The Electoral Center

The interview of the father of Electoral aka Marilyn resumed in the beautiful Martian backdrop. "Don't you just love Marilyn? Not a boring day at the office." Georges was trying to reassure the journalist on their way back to the interview room. "The thing back there with the kid, the numbers, that was awesome, no? Measuring this shift was something humans could have done for a long time. It took my creation to do it. She thinks humans are unique in the universe, we alone have these waves; remind me why we should fear her. She reveres us." Milly smiled and waited until the official interview to resume.

Georges walked up and sat back in his large seat. The view of the martian landscape somehow seemed different, more realistic as the thin atmosphere in the sky turned to a deep green. Electoral's explanation had made the universe seem alive.

"As the journalist, I should try and play devil's advocate to incite more emotion from you, but I won't. I concede. In the back there was both entertaining and educating television. Surely thousands back home are already working hard to decipher what all that really means. Let's continue with a mature interview if you want," she resumed, "why mars, why go through the trouble of running this game from millions of miles away. This sound counter-productive?"

Georges' glass of Mountain Dew was empty, so he grabbed Milly's. "Can I?"

"Of course." She answered. He drank from her cup and put it back empty. On the Martian horizon, behind them, Marilyn was now broadcasting the most majestic sunrise.

"For lack of a better term, we were kicked out."

"Excuse me?"

"The boot. One day in 2065, while we were back home on Earth, a terrorist tried to detonate a 300-kiloton nuclear bomb in downtown Paris. This remains a guarded secret. Marilyn stopped him. Minutes later the man was arrested. The incident itself didn't scare the Generals, but they freaked out about Marilyn's capacity to stop the detonation fearing they had also lost their power to destroy mankind. They came to us without as much as a thanks for saving millions. They were very worried about our capacity to interfere with their own weapons of war. They wanted assurances their toys still worked.

"Marilyn was blunt. She explained she was not about to let some idiot destroy the entire human race or the environment. That included Generals, governments, or god-almighty. She explained that non-military civilians were now off-limits. An attack against powerless people would be considered an act of war and she would step in.

As you can imagine, the bullies and thugs forming these groups took issue with losing their power. Every bad guy united against us. They also found support with other groups that specialized in mass domination and control. During the final of Electoral 2067, while she was running the final simulation, these thugs united and attacked at her weakest, during the game. They launched a digital offensive, multiple software programs and even physically blew up servers. They even used virus technology."

"I don't recall any problem during the final."

"Precisely. They tried. They failed miserably. There was a perceptible microsecond delay in the feed if you watched closely, nothing more. Go back and see; the character of Marilyn was getting out of a caravan, she looked up, and there was a small noise in the sky."

"So they were upset."

"You bet. Marilyn took away their toys. Better yet, they realized they were playing with empty guns. The next day began a political push to get her offline. Unable to destroy her, they now wanted Electoral turned off. They could make the game illegal. Marilyn insists this game truly elects the one person capable of doing what she says she can't and the survival of mankind might depend on this game."

"Marilyn truly believes the game must continue at all costs?"

"Yes. The preservation of the game was part of our compromise to leave. We agreed to exile ourselves to Mars in exchange for the Electoral 2072 competition. She cares because of the Feed."

There was a long silence as the journalist looked down at some notes she wrote in the palm of her hand. “You talked about the Feed, it’s important?”

“Yes.” He would say no more.

"What's next for Georges?"

"What do you mean?"

"You, Georges, in ten years? Twenty? Where do you plan to be? What do you want to do?"

"Ten years ago, if you asked me the same question, I would never have guessed I would be here in this strange fortress of solitude, like Superman at the North Pole." Georges knew his basics. "She has plans, great plans, I know that. I don't know what they are anymore. Her intelligence is such that I no longer understand what she really thinks. What I do know with my heart? She is working hard for the good of mankind. She truly loves us and admires us."

"How can you tell?"

"I guess I'm not really objective. I know her. I have spent the last forty years with her. I know in my heart. I begged her to stop Electoral; to let let some other software run it. I wanted to walk out on her. She simply said, 'Nothing is more important to our world's survival.’ She now believes Emilio has a gift which can save humanity, nothing less.'"

There was a long silence.

Milly turned to look at the image of Marilyn floating in the sky.

"What did you mean by that?" she asked the artificial intelligence directly.

The image of Marilyn answered, "When a child has a tough day in school, arriving home, she can feel overwhelmed by it all. A parent can't explain the importance of education to the child. I can't explain the importance of the Electoral process without endangering its positive role on your race. But believe me, this game is more than it looks. Much more. Simply put, the game warps the deterministic events surrounding the survival of your race. Borrowing the famous Schrödinger analogy of his cat in a box, the game makes sure that when the box is finally opened, the cat will be alive. I want your race to survive the next challenge and sadly I fear things are moving temporarily faster than I would like."

"Are you saying that Emilio's role in the current events is not what it seems to us?"

"Very perceptive Milly. Precisely. All I know is that as of today, if the game stops, I fear the days of your race are numbered. If the game continues, your race stands a chance to see the next step."

"How?"

"I can't say more. I beg, one day you will thank me for my silence."

Milly understood what Georges meant. She felt so small. The universe was vast, alive, and human science truly was in its infancy. The game and President Emilio had a role to play in what was going on.

***

In the Berlin diner where President Emilio was becoming nervous by the turn of events, he couldn't help but smile. This was the best validation of his intuition. His plans were important and relevant. He turned to his lieutenant Patrick and simply said, "We have work to do."