Newt Gingrich is speaking in Second Life today, but that is no surprise, for he follows other prominent politicians in-world. What is unique, it seems to me, is that when he appears, he'll be protected on all sides by a team of gorgeous brunette quintuplets wearing outfits from an old James Bond film (or at least Austin Powers.) Normally they wear miniskirts, but on this occasion, their client is the former Speaker of the House and lead author of the Republican Party's controversial Contract With America. (When critics referred to it, they often replaced "with" for "on".) So this time when the Metaverse Mod Squad keeps an eye out for griefers and other disruptions, they will be wearing slacks.
"That might seem too feminist [for him]," I suggest.
"Not at all," Twig Tomorrow tells me. We're standing with her sisters (all named Tomorrow) in the firm's posh office in the region of Knightsbridge. "Our major clients are in the
entertainment industry. So wearing these uniforms is a little hipper. For some of
the other events that include children, or in this case politicians, we wear
pants."
That they exist as a business at all is symbolic of Second Life as it is now. Last year, when Virginia Governor Mark Warner made a brief appearance
in-world, it was enough to call an available Linden staffer to scatter potential
troublemakers with their God powers. But Linden peacekeeping forces have since become overstretched and over-taxed, and high-profile events like this one are
still easy targets for guerrilla attacks. In effect, the Metaverse Mod
Squad are roughly akin to real world security firms like Blackwater,
providing extra-governmental protection to visiting dignitaries. (Without, of course, all those unfortunate international incidents.)
