THE BREAKING OF NATIONS
Harry Turtledove
NICOLE Yoshida clicked the remote’s channel-up button, first once, then twice. The same story led on Fox News, Fox-CNN, and Fox-MSNBC. At President Pence’s order, the governor and lieutenant governor of Connecticut had been remanded to protective custody on a charge of treason for refusing to cooperate with federal court-mandated immigration sweeps.
Connecticut State Cabinet officials had unanimously resigned in protest; the media said they had, anyhow. On a temporary basis—so every network’s newscasters assured their audience—the chief of the Connecticut State Police had been appointed acting governor of the state.
The governor of California made a disgusted noise and turned off the TV. She remembered when the news channels each had a different spin on things. She remembered when some of them dared disagree with the federal government, even on important things like the first coronavirus pandemic.
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