January 2, 300

Throughout the course of my life, a question that always seems to recur is if I really exist. I was born through surrogacy and shifted hands dozens of times over my childhood, leaving only temporary marks on the lives of those who took care of me. The marks were even more temporary to those I went to school with. I didn’t maintain any long-term relations with any student or teacher in the six schools I attended, and few neighbors knew who I was since I didn’t leave the house often. It was a social gap in my life that didn’t get filled until Graham came along after I started community college, and nobody else since, despite all my numerous interactions with his people. I’ve been everywhere, and yet it’s like I was never there at all. It's a feeling that I think Graham called ‘omnipresence.’ The feeling of being everywhere at once all the time, yet never seen.

There’s no group where I feel more omnipresent than the other students in my political science class. They’re the ones I spend the most of my time with every weekday, and I usually spot some of them or even wind up hanging out with them on weekends due to Graham’s connections. I’m always there, somewhere around them, but only as an extra figure in the backdrop. There’s a vague awareness, as indicated by my title as “the library guy,” but they don’t really see that I’m there. I’ve spent months paying attention to them, learning about them as people, and waiting for them to try learning about me back. Some are more tolerable than others, but they’re all key ingredients in the delicate mix that makes me so attached to the class as a whole. I don’t know if they feel the same way or if I play any role from their perspective, but they do in mine. Just an image of them in my head that I fall back on to pretend that even though I’m never really seen, there’s always somebody who’s aware.

This idea kept running through my head as I walked to class Monday morning, primarily due to my brief conversation with Alicia on New Year’s. I at least know now that somebody was paying attention, and maybe everybody else has too. But I don’t want to get my hopes too high. Shit’s going down in the political world right now, and Brice will have a lot to say about it now that the democratic cycle project is done with. Maybe I’ll be able to get my two cents in this time.

I joined a crowd of other students walking into Lamont University from the dorms or the parking lot at 8:50 AM, but I didn’t recognize anybody I glanced at. While everybody followed the stone walkways, I skipped ahead and jogged through the grass to the main entrance, the morning dew soaking my shoes. Through the sprawling lobby, cafeteria, and several hallways lined with pictures from Earth relating to whatever classes were nearby, I came to the lecture hall where my political science class meets. Above the double doors is the first picture ever taken on Lyman, a black and white frame of Henry Griffith and his cabinet back in 13. I entered alongside Thiago and Lawrence seconds before the buzzer rang out from the speakers at 9:00.

Thirteen people were already sitting along the bottom three seat rows, presumably meaning James and Hana were late again. The lecture hall has over 12 rows of seats stretching back reserved for the larger social studies classes, but since Brice is awaiting his own classroom, we’ve had to share in this one for half the day before we head to Jonas’ room for the second half.

Brice was sitting on a chair in the middle of the stage, reading a book. As the last of us took our seats, he closed it and tuned into Teacher Mode.

“Alright! Welcome back, everyone. I’m sure your New Year’s weekend went a lot better than mine did. While everybody else was drunk and partying, I had to be the bloody designated driver for my brother and his idiot friends as they ping-ponged between clubhouse after strip club after restaurant. I almost considered downing a bottle of lynthol whiskey and hedging my bets on not driving off the side of a bridge, but nevertheless, there are greater worries going on.”

Darren remarked, “My family and I all got hammered at a pub just east of the Capitol, and my dad drove us to the South-Central Mall for haircuts.”

“Yeah, and to the rest of you, never do that ever. The turn of the century is hardly an excuse to go out and kill a family of five.”

The doors opened and Hana stumbled in, looking like her New Year’s hangover bled into the day after.

She grumbled, “Sorry. My sleep schedule is… fucked.”

“You know poor sleep patterns have been linked with younger death?”

She sat down in the middle row behind everybody and didn’t say a word.

Brice continued, “So that just leaves us with James, does it? Christ, how does the man expect to become the bloody president one day if he can’t show up to a single class on time?” He marked James on the attendance sheet below his chair and stood up. “Alright, as much as I would love to keep talking about drunk driving, we should all know at this point that politics never sleeps, certainly not now. We obviously need to continue with the current election, and now that project season is over, we can cover the big update recently. Last week, the ballot that we will be voting on on February 3 has been finalized. We have six presidential candidates, five constitutional amendments, one major ballot measure, and our Council and District representatives. Clearly, with this much going on, we’re not living in very ordinary times. A lot of people are losing faith in the system as we have it, and, let’s be honest, they’re not doing a very good job figuring out how to fix it.”

Kaynen’s hand went up. “My dad’s been telling me they’re trying to limit the amount of water each person can use.”

“Yes, that is the ballot measure we will be voting on. Because we’re still teetering on the cliff’s edge of a water crisis, a petition to force people to cut down on consumption is now on the ballot this year. How many of you shower every day?”

Six hands went up.

“Good. According to the petition, you’re the reason we’re running out of water.” Alicia chuckled. “Do any of you see a problem with this?”

Kumari immediately answered, “We’ve had running water for centuries, the river hasn’t shrunk over a decade time-span since 260, and we have groundwater reserves all over the region that have kept up with population growth, so it makes no sense that this would be happening.”

“It does make no sense, but that’s only part of it. The issue is that we didn’t try to make sense of it before we started throwing shit on the ballot. We haven’t had any large-scale effort to track where water is being used the most, yet we’re already making policy about it. That is what truly makes no sense here. It’s not that this crisis came out of nowhere, but that we’re placing blame and consequence on the people before any explanation arises.”

Barry cut in, “But we don’t have the time to study or track water usage. This is an imminent crisis that requires quick action.”

“Ah, thank you for reminding me, Barry. Folks, between those who blame the people for the crisis and those who don’t, there is a third position in this debate, and it is the reactionary one. Now, we’ve talked about reactionaries before; it’s a return-to-tradition kind of ideology, if you remember. But reactionaries also tend to do this funny thing when a crisis that can play to their advantage pops up, and that’s to turn the tables. Rather than oppose the drastic measure that explicitly goes against their traditionalist mindset, suddenly, this drastic action is ‘required to fix an imminent crisis’ because it furthers their true overall goal of bending the public to their will and abandoning majority rule. That’s why I’ve said that reactionary ideology is specifically opposed to liberal reform, much to Barry’s dismay.”

“That’s because you were conflating ‘reactionary’ with ‘conservative.’ You think both are just return-to-tradition ideologies of different extremes, which they aren’t, and by drawing that conflation, you end up demonizing both.”

“Not quite. I’ve said they’re return-to-tradition ideologies with different levels of honesty, but that isn’t the point. Your problem is that you think acknowledging the definitional similarity between them is a ‘conflation,’ and because reactionary is a bad word in politics, that therefore ‘demonizes’ conservatism as well. There’s an argument you could make to firmly distinguish the two, but you’d rather reject the reality altogether. Let’s use the presidential race as an example: Wayan Jesus and David Taggart are very obviously right-wing, but what are the key differences between them?”

Julien answered, “Wayan is a self-proclaimed ‘moderate fiscal conservative’ while Taggart is an open authoritarian?”

Barry interrupted, “He’s not an authoritarian, he’s a populist.”

“Same fucking difference.”

Brice cut back in. “Wayan leans basic conservative while Taggart leans reactionary. That’s the difference. Now, if you asked me, I would say that Wayan is basically the same candidate as Taggart with a more mainstream-friendly platform, but let’s assume both are honest actors. Both candidates support the institution of a national currency, which would technically fall under the return-to-tradition umbrella. In your mind, does that mean they’re both reactionaries?”

Barry replied, “Obviously not. One shared position can’t be the linchpin that determines where they fall politically. But you do think the two ideologies are the same, and Taggart isn’t even reactionary.”

“You’ve missed the point entirely, and we have other things to talk about, like that money referendum. There’s certainly been nothing debated more in this nation’s history than instituting an official currency, and this is the eighth time it’s been put up for a vote. Who other than Barry believes that this time, it’s a good idea?”

Celyn and Cameron’s hands went up. Damarae almost raised her hand, but hesitated. Brice noticed.

“Damarae? You half-raised your hand; what’s your take on this?”

She answered, “I… don’t know. I don’t really like it, but it also seems like a necessary evil. Our society is a lot bigger than it was 300 years ago, and I think a lot of the problems we face are because of the fact we have no money to… like… balance everything. But I also know that the distribution of money can’t be equal, and… there’s just a ton of stuff that goes into that.”

Celyn followed her up. “I’m sort of in the same boat as Damarae. Being moneyless was a lot easier back when we were still developing, but we’ve grown far too large to keep things the same. Either our systems have to grow with it, or the government has to, and I don’t think the government needs more power than it has.”

Cameron chimed in next. “Au contraire, Celyn, I think the government isn’t powerful enough. The nation is changing, sure, but so is the national attitude, and it’s an attitude that cannot be kept within its own borders. So many people think of Lyman as a country now and its leader a president, despite neither of those titles being official. That’s key that we need to get out there and start growing as a nation. Giving the people money and then collecting part of it through taxes would put more power in the hands of the government to do its job, but I think that could actually be good for democracy as well. If the people are funding their government, then the government has no choice but to obey the people. That will also be really useful if we end up with an authoritarian president like David Taggart who has little interest in following the popular will.”

Brice thought about it for a moment. “Interesting. You see a more and less powerful government as a result. But how do you address the poverty question?”

“That’s… where personal sacrifice comes into play. Some people will be less lucky than others, and some will have a lower standard of living. I will bite the bullet on that. But think about it: what’s the reward of living for free in a government lost in static compared to the reward of living in an innovative empire that is economically forced to keep you satisfied?”

Kumari interjected, “What about the housing market?”

“What about it?”

“Under a money economy, houses will exist as an investment. The value of that investment is determined by what people would be willing to pay for it, which, of course, is relative since it’s a market. And whatever that investment is worth will be the single greatest determiner of individual wealth, and not all houses were built equal. Suburb-style houses are the most in-demand right now, so if you live in a house that isn’t that, you automatically get the short end of the stick through no fault of your own. And the proposition on the ballot says nothing about financial education, so who’s to say there won’t be a storm of irresponsible home-buying and an explosion in prices? And how would rent be controlled? Apartments are heavily populated with freshly graduated teenagers, many unemployed. The rule of thumb on Earth was to spend no more than 30% of your income on rent, but what if they don’t make enough to follow that? There’s also no minimum wage in the measure, and because the wealth distribution will be so sporadic, there will be no consistency in the quality or cost of housing and apartments depending on the region. How do you solve any of this in an already developed economy?”

Cameron’s expression turned blank, barely comprehending all of the points Kumari made in one breath. “We… aren’t voting on that. I’ll let the bureaucracy decide how that goes.”

Brice said, “Alright, Barry, we’ve shelved you for long enough. Tell us what you think.”

Barry sat up before speaking. “The economy has been developed so that the people enjoyed an equal standard of living. The impact of distributing a national currency by whatever means the government decides will almost certainly be minimal. And if everybody has the same starting point, then only those who make good decisions with their money will be the ones who succeed, absent any preexisting privilege, as things should be. And now that work is being paid for, we can fill several holes in our supply chain with new workers who need the money.”

Julien scoffed, “So your economy of choice is one where people are given free rein to cannibalize each other to get a higher standing?”

Kumari again interjected, “There is always preexisting privilege that affects economic standing in money economies. We are not an ethnostate; the Rapture pulled in people from all countries, all identities, and all beliefs. Racial prejudice was not eliminated when humanity arrived here, and it hasn’t stayed buried in the fringes now that a far-right faction is increasingly swaying elections. As I said before, home values will decide people’s economic standing, but that is decided by home appraisers, who are especially vulnerable to racial bias. And when a pattern inevitably develops, there will be racial ghettos in this city in less than a decade.”

Lawrence suddenly shouted, “Brice, what do you think? Is money good or bad?”

Brice sighed, “Yikes. Well, I can’t say much about the economics of it, but that’s more because I don’t care than I don’t know anything. Honestly, I think the entire referendum we’re facing is bunk. I would throw the whole thing out.”

Barry exclaimed. “What?”

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“Alright, let’s break the amendments down piece by piece. The first issue on the ballot is establishing the national currency. This only has a chance of succeeding now thanks to public anger over our supply chain crisis, but it is also in no small part due to growing comfort with right-wing ideology. But let’s talk the supply chain part. More goods are being taken off the shelves than can be easily refilled, and several key workforces are running short. The only way a national currency could solve those problems is by cutting down the people’s purchasing power and making them economically desperate enough to fill open jobs. But why not simply study the reasons why nobody wants those jobs and fix them based on that? Improve the conditions, lower required hours, or simply give rewards to incentivize job retainment. Economic strong-arming is not the only fix available, and it’s certainly not the be-all-end-all that it appears.”

Barry responded, “Reward perks and fewer hours don’t guarantee anything. Money can make certain work more valuable, which will attract more people.”

“I’m talking in vague hypotheticals, not hard policy prescriptions. And this is the reactionary mindset that I talked about; you don’t want to innovate, you don’t want to improve or develop, you just want a return to the nostalgic economic system that you’re made to believe is the right option. And if it truly is the correct system, then tell me, Barry, why the people of Lyman have chosen to reject it seven times?”

“The last referendum was in 240, back when we barely had landline telephones. Things are different now than they were 60 years ago. Moneyless societies can only work so long and with so many people before they fall apart, which is what we are witnessing happen in Lyman.”

The jolt in my brain from how wrong Barry was had finally inspired me to speak up. “We are not experiencing anything unique in a historical context. Demoralized workforces? Deteriorating faith in the government? Widespread political divisions? Economic crisis? Every major society has experienced this level of instability, especially when they’ve existed for as long as us. Do you think what the western world experienced in the 21st century is fundamentally different from right now? There’s a reason it’s called the democratic cycle. Lyman’s situation is a product of time and complacency, not lack of money.”

Brice responded, “That’s an interesting point, Finn. There is relevance here to the democratic cycle project you all just finished. Some of you argued against its existence, but there’s no denying that the pattern in democracies always involves a period of economic instability, which in turn leads to a loss of faith that the far-right takes advantage of. You’re seeing it now. And that brings us to the second proposed amendment; the national citizen registry. This was also proposed as a solution to the supply chain crisis, and one that I believe is even less effective and far more dangerous. Does everybody at least see the risk in using a registry to enforce the grocery quotas in place?”

Darren blurted, “I don’t.”

“Why does the government tracking your consumption habits not bother you, Darren?”

“I mean, voters signed the petition and got it on the ballot, right? It’s kind of just about holding ourselves and each other accountable to keep the economy from collapsing.”

“But why do we need a national registry to hold each other accountable?”

“Because it’s a civilian government. We elect the people who represent us, and they do what we say.”

Thiago heckled, “David Taggart has literally said the public doesn’t know what it wants.”

“David Taggart is not winning, he’s literally a Nazi. I just don’t see any harm in doing our part so the community has more.”

Brice replied, “If you as an individual or a group want to cut down the amount of food you take from grocery stores so others can have more, nothing will stop you. But there are nearly half a million people in Lyman, and forcibly reducing what everybody is allowed to bring home is not a long-term solution. It’s just like what Cameron said; our future lies beyond our borders. Wouldn't eliminating the need for quotas be more useful? More cities, more agriculture, more production, and enough people to keep things moving seems like it would be the much more efficient remedy here.”

Darren shrugged. “I mean, I guess. Like, I want this same policy, but I think I agree that the whole thing is just written a little weird.”

“Exactly! That’s the point I’m trying to make! Solving issues like the supply chain and the water crisis should not be incumbent upon us. We elect representatives to do complicated things for us, not enforce the stupid ideas that we approve.”

Barry countered, “But these measures directly affect us. The constitution explicitly requires that any proposed law that affects the activities of the people be put to a public referendum.”

“And there’s the key. That’s why this whole process is garbage. Proposals to solve water and supply chain crises should not have to impact our activities. We should not be bearing the brunt of this, the government should. Entrusting the people to recognize and fight for all the things that are good for them has never worked. The government exists to protect us, not enable us, and everything we’ve talked about only serves to make our lives harder. It’s democratic complacency that is always the first big step to a collapse into authoritarianism. And while an authoritarian government is dangerous when it takes power, it’s even more dangerous when the people give it power. That’s what the people would be doing by approving these amendments; signing away the right to live how we choose and giving the state more control than it needs.

“And on that note, we have amendment number three: the bicameral legislature. This is a tricky one if you know the history. We’ve never really talked about the workings of legislatures before, but basically, what the amendment does as it is written is elevate all of Lyman’s District Councilmembers into a national Senate, which will be a second legislative chamber alongside the City Council, and those new Senators will appoint their replacements on the District Councils. And if you’re wondering what the purpose of this is, that’s honestly a good question. People from all across the political spectrum propped up this amendment, so there’s no easy way to game out what the intentions are. Is it a power grab or a legitimate expansion of democracy? Let’s discuss.”

Thiago instantly answered, “It’s a power grab.”

“How so?”

“Because the right-wing coalition has split enough district races for them to get a plurality of seats in the prospective Senate.”

“But how do we know that it’s just a right-wing election scheme if other political blocs support it too?”

“We don’t. But we do know they’re taking advantage of it.”

Julien shouted, “Counterargument! The Council is insane, and I want them to have less power.”

Lawrence raised his hand. Brice called on him. “I think we need more people in general in the broader legislature. 125 isn’t enough. If creating a second chamber is what it takes, then that’s fine by me.”

Barry added, “The legislature has gotten close to nothing done during Antonis’ leadership. We need more people in that branch of government to hold them accountable and get shit done.”

Thiago countered, “If by ‘hold them accountable,’ you mean ‘block every progressive reform they approve or pass it down to referendum after they overhaul voting restrictions,’ then they will absolutely be doing that.”

Brice interjected, “Alright, we know the positions. There are plenty of reasons people support or oppose the measure at face value. Now, let’s look at the history. Most nations on Earth that we know of, first world or not, had bicameral legislatures, though most were not democratically chosen. Specifically, what we’re looking at are upper chambers, which are generally Senates. Most, like in France, Germany, Canada, and Britain, were not directly elected by the people, but they were effective as a moderating check on the lower chamber, which tended to cook up all the legislation.

“However, if you look at the United States, things were different. The Senate was directly elected by the people, and throughout the 21st century, it made politics absolute hell. What started as a so-called ‘cooling saucer’ to the heat of the House became a smoking hot shitshow that blocked nearly every little bit of legislation from passing, no matter public opinion or the margins through which it passed the House. I’m doing a bit of editorializing, but that’s basically what happened. Widely popular legislation on green energy, gun control, civil rights, and social welfare got shot down by a minority of Senators who exploited a stupid de facto loophole that made every bill require a 60% vote to pass.

“And that’s to say nothing of the way seats were proportioned. A state in the middle of nowhere with less than half a percentage of the nation’s population had the same amount of designated Senators as the most densely populated urban metropolis on the planet. It was designed this way to protect the interests of the minority party, but it ended up instituting minority rule. It was definitionally undemocratic and wasteful.

“So what’s the lesson of all this? Was the United States a uniquely batshit country, or did France, Germany, Canada, and Britain do something better?”

Kumari remarked, “It was because the Senators were directly elected. When people are facing off in big, highly publicized elections, they have to put on a degree of theater to get the attention of voters. More often, they bend their positions to suit those of the people they want to represent, which can go to the extremes very quickly. It’s why every directly elected lower chamber has been the hotbed for political mudslinging.”

“So the better system then would be one where Senators are appointed by higher-ups?”

“Yes, because only then do they have a vested interest in doing their jobs right. A ‘cooling saucer’ cannot be chosen by the people.”

“And who would choose the higher-ups who make the appointments in that case?”

“There are all kinds of examples throughout history. In the U.S., they used to be appointed by state legislatures. In Russia and Germany, they were elected by local political leaders. The Indian upper house had members appointed by state legislatures and by the president.”

“So it’s mostly elected officials electing the upper house. And what if those elected officials fall into the partisan pitfall you described?”

“Well, they won’t because local leaders don’t have to engage in that much theater to get elected.”

“But what if they do? You said yourself that they have to mold their positions to suit the public. Do you see the issue I’m getting at?”

“Are you trying to say there’s no solid way of forming an upper legislative chamber?”

“I’m saying that democracy is fragile. All it takes is one loose screw in the machine to send it all haywire. No system can be crafted to stop this; it must be the people who protect the democratic system from falling to pieces. And this is yet another problem we have that this referendum does not solve. The fact that we’re even here talking about the prospect of an expanded legislative branch being a cheap power grab is why this is such a terrible idea at the worst possible time. If we are to have an effective second chamber, then it has to be nonpartisan. It cannot be a determinate force of its own. And in our current state, nobody, not even Barry, could dispute the fact that that is simply an impossible scenario.”

Barry remained silent.

“And while we’re on the note of state power, let’s segway to the last two amendments on the ballot. Barry? Would you do the honors?”

He answered, “Legalizing gun ownership and privatizing the internet.”

“Mandating the sale of advanced firearms to the public and privatizing the internet, yes. Now, before I get any opinions on the gun thing, know that there is a long-documented history to this effort in Lyman. It began with, who else, the bloody Americans back in the Rapture days. Our fifth-ever leader, Ramona Chandler, was a member of a right-wing paramilitary group in the U.S. and kicked off her term with a dedicated gun rights push, which barely materialized before she resigned months later for being a fascist in private. Her fractured following struggled to make inroads among the population afterwards and mostly stayed generational as the decades ticked by. They almost collected enough signatures to put the issue to vote in 143, but the Council voted it down unanimously. A century later, following a leak that the state was manufacturing military-grade hardware for protection against a prospective attack by another human civilization, a petition did get on the ballot to legalize ownership of these guns by the public, which was resoundingly beaten to death with an 82% majority. And now here we are, facing the ultimate decision. And I guess the question that I have to ask is, why? What’s the point in this day and age?”

Barry predictably responded, “Because we’re facing one of the largest crime waves in history, and people now more than ever need to defend themselves.”

“I knew you would say that. I bloody knew you would grab at the low-hanging fruit. You see, what they don’t tell you about the gun rights activists who pushed this forward is all the other provisions they tried to push first. Their leader, Anton Regis, led his first spearhead for a provision that would have put security guards at the entrance of every voting location and ballot drop box all over the city. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you when and where those tactics were the most popular Nazis? But Anton went a step further two years later when he championed a proposition to completely reset voter rolls and mandate only election-day voting. And then it was purging the use of voting machines, then cutting back early voting, then just moving election day to Tuesday, and again two years ago, he pushed to expand security at voting places. So what’s his deal with gun rights now, I wonder?”

Barry shrugged. “You seem to be making him out as some deranged fascist, but I know about his history too, and most of his positions are just about public safety.”

“Wrong. You’ve taken the bait again, Barry. The whole ‘public safety’ issue is just a Trojan horse, and you’re letting it right through your front door. Gun ownership has no relation to public safety and never has, but it is a perfect pretext to enabling Regis’ voter intimidation scheme without technically permitting it. This has been an effort long in the making, and now it’s found its perfect legitimizing message. This cannot be disputed.”

“What would you have done about the crime wave, then?”

“Not fight it with guns, I can tell you that much. But crime is a difficult issue to deal with broadly, especially in our society. Crime on Earth was a primary symptom of economic inequality, but because we don’t have that in Lyman—at least not yet—there are other systems to look at. Remember: behind nearly every crime committed, there is a failure in policy that enabled or caused it. There are reasons certain people are acting more violent that we need to study more deeply. But the problem, as I said with the water measure, is that we haven’t done any bloody studies yet and are jumping to ineffective solutions.”

“But there’s more to this than random crime. The ability to adequately defend yourself is a human right.”

“I agree. That’s why we have self-defense classes, pepper spray, and innumerable handheld weapons all over the marketplace that don't fire projectiles at half a mile per second. But do you so strongly feel the need to shoot and kill somebody that makes you feel threatened? Do you trust your neighbors so little that you have to keep a shotgun under your pillow at night in case anybody sneaks in and steals a piece of jewelry? I’m always up to debate, Barry, but I can’t have any back-and-forth with this brand of paranoia.

“And by the way, the problem of gun rights emboldening the far-right to initiate a takeover is the same problem with the privatized internet. Now, for the record, I do not support our current system where the government vets and approves every single website that gets put on the web. That, like the citizen registry, can only lead to a significant abuse of power down the road. That being said, a wholly privatized internet is one of the worst ideas we have ever had and is a perfect indicator that we as a species learned nothing from the 21st century.

“Now, I know Barry or any of you libertarian-leaning folks are going to say, ‘a free internet will make everybody freer, and even if the far-right gets a foothold and turns a bunch of people into monsters, the rest of online community will hold them accountable.’ But I would like to counter that by saying that they won’t. Does anyone remember when we talked about cancel culture? It’s proof of nothing else that the right really doesn’t like people holding them accountable and will hand-wring for literal decades about any minuscule effort to deplatform them, even when they are literal Nazis. And if what Thiago predicted is true and their coalition takes a plurality in the next Council and/or Senate, things will become very toxic very fast.

“A system that I favor is one where control of what goes on the web is handled by a bunch of smaller publicly owned companies who don’t take marching orders from the Capitol, but I also recognize that’s probably not going to happen or be done properly by any candidate running for president right now. But it’s also a terrible time to keep the internet how it is, seeing as the right-wing coalition could end up winning everywhere, and that would be an even worse nightmare scenario.

“Look, I’ve talked a lot and given plenty of opinions on this, but it’s all part of a broader picture I’m trying to paint. Our democratic system is very close to sinking underwater because, as we discussed in the democratic cycle project, the far-right has taken advantage of enough public anger to stir real discourse. And the primary driver of this anger, the Council, has been so ineffective that it hasn’t only put its legitimacy as an institution on the line, it has enabled a kind of peoples’ self-governance that, and let’s be honest here, most of the people don’t know or care enough about to see the broader consequences of their actions. Nothing on the ballot we are voting on in February will solve any problem threatening Lyman’s stability. There are more conversations to be had on what specifically will solve these problems or at least mediate them, but for now, we have no good options. The people were deputized to fix everything on their own, and they failed spectacularly.”

From then on, we switched to reviewing our democratic cycle presentations from Friday until 11:00, when we switched to Jonas’ room until 1:00. And the day was over.

The Lamont University Class of ’02—Celyn Sheppard. Cameron Lewis, Alicia Ritter, Kaynen Reed, Darren Alatan, Damarae Jolie, Kasem Krishnamara, Kumari Schofield, Thiago Braxton, James Campbell, Lawrence Cleveland, Julien Paxton, Hana Chambers, Perry Hirsch, Barry Goodman, Finn Walker, and the instructors, Brice Lambert and Jonas Collins. Some are more talkative than others, and some like to argue constantly, but all make the class worth coming back to in the end. Hopefully I’ll be worth something to them once the course comes to a close—assuming they all stay on board.