March 2144

1 March 2144
ANCHOR: Well, it took some fancy fractal footwork, but the folks at MacroWeather have managed to avert the Midwest's worst disaster since the Great Flood of 1993 – at least for now. It has stopped raining over the upper Mississippi Valley, and the great river is starting to recede. In the Southwest, another storm – this one political – is brewing. The four New Amigo states have announced that they will hold plebiscites next month on the issue of secession to the Hispanic Commonwealth. Given the heavy Hispanic Commonwealth majority in the region, there is little doubt as to which way the votes will go. The only question is – just how hard will President Clarke fight to keep them?

2 March 2144
ANCHOR: This week's clone replay of the 1956 "Subway World Series" between the Yankees and Dodgers ended with a Free Will twist – this time, the Dodgers won! In other news, Virtual Enterprises introduces the first VR goggles to use Direct Retinal Projection. DRP causes less strain on the iris than the old system and the company claims that the enhanced 3D images are sensational.

EIFFEL: We'll put our goggles up against BioMerge any time – and there are no medical side effects!

3 March 2144
ANCHOR: Jessica LeGuin, CommLink's former news chief, was found dead this morning in the swimming pool of her Manhattan townhouse, seemingly due to a deliberate overdose of Chow Caps. A suicide holodisc was found at the scene. Here is a brief excerpt:

LEGUIN: I can't live with the pain any longer. I am not ashamed of having slept with a clone. But to be smeared as an "R" collaborator, and to have my reputation destroyed in a political show trial, is a mockery of justice I just can't bear to face.

ANCHOR: In spite of LeGuin's death, the government's investigation of the news and entertainment industry will continue.

4 March 2144
ANCHOR: Here is Perry Epp with a commentary on the suicide of Jessica LeGuin.

EPP: A dear friend, Jessie was responsible for my joining the FTL News. A staunch defender of freedom of the press, she will be sorely missed. But her tragic death was a direct result of Clarke's witch hunt against the news and entertainment community. These police-state tactics must cease! Clarke can't hide while character assassins like Priscilla Nagle do her dirty work. How many more must die to satisfy her lust for power? President Clarke – at long last, have you no sense of decency?

7 March 2144
ANCHOR: The Hispanic Commonwealth's new president, Jorge Diaz, ends several days of meetings with Francisco Cruz, leader of the New Amigos Party. After tense negotiations, Diaz has agreed to accept the new states of Texas, California, Arizona, and New Mexico into the HC.

DIAZ: The new Hispanic Commonwealth will be a beacon of freedom and prosperity to Latino people everywhere.

CRUZ: We now demand that Clarke allow us to choose our own future.

ANCHOR: The loss of the New Amigo states would hurt the NAU's economy. No comment yet from President Clarke.

8 March 2144
ANCHOR: After eighteen months and six appeals, the final judgement has been handed down in the case of Leon Smuckley. Smuckley was convicted last year for attempting to marry a female clone of himself. Well, today, Leona – the clone – was ordered terminated in accordance with President Clarke's tough new guidelines. Manufacturer CustomClones was closed down for unethical business practises. As Leon? He was sentenced to two years of intensive psycho-rehab.

SMUCKLEY: My shrink says I should love myself more. I keep telling her – that's what got me in trouble in the first place.

9 March 2144
ANCHOR: With us now is Elaina Cruz, the daughter – and political ally – of New Amigos leader Francisco Cruz. Why do Texas, New Mexico, California, and Arizona want to leave the NAU and join the Hispanic Commonwealth?

CRUZ: 200 years ago, my people came to El Norte for a better life. Now, that better life has gone south – and so must we.

ANCHOR: What about reports linking the HC's new president to Kyle Swann and "R"?

CRUZ: I know nothing about it. I've never met Kyle Swann. All I know is that President Diaz's Blinding Light Guerrillas were brave freedom fighters.

ANCHOR: Do you have a message for President Clarke?

CRUZ: Yes. Please, Madam President – let my people go.

10 March 2144
ANCHOR: President Clarke makes a rare appearance at the Capitol Pavilion, issuing an angry response to the New Amigos' challenge.

CLARKE: The NAU will fight the secession of territory to the HC all the way to the World Congress. Just remember the Alamo!

ANCHOR: And now, here's Perry Epp with an FTL News editorial on this important issue.

EPP: 83% of the population in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California is Hispanic. If they want to join our wealthier neighbour to the south, who can blame them? It flies in the face of reality to stand in their way. When is Madeleine Clarke going to learn that you can't hold a democracy together with threats and intimidation?

11 March 2144
ANCHOR: Reports are surfacing that President Clarke's recent crackdown on clone Free Will has created friction within the NAU police. Chief Darryl King explains.

KING: Our boys have to work side-by-side with Double-Y clones – a highly lethal breed developed especially for police and military service. Now, a cop has to be able to count on his partner to watch his back. If we're out busting clones, and this cop's partner is a clone – he can't be wondering where his partner's sympathies really lie. So far, we've been lucky – we've had very few Free Will incidents among our clone officers. But that thin blue line of trust is starting to erode.

14 March 2144
ANCHOR: The mandatory retirement age for NAU workers is 80. But this hasn't stopped many seniors from using holographic makeovers to extend their employability. Ellie Atherton, an employee at Phood, Inc., witnessed this first-hand yesterday when Henry Delon, her supervisor, suddenly keeled over and died – revealing the grizzled features of a 105-year-old.

ATHERTON: Here I thought he was this gorgeous young hunk, and it turns out he was older than me! You can't trust anybody these days.

ANCHOR: It appears that Delon also falsified his birth records. Co-workers say he didn't look a day over 40 – until he died.

15 March 2144
ANCHOR: Before he joined FTL... before he was Reality Secretary... Perry Epp was a family doctor. When his daughter got hooked on Virtual Reality, he founded the Epp Reality Farms for recovering VR addicts. His Reality Farms celebrate their 10th anniversary today.

EPP: Well, I'd hardly say "celebrates". I won't celebrate until VR addiction is no longer our biggest social disease.

ANCHOR: Has the BioMerge boom had an impact on your programme?

EPP: Yes! Since Clarke let BioMerge back on the market, the number of folks coming to us for help has tripled. She can pretend VR addiction isn't real – but the people know the truth.

16 March 2144
ANCHOR: Despite MacroWeather's best efforts, El Niñocito continues to flood the Southwest.

NIMBUS: As a climate control experiment, El Niñocito is a bust. We thought we could fool with Mother Nature – but it seems hell hath no fury like a mother scorned.

ANCHOR: In a related story, New Amigos leader Francisco Cruz filed a class action suit against the NAU government. The charge? "Meteorological Assault".

CRUZ: El Niñocito is a plot by Madeleine Clarke to ruin the New Amigo states economically, making them less attractive to the Hispanic Commonwealth.

ANCHOR: Attorney General Priscilla Nagle dismissed Cruz's claim as, quote, "all wet".

17 March 2144
ANCHOR: Dr. Kristeen Ballard announces that the fierce dust storms on Mars abated – allowing the long-awaited Cydonia expedition to commence.

BALLARD: We leave for the "Face of Mars" tomorrow. High winds are forcing us to travel by land in solar-powered rovers. Our caravan should reach Cydonia in a week.

ANCHOR: It was the neutrino emissions from the "Face of Mars" which linked this so-called Sphinx to Rylo-7 and the Virtual Reality Presence. In a related story – drilling equipment has arrived on Rylo-7 from Moonbase Wilson. Estimates suggest it will take about four weeks to reach the moon's core.

18 March 2144
ANCHOR: After the AIDS epidemic of the 20th Century, the VR Net became synonymous with safe sex. Although sexually transmitted diseases are a thing of the past, many people still find dating in the Net the easiest way to reach out and touch someone. Until now. A new survey reveals that teenagers are forsaking Virtual Sex for the real thing. That worries Parents' Association president, Chastity Oberall.

OBERALL: I don't accept the current liberal thinking that "they're going to do it anyway, so why worry?" Birth control is no substitute for self control. If Virtual Sex was good enough for my generation, it should be good enough for theirs.

21 March 2144
ANCHOR: A gust of wind nearly blew 8-year-old Devon McShane to his death today from Atlantic AeroResort's FunWorld City. But luckily, a clone technician working on the resort's graviton field platform saw the boy fall. Using his jet pack, he caught Devon only a few hundred feet from the ground. The clone is a hero to the boy and his parents. But now he is under investigation for Free Will behaviour, which, according to President Clarke's new guidelines, could cost him his life. Clone Rights advocate Pamela Corvino is outraged.

CORVINO: President Clarke, is this the kind of Free Will behaviour you want to destroy? Think about it.

22 March 2144
ANCHOR: The clone hero who saved 8-year-old Devon McShane from his near-fatal fall off a floater resort is no hero to Tim Bellow, head of the powerful Aero Workers Union. He has been fighting to keep clones out of the industry for years.

BELLOW: Okay, so this non-union clown saved one kid. But he put three of my best men out of work. These genetically-altered clone technicians are so light, my regular workers can't compete. And management forbids us to use DNA adaptations 'cause they're scared of lawsuits. So don't talk to me about no clone hero. President Clarke's right – we should get rid of 'em all, and put real people back to work!

23 March 2144
ANCHOR: "R" leader Kyle Swann was seen in public this morning for the first time in four months. Looking pale, thin, but otherwise in good spirits, Swann was arraigned at the Supreme Court. He pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy stemming from the terrorist attack at the World Series last November, in which Julian Matthews was killed and President Clarke was abducted. He also denied charges that he tried to sabotage CenBank's central computer network. Swann's trial begins next week. FTL News will bring you excerpts as warranted. For gavel-to-gavel coverage, tune to CommLink's Crime and Punishment Channel.

24 March 2144
ANCHOR: An experimental creature from DNA Wonders had to be destroyed last night when it escaped from the laboratory and terrorised passersby for nearly an hour. Half dalmatian, half cave bear, it was being tested as a guard animal.

SPLICE: Getting it to attack was easy. But getting it to heel... it was a big problem.

ANCHOR: In other news – there have been increasing reports of Free Runners in the VR Net. These are Virtual Reality Alter Egos who have disconnected from their originators and pop up unexpectedly in public access programs. Any encounter with Free Runners should be reported immediately to the CommLink Service Department.

25 March 2144
ANCHOR: Dr. Kristeen Ballard's expedition has reached the "Face of Mars", where it's now night-fall. Here is a live feed from Dr. Ballard.

BALLARD: This is an awesome and eerie sight. We're the first human beings to stand in the presence of this ancient geological mystery. The "Face" is a kilometre-and-a-half high, and nearly two kilometres long. We've established base camp on a ridge overlooking the south-east edge, and will begin our explorations at first light. For two hundred years, science has asked if this Martian Sphinx is a natural formation – or the remnant of an alien civilisation. Perhaps, soon, we'll have the answer.

28 March 2144
ANCHOR: The society of book readers known as "451's" have taken their new literacy campaign to the streets. Meet Peter Noyes. He's "Captain Ahab" from Moby Dick, a classic work of 19th Century American fiction, which almost no one today has read. So Noyes walks around in a holosuit depicting a peg leg and quoting from the novel.

NOYES: Have you seen the great white whale?

ANCHOR: Asked if he intends to crack down on the 451's, Police Chief Darryl King was amused.

KING: They're not really bothering anyone. In fact, they're good for the tourist trade. I'd read Moby Dick myself, if I had the time to read.

29 March 2144
ANCHOR: The Cydonia expedition has completed its first day of exploration at the "Face of Mars". Dr. Kristeen Ballard is with us live. Dr. Ballard, what are your initial findings?

BALLARD: Thousands of centuries of erosion have made it impossible for our instruments to tell if the "Face" was carved by tools or natural forces. And, as with Rylo-7, the neutrino emissions we detected here have ceased – at least for the moment. But we're just getting started. It'll take weeks to fully investigate the "Face" and its surrounding topography.

ANCHOR: In other news, the long-awaited trial of "R" leader Kyle Swann begins tomorrow at the heavily-guarded Supreme Court building in the Capitol Pavilion over Chicago.

30 March 2144
ANCHOR: The trial of Kyle Swann got under way this morning at the Supreme Court building in the Capitol Pavilion over Chicago. Attorney General Priscilla Nagle is personally prosecuting the case.

NAGLE: We will prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the rebels who killed Julian Matthews and kidnapped President Clarke last November were acting on the orders of this man – Kyle Swann. We will also present irrefutable evidence that Swann took advantage of the amnesty generously granted him by the President in order to sabotage CenBank's computer network. His goal – to ferment worldwide economic chaos!

31 March 2144
ANCHOR: Monia Jetson, defence attorney for "R" leader Kyle Swann, made her opening statement this morning.

JETSON: Kyle Swann is innocent. The terrorists who murdered Julian Matthews and abducted President Clarke were killed by police. The entire case against him is based solely on hearsay from President Clarke. If he's convicted, Swann stands to lose his life. Surely, the government cannot expect to win a case as flimsy as this one.

ANCHOR: Attorney General Nagle disagrees.

NAGLE: You know your client is guilty.

JETSON: I'm afraid he's not.

NAGLE: Is too.

JETSON: Is not!

NAGLE: Is too!

JETSON: [sticks out tongue]

ANCHOR: Full coverage of the trial is being provided by the Crime and Punishment Channel.