Reaction Video (Friday 8/13/2032)

[Thousand Miles]

“What’s up, TikTok fam?” Miles said into his phone in English, flashing another bunny ears hand sign. "I'm here at the Mudaba Adin Kimchee Festival. I'm told this is an annual festival here at the 'Little Buddha'. What kind of kimchee do they serve in frickin' Ethiopia, you ask? Me and my guests are here to find out!"

Signaling to the waiter, Miles started to place his restaurant order in perfect Korean, careful to hold his phone so the camera kept both the waiter and himself within the frame.

[Dapper Dog]

Speaking of Kimchee he sees a stand staffed by an older Korean woman, probably in her seventies and younger Korean and mixed Korean young adults. They are selling two kinds of Kimchee, traditional and Fusion style, mixed with local flavors. One of the young men offers him a sample.

Next to it is an ice cream stand with a variety of flavors including Kimchee flavored ice cream…

[Thousand Miles]

Like any influencer, Miles gratefully accepts donated product in return for an 'honest review' promoting the donor business!

"Traditional kimchee, surprisingly authentic for being over 9000 kilometers from Seoul," Miles declared on camera after sampling a bite. "Fusion kimchee, hmmmm, more of an acquired taste, though this 'injera' flatbread that comes with it absolutely rocks."

"What's the name of your food stand?" he asked in Korean of the young man who gave him a sample. "Let me get a shot of your shop sign ... do you guys do DoorDash? No, I guess not." Then back in English, Miles added, "Well, TikTok fam, be sure to check this place out if you're ever in the neighborhood!"

[Bishop]

"What's the name of your food stand?" he asked in Korean of the young man who gave him a sample. "Let me get a shot of your shop sign ... do you guys do DoorDash? No, I guess not." Then back in English, Miles added, "Well, TikTok fam, be sure to check this place out if you're ever in the neighborhood!"

An older man speaking with a British accent though understandable Korean said, “9000 km away from Seoul and yet it transports you back to the homeland of this fermented wonder. If you want something truly exotic, they make kimchee infused injera around the corner. I do love a good baseline festival.”

Another visitor or tourist perhaps. Sharply dressed, with his intense gaze studying Thousand Miles.

[Thousand Miles]

"Kimchee-infused injera," Miles repeated in English, glancing in the direction of the corner the Briton had indicated. "Recommended by .. another visitor, I take it?"

The young Singaporean turned his phone camera to take in the new arrival. "Smile, you're on the Thousand Miles TikTok channel! Will you join me to get some of this kimchee injera?"

[Bishop]

“I stumbled upon it, but now I feel obliged to share this little delight,” he responded.

He turned his gaze to the camera and said, “Hello Thousand Miles family, I would be honored to join you on this culinary adventure. Are you a travel influencer? Just wondering what I am getting myself into.”

[Thousand Miles]

"Travel influencer!" Miles looked amused at the thought, as the two walked towards the kimchi injera stall. "Yes, you could say that! In a way, I am! But actually, I'm here for the UNJE contest, and I'm just taking some spare time to film some content for my TikTok fans who might otherwise never have learned about the existence of Ethiopian-Korean-Fusion cuisine."

"What about you?"

[Bishop]

“Business trip, I am running a few seminars downtown. Boring, completely unexciting business but I do try and sample the sights whenever I travel. You work with the UNJE, I had heard about something going on at the Institute. You are an Elite then? How fortuitous, that is a subject that aligns with my work,” he responded.

[Thousand Miles]

"Some call us Elite, but I'm just me," Miles said with a grin. He turned to the vendor and ordered two orders of kimchi injera, handing one of them to Bishop. The teen held his camera close to the food to give his viewers a good look at the steaming concoction of bread, cabbage, radishes and spices, dripping with oil and speckled with red chili powder.

"What kind of work is that?" he asked curiously. "It can't be that boring if it involves Elites."

[Bishop]

“What are the ethical demands of an Elite in a society designed and dominated by baseline humanity… I am interested in the dynamics of what we owe to each other. The degrees of trust between humans can be complicated, ethnic differences, regional differences, and even religious difference can drive wedges in our degrees of trust, but we are still essentially human.”

The man continued, “But now what if you meet an Elite made entirely of inorganic matter, are they still human? Sure, we could say that they possess emotions, human ties, and even human motivations but how long will those last? I have lots of questions and few answers. Thankfully, my seminars are more grounded in the real world.”

[Thousand Miles]

"That... that's pretty deep," Miles said, looking a little surprised at this revelation. "But hey, I bought you a kimchi injera, so that has to count something towards my 'ethical demands from society', right?"

"For my part, I feel pretty human," he continued. " 'If you prick us, do we not bleed?' and all that. But I guess some Elites are made of solid rock, or are robots, or whatever. Are they human?"

Miles turned to look directly into the phone camera. "What do you think, TikTok fam? Are Elites made of rock or metal still human? Put your thoughts in the comments!"

[Bishop]

“And then the question what if they don’t wish to be seen as human?” he added for the camera. “What then?”

[Thousand Miles]

“Will some people really not want to be human? Or human-ish, anyway?” Miles asked. “Being not-a-human has tons of problems. You can’t open a bank account, you can’t rent a flat, you can’t buy alcohol, you can’t even solve CAPTCHAs any more. It seems like it would be more trouble than it’s worth!”

[Bishop]

The man chuckled and said, “I am curious what inspired you to pursue this UNJE contest? Hoping to build your brand?”

[Thousand Miles]

“Yes, of course!” Miles said immediately. “And, uhh, to help people,” he added somewhat lamely.

“This new UNJE team is the biggest event of 2032,” Miles continued. “Practically everyone who isn’t already signed up with the UNJE is here! Even if I don’t make the team, it’ll be an incredible experience where I’ll get to meet and hang out with loads of star Elites.”

“And I’m going to share it all with you, my loyal followers,” he added for the benefit of the recording. “It’ll be just like being here and trying out for the team yourself!”

[Bishop]

“I am sure your fans appreciate your willingness to risk your life for their safety,” he said without sarcasm. “I admire that you possess a strong moral compass. Is there anyone you are looking forward to meeting with that is participating in the contest?”

[Thousand Miles]

“Well, I’m going to try and play it by ear, and organically meet whomever I meet - it’s more real that way, you know?” Miles commented. “But if we gotta name names, I’d like to give a particular shout-out to Sakura Red, who has incredible rizz and a terrific brand. And though I think she's hosting, not competing, I'd love to meet up with @BadWitchPatel sometime to compare notes on social media influencing."

"But who knows what the upcoming days will bring, eh?" The teen raised his half-eaten kimchi injera in a casual salute to the vagaries of fate.

[Bishop]

He chuckled at that and ate his injera and then said, “You have a good head on your shoulders, you will do fine. I wasn’t really interested in following this event, but you may have changed my mind on the matter. Oh it dawns on me that I have come this far without introducing myself,” he offered.

“Bishop,” he finished.

[Thousand Miles]

"Pleased to meet you! I'm called Thousand Miles," the teen replied, flashing the bunny ears hand sign. "I hope you will follow the contest - feel free to follow my channel, I'll be posting content as much as I can. So are you a real bishop, with the mitre and crozier, or is that just a handle?"

[Bishop]

He waved it off and said, “No mitre or all that, Bishop is my given name. It has been a pleasure, Thousand Miles and I look forward to your content. Have a wonderful day and I hope you enjoy the Festival.”