Recruitment Profile: Lorenz Storch
TANKTHINK LEAKS_003
Editor's Note:
The following set of documents comprises the third set from the TankThink data leak. It is the third of five detailing the candidates.
LORENZ STORCH INTERVIEW LOG #1
DATE: December 13, 2024
INTERVIEWER: [REDACTED]
LOCATION: L
CLASSIFICATION: CONFIDENTIAL
[RECORDING START]
[REDACTED enters the room. STORCH’s hands are bound behind his back, and he is blindfolded.]
INTERVIEWER: What's your name?
LORENZ: [mild German accent] Lorenz Storch. And who might you be?
[sounds of movement]
INTERVIEWER: You're restrained.
LORENZ: Oh no, what will I do?
[Sound of movement]
INTERVIEWER: What are you doing?
LORENZ: [grunting with effort]
[Sound of chair creaking, followed by shuffling]
[STORCH slides off the chair, tucks his knees to his chest, threads his arms under his legs, and brings his bound hands from behind his back to the front of his body]
LORENZ: Much better.
[Sound of fabric moving as STORCH removes his blindfold]
LORENZ: [cheerfully] Oh! How pleasant. Can you please cut the wrist restraints? Not at all what I expected after the shabby treatment before. Orange goons. [looking around] Mid-century modern furniture? Tasteful lighting? I hope the other 5 got the same treatment.
[STORCH straightens his posture, examines the room]
LORENZ: I assume this is the final round of the interview. The denouement after our adventures in Hyde Park?
INTERVIEWER: Yes, it is.
LORENZ: Well, you must have some questions. You seem concerned about me. Let's be efficient—what are your lingering doubts about my candidacy? My health? My politics? My and my art’s celebrity?
INTERVIEWER: My questions aren’t so much doubts as genuine curiosity about you. I’ve already read a lot about you.
LORENZ STORCH PHYSIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT REPORT
DATE: December 13, 2024
EXAMINER: Dr. E. Rivera
CLASSIFICATION: MEDICAL
GENERAL CONDITION: Subject unconscious during examination. Vital signs stable. Physical condition impressively robust for an individual with diagnosed cystic fibrosis (∆F508 mutation).
EXTERNAL OBSERVATIONS:
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
Weight: 200 lbs (90.7 kg)
BMI: 26.4 (Athletic build)
Hair: Dirty blond, medium length
Eyes: Blue
Musculature significantly developed, particularly in chest and shoulders
Multiple small contusions on wrists and ankles consistent with restraint
No visible indications of chronic illness
Physical development in 85th percentile for age group, highly unusual for CF patients
RESPIRATORY:
Lung function at 78% of predicted FEV1, remarkably high for CF diagnosis
Evidence of consistent adherence to respiratory therapy
Specialized breathing techniques likely self-developed
LORENZ STORCH INTERVIEW LOG #2
DATE: December 13, 2024
INTERVIEWER: [REDACTED]
LOCATION: L
CLASSIFICATION: CONFIDENTIAL
[RECORDING CONTINUES]
INTERVIEWER: I must admit to some curiosity about Meta-Fascism. As the Meta-Fuhrer, you said in your manifesto that “[your] triumph, which is the world’s triumph was inevitable.” But why? Ideology comes and goes. Fascism has died an ignoble death already.
LORENZ: [brightening] Ah! Section 7.4.3 of my manifesto addresses this perfectly: "Power evolves along predictable trajectories regardless of the ideological clothing it wears." It's not an ideology but a scientific observation of governance patterns.
INTERVIEWER: Yet your models attracted almost no audience. Why?
LORENZ: [laughing] I wasn't after an audience. I would have made something besides dioramas if I wanted a large audience.
INTERVIEWER: So the theatrical elements—the German accent, the "Meta-Führer" title—these were deliberate?
LORENZ: [smiles broadly] I’m not insane. I am still this man here, but yes, I am constantly in and out of performance. You can't be serious about politics, about anything, without performance.
META-FASCISM MANIFESTO EXCERPT
THE SCIENTIFIC EVOLUTION OF POWER: PRINCIPLES OF META-FASCIST GOVERNANCE
By Lorenz Storch
Version April 2024
7.4.3 - Power evolves along predictable trajectories regardless of the ideological clothing it wears. My research has identified consistent patterns in governance evolution across disparate historical contexts, revealing that all successful power systems eventually converge toward similar structural forms. This is the central insight of Meta-Fascism: governance naturally evolves toward order-maximizing configurations once sufficient complexity is achieved.
7.4.4 - The 20th century's fascist experiments failed not because they sought order, but because they remained trapped in tribal frames—race, nation, creed—that inevitably created inefficiencies, enabled madness, and sparked mass psychopathy. These primitive fascisms were degenerate forms of a governance pattern that naturally emerges at higher stages of civilizational development. Meta-Fascism acknowledges this evolutionary pattern while transcending its primitive tribal limitations.
SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO - FACULTY ASSESSMENT
STUDENT: Lorenz Storch
PROGRAM: BFA, Final Year, Installation Art
ADVISOR: Professor Raimundo Donnelly
DATE: November 15, 2024
Lorenz Storch remains one of our most technically accomplished undergraduate students and simultaneously our most perplexing. His craftsmanship is beyond reproach—the precision of his miniature figures, the sophisticated lighting systems, and the architectural accuracy of his models showcase exceptional skill.
What makes Lorenz unusual is not his "Meta-Fascism" ideology but that unlike most politically extreme students who become isolated, Lorenz maintains a certain magnetic quality. He can be charming, witty, and surprisingly self-aware one moment, then launch into elaborate analyses of how power naturally converges toward similar structural patterns regardless of cultural context or ideological framing.
His historical knowledge is genuinely impressive. In one discussion, he seamlessly moved from comparing the Tang Dynasty's meritocratic examination system to Singapore's civil service recruitment, then connected both to Renaissance Venice's administrative structures, drawing parallels that, while ideologically framed, demonstrated uncommon comparative historical insight.
GALLERY VISITOR LOG: "THE LAST PARLIAMENT"
LOCATION: Empty Room Gallery, 2117 W. 18th Street
EXHIBITION: "The Last Parliament: The Wave Carrying All"
ARTIST: Lorenz Storch
DATES: December 8-15, 2024
VISITORS:
December 8, 2024
Mira Goldstein, 7:18 PM
Lev Nakamura, 8:47 PM
December 9, 2024
No visitors
December 10, 2024
Professor Raimundo Donnelly, 2:14 PM
Three Art Institute students (names not provided), 2:14 PM
December 11, 2024
No visitors
December 12, 2024
No visitors
TOTAL ATTENDANCE: 6 visitors
GALLERY SECURITY FOOTAGE TRANSCRIPT
LOCATION: "Empty Room Gallery," 2117 W. 18th Street, Chicago
DATE: December 8, 2024
TIME: 20:50 CST
SUBJECT: Lorenz Storch
[Security cameras show Lorenz alone in the gallery. He performs basic respiratory therapy exercises, then sits on the floor beside his installation, phone in hand.]
LORENZ: [Speaking to his installation] Well, my citizens, it seems our little republic remains exclusive for now. [laughs] Perhaps that's as it should be. We are Venetian in spirit.
[Scrolls through phone, expression changing from amusement to concentration]
LORENZ: [Mumbling] Mira's already posted about us. Let's see what she's saying.
[Phone is displaying social media post on "Crit" platform. Post headline partially visible: "My Ex's Meta-Fascist Fantasy World"]
LORENZ: [Reading aloud] "While technically impressive, Lorenz's 'Last Parliament' installation represents the disturbing intersection of authoritarianism and aesthetic obsession. Five thousand individually hand-crafted figures locked in a moment of submission to a central authority figure..."
[Continues scrolling, expression showing amusement]
LORENZ: At least she acknowledges the craftsmanship. That's something.
[Scrolls further, then stops suddenly, leaning closer to screen]
LORENZ: What's this?
[Security camera zooms, showing an advertisement beneath Mira's post. The ad features an orange sockpuppet with knife-like teeth. Text reads: "CAN YOU BECOME THE NEXT KISSINGER? History isn't made by those who follow the rules. TankThink is seeking strategic architects. Starting salary: $2.2 million."]
LORENZ: [Eyebrows raised] That's... fantastic targeting! Right after I mentioned Bismarck to Mira. These computer perverts! Always listening, so helpful.
[END TRANSCRIPT]