“Drs. Terrace and Batiste are not the only activists to thank for these recent revelations,” the right anchor added. “One Jeffrey Thompson, an old acquaintance of Terrace and a self-proclaimed ‘hacktivist,’ was largely responsible for the arrests made in Washington.”
The scene changed to an evening-time interview program, for which Thompson was the guest. The clip was taken from the middle of the interview, edited for the purposes of showing it on daytime news.
“You see, everyone just accepted that Karl was the culprit without putting any real thought into it—without considering other likely possibilities,” Thompson said. “The lack of creativity and reason on the side of the justice system is just baffling, at least to me. It’s like an outbreak of stupidity fell over the authorities, and there’s no accounting for it. How do that many people get the facts so wrong about Karl? It’s like they were brainwashed.”
The clip skipped ahead.
“You were with Dr. Terrace after his escape from jail?” the program’s host asked.
Thompson nodded, a bit of reluctance upon his face. “It’s true that I sheltered Karl when he was on the run from the law, I admit that. However, I will not admit to full compliance and knowledge of the situation he was in. At least, that’s what my lawyer told me to say.”
The audience exploded into a brief bout of laughter. The sound ceased when the host made a sweeping gesture, and the conversation continued.
After his own bit of phony laughter, the host asked, “So how would you describe your role in the whole Terrace-crisis?”
“Minimal, Frank,” Thompson said. “Very minimal. I’m sure a hotel would have been more involved simply because it would have taken payment from him. No, people in the media seem to be overselling my role in Karl’s actions while simultaneously ignoring my role in the recent Congressional arrests, and frankly, it hurts my feelings.”
The hacktivist delivered the line with a humorous tone, and the audience reciprocated with more laughter.
“Well tell us a bit more about that,” the host replied, steering the conversation like a blind chauffeur. “How did you accumulate the evidence used to bring down some of the country’s top lawmakers?”
“It may surprise you, but almost all of the evidence was taken legally from public records the guilty parties released themselves,” Thompson explained. “They set themselves up for disaster, Frank. They may have honestly gotten away with it if they weren’t such incompetent morons.”
The clip ended with the audience applauding. The scene returned to the newsroom, where the two anchors announced a commercial break.
Once the program returned after a few mindless advertisements, there was a third person in the newsroom. She was a woman in her mid-thirties. Her glasses kept catching the gleam of stage lights whenever she moved her head, which blanked out her eyes each time.
The subtitle below her image read out her title as the anchor on the right introduced her.
“Welcome back,” he said. “We are joined today by Dr. Sarah Guerra, the White House’s expert in human-I.I. relations, who will enlighten us on some of the impacts the Terrace-crisis brought on society. Dr. Guerra, welcome.”
“Thank you so much for having me,” the woman said in rapidly.
The right anchor took the first question. “Dr. Guerra, how has the I.I. community responded to these earthshaking revelations?”
“Well, as you’ve discussed before I came on, the I.I. community is ecstatic about the way things turned out. Many social leaders have called the outcome a ‘harbinger’ of a future filled with civil liberties.”
“And what kind of impact does that have on their relations with bodied humans?”
“A significantly positive one,” Dr. Guerra replied. “We’ve seen it both online and what I.I.s would consider ‘in person,’ and negative communication has dropped by over ten thousand percent.”
“What does this mean for political groups aligned with both extremes of the issue?”
“That’s a great question, which many of my colleague will likely debate for years to come,” Dr. Guerra said. “To be perfectly frank, we’ve seen an increase in the recruitment of both I.I. and human-centric political groups.”
“For the layman?”
“While human-I.I. relations are improving, more people are joining anti-I.I. or anti-human groups than ever before.”
“Why would you say that is?” the anchor asked.
“That’s a big question,” the sociologist said. “My personal research simply points to a natural correlation throughout history; as one school of thought gains popularity, the opposition becomes louder. It’s what precedes a turning point in most societies. As abolitionists became more common, so did Confederates. The natural human reaction to change is opposition, and that’s what we’re seeing here on both sides.”
“Is that anything to worry about, Dr. Guerra?”
The sociologist’s brow furrowed. “No, I wouldn’t say so at all. This is going to be a period of extremes, and it’s important to realize how small a minority it is that holds these extreme views. The best way to prevent the recruitment of extremist groups is to make them ridiculous. It is up to society how much power to give each side of the issue. I feel hopeful for the ultimate outcome.”
“What a wonderful answer, Dr. Guerra, and thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us,” the left anchor said. The camera focused on him. “It’s the top of the hour, which means it time for us to call it a night here in the studio. Before we leave, we want to offer our most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Maynard Batiste. We all wish he had the full-brain backups needed to be revived, but he took deliberate efforts through his life to leave no such trace. And to Dr. Karl Terrace, we wish you a speedy and full recovery. Thank you
