The Love Police by Scott Talbot Evans

Author:Scott Talbot Evans [Evans, Scott Talbot]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-13T22:00:00+00:00

Susan, NY 2121 Population: 4,088,038Median income: $1,336,280

Murders: 0

Bank Robberies: 0

Assaults: 20

Burglaries: 8

Thefts: 8

Arson: 0

The numbers are low because it’s only April. She stares at the chart. Then her eye zeros in on bank robberies: 0.

That can’t be right. There was a bank robbery. She filed the report herself. Why isn’t it there?

She changes the 0 to a 1. “That’s better.” She examines the page for more errors, then notices the 1 changes back to a 0, by itself!

“What the?”

She changes it back and watches.

It changes back again.

She checks other figures and finds more discrepancies. “What is going on here?”

The radio announces the weather forecast:

“It looks like it’s going to be another perfect day, with sunny skies and highs in the eighties. Thank you, global warming. In financial news, the markets rose, then dropped, then rose again, followed by another steep loss and another sharp rise.”

The crime database is run by the Center for Crime Statistics in Washington, DC. Their motto is: Providing the highest quality in data analysis. She looks for their address, but none is given. She hunts for a Contact button, but there is none. Only a photo of the director, Howard B. Stems. No contact info for him either. She glares at his cheesy smile, mocking her. “Ha. Ha. You can’t find me.”

On the radio:

“I’m Berkeley Bean and this is Business Dealings. Today we are talking with media analyst Rikki Nudd about the record-setting judgment of 48 quadrillion dollars that was just levied against software giant GoogBook. In October the company was found guilty of tampering with the flow of information. Welcome, Rikki.”

“It’s a pleasure to be here.”

“Well, this is a big hit for GoogBook.”

“Yes, indeed. The judgment, if paid, would constitute a whopping 5% of their annual earnings.”

“You said if paid. Why is that?”

“The ruling is one thing, but actually collecting the cash is another. The pentillion-dollar corporation can drag their feet for years. The settlement will no doubt be appealed and could end up substantially reduced.”

“So let’s get to the facts of the case. What exactly did GoogBook allegedly do?”

“They were found guilty, so we don’t have to say allegedly. What they did was alter the flow of information.”

“Tell us about that.”

“Let’s say you’re shopping for a car, and let’s say the price online is listed as $400,000.”

“Okay.”

“Now, let’s say I try to buy the same car. The car is exactly the same. The only difference is that it is me shopping instead of you.”

“Okay.”

“And let’s say that my salary happens to be twice your salary.”

“That sounds about right.” They laugh.

“Guess what. When I look at the same car, now the price is listed as $800,000.”

“Okay. I guess that is kind of shady.”

“In fact it is quite illegal.”

“But you’re free to say no.”

“Not really. Because now I go looking for a better deal. Here is where it gets really sinister. Guess what? I can’t find a better deal. I look and look. Now understand this: There are plenty of other car dealers out there offering

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