Spoilerific: Good Intentions 5!

I wasn't sure if I should reveal this part of the story yet. It's a significant part of the story, although one I'm gonna have to develop more once I get to revisions. Certain tech news broke last week that made me think about how fast things move, and that in turn made me think: Gosh, maybe I should at least seed this with some of my readers before this actually becomes a thing in real life and I'm the one who's behind on everything.

At least, I hope this sort of thing isn't already a thing. It probably is and I just don't know about it. That's also life, and part of being a writer. And yeah, you could say "Elliott's being political again," but when am I not? :)

This one is cut in the middle for length rather than splitting topics. We open with Alex and Lorelei partly separated in a bar while she works the crowd for information on his missing father...

Five minutes passed. Ten. Someone attempted a Dua Lipa song on the karaoke stage, and then someone else pulled the inevitable rendition of Margaritaville. Guys told Lorelei stories, tried to shut each other down, and found her boundaries. Her grin kept everyone hopeful, but nobody won more than the lightest touch. She had them talking. At length, she snuck Alex a long glance across the room. Neither the physical distance nor the would-be suitors really separated them.

Alex found his way to the bathroom. On the way back, he noticed the bulletin board. Flyers advertised a gym, roofers, a dating service, a helpline—and something in dramatic, edgy red-on-black called Deep Truth. An inset picture offered a set of smiling faces: a blonde woman, a white guy, and Black guy, all fit and conventionally attractive, together in a chummy pose with logo-emblazoned swag. The tone of edgy masculinity couldn’t be ignored. Alex grumbled inwardly: Fellas, is it gay to wash your ass? He rolled his eyes and walked away.

Across the bar, Lorelei’s aspirants had thinned out to three guys who thought they had a chance. At his booth, Alex found the spicy chicken strips, fries, and coleslaw he’d ordered… although the slaw looked more like a cup of mayo with a sprinkling of cabbage. He sighed. The menu made it sound better than the burger, but people probably didn’t come here for the food.

Then he took a bite. Paprika, garlic, and honey came together nicely. He expected dry chicken, but the cook had great timing. Okay, Dave. Not a total loss.

(   preview cut for focus   )

“This was almost a waste of time,” Lorelei sighed on her return. “Dave is a regular, but every acquaintance appears surface-level and casual. No one has knowledge beyond our own. That said, one of his coworkers visited the night before last. Apparently, they are all hard at work on venue arrangements for some arena event, and that’s unusual for them. Some kind of life coaching seminar. It all sounded entirely mundane.”

“It’s more than I’ve got,” said Alex. “I’ve felt kinda useless here while… wait. Life coaching?” He stiffened. “No way.”

“What does that mean to you?” asked Lorelei.

“There’s a flyer on the… no. Naw.” His frown deepened, but Alex got up out of his seat. His partners followed him to the hallway and the bulletin board. “Dave, you did not get wrapped up in some creepy toxic self-help cult…”

And then he read.

“Are you lost? Alone? Fed up with all the lies?” The top line spelled it out in perfect English, followed by a mix of text and emojis: “Cut the poop emoji, drop the handcuffs, claim the crown, bicep, dollar sign.” Alex winced inwardly as he kept reading.

Deep Truth — The Perfect Truth

Truth to Power — Truth of Power

We have the knowledge. We have the technology. We know the way.

Advanced Artificial Intelligence has unlocked the DEEP TRUTH from every religion, philosophy, and creed, applied to the success and failure of societies and individuals through global history! DEEP TRUTH is a deductive, algorithmic, memetic synthesis of all the REAL wisdom of the ages, cut free from all the lies!

The techno-Celtic knot triangle hovered over a few final lines: “DEEP TRUTH is open to all people! All ages! Girls and minorities welcome!”

That brought Alex to the bottom and the picture of young and attractive people in symbol-bearing swag and the TED-talk guy on the other corner. Between the pictures was a QR code, and beneath it a final pitch: “Don’t be cucked by all the lies. Escape the left and the right. Success with money, with women, with power all come from the DEEP TRUTH!”

“Oh no,” Rachel said with the same groan Alex felt.

“This is gonna give my phone gonorrhea,” Alex grumbled, but he scanned the QR code anyway—using the burner rather than his own phone. Quickly, he found a website with hyperlinks to all the major social media platforms. He clicked for video.

“I have never heard of this group,” said Lorelei.

“Internet algorithms don't have us identified as frustrated dudes.” Alex scrolled past several videos with dramatic thumbnails and titles repeating much from the flyer. The views numbered in five and six digits. The dates were all within the last year. “They might be inflating this with click-farms, but it has a following, because of course it does. Gross.”

“Their event is this Friday.” Lorelei had her phone out, too. “This arena probably has other events before then, but at least it’s a lead... for later,” she added once the web page came up. “Nothing is scheduled tonight. The arena will be dark.”

“I can swing through right now and see if anything jumps out as spooky or wrong,” said Rachel, “but if the place is hosting other gigs between now and then, I wouldn’t expect much.”

“Okay. It’s a lead, and we can also hit his office tomorrow,” said Alex. “Do we want to get the side hustle out of the way tonight?”

“Yes.” Lorelei stared at the flyer. “Now I am even more curious about the state of the night life in this city.”