TEC: Chapter 54: Bia, Part Deux
When last we left Stephanie Kovacs, she was slut-shaming herself for the crime of having a monogamous, if unmarried, relationship with Shane Barrington. Shane turned out to be an abusive bastard, beat her up, kicked her out, and blackballed her. Murphy, in all his helpfulness, urged her to buy a Bible.
Now we join her as she sets off as yet another job interview. I’m frankly surprised her bruises have faded, and if they haven’t, that nobody has noticed or said anything.
Hilariously, she’s interviewing at Fox News. But even the glorious bastion of morality that is Fox News has no place for a talented and world-famous Stephanie Kovacs:
“You’ve been blackballed. You won’t be able to get any job in the East Coast or West Coast markets. You might find a weather reporting job in some small Midwestern town, but I doubt it. Shane Barrington is out to ruin you. I’m so sorry.”
Okay, I just don’t get this. What power does Shane have to blackball Stephanie? He’s a successful media CEO, but so are the heads of the other networks, right? So why would they not be happy to snatch up Kovacs the moment she became a free agent? I mean, it’s not like Shane is a lovable, popular guy. So the other networks would have no reason to do Shane a solid by not hiring the person he doesn’t want them to hire.
In any event, this makes six turn-downs that Stephanie has received. And she’s still keeping quiet about the abuse. And hell, even if she didn’t want to make that an issue, Shane is a man scorned. He’s punishing her for breaking up with him. Again, not what I would think would be a compelling reason for all these other network execs.
Oh well. Not like it matters anymore. Because that night, Stephanie is awoken by the sound of somebody sneaking around her apartment. It’s Talon, of course, there to kill her, because his “employers think that you have been just a little too friendly with Dr. Michael Murphy.”
Damn, even when it comes to Stephanie’s murder, it’s still all about Murphy.
“What does Dr. Murphy have to do with all this?”
“All this” being the invasion of my home and my murder in a minute or two. But yes, let’s discuss Michael Murphy.
Bizarrely, Talon then changes his tune and says that the problem is Stephanie and Shane, not Stephanie and Murphy.
“You have become a security leak for Mr. Barrington.”
Um, except for the fact that they’re no longer together and Stephanie didn’t know a lot anyway and has already told Murphy what little she knew (he’s in vague “danger,” a fact that he already knew). And Talon and the Seven definitely know all this, because they’ve had Stephanie bugged and followed.
Regardless, Talon razor-fingers Stephanie, thus making her yet another talented professional woman to be murdered right after her conversion.
To add insult to injury, Stephanie shares something else with Bia: their murders aren’t as important as how those murders make men feel. Because when Shane sees on the news that Stephanie has been murdered, he is overcome with guilt (for both the abuse and the blackballing), and realizes that he Loved Her All Along.
And he also realizes, based on the fact that he throat was slit, that Stephanie was murdered by Talon, on order of the Seven. So he begins to think of “a plan.”
And how the Seven couldn’t have anticipated this response is a question for the ages.
Posted on November 7, 2016, in The Europa Conspiracy. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
RubyTea
Heathen Critique 
Is this supposed to be a happy ending for Stephanie? She had converted, so it’s not like there was any more point in her living.
If potential employers are aware enough of what Shane’s doing to call it blackballing, wouldn’t they be aware enough to know that it’s a load of shit and feel completely unconstrained by Shane’s wishes? Especially since, if I recall correctly, Stephanie was one of Shane’s more popular news personalities and it would be quite a coup to have “stolen” her (and presumably some of her ratings) out from under Shane’s nose – sure, not what happened, but what it would look like to most viewers.
I mean, really, blacklisting people like this generally relies on others believing the lies spread about the person you’re trying to exile from the industry. The interviewer clearly knows that Shane’s just out to ruin Stephanie, but why does he feel compelled to accede to Shane’s wishes?
It’s possible, I guess, that Shane is friends with (or owed favors by) other media CEOs (suitable fodder for the OWG conspiracy crap of The Seven), or they believe his lies. The interviewer could thus be under orders from up top to give Stephanie the run-around but felt bad enough to tell her what was up.
Somehow I doubt this simple explanation ever made it within spitting distance of the book.
It’s not uncommon for religions to blackball a member who leaves. Those who reject the religious leaders become nonpersons who must be shunned. I guess the book is implying that highly competitive media corporations work just like religions. Or it’s a case of author living in a bubble and unable to imagine humans might have motivations beyond in-group loyalty.
It’s much much efficient if the sluts shame themselves. It gives the manly men more time to be manly.
I’m reminded of the Production Code era when the Reformed Bad Girl had to die by the end of the film because, well, she couldn’t possibly end up with the hero, telegony or something.
Pingback: Deconstruction Roundup for November 11th, 2016 | The Slacktiverse