Welcome To The Terrordome

The Boiled Brew Café

A seemingly unremarkable evening was winding down for Mr Dresden Leipzig. He was out socialising with friends and as he was preparing to make his way home, alone, he called in to an eatery near the train station for a snack and a drink. Dresden was not exactly a regular at the Boiled Brew Café, but he had dined there enough to have some familiarity with the staff and the occasional patron.

As was customary for The Boiled Brew Café, the television was tuned to the news. Leipzig had finished his snack by the time the news broadcaster announced the result of the national election held earlier that day. Digesting the news of the new government was a lot more problematic for Leipzig than was digesting his Tofu Wrap. It is quite the understatement to say that the new government was not to his liking.

The news broadcast informed Dresden that the new government had immediately appointed the Chief of The Stasi and he will head the Climate Integrity Commission. The Chief of The Stasi announced that Climate Integrity Lines would be established immediately for members of the community to report instances of Climate Hoax activity and the location and any identifying details of Climate Hoaxers.

The heart of Dresden stopped. He was once a staunch and very public advocate of climate change and publicly advocated for “Deniers” to lose their rights and be subject to intense government and community scrutiny. Now Dresden was an infidel Climate Hoaxer, thanks to the change of government.

The news broadcaster announcing the message from the Chief of The Stasi:

• “We are coming for the Climate Hoaxers and we will not be taking any prisoners”.

kept repeating in the head of Dresden.

Someone at a table near the newly classified Infidel Dresden proclaimed loudly:

“Life is about to get very uncomfortable for Climate Hoaxers. Good.”

The news was a combination of a personal tsunami and earthquake for Dresden. He may have finished eating his food, but finishing his mug of chai tea was a challenging exercise. Dresden was torn between leaving immediately for home and staying and listening to the remainder of the news broadcast. He immediately hoped no one recognised him, although it seemed to him the pounding of his heart might drown out the audio of the television news.

Continuing the confronting news broadcast, The Chief of The Stasi went on to announce that a Climate Integrity Commission had been created and there would be a public awareness campaign, including billboards, posters and flyers, about the Climate Integrity Lines. Those people in the community who had relevant information about Climate Hoaxers were encouraged to use the Climate Integrity Lines to inform on and about Climate Hoaxers.

The political party Dresden did not want to win the national election was successful and they immediately kept their election promise: Those who had advocated for Climate Change and who advocate for Climate Change were now Infidels and those Climate Hoaxers were very much considered public enemies.

Dresden wanted to leave the eatery, but he could not move. He also wanted to stay and hear the rest of the news broadcast and to try to gauge the reaction of the eatery patrons to the news of the new government and its attitude to the newly created Infidels, Climate Hoaxers. His mind was running at a million kilometres an hour. He could not think straight.

Ultimately the subject news broadcast was short, yet earth-shattering for Dresden. His initial inability to move worked in his favour. He heard all of the relevant news broadcast and then the broadcast moved on to other inconsequential news.

The longer Leipzig remained at the Boiled Brew Café, the more he became aware of the positive attitude of other patrons of the eatery to the new government and the Climate Integrity Commission. Dresden was stunned that introduction of the Climate Integrity Lines was greeted with loud approval. He was not comfortable with what he was seeing and hearing and it was clear him engaging with any of the eatery patrons would not be a positive experience for him.

Dresden remained at the Boiled Brew Café for about another fifteen (15) minutes. He walked to the counter, paid for his meal and proceeded to the train station to make his way home.

That journey home was resplendent with thoughts of impending personal terror. Leipzig realised that there would be a digital record of his attendance at the Boiled Brew Café and possibly close circuit television video. There would definitely be video surveillance of his attendance at the train station and his train ride home.

What does he do about his employment on Monday? he thought. Does he turn up and risk being revealed to the authorities as an Infidel? Does he stay home? His absence from work will draw attention to him. Does he try to run and create something of a new life somewhere else?

Unbeknown to Leipzig, after he left the Boiled Brew Café one of its other patrons was skimming through a somewhat dated magazine provided by the eatery while he ate the meal he had ordered. That magazine had a Climate Change Advocacy article by Leipzig. That patron realised Leipzig had been in attendance at the eatery earlier in the evening. It was clear the patron was no friend of Leipzig. He started making notes about the article and the attendance of Leipzig at the Boiled Brew Café that evening, fully intending to subsequently use the Climate Integrity Lines to inform on Leipzig.

The new world was taking shape and it was one that offered no comfort to Dresden Leipzig.

Workplace Reaction

The next day, Sunday, management of the data analysis firm that employs Dresden Leipzig had something of a crisis meeting in response to the election of a new national government and the establishment of the Climate Integrity Commission. There was no resistance proffered to the suggestion that all climate change related work be stopped. It was not a significant amount in financial terms and management thought the business could endure the loss of that income while replacement income generating work was sought.

Somewhat surprisingly management took a benevolent view of Dresden Leipzig.  He was the only staff member of the firm that did climate change related analysis work. Apart from that work, management thought he did other work of value for the firm, so ending his employment was not necessary at this time.

That situation would be reassessed should the Climate Integrity Commission focus its attention upon him. The attitude of management was much less benevolent when pondering that hypothetical scenario.

On Monday, the first work day after the election of the new national government, workplace chatter at the data analysis firm was almost exclusively about the new government and the Climate Integrity Commission. A staff member already had a war story about someone they knew who had appeared before court charged with being a climate hoaxer. Naturally they were convicted and ordered to be microchipped and forced to submit to digital ID. The surveillance web site was already in operation.

No staff member was interested in being part of that cohort which was subject to surveillance and no one was speaking favourably about Dresden Leipzig. The staff were quite content to view him as an Infidel, due to his climate change work and advocacy. He was now most definitely an outcast and friendless in his workplace. If Dresden chose to attend work subsequent to the election, a hostile workplace would greet him.

The Legislative Powers of The Chief of The Stasi

By the time those staff members had arrived at work The Chief of The Stasi had already publicly announced that he has the power to draft and create valid legislation. Relevantly he did so in respect of Climate Hoaxers. His legislation denies the Hoaxers a right to a criminal law trial. They may get a trial, but they do not have a right to a trial. The arresting or apprehending Stasi Sandman (the police of the Climate Integrity Commission) has the discretion / power to decide if the Infidel should get a trial.

Those Stasi Sandmen were already well into their work. Vogel Heidlemeir was an otherwise unremarkable adult male having lunch at the Trance Cafeteria. Vogel noticed the wife of his good friend Creole Endicott in the company of another man, who was clearly not her husband. The observant Vogel did not contact Endicott, he immediately contacted The Climate Integrity Commission and made a complaint that the “cheating wife” was a Climate Hoaxer. Within minutes a Stasi Sandman attended upon the scene and arrested the “cheating wife” and transported her for micro-chipping and Digital ID.

By midday The Chief of The Stasi had publicly announced the apprehension and prosecution of the adultress as a Climate Hoaxer. There was no mention of her infidelity. All that was needed was an allegation that she was a Climate Hoaxer.

The Chief of The Stasi emphasised justice in the new regime would be swift and brutal for Climate Hoaxers.

Justice: Climate Stasi Style

While Dresden was ruminating upon whether to attend work, an unrelated random Infidel was arrested for the crime of making a climate hoax statement in public. He was promptly arrested and brought before the court. When his case was ultimately brought on, he was allowed to have legal representation. His court-imposed punishment was that he would be microchipped and have to have a Digital ID.

Dresden decided to attend his work. That train ride to work was fatal to the life of freedom Dresden previously enjoyed. Seemingly no one noticed Dresden on his train ride home from the Boiled Brew Café Saturday night. That was in stark contrast to this train trip to work. Lots of fellow commuters seemed to recognise him and they were happy to let all and sundry know about it. His fellow train travellers made furious use of their mobile telephones to access the Climate Integrity Lines with telephone calls, text messages and photographs relating to Dresden. He knew there was nothing he could do to escape this new found infamy. Dresden now felt trapped in the new regime.

Notification to the Stasi Sandmen was immediate and they boarded the train to apprehend Dresden before he arrived at work.

News of the arrest of Dresden Leipzig made the mid-morning news and it came to the attention of at least one work colleague, who in turn contacted the Climate Integrity Lines and shared with them the involvement of Dresden in Climate Change Advocacy.

Dresden Leipzig was taken from the train directly to the Court. While he was sitting in the dock of the court waiting for his case to be heard, he watched and heard all of the proceedings of the random Infidel arrested for the crime of making a climate hoax statement in public.

When his turn came to be dealt with by the court, Leipzig was not allowed to have legal representation and all of his previous statements were used as irrefutable evidence against him. The Judge told Leipzig the overwhelming nature of the evidence against him meant he was not entitled to legal representation.

The Prosecutor assigned to the Dresden Leipzig case had earlier endorsed the sentiments that Infidel Leipzig ought not be entitled to legal representation, due to the overwhelming nature of the evidence against him.

That Prosecutor informed the Court that a significant amount of the evidence against Leipzig was a product of citizens loyal to the regime using the Climate Integrity Lines to inform about Leipzig. Emphasised by the Prosecutor was the fact that the data analysis work of Leipzig, for which he was seemingly paid well, ought to have alerted him to the truth, that the Climate Change narrative and campaign was a hoax and based on fraud and manipulation. But Leipzig was a zealot and he pursued the Climate Change advocacy for his own political satisfaction.

Also emphasised often by the Prosecutor to the Judge was that Leipzig The Infidel had often publicly advocated for “Deniers” to lose their rights and be subject to intense government / community scrutiny. Leipzig was not a casual advocate for the Climate Change regime, he was an unapologetic and unrepentant zealot. More than once the Prosecutor submitted to the Judge that Leipzig ought be shown no mercy.

It was apparent to all present in Court that when the Prosecutor spoke to the Judge about Leipzig, he did so with disdain and contempt. Nothing about the reaction of the Judge to the submissions of the Prosecutor indicated that the Judge disagreed with that disdain and contempt.

Dresden could hardly believe this new world into which he had seemingly been transported and it certainly was not registering with him that this was the very world for which he had been advocating for people he considered not worthy. His self-awareness was currently registering at less than zero.

In his closing submissions to the Judge, the Prosecutor took some time to emphasise that a significant portion of the evidence against Leipzig was due to fine, upstanding, loyal citizens using the Climate Integrity Lines for their intended purpose, to provide information, intelligence and evidence about Infidels such as Leipzig.

On more than one occasion the Prosecutor commented to the Judge that the evidence compiled against Leipzig and his subsequent prosecution was the system implemented by the new regime working as intended.

The Judge took no issue with any of the submissions of the Prosecutor.

The Court heard no submissions from Dresden. It was apparent to Dresden nothing constructive could be said in his defence.

Dresden Leipzig was convicted of being a Climate Hoaxer and all of those “incriminating” statements were ordered to be placed on his formal record for future reference.

In sentencing Dresden, the Judge said to him coldly:

 “Mr Leipzig, This is your ideology. This is the world you wanted.”