It was Rohan’s first time in Atlanta. 90 degrees, as was expected, but there was the small comfort of a wind blowing. He walked down Marietta Street, with the Centennial Olympic Park to his left, wishing he’d opted for something lighter than the charcoal business suit. Looking across the street he saw Austin wave at him from the shade of the valet stand in front of the Omni. Rohan jaywalked across the busy street.
“The intersection was 20 feet to your right.”
Rohan ignored the remark and gave his old roommate a hug.
“Just like old times, huh? Except you’re early this time.”
“Like old times except you’re on fucking CNN, not reading in front of the Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
“Same audience in the end though, isn’t it?”
They stepped inside to grab a drink at the hotel bar.
Once settled, Austin asked, “You read over my notes?”
“Yeah,” Rohan said distractedly, trying to wave down a waiter.
“Will you pay attention? I chatted with a contact there, they smell blood, man. They’re really gonna grill you about the Twitter stuff. And some of the trades that coincided with hacks. Hmm, what else?
Anyway, it was all in there, if you took the time to read it. I hope you’re taking this seriously, might not be the cakewalk you always expect everything to be.”
Rohan chuckled, “I guess it’s a good thing I decided against the seersucker, huh? I thought everyone out here would be dressed like that. Straw boater hats and all.”
Austin shook his head at his friend’s usual insouciance. They chatted a while longer, while Rohan eased his nerves with whisky. He finished his second one in two gulps and again motioned to the waiter.
“Dude, you sure you need another?”
Rohan ignored him and put in an order for another Lagavulin.
“This ain’t my first rodeo, cowboy. Calm yourself. I read over your damn notes.” About an hour later, Rohan was sitting across from Ben Fleck, who’d recently moved his independent show under the major media conglomerate’s umbrella. Rohan took in the greedily decorated set. Ornate paintings, a skull candle holder, an old jukebox and various other decorative objects were strewn about the room, ostensibly designed to look like the living room of a yuppie hoarder. On the coffee table between them were some remotes and magazines. Rohan had to admire the attention to detail. He looked at one of the studio employees for the countdown and the cameras rolled.
“America, I want to introduce you to Rohan Kapoor,” Ben said in the necessarily official introductory voice. “A founder and executive officer of the hedge fund Legion Financial. With him at the helm they’ve had one of the most successful runs of any hedge fund in recent memory, but he’s also aroused quite a bit of controversy. He’s a man who’s been called a danger to our financial system and a rogue in a business suit, though he prefers to think of himself as an economic freedom fighter. Let’s find out his true colors. Rohan, thank you for joining me today.”
“Thanks for having me Ben, it’s a pleasure to be here in the wonderful city of Atlanta,” Rohan said with what he hoped was imperceptible sarcasm.
Austin brought his hand to his forehead, his friend’s flippant attitude having met exactly his expectation.
He’d allowed Rohan to take the offer, despite his better judgment, purely because it was CNN. He was already regretting his decision.
“Legion Financial is a firm that has been accused of using high frequency trading to manipulate the bitcoin market, even traditional futures markets. They’ve had several profitable trades that coincide with major hacking operations by cybercriminals, and most recently, they’re famous for tweeting their trades ahead of time. Now, while they claim it’s to give the average Joe an opportunity to profit like financial insiders, some say it’s simply a crude way of talking their book. While it’s not illegal, it’s definitely considered unethical. Lots to unpack here, so let’s get started.”
Rohan smiled, hardly the unfair and biased intro he’d been expecting.
“Right you are Ben, plenty to talk about. Where should we begin?”
“Well, I’ve said for a long time now that with social media as prevalent as it is, it was going to just be a matter of time before the financial industry found methods of manipulating it. And now, here we have on our very show a prime example of this phenomenon—“
“Before you get any further Ben, and I apologize for cutting you off, but we’re not manipulating social media. We’re expressing truthful views, views we at the firm hold and believe in. That’s hardly manipulation. Now an orthogonal argument could be made that we’re manipulating markets through the manipulation of public sentiment, and I’m not sure I would argue against that myself. But just to be clear, we’re not manipulating social media.”
“Point taken. So you guys, Legion Financial, feel you’re some kind of Robin Hood of the industry? Do I understand it correctly?” Ben looked up from his hands and stared into the camera for effect.
“Robin Hood is such a loaded term, with distinct social and cultural connotations. I side with Derrida that objectivity is impossible, but let’s not abandon the undertaking altogether. Put simply, we do extensive research to make all the pertinent determinations around a trade, the instrument, size, duration, etc.
We present all of our analysis free of cost, detailing specifically for example fraudulent accounting practices or predatory pricing. What we’re doing, is taking this proprietary information and presenting it to the public, free of cost. What people do with it is up to them.”
Rohan suddenly felt his throat drying up. Ben had a bottle of water in front of him. Why did no one think to ask him if he wanted one on his way to the set? He couldn’t help himself.
“Hey Ben, you mind if I take a sip, this climate is a bit of a change from Malta and I’m parched.”
Ben thought Rohan was kidding, and there was an awkward moment of silence between them before he let out an uncomfortable laugh and pushed the bottle forward.
“Ha, haven’t had that happen on set before. Here, go on ahead.”
Composure regained, they forged ahead with the interview.
“So you’ve primarily picked targets in the past that you felt were cheating investors. Companies that had no assets, loads of debt, and very little cash flow—“
Again Rohan jumped in, “Easy prey, precisely.”
Ben hid his annoyance and continued, “So you identify these easy targets, the obviously insolvent companies that have been pumped up by shameless promoters, and you take it upon yourself to bring them crashing down. In many ways, you’re no different from the promoters themselves, wouldn’t you agree?”
“You’re right, up to a point. The biggest difference is that we give away this information before we act on it. A common pump-and-dumper will hype up a stock he holds, and then once it’s inflated they sell out and bring the stock crashing down. You can see how the end result might be a little different, right? We tell people a company to short, and only after all the shorts are piled on, effectively cutting into our own return, do we put the full force of Legion Financial behind the trade. Every call we’ve tweeted has made our followers money. There’s a reason a small shop out of Malta’s got almost as many followers on Twitter as CNN.”
Ben adjusted his glasses, “Ok, ok, so you’re giving away information, fair enough. What about some of Legion’s trades that coincide with hacking incidents? Is that a fair concern, that you’re somehow involved with these instances of cyberterror?”
“Whoa, Ben, cyberterror? Little early in the conversation to be bringing up the T-word isn’t it?"
"Is it not a valid concern? Terrorism is one of the biggest problems we face today. Why shouldn't it be a part of the conversation?"
"Because that's exactly how you get a police state. By talking about some nebulous yet perpetual danger, all the time. I'll say simply this, let's not make a mountain out of a mole hill. The total number of people that have been killed in America since it's inception by terrorism, and you can take the broadest definition of terror you want, does not warrant the destruction of millions of lives nor the expenditure of trillions of dollars on the destruction of trillions of dollars more worth of stuff."
"Maybe not, but that doesn't excuse your involvement, if there is any. What do you say to people who claim your firm is conspiring with these elements?"
"Ok, I'll address the allegations. That's fair. Legion Financial has no direct involvement in any illegal activities, including instances of cybercrime. But I’d be remiss in saying that we have no intelligence gathering mechanisms in place that occasionally warn us of impending attacks. A lot of this stems from our old Cryptonomy days, but some of the connections are more recent. If Stratfor provides your company with intelligence, say that the Chinese are moving a fleet of cruisers near the Senkaku Islands and you short the Nikkei as a result, are you doing anything illegal? Is Stratfor? Has anyone scrutinized to this extent the traders shorting United Airlines before 9/11?” Ben adjusted himself in his seat, finding a more comfortable angle to observe the man whose baby— faced appearance belied his dangerous sensibilities.
“So you don’t have any concerns for the victims of these cyberattacks? No remorse for not informing proper authorities that could potentially prevent these malicious hacks that result in lost data and millions of dollars in losses?”
“What you have to understand, is that these people are using technology as a form of resistance. The attacks we’ve had foreknowledge of are not arbitrary. These actors have a level of sophistication that cannot easily be shrugged off. Nothing about these operations is haphazard and this is exactly why the terrorist meme is so convenient. We have an image of terrorists as uncouth, uncivilized, intellectually vacant shells filled with animosity and hatred. Now when a technologically savvy, socially tolerant and economically advantaged group of individuals engage in activities against our constructed order, now that challenges one’s thinking, doesn’t it? That’s the power these actors hold. And, while we don’t aid or abet any illegal activities, as we’ve often repeated, we’re not exactly repudiating the actions from which we profit in the short term…” Rohan took another sip from Ben’s bottle before finishing, “typically through E-mini futures.”
“Just incredible, you guys are actually taking the side of cybercriminals! This is beyond dangerous, you’re trying to provide legitimacy to those who unilaterally decide what’s right and wrong. That’s not democratic. Who are they to decide, who’s right or wrong? This is why we have a criminal justice system! You’re not arguing that vigilantism is the answer, are you?”
“Of course it’s not democratic Ben. That’s the whole point. Genuine individual expression by definition can’t be democratic. How can we be expected to be democratic when democracy is just code for accepting the prevailing attitude of the ruling class? We’ve been culturally conditioned to accept all unfavorable outcomes as the unfortunate byproduct of our prized system of Democracy. Which Doug Casey brilliantly points out is just mob rule dressed up in a suit and tie.”
Ben was disturbed by the fact that his guest chose to display his radicalism so brazenly. A defense of vigilantism was not often seen on primetime television.
“Surely you’re not serious. Democracy is the system we’ve agreed upon in this country, it’s what the social contract is dependent upon. It’s a system where each individual voice is heard and recognized. If everyone unilaterally decides whom they wish to punish, we’ll have chaos! Anarchy!”
“If only it were that easy, Ben. What you need to realize, is that it took years and millions upon billions of dollars for us to get to a point where we could cast a real vote in this system that determines winners and losers. Because that’s what we have, in all fairness, a system of deciding winners and losers by decree of politicians, bureaucrats and their financial benefactors. The founding fathers established a republic not a democracy, as you well know, but it was quickly usurped by the imperialist cabal that rules over us today. No, this system would best be described as a technocratic oligarchy, and Legion Financial is our way of having a say in this system. So the political statements I make, and this is really important, the political statements I make are not some byproduct of profit-seeking activity. No, they are a critical use of the podium we’ve constructed for ourselves.” Ben looked at the show’s director and the two exchanged confused glances, before he returned to his notes. After a pause, he began again.
“But what about your investors? You obviously don’t tell them these views on your sales calls. What if they disagree with your radical ideas, you’re using their money towards your own ends. Where are your ethics there?” Rohan, began to get more comfortable with the pace and direction of the interview and leaned back in his seat.
“We’ve been fairly open about our views, honestly, though this is the first real interview any of us have given in such a broad media format. Anyone investing in Legion knows they’re dealing with guys who worked on Cryptonomy and that we were put out of business by the US government. That should be a part of your basic due diligence. The thing is, if you’re an investor who sees the investment opportunity in bitcoin and you don’t want to risk holding it yourself, you don’t really have any other options right now. But all of that is irrelevant, what’s most relevant, and what has made us, if you’ll excuse my language, a big swingin’ dick in this industry, is that we deliver outsized returns, quarter after quarter. We’ve beat all our peers for the duration of time we’ve been in business. Frankly, I don’t think our investors give a damn what we think as long as we continue to deliver those returns.”
“And you’re not worried that some more conscientious among them, will see this interview and begin to withdraw their assets? Forcing a drawdown of your fund?”
“Actually, our redemption period just ended. You see my partner Austin over there,” Rohan pointed off camera, “He only allowed me to do this interview because investors can’t withdraw funds for a whole ‘nother year.” Rohan gave Ben a conspiratorial wink, “You know what that means? We have a 12 months to play before anyone can do anything about it. And boy, it’s going to be a long year for the reigning champs.”
Ben felt he finally found an opening, “See, that cavalier attitude is exactly what draws so much concern. You talk of manipulating markets like you’re fixing a little league game, but this is serious stuff. Do you have any concern about the consequences of your actions?”
“Of course we have concerns Ben, we’re deeply concerned. I mean there are plenty of money making opportunities that we pass on, simply because we can’t stomach the macro implications. So you see, you can’t divorce our financial activities from our beliefs. The financial activities are driven by our beliefs and they happen to be very lucrative at the moment. It’s true that we’ve made some bets purely based on the risk-reward profile, but they’re generally small and none go against our core beliefs.”
Moving forward in his seat, Ben asked, “And what exactly are your beliefs?”
“I want to make clear that I don’t speak for anyone else at the firm. We all have our own nuanced views. But me? Well I see liberty and personal sovereignty under threat. Foucault said fascism lives in us all, that desire to dominate and exploit. Well, I think that acceptance of fascism arises from a deep-seeded insecurity. Financial independence is one way to overcome that insecurity, and we want to provide normal people with tools to do just that. Gain financial independence.”
Rohan watched Ben again shift in his chair, he was clearly getting ready to make a point.
“See, I don’t buy that. I think all this Foucault, Derrida, post-modernist philosophy, it’s just a front for unethical behavior: manipulation of markets, leaking of data, and worst of all profiting from cybercrime.”
“And you’re entitled to that opinion, of course, but you see, in our view we’re simply resisting. What are we resisting? The collectivization of the economy? The institutionalization of the human psyche? The extortion of human activity? Maybe all of it. I can tell you one thing though, this is a symbol of rebellion that they cannot make go away. It’s entered the public consciousness and it won’t easily be reversed or eradicated.”
Ben pulled off his spectacles and rubbed his sore eyes. It had been a long career behind the mic, then the camera and lights, speaking with all sorts of disturbed individuals. This one in particular gave him pause, but he couldn’t exactly place why.
“I’m still not buying. Maybe we’re doing this, maybe we’re doing that… What I want to know is why?
What is the real reason behind all this philosophical embellishment?”
“We do it because we decided that the processes, or rather the mechanisms, as they exist today, aren’t the only way.”
“And what does that mean?” Ben challenged.
“It means I don’t believe in Bush versus Clinton. I don’t believe in voting. Nor do I believe this system we call capitalism will cure the ills of poverty, famine, environmental degradation and the corrosion of the social fabric. No Ben, I believe in real politics. Legion Financial is a real, living, breathing, political act. Giving the public actionable information. Information they can decide on their own whether to act on. Information that can be used for good, to fight against fraud, against monopolization, and against a system that’s stacked against the common man. We make it possible for people to do all that without any immediate sacrifice. What’s more 21st century than that? It’s truly a beautiful time when you can profit from disobedience!”
Ben let out a deep sigh. He worried this interview wound end up like the original Forbes takedown that gave the Wolf of Wall Street his name. Would new recruits soon be lining up at their door?
“So where do you go from here? Are you trying to bring down the system or join the system? What do you mean, when you say we are casting our own vote? I’m using your words here.”
Rohan answered slowly, “I would argue, in a way, that we’re doing both. By attempting to destroy the system as it exists today, we’re casting our vote, wouldn’t you agree? I think the reason sentiment like that shocks the establishment, is because generally speaking, people who really look into how things work in the world, come away thinking it’s beyond hope. They feel that everything is so masterfully controlled by the powers that be, that it’s too late to turn the tide. I think that’s an intentional ruse, played to discourage the inquisitive among us. They’ve created the illusion that they are all-powerful, in order to maintain that power. The narrative of omnipotence has to be upheld at all cost or the game is lost, because their hold on power is actually quite tenuous. You’re seeing it now with central banks around the world. People are waking up and realizing the entire contrivance, in actuality, is extremely fragile. Just a nudge could push the whole thing over the edge.”
“Can you elaborate on that?”
“Well, macroeconomically speaking, we all know what’s coming. No one wants to admit it, or talk about it, because it’s like the monster under your bed that can only hurt you if you look under it. Or as Kuroda-san from the Bank of Japan put it, it’s like in Peter Pan: the moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease to be able to do it. When the Federal Reserve, other central banks, the IMF, World Bank and major financial institutions all make projections that diverge wildly from reality, it’s not because they are idiots. These are extremely savvy people we’re talking about. No, they are wrong out of political necessity. They just can’t admit it, because then the jig is up. Everyone knows that the good times must come to an end, it’s just a matter of how long they can be prolonged, and who ultimately benefits from the collapse.”
“Ok, these are obviously some pretty radical things you’re saying here, so let’s back up. Are you saying that public officials are intentionally misleading the public when they make faulty economic predictions? If they are misleading the public, why?”
“So they can set up the rest of the pieces. Never let a good disaster go to waste, right? Doesn’t it feel like everything is accelerating? Ukraine has gone tits up, the middle east is in flames, Argentina has hyperinflation, Europe is broke and flooded with refugees, Japan is in a depression, China is about to have a hard landing, and it’s taking Brazil, Australia and a whole host of others down with it. And that’s not even beginning to mention some of the epidemiological or environmental stuff going on. California’s drought, for example or Fukushima. On top of all that, due to rapid global deforestation we’re in the midst of another mass extinction. The world is about to be shaken to its core. So what better way to set off this powder keg than a financial catastrophe?”
There was a pause as Ben let it sink in.
“Now, I can agree with some of that. We’ve got major crises today, it’s true. But if anything, this demands cooperation and organization. We have to deal with all of these problems together, not individually. We need strong leadership and we have to act united!”
Rohan noticed the look of satisfaction on Ben’s face and acted quickly to wipe it off.
“Ben, I’m glad you said that because this is the biggest point of contention that I have with the status quo. They want to protect the ludicrous idea that all our problems are due to a lack of leadership. That if we could just get the right leader to rally around, we could save the world. This is completely idiotic thinking.”
“How do you mean? Take slavery for example, with Lincoln’s leadership—“
Rohan interrupted him, “Oh, the old Lincoln ended slavery trope. I’m glad we get to poke some holes through that one. I won’t even argue the point that the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t end slavery, because it obviously didn’t. The idea that slavery ended in America by the actions of one white man is just a convenient truth that it is relayed to us over and over. The reality of the role played by the Haitian Revolution, the Jamaican Maroons and other slave rebellions in making slavery an unprofitable venture is totally downplayed. Rather than act, we’re taught to seek out leaders, and hoist up our leaders, or decry our leaders when they eventually fail us. But we’re never taught to take things into our own hands.”
“We could get stuck here arguing about Lincoln and The Civil War, in fact I did just that with Judge Napolitano, but let’s move on. You mentioned earlier you don’t believe in capitalism. What’s your alternative? Where are you trying to drive the world? You don’t honestly doubt the effectiveness of the free market in bringing billions out of poverty or the many other gifts of progress that neoliberalism has bestowed on the world?”
“What we call capitalism today and the free market are two completely different systems. I am definitely for free markets. To be quite clear, I’m not proposing socialism, communism or some kind of agrarian or neotribal society. As much as I loved Daniel Quinn’s novel Ishmael, I’m not arguing we should live in harmony with apes in the jungle. As you can see,” Rohan lifted his arms in a gesture highlighting his wardrobe, “I’m quite well adjusted to life in the concrete jungle myself.”
“So what are you proposing?”
“I’m simply proposing that there are other possible systems than the one we have today. There was global trade before Europeans colonized the rest of the world. Artifacts from China have been found in Africa, and objects from the Western Roman Empire have been found all the way in India. It wasn’t perfect, but you didn’t see wholesale catastrophe when two different cultures interacted. And wholesale catastrophe is the only way to describe the interaction between resource-rich nations of Africa, Asia and South America with the colonial powers of the West. So it’s not that I think we should all be isolated, but that there are more fair and equitable ways of setting up the chess board. When you have all the kings, queens, rooks, bishops and knights, and I’m left with all the pawns, that’s not exactly a fair setup, now, is it? I think we can do better, in fact, we really have no other choice. You asked earlier why we’re doing what we’re doing and I was waxing philosophically. Let me break it down, what we want to do is disrupt the timing and the orchestration of the eventual collapse of the economic system. We realize how dependent the agenda is on precise timing and complete control, after all prevalent social attitudes have to be primed so the disaster has the intended impact. Which by now, you can probably guess is…”
Ben shook his head, “I can’t even begin to guess Rohan. I can’t even begin…”
“The intended impact is to have a populace that screams to the government to end the chaos through control. Greater control over markets, over prices, over the basic necessities of life like water and power. And not only do they wish to expand their domain over all human activity, they want to consolidate that control among fewer and fewer actors at the top. We’re already seeing this with organizations like the UN, the EU, IMF, G8, OPEC, and others. As you can tell they have a penchant for acronyms. But it extends to the Trilateral Group, Bilderberg, the Council on Foreign Relations and who knows what else. All I do know is that these people meet in secluded resorts around the world with excessive security, where they enjoy fine dining and the best wine, paid for by you and me, while they discuss, advise and theorize over global politics. If you do even a modicum of internet research you know it’s those people, not your local congressman or parliamentarian, that ultimately control your fate.”
A surprised look came over Ben’s face and Rohan wondered if it was genuine or purely for the camera.
“I’m inclined to agree, at least partially. It’s true, there’s been a power shift away from local politics to national-level politics and from there to intergovernmental organizations and agencies. But what you’re advocating won’t solve the problems that you yourself said we face today as a society. You want to destroy all the progress we’ve made since the Magna Carta, but you never once offer a viable alternative. No one is willing to go down the path you’d set us on.”
“Ben, that’s not the point. The current path isn’t sustainable, full stop. This has nothing to do with what people want. So the question is really what alternative will we settle on? There’s one that will keep the deep state in power, and there are an infinite number of other viable alternatives. I’m fighting for one that’s based on a system of consent rather than coercion. That is the principle issue I have with statist thinking. The idea that our fast cars, microwaved food and video-on-demand can justify the state’s monopoly over theft and violence. If the existing system is so great why is it that it requires the expenditure of billions of dollars in handouts, the establishment and maintenance of a global war machine and complete destruction of privacy to keep it going? That’s a question we’ve all got to ask ourselves.”
Again Ben regained his composure quickly after appearing flustered for a brief moment. He couldn’t let the interview end on a triumphant note for the young malcontent. His generation was simply going through their rebellious years, as his own generation had in the 60s. They too would soon realize the benefits of the status quo and come into the fold.
“So you don’t have a clear alternative to the system as it exists today, you just want to destroy what we as society have worked for years to build. Are we at least safe to assume that you don’t propose violence like some of the more radical members of your generation? Surely, you must agree that civil disobedience is the proper way to go about achieving the change you want.” At this Rohan couldn’t help but laugh, “Civil disobedience? We all saw how well that worked out for MLK, assassinated by the government in cold blood—“
“Completely unsubstantiated claims,” Ben interrupted.
“We’ll leave that for your viewers to decide, since it’s well known that military intelligence was at the location where he was shot, along with Special Forces snipers. There are far too many discrepancies in the official reporting to go over, so let’s return to your initial query. Is violence justified in fighting the system as it exists today? Absolutely. In fact, it’s the only practical answer. There is just no way to fight the system in a peaceful manner. It can only be done through destructive means. You have to meet force with force. Why should one side of the battle hold a monopoly on violence? Of course civil disobedience is glamorized by the media. They would love for us all to have a sit-in to be easily rounded up by the domestic militias. Unfortunately for them, we’re not going to make it so easy. We have no options left but to fight back and we’ll do it through all accessible means. Now please, let me finish before you interrupt,” Rohan saw words begin to form at Ben’s jawline and cut him off. Moving forward in his seat he resumed, “and I hope your editors don’t cut this out, because this is the most important part: People who are watching this, understand one thing, you are either with us or you are against us.
There will be no bystanders. Arm yourselves, do what you can to protect yourself and your loved ones, but most of all, be ready to pick a side. Thank you.” 45 minutes later, Austin and Rohan were cruising the city in their rental, looking for a place to park and get out of the heat.
“Well I’d say that went rather well, don’t you think?” Rohan opene