For decades Markus was a marketer for [BRAND] Cigarettes, telling himself lie after lie to justify his job. That was until his brother contracted lung cancer. Now Markus is desperate to use his riches to make amends for his ill deeds. But is there really anything he can do to make up for all the bodies he’s helped to poison? -- Deathshead419
[AN: Had to alter this prompt a little because there is an actual brand name involved. I can not afford lawsuits]
They had known for generations that their product caused harm. It also caused relief from various aspects of life... which included the craving for their product. All the better to make that which made the world go around. The battle plan of Luxuriance Cigarettes was long, complicated, and as drawn out as they could get away with. Using every possible lever they could to keep their product on the market.
Markus Luxuriance knew them all. As head of the company and especially the marketing department, he was literally invested in all of the tactics.
Deny... Promote how the natives who regularly used tobacco never once had any kind of cancer. Talk frequently about the health benefits and the time or art involved in making their top-market cigars.
The cigarettes could not take that long and still wring a profit, but the corporation could not tell the public that. Heavens no. They simply told the story of the expensive stuff and let people assume the rest. Meanwhile, the cheaper, more available cigarettes were aged with chemical processes that mimicked the original time-heavy one. Never mind that half the chemicals were violently toxic and the rest were carcinogenic. They were just harmless catalysts endlessly recycled in the factories. With more chemicals to enhance the speed at which they could pump out their most popular product.
All for the greater good, of course. And the definition of "greater good" meant Luxuriance's share price.
Derail... Sponsor good works all over the place. Fund scholarships. Run sporting events. Build crisp, clean parklands with beautiful playgrounds for the children. How could anyone doing such good be so bad? Just look at how much money they gave back to the people.
Sponsor weighted science that puts the rest of science surrounding the product up to doubt. Bombard the circulars with them. Put out brands with 'slim' or 'light' in the title. And put images of people smoking everywhere possible. It's all about market appeal, after all.
Delay... When it came to court cases, the corporation had one main advantage. It was immortal and rich. The victims were poor and mortal.
They could string along court cases until there was nobody alive to complain. Or until the money to fund the case ran dry in favour of keeping the victims alive for one more day.
And Luxuriance had the money to keep the news of such things out of the public eye. Apart from the news that the charges were dismissed. They were happy to brag about that.
Markus was on top of the world. Wealth. Power. Prestige. The prettiest trophy wife and the most talented heirs to the fortunes of Luxuriance. And then he got the call from his brother.
His deadbeat brother David, who was content to live off his trust fund and bum around the mansions of the rich and famous. Who never cared about the business or the legacy.
"The tests are back. It's lung cancer. I don't get it, your cigarettes are s'posed'a be safe."
"That's what the science says," said Markus, towing the company line on instinct. "It must be some other factors."
"Yeah, but... I can't afford the treatments. Not off the fund. I should'a got a career like dad said, I know. Nobody wanted me, and now nobody could. I know you never liked my lifestyle, but... we're bros. Blood's thicker than water, right? Gotta stick by family."
And it would be a very bad look for a fellow heir of the Luxuriance fortune to die of lung cancer in what passed for public medical care. "I'll see what I can swing for you."
It might cost him his Christmas Yacht, but he could spin this. A benevolent action for family. No, they didn't know the cause. Put David on Luxuriance brand nicotine patches so that he didn't light up for the paparazzi.
All for the greater good.
All for Luxuriance's share price.
He bought a new hospital wing. Paid for medical experts and funded graduate programs for medical students. An oncology lab. The best science that money could buy. He used money to tip the scales in his brother's favour for getting a transplant.
Only minor pundits caught on to what he was doing, but the rest of it paid to spin things in much brighter lights.
Whispers. Below interest.
Until a court case that dug all of that up and compared David's case with the latest victim. Identical diagnosis. Identical issues. Vastly disparate treatment. The chief question under the flashing lights of the press was:
Why did David deserve so much when Dierdre got so little?
Fuck.
There was no way he could spin this.
[Photo by Mathew MacQuarrie on Unsplash]
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