Laura McGehee - The Royal Dream

S o then you just copy this bit of code right here, and paste, and youre good to go, Chelsea explained to Nathaniel Julde, her trusted intern. He was spry, young, passionate, and filled with the sort of fresh-faced idealism that fondly reminded Chelsea of herself at a much younger age. She had now lived fifteen tumultuous years on this earth, and was jaded by her many months of Service to the Cause. But when it came to Kennedy, no sacrifice was too great or too little. At least, thats what Chelsea whispered to herself late at night, when thoughts of the treason she had committed made her stomach turn.

And then you just publish it? Nathaniel Julde asked, his eyes eternally open way too wide.

Exactly, Chelsea answered. It had been three months since Hank Washington-Abbotts claim to the throne, and his story had dominated the RoyalChatterStream, while the Stream continued to dominate the lives of anyone with a functioning brain, and even a few coma patients as well. The peasants learned how he had been an inadvertent creation between Jonathan and a peasant lover, kept quiet for years. The baby had been quietly relocated to distant relatives, and Jonathan had been none the wiser. But at the Royal Summit, Donna had released the Royal documents that proved his lineage, and King Hank declared his claim to the throne. The peasant-raised Hank Washington-Abbot was now the ruling King of the United States of America, and Chelsea could not be more furious at the ineffective idiocy of it all. It was time to #TearDownTheWall.

Nathaniel Julde hit the publish button, and they both watched as the Stream repopulated with thousands of false Chatters.

@BrokeN4U: Can some1 tell me why we are just letting anyone be King these days? Seems like Kennedy is a much better option for ruler than any of these idiots. #TearDownTheWall

@HowNowBrownCow: Kennedys reformation of the work week is something I will LEGIT die for #TearDownTheWall

@QuestionEverythingPlease: So the world is fed Royal stories like Trevors stupid reality show, meanwhile, the Royals continue to own us? Wake up, Vote for Kennedy #TearDownTheWall #DeathToRoyalty

@AnyoneAnyoneAnyone: why did we stop talking about that whole FAKE WASHINGTON scandal?? They are planting false docs and manipulating each other and were just supposed to let them play while we live in poverty??!! #TearDownTheWall

Chelsea had been a major player in spreading the false revelation that George Washington did not have any biological offspring, which had overwhelmed the Stream during the Royal Summit. But then Donna had taken to the microphone and proven the documents to be cleverly falsifiedwhile offering a larger, more distracting Washingtonian scandal: King Hank. This embarrassment had scalded Chelsea in the pit of her gut, and made her commitment to Kennedy and the Cause burn even brighter.

So thats it, then? Nathaniel Julde asked.

Thats it, Chelsea affirmed. Nathaniel Julde nodded. She knew he would go far in this organizationwith the election only four weeks away it had become increasingly important to find the peasants with the right mixture of angst and intelligence to fight for change, for Kennedy. This bearded kid, with his crooked smile and gap teeth, had proven to do just that, time and time again.

I never expected it to be so easy to hack the Stream, Nathaniel Julde mused. Chelsea shrugged.

Listen, kid, when youve been around as long as I have, youll realize that anything is possible if you try hard enough.

I think Im older than you, Nathaniel Julde pointed out.

You see, Chelsea said, shaking her untamed half-shaved head of brown curls and affecting her best impression of Mirandas aloof intelligence, Kennedy knows the right people to make things happen. He brings people together, and he dismantles the infrastructure of life as we know it.

Nathaniel nodded, and she could tell by the flush spreading across his cheeks that she had caught another one.

Thank you, Nathaniel said, blinking his owl-eyes rapidly. For everything. For the opportunity, for the job, for everything. Chelsea patted him on the back brusquely. It would do no good to get emotionalhe must learn that political campaigns had no room for joy.

Dont mention it, she said with a smile, but then she leaned down close to Nathaniel Juldes face. Seriously. Do not mention this to anyone, or itll be both of our heads.

He nodded earnestly once more, a tiny owl bobble-head. Chelsea gestured to the GlassTop in front of him. Well? she asked. What are you waiting for? Get to it!

He nodded and dropped his head down, furiously typing code. Chelsea slowly stepped back to marvel at her rows upon rows of interns publishing false Chatter after Chatter. She was doing something incredible, even if it meant cutting off all contact with her family, dropping out of school, and committing GlassNet treason. She was changing the world, and that trumped everything. The whole youthful team of vigilante freedom fighters lived, breathed, and Chattered in the harmoniously amorphous desire for revolutioneveryone, except for that one empty chair that marked the most recent sacrifice in her life. She couldnt help but wonder where Samantha was right then, and if she was thinking about Chelsea, and the Cause.

In fact, she was, because just at that moment Samantha walked through the door, high heels clanging loudly through the room. The slew of interns looked up, and then hastily averted their collective gaze. Chelseas heart surged with alarm, and she mentally ran down the checklist of how she looked. Hair: artfully disheveled, half of it shaved. Face: tastefully smudged with make-up, la Miranda, accentuating her light brown skin, paled considerably by months spent underground. Clothing: thrift-store attire purposefully purchased to be several sizes too large. Composure: blank, as if seeing the former best friend you had fired just two days ago did not even register. Chelsea was ready to face Samantha, even though she saw the hurt, pain, and betrayal vividly in Samanthas brazen eye contact.