New Council Leader Nathan Earlywine limits the data link between Earth and Perplex City, insisting on a screening system to block 'potentially dangerous or subversive' material. Even the Sentinel may be censored. The order is put into effect today.
By JOHN CORMORAN
Newly minted Council Leader Nathan Earlywine issued a security lockdown of the Earth-Perplex City data link today, one of his first steps in his term. Executive Order NE-3309 provides for use of the link to be heavily restricted, and beginning at 5:30pm today, all traffic destined to go through the link will be screened for potentially dangerous or subversive material. Earlywine called this his first move in an effort to "reclaim the culture of Perplex City."
"Our engagement with the people of Earth is understandable," said Earlywine. "We want to recover the Receda Cube and return it to its rightful place of honour in our city and in our culture. But in the Cube's absence, our people have turned to unhealthy measures to fill the void in our lives." He said that limiting access and use of the data link would encourage the city to return citizens' focus to internal matters.
Council Member and former Council Leader Camryn Scott issued a terse statement calling the order "hasty and premature." According to the statement, "Our new Council Leader wants to make a strong first impression in office, but attempting to choke the free flow of information between worlds does not do our city credit."
The Sentinel contacted a number of sources directly affected by the order, including Master of the Academy Sente Kiteway, several members of the Cube retrieval Team, and staff members at the Centre for Reality Research, but none were willing to comment regarding the executive order on the record. One CRR researcher did say, under condition of anonymity, that the move would significantly impact the quality of work it would be possible to perform, and expressed a fear that budget and personnel cuts would follow in the weeks and months to come.
The Sentinel has enquired regarding the status and feasibility of continuing its Earth Edition. Sentinel editor Michiko Clark will be meeting with Earlywine early next week to negotiate the conditions under which the Sentinel may continue publishing.
