The hologram shows the Democratic party nominee for president—
a tall man, of no particular race or ethnicity,
black-haired, wearing a traditional suit—
every fiber of his appearance carefully calculated
to appeal to the Americritishopean public.
He stands, looking at a simulated audience
(the real audience is watched only by government-appointed monitors)
and tells them how many euros he plans to spend
on buying the moon
from the non-existent Chinese
on faraway Mars.
Then, the Republican candidate stands—
tall, black-haired, wearing a suit—
and tells the world about an asteroid
he wants to put spaceships on.
He also talks about boring things like freedom and hope,
and integrity.
In 2084, we only have one government,
and it’s not a democracy.
Our current president, Foster Brother,
has hired a graphic designer
to build two men
with dark hair and suits,
and to tell one to win,
and the other to lose.
After the election, Foster Brother will feed the designer
to the rats.