2029: A short story by Carpe Donktum

Sleet, mixed with a subtle hint of the snow that was surely coming, stuck to the windows of the airport terminal.

Jake Tapper sat watching it melt and run down the glass.

"Of course this is how we ring in the New Year.", he said to himself.

2029 was only a few hours away and Jake was in a particularly ugly mood, even for him. The seconds and minutes ticked relentlessly on in bitter silence, much as they had for the last 4 years. The years from hell.

Lost in thought, Jake was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a theme song coming from the TV. He didn't need to look up to know what it was, by now he was very familiar with the driving baseline and heavy handed guritar riff that marked the beginning of the Joe Rogan Show on MSNBC.

Jake glanced up at the TV just as Rogan began his monologue by highlighting an article written by the New York Times editor Alex Jones.

Jake winced, the broadcast conjuring up so many ghosts from his past. A flood of fond memories hit him all at once as he remembered how good it had felt when he was in control of the narrative. But no more, not now, not after Elon.

The fond memories disapated as suddenly as they had arrived, replaced instead by a stream of humiliatung and frustrating events that had befallen Jake and his colleagues over the past 4 years.

Again Jake winced, it was only 2 years ago that Elon had purchased CNN and sent everyone home. Was it really just 2 years ago? So much had happened since Elon had taken over and turned CNN into a 24 hour stream of a dancing AI powered turd emoji that just read the news, no spin, no nonsense, no agenda. Sickening.

It wasn't enough that Elon had ripped the heart out of CNN and stomped on it's legacy, but the ratings had never been higher. It was a slap in the face to everyone who had worked their entire lives to control and mold the American people.

Jake's thoughts strayed and he fixated on the bigger picture. The media and political landscape was unrecognizable from what it had been a few years ago.

Jake recalled the day that Elon had bought MSNBC, chosing not to fire a majority of the staff, he had required them to wear clown outfits. Those that didn't immediately quit would eventually resign due to the absolute humiliation. Rachel Maddie being the last holdout, lasting an impressive 39 days in costume.

Jake grimaced as his mind ran through the endless stream of dominoes that fell over the next few years. ABC, NBC, CBS, NYT, WAPO, none could resist the ironclad will of Elon and Trump. Even CNN had eventually folded and bended the knee, there was no other choice.

What with world peace breaking out, record breaking economic growth, government efficiency being at the highest level ever recorded, and technological innovation bringing advances to the quality of life in every corner of the globe...

What was there to talk about?

"We certainly couldn't tell the truth", Jake muttered to himself. "You can't tell the people that Hitler and his lackeys fixed the world."

Presently, Jake decided to ignore the television. No, he wouldn't give them the satisfaction of his viewership. He would resist, he was the hero here, not Elon, not Trump.

"It doesn't matter how many more Nobel Prizes they give them", Jake assured himself. "I will resist."

Jake heard the excited noises of people in the terminal. It made his stomach turn just to think of all the jubilation that would be taking place around the country in a few hours.

Trump Jr had won the election with 84% of the vote and every state but Illinois. His VP Jack Posobiec was hosting a huge bash to ring in the New Year on all the major networks.

"He'll be selling those stupid pillows with PROMOCODE TANYA.", Jake Muttered.

Jake settled back in his seat, praying to the God he didn't believe in, that it would all be over soon

Snow was falling now, creating a fresh glitter of a new world with endless possibilities.

But still Jake resisted.