Since there were, for whatever reason, no more domestic flights, we had to take the MagLev train to get to Detroit. It was a magnetic levitation train, which, according to the railway company, could reach half the speed of an airplane, but without the waiting time at the airport, much cheaper, more environmentally friendly and energy-saving. It was praised as a decisive advantage over the airplane.
Traveling first class on this train still meant that all passengers sat in a single spacious compartment, but different from second class we had generous space between the seats, so that we could stretch our legs comfortably. I sat next to O’Neil and told him about the bombing yesterday afternoon, in which I had barely escaped with my life. Well, actually I had been far away from the explosion, but I dramatized the story a bit in order to make it more exciting.
»So, Dexter, you should have learned a lesson from this incident,« he commented on my story. »Remember to be more cautious and don’t always wander around in these dangerous, run-down neighborhoods. I still might have some use for you after all.«
»Run-down neighborhood?« I protested. »It was a shopping district. It is usually just the rich and middle-class people wandering around there.«
O’Neil hummed contemptuously. »What you call the rich and middle class...«
»Besides, I was traveling on your behalf, sir. You wanted me to buy a new smartphone. That’s the only reason I put my life on the line. You see, to be at your service, there is no risk that I’m not willing to take.«
»Mr. Dexter,« O’Neil interrupted me. »All you were supposed to do was buying a smartphone. You’re not suggesting that this is a life-and-death mission, are you?«
»Well, but it was dangerous in the end,« I defended myself sheepishly.
»I wonder why I haven’t heard about the attack on the news,« O’Neil was wondering. »Why don’t you turn on the TV?« Angrily I thought by myself, why he couldn’t just do it himself. He was really used to ask me for every little thing.
Screens were embedded in the backrests of the seats in front of us. I turned on the screen in front of O’Neil and looked for a news channel. But all I found were reports about the Indonesia Crisis and the upcoming congressional elections. Neither did I find anything in any of the Internet news pages about yesterday’s bombing of which I had been a witness.
»That’s strange. Nothing,« I wondered.
»Maybe it’s not news-worthy enough,« said Neil O’Neil. »Or maybe it was just a transformer that blew up and you thought it was a bomb.«
»Just how dumb do you actually think I am?« I got upset.
»Well, I prefer not to answer that question.«
»I can still tell a bomb from a transformer explosion. After all, I am a security expert.«
O’Neil got pensive. »What’s unusual is that there’s really nothing at all on the news.«
»Perhaps the news are censored,« I said.
»Dexter, you and your Internet conspiracy theories! And why would the government censor such reports? It is the technocrats who have an interest in suppressing the existence of Neo-Luddite resistance groups. Before the elections, of course, they don’t want the voters to see that there is broad support for the Human Dignity Bill. But the President is a Republican. So why do you think the government would have such reports censored?«
»I don’t know. But obviously, it is being censored. I don’t know by whom. Shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, the press and the media are only in the hands of a few people.
»So you don’t refer to the government, but to a secret conspiracy?« O’Neil asked.
»I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong all together. I have no idea about politics,« I replied. I didn’t care either.
But Neil O’Neil cared. So he went on: »You mean there could be a certain group of technocrats working against the President, trying to influence the elections? Or if that’s not possible, make sure that the outcome of the election is without consequences because the Senate votes against the bill anyway?«
»Do you believe such a secret conspiracy exists?« I asked doubtfully.
»Yes, and two of those conspirators are right now on this MagLev train on their way to Lansing to convince the Republican candidate for the Senate to join their sinister conspiracy,« O’Neil replied.
»What? Really?« I sat straight up and looked around for suspicious characters.
»Dexter, switch your damn brain on,« O’Neil said. »You were there yourself yesterday when we met with those technocrats. We are ones who are on our way to Lansing on their behalf.«
It started to understand. »So we are part of this conspiracy? But then, is it okay if we go along with this?« I asked, confused.
»That’s what I want to talk about with McCain today.«
I understood. Lost in my thoughts, I looked outside, where the landscape rushed past the window. The MagLev train raced frictionless on the magnetic cushion over the rails, which rose thirty feet above the surrounding area. Next to me, O’Neil was looking for a news channel that would broadcast something about the upcoming elections. Finally he found something.
A virtual journalist just interviewed a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives. »What do you say to critics who claim that shutting down all modern computer systems would compromise our military ability to defend ourselves? Do you think the military and police should be excluded from such a measure?«
The politician, whose face could be seen on a virtual monitor in the virtual studio, replied to the virtual journalist: »If the military were to be exempted from this, the supply industry would also have to be exempted, and then their suppliers. Where would we draw the line? Our technology today is so interconnected that you can’t just take out one sector and let it operate independently from the rest of the economy. If we want a solution, it must be a consistent solution for the whole economy. And I ask you, what kind of military threat are we talking about? Either way, we would be a match for the conventional forces of the excessively militarized USEAN states or the Union State. And this is not necessary either, because these states are our partners in trade and security matters. And even in any hypothetical conflict situation, we can still rely on our nuclear deterrent potential, which is not affected by the proposed legislation. This criticism by the Democrats is totally unwarranted.«
It was somehow ironic that he said this to a virtual journalist whose shutdown he had just demanded by his remarks. Maybe he didn’t seem to be aware of it at all. Nowadays people forget too easily where the real world ends and the virtual world begins. This only showed how hopeless this suggested law was. Technology was simply omnipresent. Without it, this politician would not even be in this TV show.
In any case, the computer-generated journalist did not show that he was aware that these Republican demands affected him personally and continued the interview completely neutrally. »And what about so-called rogue states, say in South America or Africa? Wouldn’t American interests be compromised, if we could no longer rely on the strength of our military in certain crisis areas?«
»What rogue states are we talking about? The South American states are members of UNASUR, just as the African states are members of the African Union. Such a conflict would be prevented by regional forces. And I am not advocating disarmament here. What made America great were not some highly developed computer systems, but American men and women in uniform. And we should be proud of that. No state in the world will dare to attack American soil, with or without computerized weapons, because it is the American people who will stand together as one man in the face of an external threat. And that is why I am proud to be an American. I am proud of the American men and women, not American robots.«
Neil O’Neil shook his head. »Completely wrong, the way he argues! In other words, he’s saying that we don’t need our military. That could have been said so by a liberal. He cannot talk like that to our conservative electorate. He should have given constructive examples of how we can continue to guarantee our military
strength.« He changed the channel.
The train raced on while I thought of Natasha’s angelic face and wondered if it was a good idea to find out which apartment she lived in and pay her a surprise visit outside of work. Maybe she would find it intrusive and I would achieve exactly the opposite of what I wanted. Maybe I should ask her colleague Evelyne. Or I should try to get Natasha completely out of my mind and ask this black girl Evelyne for a date instead. She wasn’t bad looking either. Evelyne...?
Chapter 3
New Detroit, 2111
Evelyne...? Strange that I thought of her just now. The fourteen-year-old schoolgirl, who had just slapped her tablemate, freckled Michael, in the face because he had groped her under her skirt, was also called Evelyne. And she was also a black girl. A strange coincidence. Somehow her face reminded me of that Evelyne I had known sixty years ago. The resemblance was unmistakable, if my memory did not deceive me after so many years. She looked almost like a younger version of this exotic dancer I had once known, slim, the same facial features... Was she some distant descendant of that Evelyne, perhaps her granddaughter? But that would have been a more than unlikely coincidence.
A scuffle had broken out between her and Michel. »Hey, leave me alone! I can hit harder,« Michael warned the girl.
I slammed my walking cane on the desk. »Silence back there! Or do I have to step in myself? I assure you that would be rather unpleasant for either of you,« I shouted at them. They let go of each other.
»He tried to pull down my panties«, Evelyne accused her table mate.
»I did not!«
»You did.«
»I did not. You’re not wearing any.« The class laughed at the remark.
»That’s interesting, Michael,« I intervened. »And how would you know that, if you haven’t reached under her skirt?« Again the class laughed.
Michael’s freckled face grinned in shame. »It’s her own fault. She dresses like a slut. My mom said she should have these rags ripped off her so she learns to dress decently.«
I limped threateningly towards the table of the two quarrelling students with my cane in my hand. »Really? Did your mom say that? I think I’m gonna have a serious talk with your mother.« I stopped in front of little Michael. Then I grabbed him by his left ear and pulled him to his feet. He cried out loud. »But first I’m gonna have a serious talk with you.« I dragged him by his ear in front of the class. He was still whining in pain. I pushed him to the door with little consideration. »Get out! Cool down your head for five minutes! Then you can come back in.«
Rubbing his ear, he went outside. Before he closed the door behind him, he said, »I’m gonna tell my mother.«
»I’m gonna tell your mother myself,« I replied. »Because I want to see her here tomorrow afternoon. And then we will talk about your behavior here in class. I will also put a reprimand in the class register.«
While the other students had laughed amused, they now fell silent. They could see I was in a bad mood. It was the second entry in the class register for Michael this month. And after three strikes, he would be expelled from school. For him it became a serious matter.
I finished the entry in the class register, then I turned back to the class: »Who wears panties under her skirt and who doesn’t is nobody’s business. I will not allow anyone here to tell others how to dress and how not to dress. You will learn tolerance and some civilized behavior here, or I will beat it into you. Is that clear?«
The class remained silent.
»I said, is that clear?« I yelled louder.
»Yes, Mr. Magister,« the class replied intimidated in unison.
»Good. Let’s get back to the subject at hand. Where did we stop the last lesson?«
»At the prophecy of Samuel Butler,« replied long Ned.
I shook my head. »That was in history class. We have math on the board now. Go back to sleep, Ned!«
His tablemate Jacob answered my question: »Um... we took the exam...«
»Quite right,« I confirmed. »And because this test was such a disaster for most of you, we’re going to repeat it. So what was the subject?«
The class moaned disappointed. Jacob, who was still standing, answered: »Quadratic equations.«
»Very right. Jacob, write down the first binomial formula on the board, Ned, you write the second.«
Unmotivated, Jacob and Ned went forth to the blackboard. Blonde Janet answered, »Mr. Magister, but you promised we’d continue history class because of the sixtieth anniversary of the Crusade against the Machines tomorrow.«
»I didn’t promise anything,« I disagreed. »You will hear enough stuff about the Crusade tomorrow until it spurts out of your ears again. Our headmaster has decided that there will be an event for all students in the village square tomorrow. Participation is mandatory.«
Expressions of displeasure came from the class. José, a boy whose parents were from Puerto Rico, said, »Why is that? We had the day off last year.«
»Send your complaints to the headmaster. It wasn’t my idea,« I excused myself from any responsibility.
Janet didn’t let up: »But then we should still learn history now, so we’ll be better prepared tomorrow.«
»Mathematics is on the schedule. And that’s why we have math now. Period. Topic closed«, I explained using my authority.
»That’s not fair,« protested Janet. »This is pure dictatorship. Why don’t we vote on whether we have history or mathematics? Who’s for history?« she asked, raising her own hand in the air. Most other students followed her example. »History, history!« they shouted.
»You’re a little wannabe politician, aren’t you?« I said to Janet. »Well, there’s no democracy in this classroom. Democracy was in the past. In this class, I’m the one who is in charge. And I decide that we have mathematics now.« How’s that first binomial formula coming along up there, Jacob, Ned?«
Janet still wouldn’t give up. »Mr. Magister, if there was democracy before, why didn’t people just vote to shut down the machines? Why did they need the Crusade?«
That wasn’t such a stupid question from the girl. Memories of that time came back to me. »Well, they actually voted to shut down the machines...«
Lansing, Michigan, 2050
»This was a clear popular vote for the Human Dignity Bill and for the shutdown of all androids and robots,« Edward G. Shawn, chairman of the Republican Party in Ingham County told Neil O’Neil when we all entered the Lexington Hotel together. It was well after midnight and we had just returned from the GOP party headquarters, from where we had followed the election results and celebrated the Republican victory. That is, O’Neil and his party colleagues were celebrating. I didn’t really care about this political stuff. Shawn had been kind enough to drive us to our hotel in his car. It was already too late to return to D. C. that night. So O’Neil had a hotel room booked in Lansing, the capital of Michigan. O’Neil was the senior senator of Michigan. So he was expected to be there on an important day like this. And of course I, his bodyguard, was expected to accompany him. I was glad that the elections were finally over. Now these stupid trips to Michigan would finally come to an end.
When entering the hotel we had to shake off some journalists. Even a flying robotic camera drone of some TV station had surprisingly pounced on us from the sky. It had looked like a small model helicopter. I hadn’t hesitated for long and had taken it out with my EMP gun. The flying thing had then staggered around and crashed somewhere on the hotel forecourt. That had gone too far. It could just as easily have been an attempted assassination on the senator. Who gave me the assurance that there had been no explosive device in that small helicopter? My job was to eliminate potential threats to O’Neill’s life. If the TV station that owned the drone were to sue us, I doubted they would get far with it. The senator’s safety was paramount.
Here in the lobby of the hotel we finally had our peace from the press. The local GOP chairman was still quite euphoric about the election results. We had waited until the last re
sults were confirmed from the West Coast, where the polling stations had closed later. Then it was confirmed. Not only had O’Neil’s party colleague McCain won in Michigan, but also had the Republicans won the majority in the Senate. Fifty-three seats for the Republicans, forty-six for the Democrats, and one independent senator had won in California. That the Republicans would also win the majority in the House of Representatives had been expected before the election and had no longer surprised anyone. The Republicans thus dominated both houses of Congress. And the U. S. President was also Republican. This would enable them to push through any law they wanted, including the Human Dignity Bill.
»From now on, there will be a new beginning for America,« Shawn declared enthusiastically. »The people of this country will have their dignity back. We will no longer be enslaved by machines.« He looked somewhat irritated at the computer-generated avatar of the hotel receptionist, who looked at us friendly from the screen behind the reception desk. He decided to steer the conversation in a slightly different direction, which wasn’t quite as offensive to the avatar present. »All the depravity of modern consumer society will end. This election victory gives us the opportunity for a moral renewal of the United States.«
O’Neil nodded in agreement. »Yes, it was an important victory today. I never thought we’d win Oregon until the end.«
»Even without Oregon, nothing would have changed,« Shawn said. »But it’s been a stressful time these last few days. I think I’m getting too old for this campaign stuff. Thank God that’s all behind us now. We can finally relax for the next few days. I don’t think I’ve been able to sleep properly for the last three days. So I won’t keep you any longer. Would you stop by my office tomorrow morning before you leave?«
»No, I think I’ll go straight back to Washington. There’s a lot to do there now,« O’Neil replied.
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