America: From a Fallen Child Star to the Head of the University of the West

Chapter 100 Saints and Fools

At the University of California, Berkeley campus, in the student café on the south side of the campus, Jason Miller and Sasha Qin sat in their usual corner.

Jason was a tall, thin man with messy brown curly hair, and he wore a shirt printed with the band Blur.

Wearing a grey hoodie with the logo, he's rapidly swiping his phone with one finger.

Sasha, on the other hand, appeared much quieter. Her long black hair was neatly tied back, and she wore thin-rimmed glasses. A thick book on macroeconomics and a laptop were open in front of her, but her attention was clearly not on the book at the moment.

"Oh, let's see what this Martian emperor has to say now." Jason chuckled and turned his phone screen towards Sasha.

Sasha adjusted her glasses and looked at the tweet. It was posted by Elon Musk, just twenty minutes ago: "I just watched @SeanPen's press conference. His 'Let's move forward together' rhyme sounds nice, but the reality is: in a race, the antelope won't wait for the deer. History is written by those who lead. By the way, everyone is welcome to watch our next Starship test flight live—it's a real leap forward." Link: [SpaceX Live Stream Reservation]

The comments section under the tweet has exploded. Top-rated replies are varied: "Elon is right! The weak complain about fairness, the strong create the future at an accelerated pace!!!"

"So ordinary people are just deer to be abandoned?" Is this the honest truth of you tech elites? Foolish dark enlightenment thinkers!

"At least he's frank, isn't he? That sounds much better than all that hypocritical political correctness."

"Is Musk trying to drive traffic to Pan? He's being sarcastic, but actually trying to get more people to watch the press conference?"

"Starship! This time we have to succeed!"

"That guy," Jason put his phone away, took a sip of his now-cold iced Americano, "he's got the internet and data like a pro, just like Sean Penn. It's weird, he became a political superstar in two months, you know, my sister used to like him a lot, but now she doesn't like him as much because he's too pragmatic. He's not as charming as he used to be!"

His father was an FBI agent, and although their relationship wasn't good, he heard from him that his father was the first to know that Sean was running for president. However, nobody believed him; everyone preferred to believe he was Qin Shi Huang.

Sasha sighed softly on the other end. "Perhaps the reality she's describing is because it's filled with too many harsh truths. But isn't what Sean Penn wants to discuss precisely how to prevent reality from becoming so harsh? I think his part about the 'regional innovation center' in his press conference makes a lot of sense. My uncle is in Fresno; after the old farm machinery factory closed, the whole community—"

Before she could finish speaking, Jason's phone vibrated again, this time with a news notification. He glanced at it, his eyebrows shot up, and he whistled.

"Wow, big news! Want to hear it?"

"Damn it," Sasha frowned. "You interrupted me again."

"Ahem, sorry, sorry!" Jason said, then continued reading, "Senator Harris Crane—the guy Sean Penn and that female reporter exposed for having ties to the Avalon Foundation—has just officially filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of California. The lawsuit accuses Sean Penn of defamation, claiming new evidence" that Sean Penn not only knew Avalon was a Ponzi scheme all along, but that the so-called insider list he initially provided to the media was fabricated, intended to frame political opponents and cover up his own involvement."

Sasha was puzzled. "What? This—this is too outrageous! Wasn't it investigated clearly at the time? Sean Penn was also a victim, and he even apologized and refunded the platform fee."

“Legally speaking, ‘thorough investigation’ and ‘prosecution’ are two different things.” Jason’s eyes gleamed with the excitement of watching a dramatic show. “Cran is desperate, or—a last-ditch effort. He’s trying to muddy the waters. Prosecution itself will generate headlines, and regardless of the outcome, it will label Sean Penn as being ‘indicted’ for fraud. In an election year, that’s a fatal stain on the reputation of many voters who don’t pay much attention to details.”

Although Sean has already taken on many challenges, there are always countless more waiting for him!

Jason quickly scanned the news details: "Cran also held an emergency press conference, saying the American people have the right to know whether this self-proclaimed reformer was a fraud from the start." Old tactic, but effective.

After hearing this, Sasha picked up her phone and searched for related news. Sure enough, major news websites had already followed up with their updates.

"Fox News is already pushing it as their headline—the comments section is unbearable. A lot of people are ignoring the evidence and just saying, 'Look, I knew this guy was no good.'"

"That's politics." Jason put his phone on the table, leaned back, put his hands behind his head, and looked at the leaves above. "Truth often crumbles in the face of narrative. Crane's narrative is a dirty political frame-up," while Sean needs to construct a narrative of the desperate counterattack of vested interests. "Now let's see whose story is more believable!"

Inside the café, students at several other tables had clearly also received the notification. A buzz of discussion arose, with occasional snippets of words like "Sean Penn," "prosecution," and "Avalon" audible.

"What do you think, Jason?" Sasha looked at Jason. She knew that although her boyfriend was quick-witted and loved to criticize, he actually had a very sharp political sense and could always see things beyond simple left-right frameworks. "Could Sean Penn really be a fraud? Or is Crane slandering him?"

“I don’t know if he’s a saint,” Jason said slowly, unusually serious, “but he’s definitely not a fool. If he was really deeply involved in the Avalon scam, he was lucky to have cleared himself of all charges back then. Why would he willingly jump into the more dangerous quagmire of politics now? It doesn’t make sense.”

"More likely, Crane has been cornered. Sean's momentum is building, and his status as an independent candidate allows him to attract people who are disillusioned with both parties, which threatens some people's base. So, the most direct way is to stall him with legal battles or discredit him."

He laughed and said, "However, using this trick now might be a bit too late, and—it might backfire."

"What do you mean?"

"Look," Jason said, counting on his fingers, "First, Sean Penn is no longer the has-been star who suddenly appeared two months ago, relying solely on gossip to maintain his popularity. He has a fairly clear policy stance, a team that seems to be working, and a group of supporters who have started to take him seriously because of the debates and press conferences. Second, and most importantly—"

He leaned forward. "We all know that in this day and age, voter fatigue and scandal-induced numbness have reached their peak. Every day brings new accusations, new reversals. Unless there's irrefutable evidence like video recordings, many people are too lazy to delve into the 'he sues me for defamation, I countersue him for slander' drama. They're more concerned with: Can this guy say something relevant to my life?"

Let me tell you something you might not know! This is really not some internet joke!

Sasha nodded thoughtfully. She thought of her uncle's Fresno neighborhood, where people were more concerned with job opportunities, children's schooling, and healthcare costs than with how many legal papers politicians in Washington or Los Angeles were throwing at each other.

"So, Crane's move might not be able to hurt Sean's core?" she asked.

"It might not be able to hurt him, but it certainly won't kill him," Jason said. "It might even give Sean an opportunity. Look, there are already comments under the news: 'What, the veteran can't beat the newbie, so they resort to legal weapons?' And what about those who support Pan? At least what he said is human, more substantial than these indictments."

Sure enough, Sasha refreshed the comments section of the news app and found that similar voices were increasing. While there were still many comments attacking Sean, voices defending and questioning Crane's motives were also forming a significant wave.

"It's also possible that Sean's team put in the effort."

"Yes, that's possible."

Just then, Sasha's computer popped up an email notification. It was an activity announcement from the school's Political Science Association:

Invited Discussion: Technology, Employment, and Us Time: This Friday evening at 7 PM Location: Room 200, Durant Hall Content: This discussion will explore the economic future under technological change, focusing on the policy framework recently proposed by independent presidential candidate Sean Penn. Invited guests include economics professors and engineering researchers from our university, as well as representatives from Sean Penn's California youth liaison team. All students are welcome to participate in a rational discussion!

"Wow, that's fast." Jason also saw the screen. "The press conference was only two days ago, and they've already followed up with a campus discussion. This California youth liaison representative" is probably a newly recruited student or a recent graduate. This team's execution doesn't seem like a disorganized mess.

"Do you want to go?" Sasha asked.

Jason said frankly, "Let's go check it out. We've got nothing else to do tonight anyway. It's better to hear what they have to say than just read tweets and news headlines. Besides—"

He smiled. "I want to see how competent that so-called youth liaison representative is. If all they can do is read from a script, that'll be too boring."

Sasha smiled too; she knew Jason's interest had actually been piqued.

Meanwhile, the chatter in the café gradually subsided, and the students returned to their books or computers, but the unease from the news still lingered in the air.

In the distance, the campus loudspeakers faintly broadcast reminders about the upcoming primary voter registration. The political season of 2024 had already permeated every corner of this ivory tower.