The Second American Revolution - The Building of an Empire Read online

  “They’re all corrupt!” Jennifer yelled and began laughing.

  Jerrick joined her.

  A couple sitting at the next table glanced in Jerrick’s direction, frowning at the laughter. Clearly, the couple was on a date, and they resumed their intimate conversation.

  Jerrick continued, “I don’t think they’re all corrupt; some are honest, but a corrupt system entraps them.”

  ”How much information do you have?”

  “Right now; I have little information. Good information is hard to find. News reporters are scared of the politicians, and they never challenge them or their policies. Only time a reporter will say something negative about a politician if the politician is arrested for a crime. Then the reporters will report the dirt and shady business dealings.”

  “You can use a robot from a search engine to search through blogs and complaint websites,” Jennifer replied cheerfully.

  “That’s true, but I need accurate information. Anyone can post a negative blog or complaint. Some people lie or seek revenge because the politician voted against a person’s favorite bill or law.”

  “Only way is to hack into a government’s computer system, like the FBI's or Inspector General’s computer systems….”

  At that moment, Jennifer stopped talking because she realized what Jerrick wanted.

  Jerrick had a sly smile draped across his face.

  “How much can you pay me?” Jennifer asked.

  “Right now, I can’t pay well. I can afford $5 per hour under the table in cash. I can help you locate fast, untraceable, internet connection points. That way, you don’t compromise your identity.”

  Jennifer reached across the table with her right hand, gesturing for a handshake.

  Jerrick reached and firmly shook her hand, sealing the business deal. He noticed her limp handshake, feeling like a wet noodle, but he didn’t mind one bit.

  Jennifer knew the pay was terrible, but she grew tired of her data entry job. Besides, she earned money for something she did at nights anyway.

  They finished their drinks, and Jerrick dropped Jennifer off at her house.

  ***

  Two weeks after the coffee shop, Jennifer and Jerrick met at the food court at 2 o’clock in the mall.

  Mall was in Dearborn, a rich suburb of Detroit. It was a pristine white mall with large wide-open spaces spanning across two floors.

  In the morning, the elderly walked back and forth through the mall for their exercise, and in the afternoon, the teenagers invaded the mall after school.

  Jerrick and Jennifer sat at a table in the far corner in the food court, opposite the children’s play area and the food counters. They wanted to be as far away from the crowd and the screaming children as possible.

  Jerrick, being polite, pulled the chair out for Jennifer. Then he sat down across from her.

  “How are you?” Jerrick asked politely.

  “I’m doing well; how are you?”

  “Not bad. I brought you a present.”

  Jerrick reached down into his duffel-briefcase and pulled out a new laptop.

  Jennifer’s face brightened as if she were a good child being awarded an unexpected present. She grabbed the laptop and opened it.

  “I work at an electronics store, and I used my employee discount to buy that for you. I read this laptop has the best battery life with three hours surfing on the internet.”

  Jennifer turned the computer on. Next, she pulled out a CD case, opened it, and started flipping through CDs.

  Jerrick saw the homemade CDs and DVDs with weird names and codes scrawled on them using a permanent marker.

  “Jennifer, would you like something to eat and drink?”

  “Are you buying?”

  “Yes, of course!”

  “I’ll order French fries with mayonnaise on the side and a mineral water.”

  “Mayonnaise? Did I hear you correctly?”

  “Jerrick, believe it or not, it’s quite good. I read in a Dutch magazine that they eat it that way in Amsterdam, and I tried it. Since then, I’m hooked. Besides, all the Dutch women are tall and slim, so mayonnaise can’t be bad for you.”

  Jerrick turned and walked to the food counter. He ordered Jennifer’s unusual snack and a pastrami sandwich with everything on it, including the mayonnaise.

  Next, he headed to the coffee shop counter to buy himself a tea and get the Wi-Fi code. This coffee shop changed the Wi-Fi code daily, stopping the free loaders from using its internet service.

  Jerrick placed the food and drinks on a tray and glanced around. He had already scoped this place and didn’t see any cameras. This mall was located in the rich suburbs of Detroit and rarely had any crime. Although he didn’t spot any surveillance cameras, they were so small now; agents can hide them anywhere.

  Jerrick knew the KGB recruited smart, average-looking people. If an agent were too handsome or too ugly, people would notice and would remember. If a person is average looking, people cannot recollect anything about them. Average-looking agents slip in and out of the crowd unnoticed.

  He approached the table, carrying the food and drinks to Jennifer’s table. He knew he was average looking, but Jennifer fixed herself up today. Although she pulled her hair back in a ponytail, she wore a pink blouse with a touch of eye shadow and a dab of blush on her cheeks. She looked attractive today. Thus, people in the mall might remember them if agents had questioned them.

  Jerrick dispensed the food and placed the tray on the other table.

  He sat down and gave her the Wi-Fi code. Next, he nibbled several bites from his sandwich and sipped his tea several times.

  Jennifer didn’t touch her French fries yet. She became engrossed with the computer.

  After several minutes, she popped her head up from behind the notebook computer and asked, “Do you have any names?”

  “Names?”

  “Like a Congressman or governor?”

  Only name Jerrick remembered was Margaret Hayworth, the powerful U.S. Senator from Arkansas. She chaired the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

  Jerrick remembered her because he saw her picture in his college textbook, and she looked like his dear, sweet grandmother.

  Margaret neared 65 with short gray hair, a round face, and 40 lbs overweight. She wore loose fitting suits to hide her width girth.

  After several keystrokes, Jennifer said, “Look at this,” and turned the laptop, so Jerrick read the screen.

  Jennifer started eating her fries; she grabbed a French fry, dipped it in mayonnaise, and ate it.

  Jennifer hacked into the Inspector General’s database. The Inspector General monitors federal employees and traces federal grant money.

  Margaret had her hands in everything. She brought tons of federal money to Arkansas. She helped school districts expand and build more school buildings, helped police departments get grants for squad cars and equipment, and helped organizations get grants for community development.

  Of course, this was not free money. The Inspector General believed Margaret earned kickbacks from these grants.

  If Jerrick only knew whom Margaret Hayworth really was. She hid behind a facade, being polite and acting as everyone’s best friend. Underneath, she was extremely cold, calculating, ruthless. If you crossed her, she struck back but not like a cobra directly. She waited and plotted and schemed for 20 years if she could destroy her opponent.

  Margaret expected her constituents to donate money to her campaign fund and shower her with gifts. For example, a school district in Little Rock wanted federal money to renovate and expand a high school. Margaret worked hard and managed to secure a $250,000 grant. What did the ungrateful school do? They donated a meager $1,000 to her campaign. The school should have donated at least $5,000 by Margaret's calculation.

  Margaret still talked to the school’s superintendent and always accepted his grant proposals. However, she ensured the committee tabled the proposals, and the commit
tee never saw the proposals. Whenever the superintendent called and asked about the grant, she said the committee is studying it.

  ***

  Jerrick and Jennifer hung out more, and as promised, Jerrick paid her for services rendered.

  Jennifer became a wealth of information.

  American people suspected, but they didn’t know the extent of the corruption. At least half the state and local politicians were outwardly rotten while 60% of the Congressmen and federal judges were dirty. Our political leaders did anything and everything to supplement their incomes, all at the taxpayers’ expense. They were maggots feeding off a dead carcass, picking it clean.

  Jerrick understood why a system flourished in America. Politicians loved other dirty politicians. First, they don’t feel bad doing dishonest stuff themselves. Second, the politicians used the dirt to keep party members in line. If a junior politician gets out of line, or ticks off a senior member, then the party would feed the out-of-control politician to the wolves. Press would expose all the dirt and corruption on them while the FBI and federal prosecutors would convict and imprison the politician.

  ***

  Jerrick still delivered speeches at the Moose Club every two weeks and experimented with the topics and delivery of his speeches.

  One particular speech upset his political party as Jerrick started:

  Americans are the superior race on the earth.

  Reason is very simple.

  Americans are the mixture of all cultures and all peoples.

  We are a melting pot of the whole humanity.

  Americans studied the vast cultures of the world and took the best from them.

  Americans took Britain’s Common Law System.

  And her traditions of Justice, Laws, and Equality.

  We took the hardworking spirit of the Germans and Polish, and used their talents to build our factories and engineer high-quality products.

  WWWeee tooook…

  Jerrick started to stammer, which he hasn’t done in a while. He saw the shocked expressions on the audiences’ faces.

  Jerrick didn’t develop rapport with them and stopped his speech.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t feel well today. Let’s welcome Dan, the vice-chair of the National Workers’ Party.”

  Jerrick left the stage with his head bowed down and dashed to his office.

  Tonight, Jerrick thought he written a good speech, but he had failed.

  He placed his elbows on the desk and tucked his face into the palms of his hands.

  In the background, he heard Dan’s booming voice as he made key points in his speech about putting Americans back to work.

  After 20 minutes, Dan opened the office door and sat down on the chair across from Jerrick.

  Dan had a perturbed look on his face and snapped, “What was that about, Jerrick?”

  “I thought I wrote a good speech,” Jerrick said as he lifted his face from his palms and looked at Dan.

  “Superior race? Where did that come from?”

  “I believe it to be true. I thought I wrote a good theme for a speech.”

  “Whenever a person says the superior race, they think of only one man, Adolf Hitler.”

  “Dan, I’m not a racist. I don’t hold any prejudices against any race.”

  “That doesn’t matter. Your enemies will compare you to Hitler and scare everybody. Then members of our party will think you are crazy and leave.”

  “You know I’m not a Nazi. If I must emulate a dictator, I choose Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome.”

  “Jerrick, not that crap again! Although Augustus was the greatest ruler of the ancient world, he ruled over 2,000 years ago. Today we live in different times.”

  Dan glanced at Jerrick and noticed his words sunk in. Dan hoped Jerrick would bury that speech in a deep grave, ensuring it never sees the light of day again.

  Then Dan stood up and rushed out of there before Jerrick started outlined Augustus's achievements. Please, we live in different times!

  Before Jerrick had started his discourse on Augustus, he stared at an empty chair, where Dan occupied seconds ago.

  Jerrick knew better. People confused technology with human development, but the human mind had not evolved. People’s psyche today is the same as it was, 2,000 years ago.

  Families from ancient times wanted jobs to feed themselves and start families. They wanted the best for their children. They gossiped and spread vicious rumors about relatives and foes. Ancient people always struggled with their governments as government seized property, assessed taxes, and recruited soldiers to fight in wars.

  Technology allowed armies to kill more people and granted governments the means to monitor and control their people.

  Technology extended the human mind; it didn’t help the mind evolve and grow. It only confused people, letting modern people think they were better off than their ancestors were.

  Dan’s criticism perturbed Jerrick, but Jerrick encouraged that. He didn’t surround himself by yes-men. He wanted different viewpoints as he weighed the pros and cons of each decision, choosing the best course of action. Dan was right. Jerrick shouldn’t use the superior race, so people didn’t confuse him with Hitler.

  Jerrick noticed Dan had used the words ‘our party.’ Jerrick keep a close eye on Dan.

  Dan could be one of those ambitious captains.

  ***

  Jennifer called Jerrick urgently one day and needed to talk to him immediately.

  They met at the Moose Club at five o’clock.

  Jerrick sat behind his desk.

  Rest of the party like Dan and Chad played billiards in the common area of the Moose Club.

  Jennifer burst into Jerrick’s office at five exactly, leading a young teenager by the hand.

  Teenager looked like a common teenager: too skinny, a rash of pimples on his face, and he didn’t tuck in his Metallica, black t-shirt.

  “Hello, Jerrick.”

  “Hi, Jennifer. Who’s your little friend?”

  “His name is Mikey.”

  “Hello Mike.”

  Mike didn’t say a word. He leaned close to Jennifer, and Jennifer wrapped her loving arm around him.

  “He does not talk much.”

  “No, he’s had a tough life. His mom left him, when he was a baby, and his dad was a tyrant who beat him severely.”

  “Okay, he had a tough life. What can we do for him?”

  “He’s the best computer virus writer.”

  Jerrick studied the boy closely. He would have never guessed. Boy looked normal in every way, except he didn’t speak.

  “What damage has he done?”

  “Remember that computer virus last year? You open your email and bam; your hard drive is wiped clean.”

  Boy began smiling with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

  Jerrick started laughing and added, “That was a nasty little computer virus. Jennifer, what do you have in mind?”

  “He needs a place to stay.”

  “I think I can find a place for him. What about school?”

  Boy started frowning.

  “I don’t think he likes school,” Jennifer replied.

  “Oh, I see. What other computer viruses has this kid dreamt up?”

  “You wouldn’t believe it. He wrote a virus that hits cell phones.”

  “What? Are you kidding?”

  “No, it’s true. A cell phone sends a signal to a cell tower every five minutes. That tells the computer where the cell phone is. Tower can also send text messages to the cell phone. Mike thinks he can embed a simple program into the text message that infects the cell phone with a virus.”

  “Unbelievable! We have no protection from a computer virus for anything with a computer chip.”

  “If it has a computer chip, then someone can write a computer virus that messes it up.”

  Mikey started to giggle.

  Jerrick joined in and laughed a little too.

  “J
en; you can take him out to the farm. I know this old man, who is helping us. He has plenty of room.”

  Then Jerrick studied the boy, “I only have one condition. You’re not to release any computer viruses without my approval. I don’t need the federal government breathing down my neck because someone in the National Workers’ Party unleashed a nasty virus across the world that disrupted computers for a day. Government can use that as an excuse to imprison me and dissolve my political party.”

  “Thanks Jerrick. I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye Jen. I will see you in a couple of days. I’m curious about your progress. Please check back with me.”

  Mikey waved good-bye and left with Jennifer.

  Jerrick sat back in his chair and began thinking. What would he do with a computer virus writer? It can’t hurt to have too much talent in one’s organization, but Jesus, a virus that wipes out the cell phones. What’s next?

  The 2008 Financial Crisis

  Jerrick waited and waited for the collapse of the U.S. economy. He didn’t know when, but he knew it was coming. The U.S. economy experienced the greatest housing bubble that humanity ever saw. Eventually, this bubble would pop and transform into a tsunami wave that would drown the U.S. economy. Most people would never spot the wave until it was too late. Then, chaos would inundate everything.

  Jerrick was working on a normal September. He still worked at the small electronics store as an assistant manager.

  He went to the break room to eat his lunch. He opened the door to a small room, containing a tiny table with three chairs, and an old Frigidaire refrigerator in the corner. Refrigerator hummed gutturally as it cooled the food.

  Discarded food containers littered the table and the floor near the trashcan. An old color tube TV was mounted low on the wall, so workers could change the channel. As usual, the previous viewer switched the channel to MTV, the channel of choice in this place.

  Jerrick walked to the TV and switched the station to CNBC.

  Jerrick stopped halfway to the refrigerator because a sound bite from the news reporter caught his attention.

  “The U.S. government will not bail out Lehman Brothers today. Wall Street is jittery, and investors are selling off their stocks. The Dow Jones has fallen almost 500 points.”

  Jerrick sat down at the table, flabbergasted. It finally happened. His chance had come. Don’t misunderstand Jerrick. He didn’t want good people harmed, but without a major financial crisis, nobody in their right mind would hand all the power to one man and follow him on his mad quest to build an Empire.