And so it begins...
The Dissolution of the United States.
Content transparency statement: This production (play/website/museum experience) contains adult content including images and conversations surrounding real and imagined terrorist acts of violence.
2020
Jan. – Feb.
Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump. In early February there’s a vote held to
determine whether or not witnesses will be called. The vote is 57 – 43 in favor of calling
witnesses. The trial continues through the end of February.
March
Closing arguments are made in the impeachment trial. Republicans are under pressure
from the Trump administration and their constituents to acquit the president. On March
10, Trump is acquitted of both impeachment counts because neither reached the two-
thirds majority vote of the senators for conviction and removal from office.
In response:
• Trump and Republican members of Congress celebrate “Acquittal Day” with a
televised lunch and rally in the East Room of the White House.
• Trump delivers a speech, encouraging his supporters to celebrate with marches
and rallies. He announces that there will be an acquittal celebration at Mar-A-
Lago. He threatens the Democratic House Impeachment Managers and the
Senate Democrats.
• There are news reports of violence at “acquittal rallies” in Richmond, VA and
Indianapolis.
• Mike Ritter drives from his home in Lincoln, Nebraska to Palm Beach and is
arrested at a counter-protest outside the Mar-A-Lago acquittal celebration.
April
Census irregularities...
• Undercounts of immigrants. Rumors about a citizenship question and rumors
about ICE agents going door-to-door lead people to not respond or go into
hiding.
• ICE agents pose as Census workers and arrest just under 100 people, who are
never heard from again.
May
• American journalist Tiana Larson detained at Dulles Int’l Airport.
• Memorial Day weekend. VP Pence remains in Washington; Trump begins a
three-month quarantine "vacation" at Mar-A-Lago.
https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/fear-ice-raids-census-hamper-count-immigrants
July
July 4 celebration on the National Mall. There are record crowds--and the lack of
violence and partisanship is remarked upon by the media as a return to unity and
decorum.
July 24
Cancelled summer Olympics in Tokyo host virtual, symbolic postponement ceremonies.
July 30
American swimmer Kat Johnson takes a knee on social media.
• Fox News launches a weeks-long campaign against Johnson.
August
August 9
Kat Johnson visits Tokyo to launch advertising efforts for Summer 2021 Olympics
• Upon her return to the U.S., Olympian Kat Johnson is detained by Customs and
Border Protection. She’s held in isolation “for her protection” before being
released. Threats against her and her family require them to go into hiding.
September
Sept. 4
Unemployment numbers are released and are significantly better than
forecast.
Sept. 19
Lori Irwin marries Bob Conway.
November
Nov. 3, Election Day
Russia hacks into voting equipment in Milwaukee and Detroit, giving Wisconsin
and Michigan to Trump.
• Trump declares he has a mandate
• Attorney General William Barr makes a major speech about the unitary executive
• América Liberty Artists Collective founded
Nov. 27, Day after Thanksgiving (“Black Friday”)
Keep the Christ in Christmas rally on the Mall
• Protest outside “the Amazon Washington Post” (anti-Amazon; anti-Bezos)
2021
January
Jan. 20, Inauguration Day
Military parade on Pennsylvania Ave. Armored vehicles line the Mall to
discourage protests.
• Trump retweets crude deep-fake videos and photoshopped images from the
parade route.
• Massive protests around the country; Mike Ritter protests in Nebraska. The DC
protest is smaller than expected (threats of violence).
April
• Russia backs American militia groups, with the goal of destabilizing state and local
governments and destroying the federal government from within.
• Total shutdown on refugees seeking asylum.
May
• Starbucks offers a limited-edition Cotton Candy Frappuccino and it’s all that anyone can
talk about that summer.
June
• A Russia-backed American militia group sets up camp in Lafayette Park, across from the
White House. Gun-control groups and religious groups set up camp in Lafayette Park to
protest the militia group. The groups receive Park Police and Secret Service protection.
The protests are surprisingly civil.
August
• During the Congressional recess, a Russia-backed American militia group live-streams
their road trip from D.C. to San Francisco to “follow Nancy Pelosi.”
2022
February
• Trump is completely bedridden by illness. White House staff and senior advisors keep it
a secret; cover for this
• Russia produces deep-fake videos to keep Trump in the public eye
• Washington Post begins to investigate rumors of the videos
March
• Washington Post story drops about the deep-fake videos; Trump supporters refuse to
believe it.
• There’s a second protest outside “the Amazon Washington Post;” the Post building is
guarded by the D.C. National Guard
• 25th Amendment is invoked and Pence becomes president.
• Pence speaks to a joint session of Congress about “a New American Spring.” The speech
is aspirational and well-received. Pence leads Congress in a prayer for the country and
for the ailing Trump. Mainstream media comment on the surprising strength of the
speech. The general sense is that Pence isn’t a zealot as had been feared; he’s only been
misunderstood.
Like Woodrow Wilson, but worse. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/woodrow-wilson-stroke
April
• Pence launches his “New Covenant” –an initiative encouraging government employees
to practice their faith during the course of the workday.
• There are rumors of forced baptisms across the country. Groups of Christian militias
travel around the country and force baptisms at public events.
May
• Memorial Day weekend: Erik Patterson and his family are at Cedar Point. Militias and
Klan are there to “keep law and order” at the park. A fight breaks out, the militias open
fire on innocent bystanders, and Erik’s mother—a veteran—kills three militia members,
including the Grand Dragon of Ohio. Erik’s mother is tried in a sham trial, found guilty of
first degree murder, and dies in prison shortly thereafter.
June
• Increasing numbers of journalists returning to ports of entry are questioned and
detained by CBP. Several are jailed.
July
• Hurricane Bailey devastates the Gulf Coast. The fishing and tourism industries are hit
hard. The economy tanks in Louisiana and Mississippi. The Texas and Florida economies
are generally able to withstand much of the economic devastation, but not all of it.
August
• There are droughts in the Midwest and great plains, leading to food shortages.
• Lori Conway’s daughter Brielle is born.
• Mike Ritter leaves Nebraska and moves to Maryland in order to be closer to D.C. and to
try to effect change in some way.
October
• Supreme Court term begins.
2023
February
• RBG steps down from Supreme Court in the middle of the Court’s term due to severe
illness. William Barr is nominated to replace her. The Senate confirmation hearings are
heated and get dangerous when a Barr supporter—aided by sympathetic Capitol
Police—brandishes a gun during the hearings.
• Barr’s nomination is put on hold. The Court remains at 8 justices.
May – June, the “Summer of Blood”
• Roe v. Wade overturned, 6 – 2. Protestors surround the court building, demanding
entry. Counter-protestors surround the protestors. The protests turn violent and there
are severe injuries.
• Supreme Court hears a 2nd amendment case; further loosening gun restrictions. Second-
amendment activists defy D.C. law and openly carry weapons on a march to the Court
building, where they’re met by gun-control activists. One person is killed and five
injured in the resulting protests.
August
• Ryan Hirota begins law school.
• The midwestern drought passes its one-year mark. Farmers are losing everything;
suicide is the leading cause of death among farmers. Lori’s husband Bob takes his life.
Lori and Brielle move in with Lori’s mother, Sharon.
2024
January
• Facebook announces that it plans to digitize human DNA and make it available to future
generations. After worldwide protests, Facebook backtracks and kills the plan.
June
• Members of the Christian militias begin to take over the state governments of Idaho,
Kentucky, and Oklahoma.
August
• Two sisters, ten-year-old Ana Carter and her eight-year-old sister Gabriela, are spotted
walking along a highway outside Buffalo, NY. An investigation reveals that the girls are
among the thousands of migrant children who were held in detention centers at the
U.S.-Mexico border in 2019, separated from their birth parents, and then adopted by
Christian families in the U.S. Attempts to reunite the sisters with their family of origin
are unsuccessful.
November
Nov. 1
Starbucks introduces a limited-edition ChristmaKwanzakkah holiday spice latte.
It’s all that anyone can talk about. Protests and counter protests ensue.
President Pence encourages the protesters to engage in peaceful protests.
Nov. 5, Election Day
It’s suspected that Russia again hacks into voting equipment, this time in
Minneapolis and Philadelphia, giving Minnesota and Pennsylvania to Pence.
• On the Saturday after Election Day, protesters come to Washington. The crowd
is small; fatigue is setting in. There are only a few arrests.
• Generally speaking, Americans are exhausted and just want to crawl under the
covers.
Nov. 10
Starbucks discontinues the ChristmaKwanzakkah holiday spice latte.
December
• Pence shuts down the Federal Government from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day
as a time of national prayer and reflection.
2025
January
Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.
Crowds on the mall are small and subdued. Alt-right groups,
militias, and affiliated groups release deep-fake videos and photo-shopped images of the
inauguration ceremony.
February
• Pence is forced out of office by so-called allies in the Senate. It is believed to be due to an undisclosed scandal.
• Pence’s V.P.--former pastor and Oklahoma congressman Frank Wallace--becomes
president.
• Wallace gives a major speech on the Nature of Forgiveness. It’s poorly delivered and
poorly received by those on the left and the right.
May
• Wallace proves to be an inept president. He’s insufficiently conservative for the
conservative base and scarily conservative for moderates and liberals. Americans across
the political spectrum are feeling abandoned and unheard.
September
• There’s another periodic call for abolishing the Electoral College. Mike Ritter joins a
Maryland activist group calling for the EC’s abolishment.
• Congress begins to pay attention to the calls for the EC’s abolishment.
2026
January
• A Kentucky referendum is passed, requiring public schools to adhere to a “biblically
based” curriculum. Science teachers revolt and walk off the job. Private schools
(excluding religious ones), are generally unaffected and follow their own curricula. Some
teachers in public charter schools devise workarounds to avoid teaching to the new
curriculum.
March
• The constitution is amended to abolish the electoral college. There are scattered
protests in Wyoming, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, and Kansas.
May
• Ryan Hirota graduates from law school and joins a big firm.
2028
November
Election Day brings some surprises
• Democrat Elise Denton becomes the first woman president. Much like Barack Obama,
Denton campaigns as a liberal but ends up governing more from the center than not.
• The Texas State Senate flips from Republican to Democrat.
• The right takes to the streets with guns to foment an armed rebellion.
• The left decides to fight back in a big way.
December
• The Open Carries is founded in Seneca Falls, NY. They’re a liberal feminist open-carry
advocacy group. Interested in fighting back against the militias.
2029
January
• President Denton is sworn in and promises a top-to-bottom government cleanup.
“Cleanup” begins, but nothing is really implemented.
• Plans to undo the appointments of federal judges fall through
• Rescues of abducted/disappeared migrant children don’t happen
• Migrant families are not reunited in any significant numbers
• Plans to reopen the country to refugees stall. Only a few thousand
refugees are admitted in 2029.
April
• President Denton’s supporters begin to lose patience with her governance. She’s not
sufficiently liberal and is too willing to compromise with Republicans. She strikes up a
friendship with the Senate Majority Leader, Republican Theresa Mahoney. This irks both
Republicans and Democrats.
• Ryan Hirota opens his food truck.
May
• Oklahoma’s governor proposes that Texas conservatives who are unhappy with the
Texas State Senate’s flip secede from Texas and join Oklahoma. The governor endorses
a plan for the unhappy Texans to demand ballot referendums in their counties, thus
demanding that their county leave Texas and join Oklahoma.
• Several referendums are passed and the Texas Panhandle votes to secede from
Texas...but not to join Oklahoma.
• The Panhandle secedes and names itself the Texas Republic. This ticks off the rest of
Texas.
• Reporters begin report on life in the Texas Republic. Over the coming years, the
reporters are alternately welcomed and shunned by residents of the new republic.
2030
April
• Mike Ritter goes to the Lincoln Memorial. Approaches the statue and attempts to climb
it. National Park Service and Park Police order him away from the statue, guns drawn.
He begins shooting; Trey Melendez runs towards the gunfire. Ritter detonates his
suicide vest. 85 people are killed.
• Sebastien Dakeyo is detained and questioned, then deported to Senegal.
• Ryan Hirota tends to a gravely injured Nadine Dakeyo and rescues several others during the emergency
response.
• Lori’s daughter Brielle and mother Sharon are killed in the panic ensuing from the
attack.
• The memorial is damaged by bullets and shrapnel, but is otherwise intact.
• After the attack, the memorial is surrounded by scaffolding and shrouded in black.
There’s a 24/7 military presence to guard the memorial. The memorial remains
shrouded and guarded for a year. The Reflecting Pool is closed and guarded for that
year, as well.
May
• In the spirit of patriotism and unity, President Denton declares that the remaining
monuments will remain open. The monuments are guarded by a 24/7 military
presence, and there’s much debate about this decision in the media.
• Sean Harrison records his cover of “America the Beautiful.” It’s played frequently over
the course of the summer and becomes both a hit and a comforting prayer for those
who are looking for comfort. It’s especially resonant on Memorial Day, 2030.
June
• The Smithsonian museums remain open, but with limited hours and availability. Paid
tickets are required for admission; the fees from the tickets are used to finance security
upgrades to the buildings and exhibits.
• Smithsonian docents are given extensive security training. Smithsonian security
personnel are given docent training. This practice becomes widely adopted my many
museums over the next several years.
September
• Dr. Alicia Lapointe-Smith, a professor of art history at Williams College, gives a talk on
memory and meaning-making. Her talk goes viral in academic circles and she’s
considered to be a thought leader. She occasionally appears on cable news shows and is
a favorite guest of CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
2031
February
• Talks begin about building a museum to commemorate and heal from the attack in D.C.
Some survivors and families of those killed in the attack form The National Committee
to Build a Museum of National Reconciliation (NCBMNR). They begin a modest
fundraising campaign.
• Dr. Lapointe-Smith is asked about the potential museum on CNN. She is wholeheartedly
in favor of the museum and cleverly positions herself as its potential director. Donations
begin to pour in to the NCBMNR.
• On the one-year anniversary of the attack, Erik Patterson gives his TEDx talk, The Eight
Masks We All Wear. It’s a talk that links back to his earlier experiences at Cedar Point
and the death of his mother. His talk goes massively viral. He becomes a leading voice
on civil rights and an intellectual agitator.
July
• Lidia Norte, an independent freelance reporter, goes missing in the Texas
Republic.
September
Sept. 5
Unemployment numbers are released and are significantly worse than
was forecast.
December
Dec. 1
Starbucks announces that it’s closing over 80 stores across the country.
Dec. 15
Dollar General announces that it’s opening 25 new stores across the
country. Applicants camp out in long lines to apply for the jobs.
2032
January
Jan. 15
Dollar General begins opening its new stores.
February
• Sean Harrison begins a year-long tour across the country.
• The NCBMNR recruits Dr. Lapointe-Smith to lead the fundraising efforts for the new
museum.
July
• Sean Harrison is asked in an interview about his thoughts on President Denton. He notes
that he’s not really pleased with the job she’s doing, but he understands that she’s
doing the best she can. When pressed, he admits that he voted for Denton.
• Many of Sean’s fans boycott him. Some armed groups follow him around the country to
intimidate him. The more Sean tries to engage with the groups, the more damage he
does to his fan base. Liberals across the country take up the cause to support Sean and
he gains thousands of new liberal fans.
• TJ Ballantine, a photographer with the Associated Press, goes missing in the Texas
Republic.
August
Aug. 1
A heat wave strikes the Midwest and East Coast.
Aug. 3
Russia’s long-dormant Fancy Bear cyber espionage group launches a major hack
into American utilities. Electrical grids on the Eastern Seaboard and on the west coast
crash. There are numerous heat-related deaths in New York City. Fires devastate
pockets of California.
Aug. 5
Chef José Andrés deploys his group, World Central Kitchen, to areas devastated
by the fires and the heat. Still on tour, but unable to perform in New York given the
damage, Sean Harrison volunteers with Andrés, further enraging his former fans and
delighting his new fans.
Aug. 10
Power is restored to the west and east coasts.
September
Sept. 11
Fancy Bear targets all cell phones in the U.S. by launching the “happytime”
virus. It’s immediately unclear what damage the virus has done and until an assessment
is made, all cell phones manufactured and purchased after Aug. 3, 2032 are considered
unstable and open to further hacking.
October - Halloween
• There are rumors of a potential cyber attack scheduled to hit hospitals and schools on or
around Oct. 31. Under an abundance of caution, schools across the nation are closed.
Hospitals are physically guarded and administrators hire cyber-security experts and
engineers to remain on-site. The rumored cyber attack never happens.
November
• President Denton loses the election to conservative Congressman and former militia
member John T. Grant, a descendent of Ulysses S. Grant.
• Ryan Hirota elected to the U.S. Senate; he’s among the youngest ever elected.
• The NCBMNR launches its end-of-year fundraising campaign. Donations are steady, but
relatively meager. Dr. Lapointe-Smith contacts Sean and asks him to record a fundraising
video. The video is released and donations skyrocket.
December
• Univision reporter Felipe Fábriga and NPR reporter Mikaela Dennis go missing in the
Texas Republic.
• President Grant addresses a joint session of Congress, generally condemning the
apparent abduction of the reporters, but then drops in a hint that their disappearance
was divine punishment for reporting lies and falsehoods.
• Grant declares a mandatory national Time of Prayer and Reflection by shutting down
the Federal Government from Christmas Eve through Jan. 3. Government grinds to a
halt.
• A design competition is announced for the construction of the museum. Both
professional and lay architects submit designs. Most of them are awful.
2033
January
• KVPN radio report of the missing four reporters.
• The NCBMNR names Dr. Lapointe-Smith as its director. There’s infighting about the
ultimate mission of the museum. Is it to commemorate the attack of 2030 or to open
itself up to a bigger mission of examining the meaning of American reconciliation?
Survivors and families want it to focus on the attack and its causes; the NCBMNR board
and major donors want it to focus on reconciliation, with the attack as one “data point”
in the larger story of American dissent, identity, and healing. Dr. Lapointe-Smith
personally leans toward the “reconciliation” camp, but publicly keeps an open mind.
February
• Sean returns to his home town of Amarillo (a city in the Texas Republic) to wrap up his
year-long tour. He’s abducted and held in a Christian compound/prison. He’s there for 4
years and writes numerous songs while imprisoned.
March
• Texas-born visual artist Liv Soroyan goes into hiding.
• The NCBMNR narrows down the architectural submissions to two finalists. Neither is
particularly compelling, but a decision must be made. It’s discovered that one of the
designs was submitted by President Grant’s son-in-law. The other was submitted by a
man with ties to the American militias. More chaos. The designs are put on hold.
August
• Sebastien enrolls at the University of Connecticut.
November
• Lidia Norte, TJ Ballantine, Felipe Fábriga, and Mikaela Dennis are executed by hanging in
the Texas Republic.
• Liberal groups from across the country travel to Texas and set up an encampment at the
Texas/Texas Republic border to protest the killings.
• Missy Francisco drives to Texas and camps out at the border.
• The border encampment is small, but intense. Everyone’s armed. Tensions are high.
2034
January
• The Open Carries join the Texas encampment. Members of the “Free Sean” movement
join the encampment.
• President Grant gives his State of the Union Address. In the visitors’ gallery is the
president of the Texas Republic. Grant sees this as a gesture of goodwill to the new
Republic.
• The NCBMNR puts out a call for artifact donations. Donations come pouring in, but
many of them are not compelling enough, according to the board. Families and
survivors want all of the artifact donations to be included.
March
• President Grant visits the Texas Republic and makes a trip to the border.
• Missy Francisco, a leader of the “Free Sean” movement who’s been in the encampment,
asks Grant to negotiate with the Texas Republic to release Sean. Grant listens, but does nothing
facilitate Sean's release. Missy remains at the border.
April
• Lori begins following the development of the new museum. She considers donating
Brielle’s t-shirt, then decides against it, given the confusion over donations.
• Missy returns home to Burlington, Vermont and starts writing letters to Sean.
2035
February
• Liv Soroyan paints “The Hangers” under a pseudonym (“Simmons”).
• General Melinda Robles announces her plan to run for president. Politically, she’s what
would be considered an old-time moderate Republican: strong on defense and national
security; a capitalist. Older Americans compare her political philosophy and demeanor
to that of General Colin Powell. She campaigns as a “non-partisan American.” Her
informal campaign slogan—“Work with me, here”—is coined by comedian and SNL cast
member Ellie Bryan, SNL’s Robles impersonator. Robles embraces the slogan and
embarks on a summer-long bus tour. Bryan joins her on a leg of the tour.
2036
November, Election Day
• President Melinda Robles is elected president.
• She’s elected—this is not a coup--but often wears her uniform to remind people who she is.
December
• A major donor to the museum has connections to the Zuckerberg Family Foundation.
There’s an emergency board meeting called to determine the way forward, as Facebook
has become a polarizing force among board members...and among Americans in
general. It’s decided that the donor will approach the foundation; this decision is kept
under wraps.
2037
January
Inauguration Day. President Robles’ speech is calming, sober, determined. Media
coverage is positive.
• More artifact donations are collected.
March
• Sean Harrison is released from prison in the Texas Republic. He heads to Vermont to
meet Missy Francisco, curious about the woman he’s been corresponding with.
May
• Hurricane Mike devastates central Florida. Walt Disney World is closed and remains so
through December.
• In a wildly quick process, the Zuckerberg Foundation’s funding is secured, with the
caveat that the museum’s building will be located off the Mall.
• News of the museum’s appeal to the Zuckerberg Foundation is leaked to the media. This
further splits the board, donors, and families.
• Sean and Missy get married.
2038
• Sebastien graduates from U.Conn. Sen. Hirota is the commencement speaker.
• Erik publishes a book that’s loosely based on his TEDx talk.
• A second call for museum designs is issued.
• The museum finally secures a location. It will be built on a parcel of land along 14th
Street, NW, on the site of an old movie theater. An architectural design is submitted by
an unknown architecture student. The design incorporates the old and the new: the
façade of the movie theater and several of the adjacent buildings will serve as the front
of the museum. A large, modern building will be built on the parcel of land behind it. To
accommodate the museum, private homes and small independent businesses will be
bought out from under their owners; long-time residents of the neighborhood will be
forced to move.
• Neighborhood activists protest the building of the museum and stage sit-ins at
NCBMNR’s offices on K Street, NW. The protests continue into 2039.
2039
• Museum programming and planning are officially underway. The calendar of talks and
lectures is developed.
• Hiring has begun for conservators, curators, and administrators.
• Plans are well underway for the museum’s dedication ceremony.
• There’s infighting among the museum board, scholars, and curators regarding the Ritter
tape. Should it be part of the collection or not?
• Families, survivors, curators, and museum scholars insist that the tape be part of the
collection; the board and donors insist that it be archived in the collection but never
shown.
• A national search is announced for a museum director. The board assures Dr. Lapointe-
Smith that the search is merely a formality; the board wants Dr. Lapointe-Smith to be
the museum director and names her Acting Director while the search is conducted.
• Dr. Lapointe-Smith appears on cable news shows and the radio to talk up the museum.
She appears from time to time on NPR’s “Build This!”, a show about architecture and
planning.
• The board conducts its search for a director. They again assure Dr. Lapointe-Smith that
the search is a formality.
• President Robles officially kicks off her reelection campaign.
2040
• The preliminary list of panelists and special guests is developed. There’s no question
that Sean will be invited, but several board members insist that he not sit on the panel.
This is agreed to.
• Elizabeth O’Neill is invited to speak to the guests, but not sit on the panel.
• After much discussion among the academic advisory board, an invitation is extended to
Erik Patterson, who has been speaking and writing about the unreliability of memory
and history. The board decides that Erik is so prominent and well-respected that it
would be notable if he weren’t invited to speak on the panel.
• There’s no question that Sebastien Dakeyo and Sen. Hirota will be on the panel.
• Dr. Lapointe-Smith submits names of prominent women scholars for the panel. The
academic advisory board agrees to consider the scholars.
• No women are chosen. Lapointe confronts the academic advisory board. Two of the five
suggested scholars have a history of actively agitating against Facebook and Glaxo
Smith-Kline—two major donors of the museum. The remaining three scholars are
notable among academics, but not among the general public and so are not considered.
• Dr. Lapointe-Smith appeals again to both the board and the academic advisory board.
The board strongly suggests to her that she can be replaced with Dr. Robert Hosta, a
leading contender for the museum’s directorship. It’s entirely possible that the board
will in fact hire Hosta over Lapointe-Smith.
• Dr. Lapointe-Smith acquiesces.
• Agents Aquinas and Raney, two former members of the military and the lead security
docents at the National Air and Space Museum, are hired away from NASM and join the
Museum of Reconciliation team.
April: Museum dedication.