Aida is Interviewed by Bill Monroe

This week, Aida was interviewed by Bill Monroe on "No More B.S.!" the World News syndicated and award winning  talk show. Here is the interview, from the studio in Center, North America.

​Bill Monroe stared into the camera, one eyebrow raised, his face flat. He said, “Storm Killer. Robot. Tyrant. She has weathered many names and public outcries, but tonight we sit down with her. Please welcome tonight’s guest and head of the World Council, Aida.”
“Thank you, Bill.” Aida blinked. “I’m happy to be here.”
“Let’s talk about the pyramids. Hundreds of millions of people now live in these massive structures. How do you justify—”
“I justify nothing. The pyramids and the consolidation are necessary for the ongoing crisis. Rampant consumerism has taken a toll on the environment. It is a miracle humanity has survived this long.”
“Humanity. Speaking of humanity, you’re not exactly human, are you?”
“Strictly speaking, no. I am composed of trillions of sub-microscopic automatons.”
“So you are a robot made of robots?”
“I and the others are independent entities. Every aspect of our existence is identical to physio-typical humans.”
“Except you don’t age, right?” Bill sneered at his guest. “You’re an emperor for life that never dies.”
“We age on a slower scale. Everything dies and fades eventually, Bill. I would like to address—”
“You won’t die or fade in my lifetime.”
“Probably not. Now I would like—”
“So you can see where some folks think you’re a danger to humanity then? You’ll outlive everyone watching this and you’re setting things in motion no living person will see the outcome of. The pyramids? The overhaul of the voting system?”
“Democracy has long been a goal for humanity. For each person to determine their fate through clarity of their voice. There is no fear of repercussion—”
“Yet.” Bill smiled and stared down his nose.
"—for stating their opinion. What do you mean, ‘yet’?”
“I mean it is more likely that repercussions will arise as time passes. People can live in the pyramids, but if they don’t make that choice their tax rate skyrockets. People can choose not to vote, but if they make that choice we exclude them from the credit system. How do you—”
“The majority voted for those things.”
“Did they, though?” Bill smirked. “How can we be sure the system’s not rigged? I mean, you’re robots. You could have easily—”
“If the old system was rigged, humanity did the rigging. That’s what was used to pass these resolutions, after all. But thanks to the new system, every vote is visible. Absolute transparency.”
“Well, I don’t know about that. We need to take a commercial break. When we come back, we’ll have more from Aida on the climate crisis.”
When the camera light switched off, Bill turned to Aida. “So am I hitting the right notes? I don’t want to come off—”
“You’re great, Bill. How’s the suite?”
“Oh, the husband loves it. Great view of the mountains.”
“Wonderful. So he’s painting again?”
“He still has some trouble with his arm after the accident. It’s a learning curve.”
“I’m happy we could help. It took me a while to get used to, well, existing. The nanobes are very efficient, though. I’m sure he’ll be back at it soon.”
The director waved at Bill and held up a finger. He nodded and adjusted his tie, then turned to the camera. “Welcome back. If you’re just tuning in, we’re speaking with World Council leader, Aida. Aida, you recently made some comments about the climate crisis. What are you proposing we do?”
“We inject small, reflective particles into the atmosphere, which will reduce the accumulating heat from solar energy. The part which will take some work is the population issue.”
“Oh, come on. You honestly believe people are going to— that humanity will volunteer to cut itself in half?”
“Not in half, and not by being cut. We need to limit the number of humans being born. We achieve this through education, contraception availability, and access to surgical options. There are fifteen billion humans on our planet. We are outpacing resources, even with the switch to cleaner fuels and low-process food sources.”
“That brings me back to the first thing. Won’t these tiny particles reduce solar efficiency?”
“Not enough to be of consequence. Calculations show anything greater than ten percent efficiency would compromise the energy grid. Our plan only reduces it by five percent. That will lower temperatures worldwide ten to fifteen degrees. The equatorial states would be liveable for the first time in a century.”
“Imagine that,” Bill nodded, “When we return, we’ll have champion soccer captain, Karl Brosser with his take on this year’s world cup standings. Thank you, Aida.”
“Thank you, Bill. It’s always a pleasure.”
The recording light went off, and Aida removed her microphone. She stood and shook Bill’s hand. He smiled and said, “So when does the vote go through?”
“Next week. The numbers look good for the whole proposition, with minor hesitation about the ZePoG initiative. It’s enough to pass, though.”
“That’s fantastic. Let me know how it goes, yeah?”
“Sure thing. Tell Randy I said, ‘hello.’”

​END

[If you enjoy the Antitopia Universe, please consider contributing to my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/antitopia). You get short stories, behind the scenes stuff, and much more for about the price of a cup of coffee a month. Thank you for being readers!]