The following is an excerpt from the television news program, News Vision, which originally aired at 8 pm on Sunday July 10, 1984, on the National Broadcast System television network.
Opening scene: A slim Caucasian male of approximately forty years of age sits in a poised manner upon a director’s chair located in the middle of a minimally decorated sound stage. Some might consider the man’s fashionable 80’s attire - low cut white leather boots, plaid bell-bottom pants, a floral-patterned silk shirt with the first few buttons opened at the throat, along with dark colored hair permed into a tight curl - to be somewhat androgynous, or possibly effeminate. But the man sitting in the chair is a nationally respected journalist, so most viewers simply dismiss his barely perceptible idiosyncrasies as something that is a part of the television and film industry.
(Behind the man in the chair is a highly polished transparent barrier which appears to be made of some sort of ultra-modern polycarbonate material. The stylized red letters of the “News Vision” logo can be seen emblazoned across the upper portion of the see-through barrier, just below the stylish matte black drop ceiling).
(A fully staffed newsroom with perhaps a dozen or so people busily working at computer terminals and answering telephones can be seen on the other side of the see-through wall. The transparent wall separating the newsroom from the outside soundstage makes it appear as though the news staff is working inside a giant aquarium. An attractive woman in a form fitting dress with huge padded shoulders purposefully stands up from her desk, removes a sheet of paper from a nearby printer, and then hurriedly walks out of camera view on spiked heels.)
The television camera suddenly pans in for a head and neck close up shot of the man who is sitting in the director’s chair.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Good evening everyone, I’m Robert Mudd, and this is News Vision.
Exciting theme music blares as the “News Vision” logo swipes across the screen. An off-screen male announcer proclaims the following in a sing-song voice….
Off Screen Announcer: Welcome to News Vision! America’s number one news show for more than fifteen years running. (As the logo is swiping across the screen.) In tonight’s episode we will be looking at the following stories: The infamous Stalwart Forty-Seven held at Fort Leavenworth since the end of the Second Great War. (Brief clip of a shuffling chow line made up of grey-haired gentlemen in prison garb.) Preparations for the upcoming Vancouver Summer Olympics. (Brief clip of workers hoisting a scaffolding light system up into the ceiling above a huge indoor arena.) And the dangerous new automotive fad known as “Wheel Standing” which is costing so many young people their lives. (Brief film clip of a highly modified 1975 Pontiac Banshee smoking its rear tires. The entire front end of the powerful car lifts several feet off the ground as the vehicle rapidly accelerates forward. The film clip ends without showing what happens next.)
Off Screen Announcer: But first a few words from tonight’s sponsors.
Off Screen Announcer: Tonight’s sponsors are, Air-America, - Where would you like to fly today?
(Brief footage depicting a double-decker Lockheed L-1014 jumbo airliner leaping into the air from an airport runway, as its high output turbo-jet engines leave expanding plumes of greyish black exhaust in its wake.)
Off Screen Announcer: And, White Motor Company, America’s number one maker of heavy-duty commercial trucks.
(Brief footage depicting factory workers using an overhead hoist to lower a gleaming new truck body onto its corresponding frame and engine assembly. Sparks from a spot-welding machine can be seen in the background.)
First television commercial:
(The scene changes to the unoccupied interior of a modern airliner. Suddenly, a dapper looking gentleman dressed in a tuxedo sticks his head and neck into frame from the left.
Actor Tony Randall: Hi, I’m Tony Randall, (Randall quickly moves into the center aisle as he embraces the camera with a friendly smile) and I’m here to tell you about Air-America’s exciting Fun-Time Summer Bonanza. Fly to any of these thrilling overseas destinations for as little as $69.99 roundtrip coach, between now and September 1st, and we’ll upgrade your inflight meals and entertainment free of charge.
(As Randall is speaking, he points his fingers to five invisible spots in the air around his head. Each time Randall’s finger stops, an oval cut out depicting an overseas tourist destination appears. Within a few seconds, Randall has managed to create the Pyramids of Giza, the Brandenburg Gate, Ayers Rock, South Africa’s Kruger Park, and the Hagia Sophia located in Constantinople floating in the air about his smiling face.)
Actor Tony Randall: But to really get there in style, (Randall snaps his fingers and the overseas destinations magically disappear with a twinkle) Then you’ll want to take advantage of Air-America’s patented mid-air refueling system, which puts any point in the world within twelve and a half hours flying time from your departure point.
(Randall jauntily strides down the center aisle, past rows of empty seats, and opens the door leading into the cockpit. Two smiling airline pilots are seen strapped in behind their controls as Randall enters.)
Actor Tony Randall: Okay gentlemen, show them how it’s done!
(One of the pilots reaches a hairy forearm out and depresses a square button marked “Refuel Computer”. A small CRT screen above the square button suddenly illuminates and displays the following messages in quick succession: “HUNTING FOR TANKER”….”ACQUIRED”….”NEGOTIATING”...)
Actor Tony Randall: Air-America’s Aerialtankers are always loitering at strategic locations around the world, so that you don’t have to be bothered with inconvenient stopovers at mid-flight refueling points.
(The view through the windscreen shows that an enormous one hundred and seventy thousand-liter Aerialtanker has just passed over top of the airliner, and has positioned its mammoth tail just mere meters above the airliner’s windscreen. From the view out the airliner’s windscreen, the Aerialtanker looks like a bloated leviathan blocking out the entire sky above. The CRT screen on the dashboard displays: “BEGIN AUTOFILLING - CONFIRM OR ABORT”. One of the pilots reaches out and taps the green confirm button located next to the CRT screen. Both pilots take their hands off of their steering yoks as they appear to relax by placing their hands behind their heads. A Boom lowers from the underside of the Aerialtanker and quickly docks with a receptacle located in the nose of the airliner.)
Actor Tony Randall: And thanks to Air-America’s proprietary high-flow refueling system, even our largest airliners can be refueled in as little as twenty minutes.
(The status bar on the CRT screen reaches one hundred percent, and one of the pilots reaches out and hits a button marked “FINALIZE”. The scene briefly changes to an exterior shot of two large jet aircraft majestically peeling away from each other. The scene changes to smiling a Tony Randall standing in the doorway leading into the cockpit.)
Actor Tony Randall: So, remember Air-America if you’re heading abroad this summer, we’ll get you there quickly, safely, and comfortably!
(The scene changes to a group of tourists dressed in Oahu shirts and Bermuda shorts as they stand in front of a baggage carousel in a modern looking airport terminal. Actor Tony Randall, who is dressed similarly to the other tourists at the baggage carousel, is serenely doing the hula as he listens to music on a set of personal headphones. Actor Jack Klugman enters the scene pulling a large heavy suitcase which has several items of clothing sticking out of it. Klugman seems frazzled and unnerved, and several crumpled boarding passes can be seen sticking out of the rear pocket of his pants, as he drags his heavy suitcase across the terminal. Klugman isn’t looking where he is going, and he accidentally bumps into the hulaing Randall. Randall removes his headphones, as he turns and says to the disheveled Klugman…)
Actor Tony Randall: What on earth happened to you?
Actor Jack Klugman: I took the cheaper airline!
(Both actors stare into the camera in their classic “Oh what now” expression from their television show of a decade earlier.
Second television commercial:
The scene depicts a tanker truck delivering fuel to a rural gas station just as the sun is coming up. The rig pulling the fuel tank is a worn-looking green and yellow 1964 White Four-Thousand semitruck. The driver jumps down from the cab, and makes his way around to the front of the vehicle, he pauses to use the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away some dust which has built up on the “White” logo located above the radiator grill. The logo shines like new after it has been cleaned. The Driver drags a heavy hose from a storage bin located beneath the huge fuel tank, and connects it to a pipe sticking out of the ground. A clock like mechanism located near the bottom of the tank registers the fuel flowing out of the tanker into the ground. A shiny new 1984 White Eighty-Eight-Hundred semitruck pulling a stainless-steel trailer marked “Dairy” pulls into the station and parks next to the fueling pumps. The two drivers tip their hats too one another as they exchange greetings; “Good morning, Phil”, “Morning Alex”. - - Suddenly the White Motor Company logo fills the screen as an off-screen announcer proclaims, “White Trucks, helping American businesses get their products to market, now, and into the future.
(The Scene returns to television reporter Robert Mudd sitting in the director’s chair in front of the plexiglass wall. The Camera pans in for another close-up head and neck shot.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: This past Thursday marks the fortieth anniversary of the end of the Second Great War, and our opening story tonight has to do with a group of Americans who have been held in military prison without any legal representation since the end of the war. But in order to get some back ground on this story, we must first go back to the 1940s (dramatic pause) to a time when America was ruled by two rival national governments, and to a time when two competing ideologies; military-authoritarianism versus democracy, battled one another for the hearts and minds of the American people. Fortunately, democracy won out, and today Americans find themselves living under true liberty, and not under the meaningless rebel-yell of “Freedom!”
(Mudd gives the camera an all-knowing professorial nod of the head as the scene cuts away.)
(Brief black and white footage of a Mule dive-bomber of the Confederate Air Force attacking a US troop train during the opening phases of Operation Blackbeard in June of 1941. (The audio quality of the dive-bomber’s siren appears to be too clear and distinct for such ancient grainy footage, and was most likely later dubbed into the clip for dramatic effect.) -- A black and white still image of Confederate soldiers frolicking in Lake Erie is flashed across the screen. - A brief black and white film clip of US paratroopers raising the US flag over Lookout Mountain in Georgia. - Brief black and white silent footage of Confederate General George S. Patton addressing his troops at the surrender of Birmingham. - A still image of the surrender documents signed by CS President Donald Partridge bringing about the end of the war.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Towards the end of the war, the US military captures what it claims are some of the most fanatical die-hards it has ever encountered fighting on behalf of the rapidly collapsing Confederate government.
(Color aerial footage taken from a fast-moving plane flying over the industrial outskirts of Atlanta. The passing scenery is one of complete ruin and destruction, without a single structure left standing. Roofs of factory buildings have been smashed down onto production floors, industrial chimneys and water-towers lay toppled over on their sides, and the streets are completely choked with rubble and other sorts of miscellaneous debris. There is no movement in the eerie landscape, nor is there any sign of recent human activity. A derailed freight train laying on its side briefly flashes by. Ominous music plays as Mudd speaks over the above footage.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Of course, we are talking about the infamous Stalwart Forty-Seven who have been held under maximum confinement at the US military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, since the late 1940s. A situation which raises the ire of many of the nation’s most top constitutional scholars.
(The famous New York Times political cartoon dated July 15, 1944 is flashed across the screen. An incredibly muscular Uncle Sam clad in stars and stripes boxing shorts is seen prancing over a comically battered and broken Jake Featherston. One of Uncle Sam's mighty arms is in a hooked position as though he has just thrown the powerful haymaker punch which knocked Featherston out. A dwarf sized boxing referee attempts to hold the determined Uncle Sam back as a similarly sized medical doctor with an enormous head mirror attempts to check Featherston's pulse. The doctor has a doubtful expression upon his face. In the audience stands can be seen characters dressed in traditional antique clothing which are meant to represent the other major nations of the world.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: The Stalwart Forty-Seven represent one of the final loose ends left over from the time when Americans were separated by two competing systems of government…
(Black and white film footage depicting a classroom of Confederate school children as they cross out lines of printed text in their school books. A stern-faced US official slowly walks among the rows of desks with his hands behind his back as he inspects the children’s work. A somewhat thin bedraggled looking school teacher stands in front of her chalkboard as she resignedly observes the unfolding events occurring in her classroom. The CS flag is conspicuously missing from its bracket above the chalkboard.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But to get more on this story we decided to travel to Plains, Georgia in order to talk with former Republican President of the United States, William Alton Carter, who has often been a harsh critic of the government’s policy of holding these men in what he considers to be a sort of stateless legal limbo without any representation.
(All across the nation millions of Americans scoff at their television screens as they proclaim, “Yeah sure, Carter promised to keep us out of a war in Northeast Asia, but how did that work out?”)
(A quick montage of the following color still images: A silver water tower with the US flag painted on it. Below the image of the US flag appears the words “PLAINS, GEORGIA”. - The downtown business district of Plains, Georgia. All of the buildings along Main Street are of the boxy postwar type built during the 1950s and early 60s, with few prewar buildings in sight. - A landscape image depicting endless rows of peanut plants growing under the Georgia sun. - A simple white farmhouse with a tall metal windmill in its front yard.)
(Footage of reporter Robert Mudd walking up a narrow path leading to the front entrance of the white farmhouse. Mudd seems to wilt slightly under the bright Georgia sun as he hurriedly makes his way past several lawn ornaments and heads toward the shelter of the covered porch.)
(Upon reaching the porch Mudd is greeted by two clinch jawed agents of the Federal Intelligence Service who are each sporting menacing looking submachine guns from straps about their necks. The mirrored sunglasses worn by the agents give them an aura of unsettling otherworldliness, which seems to make it impossible to read their emotions. Mudd presents a small plastic ID card along with a slip of paper. One of the Secret Service men takes Mudd’s ID badge and swipes it through a handheld device, as the other man makes a notation on the slip of paper which Mudd has handed him. After a brief moment Mudd is allowed to enter the front door while the two agents remain outside at their post on the covered porch.)
(The scene changes to the home office of former President Carter, which is located in a back bedroom of the small farm house. The antique wooden furniture and framed photographs hanging on the walls provides a quaint homey feel to the room. Carter sits behind a large wooden desk which is littered with knickknacks and souvenirs, an old-fashioned desk phone, and a tiffany desk lamp tucked into a far corner of the desk amongst the clutter.)
A powerful looking Xerox brand Nova personal computer can be seen sitting on a wooden cabinet against the wall behind Carter’s desk. The computer is switched on, and appears to be randomly generating geometric patterns on its screen. A digital clock mounted on the wall above the computer reads 0857 – Temp: 34.4 C. To the other side of Carter is an old-fashioned wooden framed single hung window that is pushed up and open as a slight breeze disturbs the curtains. A blue and white Ford Tractor can be seen parked a few meters outside the window.
President Carter seems to have not only put on a great deal of weight since leaving the presidency in 1981, but he also seems to have aged a great deal as well, causing many to speculate that the bags under his eyes might be due to the onset of kidney failure, brought on by a recent bout of alcoholism. Carter wears a simple short-sleeve plaid work shirt with suspenders. A tiny US flag pin can be seen affixed to Carter’s left suspender, just above his heart. The front pocket of his shirt is stuffed with numerous pens and pencils and also a small electronic device which may or may not be a hearing aid. Carter’s skin appears to be covered with a thin layer of oily sweat, his hair also has a lanky and oily look to it, and he is breathing slightly as if he has just finished performing some work.
Carter steeples his beefy hands in front of his chin as he listens to Mudd speak. Mudd is sitting in a kitchen chair directly in front of Carter’s desk as he conducts his interview with the former president.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: President Carter, I’d like to speak with you regarding the men known as the Stalwart Forty-Seven, and why you believe that it is unconstitutional for the government to keep them behind bars all these years?
Former President William Carter: (The camera zooms in for a head and shoulder shot of Carter as he begins speaking.) Well, as you may know, (Carter’s voice is surprisingly soft and melodic like that of a Sunday school teacher.) the official surrender agreement signed by representatives of both the US and Confederate governments at the end of the war stipulated that all former citizens of the Confederacy would be granted full US citizenship upon their state’s readmission back into the Union. (Carter pauses briefly as one of his hands scratches the other in front of his chin.) Now, the last CS state to be readmitted back into the Union was South Carolina, and that happened twenty-five years ago in 1959. (Carter absently pauses as if considering how best to finalize his opening remark.) Yet the US government is still classifying the so called Stalwart Forty-Seven being held at Fort Leavenworth as disarmed enemy combatants, even though the Confederacy went out of existence four decades ago.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: And how is that significant? (As Mudd wears a look of genuine puzzlement upon his somewhat noticeably made up face.)
Former President William Carter: Well, the US government’s position is that the former Confederate troops being held at Fort Leavenworth are not US citizens, they are not subject to the Bill of Rights, and therefore they are not entitled to a fair and speedy trial. (Carter tilts his head slightly to the side and smirks towards the end of his remark, as if he cannot believe the words which are coming out of his own mouth.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Now, just to be clear (As Mudd claws his fingertips into the air to emphasize the words “just to be clear”) although you are from the New South, you yourself feel no sense of loyalty towards either the Stalwart Forty-Seven, or the Confederate States of America? Is that correct?
(Carter’s chair squeaks noticeably as he shifts his weight. For the briefest of seconds Carter appears to wear a flash of irritation upon his face, but then it is gone as quickly as it appeared. Carter exhales slowly through his nostrils before then responding.)
(A boom microphone momentarily slips into view from above due to Carter suddenly and unexpectedly sitting more upright in his chair. The boom microphone vanishes out of camera view.)
Former President William Carter: Now, it is a well-known fact that my older brother James served in the CS Navy during the war, and that he died during a guerrilla raid on this very town, (Carter pauses again, as a brief look of sadness passes over his face, but it is soon replaced once again by his usual warm smile once he resumes speaking.) but my family’s history has absolutely nothing to do with my concerns regarding the legal status of the forty-seven men being held in Leavenworth. (Then almost as an afterthought) Even though many of my detractors have attempted to allege otherwise.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, in your view, the men being held at Fort Leavenworth are being denied their due process simply because the US government refuses to recognize them as US citizens?
(Carter briefly closes his eyes as he emphatically nods his head in a “yes” gesture in response to Mudd’s question. Carter then returns his gaze to Mudd and continues speaking.)
Former President William Carter: There are two things to keep in mind here, (As Carter leans back in his chair and raises up two fingers in order to indicate two things.) Number one (Carter lowers a finger) the last CS prisoners of war were released by the US government in 1953. Number two (Carter lowers his remaining finger and lowers his hand out of frame.) The US government cannot legally continue to designate these men as disarmed enemy combatants, when the country they fought for went out of existence four decades ago. (Carter pauses as he leans forward and puts his elbows on his desk.) If the US government wishes to keep these men behind bars, or to even put them in front of a firing squad, well fine, but first they need to be put in front of a court-of-law, all of the evidence against them must be thoroughly examined, and then after they’ve been found guilty, then and only then, can a punishment against them be handed down. (Carter pauses briefly as if in deep reflection.) The process is called Justice, and it should come naturally to every American. (Carter shrugs his shoulders slightly as if he has just stated something that should be obvious to everyone.).
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But why do you feel that it is so important that these particular men receive justice, given the horrible war-crimes which some of them are accused of committing?
Former President William Carter: The Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution is supposed to guarantee every American the right to a speedy trial, but the US government is denying these men their right to a trial by claiming that they are not US citizens, when of course the surrender agreement signed back in 1944 clearly states that they should be.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But most people would probably say, “so what”, the Stalwart Forty-Seven are truly evil men, why should we worry about the rights of people who have been accused of such horrible deeds?
Former President William Carter: What most people need to understand… (Carter briefly pauses as he seems to momentarily struggle for words. Carter returns to steepling his fingers as he casts a fleeting glimpse upwards towards the ceiling, as if he is saying a brief prayer. Carter returns his attention to Mudd, and then continues speaking – as he returns to using his usual soft voice.) People need to understand that either we are a nation of laws, or we are not. (Patiently, with sun light from the nearby window reflecting off of his glasses.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But how does this affect the average person in this country who never has any interactions with the justice system, or the government, other than paying their taxes and voting? (As Mudd sits back in his chair and folds his thin arms in an almost womanly manner.)
Former President William Carter: Because if the government can deny these men their citizenship, thereby denying them their constitutional rights, then what is to stop the government from doing it to someone else, including you and me?
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But in all honesty, how likely is something like that to happen? I mean shouldn’t we just trust the government to look out for us? Why the need to second guess what our elected officials might do in the future?
Former President William Carter: (Carter lets out a soft sigh, as if he is seeking to bolster his own patience.) During the course of my life I’ve served as a deacon in the Baptist Church, a practicing attorney, a politician, a businessman, a husband, a father, and a peanut-farmer; and from my collective life experiences, I can tell you without any doubt, whatsoever, that we human beings are highly flawed creatures (Carter pauses in order to favor Mudd with a warm smile). The Bible says so, and the recent war in Japan clearly demonstrated this fact as well.
(The camera pans over to Robert Mudd. Mudd doesn’t say anything, but simply nods his head as if to encourage Carter to keep speaking. The heat and humidity have caused a curl from Mudd’s permed hairdo to come misplaced and to flop across Mudd’s forehead in an awkward manner. Mudd instantly pushes the stray lock of hair back into place as the camera is rolling. The view switches back to Carter sitting behind his desk.)
Former President William Carter: Therefore, we need to ask ourselves, do we want to live in a nation where we merely rely upon men to rule over other men, or do we want to live in a nation where we are governed by the rule of law? Now, if we decide that we want to live in a country where things are decided based solely upon the whims of our leaders, then who is to say what might happen fifteen or twenty years down the road?
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But, under what context could a wholesale trampling of our constitutional rights, such as what you’re describing possibly occur? (Mudd gives a tight smile as he tilts his head to the side in a gesture which seems to say, “I don’t know if I can necessarily buy what you’re trying to sell me.”)
Former President William Carter: Well, let us suppose for just a moment, (Carter pauses has he rubs the palms of his hands together, before then using the tip of an index finger to push his eye glasses back into place.) Now, let us suppose that a future administration finds itself mired in a political scandal, of one sort or another. (Carter places both of his hands palm up upon his desk, as if he is offering Mudd something which only the two of them can see.) As the situation stands right now, the forty-seven men now being held at Fort Leavenworth could very easily be cited by a future administration as a legal precedent for stripping its critics of their citizenship, by declaring them enemies of the state, and then to throw its critics behind bars, without a trial, or even filing any criminal charges.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, what you’re essentially saying is that, in the future, the murky legal situation surrounding the Stalwart Forty-Seven might be useful to a corrupt administration which wishes to silence its opponents, perhaps in order to facilitate a coverup, or maybe even to hold onto power? (Mudd stops tapping his pencil against his chin as he momentarily stares off into the distance, perhaps visualizing what he has just described to Carter.)
Former President William Carter: (Carter rests an elbow on his desk as he holds up an index finger in order to emphasize the point he is about to make. A noticeable degree of harsh firmness creeps into Carter’s normally even-tempered tone of voice as he responds.) That is just one of the many potentially negative outcomes that may arise from the glaring loophole that is the Stalwart Forty-Seven. The United States of America cannot truly be a free-country if such a large loophole is allowed to exist in its justice system, and that is why I intend to see this particular issue resolved before I retire from public life.
(The view of the camera changes to a behind the shoulder shot of Carter typing at his computer as Mudd narrates off camera.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: I thank President Carter for his time, but before I leave, he informs me that he is working with other lawyers around the country to bring this issue in front of the US Supreme Court before the end of 1985. Next we travel to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to get an opposing point of view from the commander of the disciplinary barracks there, Lieutenant Colonel, Wright Beynon, who at thirty-four years of age, is the youngest lieutenant colonel to have ever served with the US Army.
(Brief aerial footage of Fort Leavenworth taken from an airplane about to land at nearby Moss Army Airfield. The starfish layout of the disciplinary barracks can be seen at a somewhat distorted angle due to the low altitude of the plane.)
(Brief footage of a three-engine Messerschmitt 803 corporate jet taxiing to a stop. The interlocking letters of the National Broadcast Services logo can be seen on the tail of the plane. A hatch in the side of the low-slung fuselage splits at the midpoint with the lower section becoming a short flight of stairs, and with the upper portion becoming a canopy over the stairway. Television reporter Robert Mudd hastily shuffles down the short flight of stairs ahead of a trio of other people who are closely following behind him. Each of the persons behind Mudd is carrying at least two hand held cases, but Mudd’s hands are empty as the group moves forward. The somewhat long shadows cast across the ground seems to indicate that it is perhaps the middle of the morning. The group walks across a short stretch of tarmac to a late model Ford Landau 500 decked out in US Army colors. A sergeant quickly and efficiently arranges the cases into the Ford’s spacious trunk as the group of visitors watch. Twin puffs of exhaust emanate from under either corner of the rear bumper as the sergeant works on fitting each case into the trunk. Mudd gets into the backseat with two of his staffers, while a woman wearing a white coat with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows sits in front with the sergeant. A small dust devil emerges in the wake of the rapidly departing full-sized sedan. The dust devil quickly grows in intensity, gaining to a height of perhaps ten or twelve meters, before then wandering onto a patch of barren ground where it kicks of several tiny scraps of trash, and other miscellaneous debris. After traveling a short distance across the dry soil, the dust devil rapidly loses its cohesion and vanishes.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Not only is Fort Leavenworth home to the US Department of Defense’s only maximum-security prison, but the base is also home to the United States Army Research Laboratory, where the army carries out research on advanced weapons projects including chemical, biological, and cyber weaponry. Additionally, nearby Hoffman Air Force Base is home to the US Air Force’s 565th Strategic Missile Command, and I’m told that if the US and RSFR ever launch intercontinental strikes at one another, the surrounding countryside is expected to receive a heavy bombardment of Russian sunbombs during a first strike, and that the surface of the Earth at ground zero is expected to reach temperatures hotter than the surface of the Sun. (Off camera as above and below images are playing on screen.)
(The following montage in a quick sequence: A color still image of a large concrete pad surrounded by a chain-link fence in the middle of a Kansas wheat field. A brief film clip of a high-tech looking ICBM sitting in its silo. The burnished titanium skin of the missile glitters under the florescent lighting, as workers insert probes into an open access panel. A brief film clip of a large parabolic dish located in an empty field adjusting its focal point towards a different area of the cloudless sky; presumably to either detect incoming threats from the heavens, or to receive telemetry from a satellite orbiting somewhere above. A brief color film clip of a half dozen or so Air Force personnel monitoring computer screens in a somewhat seemingly cramped work area without any windows.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Mudd narrates off camera, as the above and below images play on the television screen.) I meet with Lieutenant Colonel Beynon in his third-floor office inside the Corrections Command Building situated between the large Disciplinary Barracks, where US military personnel found guilty of committing major crimes are housed, and the much smaller Barracks J where the Stalwart Forty-Seven are confined.
A color still image of the turn of the century three-story red bricked administration building of the United States Army Corrections Command at Fort Leavenworth. The point of view is from the two-lane access road at a distance of about one hundred meters from the administrative building. On either side of the road is a well-manicured lawn dotted with large walnut and oak trees. - A brief film clip depicting visitors passing through a metal detector inside the lobby of the administration building as military police conduct random inspections.)
(Color footage of Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon reclining back in a chair as members of the News Vision staff apply various cosmetics to his neck and face as a clip-on microphone is hidden underneath his tie.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Mudd narrates off camera as the footage of Lieutenant Colonel Beynon being prepped for his interview plays on the screen.) Lieutenant Colonel Beynon has agreed to meet with us with the understanding that the government will be able to tell its full side of the story, without any impedance or selective editing on our part. What you’re about to hear is the US government’s official unvarnished position regarding the Stalwart Forty-Seven.
(Lieutenant Colonel Beynon’s office is brightly illuminated by futuristic fluorescent light fixtures suspended from the ceiling on slender metal tubes. The floor is covered in a beige low pile polystyrene carpeting. The walls are of a color matching the carpet, but contain only a few decorations. - The room seems to have an abundance of stainless-steel fixtures and green potted plants. - The office would appear to be that of an executive from California’s Technology Valley, rather than one belonging to an army officer working in an eighty-year-old building. - Nearly one entire wall is taken up by a tinted window overlooking the Disciplinary Barracks next door. The vertically hanging brushed aluminum venetian-blinds are turned open providing an unobstructed view through the extra wide panoramic window. - Beynon’s desk is positioned so that he can get a view of the barracks compound simply by turning is head slightly to the right. From this angle the star shaped Disciplinary Barracks looks like some sort of an industrial complex with various pipes and conduits running across its metal roof. - Beynon’s modern cube like desk appears to be made of a grey teak wood, and is adorned with a sleek computer screen set off to one side, a slim desk lamp which appears to be permanently affixed to one corner, and also a multiline push button telephone.)
(Footage of Mudd and Beynon shaking hands over Beynon’s desk. Afterwards both men sit down; Beynon in the high back chair behind his desk, and Mudd in a smaller swivel office chair positioned in front of Beynon’s desk.)
(A young female aide of perhaps Latin or Native American ancestry serves coffee to the men who have just sat down.)
(Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon seems exceedingly pleased with the makeover he has just received as he suppresses an involuntary smile into the camera. Beynon is a Caucasian male of average height, slim build, olive complexion, and although he is only in his mid-thirties, he has already lost a considerable amount of hair from the top of his head. Beynon looks resplendent in his olive-drab officer’s uniform, and the gold fringed US and US Army flags to either side of Beynon make him seem like a character straight from Hollywood central casting.)
(The camera perspective changes to a spot behind Mudd’s chair, giving a full-frontal view of Beynon sitting at his desk and only a partial side view of Mudd. Mudd crosses his legs, flips his notes open to a particular page, and begins asking questions as the camera rolls.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Colonel Beynon, can you tell us what the government’s official position is regarding the Stalwart Forty-Seven being held here at Fort Leavenworth, under your charge, and why the government has decided to deny these men the right to defend themselves in a court-of-law?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (Beynon speaks in a firm but polite tone of voice as he fixes the camera with a measured gaze.) First, let me begin by explaining to your television viewers that the commonly used phrase “Stalwart Forty-Seven” is a bit of a misnomer, and it does not accurately describe the forty-seven Disarmed Confederate Combatants being held here under my charge. Additionally, the US government itself doesn’t recognize the term “Stalwart Forty-Seven” as a means of defining who these men are. (Beynon then folds his hands atop his desk like a well-behaved student.) So, for the remainder of this interview I’d like to refer to them by their correct designation which is, “Disarmed Confederate Combatants” or “D-C-Cs” for short.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Fine. (Perhaps momentarily taken aback) But why then does the government feel that the phrase “Stalwart Forty-Seven” is not an accurate description for describing these men? (As Mudd uses the eraser of a yellow number two pencil to rapidly tap on the hollow of his cheek, as if the gesture will help him to think more clearly.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (Beynon states the following in a quick rather matter of fact tone of voice, as if he has had to explain the same topic to many people in the past.) Because most of the men being held here were not members of the Freedom Party’s infamous paramilitary organization known as the “Stalwarts” and in reality, most of the men being held today in Barracks J were simply irregular fighters taken into US custody following the put down of the failed uprising which occurred in Jackson, Mississippi in March of 1945.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, in other words, they became known in the media as the “Stalwart Forty-Seven” due simply to their fanatical loyalty to the cause of the Confederacy, and not necessarily because they were a part of some elite CS fighting force?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: My understanding is that as US ground troops were engaged in the process of recapturing the city of Jackson, that they would occasionally stumble across underground makeshift bunkers or basements with a few irregular CS fighters holding out inside. When such hideouts were discovered, the US soldier making the discovery would often call out, “Hey! I got some more Stalwarts over here!”, and the label has stuck ever since.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: I see. (Mudd quickly flips through pages of the tablet resting on his lap, before then stating the following in a genuinely puzzled tone of voice.) Then how can the US government continue to describe these men as “disarmed enemy combatants” if they weren’t part of any recognized fighting force when they were taken into custody?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: That is because everyone of the fighters taken into US custody following the rebellion at Jackson, had earlier fought in the CS military during the war, and had also previously been taken as prisoners of war by the time the Confederate government had surrendered in July of 1944. (Beynon raises an eyebrow towards the camera, as if what he has just said answers everything.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: If all of the men being held here today were taken as POWs, by July of 1944, then how did so many of them find themselves participating in the failed uprising in Jackson, Mississippi in March of 1945?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: It is worth noting that, by the end of the Second Great War, that the US military had taken control of roughly 3.31 million Confederate prisoners of war. (Beynon briefly pauses to let the large number of CS POWs sink in.) Therefore, in order to alleviate the chronic overcrowding conditions occurring in the prison camps, the outgoing La Follette administration made the decision to release certain CS prisoners early, provided that they took an oath to never again take up arms against the US government. (Beynon again raises an eyebrow and tilts his head to the side as if he is letting Mudd and the television viewer audience in on a piece of information that is extremely private and confidential.) The plan, of course failed miserably, as many of these young men once again took up arms against the US for a second time at Jackson.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Okay then,….(Mudd seems briefly lost in his own thoughts as he absently squeezes his own chin between a thumb and forefinger.) How, then…..did the US government decide which Confederate prisoners of war were going to receive an early release, and which ones were going to spend the next few years working on reconstruction projects? (Mudd lightly bites his own lower lip, as if he really isn’t quite satisfied with the question he has just asked.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Most of the CS prisoners granted early release by the La Follette administration were under eighteen years of age, most of them were farm boys, and at the time it was felt that releasing them early would not only help them to provide for their families, but that it would also engender them towards the US. But as I said, the plan was not well thought out, and today, most historians agree that it actually helped to contribute to the bloody uprising at Jackson.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Mudd replies in a tone of questioning astonishment.) Hmm, well, I have to say that, I was not aware of this particular set of facts. (Mudd gives a genuine wide-eyed expression, while momentarily moving his jaw to the side in a gesture of puzzlement.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Well, many people are not aware of these facts, and thus the great misunderstanding surrounding the “Disarmed Confederate Combatants” which we are holding here.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Why does the US government refer to these men as Disarmed Confederate Combatants, instead of merely just calling them disarmed enemy combatants?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: That would be because, during the US military’s first involvement in the Alaskan Conflict, which ran on and off from 1948 until 1953, the government was forced to create the designation of Disarmed Confederate Combatant in order to differentiate the men captured at Jackson from irregular Marxist fighters taken prisoner in Alaska and Western Canada.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, does the US government consider the Disarmed Confederate Combatants being held here to be prisoners of war left over from the Second Great War?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: The US government does not consider the forty-seven men being held in Barracks J to be prisoners of any kind, rather the government considers them to be detainees who are being detained for an indefinite period of time. (Beynon gives an almost imperceptible flash of a smile, as if he knows what he is saying is not completely accurate.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: You mentioned that most of the CS detainees being held here today are simply veterans of the regular CS Army, who were recaptured at the Battle of Jackson, but are you also holding any former members of the Stalwarts, and or any Freedom Party Guards as well?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: I can confirm that three of the forty-seven DCCs being held here are former members of the Stalwarts, and that these men were attempting to function as nominal field-commanders during the failed Jackson Uprising.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: And what about former members of the Freedom Party Guard? (Mudd asks eagerly, ready to jot down any important details on his tablet.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: The US government has a policy of treating former members of the Freedom Party Guard differently than other disarmed enemy combatants. (Beynon briefly hesitates as if he is carefully considering the next part of his answer.) Generally speaking, when such individuals are identified, they are quickly taken into custody by the NBI, and turned over to a war-crimes tribunal to face justice. (Beynon then gives a slight shrug of the shoulders, as if to say this is all I have to say on this particular topic.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But you aren’t holding any former Freedom Party Guards here?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: No, we are not, and the sentence handed down to most Freedom Party Guards is the firing squad. (Once again, Beynon appears to hesitate slightly before continuing with the rest of his remark.) Therefore, in all likelihood, any former Freedom Party Guards still living today have most likely already fled the North American continent, and are now living in other parts of the world under assumed identities.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: I see. (With a tone of genuine fascination as Mudd quickly flips through his notes.) Are there any other former members of the Confederate military, or irregular fighters from Jackson, being held at other US government facilities around the country?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (This time Beynon’s response is unambiguous without any signs of evasiveness.) My understanding is that the State of Texas is still holding twelve individuals, who were taken prisoner during Operation Chickenhawk, which was a joint military operation carried out by the then Republic of Texas, and the US Army, against so called Freedom Party die-hards hiding out in the Cherokee Homeland in the US state of Sequoyah, back in 1948.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: That’s it, no others?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Well, there maybe a few former members of the Confederate military who are being held for petty crimes they’ve committed after the war, failing to pay their parking tickets, and that sort of thing, but you’d have to check with the US Department of Justice to get those stats.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Former President Carter states that the Disarmed Confederate Combatants being held here should be US citizens, under the final surrender agreement signed in 1944, and it is President Carter’s opinion that the government cannot legally hold these men without giving them some sort of a trial. What say you to that?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (Beynon responds with an almost imperceptible tone of contempt in his voice, and it appears that the mentioning of President Carter’s name may have caught him just a bit off guard.) With all due respect to former President Carter, he is unfortunately, gravely misinformed on this issue. (Beynon’s eyes wear a look of complete seriousness as he speaks.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: How so? (Mudd uncrosses his legs, and then crosses them in the other direction. As if he is now finally getting down to business.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (Beynon answers with confidence, as if he is now quoting from the Holy Gospel.) As I mentioned earlier, all of the men we are now talking about took an oath to never again take up arms against the United States when they were released from their respective POW camps back in late 1944 (Beynon pauses briefly before then continuing again.) However, they violated that promise to the people of this country when they once again took up arms during the Jackson Uprising in March of 1945.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But how do those events of so long ago prevent these men from either receiving a fair trial today, or from being released from behind bars?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Each one of the DCC Detainees being held here today was put in front of a military tribunal following their recapture at Jackson, and they were given a sentence ranging anywhere in length between fifteen and twenty-five years. So, in the government’s view, they’ve already had their trial.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Why didn’t the US military simply shoot any and all enemy combatants it encountered during the Battle of Jackson?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: A great many of the irregular CS fighters participating in the Jackson Uprising were indeed sent in front of a firing squad following capture, but the government wanted to send a message to anyone else planning a rebellion throughout the defeated Confederacy, so these men were thrown into prison, and films of them were shown in theaters throughout the Occupation Zones as a means of deterring any future uprisings.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: And did it work?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Yes, it did. The best way to take away the lion’s roar is to put him into a cage, and the rest is history.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, if these men faced a military tribunal, and were given sentences ranging anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five years, then why are so many of them still sitting here in a military prison thirty-nine-and-a-half years after Jackson?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: The US government considers these men to be highly treacherous, and the government is unwilling to release them, or to recognize them as US citizens, until after they’ve agreed to take an oath of loyalty to the United States government, and to the US Constitution.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, if they aren’t US citizens, then how does the US government describe them?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: The US government considers these men to be citizens of the Confederate States of America.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Even though the Confederate States of America hasn’t technically existed in over forty years now? (Mudd’s voice suddenly carries a noticeable level of skepticism, even though his overall manner still remains courteous and non-confrontational.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: That is correct. This is a policy which was put into place by the Director of the United States Occupation Authority when that organization was created back in 1945, and when the truncated remnants of the United States Occupation Authority were finally folded into the newly created Department of Defense following the official end of the occupation in 1950, that policy was also adopted by the DoD and the US Army as well.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, if the Confederate States no longer exists, aren’t these men essentially stateless then?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Each one of the former CS states readmitted back into the US has a Bureau of Confederate Affairs, usually a dozen or so people within the state’s governmental branches, who are responsible for overseeing various issues related to the demise of the Confederate government. (Beynon falters for a second or two, as if he is now speaking outside of his normal area of expertise, and perhaps he isn’t quite sure of specific details regarding the various state agencies which are responsible for wrapping up the CSA’s loose ends. Beynon then continues.) Such agencies typically spend most of their time looking after the needs of death camp refugees who are still residing here in the US, but they are also responsible for conducting bi-annual welfare checks on the DCC Detainees being held here, so it is not as if they are truly stateless.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: The average age of the Disarmed Confederate Combatants in your charge is now roughly sixty. How can the US government consider men who are very near retirement age to be so dangerous?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: After all these years in detention, many of these men remain highly fanatical to the cause of reviving some form of the Confederate States of America ruled over by the Freedom Party, and in the view of the US government, these men could serve as possible recruiters for an entire new generation of naive young people, who maybe keen to take up Jake Featherston’s twisted ideology.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But where would they possibly find any new followers? I mean, the Confederate government went out of existence four decades ago, and since that time we’ve been teaching our school children how truly evil the Freedom Party was, so where would they look for new followers? Certainly not in the New South?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: The New South has been pretty well inoculated against the tenants of the Freedom Party, but a study conducted earlier this year by the US Department of Justice identified a new phenomenon (Beynon pinches his fingers in the air next to his cheek as he emphasizes the seriousness of the new phenomenon.) in which certain symbols associated with the Freedom Party have managed to work their way into Southern California’s surf culture. Conceivably this could represent a danger should any of the detainees being held here ever manage to make their way to the beach communities of Southern California. (As Beynon’s finger tips now fidget with the edge of the desktop calendar covering his desk.)
(The scene suddenly changes to the cover art image of a sixteen-inch vinyl music album. A malevolent looking skeleton dressed in a ragged CS military uniform fires a stovepipe rocket launcher from its shoulder while expertly riding a surfboard. A shoulder patch depicting the Freedom Party flag is clearly visible on the surfing skeleton’s uniform. The grinning skeleton holds a bayonet clinched between its fang teeth. Off in the distance sky scrapers resembling LA’s famous skyline are being consumed in flame as mushroom clouds rise over the distant horizon. The name of the album is “Kill Them All!” The name of the band, “Death Brigade!”)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: We checked (As the image of the above album cover is being displayed on screen) and certain symbols associated with the Freedom Party do indeed seem to be making their way into Southern California’s youth culture, such as these skateboards which our producer found for sell at a shop in Laguna Beach which come from the factory with the “Blue X” associated with the Freedom Party already imprinted onto their undersides.
(A quick montage of the following images: A brief film clip of a store employee showing the underside of a skateboard to someone who is off camera. Loud driving music makes it difficult to hear what the store employee is saying. - The cover of a comic book titled “Featherston Fights Back!” On the cover a human head resembling that of Jake Featherston’s can be seen floating inside a glass container of liquid which is in turn mounted on the shoulders of a powerful looking cyborg with the Freedom Party flag emblazoned across its wide chest. The cyborg has just entered the command module of a lunar rocket and stunned US and German astronauts dressed in their helmeted space suits look on in horror as the intruder enters through a ripped open hatch. A cartoon balloon coming out of Featherston’s mouth reads, “I’ll take over from here! Thank you very much!” - An old Suzuki microvan from the 1970s parked in a public parking lot with the word “Freedom” painted in jagged red letters across its battered side. The van is also decorated with a plethora of faded bumper stickers and other miscellaneous decals.)
(The Scene returns to Lieutenant Colonel Beynon’s office as if no time as passed.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So just to be clear, and for the benefit of our audience, the government’s position is due to the fact that these men violated an earlier oath to never again take up arms against the United States, the government will not recognize them as US citizens, until after they’ve taken a second oath swearing their complete loyalty to the United States?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: That is correct. (Beynon returns to folding his hands atop his desk.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: And if they were to take such an oath, then they’d be eligible for release from this facility, provided that they’ve already served out the sentences that were handed down to them in 1945?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: That is also correct. (Beynon pauses before then continuing.) But I’d like to also add that before any of our DCC detainees can be considered for release, that they must first answer questions in front of a review board comprised of both military and civilian experts, and that process may take several months.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, Disarmed Confederate Combatants have been released from this facility in the past? (Sitting upright returns to tapping pursed lips with erasure of pencil.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Correct. Between 1962 and 1981 the government released four-hundred and nineteen men from this facility, enough to make up a small battalion, and gave them new lives under assumed identities. However, since 1981, this facility hasn’t released a single DCC Detainee.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: And the forty-seven left behind here today aren’t being released because…? (Mudd draws out the word “Because for dramatic effect.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (Beynon answers nonchalantly.) Because the forty-seven DCC Detainees we have left here today represent the worst of the very worst, and absolutely every one of them stubbornly refuses to take an oath swearing their allegiance to the government of the United States of America.
(The camera angle shifts to provide a slightly different angle of the two men sitting at the desk. In this newer angle both men are in sideview as Beynon slides a piece of paper across his desk towards Mudd. Mudd picks up the sheet of letter sized paper and begins to study it.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Off screen as above image is playing.) Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon gives me a copy of the loyalty oath which each Disarmed Confederate Combatant must take before they can be counted as a US citizen and considered for release. The Loyalty Oath used at Fort Leavenworth is similar to the Oath of Allegiance given to immigrants seeking to become US citizens, and for the life of me I cannot understand why any reasonable person would refuse to take it.
(A quick montage of scenes depicting Beynon and Mudd standing up from the desk, taking an elevator, Lieutenant Colonel Beynon entering a code into a key pad located next to a set of extra wide double doors. The doors open with a whir of electric motors, and the two men enter a wide corridor as the doors close behind them.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Off camera as above walking scene is playing on screen.) Lieutenant Colonel Beynon agrees to show me the Disarmed Confederate Combatants being held in Building J, and as we walk along the underground corridor connecting the main administration building with the prisoner’s barracks, he explains to me that former President Carter considers the Loyalty Oath used at Fort Leavenworth to be unconstitutional, and that in President Carter’s opinion, each of the men I’m about to meet should automatically be treated as US citizens without any preconditions to be met on their part.
(The scene changes to Mudd and Beynon walking in a long white corridor. The camera angle is from behind as the two men make their way along the underground passageway. The vanishing point of the receding corridor can be seen between the shoulders of the two men as they walk side by side talking to one another off microphone.)
(The two men reach a T-intersection in the corridor, and Beynon momentarily stops to explain something about the other corridor heading off from theirs. A drab metal door marked TELECOMMUNICATIONS can be seen behind Beynon’s head as he gestures down the other stark white corridor.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Off camera as the above scene is playing on screen.) Lieutenant Colonel Beynon explains that this other corridor leads to the disciplinary barracks, which is commonly referred to by staff here at Fort Leavenworth as the Starfish due to its layout. The Starfish is where the US government houses members of the US military who have been convicted of serious crimes while serving their country. Currently there are two thousand eight hundred men down at the other end of this corridor who have been convicted of crimes ranging from murdering an officer, to attempting to sell top secret information to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. I ask for a tour of the disciplinary barracks, but I’m told that the area is highly off limits to visitors, and that I’d first need to obtain permission from the Cube in Norfolk, Virginia before any such visits can be made.
(As the two men recommence their journey along the blank corridor, Beynon occasionally exchanges salutes with other military personnel headed in the opposite direction, and there appears to be slightly more foot-traffic in this section of the underground tunnel. Mudd and Beynon pass an impressive vault-like door with the yellow and black nuclear fallout symbol adorned upon it. Neither man takes notice of the fallout shelter as they pass it.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Off camera as the above walking scene is playing on screen.) Lieutenant Colonel Beynon informs me that female inmates sent to Fort Leavenworth are housed in the Barracks H compound, which is located in another area of the base, and is not accessible through the underground passageway system. Currently Fort Leavenworth is holding roughly 385 female inmates, who are mostly convicted of the same offenses as their male counterparts.)
(Mudd and Beynon arrive at another double door at the far end of the corridor. Beynon enters a code into another keypad, and the two men pass through the doors into the ground floor of Barracks J where the Disarmed Confederate Combatants are held.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Mudd narrates off camera as images play on screen.) We arrive inside the dayroom where the Disarmed Confederate Combatants are allowed to congregate, watch television, read books, play pool, or to simply relax.
END OF PART 1
Opening scene: A slim Caucasian male of approximately forty years of age sits in a poised manner upon a director’s chair located in the middle of a minimally decorated sound stage. Some might consider the man’s fashionable 80’s attire - low cut white leather boots, plaid bell-bottom pants, a floral-patterned silk shirt with the first few buttons opened at the throat, along with dark colored hair permed into a tight curl - to be somewhat androgynous, or possibly effeminate. But the man sitting in the chair is a nationally respected journalist, so most viewers simply dismiss his barely perceptible idiosyncrasies as something that is a part of the television and film industry.
(Behind the man in the chair is a highly polished transparent barrier which appears to be made of some sort of ultra-modern polycarbonate material. The stylized red letters of the “News Vision” logo can be seen emblazoned across the upper portion of the see-through barrier, just below the stylish matte black drop ceiling).
(A fully staffed newsroom with perhaps a dozen or so people busily working at computer terminals and answering telephones can be seen on the other side of the see-through wall. The transparent wall separating the newsroom from the outside soundstage makes it appear as though the news staff is working inside a giant aquarium. An attractive woman in a form fitting dress with huge padded shoulders purposefully stands up from her desk, removes a sheet of paper from a nearby printer, and then hurriedly walks out of camera view on spiked heels.)
The television camera suddenly pans in for a head and neck close up shot of the man who is sitting in the director’s chair.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Good evening everyone, I’m Robert Mudd, and this is News Vision.
Exciting theme music blares as the “News Vision” logo swipes across the screen. An off-screen male announcer proclaims the following in a sing-song voice….
Off Screen Announcer: Welcome to News Vision! America’s number one news show for more than fifteen years running. (As the logo is swiping across the screen.) In tonight’s episode we will be looking at the following stories: The infamous Stalwart Forty-Seven held at Fort Leavenworth since the end of the Second Great War. (Brief clip of a shuffling chow line made up of grey-haired gentlemen in prison garb.) Preparations for the upcoming Vancouver Summer Olympics. (Brief clip of workers hoisting a scaffolding light system up into the ceiling above a huge indoor arena.) And the dangerous new automotive fad known as “Wheel Standing” which is costing so many young people their lives. (Brief film clip of a highly modified 1975 Pontiac Banshee smoking its rear tires. The entire front end of the powerful car lifts several feet off the ground as the vehicle rapidly accelerates forward. The film clip ends without showing what happens next.)
Off Screen Announcer: But first a few words from tonight’s sponsors.
Off Screen Announcer: Tonight’s sponsors are, Air-America, - Where would you like to fly today?
(Brief footage depicting a double-decker Lockheed L-1014 jumbo airliner leaping into the air from an airport runway, as its high output turbo-jet engines leave expanding plumes of greyish black exhaust in its wake.)
Off Screen Announcer: And, White Motor Company, America’s number one maker of heavy-duty commercial trucks.
(Brief footage depicting factory workers using an overhead hoist to lower a gleaming new truck body onto its corresponding frame and engine assembly. Sparks from a spot-welding machine can be seen in the background.)
First television commercial:
(The scene changes to the unoccupied interior of a modern airliner. Suddenly, a dapper looking gentleman dressed in a tuxedo sticks his head and neck into frame from the left.
Actor Tony Randall: Hi, I’m Tony Randall, (Randall quickly moves into the center aisle as he embraces the camera with a friendly smile) and I’m here to tell you about Air-America’s exciting Fun-Time Summer Bonanza. Fly to any of these thrilling overseas destinations for as little as $69.99 roundtrip coach, between now and September 1st, and we’ll upgrade your inflight meals and entertainment free of charge.
(As Randall is speaking, he points his fingers to five invisible spots in the air around his head. Each time Randall’s finger stops, an oval cut out depicting an overseas tourist destination appears. Within a few seconds, Randall has managed to create the Pyramids of Giza, the Brandenburg Gate, Ayers Rock, South Africa’s Kruger Park, and the Hagia Sophia located in Constantinople floating in the air about his smiling face.)
Actor Tony Randall: But to really get there in style, (Randall snaps his fingers and the overseas destinations magically disappear with a twinkle) Then you’ll want to take advantage of Air-America’s patented mid-air refueling system, which puts any point in the world within twelve and a half hours flying time from your departure point.
(Randall jauntily strides down the center aisle, past rows of empty seats, and opens the door leading into the cockpit. Two smiling airline pilots are seen strapped in behind their controls as Randall enters.)
Actor Tony Randall: Okay gentlemen, show them how it’s done!
(One of the pilots reaches a hairy forearm out and depresses a square button marked “Refuel Computer”. A small CRT screen above the square button suddenly illuminates and displays the following messages in quick succession: “HUNTING FOR TANKER”….”ACQUIRED”….”NEGOTIATING”...)
Actor Tony Randall: Air-America’s Aerialtankers are always loitering at strategic locations around the world, so that you don’t have to be bothered with inconvenient stopovers at mid-flight refueling points.
(The view through the windscreen shows that an enormous one hundred and seventy thousand-liter Aerialtanker has just passed over top of the airliner, and has positioned its mammoth tail just mere meters above the airliner’s windscreen. From the view out the airliner’s windscreen, the Aerialtanker looks like a bloated leviathan blocking out the entire sky above. The CRT screen on the dashboard displays: “BEGIN AUTOFILLING - CONFIRM OR ABORT”. One of the pilots reaches out and taps the green confirm button located next to the CRT screen. Both pilots take their hands off of their steering yoks as they appear to relax by placing their hands behind their heads. A Boom lowers from the underside of the Aerialtanker and quickly docks with a receptacle located in the nose of the airliner.)
Actor Tony Randall: And thanks to Air-America’s proprietary high-flow refueling system, even our largest airliners can be refueled in as little as twenty minutes.
(The status bar on the CRT screen reaches one hundred percent, and one of the pilots reaches out and hits a button marked “FINALIZE”. The scene briefly changes to an exterior shot of two large jet aircraft majestically peeling away from each other. The scene changes to smiling a Tony Randall standing in the doorway leading into the cockpit.)
Actor Tony Randall: So, remember Air-America if you’re heading abroad this summer, we’ll get you there quickly, safely, and comfortably!
(The scene changes to a group of tourists dressed in Oahu shirts and Bermuda shorts as they stand in front of a baggage carousel in a modern looking airport terminal. Actor Tony Randall, who is dressed similarly to the other tourists at the baggage carousel, is serenely doing the hula as he listens to music on a set of personal headphones. Actor Jack Klugman enters the scene pulling a large heavy suitcase which has several items of clothing sticking out of it. Klugman seems frazzled and unnerved, and several crumpled boarding passes can be seen sticking out of the rear pocket of his pants, as he drags his heavy suitcase across the terminal. Klugman isn’t looking where he is going, and he accidentally bumps into the hulaing Randall. Randall removes his headphones, as he turns and says to the disheveled Klugman…)
Actor Tony Randall: What on earth happened to you?
Actor Jack Klugman: I took the cheaper airline!
(Both actors stare into the camera in their classic “Oh what now” expression from their television show of a decade earlier.
Second television commercial:
The scene depicts a tanker truck delivering fuel to a rural gas station just as the sun is coming up. The rig pulling the fuel tank is a worn-looking green and yellow 1964 White Four-Thousand semitruck. The driver jumps down from the cab, and makes his way around to the front of the vehicle, he pauses to use the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away some dust which has built up on the “White” logo located above the radiator grill. The logo shines like new after it has been cleaned. The Driver drags a heavy hose from a storage bin located beneath the huge fuel tank, and connects it to a pipe sticking out of the ground. A clock like mechanism located near the bottom of the tank registers the fuel flowing out of the tanker into the ground. A shiny new 1984 White Eighty-Eight-Hundred semitruck pulling a stainless-steel trailer marked “Dairy” pulls into the station and parks next to the fueling pumps. The two drivers tip their hats too one another as they exchange greetings; “Good morning, Phil”, “Morning Alex”. - - Suddenly the White Motor Company logo fills the screen as an off-screen announcer proclaims, “White Trucks, helping American businesses get their products to market, now, and into the future.
(The Scene returns to television reporter Robert Mudd sitting in the director’s chair in front of the plexiglass wall. The Camera pans in for another close-up head and neck shot.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: This past Thursday marks the fortieth anniversary of the end of the Second Great War, and our opening story tonight has to do with a group of Americans who have been held in military prison without any legal representation since the end of the war. But in order to get some back ground on this story, we must first go back to the 1940s (dramatic pause) to a time when America was ruled by two rival national governments, and to a time when two competing ideologies; military-authoritarianism versus democracy, battled one another for the hearts and minds of the American people. Fortunately, democracy won out, and today Americans find themselves living under true liberty, and not under the meaningless rebel-yell of “Freedom!”
(Mudd gives the camera an all-knowing professorial nod of the head as the scene cuts away.)
(Brief black and white footage of a Mule dive-bomber of the Confederate Air Force attacking a US troop train during the opening phases of Operation Blackbeard in June of 1941. (The audio quality of the dive-bomber’s siren appears to be too clear and distinct for such ancient grainy footage, and was most likely later dubbed into the clip for dramatic effect.) -- A black and white still image of Confederate soldiers frolicking in Lake Erie is flashed across the screen. - A brief black and white film clip of US paratroopers raising the US flag over Lookout Mountain in Georgia. - Brief black and white silent footage of Confederate General George S. Patton addressing his troops at the surrender of Birmingham. - A still image of the surrender documents signed by CS President Donald Partridge bringing about the end of the war.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Towards the end of the war, the US military captures what it claims are some of the most fanatical die-hards it has ever encountered fighting on behalf of the rapidly collapsing Confederate government.
(Color aerial footage taken from a fast-moving plane flying over the industrial outskirts of Atlanta. The passing scenery is one of complete ruin and destruction, without a single structure left standing. Roofs of factory buildings have been smashed down onto production floors, industrial chimneys and water-towers lay toppled over on their sides, and the streets are completely choked with rubble and other sorts of miscellaneous debris. There is no movement in the eerie landscape, nor is there any sign of recent human activity. A derailed freight train laying on its side briefly flashes by. Ominous music plays as Mudd speaks over the above footage.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Of course, we are talking about the infamous Stalwart Forty-Seven who have been held under maximum confinement at the US military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, since the late 1940s. A situation which raises the ire of many of the nation’s most top constitutional scholars.
(The famous New York Times political cartoon dated July 15, 1944 is flashed across the screen. An incredibly muscular Uncle Sam clad in stars and stripes boxing shorts is seen prancing over a comically battered and broken Jake Featherston. One of Uncle Sam's mighty arms is in a hooked position as though he has just thrown the powerful haymaker punch which knocked Featherston out. A dwarf sized boxing referee attempts to hold the determined Uncle Sam back as a similarly sized medical doctor with an enormous head mirror attempts to check Featherston's pulse. The doctor has a doubtful expression upon his face. In the audience stands can be seen characters dressed in traditional antique clothing which are meant to represent the other major nations of the world.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: The Stalwart Forty-Seven represent one of the final loose ends left over from the time when Americans were separated by two competing systems of government…
(Black and white film footage depicting a classroom of Confederate school children as they cross out lines of printed text in their school books. A stern-faced US official slowly walks among the rows of desks with his hands behind his back as he inspects the children’s work. A somewhat thin bedraggled looking school teacher stands in front of her chalkboard as she resignedly observes the unfolding events occurring in her classroom. The CS flag is conspicuously missing from its bracket above the chalkboard.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But to get more on this story we decided to travel to Plains, Georgia in order to talk with former Republican President of the United States, William Alton Carter, who has often been a harsh critic of the government’s policy of holding these men in what he considers to be a sort of stateless legal limbo without any representation.
(All across the nation millions of Americans scoff at their television screens as they proclaim, “Yeah sure, Carter promised to keep us out of a war in Northeast Asia, but how did that work out?”)
(A quick montage of the following color still images: A silver water tower with the US flag painted on it. Below the image of the US flag appears the words “PLAINS, GEORGIA”. - The downtown business district of Plains, Georgia. All of the buildings along Main Street are of the boxy postwar type built during the 1950s and early 60s, with few prewar buildings in sight. - A landscape image depicting endless rows of peanut plants growing under the Georgia sun. - A simple white farmhouse with a tall metal windmill in its front yard.)
(Footage of reporter Robert Mudd walking up a narrow path leading to the front entrance of the white farmhouse. Mudd seems to wilt slightly under the bright Georgia sun as he hurriedly makes his way past several lawn ornaments and heads toward the shelter of the covered porch.)
(Upon reaching the porch Mudd is greeted by two clinch jawed agents of the Federal Intelligence Service who are each sporting menacing looking submachine guns from straps about their necks. The mirrored sunglasses worn by the agents give them an aura of unsettling otherworldliness, which seems to make it impossible to read their emotions. Mudd presents a small plastic ID card along with a slip of paper. One of the Secret Service men takes Mudd’s ID badge and swipes it through a handheld device, as the other man makes a notation on the slip of paper which Mudd has handed him. After a brief moment Mudd is allowed to enter the front door while the two agents remain outside at their post on the covered porch.)
(The scene changes to the home office of former President Carter, which is located in a back bedroom of the small farm house. The antique wooden furniture and framed photographs hanging on the walls provides a quaint homey feel to the room. Carter sits behind a large wooden desk which is littered with knickknacks and souvenirs, an old-fashioned desk phone, and a tiffany desk lamp tucked into a far corner of the desk amongst the clutter.)
A powerful looking Xerox brand Nova personal computer can be seen sitting on a wooden cabinet against the wall behind Carter’s desk. The computer is switched on, and appears to be randomly generating geometric patterns on its screen. A digital clock mounted on the wall above the computer reads 0857 – Temp: 34.4 C. To the other side of Carter is an old-fashioned wooden framed single hung window that is pushed up and open as a slight breeze disturbs the curtains. A blue and white Ford Tractor can be seen parked a few meters outside the window.
President Carter seems to have not only put on a great deal of weight since leaving the presidency in 1981, but he also seems to have aged a great deal as well, causing many to speculate that the bags under his eyes might be due to the onset of kidney failure, brought on by a recent bout of alcoholism. Carter wears a simple short-sleeve plaid work shirt with suspenders. A tiny US flag pin can be seen affixed to Carter’s left suspender, just above his heart. The front pocket of his shirt is stuffed with numerous pens and pencils and also a small electronic device which may or may not be a hearing aid. Carter’s skin appears to be covered with a thin layer of oily sweat, his hair also has a lanky and oily look to it, and he is breathing slightly as if he has just finished performing some work.
Carter steeples his beefy hands in front of his chin as he listens to Mudd speak. Mudd is sitting in a kitchen chair directly in front of Carter’s desk as he conducts his interview with the former president.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: President Carter, I’d like to speak with you regarding the men known as the Stalwart Forty-Seven, and why you believe that it is unconstitutional for the government to keep them behind bars all these years?
Former President William Carter: (The camera zooms in for a head and shoulder shot of Carter as he begins speaking.) Well, as you may know, (Carter’s voice is surprisingly soft and melodic like that of a Sunday school teacher.) the official surrender agreement signed by representatives of both the US and Confederate governments at the end of the war stipulated that all former citizens of the Confederacy would be granted full US citizenship upon their state’s readmission back into the Union. (Carter pauses briefly as one of his hands scratches the other in front of his chin.) Now, the last CS state to be readmitted back into the Union was South Carolina, and that happened twenty-five years ago in 1959. (Carter absently pauses as if considering how best to finalize his opening remark.) Yet the US government is still classifying the so called Stalwart Forty-Seven being held at Fort Leavenworth as disarmed enemy combatants, even though the Confederacy went out of existence four decades ago.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: And how is that significant? (As Mudd wears a look of genuine puzzlement upon his somewhat noticeably made up face.)
Former President William Carter: Well, the US government’s position is that the former Confederate troops being held at Fort Leavenworth are not US citizens, they are not subject to the Bill of Rights, and therefore they are not entitled to a fair and speedy trial. (Carter tilts his head slightly to the side and smirks towards the end of his remark, as if he cannot believe the words which are coming out of his own mouth.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Now, just to be clear (As Mudd claws his fingertips into the air to emphasize the words “just to be clear”) although you are from the New South, you yourself feel no sense of loyalty towards either the Stalwart Forty-Seven, or the Confederate States of America? Is that correct?
(Carter’s chair squeaks noticeably as he shifts his weight. For the briefest of seconds Carter appears to wear a flash of irritation upon his face, but then it is gone as quickly as it appeared. Carter exhales slowly through his nostrils before then responding.)
(A boom microphone momentarily slips into view from above due to Carter suddenly and unexpectedly sitting more upright in his chair. The boom microphone vanishes out of camera view.)
Former President William Carter: Now, it is a well-known fact that my older brother James served in the CS Navy during the war, and that he died during a guerrilla raid on this very town, (Carter pauses again, as a brief look of sadness passes over his face, but it is soon replaced once again by his usual warm smile once he resumes speaking.) but my family’s history has absolutely nothing to do with my concerns regarding the legal status of the forty-seven men being held in Leavenworth. (Then almost as an afterthought) Even though many of my detractors have attempted to allege otherwise.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, in your view, the men being held at Fort Leavenworth are being denied their due process simply because the US government refuses to recognize them as US citizens?
(Carter briefly closes his eyes as he emphatically nods his head in a “yes” gesture in response to Mudd’s question. Carter then returns his gaze to Mudd and continues speaking.)
Former President William Carter: There are two things to keep in mind here, (As Carter leans back in his chair and raises up two fingers in order to indicate two things.) Number one (Carter lowers a finger) the last CS prisoners of war were released by the US government in 1953. Number two (Carter lowers his remaining finger and lowers his hand out of frame.) The US government cannot legally continue to designate these men as disarmed enemy combatants, when the country they fought for went out of existence four decades ago. (Carter pauses as he leans forward and puts his elbows on his desk.) If the US government wishes to keep these men behind bars, or to even put them in front of a firing squad, well fine, but first they need to be put in front of a court-of-law, all of the evidence against them must be thoroughly examined, and then after they’ve been found guilty, then and only then, can a punishment against them be handed down. (Carter pauses briefly as if in deep reflection.) The process is called Justice, and it should come naturally to every American. (Carter shrugs his shoulders slightly as if he has just stated something that should be obvious to everyone.).
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But why do you feel that it is so important that these particular men receive justice, given the horrible war-crimes which some of them are accused of committing?
Former President William Carter: The Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution is supposed to guarantee every American the right to a speedy trial, but the US government is denying these men their right to a trial by claiming that they are not US citizens, when of course the surrender agreement signed back in 1944 clearly states that they should be.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But most people would probably say, “so what”, the Stalwart Forty-Seven are truly evil men, why should we worry about the rights of people who have been accused of such horrible deeds?
Former President William Carter: What most people need to understand… (Carter briefly pauses as he seems to momentarily struggle for words. Carter returns to steepling his fingers as he casts a fleeting glimpse upwards towards the ceiling, as if he is saying a brief prayer. Carter returns his attention to Mudd, and then continues speaking – as he returns to using his usual soft voice.) People need to understand that either we are a nation of laws, or we are not. (Patiently, with sun light from the nearby window reflecting off of his glasses.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But how does this affect the average person in this country who never has any interactions with the justice system, or the government, other than paying their taxes and voting? (As Mudd sits back in his chair and folds his thin arms in an almost womanly manner.)
Former President William Carter: Because if the government can deny these men their citizenship, thereby denying them their constitutional rights, then what is to stop the government from doing it to someone else, including you and me?
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But in all honesty, how likely is something like that to happen? I mean shouldn’t we just trust the government to look out for us? Why the need to second guess what our elected officials might do in the future?
Former President William Carter: (Carter lets out a soft sigh, as if he is seeking to bolster his own patience.) During the course of my life I’ve served as a deacon in the Baptist Church, a practicing attorney, a politician, a businessman, a husband, a father, and a peanut-farmer; and from my collective life experiences, I can tell you without any doubt, whatsoever, that we human beings are highly flawed creatures (Carter pauses in order to favor Mudd with a warm smile). The Bible says so, and the recent war in Japan clearly demonstrated this fact as well.
(The camera pans over to Robert Mudd. Mudd doesn’t say anything, but simply nods his head as if to encourage Carter to keep speaking. The heat and humidity have caused a curl from Mudd’s permed hairdo to come misplaced and to flop across Mudd’s forehead in an awkward manner. Mudd instantly pushes the stray lock of hair back into place as the camera is rolling. The view switches back to Carter sitting behind his desk.)
Former President William Carter: Therefore, we need to ask ourselves, do we want to live in a nation where we merely rely upon men to rule over other men, or do we want to live in a nation where we are governed by the rule of law? Now, if we decide that we want to live in a country where things are decided based solely upon the whims of our leaders, then who is to say what might happen fifteen or twenty years down the road?
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But, under what context could a wholesale trampling of our constitutional rights, such as what you’re describing possibly occur? (Mudd gives a tight smile as he tilts his head to the side in a gesture which seems to say, “I don’t know if I can necessarily buy what you’re trying to sell me.”)
Former President William Carter: Well, let us suppose for just a moment, (Carter pauses has he rubs the palms of his hands together, before then using the tip of an index finger to push his eye glasses back into place.) Now, let us suppose that a future administration finds itself mired in a political scandal, of one sort or another. (Carter places both of his hands palm up upon his desk, as if he is offering Mudd something which only the two of them can see.) As the situation stands right now, the forty-seven men now being held at Fort Leavenworth could very easily be cited by a future administration as a legal precedent for stripping its critics of their citizenship, by declaring them enemies of the state, and then to throw its critics behind bars, without a trial, or even filing any criminal charges.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, what you’re essentially saying is that, in the future, the murky legal situation surrounding the Stalwart Forty-Seven might be useful to a corrupt administration which wishes to silence its opponents, perhaps in order to facilitate a coverup, or maybe even to hold onto power? (Mudd stops tapping his pencil against his chin as he momentarily stares off into the distance, perhaps visualizing what he has just described to Carter.)
Former President William Carter: (Carter rests an elbow on his desk as he holds up an index finger in order to emphasize the point he is about to make. A noticeable degree of harsh firmness creeps into Carter’s normally even-tempered tone of voice as he responds.) That is just one of the many potentially negative outcomes that may arise from the glaring loophole that is the Stalwart Forty-Seven. The United States of America cannot truly be a free-country if such a large loophole is allowed to exist in its justice system, and that is why I intend to see this particular issue resolved before I retire from public life.
(The view of the camera changes to a behind the shoulder shot of Carter typing at his computer as Mudd narrates off camera.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: I thank President Carter for his time, but before I leave, he informs me that he is working with other lawyers around the country to bring this issue in front of the US Supreme Court before the end of 1985. Next we travel to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to get an opposing point of view from the commander of the disciplinary barracks there, Lieutenant Colonel, Wright Beynon, who at thirty-four years of age, is the youngest lieutenant colonel to have ever served with the US Army.
(Brief aerial footage of Fort Leavenworth taken from an airplane about to land at nearby Moss Army Airfield. The starfish layout of the disciplinary barracks can be seen at a somewhat distorted angle due to the low altitude of the plane.)
(Brief footage of a three-engine Messerschmitt 803 corporate jet taxiing to a stop. The interlocking letters of the National Broadcast Services logo can be seen on the tail of the plane. A hatch in the side of the low-slung fuselage splits at the midpoint with the lower section becoming a short flight of stairs, and with the upper portion becoming a canopy over the stairway. Television reporter Robert Mudd hastily shuffles down the short flight of stairs ahead of a trio of other people who are closely following behind him. Each of the persons behind Mudd is carrying at least two hand held cases, but Mudd’s hands are empty as the group moves forward. The somewhat long shadows cast across the ground seems to indicate that it is perhaps the middle of the morning. The group walks across a short stretch of tarmac to a late model Ford Landau 500 decked out in US Army colors. A sergeant quickly and efficiently arranges the cases into the Ford’s spacious trunk as the group of visitors watch. Twin puffs of exhaust emanate from under either corner of the rear bumper as the sergeant works on fitting each case into the trunk. Mudd gets into the backseat with two of his staffers, while a woman wearing a white coat with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows sits in front with the sergeant. A small dust devil emerges in the wake of the rapidly departing full-sized sedan. The dust devil quickly grows in intensity, gaining to a height of perhaps ten or twelve meters, before then wandering onto a patch of barren ground where it kicks of several tiny scraps of trash, and other miscellaneous debris. After traveling a short distance across the dry soil, the dust devil rapidly loses its cohesion and vanishes.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Not only is Fort Leavenworth home to the US Department of Defense’s only maximum-security prison, but the base is also home to the United States Army Research Laboratory, where the army carries out research on advanced weapons projects including chemical, biological, and cyber weaponry. Additionally, nearby Hoffman Air Force Base is home to the US Air Force’s 565th Strategic Missile Command, and I’m told that if the US and RSFR ever launch intercontinental strikes at one another, the surrounding countryside is expected to receive a heavy bombardment of Russian sunbombs during a first strike, and that the surface of the Earth at ground zero is expected to reach temperatures hotter than the surface of the Sun. (Off camera as above and below images are playing on screen.)
(The following montage in a quick sequence: A color still image of a large concrete pad surrounded by a chain-link fence in the middle of a Kansas wheat field. A brief film clip of a high-tech looking ICBM sitting in its silo. The burnished titanium skin of the missile glitters under the florescent lighting, as workers insert probes into an open access panel. A brief film clip of a large parabolic dish located in an empty field adjusting its focal point towards a different area of the cloudless sky; presumably to either detect incoming threats from the heavens, or to receive telemetry from a satellite orbiting somewhere above. A brief color film clip of a half dozen or so Air Force personnel monitoring computer screens in a somewhat seemingly cramped work area without any windows.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Mudd narrates off camera, as the above and below images play on the television screen.) I meet with Lieutenant Colonel Beynon in his third-floor office inside the Corrections Command Building situated between the large Disciplinary Barracks, where US military personnel found guilty of committing major crimes are housed, and the much smaller Barracks J where the Stalwart Forty-Seven are confined.
A color still image of the turn of the century three-story red bricked administration building of the United States Army Corrections Command at Fort Leavenworth. The point of view is from the two-lane access road at a distance of about one hundred meters from the administrative building. On either side of the road is a well-manicured lawn dotted with large walnut and oak trees. - A brief film clip depicting visitors passing through a metal detector inside the lobby of the administration building as military police conduct random inspections.)
(Color footage of Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon reclining back in a chair as members of the News Vision staff apply various cosmetics to his neck and face as a clip-on microphone is hidden underneath his tie.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Mudd narrates off camera as the footage of Lieutenant Colonel Beynon being prepped for his interview plays on the screen.) Lieutenant Colonel Beynon has agreed to meet with us with the understanding that the government will be able to tell its full side of the story, without any impedance or selective editing on our part. What you’re about to hear is the US government’s official unvarnished position regarding the Stalwart Forty-Seven.
(Lieutenant Colonel Beynon’s office is brightly illuminated by futuristic fluorescent light fixtures suspended from the ceiling on slender metal tubes. The floor is covered in a beige low pile polystyrene carpeting. The walls are of a color matching the carpet, but contain only a few decorations. - The room seems to have an abundance of stainless-steel fixtures and green potted plants. - The office would appear to be that of an executive from California’s Technology Valley, rather than one belonging to an army officer working in an eighty-year-old building. - Nearly one entire wall is taken up by a tinted window overlooking the Disciplinary Barracks next door. The vertically hanging brushed aluminum venetian-blinds are turned open providing an unobstructed view through the extra wide panoramic window. - Beynon’s desk is positioned so that he can get a view of the barracks compound simply by turning is head slightly to the right. From this angle the star shaped Disciplinary Barracks looks like some sort of an industrial complex with various pipes and conduits running across its metal roof. - Beynon’s modern cube like desk appears to be made of a grey teak wood, and is adorned with a sleek computer screen set off to one side, a slim desk lamp which appears to be permanently affixed to one corner, and also a multiline push button telephone.)
(Footage of Mudd and Beynon shaking hands over Beynon’s desk. Afterwards both men sit down; Beynon in the high back chair behind his desk, and Mudd in a smaller swivel office chair positioned in front of Beynon’s desk.)
(A young female aide of perhaps Latin or Native American ancestry serves coffee to the men who have just sat down.)
(Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon seems exceedingly pleased with the makeover he has just received as he suppresses an involuntary smile into the camera. Beynon is a Caucasian male of average height, slim build, olive complexion, and although he is only in his mid-thirties, he has already lost a considerable amount of hair from the top of his head. Beynon looks resplendent in his olive-drab officer’s uniform, and the gold fringed US and US Army flags to either side of Beynon make him seem like a character straight from Hollywood central casting.)
(The camera perspective changes to a spot behind Mudd’s chair, giving a full-frontal view of Beynon sitting at his desk and only a partial side view of Mudd. Mudd crosses his legs, flips his notes open to a particular page, and begins asking questions as the camera rolls.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Colonel Beynon, can you tell us what the government’s official position is regarding the Stalwart Forty-Seven being held here at Fort Leavenworth, under your charge, and why the government has decided to deny these men the right to defend themselves in a court-of-law?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (Beynon speaks in a firm but polite tone of voice as he fixes the camera with a measured gaze.) First, let me begin by explaining to your television viewers that the commonly used phrase “Stalwart Forty-Seven” is a bit of a misnomer, and it does not accurately describe the forty-seven Disarmed Confederate Combatants being held here under my charge. Additionally, the US government itself doesn’t recognize the term “Stalwart Forty-Seven” as a means of defining who these men are. (Beynon then folds his hands atop his desk like a well-behaved student.) So, for the remainder of this interview I’d like to refer to them by their correct designation which is, “Disarmed Confederate Combatants” or “D-C-Cs” for short.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Fine. (Perhaps momentarily taken aback) But why then does the government feel that the phrase “Stalwart Forty-Seven” is not an accurate description for describing these men? (As Mudd uses the eraser of a yellow number two pencil to rapidly tap on the hollow of his cheek, as if the gesture will help him to think more clearly.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (Beynon states the following in a quick rather matter of fact tone of voice, as if he has had to explain the same topic to many people in the past.) Because most of the men being held here were not members of the Freedom Party’s infamous paramilitary organization known as the “Stalwarts” and in reality, most of the men being held today in Barracks J were simply irregular fighters taken into US custody following the put down of the failed uprising which occurred in Jackson, Mississippi in March of 1945.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, in other words, they became known in the media as the “Stalwart Forty-Seven” due simply to their fanatical loyalty to the cause of the Confederacy, and not necessarily because they were a part of some elite CS fighting force?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: My understanding is that as US ground troops were engaged in the process of recapturing the city of Jackson, that they would occasionally stumble across underground makeshift bunkers or basements with a few irregular CS fighters holding out inside. When such hideouts were discovered, the US soldier making the discovery would often call out, “Hey! I got some more Stalwarts over here!”, and the label has stuck ever since.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: I see. (Mudd quickly flips through pages of the tablet resting on his lap, before then stating the following in a genuinely puzzled tone of voice.) Then how can the US government continue to describe these men as “disarmed enemy combatants” if they weren’t part of any recognized fighting force when they were taken into custody?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: That is because everyone of the fighters taken into US custody following the rebellion at Jackson, had earlier fought in the CS military during the war, and had also previously been taken as prisoners of war by the time the Confederate government had surrendered in July of 1944. (Beynon raises an eyebrow towards the camera, as if what he has just said answers everything.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: If all of the men being held here today were taken as POWs, by July of 1944, then how did so many of them find themselves participating in the failed uprising in Jackson, Mississippi in March of 1945?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: It is worth noting that, by the end of the Second Great War, that the US military had taken control of roughly 3.31 million Confederate prisoners of war. (Beynon briefly pauses to let the large number of CS POWs sink in.) Therefore, in order to alleviate the chronic overcrowding conditions occurring in the prison camps, the outgoing La Follette administration made the decision to release certain CS prisoners early, provided that they took an oath to never again take up arms against the US government. (Beynon again raises an eyebrow and tilts his head to the side as if he is letting Mudd and the television viewer audience in on a piece of information that is extremely private and confidential.) The plan, of course failed miserably, as many of these young men once again took up arms against the US for a second time at Jackson.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Okay then,….(Mudd seems briefly lost in his own thoughts as he absently squeezes his own chin between a thumb and forefinger.) How, then…..did the US government decide which Confederate prisoners of war were going to receive an early release, and which ones were going to spend the next few years working on reconstruction projects? (Mudd lightly bites his own lower lip, as if he really isn’t quite satisfied with the question he has just asked.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Most of the CS prisoners granted early release by the La Follette administration were under eighteen years of age, most of them were farm boys, and at the time it was felt that releasing them early would not only help them to provide for their families, but that it would also engender them towards the US. But as I said, the plan was not well thought out, and today, most historians agree that it actually helped to contribute to the bloody uprising at Jackson.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Mudd replies in a tone of questioning astonishment.) Hmm, well, I have to say that, I was not aware of this particular set of facts. (Mudd gives a genuine wide-eyed expression, while momentarily moving his jaw to the side in a gesture of puzzlement.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Well, many people are not aware of these facts, and thus the great misunderstanding surrounding the “Disarmed Confederate Combatants” which we are holding here.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Why does the US government refer to these men as Disarmed Confederate Combatants, instead of merely just calling them disarmed enemy combatants?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: That would be because, during the US military’s first involvement in the Alaskan Conflict, which ran on and off from 1948 until 1953, the government was forced to create the designation of Disarmed Confederate Combatant in order to differentiate the men captured at Jackson from irregular Marxist fighters taken prisoner in Alaska and Western Canada.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, does the US government consider the Disarmed Confederate Combatants being held here to be prisoners of war left over from the Second Great War?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: The US government does not consider the forty-seven men being held in Barracks J to be prisoners of any kind, rather the government considers them to be detainees who are being detained for an indefinite period of time. (Beynon gives an almost imperceptible flash of a smile, as if he knows what he is saying is not completely accurate.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: You mentioned that most of the CS detainees being held here today are simply veterans of the regular CS Army, who were recaptured at the Battle of Jackson, but are you also holding any former members of the Stalwarts, and or any Freedom Party Guards as well?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: I can confirm that three of the forty-seven DCCs being held here are former members of the Stalwarts, and that these men were attempting to function as nominal field-commanders during the failed Jackson Uprising.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: And what about former members of the Freedom Party Guard? (Mudd asks eagerly, ready to jot down any important details on his tablet.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: The US government has a policy of treating former members of the Freedom Party Guard differently than other disarmed enemy combatants. (Beynon briefly hesitates as if he is carefully considering the next part of his answer.) Generally speaking, when such individuals are identified, they are quickly taken into custody by the NBI, and turned over to a war-crimes tribunal to face justice. (Beynon then gives a slight shrug of the shoulders, as if to say this is all I have to say on this particular topic.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But you aren’t holding any former Freedom Party Guards here?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: No, we are not, and the sentence handed down to most Freedom Party Guards is the firing squad. (Once again, Beynon appears to hesitate slightly before continuing with the rest of his remark.) Therefore, in all likelihood, any former Freedom Party Guards still living today have most likely already fled the North American continent, and are now living in other parts of the world under assumed identities.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: I see. (With a tone of genuine fascination as Mudd quickly flips through his notes.) Are there any other former members of the Confederate military, or irregular fighters from Jackson, being held at other US government facilities around the country?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (This time Beynon’s response is unambiguous without any signs of evasiveness.) My understanding is that the State of Texas is still holding twelve individuals, who were taken prisoner during Operation Chickenhawk, which was a joint military operation carried out by the then Republic of Texas, and the US Army, against so called Freedom Party die-hards hiding out in the Cherokee Homeland in the US state of Sequoyah, back in 1948.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: That’s it, no others?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Well, there maybe a few former members of the Confederate military who are being held for petty crimes they’ve committed after the war, failing to pay their parking tickets, and that sort of thing, but you’d have to check with the US Department of Justice to get those stats.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Former President Carter states that the Disarmed Confederate Combatants being held here should be US citizens, under the final surrender agreement signed in 1944, and it is President Carter’s opinion that the government cannot legally hold these men without giving them some sort of a trial. What say you to that?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (Beynon responds with an almost imperceptible tone of contempt in his voice, and it appears that the mentioning of President Carter’s name may have caught him just a bit off guard.) With all due respect to former President Carter, he is unfortunately, gravely misinformed on this issue. (Beynon’s eyes wear a look of complete seriousness as he speaks.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: How so? (Mudd uncrosses his legs, and then crosses them in the other direction. As if he is now finally getting down to business.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (Beynon answers with confidence, as if he is now quoting from the Holy Gospel.) As I mentioned earlier, all of the men we are now talking about took an oath to never again take up arms against the United States when they were released from their respective POW camps back in late 1944 (Beynon pauses briefly before then continuing again.) However, they violated that promise to the people of this country when they once again took up arms during the Jackson Uprising in March of 1945.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But how do those events of so long ago prevent these men from either receiving a fair trial today, or from being released from behind bars?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Each one of the DCC Detainees being held here today was put in front of a military tribunal following their recapture at Jackson, and they were given a sentence ranging anywhere in length between fifteen and twenty-five years. So, in the government’s view, they’ve already had their trial.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Why didn’t the US military simply shoot any and all enemy combatants it encountered during the Battle of Jackson?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: A great many of the irregular CS fighters participating in the Jackson Uprising were indeed sent in front of a firing squad following capture, but the government wanted to send a message to anyone else planning a rebellion throughout the defeated Confederacy, so these men were thrown into prison, and films of them were shown in theaters throughout the Occupation Zones as a means of deterring any future uprisings.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: And did it work?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Yes, it did. The best way to take away the lion’s roar is to put him into a cage, and the rest is history.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, if these men faced a military tribunal, and were given sentences ranging anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five years, then why are so many of them still sitting here in a military prison thirty-nine-and-a-half years after Jackson?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: The US government considers these men to be highly treacherous, and the government is unwilling to release them, or to recognize them as US citizens, until after they’ve agreed to take an oath of loyalty to the United States government, and to the US Constitution.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, if they aren’t US citizens, then how does the US government describe them?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: The US government considers these men to be citizens of the Confederate States of America.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: Even though the Confederate States of America hasn’t technically existed in over forty years now? (Mudd’s voice suddenly carries a noticeable level of skepticism, even though his overall manner still remains courteous and non-confrontational.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: That is correct. This is a policy which was put into place by the Director of the United States Occupation Authority when that organization was created back in 1945, and when the truncated remnants of the United States Occupation Authority were finally folded into the newly created Department of Defense following the official end of the occupation in 1950, that policy was also adopted by the DoD and the US Army as well.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, if the Confederate States no longer exists, aren’t these men essentially stateless then?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Each one of the former CS states readmitted back into the US has a Bureau of Confederate Affairs, usually a dozen or so people within the state’s governmental branches, who are responsible for overseeing various issues related to the demise of the Confederate government. (Beynon falters for a second or two, as if he is now speaking outside of his normal area of expertise, and perhaps he isn’t quite sure of specific details regarding the various state agencies which are responsible for wrapping up the CSA’s loose ends. Beynon then continues.) Such agencies typically spend most of their time looking after the needs of death camp refugees who are still residing here in the US, but they are also responsible for conducting bi-annual welfare checks on the DCC Detainees being held here, so it is not as if they are truly stateless.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: The average age of the Disarmed Confederate Combatants in your charge is now roughly sixty. How can the US government consider men who are very near retirement age to be so dangerous?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: After all these years in detention, many of these men remain highly fanatical to the cause of reviving some form of the Confederate States of America ruled over by the Freedom Party, and in the view of the US government, these men could serve as possible recruiters for an entire new generation of naive young people, who maybe keen to take up Jake Featherston’s twisted ideology.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: But where would they possibly find any new followers? I mean, the Confederate government went out of existence four decades ago, and since that time we’ve been teaching our school children how truly evil the Freedom Party was, so where would they look for new followers? Certainly not in the New South?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: The New South has been pretty well inoculated against the tenants of the Freedom Party, but a study conducted earlier this year by the US Department of Justice identified a new phenomenon (Beynon pinches his fingers in the air next to his cheek as he emphasizes the seriousness of the new phenomenon.) in which certain symbols associated with the Freedom Party have managed to work their way into Southern California’s surf culture. Conceivably this could represent a danger should any of the detainees being held here ever manage to make their way to the beach communities of Southern California. (As Beynon’s finger tips now fidget with the edge of the desktop calendar covering his desk.)
(The scene suddenly changes to the cover art image of a sixteen-inch vinyl music album. A malevolent looking skeleton dressed in a ragged CS military uniform fires a stovepipe rocket launcher from its shoulder while expertly riding a surfboard. A shoulder patch depicting the Freedom Party flag is clearly visible on the surfing skeleton’s uniform. The grinning skeleton holds a bayonet clinched between its fang teeth. Off in the distance sky scrapers resembling LA’s famous skyline are being consumed in flame as mushroom clouds rise over the distant horizon. The name of the album is “Kill Them All!” The name of the band, “Death Brigade!”)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: We checked (As the image of the above album cover is being displayed on screen) and certain symbols associated with the Freedom Party do indeed seem to be making their way into Southern California’s youth culture, such as these skateboards which our producer found for sell at a shop in Laguna Beach which come from the factory with the “Blue X” associated with the Freedom Party already imprinted onto their undersides.
(A quick montage of the following images: A brief film clip of a store employee showing the underside of a skateboard to someone who is off camera. Loud driving music makes it difficult to hear what the store employee is saying. - The cover of a comic book titled “Featherston Fights Back!” On the cover a human head resembling that of Jake Featherston’s can be seen floating inside a glass container of liquid which is in turn mounted on the shoulders of a powerful looking cyborg with the Freedom Party flag emblazoned across its wide chest. The cyborg has just entered the command module of a lunar rocket and stunned US and German astronauts dressed in their helmeted space suits look on in horror as the intruder enters through a ripped open hatch. A cartoon balloon coming out of Featherston’s mouth reads, “I’ll take over from here! Thank you very much!” - An old Suzuki microvan from the 1970s parked in a public parking lot with the word “Freedom” painted in jagged red letters across its battered side. The van is also decorated with a plethora of faded bumper stickers and other miscellaneous decals.)
(The Scene returns to Lieutenant Colonel Beynon’s office as if no time as passed.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So just to be clear, and for the benefit of our audience, the government’s position is due to the fact that these men violated an earlier oath to never again take up arms against the United States, the government will not recognize them as US citizens, until after they’ve taken a second oath swearing their complete loyalty to the United States?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: That is correct. (Beynon returns to folding his hands atop his desk.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: And if they were to take such an oath, then they’d be eligible for release from this facility, provided that they’ve already served out the sentences that were handed down to them in 1945?
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: That is also correct. (Beynon pauses before then continuing.) But I’d like to also add that before any of our DCC detainees can be considered for release, that they must first answer questions in front of a review board comprised of both military and civilian experts, and that process may take several months.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: So, Disarmed Confederate Combatants have been released from this facility in the past? (Sitting upright returns to tapping pursed lips with erasure of pencil.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: Correct. Between 1962 and 1981 the government released four-hundred and nineteen men from this facility, enough to make up a small battalion, and gave them new lives under assumed identities. However, since 1981, this facility hasn’t released a single DCC Detainee.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: And the forty-seven left behind here today aren’t being released because…? (Mudd draws out the word “Because for dramatic effect.)
Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon: (Beynon answers nonchalantly.) Because the forty-seven DCC Detainees we have left here today represent the worst of the very worst, and absolutely every one of them stubbornly refuses to take an oath swearing their allegiance to the government of the United States of America.
(The camera angle shifts to provide a slightly different angle of the two men sitting at the desk. In this newer angle both men are in sideview as Beynon slides a piece of paper across his desk towards Mudd. Mudd picks up the sheet of letter sized paper and begins to study it.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Off screen as above image is playing.) Lieutenant Colonel Wright Beynon gives me a copy of the loyalty oath which each Disarmed Confederate Combatant must take before they can be counted as a US citizen and considered for release. The Loyalty Oath used at Fort Leavenworth is similar to the Oath of Allegiance given to immigrants seeking to become US citizens, and for the life of me I cannot understand why any reasonable person would refuse to take it.
(A quick montage of scenes depicting Beynon and Mudd standing up from the desk, taking an elevator, Lieutenant Colonel Beynon entering a code into a key pad located next to a set of extra wide double doors. The doors open with a whir of electric motors, and the two men enter a wide corridor as the doors close behind them.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Off camera as above walking scene is playing on screen.) Lieutenant Colonel Beynon agrees to show me the Disarmed Confederate Combatants being held in Building J, and as we walk along the underground corridor connecting the main administration building with the prisoner’s barracks, he explains to me that former President Carter considers the Loyalty Oath used at Fort Leavenworth to be unconstitutional, and that in President Carter’s opinion, each of the men I’m about to meet should automatically be treated as US citizens without any preconditions to be met on their part.
(The scene changes to Mudd and Beynon walking in a long white corridor. The camera angle is from behind as the two men make their way along the underground passageway. The vanishing point of the receding corridor can be seen between the shoulders of the two men as they walk side by side talking to one another off microphone.)
(The two men reach a T-intersection in the corridor, and Beynon momentarily stops to explain something about the other corridor heading off from theirs. A drab metal door marked TELECOMMUNICATIONS can be seen behind Beynon’s head as he gestures down the other stark white corridor.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Off camera as the above scene is playing on screen.) Lieutenant Colonel Beynon explains that this other corridor leads to the disciplinary barracks, which is commonly referred to by staff here at Fort Leavenworth as the Starfish due to its layout. The Starfish is where the US government houses members of the US military who have been convicted of serious crimes while serving their country. Currently there are two thousand eight hundred men down at the other end of this corridor who have been convicted of crimes ranging from murdering an officer, to attempting to sell top secret information to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. I ask for a tour of the disciplinary barracks, but I’m told that the area is highly off limits to visitors, and that I’d first need to obtain permission from the Cube in Norfolk, Virginia before any such visits can be made.
(As the two men recommence their journey along the blank corridor, Beynon occasionally exchanges salutes with other military personnel headed in the opposite direction, and there appears to be slightly more foot-traffic in this section of the underground tunnel. Mudd and Beynon pass an impressive vault-like door with the yellow and black nuclear fallout symbol adorned upon it. Neither man takes notice of the fallout shelter as they pass it.)
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Off camera as the above walking scene is playing on screen.) Lieutenant Colonel Beynon informs me that female inmates sent to Fort Leavenworth are housed in the Barracks H compound, which is located in another area of the base, and is not accessible through the underground passageway system. Currently Fort Leavenworth is holding roughly 385 female inmates, who are mostly convicted of the same offenses as their male counterparts.)
(Mudd and Beynon arrive at another double door at the far end of the corridor. Beynon enters a code into another keypad, and the two men pass through the doors into the ground floor of Barracks J where the Disarmed Confederate Combatants are held.
Television Reporter Robert Mudd: (Mudd narrates off camera as images play on screen.) We arrive inside the dayroom where the Disarmed Confederate Combatants are allowed to congregate, watch television, read books, play pool, or to simply relax.
END OF PART 1
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