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The Binary Ghost
IX - Bitter Tea

IX - Bitter Tea

Python.pie - The Binary Ghost [https://i.imgur.com/hnwU1Z4.jpeg]

Python.pie - The Binary Ghost [https://i.imgur.com/8hE2TXS.jpeg]

A woman designed for triumph from the moment she was born. Named after the Hindu deity and daughter of a powerful Indian family of immigrants and journalists. She never had any doubts that her vocation was to pursue investigative truth in reporting and decided to pursue that career with fervor. Impregnable anchor and trend creator of the largest open television network news program. Her faithful audience and massive viewership followed her wherever she went to watch her morning program "Facts Tea", where she interviewed only the bigwigs of the government and corporate market.

"This is a long-forgotten tradition, my daughter. The oldest Hindu Sanskrits teach that naming a son or daughter Krishna is a profound act of love that brings happiness to the family and the people. You were our greatest miracle and that's why we chose that name, her father once told her when asked why they chose such a secular and spiritual name for her. "Hare Krishna, my father. I understood," she replied that day.

Assuming the identity of her name during her adolescence was perhaps the greatest challenge Krishna faced in her life. She did not think it was fair that a name with so much power and meaning, capable of dividing so many opinions, had been given to her without her really having a choice. She did not understand what she should do with it until she finally realized that it was up to her alone to give it a new meaning, forever. Pressure represented Krishna's true comfort zone. She had grown up in a very strict family system where they always demanded even what she sometimes did not have to offer and as a result, she would become a true warrior and devoted matriarch of the succession of her family.

Relentless was one of the most commonly used words by her colleagues to describe her work. Krishna took the profession of journalism with profound responsibility and was fully aware that between the facts and the truth, her role was to transmit information. She had an immaculate professional reputation, and a fatal oratory, and precisely for that reason, she used to intimidate her guests before they even appeared on her programs, she always knew the right questions to ask, and when she felt a tone of fallacy or untruth, she assumed an attacking posture capable of frightening even the most powerful people.

— Marina, could someone tell me why they put sugar in my tea? You know I like it bitter, Krishna said as she sat in her purple interview armchair with her political guest beside her, and several cameras framed different angles of the stage.

— It was just an accident, Krishna. Someone asked the intern, and she is still learning how things work, said Marina, her production assistant, as she adjusted her hair, folded the collar of her white angora wool blazer, and adjusted the positioning of one of her earrings.

— Ask her to come to my office after the program, I want to meet her.

— Alright, we'll be back from commercials in a minute, have a nice tea, Krishna. You got this. Oh, one more thing. The board said once again to go easy on the senator. Marina finished as she retreated behind the cameras and took her agenda with her.

Krishna adjusted her posture, elegantly crossed her legs in a way that only she was capable of doing, took a sip of her sweetened tea, and looked deeply into the senator's eyes as she smiled with pure beauty and gave a wink. The news jingle began to play in the background and as it ended, Krishna looked directly at the cameras with her famous poetic and magically charming gaze.

— Welcome back to Facts Tea, my dears! I missed you, she said, turning her electrifying smile into a hint of humility and naivety. In the previous segment, we met Senator Bridges. He told us a little about his interesting career in politics and his desire to run for the position of head of state this year.

The main camera cuts to a close-up of the senator, who is smiling and adjusting his tie. The camera returns to the stage, showing both of them in a general shot.

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Senator, the chair for which you are fighting is an object of desire for many people in our country, perhaps because of the responsibility it carries, or perhaps because of the power it represents. Which of these two interests you more?

— Krishna, thank you once again for having me. It is an honor to be here and to finally meet you, said the senator as he lightly stretched and touched his host's arm in an act of robotic sympathy.

— The chair I am competing for represents much more than just power and responsibility to me. I see it as the legacy of the great men and women who came before me, who built a true democratic legacy of opportunities for our people. My goal is simple, to foster the individual growth of every citizen and the collective growth of our productive and industrial capabilities. An autonomous country generates autonomous citizens who are capable of dreaming of new achievements for their families and workers.

— Senator, I have one more particular curiosity about this chair. Would you happen to know what material the fabric covering is made of?

Not understanding the direction of the discussion, the senator seemed confused but continued, — Uh, I wouldn't be able to answer that question, but I can tell you that the desk in our presidential salon was made from the wreckage of a nineteenth-century shipwreck.

— See, Senator, I think that the furniture you will potentially use to sign memorandums and executive orders for the state is important, but wouldn't you say that the furniture where you might sit is also important?

— Without a doubt, I intend to dedicate a lot of time and effort to that chair if our people give me that valuable opportunity.

— I imagine, Senator, that this chair is made of some very organic and soft material, after all, you need comfort to make the right decisions.

— Um, I'm not sure what the relevance of this topic is to my candidacy.

— Sustainability. I have here in my research, Senator, a copy of your signature in favor of a bill from a few months ago, a bill that was approved at a pace never before seen, right in the first stage of the legislative process. Do you know which bill I'm referring to?

— Look Krishna, as a Senator, various bills pass through me and I couldn't tell you which one we are currently discussing.

— That was the bill that legalized the use of chemical and synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in our grains agriculture sector, Senator. These chemical substances have long been banned due to their damage to the soil and environment.

— This was a necessary law because the increasing frequency of climate crises was causing a worrying shortage in our food production capacity. We needed to strengthen our seeds and accelerate their cultivation.

— How often do you try to put out fires with gasoline, Senator? Krishna said, taking on a much more serious and inquisitive posture.

— Excuse me? I'm not sure I understand, Krishna.

— See Senator, it's unquestionable that we need to have the ability to feed our society, but your approach concerns my heart with a certain anxiety.

— I know this topic divides opinions, Krishna, but our grain agriculture sector has always been the internal production engine of our food since we began to increasingly explore our soil for cultivation.

— It's interesting that you mention our industrial evolution, Senator. A long time ago, when the right questions weren't being asked, we deposited so many chemicals in the soil and accelerated production so much that the consequence was a climate phenomenon known as "Desertification", half a decade of drought, erosion, and severe dust storms where nothing was capable of growing anymore. Would "Let's desertify our soil together!" be a slogan that translates to the ideals of your campaign?

— No, not at all, Krishna. Said the Senator, already anguished and becoming increasingly worried about his public image.

— Then the soil is still necessary for seed cultivation?

— Hydroponic farming is advancing rapidly, but we still need our soil, yes.

— The same soil you're trying to destroy? See, if you're not able to protect our own nature, how would you be able to protect your own citizens, Senator?

With no response from the Senator, Krishna found the opportunity to end the program.

— That was Senator Bridges, viewers. We're done with this edition of Facts Tea. See you next time!

The transmission cut to commercials and Krishna stood up to say goodbye to the Senator with a handshake, who was looking at her with an expression of pure anger.

— Thanks for your attention, Senator.

She headed backstage with Marina, who still couldn't believe that such a beating had been broadcast live to millions of people. — Oh my goodness, Krishna, all this because there was sugar in your tea?

— I didn't like it when he touched me. The intern?

— She's in your office, her name is Joan.

— Great, leave us be.

Krishna entered her dressing room where the intern awaited her nervously and eagerly. She asked her only one question while still removing her accessories and watching her through the mirror.

— Why did you become a journalist, Joan?

As if in a fatal test, Joan answered with the first thing that came to mind. — Because journalism is publishing what someone doesn't want to be published. Everything else is advertising.

— I like you, Joan. I have a story for you to cover. Want to join me for coffee with a childhood friend? Are you ready to meet Bellacrown?

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