July 2145

3 July 2145
ANCHOR: Bimbetta Mondaine is now Mrs. M'ti. Last Friday's gala wedding drew collected world leaders. Jay Cypherman was there via the VR Net.

CYPHERMAN: So, how's the cake, big guy?

M'TI: It's nice... very nice. I never had cake before!

CYPHERMAN: Bimbetta, where do you and M'ti plan on setting up house?

BIMBETTA: Oh, we haven't decided that yet, Jay... (gushing) First, there's the honeymoon.

CYPHERMAN: And exactly where will you crazy kids be going?

BIMBETTA (laughing): We're not telling a soul.

M'TI: I don't even know.

ANCHOR: A Current Byte has just reported that the newlyweds are bound for Hawaii.

4 July 2145
ANCHOR: Newlyweds M'ti and Bimbetta agreed to a remote interview for the Jay Cypherman show.

CYPHERMAN: M'ti... Bimbetta... you kids look great. Congratulations!

M'TI and BIMBETTA: Thanks, Jay.

CYPHERMAN: Where's your tan, big guy? Just kidding... So Bimbetta... how's the honeymoon? Everything meet your, er, expectations?

BIMBETTA: Oh, Jay, M'ti is wonderful, so sensitive, so thoughtful, so... different!

CYPHERMAN: And how about you, M'ti? (grins) And puh-lease don't tell us you never had a honeymoon before. That we know.

M'TI: Right, Jay... but I'm having so much fun I'd like to have lots of honeymoons.

BIMBETTA: Sorry, dear. One per customer.

CYPHERMAN: Have fun kids, and we want you back on the show real soon!

5 July 2145
ANCHOR: The Capitol Rotunda has been bombed. (a beat) Minutes ago, the first reports of the bombing reached CommLink. Eyewitness reports are flooding the VR Net. Aides to President Madeleine Clarke confirm that she was in the NAU Capitol Rotunda when the explosions occurred. But – they were quick to say – that the President is fine. A series of micro-baramite charges caused extensive damage. The Capitol, a floater building, has begun a precipitous 22-degree list and is being evacuated as we speak. The number of people killed in the explosion is unknown. Also unknown is who planted the explosives... and how they got through tight Capitol security.

6 July 2145
ANCHOR: In the aftermath of yesterday's terror bombing of the Capitol Rotunda, President Clarke appointed former California prosecutor Marcia Kent to the long-vacant post of NAU Attorney General in a text-only message.

KENT: The bombing of the Capitol represents the most direct attack yet on the internal workings of the North American Union. The President has given my office a broad range of emergency powers to investigate the bombing and track down the perpetrators. Madeline Clarke was the likely target of the bombing... and I have advised her to remain in seclusion, governing from an undisclosed location. She will make no appearances – virtual or otherwise – until I can assure her that it's safe.

7 July 2145
ANCHOR: Cameron Grant has startling news. This untraceable holovid was received by CommLink today.

GRANT: On behalf of the Earth First Brigade, I accept total responsibility for the bombing of the Capitol. And it was no act of terrorism; it was an act of war. President Madeleine Clarke is dead, her body obliterated with the dozen other bureaucrats wasting our resources on wild goose chases. Your precious NAU is now being run by a bunch of lackeys.

ANCHOR: Attorney General Kent was quick to respond.

KENT: Grant's claim is ridiculous. I spoke to the President this morning, and she's fine. He's obviously trying to lure her out. It's a crude ploy – and it won't work.

10 July 2145
ANCHOR: Is President Clarke dead? Despite claims by new Attorney General Marcia Kent that Clarke is alive, staying in seclusion while the terrorists are tracked, doubts are surfacing in the Net. But confirmation of a 'live' Clarke now comes from an unlikely source. EC head, Georges Favreau, spoke to FTL from Brussels.

FAVREAU: I have just come from a very secret meeting with President Clarke – and I can assure everyone that she is quite alive. Madeleine has been shaken by the attack on the Capitol, and I told her that she's right to stay 'underground' until this Cameron Grant is found.

ANCHOR: Was Clarke hurt in the attack?

FAVREAU: Look, I told you she's fine. A few scratches... nothing more. Now if you'll excuse me... (he exits)

11 July 2145
ANCHOR: The Society of Concerned Scientists voted today that it is in complete agreement with Dr. F. Paulson's warnings about the danger of the unchecked spread of the dandefox. FTL asked Dr. Paulson to comment.

PAULSON: I suppose I'm gratified that the SCS finally agrees that dandefox is a botanical plague rampaging out of control. Better late than never, I guess. I just hope it's not too late. But can I say it? Can I say it just once? I told you so!

ANCHOR: And a big fan of dandefox, the Last Visitor, M'ti, returned to the mainland with his wife today. No word yet on where they'll live... or what the future holds for the couple.

12 July 2145
ANCHOR: The Society of Concerned Scientists has asked Dr. F. Paulson to head up a taskforce to study what – if anything – can be done to stop the spread of dandefox. Paulson was quick to respond.

PAULSON: Of course I'll help, though I'm not too sure what can be done at this, the eleventh hour. (a beat) I'll be meeting with other xenobotanists to devise a plan of attack. I've already contacted Dr. Kristeen Ballard on Mars, as well as... the Bureaucrat Formerly Known as Jack B. Nimbus. The Islamic Federation, you remember, was quick to recognize the danger.

ANCHOR: And disturbing news from New York... City Manager Bill Kennedy's floater was found drifting over the East River near the remnants of the Brooklyn Bridge. So far, no sign of Kennedy or the escort that was travelling with him.

13 July 2145
ANCHOR: Cameron Grant's war of nerves against the NAU continued today with this taunting holovid.

GRANT: Uh-oh... first no President Clarke... and now no Bill Kennedy? Hey, wake up citizens! The rotten infrastructure of your government is collapsing under the weight of its own corruption... with a little help from the Earth First Brigade. Stay tuned. The fun's only beginning!

ANCHOR: Grant's messages have not been traced. But, in a related story, destroyed floaters and bodies have been discovered in the unpatrolled regions... possibly including Bill Kennedy's missing escort. Is the City Manager among the dead? Kennedy's ID Chip wasn't found.

14 July 2145
ANCHOR: The SCS Dandefox Taskforce has issued its report.

PAULSON: It's as bad as we expected... Dandefox is everywhere, growing to monstrous heights in the rainforests, choking indigenous plant life and threatening a compete takeover of Earth's soil.

ANCHOR: Dr. Paulson, is that the worst of it?

PAULSON: Hardly! The plant's eating up oxygen at an alarming rate. In six months ambient oxygen levels will reach dangerously low levels. It's impervious to all known toxins. Cut it off at its base, and two plants shoot up from the stump.

ANCHOR: What about burning the plant?

PAULSON: Oh, sure... it can be burned down to the ground level...but new plants shoot up from the root system. Most of the planet would have to be set ablaze to eradicate it. It seems hopeless... but the Taskforce is working around the clock to come up with something.

17 July 2145
ANCHOR: There appears to be trouble in paradise. A Current Byte acquired a home holovid that captures M'ti and his new bride Bimbetta in an unguarded moment.

BIMBETTA: Look, will you drop the 'nice' routine. Everything isn't always "very nice". People will think I married an idiot.

M'TI: What's an idiot? I never–

BIMBETTA: And that's another thing! Will you stop telling everyone (mimicking) 'I never did that before'. (sees video camera) You! Get that camera outta there. This is my house! What, are you crazy or something?!

ANCHOR: Perry Epp had this to say:

EPP: Hey, any marriage can be rocky at first. M'ti and Bimbetta just need some time getting used to each other – without people spying on them.

18 July 2145
ANCHOR: Cameron Grant has taken Bill Kennedy hostage. He has issued the following demands:

GRANT: Yes, I've got Kennedy, and old New York won't be the same without him. President Clarke is dead. Well, here's one leader you can save. You can have Kennedy back, alive, if my demands are met... One: shut down the credit sump known as Habitat Mars. Two: recall the wild goose chase known as the Europa mission. Three: turn Kyle Swann over to me. I will personally carry out his execution. (starting to turn away) Oh yes – you have only 8 days, Marcia Kent.

19 July 2145
ANCHOR: Does Cameron Grant really have Bill Kennedy hostage? New Attorney General Marcia Kent doesn't think so.

KENT: First Grant claims that President Clarke is dead – when she most certainly is not. And now he says that he has Kennedy hostage? We saw the bodies of his floater escort... Bill Kennedy probably died in that attack, and Grant is bluffing. As for his demands, they're ridiculous. We don't even know where Kyle Swann is.

ANCHOR: And the dandefox plague is destroying people's lives. Traditional farmers in both the Hispanic Commonwealth and the EC are reporting crops devastated by dandefox infestations.

20 July 2145
ANCHOR: New York City Manager Bill Kennedy is a hostage. Only minutes ago the following vid appeared in the VR Net.


 * (Grant standing beside a seated figure with a sack over his head.)

GRANT: So Marcia Kent wants proof. Well here is the 'proof'. Say hello to New York City Manager, Bill Kennedy...


 * (Grant walks over to the figure and removes the sack, revealing a bedraggled-looking Kennedy. He forces Kennedy to look up.)

GRANT: Anything you'd like to say to the folks at home, Bill?

KENNEDY (coughing, to Grant): Drop dead!


 * (Grant grins, then turns back to camera)

GRANT: Oh! Not a happy bureaucrat... but then who would be with only a week left to live? Yes, unless I receive word that Kyle Swann will be surrendered to the Earth First Brigade, Bill Kennedy will be executed. I'll even let the entire NAU watch!

21 July 2145
ANCHOR: Is President Clarke dead? SHIVA spokesperson Martin Bibo raised an interesting question.

BIBO: Look, I hate to mention this... but if that terrorist Cameron Grant can hide his tracks and send scrambled messages onto the VR Net... then why can't the President of the NAU? Sure, I want her safe, but it is disturbing to have Madeleine Clarke hiding... and to have this terrible doubt plague our Combine.

ANCHOR: Bryan Clarke has no such doubts.

BRYAN: My mother is alive. I've spent time with her, and so has Georges Favreau, Marcia Kent and other government leaders. But we all want her safe. Until Grant and his crazies are captured, she must stay in seclusion. (a beat) And who says that Grant's messages on the Net can't be tracked...?

24 July 2145
ANCHOR: Has Caren Ginjerbu changed her opinion of the little red dandefox?

GINJERBU: Well, anyone can see that there really are too many of the dear little plants. And – ee gad – they are such hearty little tubers. But let's not get carried away... it's not as if they're evil. They're just doing what comes naturally, growing and reproducing. It's all part of a wonderful beautiful cycle! But – I guess you can have too much beauty.

ANCHOR: Another giant seed release is only a week away. (a beat) And only days remain for hostage Bill Kennedy. Unless Cameron Grant's demands are met, he says he will execute Kennedy this Friday.

25 July 2145
ANCHOR: The honeymoon is over... but what is a honeymoon for an alien and a human? FTL went to Dr. Rod Hamm for an expert opinion.

HAMM: You see, when M'ti was a patient here, he was very, very ill. We were concerned with saving his life. But I can tell you this – when we examined M'ti, he didn't appear to have any sexual organs. As best as we could make out, M'ti and the other Visitors seemed to reproduce through some complex form of parthenogenesis... in other words each baby Visitor would be identical to its progenitor. And all the Visitors did look identical.

ANCHOR: Perhaps Mrs. M'ti will be able to clear up this intriguing question.

26 July 2145
ANCHOR: Mrs. M'ti has news for Dr. Hamm... M'ti is all alien and all man.

BIMBETTA: I don't want to be too indelicate here but (sigh) M'ti was everything I dreamed of. (M'ti nods... she wrinkles her nose.) He's a tiger!

M'TI: I've never been–


 * (Bimbetta covers his mouth and smiles at the camera.)

ANCHOR: Dr. Hamm, do you have an explanation for M'ti's... good report card?

HAMM: That's odd news. But perhaps M'ti's physiology is capable of responding to biological imperatives. Without re-examining M'ti, it's hard to tell what's going on. But I'd certainly like to study the situation... more intimately.

27 July 2145
ANCHOR: With only hours of life remaining, Bill Kennedy pleads for the safety of his family.

KENNEDY: I'm still alive... and I know that President Clarke and the NAU are doing everything they can to free me... I only have one message. I love my family. No matter what happens to me, please take care of them. And don't let Grant get any–


 * (Grant steps into the scene and slaps Kennedy who sneers at him.)

GRANT: Aw, touching isn't it? And to think that such a loyal public servant will die because the NAU won't turn over that traitor Kyle Swann to me. But make no mistake... (He grabs Kennedy's hair and yanks his head back) This good-hearted family man will die in 24 hours if Kyle Swann isn't handed over to the Earth First Brigade!

28 July 2145
ANCHOR: An FTL exclusive: FTL is receiving an untraceable signal, a transmission from Earth First headquarters... wherever it may be.

GRANT: Pity. Time for one more oppressor to pay the price. A single laser burst to vaporise poor Bill Kennedy's head. (He raises his gun.) On my countdown: three... two...


 * Kyle Swann appears and grabs the gun from Grant's hand.

SWANN: You wanted me, Grant, well here I am! "R" has this place surrounded! (He reaches out for Grant)

GRANT: But you don't have me, Swann!


 * (Grant disappears. Swann looks out at the camera, confused and angry.)

31 July 2145
ANCHOR: A relieved Bill Kennedy is alive today, thanks to Kyle Swann's daring rescue... but where is Cameron Grant?


 * (Replay of the rescue and Grant's disappearance.)

ANCHOR: Grant disappeared just as Swann reached out for him. FTL asked Swann what he thought happened to the Earth First leader.


 * (Swann and Kennedy side-by side, in Earth First Brigade headquarters.)

SWANN: Grant is a coward. He wasn't ever here when we stormed his bunker. The "brave" leader was going to execute Bill Kennedy with a holoimage as a stand-in. No matter, he can't hide from me.

ANCHOR: City Manager Kennedy, how do you feel after your ordeal?

KENNEDY: I'm fine and very glad to be alive. I lost good people when Grant attacked. And I'd be dead today too if not for Kyle Swann. (They shake hands.)