"Terrorist activity," the woman said as she touched her watch, watching the lines of text scroll up on it. "First, they found an ace who tried to immolate the capital in January. February, mass murder spree in Yachats, Oregon by a joker who lost his mind- you'll have read about that, I'm sure. Three days later, an ace who could turn her hands into razors accidentally killed her younger sister."
Katherine paused. "People need a bogeyman. We used to have the Middle East until the treaties. We aren't at war with Central America openly any longer. We solved the problem of oil consumption by opening up trade on other planets. Medical technology has conquered more diseases than we once knew existed. What's left? The Wild Card."