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Occupied New York, April, 1965. It's a cold and blustery morning. A line of New York policemen block the entrance to the Federal Courthouse. On each side of the courthouse steps, there is a platoon-sized group of soldiers wearing green camouflage uniforms, and armed with military-grade weapons.

Across the street, there is a group of a couple of hundred citizens gathered. They are blocked off from the street by the NYPD, who look at them as if to say "don't even THINK about taking another step towards...". Two of the men in this group are talking.

"i don't believe they're going to do it. I mean, my God, he's still an American, for God's sake..."

"Danny, they've got no choice. You know as well as I do the wording of the Treaty. It hasn't changed in 10 years. He inspired the incident in the Village, he called people to revolt--it's a miracle more of the Greenies weren't killed. And a LOT of people wouldn't mind seeing him hang--they look at it as we were three months away from the end of the Occupation, and he persuaded those idiots to fuck it up. You give them the choice between the man hanging, and, say, Newark going up, what do you THINK they're going to choose? And what the fuck did you think the government was going to do?"

Danny's friend stops to catch his breath and light a cigarette. As he does, the front page of the day's New York Post blows by...

DYLAN SEDITION TRIAL TO BEGIN TODAY AT FEDERAL COURTHOUSE--FACING DEATH PENALTY

NYPD SAYS SECURITY SITUATION IN CITY UNDER CONTROL

SOA NY COMMANDER KRUSHKIN SAYS "WE HOPE NO FURTHER MEASURES WILL BE NECESSARY"

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