined. In the mid-west of the United States, half a dozen reasonably sized cities had also done so. And increasingly, individuals in large cities, all over the world were joining in and turning off. Turning off their pay TV news channels, watching less of the free to air TV and buying fewer and fewer mainstream newspapers.

By now, the numbers were getting serious. And the revenue losses across the board could no longer be ignored. The underlings could no longer put a positive spin on these facts to their masters in the media. Revenues were down. Seriously down and still declining. Something had to be done. And how this could have happened, the media barons asked. How could some inconsequential person in an inconsequential town, in of all places far away Australia starts something that had led to this Tsunami that threatened to engulf the media all over the world?

The media proprietors were not happy and let this be known in no uncertain terms to all those who worked for them. In offices perched high up in steel and glass towers instructions were being barked. Do something about this. Fix it.

In one particular office, in one particular city, in one particular country, more concrete steps were being taken. Sitting behind a grand mahogany desk was one of those media proprietors barking orders to man sitting opposite him.

‘Listen to me, Gregory, this has to stop. I don't care how you do it, you have to put a stop to it. Our share price is down twelve percent and the board is getting restless.'

‘I don't know exactly what you expect me to do,' replied the hapless Gregory.

‘I'll tell you what you have to do. This fucking milkman, what is his name?'

‘Martin Brophy,' Gregory replied.

‘Yes, Martin Brophy, that miserable little flea started all this and he is the one who has to stop it. Now, you know how to make someone do things, don't you Gregory?'

‘Yes I do,' was the reply. ‘But this flea, as you call him, won't be so easy. I understand he's worth billions.'

‘It's nothing to do with money, you fool. I know I can't buy him. Why the fucker is worth more than I am. Broaden your thinking, Gregory. How do you get a man to do something he does not want to do?'

Gregory looked blank. He did not reply.

‘Do I have to spell everything out to you? What am I paying you for, Gregory?'

Still no reply.

‘You threaten to take from him that which is most precious to him, you fool. You know how to do that, don't you Gregory?'

Gregory nodded.

‘I understand our milkman has a wife. Somewhat crippled but still a wife, nevertheless. Do you understand what I am saying, Gregory?'

Another nod. ‘Yes sir, I do. Leave it to me.'

‘And another thing Gregory. Once this is over, please make sure that this milkman never troubles me again.'
A pause.
‘You can go now.'