The Time Stone, Third Edition (Extended Version)

“This is Sylvia Armstrong reporting for Channel Nine News in Chronix Bay. The downtown streets continue to be filled with protesters standing tall amidst one of the worst economic climates in US history, rampant lawlessness, unemployment, extreme homelessness, rock-bottom housing prices, and shortages of basic necessities like food, water, and gasoline, contamination and recalls continue, and, surprisingly, lawyers are amongst those most underemployed. Those without jobs are quickly turning in their law books for aprons at the local coffee shops for the chance to earn even a meager income. ‘From Barrister to Barista,’ says one recent law graduate, Marina Gomez.

“I am open-minded, but I can’t pay back two hundred thousand dollars in student loans on minimum wage, unemployment, or food stamps. I like many others of my brothers and sisters need jobs and good ones and we cannot imagine a worse time now. We are not peons or slaves and not illegal workers, but we are people who deserve respect and need truly gainful employment. There is nothing wrong with fighting now for what is ours.” She marched on with others holding signs in a circular picketing line chanting out loud at the top of their lungs, “employment now!”

“There you have it folks, the new movement for a new era.” The television set fizzled off as the obese prison guard stuffed cheese puffs into his mouth repeatedly with a redundant snort.