Jamila watched the Acting President speak with a trained eye, looking for clues that might be embedded in his speech, but not immediately obvious.
With an advanced copy of the speech faxed to her, Jamila set out to find the key words. A phrase like ‘we accept as proof, absent contrary proof’ seemed to suggest an active effort to refute. How would they refute what occurred, given no one knows the science involved?
A second key phrase ‘this person is in our protective care, as is her family.’ Protective care could imply many things. How much of their effort was protective care of Salston versus protective of other interests?
A third key phrase “It is prudent for us to attempt to ascertain the truth of this, of all she has told us.” Again, the only way of proving, with no other source available, would be through the individual. This statement might imply intensive interrogation. Jamila would bet on this being likely.
Finally, there was the seeming caveat of “I honour her (President Ellenwood’s) mandate, accepting we must ascertain the truth such that we make wise choices to protect the interests of all people.”
There again was a statement of ‘ascertain the truth,’ another strong hint of interrogation.
The acting president did not share where they housed Salston and family, but if she had to guess, it would be at Langley.
Jamila continued to ponder the speech, continued to ponder the four key phrases, weighing what she should say on air. There were no facts to back up her suspicions, yet it was unlikely there would be more facts forthcoming.
With her viewership, she could certainly raise questions, but Jamila also had a duty to be responsible, avoiding haphazardly tossing accusations around, potentially creating uproar based on speculation.
Leaving her sofa for the moment, Jamila set out to the kitchen for a glass of Shiraz. A half-empty bottle sat chilling in her refrigerator; she quickly retrieved the bottle, twisted out the cork, pulled out one of her favourite wine glasses, and poured three fingers of the burgundy coloured liquid.
Returning to her sofa, Jamila pulled her legs up onto the sofa, settling into her favourite lounging position, and just let her mind go where it will, pondering the Salston affair and how she could help.
Jamila woke the next morning exactly where she last settled on the sofa, her now empty wine glass setting lonely on the coffee table to her front, the empty bottle of wine alongside. Her mind still in that state between slumber and waking, she could not recall retrieving the bottle from the refrigerator. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, stretching her body to shake off the kinks and knots of a night spent on a sofa, Jamila willed herself off the sofa, and into workday mode. She had things to do today, starting with what she intended to say on air.
Arriving at her office at 8:15, Jamila called in her head of production, Amy Brookings. Amy’s office was the next over from Jamila, and so she made her way into the office inside of 15 seconds. Rather than go for a formal work discussion, Jamila met her on the way in, and they wandered over to the twin sofas that sat facing each other to the other side of the office.
Settled into their seating, Jamila began to share her plan for the afternoon. “Amy, I intend to comment on the Salston matter today. It is best that we go live with this broadcast. That is extremely short notice to work out with the stations that carry the programme, but it is essential to what I intend to do.
I doubt this will be our last live broadcast on this matter, so this will be a good warm up exercise. Now here is what I would like you to set up…”
Amy left a half hour later, her tasks to accomplish clear. It would be a hectic day.
Schedule time for this month had taping at 1 pm. Because they were set to broadcast live, the show would go live at 4 pm Eastern Daylight Time, 3 PM Central Daylight Time. Staff waited to greet ticket holders, diverting them away with complimentary gift certificates to nearby restaurants. They gave clear instructions to return no later than 2:30 pm.
At 2:45 pm, no one on staff chatted with the audience, their attention focus on the logistics of live broadcasting. At 3 pm, Jamila walked onstage, a camera with a front view shot zoomed in for a close up. Jamila wore a suit, lightweight linen of black, with a white blouse, open collared, with no accessories other than earrings, her facial expression reflected the seriousness felt within.
“Good afternoon, and welcome to this special live edition of Jamila. I am Jamila Karenga, and today we are broadcasting live in order to address an issue before it explodes into a major mistake.
Last night, Acting President Green shared with the people of America – and the world – what we knew of the incident involving Timothy Salston.
I suspect there is more to the story, and what we received last night was a careful crafting of limited information that masked more intense government activity.
Most of us are aware of the rantings of some people, intent on melding ignorance with insecurity, stirring up a false but believable hatred of someone they have never met.
When I think on Timothy Salston, I think of what it must be like now, having a world lock you away, simply because your presence here frightens them. Imagine dealing with this on top of what Acting President Green shared last night, of being an activist for social justice elsewhere, only to be exiled here and face the same circumstance. We assume the proper way to deal with our own ignorance, with our own limitations in understanding, with our own inability to explain away, is not to focus on enlightenment, but to restrict the person who challenges us – challenges our thinking - restrict or cast away.”
As Jamila spoke, a live image formed behind her. “Behind me is a live image of CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. While the government has not revealed where Timothy Salston and family is housed, we suspect they are at this location.
I call upon the government to grant me access to the Salstons, access off camera to check on their condition, to make sure their hosts treat them civilly and with respect. Authorities rebuffed our initial request for a visit an hour ago. I call upon all of you. Contact your representatives; let them know we expect our current leadership to respect President Ellenwood’s instructions on treating the Salstons as guests.
I will be at Langley tomorrow afternoon, and I will broadcast from there every day until authorities allow us access to the Salstons.
We have seen the Acting President’s message. We have to remember presidents act on our behalf; we do not act on their behalf. Your voices are important, you have to speak up, express your views. Today, we will do just that – we will spend the hour opening this programme to a live discussion of what questions you have, and how you feel about these remarkable events. We will take calls live on air, allowing those around the country to share thoughts with us in studio.
No one wishes to be mistreated, and I trust people will rise against mistreatment, or will rise to ascertain no mistreatment unfolds. The Salstons are human beings – no matter where they are from originally – and we have a duty to treat the each in the same manner we would wish to be treated.
The programme went wonderfully, with far more calls of support for Jamila’s position than those against her position. Early ratings proved promising, pleasing local stations carrying the programme.
The only ones unhappy with Jamila were those high in government who felt pressure from the electorate, who felt a potential for their own image to tarnish. Her intent to continue the pressure created added complications, and Chris Wilson scrambled to find a way to mitigate this unexpected development. If Jamila gained access to the alien, his career was over.
