Interview with Delilah As I sit in Manhattan, I overhear many different conversations including that of an old woman and man, and two teen boys. I get up quickly to talk to the younger boys, but they give me a sneer. I decide instead to follow the old couple talking about the old days rather than the cameras all over the walls. The older woman seems to be nostalgically telling a story. Her animated nature makes the old man look very stiff. The older man looked behind himself after hearing me panting, and sighed. Old Man: Are you following us!? Emma: No actually, well yes. I was hoping to interview you two. I’m writing a piece on the new country... I’m from upstate New York. Old Woman: Oh wow, yeah. I’ll absolutely take part in something like this. Old Man: I’m going to leave you two to it. I don’t want to. Old Woman: Goodbye dear! I’ll meet you in Whole Foods in a few minutes. I write down in my notebook before I forget that Whole Foods is still an establishment in this time. We exchange names and greet one another, and I tell her about what I happened to overhear as she walked by. She seems delighted that I was interested. I didn’t get a good look at her husband’s face but he has chocolate brown skin and grayish hair. He wore a plaid shirt tucked into a pair of Wrangler jeans. The lady introduces herself as Delilah. She has short white hair, almond eyes, and skin darker than her husbands. She stands at about 5’4”, and has some wrinkles between her brows, as well as some smile lines.. Other than that and her white hair, she shows no sign of age. Emma: So let’s start some questions. Tell me, what do you remember from the “old days” you were referencing. Delilah: Well, I’m 63 right now meaning that I’ve been around much longer than a lot of these people. I remember when everything was stirring within the world, and that cameras were in Walmart’s, and you could see yourself and they could see you. Shoplifters did that, don’t you know. Those who stole brought on this and the world before that. Emma: Yeah... I getcha. I don’t really know a lot about what it’s like here. I got here around a week ago. Delilah: Well let’s go over here and I’ll give you the fastest rundown you’ve ever heard! We move over into a small courtyard that’s open. I wonder why she can’t talk on the sidewalk with me, but I chalk it up to her not wanting to be in the way of anyone. Delilah takes the initiative to begin the conversation. Delilah: Sorry about that, we can’t talk about that sort of thing out there. There’s cameras all over, haven’t you noticed!
She gives me a concerned look, slightly worrying me. Delilah: This is how it works here. Basically, there are cameras everywhere. They can hear you and see you in places you can’t see them. In stores, they make it obvious to deter any stealing. But things are different from when I was younger and they hung them in certain store aisles, like the cosmetics... They’re everywhere, even where you can’t see them. I don’t know why. They’re filming us in areas that you can’t even see. And the worst thing is is that you don’t know when you’ll get in trouble for doing the thing that you did. Every employee in the store is aware of it if you steal something, but they’ll just let you walk out. But no crime rates are broadcasted anywhere here, or outside. It’s just something the people know from the beginning when we moved here. Emma: What happened when you moved here? Delilah: When we decided to stay here in NYC, after the revolt that kicked out all of the white people in power, and who were living in those uppity apartments, everyone was notified in advertisements and texts and all that that there was going to be a screening of a very important message by the person in power. Emma: And that’s ________ right? I just want to confirm things are accurately published in America. Delilah smiles warmly at me, and confirms. Delilah: We didn’t really have a choice to watch it, because somehow it showed up on everyone’s phones. _______ explained that the cameras are just to make sure that things don’t go wrong in the first years of our new nation. He said we can’t embarrass the nation, or everyone in the world will laugh at us, because they’re watching us. He was so well spoken, and powerful. It sort of took off the edge, putting it like that. Emma: Like what? Delilah: That the cameras were just to make sure nothing wrong would happen to embarrass us. I know I don’t want to do anything wrong to make the world laugh at me. But now, the cameras are still up, and nothing has been said about any crime happening. I’m convinced everyone knows about it and is discussing it under the radar. And I’m sure that nearly everything said was a fear tactic. Because after that, he announced that the government was offering free erasure of memory of anything bad. They have technology for it. The only thing making me hesitate about this story is that it seems like she’s opening up very fast to a stranger. I don’t know the reason she would have to lie to me though? Delilah tears up, and wipes at her eyes. I put my hand on her shoulder and she laughs. Delilah: I wish that things didn’t get so destructive, co-existing with whites just didn’t work though. She laughs again. Isn’t that funny I’m saying that though when talking with you...? ... I wish my husband hadn’t chosen to remove the bad memories. I wish that no one did actually. When you choose to forget completely about what you saw with your own eyes, then people begin to believe only what they’re told. A book might say one thing and I might
remember another. My account equals nothing to the books children read or the documentaries they watch. Nothing is real unless it’s printed. No one has reliable memories... It’s all about governmental manipulation. People are living in fear now, and nothing is being done. The government advocates for us to forget, and assimilate. They say life is better when you don’t remember. Some people I don’t want to even leave their apartments. ..... Can you change names in whatever you’re writing? Emma: Yes, of course. Delilah: Okay. I know a lot of people, a huge number of people in a group aiming to work against this. And I know this is a lot to think about, but I’d like to take you there with me. I’ve always thought we should tell the outside about this before to get help from this leader. It’s just really fucked up. I talk with her a bit off the record comforting her. Irrelevant to interview. Emma: You mentioned the youth before, can you explain a bit more about the relationship between age groups? Delilah: You hear the youth talking about how they want to do whatever they want, complain about the number of cameras, but they seem to forget that they aren’t doing as much as they could be I feel like. But maybe that’s because they’re more impressionable and remember this more than before. Emma: Yeah, I don’t know. Delilah asks to put her number in my phone so that I can reach out if I want to get into this deep underground group working against _______’s authoritative administration. We wave goodbye and part. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I think deeply about what I learned from Delilah, and flip through the notes continuously. It’s shocking to imagine that the cover stories I’ve seen in town aren’t exactly the truth. The propaganda being spread is that everything is going great. I haven’t read any of the articles I’ve gotten yet from the stand and decide I’ll read them before I choose to go with Delilah, and maybe try a teenager to speak to. I’m worried about communicating through any sort of device though because I worry the government is reading along, and what might happen to me? This interview confirms my past worry that nearly everything that seems a bit odd or very very new, aesthetically pleasing, is actually for surveillance, and that my suspicions were right. I take very close notice to everything. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------