THE PRODUCER

She was a big-shot, once. Although her role at ABC News was behind the camera, rather than in front of it, she says she used to obsess over her dress.

"I swear, half my budget went into pant suits," she says with a laugh.

Now, she's wearing sweatpants and a stained t-shirt.

"A couple of years ago, I might've apologized to you for my appearance," she says. "But appearance is all about projecting status. And the truth is, I have no status, now. So who gives a fuck?"

There was a power struggle within the network at that time. The president of the network had begrudgingly installed his younger brother as the "SVP of content." This was widely understood to be a concession to their father, who had founded the network 30 years prior.

It put all of us into a bit of a weird position, especially as the younger brother tended to be less risk-averse than the network president. You know, you'd get a call from the SVP telling you one thing, and then you'd get a call from the president chewing your ass out for doing what you'd been told.

That weird dynamic, for better or worse, is what led to James Kobek's appearance on Good Morning America.

It was May 28, 2027. So we had our regular weekday crew on set.

The SVP had called me early that morning to say he wanted the first 30 minutes of the show to focus on a single guest, James Kobek. He explicitly did not want our hosts—or even—to know what Kobek would be showing. He simply said there would be a machine. I think he called it an "invention," actually. And that Kobek would be showing it off for five or ten minutes, then taking questions from the audience until the 7:25 a.m. commercial break.

The SVP recommended that the crew run an electrical plug-in to the table in front of the couches on-set. Like three different times in the conversation he told me to "make sure to get audience reactions." I was like, whatever, "Yes sir."

Anyway, so on the morning of the broadcast, I–

Oh! Actually. Wait a second.

I have the tapes.

Would you want to just watch that?

We can if you'd like. However, I've seen the segment many times online.

No, you've seen the first five or six minutes that made it to broadcast.

Everybody has seen the clips where Kobek got cut off early and the feed went to commercials. But what most people don't know is that the show kept filming for the full 20 minute block.

I've got tapes of the whole thing, including behind-the-scenes perspectives.

I can get them right now.

That would be incredible.

Okay, one sec.

THE PRODUCER leaves the room, then quickly returns with a USB hard-drive device, which she plugs into her laptop. I scooch in close to THE PRODUCER to get a better look.

There are three different perspectives showing on-screen at once: the regular broadcast view, a second alternate angle filmed by a camera attached to some sort of robotic arm, and a director's chair viewpoint which reveals the internal guts of the Good Morning America studios.

THE PRODUCER hits "play," and the camera pans down to reveal the three hosts of Good Morning America seated at a glass-top desk. Michael Strahan, Robin Roberts, and George Stephanopoulos smile into the camera as Strahan welcomes viewers back from the commercial break.

--

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Good morning and welcome, folks. Today we've got something a little unusual for you—our producers have told us it's a "special machine" that can do surprising things.

They haven't told us much more than that, so it'll be a surprise for us as well as for you!

The camera pans over to a replicator, placed innocuously on a wood table in front of a couch on the other side of the set.

ROBIN ROBERTS: We won't have to wait long for the big reveal, because joining us right now to tell us about this special machine is James Kobek, the United States Deputy Secretary of Energy.

The audience dutifully claps as Kobek smiles and nods.

ROBIN ROBERTS: Now, mister Kobek, before you began serving your country in your current position, you spent 20 years as an engineer at a number of public sector energy and technology companies, correct?

JAMES KOBEK: That’s right, Robin. I led the development of modern mobile phone batteries in the early stages of my career. I later moved into the petroleum business, where I developed a drilling technique that drastically reduced the risks associated with fracking. And I was responsible for IBM’s quantum computing division for the ten years prior to my appointment to the Department of Energy.

MICHAEL STRAHAN: That’s quite a résumé! How many PhDs you got?

KOBEK: Oh, just a couple.

At this, the audience laughs. From one of the secondary, non-broadcast audio feeds, a production assistant can be heard muttering, "What a douche." At that moment, all three of the GMA hosts break out into a barely-contained smile.

--

Could the hosts somehow hear what the people backstage were saying?

Yes, through their headsets.

We turn our attention back to the video.

--

STEPHANOPOULOS (STILL SMILING): Why don't you show us what you've brought us... doctor Kobek.

KOBEK: I'd be happy to.

Kobek walks the short distance from the desk to the table with the replicator. Roberts and Strahan join him and the audience claps wildly, in obedience to the flashing "APPLAUSE" sign that they, not the broadcast viewers, can see.

STRAHAN: Okay now, what exactly is this thing?

KOBEK: Well, I don't want to oversell it, so I'll put it simply:

This is the single most important technological development of the 21st century so far.

It's called a replicator. And today I have the honor of revealing it to the world.

At this, Strahan and Roberts both make exaggerated expressions of surprise, and the audience chuckles on cue.

KOBEK: Believe me when I say that very soon every American home is going to have one of these machines. Despite how it looks, this replicator is cheaper and more affordable than a common microwave oven.

ROBERTS: You could've fooled me. This thing is a lot bigger than a microwave.

KOBEK: It'll make a lot more sense once you see it in action. In many ways, the comparison to a microwave oven is apt, because the replicator is its natural successor. A microwave oven converts energy into heat, to warm up our food. The replicator, on the other hand, can convert energy directly into food.

Kobek pauses here for a moment, as if expecting a reaction from the audience, but he gets none. His words haven't seemed to register on the faces of the GMA hosts either, so he presses on.

KOBEK: I will demonstrate.

Kobek turns to the audience and pulls out the rep's input/output tray to show that it's empty.

KOBEK: How about a nice pasta?

Kobek makes a couple of selections on the touchscreen, and the machine whirs to life.

KOBEK: The replicator takes almost exactly 30 seconds to print things, no matter how atomically complex or simple the object is.

STRAHAN: A thirty-second pasta maker!

ROBERTS: You love pasta, don't you Michael?

--

THE PRODUCER scoffs.

Jesus, the banter on the couch. Thirty seconds of dead air time really feels like a century on live TV, doesn't it?

--

The device dings, and out pops a fine-looking pasta. Roberts and Strahan began clapping and nodding approvingly, and the audience hesitantly follows along.

KOBEK: Who wants the first taste?

STRAHAN: Robin, this one's on you. I think he said this thing makes food out of pure gasoline.

The audience's laughter nearly drowns out Kobek saying, "Actually, it's pure energy..."

ROBERTS: I'm game. Give me some of that.

Kobek takes the pasta plate from the machine and carefully places it on the table in front of Roberts.

ROBERTS (CHEWING THOUGHTFULLY): Oh... my goodness. It's really fantastic.

KOBEK: I thought so myself when I had it this morning. This beautiful Amatriciana is a replication of a dish created by one of the finest pasta chefs in New York. The handmade tonnarelli was imported–

ROBERTS (LOOKING ALARMED): You said this is a "replication" of pasta? What did I just eat?

KOBEK: Oh, it's real pasta. In fact, it's atomically identical to a specific pasta dish that was made two days ago here in New York.

Strahan makes a half-hearted attempt at a joke about Roberts eating "two day old pasta," but no one in the audience laughs.

KOBEK: Now I want to show you guys what makes this thing really special. Michael, can I borrow your watch?

Strahan reluctantly hands his watch over—it's a gorgeous Patek Philippe model with a world map on its face.

Kobek places the watch inside the replicator's tray and begins the scanning process.

He explains that the machine can print replications of anything it scans. As soon as the scan is complete, he pulls open the tray to show that it's now empty.

Strahan seems annoyed to discover his watch missing, but before he can say anything, Kobek begins printing out a copy.

An awkward thirty seconds later, the machine dings again, and Kobek withdraws a new watch from the tray.

He pockets this one, then immediately begins printing another.

When he withdraws the second watch from the rep, the audience lets out a few gasps and one woman says, "Oh!"

Kobek steps toward the audience and holds both timepieces up to the light.

The studio's cameras zoom in close.

KOBEK: Ah, look, they're both running exactly one minute fast.

Kobek hands Strahan back his original watch, then straps the new one around his own wrist.

Strahan seems not to know what to do with himself.

STRAHAN: Uh... I guess that one is yours now, huh?

KOBEK: It's a fantastic question, isn't it?

To whom does the replication belong?

I think that may be up for us to decide. What do you think I should do with it?

At that moment, the main broadcast feed goes black. The other two cameras continue running, and neither Kobek nor the hosts seem to be aware of the change.

--

THE PRODUCER pauses the video here, and turns to me.

That was right about the time I got a phone call from the network president. He was absolutely livid. He told me to get Kobek the hell out of there and get the hosts back to their desks. In the meantime, we'd be on commercial break.

What did you do?

I told the president we didn't have enough content to fill the show, so we'd need to just keep commercials running on loop until about 7:25 a.m. This was at like 7:06 a.m., mind you.

In the meantime, I decided to simply let Kobek keep doing his thing. Neither he nor the hosts would know they were no longer on the air, and we'd keep the studio audience occupied in the meantime.

You can see for yourself what happened next.

THE PRODUCER restarts the video.

--

STRAHAN: Um... it's actually a ninety-thousand-dollar watch. Very few of this model were ever made. So I don't–

KOBEK: I think it might be worth slightly less than ninety thousand, now.

The audience laughs, although their laughter carries a nervous quality.

Strahan makes a sort of pained face.

KOBEK: Speaking of money—Robin, I have here in my wallet a brand new one-hundred-dollar bill. I withdrew it from the bank this morning. Why don't you take a look at it?

Kobek hands Roberts the bill, along with a permanent marker.

KOBEK: Could you write your name on the face of that bill, along with the word "VOID" in large-print?

Roberts grabs the marker and does as instructed.

ROBERTS: I can't tell whether you're about to show us a cheap magic trick or a federal crime.

KOBEK (SPEAKING OVER AUDIENCE LAUGHTER): Honestly, I'm not sure either.

Kobek takes the bill from Roberts and begins scanning it into the machine.

The scan completes, and Kobek retrieves the original bill. Strahan and Roberts now look increasingly uncomfortable. They shift restlessly on the couch and exchange a nervous glance as Kobek begins printing multiple replications of the bill and handing them to the show's hosts.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Doctor Kobek, I'm frankly blown away by what you're showing us here. Um... It just seems like the implications of this thing might be quite large. I mean– What happens if people use this machine to print lots of fake hundred-dollar-bills like you did? Or, even fake diamonds?

KOBEK: They wouldn't be fake. They'd be real. This isn't a hypothetical. It's going to happen.

And once enough people get their hands on a rep, the supply of real dollar bills and real diamonds will become effectively unlimited.

That means their value in "real" terms will drop to pretty close to zero.

Our current market-based economic system assigns prices to things based on supply and demand. This machine completely breaks one half of that equation. (Pauses.)

From this point on in the broadcast, the hosts lose any semblance of control.

They watch wordlessly as Kobek demonstrates how you can use one rep to create another, by printing out the component parts piece by piece and re-assembling them. After completing assembly of one new rep, he plugs it in and begins printing out yet another copy of Strahan's watch (it's already saved in the memory now, he explains). The despair on Strahan's face is palpable.

Eventually, mercifully, a security person steps into frame and informs the hosts that they're no longer on the air—in fact, the feed has been cut to commercials for a while now.

Kobek begins to gather his things.

--

THE PRODUCER shuts her laptop and looks at me.

Sometimes I wonder how things would've gone if we never had Kobek on.

Would the government have been able to stop the machines from spreading? Would people have ever been able to believe in something as absurd—something as obviously impossible—as the replicator? All the bad shit that happened. All the death, the chaos.

Could I have prevented it?

THE PRODUCER falls back in her seat. Stares at the ceiling.

Could anyone have prevented it?

No. Of course not.

But I think some of us…well...

We accelerated it.