DISCLOSURE EYES/ fanfiction
Synopsis:
In the neon-lit sprawl of New Eden, the Joker unleashes his latest scheme: the “Mockingbird Media Fiasco,” a viral wave of absurdist fake news that twists facts into farce. Headlines spiral into nonsense—“Gotham River Flows Upward!” “Batman Admits He’s a Capybara!”—paralyzing the city with confusion. Amid the chaos, the Eden Riddler, a reformed enigma-turned-philosopher, detects a pattern in the madness: a looping paradox, eerily reminiscent of an ancient riddle…
Act I: The Paradox Unspooled
Riddler deciphers Joker’s code, finding the scrambled phrase “HOW AMINOTMYSELF?” hidden in the fake news algorithms. “It’s an anagram,” he mutters, rearranging the letters. “Thales.” The pre-Socratic sage who sought eternal truths in water’s simplicity. “Joker’s weaponizing uncertainty—flooding minds with lies. To beat him, we need a fountain of truth,” Riddler grins. Batman nods: “A paradox to break a paradox.”
Act II: The Riddle’s Ripple
The duo hacks into Joker’s broadcast, replacing his nonsensical headlines with Riddler’s conundrum:
“I speak in loops, yet never age, A simple question turns the page. ‘How am I not myself?’ I muse aloud, In endless answers, time is disavowed.”
Citizens, initially baffled, begin dissecting the riddle. Social media erupts with debates—Is it a code? A joke?—as the question “How am I not myself?” trends globally. Joker’s lies drown in the cacophony of collective inquiry.
Act III: Truth’s Tide
Joker, seething at his hijacked narrative, confronts the duo atop the Gotham Gazette tower. “You think a riddle defeats me?” he cackles. “No,” Riddler smirks. “But Thales does.” He reveals the anagram, explaining: “Thales sought the one truth beneath chaos—like water, lies erode when exposed.” Batman triggers a data purge, flooding Joker’s servers with the riddle’s answer. The screens flicker: THALES.
The paradox collapses. Joker’s fake news unravels, replaced by verified facts. The city, now清醒 to his game, laughs at him, not with him.
Epilogue: The Eternal Inquiry
As Joker is hauled to Arkham, Riddler muses: “Thales knew truth is a fountain—never stagnant, always flowing.” Batman grunts, “And the Joker? He’s a puddle.”
The story ends with Gotham’s renewed slogan, scrawled on Eden’s walls:
“Ask better questions.”
Themes:
- Truth as a weapon against misinformation’s chaos.
- Collective critical thinking as societal antidote.
- Philosophy (Thales’ archê) vs. Postmodern absurdity (Joker’s fake news).
Easter Egg:
The anagram “HOW AMINOTMYSELF” = “THALES + MINOW”—a nod to Newton Minow’s “vast wasteland” speech on media responsibility, tying past and present.
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