“Lackeys? I’m offended!” Patrick said. “I like to think of myself as more of a minion.”

Nat rolled her eyes. “But the cop tried to nab us, not Phil. So that can’t be it.” She frowned, staring off into space. “We’re missing something.”

“You’re missing most of my presentation,” Sheldon replied. “Shall I continue?”

I chuckled. “Go ahead, Sheldon.”

“Regarding the Lorannic presence itself, there is nothing that contradicts Alaric’s suspicions or any of our conjectures. The only surprise is how thoroughly they’ve infiltrated the various human bureaucracies, and how expertly they’ve manipulated the various social media platforms. And with what appears to be a surprisingly small number of personnel. This reinforces my suspicion that they are using an A.I. A small group, especially a mere clan, could only do all this with assistance from some kind of advanced expert system.”

“What exactly does all this consist of?” Nat asked.

“For instance, almost all of the disinformation sources you are familiar with are either Lorann-controlled or Lorann-influenced.”

“Like?” Patrick asked.

“Those Russian troll farms? Loranna. The Asian ones as well. QAnon? Loranna. Several of the far-right so-called news channels are controlled by Loranna. You’ll find the owners of some of those channels in the collaborationist file.”

“What about far-left?” Nat asked.

“Technically, the Russian sources would qualify, but I don’t think they are generally viewed that way.”

“True,” Nat said. “And anyway, far-left and far-right extremists can be hard to tell apart. Once you reach the point where you believe that you have the right to enforce your stance by lies, intimidation, and violence, it really doesn’t matter that much what label you apply.”

“So all those conspiracy theories about a shadow group running the world are true?” Patrick said.

“Yes and no. There is no ZOG, no Deep State, no human-based world shadow organization. The Loranna have amplified such narratives with an eye to desensitizing people to similar stories. For instance, the conspiracy theory that the government is being controlled by shape-shifting lizards was deliberately started by the Loranna and attached by association to tinfoil-hat types, so if anything ever did come out about the Loranna, it would simply be dismissed as more of the same.”

I nodded. “Preemptive strike. Pretty standard disinfo technique. I imagine it’s not the only one.”

“Of course not. Flying saucer reports, Area 51, Roswell—all created or amplified for the same purpose. Any accidental sighting of an actual Lorannic vessel would again be dismissed as more nutbar narrative.”

“Fluoridation of water? Knights Templar? Illuminati? Fake moon landings?” Nat said.

“The Loranna have also taken stories that already existed and amplified them,” Sheldon replied. “They are not responsible for all conspiracy theories but will take advantage of anything that will increase strife, violence, or divisiveness. Pizzagate, for instance, was not a Lorannic construct, but they mention it in one document as an unexpected gift to be amplified to the greatest extent possible.”