They Know

When you log in to Prose, you open a direct channel between your mind and the Moderators. That's what They call Themselves, at least. I prefer to think of Them as a hive mind. Individuals pulled together by common knowledge, Matrix-style. And for the first time, for this challenge, the Moderators have acknowledged that They know. They know what you are thinking when you are writing. They know your implicit associations. They know when you lie.

They sit in rooms where the walls are covered by computer screens, pointing at charts and charting the points. Points that denote what Their writers are thinking of that week, how their thoughts have been affected by the news, the latest disasters, the celebrity gossip. For instance, the week a certain "self-made" billionaire's best friend hooked up with the billionaire's sister's baby daddy, writer's thoughts turned to justifications for infidelity. But of the ones who considered writing about it, only 13% actually followed through. This suggested to the Moderators that Prose writers consider the ickier parts of their own lives, but only a small percentage are brave enough to write about their ugly bits. This knowledge may or may not prove useful.

Up until now, the Moderators have not abused Their knowledge. There has been no Cambridge Analytica scandal for the modest little writing site. The fact that They know has not yet become popular knowledge. Maybe writers will catch on because of the phraseology of this challenge. Maybe not. Perhaps the Moderators will never take advantage of Their knowledge. Perhaps They will. Only They know.