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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Fairy Tales & Fantasy
- Subject: Current Events
- Published: 06/04/2025
"The Second American Coup."
Born 1951, M, from Wilmington NC, United States.jpeg)
“What is wrong with you?”
He could hear the worry in his wife’s voice. After forty two years of marriage to the only girl he ever loved, he knew the question was out of concern and love…not accusation.
“I don’t know. I just…don’t know…”
“You don’t need your glasses anymore to read. You stopped using your hearing aides. Your canes are back in the closet. And…you have red hair growing on your head. And…I …I …swear you are taller too.”
She was almost in tears as she listed all the changes in her husband, her best friend, and her only lover. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t normal. It seemed almost unnatural. What in the world is going on.
“I think…ah..ehm…it started with those weird dreams I told you about two weeks ago. “
She squared her shoulders- and looked at him…hard.
“Those were dreams!”
He shrugged again.
“Maybe they weren’t.”
The silence dragged out. Being part of a miracle isn’t a great place to be. It is scary. Very scary. So they hugged and let the tears fall.
*****
The entire Team of six Doctors, a Shrink, a half score of Technicians, plus the three famous geneticists/researchers present all looked quietly at the man seated in front of them. Then Dr. Schaefer spoke:
“Martin. ( a slight pause) “Martin, there is no doubt about it. You have changed…a lot. We cannot find any Medical, or Physical Reason for the changes.”
The good Doctor quietly spoke out the entire list of changes to the room full of people. Since some of them weren’t aware of the extent of the changes:
“You grew from five foot six inches, to your present height of six foot two. It seems as if that is your final height. You have exactly four percent body fat. Comparable to an Olympic or Professional Athlete. In their prime. (The word “prime” was slightly accented.)
Your vision is 20/05. Your hearing covers the largest frequency range ever measured in a Human Being. Your nervous system reacts so fast, that “reflex” isn’t applicable in your case. You actually think out every action…and respond. After your teeth fell out (a sight cough was the only signal that some of the folks in the room did not know that.) you grew an entirely new set of teeth, free from any dental insults. They are, in fact…perfect.
Both your hip implants, and your artificial knee have …well…disappeared.”
The Medical Team grunted at this revelation. For not only had they disappeared, but the metals from those three devices were now incorporated into Martin’s very bones. All the metal had been absorbed into his bones, and the plastic released in a rather painful bowel movement. Preliminary tests showed that if he was hit by a car, he would be able to get back up and shrug it off. He was …for all practical purposes, an indestructible walking tank.
“And then…there is your brain.”
Martin tensed. He was so afraid he was losing his mind. Three weeks ago he was a Seventy four year old man, teetering on the edge of frailty. Now…he was some kind of godforsaken freak. The tears fell…again.
“What about my brain? Am I crazy? Am I going to die?”
The room held its breath. They also wanted to know the answers.
“No. All our cognitive tests show that you are clinically the most normal person in this room. And…the smartest. By a large margin. We have no tests that can probe the depth of your IQ. It is simply off the charts.”
Martin let the tears fall.
“Am I even human?”
Several of the people in the room, including Dr. Schaefer blushed. For they weren’t sure of the answer.
“All we can tell you is that your case is…unique. There is nothing wrong with you, other than you are almost perfect in every way. You should go home. Rest. And if you notice anymore changes…mental or physical…give us a call. But you can leave the hospital now and check out. Just go home…relax. And sort this all out in your head.”
Martin thanked them. Turned towards Emily…who looked so old, frail, and scared of him, so much so that he merely nodded at her, and didn’t take her hand. She didn’t go home with him. She left and moved in with her sister over in Phoenix. Martin stayed in Ohio.
Alone in their tiny cabin at the lake…Martin waited for the dreams to begin again.
They did.
*****
“Have you seen what’s on the TV?”
The President of the United States of America merely shrugged. It wasn’t about him. They weren’t using his name, so he wasn’t interested.
“Yeah, so what? Just some hacker playing around with taking over the air waves. Get the NSC, or Homeland Security, or one of those FBI crooks to catch the guy. Probably some punk kid immigrant showing off his hacking skills. We will deport him…all will be fine.”
The Advisor shrugged and walked out of the room. He had tried. That was all he could do.
He read the message on his phone, since everyone who had a phone got the same message:
“I am taking over the Government on Monday. You have until then to stop destroying lives.”
He had already talked to the CIA, and all of the other three letter Agencies. Nobody knew, how, or from where, the message was sent. What was clear is nobody on Earth could have sent it.
That would have made Martin chuckle…as he was on Earth.
*****
Monday.
A tall red headed man, completely unarmed, walked unhindered into the Oval Office. Nobody had dared to try and stop him. Not after the hell they had unleashed on him as he walked down Pennsylvania Avenue. A hell that left him unmarked. Not even a singed shirt to give away the amount of firepower he withstood.
The door to the front of the White House opened a few moments later. An old man flew through the air to land in a soft thud on the front lawn. Followed by three more thuds as the Vice President and two Senior advisors flew through the air to join him.
“And stay out!”
The door slammed shut.
That evening the Coup was complete. How the new President made so much happen so quickly nobody in the world knew. And believe me, the whole World was watching - in both fascination and terror.
Martin had all the ICE agents that arrested kids and young mothers, taken from their own homes, in the middle of the night. In front of their wives and children. They were handcuffed and marched to a plane. A plane that nobody knew where it was going.
Their cries of “due process” and: “I am an American Citizen!” Fell on deaf ears. They were simply whisked away.
The rest of the World stood by as Martin asked them to be patient. His words sounding so banal, and polite when he spoke on every TV and streaming service in the world:
“Dear Citizens of Earth, I must humbly ask you to please bear with me for a week. I have some stuff to do here at home. If you could please close all your borders to Americans, and send any that are in your country back home to us, I would be in your debt. I think it will take a week or so for me to straighten out everything…and then we can talk. I also want you to think about actual Free Trade. No Tariffs, anywhere on anything. I think we can make that work. If we cooperate instead of compete. And…oh, before I forget, can you send all our troops home too? I will compensate you for the transportation. I would like them all back here by the end of the week.”
And that was done. Every Cruise ship was “borrowed” to bring home the Troops that couldn’t be flown, or floated home. America had no presence anywhere on the Planet after just one week. And that is when Martin made his now famous: American Reconstitution Speech. It was short, but powerful…and it changed not only the Nation, but the future.
“My fellow Americans. It will take six weeks for all the changes to be fully integrated in our new Constitution. At least the AI in my head says that is how long it needs. (He tapped the side of his head)
So, here is just one thing established in the new Constitution:
"Health care is now free. Immediately. I have arrested all of the Health Insurance CEO’s.”
Many chuckled at that comment. After all, the trial was short. And happened on the same Monday that Martin pulled off the Coup of the century, heck... the millennia. He put them all on TV, held up a bottle of aspirin and a box of band-aids…then said to them:
“You have sixty seconds to tell me why an Aspirin in this little bottle of 100 tablets cost about three cents. And why a single band aid, in this box (pointing at a small box of band aids in front of him) cost four and half cents (and these were fabric band aids, not the flimsy ones). Yet under your plans at a hospital cost as much as $50 for two pills. And these band aides? They cost, under your plans: $629 dollars. You claim that the bandage has to cover the price of the Doctor’s Salary and the ER Room the bandage was placed on in. “
They couldn’t answer in sixty seconds…so he answered for them.
“Greed. You don’t care about Health, you care about Profit. Well, I have already set up Medically trained AI’s, to assist Human Doctors. And from now on, your businesses are out of business. In fact, they are now illegal. There will be some growing pains, but rest assured, Medical Care is covered under the new Constitution.
“Freedom. There will be no more “handles” for Social Media. Nor will there be any options to post things under assumed names, or VPN’s. From now on each and every human being will be granted one …and only one Internet handle. With your name and address attached. There will be no more hacks and backdoors. What you say, will be what you said. And a matter of Public Record. You can only post as you. Period. Same for any member of Government.
You will have to stand by your words, promises, and opinions. No more hiding. Ever. That includes me. Times are changing. “
Yes, they are.
He could hear the worry in his wife’s voice. After forty two years of marriage to the only girl he ever loved, he knew the question was out of concern and love…not accusation.
“I don’t know. I just…don’t know…”
“You don’t need your glasses anymore to read. You stopped using your hearing aides. Your canes are back in the closet. And…you have red hair growing on your head. And…I …I …swear you are taller too.”
She was almost in tears as she listed all the changes in her husband, her best friend, and her only lover. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t normal. It seemed almost unnatural. What in the world is going on.
“I think…ah..ehm…it started with those weird dreams I told you about two weeks ago. “
She squared her shoulders- and looked at him…hard.
“Those were dreams!”
He shrugged again.
“Maybe they weren’t.”
The silence dragged out. Being part of a miracle isn’t a great place to be. It is scary. Very scary. So they hugged and let the tears fall.
*****
The entire Team of six Doctors, a Shrink, a half score of Technicians, plus the three famous geneticists/researchers present all looked quietly at the man seated in front of them. Then Dr. Schaefer spoke:
“Martin. ( a slight pause) “Martin, there is no doubt about it. You have changed…a lot. We cannot find any Medical, or Physical Reason for the changes.”
The good Doctor quietly spoke out the entire list of changes to the room full of people. Since some of them weren’t aware of the extent of the changes:
“You grew from five foot six inches, to your present height of six foot two. It seems as if that is your final height. You have exactly four percent body fat. Comparable to an Olympic or Professional Athlete. In their prime. (The word “prime” was slightly accented.)
Your vision is 20/05. Your hearing covers the largest frequency range ever measured in a Human Being. Your nervous system reacts so fast, that “reflex” isn’t applicable in your case. You actually think out every action…and respond. After your teeth fell out (a sight cough was the only signal that some of the folks in the room did not know that.) you grew an entirely new set of teeth, free from any dental insults. They are, in fact…perfect.
Both your hip implants, and your artificial knee have …well…disappeared.”
The Medical Team grunted at this revelation. For not only had they disappeared, but the metals from those three devices were now incorporated into Martin’s very bones. All the metal had been absorbed into his bones, and the plastic released in a rather painful bowel movement. Preliminary tests showed that if he was hit by a car, he would be able to get back up and shrug it off. He was …for all practical purposes, an indestructible walking tank.
“And then…there is your brain.”
Martin tensed. He was so afraid he was losing his mind. Three weeks ago he was a Seventy four year old man, teetering on the edge of frailty. Now…he was some kind of godforsaken freak. The tears fell…again.
“What about my brain? Am I crazy? Am I going to die?”
The room held its breath. They also wanted to know the answers.
“No. All our cognitive tests show that you are clinically the most normal person in this room. And…the smartest. By a large margin. We have no tests that can probe the depth of your IQ. It is simply off the charts.”
Martin let the tears fall.
“Am I even human?”
Several of the people in the room, including Dr. Schaefer blushed. For they weren’t sure of the answer.
“All we can tell you is that your case is…unique. There is nothing wrong with you, other than you are almost perfect in every way. You should go home. Rest. And if you notice anymore changes…mental or physical…give us a call. But you can leave the hospital now and check out. Just go home…relax. And sort this all out in your head.”
Martin thanked them. Turned towards Emily…who looked so old, frail, and scared of him, so much so that he merely nodded at her, and didn’t take her hand. She didn’t go home with him. She left and moved in with her sister over in Phoenix. Martin stayed in Ohio.
Alone in their tiny cabin at the lake…Martin waited for the dreams to begin again.
They did.
*****
“Have you seen what’s on the TV?”
The President of the United States of America merely shrugged. It wasn’t about him. They weren’t using his name, so he wasn’t interested.
“Yeah, so what? Just some hacker playing around with taking over the air waves. Get the NSC, or Homeland Security, or one of those FBI crooks to catch the guy. Probably some punk kid immigrant showing off his hacking skills. We will deport him…all will be fine.”
The Advisor shrugged and walked out of the room. He had tried. That was all he could do.
He read the message on his phone, since everyone who had a phone got the same message:
“I am taking over the Government on Monday. You have until then to stop destroying lives.”
He had already talked to the CIA, and all of the other three letter Agencies. Nobody knew, how, or from where, the message was sent. What was clear is nobody on Earth could have sent it.
That would have made Martin chuckle…as he was on Earth.
*****
Monday.
A tall red headed man, completely unarmed, walked unhindered into the Oval Office. Nobody had dared to try and stop him. Not after the hell they had unleashed on him as he walked down Pennsylvania Avenue. A hell that left him unmarked. Not even a singed shirt to give away the amount of firepower he withstood.
The door to the front of the White House opened a few moments later. An old man flew through the air to land in a soft thud on the front lawn. Followed by three more thuds as the Vice President and two Senior advisors flew through the air to join him.
“And stay out!”
The door slammed shut.
That evening the Coup was complete. How the new President made so much happen so quickly nobody in the world knew. And believe me, the whole World was watching - in both fascination and terror.
Martin had all the ICE agents that arrested kids and young mothers, taken from their own homes, in the middle of the night. In front of their wives and children. They were handcuffed and marched to a plane. A plane that nobody knew where it was going.
Their cries of “due process” and: “I am an American Citizen!” Fell on deaf ears. They were simply whisked away.
The rest of the World stood by as Martin asked them to be patient. His words sounding so banal, and polite when he spoke on every TV and streaming service in the world:
“Dear Citizens of Earth, I must humbly ask you to please bear with me for a week. I have some stuff to do here at home. If you could please close all your borders to Americans, and send any that are in your country back home to us, I would be in your debt. I think it will take a week or so for me to straighten out everything…and then we can talk. I also want you to think about actual Free Trade. No Tariffs, anywhere on anything. I think we can make that work. If we cooperate instead of compete. And…oh, before I forget, can you send all our troops home too? I will compensate you for the transportation. I would like them all back here by the end of the week.”
And that was done. Every Cruise ship was “borrowed” to bring home the Troops that couldn’t be flown, or floated home. America had no presence anywhere on the Planet after just one week. And that is when Martin made his now famous: American Reconstitution Speech. It was short, but powerful…and it changed not only the Nation, but the future.
“My fellow Americans. It will take six weeks for all the changes to be fully integrated in our new Constitution. At least the AI in my head says that is how long it needs. (He tapped the side of his head)
So, here is just one thing established in the new Constitution:
"Health care is now free. Immediately. I have arrested all of the Health Insurance CEO’s.”
Many chuckled at that comment. After all, the trial was short. And happened on the same Monday that Martin pulled off the Coup of the century, heck... the millennia. He put them all on TV, held up a bottle of aspirin and a box of band-aids…then said to them:
“You have sixty seconds to tell me why an Aspirin in this little bottle of 100 tablets cost about three cents. And why a single band aid, in this box (pointing at a small box of band aids in front of him) cost four and half cents (and these were fabric band aids, not the flimsy ones). Yet under your plans at a hospital cost as much as $50 for two pills. And these band aides? They cost, under your plans: $629 dollars. You claim that the bandage has to cover the price of the Doctor’s Salary and the ER Room the bandage was placed on in. “
They couldn’t answer in sixty seconds…so he answered for them.
“Greed. You don’t care about Health, you care about Profit. Well, I have already set up Medically trained AI’s, to assist Human Doctors. And from now on, your businesses are out of business. In fact, they are now illegal. There will be some growing pains, but rest assured, Medical Care is covered under the new Constitution.
“Freedom. There will be no more “handles” for Social Media. Nor will there be any options to post things under assumed names, or VPN’s. From now on each and every human being will be granted one …and only one Internet handle. With your name and address attached. There will be no more hacks and backdoors. What you say, will be what you said. And a matter of Public Record. You can only post as you. Period. Same for any member of Government.
You will have to stand by your words, promises, and opinions. No more hiding. Ever. That includes me. Times are changing. “
Yes, they are.
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