HiveComb

BREAKING NEWS: THE BIGGEST CHAIN SWEEP SINCE GENESIS, 5 DEAD DUE TO VIOLENT CRIME.

Headline news they call it. Kahn remembers the glory days of such things. He guessed there were still a few of the "old school" news people working in the agency to have thought of doing something so crude.

The headline scrolled across every screen visible, store windows, huge billboards, even personal devices. The people must be aching for some drama if they voted the banner advert in regardless.

There was no need for it. Everyone already knew it. The verified and unverified, both sides have their version of the headline. The required information is known by everyone, literally.

The verified side went with: "A chain sweep of the entire Block-NYC will be conducted as Link Enforcement establish all parameters involved in the death of 5 People."

The unverified side went with: "Link Enforcement abuses their power to sweep the entire Block-NYC in the biggest cover up of the Gaia Networks failure leaving 5 dead."

In both cases they have the details correct, Block-NYC will be swept. Five people died.

Kahn actually preffered both the verified and unverified versions of the news over the horrendous "Headliner" scrolling over the screens. The headline is the only one saying the deaths were due to violent crime.

Although everyone knew it was due to violent crime because they would have immediately read it in the officialy submitted transaction memo. Kahn still thinks that this is a push to get a rise out of people.

"No good will come from this, damn fools." Kahn says to himself as he turns away from the store window only to stare at another one. Kahn looks left up the street and again a huge electronic billboard mocks him before he turns to head the other way.

He was not in a particularly good neigbourhood if you judged it by peoples demeanour and how they treated their surroundings. In the old days he would judge it by the amount of murders. Those days... were seemingly over.

Stopping next to someone just sitting on the sidewalk, seemingly with nowhere to be Kahn says: "Link request."

The man just looks up, a bit puzzled. "Uhm... Given." He responds to Kahn, then returns to intently doing nothing but stare at the asphalt.

Kahn did not need to ask for a link request, but he liked to avoid any bullshit with people who would try to make a big deal over something they have no choice in.

"Thank you, your data has been migrated. You will be dark for the next 30 minutes." Kahn tells the man then moves on to find the next person as he continues his sweep.

He does not explain to them what going dark means ever, and really, he does not think they truly understand the system at all. "The biggest sweep since Genesis." Kahn thinks to himself, then smirks.

"You can't really call Genesis Block a sweep. It was more of a indexing really." He continues, "they really are just a bunch of doom prophets these news people." Kahn frowns and decides to call it a day as he instead passes the next person and scans them without asking.