Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

Prepare for power

Camryn Sikes played a round of virtual reality boxing to exercise his muscles. A cybernetic platform floated above the NiagaraFalls. Techno tunes hammered from the surround system.

Oomz oomz.

Camryn battered the AI-controlled opponent with well-placed jabs. The AI tried to retaliate, but he knew every move.

Every single freaking move.

After evading a poorly performed punch, Camryn roundhouse-kicked his digital enemy off the ring and watched the sucker plunge into the abyss of the waterfalls.

Good riddance.

Bold letters slammed into the surround vision.

"You win."

Ten rounds in order, with less than half his health bar dropped.

So much winning.

Half an hour of VR boxing burned up about two hundred calories. A necessary deal to balance his love for gummy bears and the constant sitting in his office.

Camryn activated the wall-screen with a voice command and watched the political debate between senator Jessie Kwong and incumbent Mayor Diego Lunar. The two projected into his studio space in the form of holograms, with a giant versus logo hovering between.

Political debates started to look like VR fighting games.

"Kwong makes no sense," Mayor Lunar said. "Not a surprise, since she's famous for smoking marihuana." He addressed the audience.

"Seriously, do you want a drug addict to run our beloved city?"

"Oh please," Jessie Kwong said to her defense. "I smoke only to relax, and unlike you, I ditch the alcohol."

"She's probably going to recruit her members from the Red Block."

The audience whistled or boohed, or both.

This wasn't a debate but a semi-entertaining sports event. It was only a matter of time before the two would clobber each other with chairs.

The holographic host beamed in-between. "Speaking about the Red Block movement—the Esperanza district has an alarmingly high rate of crime. Drug use is up by eleven percent, burglary by twenty-one. Reports mention a drip into the neighboring more affluent districts.

What do you plan to do about that?"

"Ladies first," Diego said with a boyish grin.

Jessie Kwong spoke. "We need to develop social houses and subsidize apartments, making it more affordable for the working class people and the disconnected."

"Who's gonna pay for it? You?" Diego asked.

"I've just had a fruitful call with our governor. We will share our responsibility."

"Share—you mean raise taxes—again?"

The host tried to intervene. "Mayor, please."

He failed miserably. "Seriously, I'm just waiting for you to wave a little red flag. What happens to those who don't want to bleed more money for you?"

"Well, paying taxes is not optional. We—"

"Oh, please."

"For Christ's sake, what about the brain drain?" Diego said. "Top entrepreneurs are leaving California for Cuba because it's less communist."

The host picked Diego. "What about the surge in crime, Mayor?"

"The Red Block's terrorist activity is endangering the lives of our citizens, but we have found a new measure to fight them. With the help of DARPA, we have implemented a new defense measure called Active Denial System. It sounds like Senator Kwong's campaign motto, but it's actually a radar weapon firing strong radio waves without seriously injuring targets."