Chapter 2

Sara was three paragraphs into rewriting her lead about Linda Martinez when her phone buzzed.

“SHOTS FIRED AT PHOENIX RALLY.”

She clicked through. Conservative activist Marcus Riley speaking at “America First” rally when gunshots reported. Crowd scattered. No confirmation of casualties.

She bookmarked it and returned to her draft, but the cursor just blinked at her.

Five minutes later: “MARCUS RILEY CONFIRMED DEAD AT ARIZONA RALLY.”

Twitter was already fracturing. Shaky phone videos showed people running, diving behind chairs. One clip captured a figure at the podium crumpling as the audio cut to static.

@PatriotMom47: False flag. Watch who benefits from this. #FalseFlag

@AntifaWatch: This is what happens when the left dehumanizes conservatives for years

Sara screenshotted automatically, a reflex from years of watching social media become crime scenes.

Her editor called.

“Chen, where are you on the gaming story?”

“Filing tomorrow morning.”

“Drop it. Riley’s confirmed dead. I need you on this.”

Sara’s coffee had gone cold. She’d never heard of Marcus Riley six months ago.

“When do you want me in Phoenix?”

“Get online first. Something’s different this time. AI chatbots are saying Riley is still alive. It’s only been forty-three minutes since the confirmation.”

Her laptop screen filled with tabs. Each platform was developing its own version of events, its own explanation for why Marcus Riley had to die.

Sara thought about David Martinez, about midnight online sessions and “important work.”

How many Davids were processing this right now?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​