It is gray out there, and gusting. Nature is showering us with moisture edged with dank chill to signify that the last of the warmth of this season is being chased out, and cold reality will reconfigure our placid farm from the last of the green to bare branches and cold wind. That fit the mood, since the Fire Ring is too wet to spend much longer time than a single smoke. The rumblings from the Editorial Meeting yesterday, before the rain started, were clear. “Knock off the hysteria, the Boss doesn’t want to hire any more Compliance people to protect us all from litigation from a Government that appears to be at war with us.”

“Wait a minute. Isn’t this the place in the morning story where the Intern walks by with the sign that says we all support Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and will, even though retired from service for a couple decades, avoid disparaging any official specifically cited in the UCMJ?”

“Of course. We all support all those officials and think highly of them.”

Loma pointed at Splash. “How do we deal with the disloyal crowd that seems to be in violation of the Code?”

“We specifically stipulate that all this strange stuff is justified by a medical emergency.”

Splash was clearly hung-over this morning and not temperate in the slightest. Since he is used to living on the other side of the fence when necessary, he is prepared to do it again. Most of the rest of us just go on, thinking the extraordinary events of the last few years is just a reflection of The Plague or something. Since we all were small parts in big machines doing extraordinary things long ago, we appreciate how complex overthrowing a government can be. That some of the tools we left behind are now apparently being used against domestic threats is an interesting point. We know enough to keep our mouths shut, since the Government has all the lawyers it needs to ruin all of us, and what we knew as ‘the rule of law’ only seems to work one way these days.

Splash was worked up, though, and clearly the only one not following company policy. We are prepared to testify to that, which was part of the Editorial Meeting yesterday. “I don’t know that the revelations about the active participation of the Government itself against the previous Presidency (we were told not to use names anymore) will ever have much impact. We think the Durham investigation will continue to chisel out some facts, but the two-year long Robert Mueller investigation was part of an active coup d’etat. A successful one.”

Loma and Rocket leaned back, determined to keep their thoughts to themselves after the warning to be quiet came from the Office they used to work for. DeMille, as a trained Nuclear Officer, was determined to actually determine the problem so that a rational approach, legal and within the framework of law, could be applied. That kept the discussion sort of muted, with only Splash saying things out loud.

Perhaps the rain was making him- and him alone, according to the note from Legal- intemperate. “Our frame of reference- in fact, the one most of us over the age of fifty take as “normal”- no longer exists. If it seems I am veering back to the “revolution already happened” meme, it is the realization that we look at this like the America we grew up in and served most of our adult lives has changed. Most of us still believe in law- and order. Now, disorder is permitted when useful, and punished severely if not.”

DeMille sent an Intern out in the rain to see if there were any unusual cars in the lot beyond the Loading Dock.

“This has been going on a while. They miscalculated on the Trump election in 2016, and their over-reaction to produce 81 million votes for Dopey Joe brought it all out in the open. And the whole Russia conspiracy thing had no consequences, except for one FBI attorney who got “probation” for lying to the FISA Court. If memory serves me correctly, that is a Class One felony. And it was the only justification for the surveillance of a political campaign and the two-year, $40 Million dollar Mueller investigation.”

“I remember that,” said DeMille, looking through some early pages in his current Green Notebook, produced by the Lighthouse for the Blind. “It was run by 18 partisan attorneys supported by a platoon of active FBI personnel.”

Splash frowned. “I remember tuning in to the Mueller hearings at the end of it. My favorite part was when Bob Mueller professed- under oath- his ignorance of the political lobbying firm FusionGPS and their effort to manufacture the material used to justify wire-tapping political opponents of the oligarchy that staged the coup.”

“Have the Intern come in with the placard that says we support all members of the Government that have the power to turn our lives upside down.”

“As soon as the duty kid checks out the parking lot.”

“It makes sense to keep quiet here in the Piedmont. The Virginia election next Tuesday is supposed to mean something. That is why they are trying to get everyone stirred up.”

“I hear a lot of talk about our “Democracy.” It kinda makes me wonder about what is going on out there. America is not a “democracy,’ and it was specifically designed not to be one. We used to live in what the Framers called a “Representative Republic.”

“If that changed, wouldn’t you think it would have been on the ballot some time? Seems like a fairly big deal.’

The Intern came in to make “their” report, looking damp and a little unhappy. “No unusual cars parked. Just that white-and-black one driving up and down the county road every five minutes.”

“Thank goodness. I guess it is safe to speak our minds.”

Naturally, there was general laughter, since we all support the people who run the offices that enforce the rules, whether we like them or not. And of course we do. Nothing could convince us otherwise, and DeMille reminded the Intern to talk to the Supply Shop and ensure we have enough printer cartridges, just in case there is a reason to print a lot of stuff before midnight on Tuesday. Chairman Socotra was insistent on that. He follows the Rules. Old and New.

Copyright 2021 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com