“Suffice to say, we’ve been amused by what your organization has attempted and accomplished.”
“You mean you’re scared,” countered the guest flatly. This elicited a soft chuckle from Roth.
“You may be right, but our organization has much bigger fish to fry than your miniscule vigilante group. China, for instance, is the second largest economy in the world. Their military strength and technology is growing profoundly, soon they’ll perfect a network hacking system that will be more effective than yours. Their export-to-import ratio is around 65 to 35 percent. They’re producing everything for the world.”
“And why does that threaten you, Mr. Roth?”
“Because China is far more difficult to control than the rest of the world. They don’t play by Western rules, nor are they easily manipulated by our media, lobbyists and special interest groups.” Roth smiled coldly at his guest.
“The Chinese rule as a monolithic structure that dictates to, and holds sway over, their elite money men. Unlike our baleful Congress, their government is not controlled by their oligarchs. If a billionaire tycoon irks the government, or cheats it, he is executed, tortured or sent to a labor camp; his assets taken from him and his family scarred for life. Here in the States, such a person keeps his job, gets a promotion, gets bailed out or runs for public office. The Chinese government, not their corporate elite, controls the nation and its direction.”
“I understand, Mr. Roth. A nation like that would be hard to bring to heel, even with your global resources.”
“And that is why we must have all those assets in full control and functioning in unison here so we can eventually launch against China.”
“I guess what you’re saying is that we’ve thrown a wrench into those plans?” The guest felt a measure of comfortable control as he further fleshed out his host’s cryptic vision. Roth sensed this and dropped his smile.
“We can’t allow PIPER’S, Inc. to run the nation as it has been. You’re right; you’ve thrown a wrench into our plans and have damaged the cogs and gears we’ve had in place throughout history.” Roth, with a look of slight anger if not annoyance, leaned in. “I am a Rothschild. I am a descendant of kings, royals and monarchs. My family has been controlling the Earth and its people for centuries.” He seemed to take pride in his proclamation, but his guest was unmoved; if anything, a small simmer of animosity began to kindle just under his skin. Roth was not just an elitist snob, but met the classic PIPER’S, Inc. target profile. Roth downed his shot and continued.
“We’ve given you a few years to, shall we say, thin the herd of filth in the government and the corporate sector. But you’ve been thinning out some of the people we’ve needed to maintain our foundational goals, some of our sprockets in the great wheel. How can China see us as an equitable partner – a formidable partner – if, in their knowledge and presumed respect for our legitimate oligarchical place in history, can’t control the savages in our own jungle?”
“I don’t see why we can’t coexist,” countered the guest. “PIPER’S, Inc. doesn’t want control or world dominance; it wants justice for all Americans, to have fair and enriching livelihoods for the average citizen. We don’t desire to do anything overseas concerning foreign governments, foreign wealth or foreign investments, so you can have all of that. We couldn’t care less.”
“I wish it were that simple. You must understand that we don’t want our citizens living fair and enriching livelihoods; we don’t want them to have justice. Populations must be presented with limitations, detours and dead ends so that they’re only response is to come to us for aid and relief, aid and relief which further enslaves them.”
“Slaves fed well by their masters are still slaves, nevertheless,” countered the guest but Roth ignored him.
“This is true, but what is the Human Race other than organic beings being told what to do, how to do it, when to do it and what to think? We must maintain a mechanism of control that remains unchallenged and unchecked. We don’t want them educated or intellectually curious; we want them docile like sheep so they don’t vote or vote for the person we want.
“That’s why your takedown of FOX News hurt. Sure, they are just one of many anti-intellectual spokes on the wheel of misinformation, but we’ve depended on them to sway and influence the low information, racist, bigoted and uneducated masses for decades.”
“And it’s worked, Mr. Roth. You’ve managed to cultivate generations of idiots and dull-minded minions. That is, until we came around.”
Roth exhaled and drained his glass.
“What’s done is done. We move on.” He poured himself another and strolled to a massive wall-to-wall bookshelf that wrapped around the entire room. The guest marveled at the room’s cathedral ceilings, layered crystal chandeliers, engraved Mahogany wall paneling, Victorian furniture, Baroque wall sconces and tapestry, painted glass lamps and polished wooden floors. This was just one room in the magnificent mansion and it looked like a turn of the century library. Roth faced no less than a thousand books on the section he faced, gazing at the leather jackets standing tightly in formation.
“What you did to FOX News, to the conservative pundits, to the ultra-Right Wing talk show hosts, as well as your eradication of the narcissistic reality shows, significantly changed the media landscape and our message.”
“And what message might that be, Mr. Roth?” Roth turned around.
“That being angry and ignorant are the two mindsets that allow the type of mass control we use to make policy. We peddle fear. Fear of change, fear of knowledge, fear of progress. The corporate media, whom we control, proliferates this narrative to the idiots of society. And to what end? Politics. With control of the news media, we guide the dull masses – the sheep - to our well-funded and highly manipulated candidates. These shepherds, if you will, craft the laws and ideas we want to promote, while blocking those that affect our strategy.”
“Of course, rigged elections,” stamped the guest.
“We peddle anti-intellectualism. We don’t want citizens to think for themselves, do research or be given tools to understand the underpinnings of our doctrine; and thus, the candidates we choose block educational funding, raise the price of university tuition, and lower teachers’ pay.”
“You won’t get far with those tactics now that John Belleci is in charge of Education,” retorted the guest.
“Indeed, Dr. Belleci is one of those wrinkles that we will one day have to iron out.”
The guest glared at Roth at this inference.
“We don’t want protests, or anti-establishment people speaking out; that’s dangerous. We want society docile, accepting of authority who will tell them how to think, what to do and how to behave. We do much of this passively with reality TV.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are millions of stay-at-home moms, tens of millions of unemployed dads, men and students who spend hundreds of hours a month in front of their TVs. They don’t read, they don’t go to museums, they don’t advance their knowledge. They’re lazy, stupid or lack any sense of intellectual curiosity. It takes something idiotic like the old Pokémon Go craze to get them outside their pathetic existences.” Roth chuckled. “For these mindless people, these great flocks of sheep – reality shows are a great venue to further dull their minds, don’t you think?”
The guest thought about this and had to agree with Roth’s logic.
“With the reality shows, we fill the curious and ignorant viewers with empty entertainment, narcissism, shock drama and envy. This works to further dumb them down and keep them from thinking logically. Whether you see it directly or indirectly, such shows are all part of politics. John Belleci was right when he said, ‘The dumbing down of America - whether through reality shows, reliance on technical gadgets or religion - is purely