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— You know what they’ re doing, don’ t you? It’ s not about money. It’ s about memory. They don’ t want children to know that we’ ve always been here. A reporter asked her if she thought it was coordinated. Gloria looked at him with infinite pity. Honey, none of this happens by accident.
Flashmag! Issue 167 December 2025
Act III: The Office of National Harmony The Digital Confederation
In 2029, a new federal agency was created: the Office of National Harmony. A reassuring name. An elegant logo. Discourse on“ unity” and“ reconciliation.” Official mission:“ To coordinate initiatives aimed at strengthening national cohesion.” Real mission: to control collective memory. The Office did not censor directly. It used financial incentives. School districts that adopted its“ standards of excellence” received grants. Museums that reoriented their exhibitions saw their budgets increase. And the common narrative was invariably a whitewashed one. Sarah discovered the Office’ s internal documents when a source sent them to her. A memo from July 2029 was particularly chilling:“ The goal is not to deny the contributions of minorities, but to place them in a context where they no longer occupy a central place. History must return to what it was: the history of the nation’ s principal builders.” The“ principal builders.” The code was transparent. The algorithms of erasure What made the project so effective was that it was profoundly modern. The Heirs didn’ t need burning crosses. They had algorithms. Social networks discreetly adjusted their settings. Educational content on the history of minorities saw its reach reduced. Posts commemorating Black heroes were“ deprioritized”— visible, but seen by no one. They had surgical-grade electoral data.
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