Chapter 18: Microphone
"He's a thug! A criminal! He claims to fight for the innocent, but I ask you this, how many people has his war on crime killed?" The roar of the crowd could be heard in the recording, and when it died down, he continued, "He claims to fight for the poor, for the disaffected, and yet he himself is a billionaire! He is a man who openly champions corporate involvement in government! He's a liar and fraudster, is what he is. He can't be-"
There was a click, and the audio shut off. The air was thick and still, heavy, almost oppressive. Soundproofing lined the walls, and behind a monitor an audio technician fiddled with his knobs, adjusting the sound on the fly. Every word uttered now was being broadcasted live, and the pressure was on. I sat opposite my interviewer at a table, microphones on stands in front of our mouths. In spite of my preparation, there was a thin sheen of sweat on my forehead.
Why was Regina's den so damn hot?
Thank god this wasn't a video interview. I'm much better at sounding confident than I am at looking it.
This guy was no Ziggy Q. No easy questions here.
Still, Max Jones was a hopelessly authentic kind of guy. The kind who stuck to the old-school approach to investigative journalism, and though his audience wasn't the largest in the world, I couldn't help but admire that. He was one of the last respected names in journalism, and accepting an interview by him was also going to lend my campaign additional credibility with my base, which was always a good thing.
"That was a statement by Weldon Holt, the acting Mayor of Night City, given at a recent political rally. What is your response to his statement?"
I nodded sagely, pausing for effect, "You did a piece a while back, about a show - 'In Blood We Serve'?"
"I did."
"The people behind that show helped veterans, gave them preem implants, helped rehabilitate them, and then when their public image improved, they took the implants away and left the veterans to rot. And to rub salt in the wound, they charged the veterans for the time they had the implants."
"I'm aware. I helped to break that story. Will you answer the question?"
I waved away his concern, "I'm getting to it. You see, if you look at my record, I'm a man of my word. You're one of the best, most reliable Media's out there, have you found any instance like that? Any broken contracts or stabbed backs? Any bad-faith dealings?"
He narrowed his eyes, "Not yet."
"Holt is losing, and he knows it. This is nothing more than a cheap attempt at scoring political points."
"But he's not wrong, is he?"
"I'm no angel," I conceded. "I will be the first to tell you that. Like every other corpo, I have a ruthless streak a mile wide, and a willingness to do whatever is necessary. The difference? I'm a man of my word. I say I'm going to do something, give something, take something, then I will. When I said that I was tough on crime, I meant it. Holt's made a lot of promises over the years, but can you honestly tell me that he's kept them? Any of them?" There was a rather damning moment of silence, "And that, more than anything else, is my appeal. I'm not perfect, but I won't pretend that I am."
"Hmm. Let's talk about your background, then. You have been notoriously vague about your past up till now. Why?"
I shrugged, keeping my tone as amicable as possible, sticking to the backstory I had created that was the hardest for anyone to poke holes into, "That's simple: it's unremarkable and unimpressive. I'm not particularly well-educated, not like Mr Peralez, nor am I someone with significant political experience. I am, in every sense of the word, an outsider. Hell, I had to teach myself how to read, due to a lack of anything in the way of formal education in my childhood. I was and am basically an extraordinarily lucky street-rat."
"And yet, there is no formal record of you even so much as existing till relatively recently. How do you explain that?"
"With the sclerotic and dysfunctional governments of today?" A breath of laughter slipped past my lips, "Easily! Hell, I'm sure a good chunk of people in the NUSA and Night City today are undocumented!"
Max looked unimpressed, "Hmm. And how do you explain the sudden announcement of Jefferson Peralez, by all accounts your main competition and the leading candidate for the office of mayor, suddenly withdrawing his candidacy?"
"He elaborated his reasons for dropping out pretty clearly when he made his announcement, don't you think? You want any more detail than that, then you're going to have to ask him, not me."
"So, you had no impact on his decision?"
Ah, so he was setting a trap. Gotcha journalism at it's finest. How did he find out about the meeting? I pushed the question to the back of my mind, and made sure to keep calm as answered, "I do."
"My sources report that you visited him just a few days before his announcement. Are you telling me that was completely unconnected?"
I shook my head, "It was connected. I heard over the grapevine that he was thinking about dropping out, and I wanted his endorsement, so I went to try and get it. As you can see, I was successful."
The implication was clear in his tone, "And nothing else was discussed?"
"Nothing of any significance. A few pleasantries, a little advice, but not much else."
"Well, let's discuss some of your positions, then. You elaborated in a recent leaked memo that you looked favourably on corporate interests. Can you elaborate on why?"
I frowned, "It would be a mischaracterisation to say that I look favourably on corporations. It would be more accurate to say that I see them as necessary, and I have stipulated that on numerous occasions."
"For our audience, can you elaborate on why?"
"Corporations hold a tremendous amount of power in our society today. That is no secret. But more often than not, they often behave extractively, seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of others. However, as I have demonstrated, that does not have to be the case. And here is the truth: corporations aren't the problem, incentives are. We have through systematic deregulation altered the incentives of corporations in a negative manner. But we can change that. If properly incentivised and regulated, corporations can be a tremendous force for good, lifting millions out of poverty and improving the standard of living. But only if the incentives change."
"And how would you propose to do that?"
I rubbed my chin, thinking this one through, opting for my trademark bluntness, "You know, not too long ago, some corporations started lobbying me? Some offered assistance to aid in my economic policies, others threatened my business interests, others attempted bribery or even outright threats of physical violence. Not to mention the copious numbers of other forms of implicit coercion."
Max frowned, though I found it a little disheartening that he didn't seem remotely fazed to hear me say it, "Can you tell me who?"
"I won't name the corporations, for reasons of personal safety, but it's safe to say that there were a significant number of them. It would be fair to say that one stood out amongst all the rest, however, and that one isn't in my good books."
"What did they want?"
I shrugged, "Influence, mostly. Nobody wants to lose their market share, and everyone wants control. Some want to gain market advantage, others want to keep the status quo, you get the idea."
"Did you take their offer?"
I laughed, "Of course not! No good businessman takes someone's first offer. No, I negotiated. That wasn't to say that I said no outright - I'm not an idiot - but I made sure to keep the public interest in mind. In fact, I expect that certain corporations will be making some announcements soon - y'know, public-private cooperation, that sort of thing - so watch out for that."
"What announcement?"
"Like I said Max, I'm not an idiot. I won't announce something that isn't a sure thing."
Max seemed to find my response humorous, "Is this the kind of corporate influence you were referring to?"
I sighed heavily, "To be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure how corporate influence in politics should work, I just know that the current system doesn't."
Max quirked an eyebrow at me, "So, your answer is that you have no answer?"
I sighed, "That is not explicitly true. I do have some ideas about how to go about this. For example, introducing official corporate representatives for certain industries, selected by all the firms in that sector, into the city council would go a long way in bringing a lot of these under-the-table dealings out into the public space."
"But wouldn't that undermine the voting power of the public?"
I nodded, "That is a real concern of mine. Such a system may undermine democracy, especially if the corporate voting bloc is larger than the bloc of actually elected representatives in the city council, and there is the problem of the slippery slope with corporate leaders acquiring political power and undermining free markets and so on, but I do think it's feasible. But, to be clear, I'm not saying we should do something like that, just that it's a possibility." I shrugged, "Still, say whatever you want about such a system, but it would increase transparency, and more public scrutiny is almost always a good thing in politics."
"Hmm, I see. Let's talk about your policy proposals, then."
"Sure, what do you want to know?"
"Can you lay out your legislative priorities for our audience?"
"Sure. So, to give a brief summary, there are three main points of order on the domestic policy front: crime, housing, and education. Crime is the big one. Several other issues will play a role as well, of course, such as health policy and tax restructuring, but those are the big three."
"Could you be more specific?"
I nodded, "Well, for crime, the focus will be on reforming the NCPD. The organisation will need to be renationalised, and a spending spree will follow. Police will be kitted out with the equipment they need, rather than the relics or pea-shooters they currently have, as well as a broad mandate to tackle violent crime. On the other hand, anti-corruption measures will be made stronger, to prevent officers abusing their newfound power."
"Uh-huh."
"So, things like mandatory body-cams, making individual officers liable for serious abuses of power without just cause whilst ensuring they still have a good Samaritan exemption, that sort of thing."
"I see. What about housing?"
"One of the main things negatively affecting the standard of living in Night City is the cost of living. People can't move up the economic ladder if all their wages go to rent, y'know? To fix that, one of our main priorities is going to have to be expanding the housing supply of the city. Repair abandoned buildings and refit them as apartments and the like, and expand the housing stock. Some will be sold as market-rate housing, others will be kept by the city to convert into homeless shelters. Meanwhile, we will also be looking at changing some of the zoning laws to incentivise construction firms to build more units, and keep housing prices reasonable on a more long-term basis."
"And Education?"
"Well, I'm looking to invest into-"
Max frowned as his eyes began to glow, touched his ear, and then looked at the man behind the glass gesturing in my direction, before cutting me off, "Sorry to interrupt, but we have some breaking news."
"Oh, of course. Go ahead."
"We have just received reports that Hanako Arasaka has been abducted at the Arasaka-sponsored dashi parade. Our sources say that the assailants struck as the parade was in full swing, overwhelming and seizing control of the Arasaka heiress's parade platform. Details are thin on the ground, folks, but needless to say that the significance of this cannot be underestimated."
"Wow, that's big news."
Max leaned back in his chair, and looked at me, a glint in his eyes, "Say, the corporation that you said stood out among all the rest... The one that didn't get into your good books..."
I quirked an eyebrow, "Yes, what about it?"
He looked at me, then at the man behind the glass, and then back at me, "Was it Arasaka?"
I smiled, knowing the world was listening, and said, "No comment."
Bit of a filler chapter.
Sorry for the long delay between chapters, but life has gotten busy lately, so...
Feel free to comment and let me know what you think.
Hope you guys are enjoying the story thus far!
P.S. Didn't quite like the way this one came out. May be subject to rewrite
