‘Such as Farming, sir. Mr Koss, I marched in Providence on a certain Fourth of July a few years back. Do you know to what I’m referring?’
‘The Defence of Freedom marches?’
‘Yes. I marched that day. Did you?’
‘Yes. I marched in Boston.’
‘I marched in support of the Constitution, in support of free speech, and I marched in support of your ideal, Mr Koss. I marched in support of Deep Connectedness, as you describe it, so a person in Rhode Island could find a person in Alabama who was interested in abolition of the death penalty and could work together on that. Or a person in Mississippi could find a person in Texas who was interested in improving the shameful state of our schooling system that this administration has allowed to crumble under its very feet. These are things that I know for a fact actually happened thanks to your network, Mr Koss. And I marched in support of you. I marched so you would have the freedom to pursue your ideal of Deep Connectedness – an ideal I believe in – without fear of prosecution. But you know what, Mr Koss? I didn’t march in support of this thing you call Farming. I didn’t march so that person in Rhode Island or Alabama or Mississippi or Texas would find someone who they thought was a person but was actually a program trying to sell them something.’
Andrei gazed at him, struggling for a response. ‘It might be something they need, Senator. A program that doesn’t just sell them stuff, but can learn about them, understand them, and present them with exactly what they need at exactly the right time. And, in most cases, at an improved price. Does that make the world a worse place, Senator?’
The senator let Andrei’s words hang. Then he shook his head. ‘You just don’t get it, do you, Mr Koss?’
Andrei frowned. He wished he hadn’t said what he had just said. Better to have stayed silent.
‘That’s the saddest thing about this whole sorry affair.’ The senator leaned forward. Although five yards separated them, Andrei felt as if he was peering at him from inches away. ‘What happened to you?’
Andrei swallowed. Nothing in the coaching sessions he had had over the past two weeks had prepared him for this. He wanted to say something but had no idea what. He felt belittled and humiliated and ashamed – but didn’t know how to defend himself. He could feel his face burning.
The silence went on.
‘Have you any other questions, Senator?’ said Diane McKenrick.
‘No,’ said Senator O’Brien. ‘I think I’ve heard about all I can bear to hear.’
‘Well, I have a few,’ said McKenrick, invoking her right as Chair to enter the proceedings when she chose. She had had enough of all these questions about advertising. She turned to Andrei. ‘You said you tell no lies, Mr Koss. You said your Farming program only gives factual information. Is that right, Mr Koss?’
Andrei nodded, still flustered, his mind working over the previous senator’s remarks.
‘What if you gave non-factual information?’ said McKenrick.
‘I’m sorry.’ Andrei shook his head, trying to put O’Brien’s questioning behind him. ‘I’m sorry, Senator. Can you repeat that, please?’
‘I said, what if you give non-factual information?’ said McKenrick impatiently.
‘We don’t give non-factual information.’
‘What if you did?’
‘We don’t.’ The questioning was on easier ground, and helped Andrei focus again. ‘We’re happy to be audited on that if anyone has a specific complaint.’
McKenrick made a show of sighing. ‘Let me ask you something else. You sell products, correct? What if you chose to sell something different?’
‘I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking,’ said Andrei.
‘What if you chose to sell an idea, an ideology.’
‘Such as?’
‘Jihad.’
Andrei had practised this one, or something similar, a dozen times. He even had the delivery down pat.
‘Senator, do I look like someone who’s going to sell jihad?’
There was a wave of laughter in the audience behind him. McKenrick scowled.
‘What if you chose to disseminate an ideology? You have a program that makes people think they’re talking to friends. Isn’t that the best way to influence people?’
‘This seems like a totally hypothetical question, Senator. I have no ideology to disseminate.’
‘It doesn’t seem like a hypothetical question to me. It seems to me that you have developed something that could be used for dissemination of any kind of idea, and if it has the artificial intelligence you say it has, if it can learn and adapt to the people it’s talking