“K.A.O.” is episode ten of season one of Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams and is based on the short story “The Hanging Stranger”.
The episode opens with a rather disturbing-looking political commercial with the tag-line ‘Yes Us Can’ (which seems to be a depressingly likely political slogan of the future). A man, Philbert Noyce, is shaving in the bathroom when a holographic ad appears behind him.
The political ad was showing because there is an election coming up, for the meganation of MexUsCan. On the train into work, Philbert watches an interview with The Candidate. Who is speaking about the uniparty system, and why, even though there is only one person to vote for, your vote is still important. Which, as at least some people realise, is neither democracy nor true. The Candidate says that going from 52 candidates to only one is proof of democratising power.
Philbert is late to work because of the train and his supervisor says he should get a self-driving car, like everyone else. Philbert and his two fellows are the only three people who still work on the floor of their almost fully-automated factory. Philbert’s wife is flirting with a holographic coffee commercial, and his workmates say he should do the same with the cheese girl.
That night, Philbert is watching The Candidate give an interview when she says, in her speech, to ‘Kill All Others.’ This freaks Philbert out but the interviewer just skips past it. Philbert can’t stop thinking about it, but no-one else seems to have really noticed. Philbert can’t find the video to show anyone what The Candidate said either.
Philbert gradually starts seeing the Kill All Others message being displayed on advertising, and referred to on television, but most don’t seem to care. Philbert’s concern over the message brings him to the attention of the system, who suggest that there is something wrong with him. He can’t believe that people aren’t concerned about this incitement to kill the ‘Others.’ Then people start talking about the ‘Others’ and what they should do about them. Never is it actually specified what the mysterious ‘Others’ are. Only that they need to die.
Philbert gets increasingly concerned about the message, but this only has negative effects on him, and makes people watch him carefully to see if there is something wrong with him.
A rather worrying episode about a political process that has gone totally off the rails and how a politician is able to stir up fear and aggression with a simple message.