The Financiers

A future where everything is privatized.

“Our boys were sent off to die with beautiful ideals painted in front of them. No one told them that dollars and cents were the real reason they were marching off to kill and die.” �" Major General Smedley Butler

Carrier 183 was at terminal 25, hovering just a few inches off the ground as the passengers boarded the smooth, oval aircraft. The terminal was filled with mercenaries, armed with rifles and stun guns. Their dogs keeping close watch over the civilians. A man in a long trench coat walked past the dogs. He noticed the collar by Sigma 5. The dogs were biologically engineered beasts, the size of small cars, their oversized teeth viciously protruding from their mouths, snarling and salivating as they followed the stranger with their slit like eyes. They were Sigma 5’s genetically engineered monsters, sold for mercenary service.

Carrier 183: Brussels, Paris, New York City now leaving at Terminal 25. Final call for passengers traveling on Carrier 183.

The man ran across the terminal, the glass dome above began to open. Bright lights beamed down in his eyes. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him and he just made it, climbing aboard and swiping his ticket, as the aircraft’s door lifted and closed.

He walked through the carrier, people looked at him. They usually caught glimpses of his prosthetic arm, then they quickly turned away and pretended that they did not notice anything. He was used it, in fact he even grew to like the attention. There was something he liked about their reaction. The prosthetic arm was a part of him for over 30 years now. The reaction on people’s faces was refreshing, the way they would notice that something about him was out of place, out of the norm. It made him feel good. It was like a wake-up call that sounded an alarm. Rows of seats stretched ahead, computer screens blinked, flashing colorful lights in the dimly lit carrier. He finally found his seat, next to a window, he looked out of it. The carrier was already flying above the terminal and he could see the glass dome below, closing.

“Hi, Garret, what’s your name?” He heard a voice in his ear. It was an assertive, confident voice. A man in a suit appeared beside him, the man extended his hand

“Ryan” He replied calmly and shook Garret’s hand.

Garret was about middle aged, he was clean shaven and his hair was combed back. The air was tinged with excessive cologne and he picked up the smell as soon as Garret sat beside him.

“Where are you getting off?” Garret asked him

“New York.” Ryan answered

“New York, I’d love to visit New York, I never had the chance unfortunately. I had a client who moved to New York, he works for Doodle now.” Garret pulled out a business card from his front pocket and gave it to Ryan. “Call me if you need me. I’m a recruiter.”

“You recruit for Doodle?” Ryan asked.

“Of course. People say the revolution happened when the old administration was overthrown. I say it happened when Doodle got big.”

“Well as a veteran I’d like to think that I had a part to play.”

He turned and looked at Ryan. “Oh….you are a veteran? I’m very sorry sir I really meant no offense. Is that how you lost your arm?”

“It’s fine. Yeah, it’s how I lost my arm and many other things.” Ryan smiled to himself. “More people are familiar with Doodle these days than history books.”

Garret laughed. “Well, sir, I really respect what you’ve done for us and I was speaking figuratively. However I also have great respect for Doodle.”

“So why do you respect Doodle, have they done something for you?” Ryan asked him, while looking out the window. The bright lights of Chicago were now covered by a blanket of pale, nightly clouds.

“They embody everything that’s great about America. Doodle is at the forefront of technology and innovation. The revolution came about exactly for that purpose, the old government was overthrown so people can be free to prosper and the best among us could compete and be rewarded.”

Ryan turned his attention back to the man. “That’s what our financiers told us as well.”

“Who financed your services, during the war?”

“Epitome.”

“Great company, still going strong after all these years and true American heroes. Thank God for the financiers, they saved this world. I remember how it was before the revolution.”

After a moment of silence Ryan spoke. “There were always financiers, even before the revolution. They financed elections, candidates, they financed various policies and they formed partnerships with the old government. When the government grew beyond their control and became a threat for their business, that’s when Epitome and other companies decided to finance a revolution.”

Garret continued, almost oblivious to what Ryan said. “I was young when the old government enforced their regime. But I remember how it was, it was like 1984. They knew everything, they controlled everything, they completely invaded our privacy. They monitored everything that we did and they just had piles of records on all of us. Schools and institutions would just condition you endlessly until you would accept their propaganda. Bureaucrats and officials would listen to our phone conversations and track everything that we said and that was just horrible. I get goose bumps thinking about it.”

“What do you think of Doodle’s data mining algorithms?” Ryan asked him.

“Oh I think it’s brilliant. I think that’s what is pushing Doodle forward, that is why they are able to respond to consumers so efficiently. They practically run the internet because they are so efficient at mining personal data. The brilliance behind it all is that they took advantage of the fact that everything, all your personal information is up on the internet these days. It’s the only way to stay competitive, your employer wants to know who you are, what your background is and what you do in your spare time and the best way to monitor these things is online. When I recruit people, I don’t even waste time with people who don’t have several online profiles. It’s a necessity, your employer wants to know who you are in your personal life, who your friends are, who you associate with. Now what Doodle’s latest algorithm does is it takes advantage of this information through data mining of course. But it also mines other kinds of information.” Garret recited everything as if he were a walking and talking catalog for Doodle.

“What kind of information are you talking about?” Ryan asked him.

Garret continued, “Alright I’ll get to that. Your employer can only track what you do online to a limited extent. But Doodle can track you everywhere, they can track every single website that you visit and they can sell this information to your employer. They also have a partnership with several social networking sites where they can also mine personal data with the profile algorithm. Based on your comments, what you say in forums, based on your private messages and e-mails, this algorithm picks up potential emotional responses and reactions you might have to particular words and people. Through the profile algorithm Doodle manages to build psychological profiles of the users, these profiles are incorporated in online advertisements which are sent to the users. These advertisements are tailored for individual psychological profiles of users, they evoke powerful emotional responses which persuade you to buy their products. This has resulted in a tenfold increase in consumption, advertisers now know the exact emotional cues which might trigger you to buy their product. All of it was made possible by artificially intelligent algorithms which Doodle designed.”

Ryan nodded calmly, pondering what Garret said and he simply replied. “Interesting. You know a lot about Doodle.”

“Yeah, I tell ya man. I wish I worked for them, I wish I had computer skills or something, anything.” He sighed. “Because things are s**t right now.”

“What do you mean?”

His eye contact was overbearing at first, now he could barely look at Ryan in the eye. “I used to have my own company. I was a CEO at this firm, then everything went to s**t and now I got nothing. My wife left me, she went off with someone else, and now I’m trying to raise my kids.”

“Sorry to hear that. I hope you pull through.”

“But you know what, I’m an entrepreneur and entrepreneurs have ideas. I’m just waiting for the right idea. It’s gonna come to me and I’m gonna pull through I just know it.” His words sounded weak, like a desperate attempt at self-consolidation rather than a statement of fact. “I gotta pull through, because my boy needs surgery and I just gotta pull the money together. I can’t afford the medical bills. I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I just need to talk to someone.”

Ryan’s expression did not change he remained calm. “Have you tried playing the lottery?”

“Yeah. I’ve spent months applying for the medical care lottery, but there are too many people applying. I never get it and time is running out. I can’t keep applying.”

Ryan placed his hand in his trench coat pocket and slowly he pulled out a lottery card. “It’s your lucky day. I can sell you this lottery card for 10 000 credits.”

Garret instantly pulled out his wallet, taking out 6000 credits. This is all I have for now. I can transfer the rest of the credits from home. This is supposed to last me for the whole trip but I don’t give a s**t I’ll sleep on the street. Just please give me the card.”

Ryan laughed. “Put your money away, I was testing you. This is how I know you really need the card. I can tell you need it, now take it, it’s yours.”

Garret looked at him, stunned and speechless.

“Are you gonna take the card or are you gonna sit here and look at it?”

“Why are you doing this?” He asked Ryan.

“Because I have a lottery card to spare and I’m as healthy as a horse.”

With trembling hands Garret took the card and held it, looking down at it.

Ryan continued, “When I fought in the war, I had a vision for the new world. A lot of us did, a lot of the mercenaries and soldiers that fought. We wanted freedom, but we knew that freedom without social justice doesn’t mean much to most of us. So take the card, use it, your son deserves to grow old and he deserves to have children of his own one day.”

Garret’s hand was trembling and tears ran down his face. Then he embraced Ryan, the snot in his nose resounded in Garret’s ear as he cried on his shoulder.

“Alright, we probably look very weird right now…….” He spoke to Garret as he petted him on the back. “But it’s alright. Let it out.”

Ryan looked out the window, the carrier was approaching New York. Manhattan came into view with it’s web of myriad platforms that extended out into the ocean. Buildings and towers rose from the platforms lighting up the night sky with bright colors. Crafts hovered in the clouds scanning the carrier as it passed by them.

Garret broke off the embrace, “Thank you.” He thanked Ryan as he blew the snot out of his nose with a tissue.

At the terminal as Ryan got off the carrier, five mercenaries armed with rifles walked up to him. They suddenly grabbed him violently and threw him down on the floor. Garret watched the whole ordeal from the window of the carrier and he got out of his seat and ran outside as quickly as possible. As he stepped out of the craft he was instructed to stay inside by the stewards.

The young steward pushed him back. “Sir it is not safe for you to go out there.”

“What the hell is going on? I know that man! Let him go!” Garret yelled at the steward.

The steward replied. “That man has been convicted of theft and piracy by several companies including Epitome and Doodle. He is a dangerous criminal and we advise you to stay inside until the mercenaries deal with him. It’s for your safety sir.”

Ryan’s voice interrupted their conversation. Both heard him yell and his voice echoed all the way inside the carrier.

“The Financiers have brought you justice people! Arbitrary justice put into action by whoever has the most mercenaries and money to enforce it! Let the poor starve and die! Let them invade our privacy and manipulate us with marketing propaganda, because it’s good for business!”

“Stay down!” The mercenaries yelled at him.

Babies were crying, people were yelling. The commotion outside grew, but Garret could still hear Ryan’s voice above all the noise. “Propaganda, invasion of privacy, violent coercion! These are not just the tools of the old government my friends, these are methods of control by those in power! By our heroic Financiers who bravely fought a revolution at the expanse of the blood and sweat of the working people……” Then the rifles went off and Ryan’s speech was cut off.

Garret watched in silent horror. The lifeless body of Ryan was sprawled in a pool of bright blood. Just like that, the man was gone. Shot in front of everyone, women and children. Now the commotion grew into full blown chaos outside as security and personnel ran out to neutralize the public. The steward gently guided a pale, speechless Garret back to his seat as the door of the carrier closed. He looked at his ticket, then he looked at Ryan’s motionless body outside.

He spoke to himself: “I’m sick. We are so fragile, so goddamn fragile, it makes me sick…..” He got up and started making his way to the bathroom. The image of blood and Ryan’s broken body spun in his head. He was light headed but he managed to get to the bathroom. “Sir, are you alright?” The steward asked him.

He turned and he answered. “No…..who’s next, me, you, my son….who’s next?”

“Sir you’ve seen a lot, you need to just relax and breathe.” He heard the steward’s voice behind him.

Garret was crying now. “That man saved my son’s life. I don’t care who he was, he was a f*****g angel to me. We are all f*****g fragile, so f*****g fragile, we need each other……..We need to take care of our own. Before we all end up dead.” The steward looked down at him blankly he did not know what to say.