On televisions across America, a jingle played as the screens switched from commercials to a popular news show.
"Good evening. I'm Tucker Carlson, and for those that are just joining us, welcome to the show. With us tonight is Wilbur Ross, the Secretary of Commerce in President Trump's cabinet to discuss the harm that Eden and their state company, Hephaestus Industries and Manufacturing are doing to our country. Are we just going to watch as they continue causing harm to our citizens and democracy?"
"You mentioned the harm they're causing us, and I couldn't agree more. From the moment they began breaking international law and violating intellectual property rights on a broad scale to now, American companies have lost almost 150 Billion Dollars. And that number will only grow the longer we allow them to continue breaking the law." Wilbur Ross had been briefed by the Office of Public & Media Affairs and knew what he was supposed to say. Tucker Carlson, on the other hand, had been briefed by the Morgan family and knew what he was supposed to ask. The two were putting on a stage play in order to demonize Eden and begin raising public support for the eventual shooting war that would break out between the two countries.
"Also with us tonight is our own Tamara Holder, our legal analyst and host of the show ‘Sports Court’, which you can watch now on our website. Tamara, what do you think of the issue?" Tucker interjected. Tamara Holder was his favorite punching bag and the network's current mascot. She was what he considered a "classic bleeding heart liberal" and he always enjoyed cutting her arguments down.
"Don't you think they're justified in their response when we unilaterally decided their guilt and are punishing them for it? This country was founded on the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ but just because they're poor, they're automatically guilty?" Tamara fired back. She was a criminal defense and civil rights attorney, so what the US was doing to Eden had struck her as very, very wrong.
"Are you sure you want to take their side like that? Do you think we implemented these sanctions because we enjoy them?" The secretary of commerce asked in retort.
"Yes!"
Secretary Ross was taken aback for a moment and his mind went blank, but then he wrenched his thoughts back on track and continued with the arranged script, casting a glare at the young attorney across the table from him. "No, you have to keep in mind that the sanctions were only implemented as a result of them denying UN inspectors free access to what the investigators need to prove Eden's innocence and completely clear them. Instead of acting like an innocent party, they're acting like they have something to hide. What could a little country like them be afraid of? What are they hiding? They're acting guilty!"
"But sanctions don't work! We've seen it in North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and even Syria. So all we're doing is punishing them and preventing them from joining the rest of the world and contributing to all of humanity—" Tamara began.
"I have to remind you, Miss Holder, that the sanctions aren't just being imposed by us, but by the entire UN," Secretary Ross interrupted. "Before you accuse us of violating our principles, you should take into account that they've already been tried before a jury of their peers—the United Nations Security Council—and been found guilty."
The people on the show continued arguing back and forth with occasional interference from Tucker to make the argument as wide as possible, even blatantly accusing Eden of possessing WMDs.
…
"They're doing very well," George said as he watched the show from the comfort of his father's study along with his father. "But the speed the administration's moving at is too slow. If they don't hurry up, we won't be able to make a move until next year," he added, looking at his father to see what he thought of the timeline.
"Do you know how many years it took for us to make the American citizens see the invasion of Saddam's regime as something that needed to be done?" Aubrey asked instead of answering his son's question.
"About a decade, I think, from the moment his usefulness to us ended," George answered.
"Correct. So this plan taking only a year can be said to be ten times more efficient compared to the Saddam matter, but there are a few major contributors to that efficiency." Aubrey paused for a moment, then continued, "The first is the internet. With everyone on it, it's a great tool to manipulate public opinion. And the second is Eden's ridiculous response, which is making it almost too easy for us to paint them as a rogue nation that we have to deal with to maintain peace.”
"I knew that we needed a reason before we do anything so that the public doesn't have a negative reaction... But why do we have to waste so much time painting them as the bad guys when we could just fabricate an attack on us as a justification?" George asked.
"Why do you think we haven't attacked North Korea when everyone already thinks of them as enemy number one?" Aubrey asked.
"Because they have nukes?" George answered, tilting his head.
"No, it's because they haven't attacked us yet. They only rattle their sabers until just before we attack, then they stop. They only want attention," he answered, then continued in more detail, "America always fights from the moral high ground. Before we participated in WWII, Pearl Harbor had to happen. The same could be said for 9/11. Although unlike Pearl Harbor, the 9/11 attacks were unexpected. Still, it was justification enough to immediately mobilize our forces despite them being unprepared to fight a protracted war in the mountains."
"But in both cases, the attacks were just the final piece of the puzzle that allowed the entire country to fully rally behind the idea of war. Without them, there'd be no way for us to justify the horrors of war."
"So even after all of this preparation, we need them to attack us first. Whether they actually attack us, as bin Laden did, or whether we manufacture and provoke the attack, as FDR did in 1941 with Pearl Harbor and the Japanese, it still needs to happen before we can declare war."
He turned to his secretary and said, "Inform the CIA to start releasing the information we collected and fabricated that fits our agenda, as we need to use Eden's actions to give credibility to the president's statement."
"Yes, sir," the secretary said, then left the room.
"Do we have the questions congress is going to be asking them?" Aubrey asked.
"Yes. We'll be rewriting them based on the information we have and the optics we want to present, but we'll be fully prepared by the time of the appearance. Or at least as prepared as we can be—their lack of reaction and fighting is making me nervous, like they're planning something behind our backs," George said.
"Whatever they're doing to prepare, they probably aren't expecting what we've got coming for them at all. But still, we should try and find out what they're planning."
"I'll keep that in mind, father," George responded, then returned his attention to the TV, where Tucker Carlson's stage play was still ongoing.
