Challenge: Make a video using this script and post it to YouTube.

Downtown Washington, April 2025.

A brand-new placard outside the Old Post Office reads: “By executive order, spontaneous gatherings within 100 m of federal property are prohibited. Silence is Patriotism.”

People waiting for the 11 o’clock bus shuffle, eyes down.

First sound: a toddler giggles—instantly shushed by her father.

Second sound: an elderly veteran taps his cane twice, deliberately out of rhythm, then winks.

Third sound: the barista from the corner café replies with two taps on her metal thermos—tap‑tap… tap‑tap—matching the veteran’s beat.

Within seconds the queue morphs into a call‑and‑response: lunchbox snaps, key ring jingles, and sneaker squeaks. Even the security guard’s walkie-talkie crackles in sync.

A MAGA‑hat‑wearing trucker hesitates, then adds a whoosh by sliding his steel coffee mug along the bench rail. The trans high schooler next to him layers a humming bassline.

Suddenly, thirty complete strangers are performing a spontaneous street symphony—precisely 99 m from the building.

The digital sign above them flips: “Bus delayed 5 min.” No groans this time—only a rising crescendo that ends on a perfect, unanimous rest.

Caption-to-Share: Authoritarians can outlaw words, but rhythm sneaks through the cracks. Film your 99-meter remix, tag #QuietZoneChorus, and keep the beat of dissent alive.

(Fiction inspired by recent crackdowns on protest rights under the Trump administration)