New York Magazine - USA (2019-11-11)

november11–24, 2019 | newyork 21

There Will Be Deliveries

by Drone, But Also Stalking and

Even Drone Assassination

by Terrorists—and Civilians

WeWillFeelGuiltyAboutMany

MoreThings

forstarters:Flying.

Driving.Orderingso

manyUbers.Takeout

containers.Single-use

anything.20-minute

showers.Baths.Gender

revealparties.

Genderedbabynames.

Nottalkingto ourkids

aboutsex,or race,or

climatechange.Eating

avocados.Prisons—for

anyone.Thetwo-party

politicalsystem.Not

voting.Drinkingdiet

sodas.Fastfashion.

Wearingfakefur,

whichpretendsto be

fur.Ghostingromantic

partners.Having

children.Stanning

Kanye.StanningTaylor

Swift.Somanyhetero

rom-coms.Allthe

thingswedon’teven

knowweshouldfeel

guiltyaboutyet.

Notusingsunscreen.

a natural,humanEnglish,butit seemsmore

likelythat aswegrowmore comfortablewriting

to(andreadingfrom)robots,a sort ofcreolewill

emerge:a functionallanguage developedfroma

mixedrobot-humangrammar. —MAXREAD

New York City Will

Begin to Enclose

Its Entire Harbor

With a Seawall

ChildSeparationWill

NeverBeForgotten

FEB 26

JohnJ.
Lennonbegins
the215th
monthofhis
prison
sentence.

I MIGHT FINALLY BE FREE

ByJohnJ. Lennon

I

N 2001,I shotandkilleda manbackinBrooklyn. In September 2029, a little less

thantenyearsfromnow,I’ll seetheparoleboard. I’ll tell them that I am sorry for

killingandtakeresponsibility.ThenI’ll suggest,trying not tosound too smug about it,

thatperhapsassessingmy CV andcareerasa prison journalist is a better way to predict

myfuture risk—orsuccess—insociety.They’lllikely let me go. As long as you’re not a

serialkiller,a copkiller, a personwithseriousmental illness and no support, or the guy

whokilledtheotherJohnLennon,you’ll probablybegranted parole in this new criminal-

justice-reformera. I’ll be52.Nottooyoung,nottooold.

I oftenlookoutmy SingSingcellwindowandwatch the sailboats blow by on the Hudson,

themountainsturninggreenandbrownandwhite.I think about getting out in ten years.

I picture myselfat work,maybeintheglass-walledoffices of Esquire, 21 stories above my old

Hell’sKitchenManhattanneighborhood,staringoff with the 30-year prison gaze, still stuck

inmyheadat my desk,occasionallylaughingandtalking to myself, like I used to do all of

thoseyearsinthesolitudeofmycell.I hopemy colleagues won’t mind.

I thinkaboutshallowshit,too.I needseveral teethimplanted (all they do is pull them out

inhere),andI wantveneers,andI wanta one-bedroom in Manhattan, in a high-rise building

withamenities.AndI wanttosportFerragamo,cashmere scarves, and peacoats. It’s

conflicting,I imagine,tohearhowsomeonewhooncetook a life thinks about living a good

life.Evenstill,I don’t wantyoualltoresentmeforwanting these nice things for myself.

I thinkabouthowit willbetoliveinsociety withthenarrative of my past just a few fingertip

swipesaway. What willthedatingscenebelike?I imagine I’ll meet someone, tell them my name,

andthey’ll stalkmeoutandghost measif I were thebogeyman. Or they’ll be intrigued,

subconsciouslywaitingformetobecomedarkandmanipulative, like a true-crime villain.

FEB 21

TheArmy
Corpsof Engi­
neersreleases
fiveproposals
forhowto
protectthecity
fromsea­level
rise.

FEB 22

It’srevealed
that 245
childrenhave
beenseparated
fromfamilies
sincethepolicy
was“ended.”

FEB 25

Aneditorialin

Naturewarns

thatchanges

tohumandiet

areurgently

neededto

avoid

catastrophic

climate

change.

FEB 23

Drone spying

by exes is a

thing, British

police reveal.

Produced in
collaboration
with
The Marshall
Project.