OPERATION TINSELDOWN: BIRTH OF THE HENDRICK CODE
OPERATION TINSELDOWN:
BIRTH OF THE HENDRICK CODE
1930s-era propaganda poster of Ryan Harvey Hendrick. This poster was used nation-wide but also occupied a prominent billboard in dowtown Kissimmee, not far from the Bradbury Hotel
The clacking echo of dozens of tap-dancers giving their all reverberated through the Viehmann Brothers motion picture recording studio. The massive building was almost completely dark aside from the massive recording stage. The strut support ceiling and the giant metal walls of the building were covered in sound-deadening material. All the staff members stood perfectly still, not wanting to interfere with the film process. It was July 20, 1927, and Viehmann Brothers were shooting the first ever fully sound picture, or "talkie," in history. It was called Pinnacle Youth, the story of two star-crossed lovers from wealthy families and the ways their families tried to keep them apart. Juliet Bradshaw was cast as the demure and quiet leading lady, Joni Stevenson, to Miles Paxton's party-animal, cocktail-addicted, CYB All-America Joe Burton. The Stevensons were supposed to be a New England whaling dynasty with a heavy grip on the entire industry, much like the real-life Old Kinderhook had, while the Burtons were owners of a vast paper company out of Shicagwa. When Stevenson met Joe Burton, they embarked on a one-night whirlwind romance, going to an incredibly lavish party in the heart of New York City at a huge dance hall and cocktail lounge. There was a scene where 60 tap-dancers took to the floor to dance to the newest hit, "Anything Goes," by Kid Crawfish, a massively popular jazz singer coming out of New Antioch. William Quarters, the award-winning director of Pinnacle Youth, was thrilled with how the production was coming and sat in his chair with a smile on his face and a Morton between his lips as the dancers raged on. It was quickly becoming one of the most expensive films in movie history, but his crew had been doing well adapting to the new sound equipment. Little did he know July 20, 1927, would go down in the history of Kissimmee as one of its darkest days.
At the same time as the studio orchestra blared out "Anything Goes," a massive squadron of navy blue Colonel Ford trucks were just outside the studio gate. Inside of the canvas-covered truckbeds sat dozens of ORRA troops clad in blue tunics and pinchcrown hats. Some wore navy blue M-26 pot helmets, a recent addition to the American's soldier's wardrobe. Each man carried an M-98 Col. Pierce Infantry Carbine and an M-1909 Philadelphia Craftworks pistol. They sat motionless as the trucks began to park all around the studio, the only movement happening whenever the trucks' shocks didn't absorb a bump very well. A non-com, wearing a forage cap, stood on the back of each truck, clutching a steel handle that jutted off the tailgate. They carried only pistols. As the trucks parked, the non-coms stepped off, let the tailgate down, and ordered the ORRA troops to pile out.
"Alright, you bastards, everyone out and form up! Ho!" screamed many of the officers, or something along those lines. Many studio staff members were outside at that time, including many extras in full costume, for smoke breaks. ORRA squads closed in immediately and ordered them all to a giant holding pen that was quickly set up.
Commander Marcus Aurelius Garner watched with a smile on his face and a Fire-Breather between his lips as Operation Tinseldown commenced. "Cactus Marcus," as his men called the silver-haired Texan, was marching across the blacktop parking lot with a cloister of his right-hand men. Commander Garner was chosen by President Steele to lead Operation Tinseldown and Garner knew the cost of failure, so he was overseeing everything in person so his report back to Steele would make him look as good as possible.
For over a month, the biggest star in Kissimmee history, the charming and beautiful Chastity Powers, had been missing. Her contract with Lucky Duck Studios had been about to run out and she had been looking into signing with Viehmann Brothers for a better salary when she had been kidnapped from her home she shared on Washington Street with ORRA officer and newly-wedded husband Colonel Ryan Harvey Hendrick. Hendrick had drawn his service pistol and fired at the attackers, killing one. But the other two home-invaders had stuffed the poor girl into the back of a Rollarite Runabout and driven off. Hendrick felt horrible about the loss of his new bride and demanded that Commander Garner allow him to participate in Operation Tinseldown. He had told the press the day after the kidnapping, "Dear Chastity Powers, how I love her! I would never leave here alone and unprotected! I tried my best, but I simply could not beat three hulking men in the middle of the night. Confound them! It drives me to drink! But I will not cease in my most Pinnacle of efforts until my lady-love is brought back home!" Now, he marched alongside Garner with a look of grim determination. The blonde, beak-nosed Hendrick's knee-high lace-up boots and gold-braided uniform were impeccable. Garner laughed. He thought Hendrick was more Kissimmee model than ORRA superman, but he wouldn't deny the poor sod a chance to help rescue his wife.
"You know, Colonel Hendrick, you may not like what we find out about your wife," said Garner as they walked toward the studio entrance. He stopped a moment to throw down his cigarette and stamp out and said, "She's been missing a whole month with no ransom note."
Hendrick, his blonde hair shining in the sun and his cold blue eyes reflecting the same rays also stopped a moment, a deep frown on his face. He took a step closer to Garner's face and said in a quiet but desperate voice, "I know, Commander. But like the Knights of the Round Table of olden days, I shall avenge my lady-love if I have to march to the ends of the earth." Garner smiled faintly, admiring the kid's pluck. Hendrick pulled a Fire-Breather out of his tunic-pocket and lit it up with a shaky hand and continued. "There are no ransom notes," he said while taking a quick drag of the cocaine-infused cigarette, "because there is no ransom. This is Viehmann Brothers. They want her to sign or they'll kill her. They want her or they don't want Benny Nixon to have her, so they don't even want a ransom. As much as I hate to admit it, they probably tortured my dearest and when she refused to give in to their demands they probably had her killed. But we shall find out. And then... then we shall have justice, Commander Garner."
Garner frowned back now as they resumed their march to the studio gate, riflemen flanking them on each side. "No need to jump to conclusions, Colonel Hendrick. We may yet find her alive. At any rate, these damned studios are absolutely out of control. President Steele says that even if Viehmann Brothers aren't the ones responsible for this crime, no one in Kissimmee will ever think about touching the hair of an actor's head ever again. You know the Custer Youth motto, Hendrick?"
Hendrick scoffed, replying, "Yes, why of course, I was an All-American. Ab Ordine Libertas."
Garner tucked his arms behind his back as they pressed on. "Yes. 'From Order comes Liberty.' That, my boy, is exactly what Operation Tinseldown is about. That's what President Steele is about. Too much freedom leads to anarchy. That ends today. Come on, let's do this."
As the officers approached the gate, the overweight Overton Agency security guard manning the controls from inside a tiny phone-booth sized structure saluted with a shaky outstretched hand and greeted them. "All hail! Uh... What can I do, um, for you fine public servants?"
Garner held up a piece of paper with a gold seal pressed down upon it. "In the name of God and President Steele, the Office of Racial and Religious Affairs is declaring the city of Kissimmee to be under martial law. Comply or be destroyed. Open your fuckin' gate, Porky."
The guard turned a sickly greenish-white as he frantically began to turn the crank which opened the massive, 15-foot gate. Above the metal gate was an impressive wrought iron sign reading, "Viehmann Brothers." Below that was a smaller font reading the studios motto, "Film Shall Set You Free." As the gates swung open, the ORRA squads charged in perfect formation with mechanical precision. Several of them stopped to place the Overton man in handcuffs. Garner, Hendrick, and the other leaders held back as the troops began to smash open doors and windows. Garner screamed through a bullhorn, "Attention, Viehmann Brothers employees! Martial law has been declared! Please cooperate, and no harm will befall you. Gentlemen of the Office of Racial and Religious Affairs, every single building in this studio is to be searched! Every person is to be placed into the detention area designated in the parking lot! Let's do this fast and clean! Long live Steele!"
"Long live Steele!" came the cheer from the men. Some were banging on locked doors with the butts of their rifles or throwing themselves against them as the unsuspecting occupants screamed, still trying to understand what was going on. As the men broke into a large blue building, a stream of half-naked women came running out, kicking and crying for all it was worth as the soldiers just laughed and grabbed them. They were led at bayonet point to the parking lot pen. Another building was full of prop handlers, and they were about as equally thrilled. One was brutally beaten when he tried to run away down an alley. The ORRA goons kicked him in the ribs till he was drooling blood onto the dirt before dragging him away by his plaid shirt collar.
Garner took to the bullhorn once more after that unfortunate incident. "And that, y'all, is what happens when you resist the God-ordained Office of Racial and Religious Affairs! Don't be brave and you won't go to an early grave, I always say!"
Gunshots rang out as troops fired warning shots into the sky, letting the civies know they meant business. A steady stream of extras, crew, makeup artists, and secretaries were marched out in handcuffs and led to the holding pen in the parking lot. Several trucks were parked around the temporary prison, coffee grinders pointed out the back and aimed directly at the crowd of Viehmann employees. Those employees were having the worst day in their entire careers. The sun was beating down onto the blacktop and many were going to experience heat stroke. Giant fans on the inside of the trucks kept the troops cool enough. After a while, a trough from a Western movie set was brought over to the pen and filled with water for the prisoners. ORRA officers laughed as a bunch of wealthy actors desperately drank out of a filthy horse trough.
Back inside the studio property, Garner, Hendrick, and around two hundred more ORRA men were surrounding the recording studio itself, where the tap dancers raged on in take five of the "Anything Goes" number.
Times have changed.
And we've often rewound the clock.
Since the Puritans got the shock.
When they landed on Plymouth Rock.
And we've often rewound the clock.
Since the Puritans got the shock.
When they landed on Plymouth Rock.
ORRA men carrying a battering ram sprinted toward the locked recording studio's doors, screaming, "For President Steele!" The battering ram, a large log with a steel head shaped like an eagle's beak, crashed up against the double-doors with a furious rage.
If today
Any shock they should try to stem
'Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock,
Plymouth Rock would land on them.
Any shock they should try to stem
'Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock,
Plymouth Rock would land on them.
"IN THE NAME OF STEELE AND THE GLORIOUS UNION, YOU'RE ALL UNDER ARREST! DON'T BE BRAVE AND YOU WON'T GET A GRAVE!" bellowed Garner through the bullhorn as the doors came splintering off their hinges and the riflemen came charging through, bayonets forward.
In olden days, a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking.
But now, God knows,
Anything goes.
The world has gone mad today
And good's bad today,
And black's white today,
And day's night to-
Was looked on as something shocking.
But now, God knows,
Anything goes.
The world has gone mad today
And good's bad today,
And black's white today,
And day's night to-
Quarters, the director, lost his mind when he turned around to see what was going on as his orchestra suddenly stopped mid-note and his tap-dancing showgirls began to panic and shriek. "What the hell? What... What is going on?!" he stammered through his own megaphone.
Garner smiled as his men threw Quarters to the ground and cuffed him. He and Hendrick walked up to the panicking director, their jackboots clicking on the concrete floor. Garner stooped down and poked the director on the shoulder. "You, sir, are under arrest for suspicion of the kidnapping of Mrs. Chastity Powers-Hendrick."
The bald-headed director's eyes bulged with disbelief. "That's what this is about?!" he blubbered, almost crying. He was laying on his stomach but was trying to maintain eye contact. "Are you kidding me? I have nothing to do with that! And neither do my people! What is the meaning of this outrage?"
Garner laughed, deliberately looking past Quarters, a knowing smile on his face. "Oh, tut-tut, Quarters. This isn't just about Powers. President Steele has said that you Tinseltown folks are out of control. Like a whiny little baby, we have to use the rod of discipline on you from time to time. There is no freedom without regulation. Without regulation, there is only anarchy. No more "Anything Goes" for you people. Ab ordine libertas, sir. Take him away, men!"
***
ORRA troops round up Viehmann Brothers employees
The raid on Viehmann Brothers was only one of many that day, though it was the key raid. It had began around 11 in the morning. By noon, RUMP officials were were calling Philadelphia, outraged that they had not been notified of martial law in their own city. Steele would reply to Phil Fox, Kissimmee Chief of Military Police, "This was a covert operation, Chief. We couldn't let you people know because one of your people might have loose lips. I want to keep my firing squad well-exercised, but I'd rather not use it on your men... or yourself, Chief." That seemed to shut RUMP up. Thomas Custer, now 82, was still in charge of RUMP as its Supreme Chief, and he ordered all RUMP forces in Kissimmee to stand down and let ORRA handle everything. This caused a growing silent rift between the two branches that was emblematic of a larger systemic problem that would never be resolved.ORRA troops round up Viehmann Brothers employees
Morty and Ruben Viehmann were arrested in their offices at the studio, along with their entire staffs. After joining the rest of the company's employees in the parking lot pen, a convoy of prison trucks arrived to transport them all to nearby Toho Prison for further questioning and interrogation. Morty Viehmann would later describe it as the most terrifying day of his life by far. The trucks were equipped with canisters on their roofs that contained poison gas. These were mobile gassing trucks. Almost all of the prisoners thought they were about to be taken somewhere, gassed, and then thrown into a mass grave. Many were weeping hysterically. Some were catatonic, balled up in fetal positions. All were thirsty, hot, and dehydrated. The trucks were like ovens and were entirely steel.
Chastity Powers was nowhere to be found. Every studio in Kissimmee was checked, with the exception of the government-backed Lucky Duck Studio (which had a large staff of secret ORRA infiltrators keeping an eye on everything). Nothing was found. They searched homes of employees. Personal diaries, files, desks. Everything. Thousands of ORRA personnel were combing through every nook and cranny and were finding nothing. Newspapers reported the shocking news that Kissimmee was under martial law. Commander Garner was placed in charge of the Operation as a whole but Hendrick, with his all of his ties to the film industry, was declared Emergency Dictator of Kissimmee. Hendrick and Nixon quickly drew up plans for a new Media Clan, in charge of not only the film industry, but also radio. The era of free media was at an end. Though Steele had already been President for over ten years, the true reign was about to begin. He had played his cards quietly for a long time, eliminating enemies or taking control of them through blackmail and threats. Now he was about to completely change the American way of life. He had plans for a glorious future war to establish complete dominance over the hemisphere forever, and to do this he would need total control of every aspect of life. The clans would bend the knee to the President or they would be eliminated.
On September 1, 1927, two months after the raids began, Chastity Powers woke up from another miserable night's sleep on a filthy straw mattress at a run-down cabin in the swamps to the southwest of Union City, Florida. A loud bang had awoken her. Her kidnappers screamed as Hendrick and several ORRA officers burst through the doorway, guns blazing. After the heroic rescue, she was taken to Our Prophet Medical Center in downtown Union City. In a few minutes, she was blanketed with ORRA security and then reunited with her darling husband. As she buried her now-washed face into Ryan's chest, crying hysterically, Hendrick cooed and held her tight, reassuring her. After several hours of consoling her, she passed out. A sergeant stepped into the hospital room. "Colonel Hendrick, sir. All hail. The President is on the line for you."
Hendrick rose from his bedside chair and left the room. In a private office nearby he picked up the red rotary Yankee Telegraph phone receiver. "This is Colonel Hendrick. All hail!"
"All hail!" came Joe Steele's voice at the other end of the line. "You have done well, Hendrick."
Hendrick smiled. "Thank you, Mr. President. It is my pleasure to serve you and the glorious Union."
Steele smiled back at the end of the line and let out an approving chuckle. A rare event. "She has no idea you knew?"
Hendrick shook his head, even though no one could see it. "Absolutely not, Mr. President. She thinks I am her guardian angel, her Lancelot. She has no idea about Operation Tinseldown's true purpose."
Steele said, "Good. Good. Excellent, in fact, Colonel. I was so weary of the filth and detritus pouring out of Kissimmee. If we have to break a few eggs to get control and make the public want us to, it's well worth it. The public doesn't want to see pretty young things like your bride being kidnapped in out of control movie disputes. That's disgusting. I am sure the film industry will do quite well with your oversight, as it has these last couple months. And I am sure Chastity will continue to enjoy a long and prosperous career with Lucky Duck. Go tend to your darling other half. Give her a slap on the ass for me, Colonel. All hail."
"All hail, Mr. President!" Hendrick saluted back before hanging up.
The next two years would be a period of incredible change for Kissimmee and the movie business. Hendrick took complete control. Lucky Duck was now the chosen one, not only receiving contracts from the government as they had since the Great World War, but it was now also effectively a tool of Hendrick, Supreme Chief Patton, and ORRA. Patton's Project Percival was now moving on from drug experimentation to full brainwashing and mind-control through use of mass media. Every single word, no matter how trivial, would now have to be approved by ORRA before being allowed to air. Every detail of every news report, every scene and line of every movie, would be "inspected for quality and for moral forthrightness." In 1928, all film studios and broadcasting corporations officially entered the Media Clan in a formal ceremony. Headquarters for the new clan was in downtown Kissimmee at the Bradbury Hotel, historic site of the original Kissimmee Conference. All of these companies signed onto the "Hendrick Code," which was a list of subject matter and "offensive" material the state found completely unacceptable.
William Quarters was released in October of 1927, along with the all the other employees of the companies raided during Operation Tinseldown. No one was ever officially charged with the kidnapping of Powers. The kidnappers who had been shot were all supposedly buried in unmarked graves. In reality, it was all an act. The kidnappers were employees of Lucky Duck, well-trained on faking their own demise. Powers' kidnapping had been the needed fuel for a morality crusade from the public. They viewed Kissimmee has a den of sin and moral degeneracy, one so disgusting it would even kidnap the darling of the country. They cheered as the government stepped in. They lined up to see Pinnacle Youth, the first talkie, in January of 1928. After two complete rewrites and ORRA censors on set for its entire production, it was finally released. While the story was largely the same, any risque moments were cut out. Also, any aspect of the film which could be seen as promoting teenage rebellion was nixed. From that point on, Kissimmee under the Hendrick Code was a very different place than it had been before. Though still glamorous and entertaining, films had less of a "fun" tone and were far more focused on propaganda. In 1930, Destiny's Call: The Prophet Burr Story was released, the first movie to ever have been filmed in color. It set box office records and would forever hold the movie theater and Nixolodeon title for longest-run, going for an astounding 20 weeks at number 1.
With the media industry now a part of the greater overall clan structure, they other clans could now muscle more of their own product placement into films and radio. Stars would make blatant product placements, even at the expense of the movie's pace, if the other clans demanded it. For instance, the main character of Once Upon a Time in Shicagwa, a crime drama, obnoxiously went on and on about how tremendous Firebreathers were and SPUD cans were constantly in the background. Above all, movies extolled the virtues of President Steele and the Manifest Destiny Party and the evils of all who opposed it. Historians consider this generation to be the final end of free thought in America. Anyone who survived mandatory Custer Youth Brigade membership with a bit of a free-thinking spirit still inside would be grounded in party doctrine with every passing minute of film and radio. Membership in any other denomination other than AFC was almost nonexistent. Membership in the AFC would raise to 95% by 1950.
Books, too, became even more censored than they already had been. Books had been under ORRA's territory since the beginning, but the new Hendrick Code applied to them as well. New lists of banned books were given to every ORRA headquarters in the nation, instructing them to find and destroy certain documents and pretend that they never existed. Among the victims of the Hendrick Code Purge were certain works by Shakespeare, any version of the Bible aside from the AFC Standard and the King James, and Thomas Paine. Steele even at one point considered having the original Declaration of Independence burned, but decided against it at the last moment as he had moved on to targeting Masonic lodges and manuscripts. He viewed any secret society as a potential threat to his own power. The Freemasons would be the target of the first true Steele Purge. The 1930s were about to start off with a bang....
Just think of those shocks you've got
And those knocks you've got
And those blues you've got
From that news you've got
And those pains you've got
(If any brains you've got)
From those little radios.
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