Phil Williams - 2050 - Psycho Island

“Do you think it’s in the best interests of the American people?”

Naomi snickered. “It’s in the best interests of the member banks.”

“That may be, but it’s also in the best interests of the American people.”

“What if I tell you that I’ll support the Federal Reserve system, and your family helps me win the election, then, when I’m elected, I do the exact opposite of what I promised? What then?”

“We can be very powerful allies, but we can also be very powerful enemies.”

Naomi glared at Jacob. “What does that mean?”

Jacob smiled back. “What do you think it means?”

Naomi stood from her seat. She was short in her flats. “I won’t be bought. I’d rather lose with my integrity intact.” She left the office, leaving the door open in her wake.

Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose, lifting his glasses. “Shit.” He stood from his desk, walked to his open door, and shut it. He dreaded the call to his father but preferred to rip off the metaphorical Band-Aid. Jacob removed his cell phone from his pocket and tapped the Nathan Roth icon. He paced in his office as the phone rang.

“How did it go?” Nathan asked.

“She’s a problem,” Jacob replied.

“What kind of problem exactly?”

“I think she wants the federal government to control credit and money creation. I doubt she’d have the votes for abolishment, but she might bring unwanted awareness.”

Nathan exhaled heavy. “I should’ve sent Eric.”

Summer touched her flat stomach, thinking of the child growing inside her. It had been two weeks since she found out, but she still hadn’t told Connor. She woke from her daydream to Connor making an impassioned point.

“We’ve had world peace since 2040,” Connor said.

“Yeah, because the bankers own every country now,” Javier said. “Venezuela went down in 2039, and North Korea just let ’em in after fat-ass Kim Jung Un died in ’37.”

“And those people aren’t starving anymore.”

“Seriously, Connor? Are you really arguing in favor of central banking?”

“I’m just looking at the facts.”

The Resistance was in session. Javier sat on the couch, across the coffee table from Connor and Summer. Mark hadn’t arrived yet.

Javier shook his head. “The bankers control money and credit. They own the world and everyone in it. If you don’t comply, they use the government to fuck you up. Plain and simple.”

Connor rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I’m not denying that it’s a corrupt system. I’m just suggesting that maybe it’s the best we could do at the time, and maybe now it’s run its course.”

“Nah, fuck that. They planned all this shit. You ever heard of gradualism?”

“No.”

“Like doing something slowly over time?” Summer asked.

“Exactly. Gradualism was their plan. That’s what they called it,” Javier said. “They created the Federal Reserve in 1913. The League of Nations in 1919. The IMF and the World Bank in 1944. The United Nations in 1945. The World Health Organization in 1948. The EU in 1993. The World Trade Organization in 1995. The euro currency in 1999. The African Union in 2002. The Union of South American Nations in 2008. Government cryptos in 2022. Then the Crypto Exchange System in 2038. Now we have a one-world-currency controlled by the central bankers, and we don’t have any wars anymore because they can control governments with credit. If a country gets out of line, they can collapse their economy with the tap of a screen.”

Connor shook his head. “I don’t buy the New World Order nonsense. Just because things happened over time doesn’t mean it’s a conspiracy. They were reacting to disruptions in the economy.”

“Dude. Come on,” Javier said. “Tell me that you’re not falling for their Hegelian dialectic bullshit.”

Connor’s phone buzzed. He tapped the screen. “Mark’s here.”

“What’s a Hegelian dialectic?” Summer asked.

“Problem, reaction, solution. For example, the crash of 2020 was the problem. The reaction was, people freaked the fuck out and begged the government for a solution. The Federal Reserve, in concert with the government, already had a solution. They banned cryptocurrencies, precious metals, and cash, so we couldn’t escape with our wealth from one paradigm to the next. Then they introduced government cryptos, and everyone readily accepted their solution.”

“People accepted it because they were afraid,” Summer said.

“Exactly. Another good example is the crash of 2038, with the Saudi revolution and the oil shortages, which were worse than the oil shortages during the Greater Depression of the 2020s.”

“I remember the crash of 2038,” Connor said, nodding. “They rationed food. They rationed gas. They closed the banks. Then we had rolling blackouts because people compensated by using electric vehicles.”

“After the crash of 2038, we had Bretton Woods III and the Crypto Exchange System, which is basically the one-world-currency we have today. People were so freaked out by what happened that everyone accepted their bullshit money without a fight.” Javier grabbed his beer from the coffee table and took a large gulp.

“It could always be worse,” Connor said. “At least Fed Coins are relatively stable.”

A banging came at the door.

Connor stood from his chair and walked toward the door.

More banging continued.

“Hold on. I’m coming,” Connor called out. He opened the door.

Mark Benson stood, breathless, his face beet red.

“Hey, Mark.” Connor stepped aside.

Mark entered the apartment, shutting the door behind him, then looking through the peephole.

“What are you doing?”

“Seeing if anyone followed me,” Mark replied.

Javier wagged his head. “Nobody’s following you.”

Mark stepped back from the peephole. He was a pale, heavyset man, so his red face wasn’t abnormal, but he looked genuinely afraid. “I think it’s safe.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Javier called out from the couch.

Connor sat in his chair next to Summer. Mark plopped down next to Javier, the couch cushion compressing under his weight.

“I need your cell phones,” Mark said.

“What?” Javier replied.

Mark took a deep breath. “I have life-and-death news. We need to put our phones in the fridge. Also, any tablets or anything that’s connected to the internet. This can’t leave this apartment.”

“Our fridge is connected to the internet,” Connor said. “And what about the TV? You can’t fit that in the fridge.”

“Then just put what you can in there.”

Connor and Summer placed their cell phones on the coffee table.

“Why the fridge?” Summer asked.

“In case the NSA is listening.” Mark looked at Javier. “Your phone.”

Javier sighed and set his phone on the coffee table. “Nobody’s listening.”

Connor scooped up the phones and took them to the fridge. Then he went to the bedroom, grabbed two tablets, and put those in the fridge too. Connor returned to his seat in the living room and said to Mark, “Well?”

With all eyes on Mark, he said, “My sister, Zoe, recorded a meeting with Jacob Roth and Naomi Sutton, and I have the video.”

“For real?” Javier asked.

Mark nodded gravely. “It proves what I’ve been saying all along. How the central bankers buy and sell politicians to maintain their control of the money.”

“I’ve been saying that too.” Javier crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s see the video.”

“I put it in a safe place. If I got caught with it, I could be arrested for treason. I don’t know what to do with it yet.”