Saeb looked up, tears rolling down his cheeks, his voice wavering. 'I would like to finish his last entry.'
'I only have two fears left in this world. The first is that Saeb doesn't survive me and so this is left in the hands of someone who doesn't know its true value. The second is that if we succeed against the Sunarr, which I believe we will, that we don't learn the lessons and so the plan is left to gather dust and our two peoples don't achieve the peace they so desperately want and deserve.'
'That, my friends, was all he wrote in his last entry. Now I would like to call upon the Israeli ambassador. Mister Ambassador.'
All eyes in the room turned towards the ambassador from Israel who rose to his feet, the cameras fixed on him and zoomed in, his face filling their lenses and billions of screens around the world.
'I on behalf of the State of Israel would like to formally propose that the Yogev-Tibi plan be accepted in its entirety. Do I have a second?'
The newly appointed representative of the Palestinian people stood up.
'I, on behalf of the Palestinian people do here by second the motion and fully support the Yogev-Tibi plan. All those in favour?'
All eyes now fell on the Japanese ambassador. He struggled to his feet, the pain down his left side worse today than normal. He would not allow a physical ailment to stop him in this moment. He bowed to the room and then looked up.
'I on behalf of the People of Japan do hereby vote in favour of the Rogev-Tibi plan.' He blushed ever so slightly, he had been practicing saying Yogev and had managed it, after a fashion, but the pressure of the moment got the better of his pronunciation.
The votes in favour poured in after that with each ambassador making sure that his or her vote was captured on camera for posterity. Saeb, who up until now had remained relatively composed, now broke down, crying from relief and joy he also wept for his friend Benjamin and the countless lives that had been lost on both sides. His people had a homeland. Benjamin's people had security. Finally, it was over.
Jayanti Kapoor took the floor of the United Nations before the entire assembly. It felt strange to be here, now, preparing to effectively resign from a post she had held for a little over a year. A year that had changed world opinion on every aspect of human life. She stood still behind the podium, taking a sip of water whilst waiting for the applause to die down.
Jay looked over at the VIP section where her guests were seated. Jack was seated next to Severine, with Jane and George next to her. Jack's mind reflected on how his life had changed this past year, and how I want it to change in the future, he thought. I want someone important in my life, someone with whom I can share my life and God willing, raise a family...
Russia had formally joined Unity the day before and the three Unity Generals, Sam, Charlie, and Gregori Stephonovich were in attendance. Each of the Generals was wearing the Unity cap badge with their own dress uniform. The badge, a blue and gold representation of the Earth, shone brightly under the lighting in the room. The badge held the word Unity at the top of the world, with the words Duty and Honour in the natural language of the wearer, underlining the world. The badges were not, by any means, general issue. There were only four examples in the world, the fourth being held by the goldsmith chosen to create them. She had worked relentlessly over the past forty-eight hours to complete them by hand for this very occasion. Jay suspected that she would still be awake to watch her craftsmanship live on the news channel.
Next to the large muscular bulk of Gregori Stephonovich sat the tiny frame of Natasha with her mother, Solomon, next to her. Jay watched, transfixed, as Natasha sat in her chair swinging her legs back and forth. Gregori Stephonovich leaned over to the small girl and whispered something to her. She giggled and smiled up at the general. I'd love to know what he just said, she thought idly. Next to Solomon was her own daughter, Sameena.
Sameena, unbidden by her mother, had chosen to wear a Lehenga Saree. Although the material and colour scheme were traditional, mainly red with a gold floral design, she was wearing it along much more modern lines. Her shoulders were uncovered, as was her midriff, the blouse, or Choli covering her chest, whilst she had the Dupatta, a large scarf, that flowed over her shoulder and mostly covered her exposed waist. The effect was truly stunning.
Seated next to Sam, and on the end of the front row of VIPs was John Deeth. Jay looked at him, she couldn't imagine ever seeing a more bored and anxious person. He lay back in his chair, hands behind his head, fingers interlocked holding his head. His feet were stretched out in front of him and he looked like a bored teenager. He frequently and obsessively kept checking his watch, which just made the image all the more absurd, especially when contrasted against the poise exhibited by the Generals.
The noise in the hall died down as Jay flicked her eyes over her notes, refreshing her memory. She had been locked in with the Security Council for the past two days, not negotiating, but cajoling them, which bordered on threatening at times. All of them had been difficult, especially the Ambassadors of France, India and China. Once she had laid out her plan, and it was her plan, India and China agreed. France had still held out, that was until she stated that it was not necessary for all countries to agree, some could stand outside of the plan, if they preferred. Hurried conference calls between the French representative and his country followed. France would not be left behind, it decided. Now for the really hard part, the entire world.
'Delegates, thank you for your warm welcome. We are here, today, at a historic crossroads. Our world, our very lives have changed more than we could have possibly imagined in just a year. We accepted the Sunarr on their word. They repaid our trust with deceit, lies, and treachery. They infiltrated our governments, our military, and our free press. They exerted control through threats to individuals, families, and countries. They sought nothing less than to steal our resources and exterminate the entire human race. However, they did not count upon the strength, determination, and ingenuity of the human spirit. An alliance of people and countries was borne in the face of fascist oppressors. As you know this alliance managed in secret, to plan and overthrow the Sunarr. They built a weapon to destroy the main Sunarr ship, defeating them and saving our gold resources in the process. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both the leaders and everyone else involved.'
The camera panned to the VIP section and they all stood up to accept the applause. Jay continued with her speech as the applause died down again.
'I, along with your fellow representatives on the Security Council, have discussed at length what took place and where we stand now. We were unanimous in agreement that we cannot go on as before. Three things must, and will, change. The first is security. In this, I am pleased to say that, subject to your approval, we have the means to provide our future security needs. Secondly, we cannot sit back and wait for the Sunarr or any other race to come to us. If we are to fight, let us take the fight to them. Thirdly, our world and this organisation can no longer focus on petty border disputes and bickering between countries. The future of our world is at stake and we need, we deserve an institution that can speak for the whole of humanity. We need an institution that can protect us all and to explore what is out there. We need an institution dedicated to the truths and ideals that we all hold dear. I move that we disband the United Nations and in its place we elect a World Government of the people.'
There was uproar. Most countries knew that something was coming down the pipeline but few had expected this. Dozens jumped to their feet, shouting, demanding to be heard. Jay gave them a few minutes to let off some steam, all too aware though that the cameras were still relaying the events live around the world. Jay waved them back into their seats so she could continue. She laid out before them her plan, her structure for a World Government.
It took some time. The graphic she had produced helped and the more she explained it, the more the simplicity and fairness of the plan permeated their minds. The new structure called for a new legislature, the World Parliame
nt. The parliament would consist of two houses, the lower, and the upper houses. The lower house, called the House of Civilisation would itself consist of three bodies; the Land Body, the Resources Body and the People Body. Each body would have an equivalent voting right and would have representation from each country in direct proportion to the percentage of the world it constituted. The People Body was the easiest for Jay to explain, so she started with that one. There would be one representative from each country, but they would cast the number of votes equal to their population. The Land Body came next and here too it was relatively easy, with each representative casting votes proportional to the size of the land mass of his or her country. The Resources Body was more difficult to explain as it was to be comprised of two parts; gross domestic product, the annual value of the economy of each country, added to that country's holdings of Gold and proven Gold reserves not yet mined.
This gave countries with higher populations, larger landmasses or more valuable economies more say in the newly formed Parliament. There was something in the plan for every country.
The upper house called the House of Belief would need to ratify any legislation passed in the House of Civilisation. It would consist of representatives from every religion or belief. They would vote the number of votes proportional to the number of people’s beliefs that they represented. Each representative would also receive an additional one hundred special votes. In order for a vote to count, it would need a majority of the regular and special votes. This Jay had added to ensure that the larger beliefs couldn't swamp the smaller beliefs. One representative from each belief system of each country would be admitted. Those with no stated belief would be represented by secular representatives to ensure that every voice was heard.
The House of Belief seemed to seal the deal with the audience. Recognising people’s beliefs or religions and giving these the final say in the legislation that was to be adopted calmed any remaining fears. Again, it would favour the larger religions, but with the addition of the special votes, the rights and interests of the smaller religions would be protected.
The World Parliament would elect a person to be President and Commander in Chief to hold the executive power of the government. That person would have full, direct control of all civilian matters pertaining to the proper functioning of the World Government. They would also, as Commander in Chief, have direct control over all Unity forces. Unity would be expanded to include some forces from all countries. To ensure that the President did not abuse their powers a legal structure would be put in place and they could challenge any decision or action of the president, with the ultimate sanction of having that matter debated in the World Parliament.
As Jay finished she looked up at the audience. She could see that she had them on board. There would be arguments and challenges for sure, but the essence of the plan was what mattered.
'I would like to call for a vote on this plan and should it be accepted then this body shall be discharged upon the successful implementation of the plan to be not more than one year hence.' Jay relaxed, just a little, as she completed her speech. It was up to the delegates now. However before they would get to vote Jay had one last card to play.
'Delegates. Before you retire to consider your vote, I must just impart one final crucial item. As you know the secret alliance built the weapon that destroyed the main Sunarr ship. What you do not know is that the same alliance has built more of the weapons. These weapons have been mounted on board re-configured Nuclear Missiles. They are powered by the very nuclear material that was in the warheads. In a few minutes, these missiles will launch into space and deploy the weapons platform. This is to help protect Earth from another invasion by the Sunarr or anyone else. The weapons will be under Unity control, and their control will be under the new World Government if that is voted for. I believe we can now switch live to an Earth satellite to watch the launch of the defence system.'
The room was quiet, very quiet Jay noticed, everyone frozen to the spot, their eyes fixed on the large viewing screen as around the world missiles left their silos, each of the nuclear powers was represented so as not to alarm any other. Didn't want the protection of Earth to cost us a nuclear war, Jay reflected soberly. Sixty missiles tore through the atmosphere, leaving behind the heavy weight of gravity they moved into a very high Earth orbit. They had six others prepared in case one or more failed, but they were not needed. Every missile performed flawlessly, delivering its cargo to its appointed position in space. Jay motioned to John Deeth to join her on the platform. John walked up to the lectern, Jay stood to one side allowing John to use it, and the microphone fixed to it.
'Err. Hi.' John began, never before having addressed such a large audience. 'My name is John Deeth and I designed Constellation. That's what I have called the defence platform, Constellation. There are sixty weapons platforms in all and they are designed in a Buckyball shape.' John paused for a second realising that few people there would know what a Buckyball was or what shape it was. 'Think of it like a football. A football appears round because it is made from Pentagons and Hexagons interlocking. That is five sided shapes and six sided shapes. I have done the same with Constellation. There are sixty platforms deployed in space now which surround the earth in the shape of a football, so the whole earth is covered, protected.' He was making sure that his language was as simple as he could. 'Each platform actually has four weapons on board. Thus if the surrounding three platforms are destroyed, the remaining one can resupply the other three positions. This should provide integrity to the system.' John wanted to end it there; he wasn't enjoying the attention strangely enough. 'Any questions?' He asked, hoping to draw it to a close.
One of the delegates leaned forward and activated his microphone.
'Who controls it? Why was a weapon of mass destruction deployed without our approval and what is to stop it from being used against us?' The questioner’s tone was even, but the anger was evident.
‘Well,’ John began, forgetting where he was and to whom he was talking. 'Firstly, I control it. Secondly, it is not a weapon of mass destruction; it is a point defence weapon so it would be pretty useless to turn it against earth, except...' John decided not to finish that point as he remembered where he was.
The delegate switched on his microphone again. 'Except what?'
‘Except,’ John continued, realising that he wouldn't be able to bluff his way out of this one, 'It would be very effective against weapons of mass destruction. Constellation could, theoretically, shoot down and destroy any nuclear weapons within seconds of them launching. So you really have nothing to worry about.' John tried a smile, but he could feel Jay next to him wanting to take the floor again, he stood aside with great relief.
'Just to clarify,’ Jay began, desperate to limit the damage John had caused, 'Constellation is under the control of Unity. It is a defensive platform designed for the protection of Earth and that is the only purpose to which it will be put. There will be a further briefing later to answer any other questions, now if you would like to retire and consider your vote. Thank you.'
Jay hurried John off the podium. When she was sure that they were out of sight and the reach of microphones, she turned on him.
'What the hell did you tell them that for?'
'What the truth?' John didn't really grasp what she was getting at.
'That you have personal control of the greatest weapon in human history!'
John stared at Jay, bewildered by her apparent inability to grasp a simple fact.
'But I do.'
'What do you mean you do?'
'Unity doesn't control Constellation, there is only one access code, and only one person knows it. Me. I have full and complete control of Constellation. It’s the way I designed it.'
John really couldn't understand why Jayanti wasn't pleased. When the concept of Constellation was first put forward, he had decided that he didn't want to risk his work falling into the wrong hands as that would be dangerous. He considered any hand
s other than his own to be the wrong hands and that was why he had designed the system so only he had control. It really was that simple he thought. Why do politicians always have difficulty with the simplest of concepts? John asked himself.
Jay was ready to explode. Instead, she took a deep breath and decided to let it go for the moment, she would need to take some advice first anyhow. Control could not be in one person's hands, that much she knew by instinct, but for the moment, it would have to remain so.
'Sorry John,’ Jay said to help John relax, 'I've just had quite a day. Of course you have done the right thing.' He doesn't realise the power he has… and I don't want him to. I'll need to keep him under guard and away from others. Jay decided that John would have a long, private holiday somewhere.
Kefallonia, Greek Islands, Greece.
One year on.
The Greek government had agreed to lease the island of Kefallonia to the World Government on an indefinite basis. In this way, Greece didn't have to relinquish territory and the World Government got a permanent base. The Kefallonians, initially resistant to the agreement, gave their consent when it was decided that they would receive dual Greek and Quasi-Diplomatic status. This made the island effectively a free trade zone and the arrival of thousands of diplomatic staff and others brought year round employment. It was not widely known why it had been chosen. They were not aware that after the vote to establish the World Government had been passed the year before, Jayanti Kapoor had arranged a holiday for all the alliance VIPs including John Deeth. He had fallen in love with the island and swore he never wanted to leave. A laboratory had been established there for him so he didn't have to. Jay, wanting to transfer control of Constellation from John to Unity, decided to build it around him and no one challenged her decision.
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