Here's the latest installment of my current dark scifi project. This is chapter 4. 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.
Tom's early publication of the Cabinet Messages brought over a million new readers to the Hope Gazette. Acknowledging this, Jimmy gave Tom a raise and the freedom to publish anything he thought was newsworthy. After careful consideration, Tom decided to try using his increased reach to elevate conversations that the mainstream press was ignoring. This is how he found himself on a livestreamed video call with Governor Rex Bloomberg of Connecticut and a harm reduction specialist named Jo Lazarus from DC, whom he'd met through Martin Dodd, the source of the original Message images.
Bloomberg had just signed off on a new law called the 'Medical Surveillance and Care Act' and Lazarus was strongly opposed to this. "Can we cut through the political speak and talk about what you're really doing?" she asked.
"If 321 taught me anything, it's that the time for BS is over," said Bloomberg amicably. "What MSCA does is save lives, full stop."
Tom frowned and looked at his notes. "It saves lives by giving a billion dollars to the incarceration industry to lock people up for voicing problems with the status quo?" he asked.
"Discontent has been identified as an early symptom of 321 Syndrome," said Bloomberg. "So I can understand how you might see it that way."
"One hundred percent of my clients in my outreach work have a problem with the system," said Lazarus. "And every one of them has cause to be angry. Anger is a correct response to a boundary violation, and the system is designed to violate boundaries, especially in marginalized communities. So you're telling me Connecticut's solution is to incarcerate those that speak up about it? Sure, you say in medical facilities, not prisons and jails, but it's still CoreCivic that'll be providing inmate services. Sorry, patient services. Do I have that right?"
"We work with the tools we have, not the tools we want," said Bloomberg. "And our hands were really tied on this one. Everyone's top priority is preventing 321 Syndrome from becoming an epidemic. We're all in agreement about that. MSCA is actually ground-breaking in terms of inter-agency cooperation. From first responders to logistics contractors, we're all working together for the greater good on this."
Unable to help himself, Tom laughed. "Sorry," he said. "Jo, maybe you could share a little about what a harm reduction approach to 321 syndrome might look like, and how that might be different from what the Governor is talking about."
"Sure," said Lazarus. "For starters, any violation of an individual's sovereignty is harm. So it sounds like you're harming people under the pretense of preventing them from harming themselves, which doesn't make any sense. But it's worse than that, isn't it, because this harm you're doing is a direct response to people voicing their beliefs about our broken systems. You're basically punishing the abused for speaking up about the abuse, which is as wrong as it gets."
Bloomberg made a fart noise and rolled his eyes. "You think you could do better?" he asked. "Okay then, if you were me, how exactly would you respond to the threat of 321 Syndrome?"
"Setting aside the fact that there is no syndrome, and that calling it a threat is problematic, my top priority would be to reduce harm, not cause more of it," said Lazarus. "You're planning to police free speech and force medical treatment on people. Free speech is a human right and forced medical treatment is a crime against humanity. So don't do those things, because they're harmful. And don't give any money to CoreCivic, because their whole business model is harming people for profit. To address the 321 problem, the still-theoretical increased risk of suicide, we're having conversations about assessment and appropriate risk reduction measures."
"But that's exactly what MSCA does," said Bloomberg.
"When I say assessment, I mean asking people about themselves, not monitoring their communications to detect threats," said Jo. "Think someone in every neighborhood, checking in on everyone to see how they're doing. Maybe still monitor online activity for emergency situations, but center the people, not the technology."
"Governor, didn't you say in an interview that you wanted the MSCA to have more of a human touch?" asked Tom.
"That's way out of context, but basically," said Bloomberg. "And you're right, I believe people work best face to face."
"As for appropriate risk reduction," said Lazarus. "If someone is threatening to harm or actually harming themselves, connecting them with mental health resources seems appropriate. But for people merely suspected of intending to harm themselves? Ask them what would help them keep choosing life, and then try to give that to them. Some people need a job. Some people need a pet. Some have more complicated needs. What if we tried to meet those needs?"
"That all sounds good in theory," said Bloomberg. "But what happens when 321 Syndrome puts a corpse on the lawn of my Governor's mansion?"
"Have you done something that would make someone feel strongly enough to do that?" asked Tom.
"Unbalanced thinking is a symptom of 321 Syndrome," said Bloomberg. "I could be a saint and still get 321'd."
"I feel like we're getting off track," said Lazarus.
"Listen, my bottom line is that we have to stop 321 Syndrome from spreading," said Bloomberg. "And the way to do that is to isolate carriers, to protect the general population."
"And I'm saying that a better way would be to help the people at risk of self harm," said Lazarus. "Don't take away their rights. Give them better opportunities. Make it easier for them to choose life."
"How exactly do you see that working?" asked Bloomberg.
"On the community level, with an outreach program," said Lazarus. "Say your freaky surveillance flags someone. Just give them a call and ask how they're doing. Maybe connect them with resources that could improve their quality of life. Don't send cops or anyone in a uniform. Don't treat them like criminals or punish them for feeling like this shitty world is shitty. In other words, don't harm them. Help them instead."
"Hmm," said Bloomberg. "I guess I have a hard time seeing how a program like that could work without too many people taking advantage of it. Here's what I mean. Say we start providing employment opportunities to suspected cases of 321 Syndrome. When word gets out about that, think of all of the people who might pretend to have the Syndrome because it looks like a golden ticket to a job. Wouldn't that undermine the whole effort?"
"Uhh, the net result of that would be more people gainfully employed," said Lazarus. "This seems like a good outcome. But let's take it further. Let's say you start making cash payments to individuals to prevent their situations from spiraling into crises. Even if a million people took advantage of that program, would that be so bad? I think it'd be better than putting dissidents in internment camps and then claiming it was for their own good."
"Well, the law is already passed," said Bloomberg. "I couldn't change it even if I wanted to at this point, so this whole conversation is probably moot. But I'll admit, your perspective may have some merit."
"Thanks," said Lazarus. "But I feel like you're still stuck in a mindset of trying to isolate a problem that's already endemic. Don't isolate. Integrate. You want people to choose life? Enrich life. Make it better. See what I mean?"
"Listen," said Bloomberg. "Here's a crazy idea. Would you and your people be willing to come up here and talk to the committee? If I do a press conference about bringing you in, they'll have to listen to you. We're all just doing our best with this 321 thing, and I'm not above changing my mind in the face of changing information. Strange as it may sound, before this conversation, it never even occurred to me that our response to 321 might be causing unnecessary harm."
(Feature image from Pixabay.)
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