INTERNET RADIO STATION AT WWW.5UPE-R4DI0.COM
SUMMARY:
Dusk radio DJs 'Tikki and Joe' play Alt-Rock hits from 6pm to 9pm and every now and then hold interviews. For the past few nights they've been advertising an upcoming interview with Central District candidate Ben Samson. This interview is held on the Monday night after the carnival.
THE SHOW:
TIKKI: And that was Bad Guy by Bille Eilish. Interestingly enough, if you went to the carnival this past weekend and picked yourself up a Ben Samson merch-bag, you would've scored that single because it's one of Ben's current favourite songs!
JOE: One of my favourites, too.
TIKKI: Mine too! Speaking of Ben Samson, he's here in the studio with us to chat about music, politics and that amazing carnival. How're you going, Ben?
BEN: Hi, good, thanks. Thank you for having me.
TIKKI: That carnival was amazing!
JOE: I spent all my money.
TIKKI: It was free!
JOE: Just as well because I'm broke.
TIKKI: How about you, Ben? Are you broke now after all that?
GROUP: (laughter)
BEN: Surprisingly not. Kerr paid for it.
GROUP: (laughter)
TIKKI: Kerr being Kerr Galvin, right? He was the Luminary of the Oligarchy for a bunch of years there.
JOE: And he's Ben's partner, too.
BEN: That's him.
TIKKI: He turned you into a vampire as well, didn't he?
BEN: At my request, yes.
TIKKI: So how did all of that happen? Everyone likes a romantic story.
BEN: (chuckles) Well, it's not that romantic a story. I met him at a club and threw myself at him.
JOE: That's how I meet all my dates.
GROUP: (laughter)
TIKKI: But what's the story with you two? I've heard rumours you're not together anymore but he's your campaign manager?
BEN: What? We
are together. In the past, we were a bit rocky working out the whole lover-fledgling-sire thing, but now we're very comfortable with each other.
TIKKI: Comfortable enough to have a harem together?
BEN: Oh wow, that's not a word I'd use. We have
blood donors who are also on the Lovebite App that live in the Luminary hotel.
JOE: You have a cute name for them, too, don't you? They're sweets!
BEN: Yeah, and their residences are suites, so we jokingly call them the Sweet Suites.
GROUP: (laughter)
TIKKI: Oh no, that's so bad. It's too early for the puns to come out.
BEN: (laughing) sorry.
TIKKI: Okay, here's a song we can listen to while we recover.
(
music plays)
JOE: That was Braindead by Piero Pirupa. That's amped me up now!
TIKKI: Did you see the press release from Jake McCloud recently? He's making a lot of announcements that are similar to yours, and has already put them into place. Doesn't that make your recent promises redundant?
BEN: Not at all. I'm taking credit for his moves because without me they wouldn't have happened. His laws were very, very different until a few days ago. Now suddenly he's got an alphabet soup of policies.
JOE: (laughs) Alphabet soup!
TIKKI: That's a massive thing for you to say, Ben, that Jake McCloud wouldn't do anything if not for you.
BEN: He was in the position for two years and did nothing.
TIKKI: He hasn't done
nothing, Ben.
BEN: I meant nothing in relation to changing laws or declaring elections. That's come quite suddenly.
TIKKI: Maybe he was still fleshing it out. A work in progress.
BEN: If it takes him two years to announce elections, his 'progress' posters should read 'sluggish' or maybe 'eventually'.
JOE: (laughs)
TIKKI: There's a benefit not to move too quickly, though. Look before you leap and all that.
BEN: Then why is he moving so rapidly now?
(brief moment of radio silence)
JOE: (laughs) He's got you there, Tikki.
TIKKI: But isn't that good for Central? That there will be improvements on either side?
BEN: Absolutely, it's a win/win. No matter what, Central will improve. I forced Jake's hand.
TIKKI: You're making a lot of big statements.
BEN: It's a big issue.
JOE: Speaking of big things, here's The Big Moon with Your Light
(
music plays)
TIKKI: Okay supe-stars, if you've just tuned in we're chatting with Ben Samson, candidate for Central District.
JOE: What's the process for doing that, anyway? I was at the Academy when you made your announcement.
BEN: That was a crazy night. I thought I was going to get put in my place. If I had a heartbeat it would've gone a million miles an hour.
JOE: (excitedly) Whaddya mean?
BEN: I sprung it on him.
TIKKI: Hang on, hang on. Did you not go through the proper channels before announcing your intention to run?
BEN: No, because there were no proper channels in place. I had to make my own.
JOE: That is the most bad-ass thing I've heard!
BEN: When I made my announcement and pulled Jake onto the top of the stairs, I thought he'd say something like 'oh Ben, this is the best prank you've pulled so far' or maybe even say how I hadn't filled out the paperwork. I blindsided him because I know he gets overwhelmed when he's put on the spot.
JOE: How did you get away with that?
BEN: I have no idea!
GROUP: (laughter)
BEN: At the start it was like stealing the world's slowest locomotive. I jumped on and said I'm taking it and Jake didn't stop me. Then I pushed the lever and the District Leaders didn't stop me. Nobody told me to get off and learn how to be a train conductor first, right? So now I'm going at a million miles an hour on this train and maybe it'll head for Jake's station and maybe it'll head for mine.
JOE: And maybe it'll derail.
GROUP: (laughter)
TIKKI: So while you two were talking, I've pulled up Jake McCloud's 'alphabet soup' on policies, and I figured we could look over them and read some out and you can tell us how and where you're different.
BEN: Oh wow, how long is this interview going for?
JOE: Oooh, look at this one. So number A says there'll be elections but number B says... um... what is it saying?
TIKKI: Well, it's not saying 'number B' because B is a letter.
JOE: I don't even understand what I'm reading here.
BEN: Um, it's not the easiest phrasing. He wants to allow for political parties.
TIKKI: Would
you do that?
BEN: No. It's bureaucratic and opens up loopholes and potential for corruption. A group can just pass the buck down the line and blame a scapegoat but an individual has no place to hide. The simpler, the better. Vote for a person. That person leads for a while. If they do a good job, vote them back in. If they do shitty job, vote them out.
JOE: Can it really be that simple?
BEN: Starting simple makes more sense to me than starting complicated.
TIKKI: Okay, let's check out policy C. Voting in a council regardless of species?
BEN: Loosely translates to a potential for a lack of diversity. There's a reason there are a lot of old white men ruling the human government; it's because they're powerful enough to block others. It's not impossible for minorities to get in, but it's a great deal more difficult. If you think about it, a vampire could just Dominate someone to drop out of an election, but if I create a specific position for a Fae, then only a Fae is going to get it... and that
guarantees representation.
JOE: You're really passionate about this.
BEN: Yeah, I am.
TIKKI: But wasn't that how the old Oligarchy ran?
BEN: They had something simliar but there were a lot of flaws. I'm taking the good parts and leaving the bad behind. The Oligarchy in the hands of a tyrant was a really bad thing. When Kerr had it, it was a good thing because he's an ethical person with strong values.
TIKKI: Okay, let's look at the next one. Policy D. Jake wants to implement courts.
BEN: Oh look! Judges are going to be elected too. When he wants Central District to vote, he really means it!
GROUP: (laughter)
JOE: Okay, let's play some music to capture the mood. This is E^ST with Talk Deep.
(
music plays)
TIKKI: If you've just tuned in that was E^ST with Talk Deep, and we've been talking deep with Ben Samson, the candidate for Central District and running against Jake McCloud. Right now we're going through McCloud's recently published policies and we're up to policy E.
JOE: That's Jake favouring Central District Law over Ward Law.
BEN: I'm so glad I get to talk about this! This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life! As it is now, if I tell a friend who is ignorant that I'm a vampire while standing in Central District, I might be fined or even arrested. But if I decide to
drive my friend to the East District before I tell them, East District laws dictate that I should just use common sense. There's no punishment at all.
TIKKI: I'm thinking loads of people will be driving to East District to out themselves to their friends now.
BEN: I hope they do. We need more members on the Lovebite App.
GROUP: (laughter)
TIKKI: Personally, I'm more worried about the other way. If I do something wrong while I'm out in the South District and I get punished for it there, then I go back home to my place in Central... would I get punished for it there, too?
BEN: You could be, under the current system. If one District Leader feels like you weren't punished enough and they have you in their territory, there's nothing stopping them from mitigating their own punishment. If the Ward's laws apply and only
they police it, then they would decide who would oversee the hearing, not a bunch of different security forces working privately for different District Leaders.
TIKKI: Yeah. Certainly a worry for my petty criminal ass.
JOE: What crimes exactly are you talking about, Tikki?
TIKKI: Nothing I'll admit to on radio, Joe.
GROUP: (low key laughter)
BEN: At the moment there isn't trouble because the District Leaders aren't fighting one another, but there was a really bad moment when Jake took over the West District from Zeus. There was a potential for war. The tension was running really high for a while there.
TIKKI: But he backed off without prompt.
BEN: Do you believe that?
TIKKI: That's what he said.
BEN: He could've started a territorial war that might've been a species war as well. Demons against vampires. He was
lucky it didn't devolve to that. One of the worst decisions he ever made, and it cost lives. He's talking courts and voting
now, but he was killing demon gang leaders on the
streets only a few months ago.
JOE: It's certainly something to think about during our next song, Why Don't We Get Along.
(
music plays)
TIKKI: That was Kira Puru with Why Don't We Get Along. We're sitting here with candidate Ben Samson talking about his rival Jake McCloud.
BEN: Well, we're talking about his policies.
TIKKI: You don't mind throwing your weight around when talking about Jake McCloud though, am I right?
(radio silence for two seconds)
TIKKI: I've heard a few of your speeches. You don't pull punches.
BEN: Just calling it as I see it.
TIKKI: You called him a Despot.
BEN: And he called me a Luminary.
TIKKI: Isn't that what you're doing though? Gathering a circle of species? You're calling them Advisors instead of Oligarchs, but they're the same thing.
BEN: No, they're not the same at all. They're appointed by the District Leader and they don't have the capacity to dictate any judgements or laws. They purely support.
TIKKI: Wouldn't that make you a Despot, too?
BEN: Not with elections, no.
JOE: Jake McCloud is allowing the public a say by opening up executive positions for elections.
BEN: Holy (bleep)? How many times do the supers of Central District have to vote?
TIKKI: So you won't be doing that?
BEN: If I get voted in, I'm being trusted to rule. It makes sense for me to assign people I can work with. The human government have nice ideas but they're incredibly congested. I want to start simple. If I pick a group of Advisors that the public hate, then I'll be voted out in the next election. So, with my system, you vote once and the person you vote in is accountable for everything.
JOE: I like that idea. It
does feel simple.
BEN: And I don't even have to number my letters.
GROUP: (laughter)
JOE: Okay, let's listen to some more music. Ben, you brought along a favourite you'd like us to play?
BEN: It's an old one, but I like it.
TIKKI: Tell our listeners about it while I load it up.
BEN: Ummm, yeah. It's got this really funky upbeat feel to it, and the background tune reminds me of the Imperial March from Star Wars played on like a kazoo or something.
JOE: I am so intrigued by what this song is.
BEN: (laughs) Okay, it's Your Woman by White Town.
(
music plays)
TIKKI: That is such an interesting song. The station wasn't around when that one came out. I feel like we would've played the (bleep) out of it.
JOE: I'll add it to the playlist.
TIKKI: Okay, so what were we up to?
BEN: Letter G.
JOE: Okay, okay... so Jake McCloud will keep his headquarters at the White Rabbit.
BEN: More chance to sell drinks that way, I guess.
GROUP: (laughter)
TIKKI: No, no, he's got here that he's going to add a new way to bypass the bar.
BEN: How's he going to do that? The whole front of it is a bar and the second floor is a strip joint. I've been there. That place doesn't have any room.
JOE: Maybe a tunnel that goes under the street?
BEN: That sounds inviting.
TIKKI: Okay, moving on. He's going to allow transparency of financials to the press in policy H.
BEN: That's just to show off to everybody how much money he makes.
TIKKI: I thought you wanted accountability.
BEN: Jake wants everything to be privately funded. I am totally and completely against private funding in government.
JOE: (confused) Why?
BEN: There are two big reasons depending on the type of private funding Jake McCloud is talking about; he's either opening himself up to bribery and corruption or he's creating an economic barrier to leadership. I'll talk about the corruption angle first. If Jake McCloud is seeking large donations from private entities, he might become beholden to those entities. If it looks suspicious that someone is donating millions towards a specific cause, he can just say it's because they share the same opinions. It's impossible to prove or measure. The only way around that is to openly fundraise from multiple sources and cap donation totals so a powerful entity can't have influence.
JOE: And that other thing you said? The barrier?
BEN: An economic barrier. A glass ceiling. If Jake McCloud wants the District Leader position to be funded by the District Leader themselves, then someone who doesn't have millions won't ever be able to lead. That's not making the position available for everyone. I'm dirt poor, myself. It's only because I'm Kerr's fledged vampire and partner that I have access to money. I was struggling to put gas in my car for the week when I met Kerr.
JOE: Starting to understand why you threw yourself at him now.
GROUP: (laughter)
TIKKI: I did not know that about you, that you didn't grow up rich.
BEN: Yeah. After I was sired, Kerr and I still weren't properly together and I moved away to New York, so I was living poor there too until I scored a job as a model. I made a bit of money, thankfully, but nothing makes money like 400 years of investing.
JOE: I'm so looking forward to that. I've got a nice little nest egg so far but I haven't hit a hundred yet.
BEN: Haven't you? You feel older than me, to me.
JOE: I'm twenty-five.
BEN: You are not! What's your vampire age?
JOE: I was sired in the age of free love, baby!
TIKKI: Not this again.
BEN: So that's... 60s? You were 25 in the 60s so you're... 85 now.
JOE: 65 years a vampire.
TIKKI: Let's play a song!
(
music plays)
TIKKI: That was Halsey with her excellent song, Graveyard. We're wrapping up our interview with Ben Samson, candidate for Central District Leader. Is there anything you want to say Ben, before we wrap it up?
BEN: Yeah. I'd like to point out that it's easy to be reactionary. It's easy to let others come up with ideas and then jump on board with them. Jake McCloud is doing that to me right now, echoing a lot of stuff I've already said, and I think that's fantastic because it means I'm on the right track. My ideas are good. And I'm also using that system of government - gathering multiple supernaturals from all backgrounds, and we're going to hive-mind problems, tackle them from all kinds of angles that one person can't do by themselves. I don't want to make statements about controlling the internet or cracking down on security. I want to be flexible, not bogged down in bureacracy. I want things to be fair, and open, and when a need surfaces, to be nimble enough to meet it. And if someone comes along that can be a better District Leader than me, then I want
them in the role. I want to set up something stable, that won't fall apart just because the Leader disappears or dies. This is my city. I was born here. This is my home."
