CSI: American Carnage (Wednesday, January 8, 2020)
SOMEWHERE – Little Timmy, pup reporter, and the Professor’s small strike force have entered a main backchannel trunkline running through The Cyber. They hear a distant whooshing, like water spiraling down the drain or smoke being sucked up a chimney, and then all is silent. Timmy says, It’s so quiet in here. And look, dust covers everything. Mohammed, Timmy’s friend, closes the hatch to The Cyber and says, It’s like nobody’s been through here in centuries. Indeed, the backchannel has the feel of an abandoned mine shaft, rotting timbers protrude from the wall. Boris, genial triple agent, says, Thees look like backchannel between Moscow and Kiev. Or pictures they showed us in spy school of Moscow-Beijing backchannel in 60s. Dust everywhere. White sheets thrown over furniture. Yes, says the Professor, this does have a ghostly feel to it. Sarah, Timmy’s friend from the resistance potluck, says, We should not be surprised. The autocrat has abandoned most back channels. He doesn’t want to use them. He just picks up his cell phone and calls his henchmen and gives them orders. He’s got his cronies and family close to him. They have all replaced the backchannel. When you’re looking to make a drop or pick up a package, you don’t use a backchannel. You make a call and send your family. She looks around, a look of distaste on her face, as though she is being served a meal of cold dog, lightly cooked. Timmy says, This is eerie. There’s that whooshing sound again. And it’s true there is a faint sound. And then a pitter-patter, the sound of little slippered feet, trotting along. It grows louder. The Professor says, What is that? At this point a small rabbit comes around a corner bearing a piece of paper, dropping it before Timmy, and then heading on down the tunnel. Timmy picks it up and reads, All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning. Timmy looks up, puzzled. Sarah says, It is a tweet from the autocrat, he somehow believes the backchannel and The Cyber can be used in the same way. As she speaks, the tunnel brightens and warms, as though a spring sun is shining. The ceiling dissolves and a great cloudless blue sky appears. The tunnel extends, unobstructed, far into the distance. My god, the Professor says, it is the rich and inviting future opening up before us! Sarah says, Filled with blue skies. – Wednesday, January 8, 2020