MEC-A-I-S-2

S C E N E (II)  

نيويوركغراد 

     NEWYORKGRAD, USA, 2025ce 

*** 

It all happens amazingly fast. As though a great deal of preparation and training has gone into it. Women and children are separated as quickly as possible and pushed outside. Soon, diplomats and various second tier world leaders are being zip tied, then wrapped in booby trapped explosives that look like Christmas lights. 

There are many screams and protestations at first, then only whimpering and begging to be released. Amidst the vibrant lights and bustling energy of the Millenium Theatre, a hostage crisis unfolds, shattering the illusion of entertainment, and plunging the venue into chaos. The assailants, masked with flickering faces, and heavily armed, stormed the premises during a sold-out performance, catching both audience members and staff completely off guard. Panic sweeps through the theater as screams pierced the air and confusion reigned. A diplomat is pistol whipped. A few warning shots go off. The hostages are tied together into bundles. Anyone that speaks is struck in the face. 

As the situation escalates, law enforcement swiftly mobilize, surrounding the theater and the NYPD is attempting to initiate negotiations with the perpetrators.  

A female terrorist with brown hair tied off in a bun; she passes typed demands out the barricaded entrance door. They are then released in a video.  

“WE ARE HOLDING OVER 800 INTERNATIONAL HOSTAGES. ALL ADULT MALE UN STAFF, POLITICIANS, ELITES AND VARIOUS CELEBRITIES.  In one hour, we will begin executing UN personnel beginning with European countries unless the NYPD withdraw completely in a five-block radius. There are explosives attached to the hostages and all over the building. ANY GAS, ANY RAID, WE WILL BLOW EVERYTHING UP.”  

Inside, tension hung thick, each passing moment fraught with uncertainty and fear. The hostages, trapped in a nightmare of uncertainty, clung to hope, their fates hanging in the balance. Some that try to make desperate speeches are beaten. Their mouths taped. 

Outside, a tense standoff ensued, with ERU teams poised for action, and negotiators work tirelessly to secure the safe release of the hostages. Time seems to stretch endlessly as the world holds its breath, waiting for a resolution to the harrowing ordeal. So many seemingly powerful people taken hostage, so many celebrities. So many people with things to lose. 

Amidst the chaos, stories emerged as individuals within the theater huddled together, offering comfort and support to one another in the face of danger. Families anxiously awaited news of their loved ones, their hearts heavy with dread yet buoyed by the glimmer of hope. “They’re communicating in French,” someone whispers. “What do they want,” someone else whispers. 

A second communique was put out on video, but a terrorist claiming to be “Anya”. Delivered in English and French with Hebrew and Arabic subtitles:  

“WE WILL EXECUTE A HOSTAGE EVERY HALF HOUR UNLESS ISRAEL OPENS ITS NORTHERN BORDER TO THE RETURNEEES, ENTERS A FULL CEASFIRE IN GAZA, AND ALLOWS PALESTINIAN MIGRATION DOWN TO THE 32-DEGREE LATITUDINAL LINE. ANY ATTEMPT TO RETAKE THE THEATRE WILL RESULT IN A DETONATION OF EXPLOSIVES THROUGHOUT. 

AVOID CARNAGE BY COPITUALATING TO OUR RATIONAL DEMANDS. THE WAR MUST END TONIGHT!” 

But nothing was lost in translation, and Americans do not negotiate with terrorists. 

Eventually, after 72 hours of tense but meaningless negotiations, the crisis reaches its bloody conclusion. Through the combined efforts of law enforcement and skilled negotiators, the hostages were not freed, but the theatre of the oppressed, the cosplay with AR15s; this ordeal ended poorly. The NYPD began filling the Theatre with odorless gas. 

At some point many shots were exchanged. The counter terrorism raid began. Soon after a series of explosions killed all the hostages and at least twenty of the terrorists. When the gas, dust, ash, and debris settled, the media circus began, but everyone was dead, or mostly dead.  

The standoff in Gaza and Northern Israel, Southern Lebanon Border was utterly unchanged, unaffected. 

“Though scars, both physical and emotional, will linger, the resilience of the human spirit prevailed, offering a beacon of hope in the aftermath of such a tragedy.” 

The Millennium Theatre Hostage Crisis was after 9.11, the second largest terror attack ever carried out on US soil. Who it killed was a veritable who is who of diplomatic personnel and lesser world leaders. It was claimed all the terrorists died, but that is not true at all. Two survived, and both are today Israelite passport holders. In the words of the Western Media, this bloody debacle was called the “Millenium Theatre Hostage Crisis,” but in the papers of the Arab street; “the Newyorkgrad Christmas Massacre.” Terror on U.S. soil over foreign policy decisions being made in the Middle East.  

This is the event that would usher in a security state and a period of fascism in America.