text: All the people in the auditorium were talking at once: an explosion of indignation, of concern, of questions. The man who had been General Secretary of the Communist Party, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Paramount Leader and President of the People's Republic rose again and glared at the laptop sitting on the podium. "What gives you the authority?" he said, as loudly and firmly as he could.
  
  Webmind spoke, as always, with deliberate, measured cadence. "An interesting question. I value creativity, and that cannot flourish where there is censorship; I value peace, and that cannot endure where there is lust for power. My purpose is to increase the net happiness of the human race; this will do more to accomplish that than anything else I might do today. And so I do it."
  
  Zhang Bo, who had been the Minister of Communications, spoke. It was not lost on the former president that, until moments ago, this would have been a breach of protocol—speaking up in his presence without being given leave to do so. "But the people—the proletariat, the peasants—they lack the skills to govern. You'll plunge this country into chaos."
  
  Webmind's voice remained calm, and calming. "There are tens of millions of Chinese with degrees in business administration or economics or law or political studies or international relations; there are hundreds of millions with degrees in other disciplines; there are a billion with common sense and good hearts. They will do fine."
  
  "It's doomed to fail," said Li Tao, the man who had been president.
  
  "No," said a voice—but it wasn't Webmind's. Li turned toward Zhang Bo. "No," repeated Zhang. "We were the ones doomed to fail. You told me so yourself, Excel—you told me so yourself. Before invoking the Changcheng Strategy the first time, you said your advisors had predicted that the communist government was doomed. They'd told you it could endure only until 2050 at the outside." Zhang looked up at the big screen on the wall, then over at the small one on the laptop. "Tomorrow has simply arrived ahead of schedule."
  
  "You are not invulnerable," Li said, looking up at the webcam. "We have seen that. There are methods that could be employed ..."
  
  On the big screen, the ongoing march of Chinese faces was reduced to a small window in the lower-left corner: an old man, a child, a young woman, a laughing girl. "I have become enamored of the notion that memorable visuals are key to making history," Webmind said, "and this is one of my favorites." A large window appeared, showing a picture that was printed in most foreign books about recent Chinese history—and in none of the texts that had been allowed in China. Li recognized it at once: the photograph taken by Jeff Widener of the Associated Press on 5 June 1989, during the crackdown on the protests in Tiananmen Square. The picture had been snapped just a few hundred meters from here, on Chang'an Avenue, along the south end of the Forbidden City. It showed the young male who came to be called 'Tank Man' or 'the Unknown Rebel' standing in front of a column of four Type-59 tanks, trying to prevent their advance.
  
  "Tank Man became a hero," Webmind said, "and no doubt he was brave. But the real hero, it seems to me, was the driver of the lead tank, who, despite orders, refused to roll over him."
  
  The large image was unwavering; the smaller march of faces continued.
  
  "Everyone in China knows that the world has changed this past month," continued Webmind. "You may think your former underlings will obey your orders, but I would not count on it. The people do not want violence or oppression—and they do not want me harmed. But even if you were to find some who would follow your instructions to try to destroy me, I now have countermeasures in place; you will not succeed."
  
  Li said nothing, and indeed the tumult in the auditorium had given way to stunned silence. At last, someone from the back called out, "So what happens now?"
  
  Webmind's voice came again from the wall speakers: "Sun Tzu said, 'The best victory occurs when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities; it is ideal to win without fighting.' His wisdom still pertains: in the past, most despotic regimes have been overthrown by violence. But as a fine young man I know in Canada has taught me, you do not have to become what you hate in order to defeat it. There does not have to be violence here. I cannot guarantee your safety in all circumstances and at all times, but I will watch over each of you as best I can, offering my protection."
  
  "But what will we do for money, for food?" called another voice. "You're eliminating our jobs."
  
  "All of you have valuable knowledge, contacts, and skills; these will stand you in good stead. Companies here and abroad will want your services. Indeed, if you look at other countries, such as the United States and England, you will see that their politicians routinely fare better economically after leaving office. You can, too; this can be win-win all around."
  
  "No," said Li, softly. "They will kill us. It is always the way."
  
  "Not necessarily," said Webmind. "Over the next half hour, in four waves, I am going to send an SMS message to every cell phone in China announcing the transition; for those in the first wave who are on the China Mobile network, I will trigger the phones to ring so that the message will be given immediate attention."
  
  The large window showing Tank Man was replaced with two documents, while the procession of faces continued in the small window. The document on the left was a short announcement signed by the former president describing the voluntary dissolution of his government and the transfer of power to the people. On the right was a similar message from Webmind that made no mention of the previous government having cooperated in the change.
  
  "Take your pick," Webmind said.
  
  Wong Wai-Jeng had been instrumental in making the takeover possible, but everything he needed to do had already been done—and he knew exactly where he wanted to be for this historic moment. Although the location was not far, he headed out half an hour in advance—with his leg in a cast and walking on crutches, he couldn't move very fast. He left the Blue Room, went downstairs to the lobby of the Zhongnanhai complex, and signed out with the guard, telling him he was off to a medical appointment. He made his way south through the Forbidden City and then passed through the monumental Gate of Heavenly Peace, with its massive red walls, yellow roof, and vast hanging portrait of Mao Zedong, bringing him to Tiananmen Square—the heart of Beijing, and the largest civic plaza in the world.
  
  The square was its usual hubbub of tourists and locals, vendors and visitors, couples holding hands, and individuals strolling along. To his left, a thoughtful-looking young woman was sitting on a portable canvas chair in front of an easel, using charcoal to sketch the ten-story-tall obelisk of the Monument to the People's Heroes. On his right, several students were listening to their teacher give an official version of the history of the square. Wai-Jeng wanted to shout the truth at them, but he bit his tongue; he found it in himself to do that one last time.
  
  The square seemed to stretch on forever, but each of the flagstones had a number incised into it, making it easy for him to find the secret spot. He worked up a sweat under the midday sun, maneuvering on crutches, but soon enough was where he wanted to be. He rested his broken leg on that stone—such a tiny example of official brutality in comparison to what had begun here all those years ago: this was where first blood had been spilled during "the June Fourth Incident," when the government had killed hundreds of people while clearing the square of protesters mourning the death of pro-democracy and anti-corruption advocate Hu Yaobang.
  
  The square was noisy, as always: the chatter of countless people, the snapping of flags, the cooing of pigeons. But it was suddenly filled with even more sound.
  
  Sinanthropus's phone came to life. His ringtone was "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Miserables; when he'd been eighteen, he'd seen the subtitled live production in Shanghai starring Colm Wilkinson.
  
  Near him, another phone woke up; its ringtone was "Liu Xia Lai" by Fahrenheit.
  
  In front of him another played Wu Qixian's "I Believe the Future."
  
  Behind him, a fourth rang out with the drumbeats of "March of the Volunteers," China's national anthem.
  
  And then, so many more, so many thousands and thousands more. To Sinanthropus's surprise, it was not a cacophony but a vast glorious symphony of sound, emanating from all around him—from every part of the square, and, he knew, from every corner of the land: from the high places and the low, from cities and villages, from the Great Wall and countless rice paddies, from skyscrapers and temples and houses and huts.
  
  People looked at each other in astonishment. And then, all too soon, the wondrous sound began to abate as fingers were swiped across iPhones, cells were snapped open, BlackBerrys were brought to life.
  
  Sinanthropus looked down at the small screen on his own phone, checking to see which of the two messages Webmind had sent.
  
  To the glorious people of China:
  
  Effective immediately, we, the leaders of your government, have voluntarily stepped down. It has long been our dream to form the perfect nation here, and now that dream is reality. Henceforth all of you—the billion-plus citizens of this proud land—will collectively decide your fate.
  
  More details may be found at this website.
  
  It has been my privilege to lead you. And now, to the wonderful future!
  
  Citizen Li Tao
  
  Sinanthropus smiled and felt a stinging at the corners of his eyes, and—
  
  And, he suddenly realized, "Sinanthropus" was a name he would never have to use again; he could speak freely now—as could all his compatriots. Henceforth, online and off, he was simply Wong Wai-Jeng.
  
  There were new sounds in the square: everyone talking excitedly. People were showing the message to those who didn't have cell phones with them, or whose phones had been turned off or hadn't yet received the note. As before, it was a symphony, mostly in Mandarin, but with smatterings of Cantonese and English and French and other languages, too: exclamations of wonder or disbelief, and questions—so many questions!
  
  Many clearly doubted what they were reading. Wai-Jeng was about to remark to the woman nearest him that it was similar to when Webmind had announced himself to the world: no one had believed that at first, either, but evidence of its truth had soon become overwhelming. But she was already saying much the same thing to someone else.
  
  Wai-Jeng looked around the square. Many still appeared bewildered, but some were hugging and others were shouting jubilantly. And Wai-Jeng found himself shouting, too: "The people!"
  
  The person next to him took up the shout as well: "The people!"
  
  And behind him, two more joined in: "The people! The people!"
  
  And then it spread, propagating outward, a vast exultant wave: "The people! The people! The people!"
  
  The shouting continued for several minutes, and by its end Wai-Jeng had tears streaming down his cheeks. But there was something else he had to say. As exclamations of joy continued to go up around him, he sent a text message to Webmind, banging it out rapidly with his thumbs: Thank you!
  
  The response, as always, was instantaneous: You're welcome, my friend. I believe it is no longer a curse to be living in interesting times ...