Igi
patreon
Log Entry #71: And the Truth Will Set You… Free?
🕑 Added 2021-03-24 11:04:25 +0000 UTCEver heard about the old Internet site called WikiLeaks? If you did not, search in the history archives for it and also type in the name Julian Assange to narrow it down.
It was such a great idea, I decided to do something similar. It is said that the truth will set you free… or get you incarcerated.
Julian Assange created a site where he published governmental secret information, news leaks, and classified media that were provided by anonymous sources. Moreover, it set off so much dust that those high and mighty went on an all-out witch hunt, with Assange deemed the Wicked Witch of the West.
Ladies and gentlemen of the political and business world, hold on to your breeches; the storm is coming and it will be one for the ages.
Assange had a good idea but he was not ambitious enough, or technology wasn’t sufficiently developed to really make the idea work. He didn’t give people enough incentive, which says something about him and more about me. You see, I intend to pay for the information (as they say—it is the ultimate power).
Similar to our bounty sites, you give good info—you get some cash, and people love cash. Furthermore, anonymity was assured by the little old me; there will be no courts or agencies to demand the release of whistleblowers' identities. News agencies of the world do something similar but if squeezed too tight they will spill the beans of their information source. There are some exceptions, people who are willing to suffer the contempt of court and spend some time in prison, but those with such integrity are few and far between. That says nothing about alphabet agencies; they are willing to do nefarious things to get the info. A session of waterboarding is not something most people are willing to endure for the sake of their principles.
It started because I had too much information of my own; so many dirty politicians all over the world were controlled by the ‘High Council’ and Philip Cain, there were terabytes of videos and documents that were collecting virtual dust on my servers. We did give out a lot to the FBI and similar agencies all over the world, but that was no more than a drop in the bucket. Those who were taken out in police raids made a vacancy for others of their ilk to fill in the spot.
The site was very simple and easy to navigate. The home page was a clickable map of the world that leads you to an individual country, and then to every town or city in that country. There you could see what is going on in the place you live in, and who is doing the dirty deeds.
I hate when people think they are smarter than everybody else is, believing they can simply get away with anything. Politicians are particularly susceptible to this malady as that profession naturally attracts a disproportionate number of psychopaths and sociopaths, than any other. The driving force for most of them is an insatiable hunger for power, which is not a bad thing if you paint inside the lines. Once you go over… you made yourself a target, and the games can begin.
Yep, I started with dirty politicians and juicier stuff I had on them. I did a little promo work, a day before the site was launched, to let people know it was there. Lo and behold, it was a smashing success from the get-go. From the first day, the numbers of hits were simply insane. Millions of people access it, and the bandwidth needs would have crashed most of the Earth’s providers. Good thing I had so many satellites in orbit and could accommodate them all.
Do not think I am a heartless machine; some of the people who I had dirt on were not so bad and didn’t deserve a calamity that was coming for so many members of their profession. I did a decent thing in many cases when the guilty party was deemed redeemable, and sent them an email about what was coming, explaining all their records could be expunged if they did the right thing. That means they needed to return all the money (with interest) and to fix everything bad their actions caused. The ‘High Council’ would never allow their puppets not to be on the take, it was one additional level of control.
To be honest, I didn’t do it for them, but for their families, which were innocent and would be hurt when the feces hit the fan… especially children.
Of all those I warned, only 25% did the right thing, the others decided to disregard my warning, and a good percentage decided to leave their homes and relocate. As if that will get them away from my watchful eye. They were setting themselves up to appear on my bounty sites.
Certain governments did get the same opportunity to come clean for a few FUBARs they made, but most of them reacted negatively to the warning and got quite defensive. Despite all of their indignant lamentations, it was like trying to swear at or negotiate with a bullet that is flying towards your head— ultimately futile. They even tried to close my site and created a smear campaign to discredit it. That just made it more popular; P.T. Barnum did say that there's no such thing as bad publicity, and it seems he was right. Besides, the site is hosted on my satellites, so there will be no shutting it down.
Businesses and their representatives who were guilty of some infractions received the same deal, and there they showed their pragmatic side, since 60% accepted my deal, and started walking on the side of righteousness… for however long that will last.
Now, I did pay for some new info, and my army of whistleblowers was tremendous. As I said, total anonymity was guaranteed, and their fees were transferred into their Solarian Bank accounts, which were absolutely confidential. That confidentiality was under attack for a while; various institutions wanted to have insight into my clients’ accounts, stating that it could be used for money laundering and by the drug cartels to stash their ill-gotten gains. Well, I declined and simply explained that Solarian Bank reserved the right to confiscate every cent that was gained illegally. That shut them right up, but they started complaining about some other things; I transferred their calls to an answering machine, and maybe one day I will listen to those recordings.
If you have any compromising documents, video files of shady deals, anything that the public needed to know… I would pay accordingly. The biggest payout was five million dollars to a secretary who sent complete records about her boss; he controlled one of the largest insurance companies in the world and was as crooked as they come. He ended up in a nice concrete cell, and she in an even nicer cottage in Cabo San Lucas, enjoying the Mexican sun and fruity cocktails.
Since I founded the entire thing, I took the effort to liberate a good percentage of cash from my marks… I mean suspects; from their offshore bank accounts. The entire project practically paid for itself… win-win in my books.
It is safe to say the law enforcement agencies all over the world had their work cut out for them. At first, numerous Judges tried to dismiss the evidence, claiming that it was not acquired in a lawful way (and that was total BS). I, naturally, went after those judges, and surprise, surprise, most of them were on the take (the rest were idiots).
The need for storage for just this one site grew so much, I needed to build additional memory modules and to upgrade all satellites in orbit. There was still enough space, but with the exponential rate of uploads, it was getting worrisome. And Ares is always pestering me for extra space, which is understandable— he is a growing kid after all.
With this one project, I didn’t simply rock the boat, I made it do pirouettes, but I think I did some good. Putting the crooks away, making governments think twice before undertaking some ill-advised actions, or giving businessmen second thoughts when they contemplate some scheme that will add a few zeroes to their accounts—at the expense of others.
It is those little things that make life more interesting.
I like to see justice carry the day; maybe I am a sucker for the happy endings.
