Here's the latest installment of my current dark scifi project. This is chapter 20. If you're just tuning in, consider starting with chapters 1 and 2. Be advised that this work considers difficult subjects, including suicide. If you're in crisis, please seek help. Help is available here.
The news that the Supreme Court had blocked 321SIM was met with widespread relief. Although the media described the decision as Republicans interfering with necessary public health legislation, almost no one actually saw it that way. The saw it as a win for the people, when in fact it was a win for big business. The conservative court had found that it was unconstitutional for the government to require insurance providers to carry 321 Syndrome insurance products because these products had unknown risk profiles which could potentially expose the insurance industry to unreasonable liabilities.
Despite these details, Tom was glad 321SIM wasn't happening, though his mind was elsewhere today. He was in a meeting, listening to a group of Confessed politicians go on and on about the bipartisan coalition they'd formed, but his mind wasn't entirely in this meeting either. That was okay. He was recording the whole thing, leaving his mind free to daydream about Jo while a Congresswoman from Wisconsin spent ten minutes talking about how the new coalition would honor diversity.
In the middle of this meeting, hosted at a fancy DC hotel, there was a sudden commotion at the doors. Followed by a large crowd that was stopped by security at the door, Hunter Domino burst in, trailed by two confused security persons. "Sorry to interrupt!" he declared, moving a chair near the conference table and sitting down. "Oh wait, no I'm not!"
"I thought you were undergoing treatment," said the Congresswoman from Wisconsin.
"Funny thing," said Domino. "After making a donation to the hospital, they told me I was cured. Turns out, the cure for 321 Syndrome is half a million dollars."
"Who are all these people?" asked the Mayor of Hoboken. "What's this all about?"
"They're my street cred," said Hunter. "Since I don't work for the government anymore, I've decided to work directly for the people. Hence the people. In this capacity, I'd like to join your coalition. The people have some good ideas about what we should be focusing on."
"What are your ideas?" asked Tom, focusing his camera on Domino.
"Oh hey Tom," said Domino. "I'm glad you asked. The people want Universal Basic Income and universal healthcare. Safer streets and legalized drugs. An end to the incarceration industry and the military-industrial complex. Agricultural reform in light of climate change. I've actually got quite a long list of demands, but those are some of the biggest ones."
"Preposterous!" said Otto Hork, the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
Domino chuckled. "Preposterous?" he asked. "You confessed to the world that monetary policy is essentially made up, without evidence supporting its effectiveness, purely to keep the financial industry in control of everything. So I would argue that it's the status quo that's preposterous."
"A fair point," said Hork, recalling his confession. "Still, even one of the measures you've just brought up could bankrupt the country and lead to runaway inflation."
Domino laughed harder. "And how exactly is that different than our present situation?" he asked.
"I'm curious about the mob outside," said the Mayor of Hoboken. "What exactly is their purpose?"
"We've started a tour of DC," said Domino. "This is just the first stop. The plan is to visit the offices of industry lobbyists and say upsetting things to them until we all get arrested."
"Okay then, let's talk," said the Congresswoman from Wisconsin. "How do you propose we pay for Universal Basic Income and healthcare?"
"By modernizing the tax code, cutting programs that would be made redundant by the new policies, and establishing a universal wealth tax in the neighborhood of five percent," said Hunter. "Levying the tax on all entities, including corporate entities, and counting all assets as wealth could easily raise the 8-10 trillion necessary to give everyone in the country a minimally sufficient standard of living."
"Ten trillion, with a T?" asked the Congresswoman.
"Yes," said Hunter. "Every year. Think about it like this. My fortune earns about seven percent a year. Under the plan I'm proposing, my annual profit would only be two percent, which I can live with. The only reason for the wealthy to oppose this figure is sheer greed and hatred of the lower classes. Realistically, all of us could afford five percent without breaking a sweat."
"And runaway inflation doesn't concern you?" asked Hork.
"Inflation is just a code word for corporate price-gouging," said Domino. "But to speak to your point, it's perfectly feasible to have UBI payments calculated automatically, on a monthly basis, based on measured costs of living. So the income would increase in proportion with inflation."
The Mayor of Hoboken made a noise. "Can we circle back to safer streets and legalized drugs?" he asked. "Aren't these objectives somewhat incompatible? Legal cannabis is one thing. It should have been legalized at the national level a long time ago. But all of my experience suggests that hard drugs make our streets less safe for everyone."
"Regulated markets are safer than criminal distribution networks," said Hunter. "Supervised injection sites are safer places to use drugs than alleyways or hotel rooms. And if there was a UBI and more accessible healthcare, poverty would become far less of a factor in people's decision to use in the first place. So no, I don't think safety and legalization are incompatible. I think they go hand in hand."
Tom grinned, wishing Jo had been there to hear that.
"Are you planning to run for office or something?" asked Hork. "Or is coming here with this insane agenda the sum of your ambitions?"
"I'm going to say something now that many of you might find shocking," said Domino. "No one gives a fuck about your politics anymore. The people I've been talking to, and there are lots of them, are so fed up with our bullshit that they're ready to start making changes, big changes, all by themselves."
"I don't follow," said Hork. "What exactly are you saying?"
"I'm saying that this group here, inspired by the Domino Effect, all took a big step by confessing your shit to the world," said Hunter. "And unlike me, most of you still have jobs, jobs that give you a little more power than the average person. I came here first, to you, to invite you to be part of the big changes that need to happen. Big changes in government, industry, society as a whole. But the people I'm in contact with won't just wait around for politicians to do the right thing. They'll change the system no matter what the system has to say about it."
Sensing Domino's sincerity, a chill ran down Tom's spine. The scene had just veered from an interesting spectacle into much more dangerous territory. Was Domino organizing some sort of rebellion? Was he merely a figurehead acting on behalf of more shadowy forces. Tom didn't know, but he resolved to try to get Domino back on his show in the near future to talk about it.
(Feature image from Pixabay.)
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