The stagehands are cleaning up the mess Trough’s wings made during takeoff at the end of INTERVIEW the THIRD. Carter recognizes the voice, but that begs more questions than it answers.
—
INTERVIEW the FOURTH
Carter is standing near his chair, watching the next guest’s final preparation for their interview. They are huddled, speaking to each other in what looks to be hushed voices. “Finally, some female representation,” the master of ceremonies remarks. As the MC nears the end of the introduction, they all step out from behind the curtain, waving to the audience: “I have known Anita Ramaswamy-Wollstonecraft for many years, and she is a winner. She delivered time and again as governor of South Carolina, and then as Ambassador to the United Nations, and promises to do it again as the President of the United States. Her word is her bond.” They nod along with her introduction, waving and smiling, then they break in unison toward Carter to begin shaking hands.
CL: Welcome, thank you for being here.
ANITA RAMASWAMY-WOLLSTONECRAFT: [Speaking into the mic with perfect coordination and cadence] No, it’s a pleasure to be here.
CL: Congratulations on your run.
AR-W: Thank you [the audience is dazed and confused].
CL: So, O’Callaghan ran one of the worst campaigns of all time.
AR-W: He didn’t even campaign!
CL: Right… [Carter’s gaze darts around, unsure which of the five sets of eyes to look at when he’s questioning] but He Who Is Beyond Name got 74 million votes, the most of any sitting President in history, and O’Callaghan, a man who does not command respect and didn’t campaign, got 81 million votes, making him by far the most popular candidate in history. He got 15 million more votes than Potofu, who, whatever you think of him, was a very talented politician, and I think smart. So, how did he do it and what can we learn from that?
Very respectful, Carter, very, very reverent. Carter suppresses his befuddlement about how he can be hearing the voice and tries to regain focus on the candidate.
AR-W: [Pausing for a moment to look at each other, then their mouths open simultaneously] Well, what you can do is look to what I did as Governor of the great state of South Carolina. Our state required picture ID and, even if it’s an absentee or mail-in ballot, signature verification. That’s how you restore election integrity. If we lose election integrity, the people lose trust in the system and in the government, and that’s the last thing we want. Distrust is a hallmark of a totalitarian regime, such as the Third Reich, Russia, or China. And right now, we are facing two of those threats, and nobody wants to talk about the latter. But trust in government starts with election integrity, which I delivered to the great state of South Carolina. I brought people back from the brink. I restored South Carolina’s trust in government, faith in God, and the importance of democracy. When we—I win in November 2024, I will bring this reform to the whole nation.
CL: One of the things that we've learned in the almost three years since the last election is that various government agencies: intel agencies, law enforcement, the FBI, CIA, NSA were involved in shaping public opinion about the last election [Carter looks down, giving up on figuring out which suit to address]. They interfered with our election, and that suggests to a lot of people that maybe those agencies have too much unchecked power. You've worked in government, what do you think?
AR-W: Well—[one voice starts early, reacting instinctively, and is now receiving glares from the other four suits] yes, [they start together, speaking slowly and with plenty of hand gesturing] when I was Governor, one of the first things I did was replace the heads of all the agencies under my control. This is a crucial step in a reforming administration, as it filters down from the top; a true reform candidate does this. We set a lot of our agencies straight by putting good people in charge, replacing the bad ones, and slowly but surely gutting the institutions that have held back the American people. This is how we restored South Carolina’s trust in government, faith in God, and the strength of our democracy—and this is what I will bring to America in November 2024.
Carter, the voice booms. A gust of wind sweeps through the auditorium, sending papers flying, badges swinging around the necks of the audience members, and hair dancing atop heads. Why is she here? Am I the only one paying attention to the Poll? I can hardly see her name way down there at the bottom. It’s pathetic.
Carter wonders if this channel is two-way and whispers, “my liege, we have all read and heard the Prophecy—”
And don’t you see it? Don’t you feel it? Carter’s heartbeat quickens. We the People have spoken, they come to me all the time to tell me: they don’t want the establishment; they want an outsider. They want me.
The suits are searching Carter for answers. They are wondering who his faint whispers are for but can’t break character to ask. Carter’s right leg is bouncing on the ball of his foot. With a quiver, “my liege, I mean no disrespect, but she is a candidate just like the rest, and, unfortunately, like He Who Is Beyond Name, so I have to interview her.”
Nobody is like me, Carter. Nobody.
—
The Family Power Convention rages on with INTERVIEW the FIFTH.