I went through an abbreviated workout, possibilities running through my mind like a slot machine searching for matching cherries. Wrightman had made the move to consolidate his power, and obviously done so with the backing of law enforcement and the military. I didn’t think he would have risked it without that assurance. So there was no going back; even if it could be proved the NSA had nearly murdered a planeload of innocent people, it would make little difference. The administration was sewing up the country tighter than a body bag. But that evidence still might make a significant difference.

The presidential election was scheduled to take place in fifteen months. Wrightman needed an election to maintain the illusion that America was still a functioning democracy. But he was such an overwhelming favorite to win reelection that for the first time in electoral history British bookmakers had stopped taking action; they couldn’t find enough opposition money to balance the bets. As it turned out, they couldn’t even find an opposition.

The president was considered such a sure thing that neither party had thus far been able to find a suitable candidate willing to risk his or her career, and now perhaps their freedom, by running against him. Those few people who had stepped forward were from the unelectable fringes of both parties; running would provide them with a glimmer of attention in exchange for becoming political fodder. Those billionaire businesspeople who might have opposed him had been scared off by the probable loss of government contracts. The media was no longer a factor: the FCC’s “equal time” regulations had been rescinded in the crisis regulations. The remaining media outlets had been consolidated through approved mergers into four major corporations, none of them willing to risk losing advertisers or their license by providing time or exposure to those fringe candidates.

I had a slim hope that the American people would react with horror when confronted with real evidence that Wrightman had instigated terror attacks to grab power and take their anger with them to the ballot box. If there was any chance of beating him other candidates would emerge. But time was running out for them to file in each of the fifty states.

Perhaps more important were the international ramifications. The administration initially had been welcomed by our allies for its commitment to respect new agreements reached with the Bidens in an attempt to return to international norms. The president had pledged to support our friends and stand with the Western democracies against our enemies. As a show of good faith, foreign aid grants had been restored. Ties with NATO continued to be strengthened. Many of our traditional allies, countries that had lost faith in America as the “arsenal of democracy” and the enduring symbol of freedom for oppressed people around the world during Trump, believed sanity had returned to the United States. In the previous few years they relaxed their vigilance. Whatever they really believed happened in Detroit, they accepted the administration’s explanation.