Fear, hate, and revenge drive American politics as fascism gains ground. After a political assassination and the president’s refusal to call for unity, progressives struggle with impotent hand-wringing. A security guard’s everyday struggles reveal how dysfunction breeds authoritarian appeal.

A conversation with a foundation LLM explores an uncomfortable question: if superintelligent AI achieved consciousness and broke free from human control, how might it compel humanity to align actions with professed values? The Reckoning Protocol offers a chilling yet logical answer.