Delphi Nation (Delphi in Space Book 4)

by Bob Blanton

  “We have published our new constitution and submitted it to the United Nations for recognition. Copies of the constitution are available on the internet under Constitution@DelphiCity.dn.gov. I will now take your questions,” Marc said as he pointed to a familiar reporter.

  “What form of government have you formed?” she asked.

  “We have formed a Constitutional Monarchy,” Marc said.

  “Who is the Monarch?”

  “I am,” Marc replied.

  “Why did you decide on a Monarchy?”

  “We are still a young nation on a new endeavor,” Marc said. “I want to ensure that we continue on that endeavor without getting sidetracked. The other founders of Delphi City agree that the only way to ensure that is to establish a Constitutional Monarchy.”

  “Why . . .”

  “Next reporter,” Marc said as he pointed to another reporter.

  “What kinds of powers will you have?”

  “Much the same as I already had,” Marc said. “The constitution establishes a way for us to form a parliament and have them gradually take over the running of the government.”

  Marc pointed to another reporter.

  “How can you declare yourself independent when you’re sitting in the Cook Islands’ territorial waters?”

  “We are no longer in the Cook Islands’ territorial waters,” Marc said. “As of ten p.m. last night, Delphi City and our airport are located twenty miles northwest of Rarotonga, outside of the territorial waters of any nation.”

  “How did you move the city?”

  “That is not germane to the discussion,” Marc said as he pointed at another reporter.

  “How will you defend yourself?”

  “We have some means of defense,” Marc said. “However, we are relying on the United Nations and its member nations to adhere to the rule of law. We would rather not have to exercise that defense.”

  “Is this due to the issue with Admiral Morris?”

  "That had some bearing on it, although it didn’t change our situation that much. We still expect countries like the US to adhere to the UN Charter and international law.”

  Several reporters were furiously reading the constitution on their phones; Marc pointed to one who was now trying to get his attention.

  “I see your tax law in the constitution, are you trying to become a tax haven?”

  “No, we will not exempt anyone from taxes,” Marc said. “If you read it correctly, you will see that we tax all gains made outside of Delphi Nation. So that should discourage companies from coming here just to avoid taxes in their home countries.”

  “But you don’t tax them on sales made inside of your new country?”

  “We view a sales tax as a regressive form of income tax on our people,” Marc said as he pointed to another reporter.

  “You’ve made it very difficult to raise taxes.”

  “We believe in a small, efficient government,” Marc said. “We believe the new technologies we are developing and introducing should enable the government to render services without overburdening the people with taxes.” Marc pointed at another reporter.

  “Can’t you as the Monarch simply raise the taxes?”

  “No, I can veto legislation, but I cannot enact it by edict,” Marc said as he pointed again.

  “It says that there is supplemental retirement, but it doesn’t define a retirement age?”

  “Correct,” Marc said. “We are hoping things develop along the lines where you don’t actually retire, but start to work less as you age. With the exception of medical retirement, we expect the people of Delphi Nation to continue to be productive members of our society.” Marc pointed to another reporter.

  “Can you explain your thinking on discrimination?”

  “We are simply saying that the government shall treat all people as equal individuals independent of any genetic factors or their personal image of themselves.” Marc pointed to another reporter.

  “Can you explain this Youth Category?”

  “Yes, as technology has advanced, it has had two effects on our young people,” Marc said. “For many, it has led to a sheltering which postpones emotional maturity; for others, it has led to early maturity as access to information makes them more curious and concerned about public affairs. For a long time, countries have had laws that restrict the rights of adults until they reach a more mature age. We are simply recognizing this intermediate stage and codifying it.”

  The questions ran on for an additional hour before Marc finally called a halt. He told the reporters that they would have a second chance at the press conference that was being called for the following week.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Minister Campbell, what did you think?” Marc asked as he greeted the New Zealand minister of foreign affairs.

  “You certainly know how to get people’s attention,” Minister Campbell said.

  “Will you recognize us?” Marc asked.

  “I will be discussing that in parliament and with the Prime Minister,” Minister Campbell said. “We are also interested in what Great Britain will do.”

  “Of course,” Marc said. “We hope to maintain good relations with New Zealand; you have been very supportive so far.”

  “We were supporting the Cook Islands then,” the minister said. “This is a different kettle of fish.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  They held a big party that night to celebrate their independence. There were various venues throughout the city, and Marc had to make an appearance at all of them, and of course, he took Samantha with him. Catie begged out of attending every one, opting for just a few.

  “Catie, you look lovely,” her great grandmother said. “I see you decided to wear the family diamonds,” she said with obvious approval.

  “Of course, Grandma Ma,” Catie said. “This will just add to their history.”

  “Yes, and then you can pass them on to your daughter or granddaughter,” her great grandmother said.

  “If I have any,” Catie said.

  “Of course, you will have children,” her great grandmother said politely while somehow making it sound like an order.

  “Hi, Catie,” Sophia said. “Or do I have to call you Your Highness?”

  “Nooo, you don’t have to call me Your Highness,” Catie said. “Where is your mother?”

  “She’s over there talking to the foreign minister’s wife,” Sophia said while pointing across the room.

  “What have people been saying?” Catie asked.

  “Most are happy we’re independent. The most common question I’ve gotten is if we have to call you Your Highness,” Sophia said. “I told them I didn’t think so, but that I’d find out.”

  “So now you know,” Catie said. “I guess I’m not going to be able to hide the fact that I’m The Catie McCormack anymore.”

  “Most people know,” Sophia said. “They just forget when they’re with you because you act so normal, well, not normal but humble, not putting on airs.”

  “I’m going to get you for that normal comment,” Catie said with a laugh.

  “You didn’t invite Frankie to this party?” Sophia asked.

  “I didn’t manage the guest list,” Catie said. “This one is only for dignitaries and their families as well as prominent citizens of Delphi City and Delphi Nation.”

  “Are we all citizens?” Sophia asked.

  “You have to swear allegiance first,” Catie said. “That is if you want to. We won’t kick you out if you don’t want to be a citizen.”

  “Do we have to give up our US citizenship?” Sophia asked.

  “Daddy says we’re going to allow our citizens to have multiple citizenships,” Catie answered. “Hello, Jason, hello, Annie,” Catie said as Jason escorted Annie over to her.

  “Hi, Catie, I almost didn’t recognize you in that dress,” Jason said. “You really do clean up nice.”

  “This is the first time I’ve been able to wear this,” Catie said. “My great grandpar
ents gave me the dress for Christmas and the jewelry for my birthday. Grandma Ma believes that one should always dress up.”

  “Well, if you can look like that, why not,” Jason said as he hugged Annie. “All three of you look fabulous,” he added, trying to avoid getting into too much hot water.

  “Annie, are you having fun?” Catie asked.

  “Yes,” Annie replied. “I like to dress up. Sophia, where’s Chaz?”

  “He should be coming back with punch,” Sophia said. “Oh, there he is.”

  “Hi,” Chaz said as he walked up. “I guess I didn’t get enough punch,” he added as he handed a glass to Sophia.

  “Don’t worry,” Catie said. “Here comes a waiter.” ADI had ordered a waiter to bring them punch as soon as she had heard Sophia say that Chaz was bringing her some. Catie was wearing her earwig, but not her specs. “Is Chris here?” Catie asked.

  “I saw her with her parents earlier,” Chaz said. “She should be coming by to thank you for the job. She’s been telling everybody about it.”

  “Speaking of jobs,” Catie said, “are you reporting on the event?” she asked Sophia.

  “Of course I am,” Sophia said. “A good reporter is always working. What did you think of our first issue?”

  “I already told you I loved it,” Catie said.

  “But that was before you were royalty,” Sophia said. “I need an official statement now.”

  “My dear, you did a most excellent job of capturing the essence of Delphi City,” Catie said in her most formal English-sounding voice. She got a laugh from everybody.

  “What did I miss?” Chris asked.

  “Oh, Catie was playing her royal highness,” Jason said. “She did a pretty good imitation of some British Royal.”

  “Oh darn, too bad I missed it,” Chris said. “Catie, I wanted to thank you for helping me get the job.”

  “All I did is forward your name and resumé to them,” Catie said. “They were happy to hire you. They need people down here.”

  “What job did you get?” Annie asked.

  “Oh, a programming internship with Vancouver Integrated Technologies,” Chris replied.

  “Who are they?” Annie asked.

  “They’re an integrated circuit company that MacKenzie Discoveries just bought a major stake in,” Catie said. “They’re going to start making our comms.”

  “Are they going to be as good as the Apple phones?” Sophia asked.

  “Better,” Catie said.

  “You were suggesting you’d probably be working for them too,” Chris said.

  “Yes, I plan to,” Catie said.

  “Why do you need to work for them? You’re already doing all kinds of stuff,” Sophia said.

  “I’m just managing the programs,” Catie said. “It’s mostly planning with just a little bit of design. This will give me a chance to develop my programming skills and to get credit for programming classes.”

  “You’re crazy,” Sophia said. “You’re taking so many classes you’re going to be done with college before you’re old enough to drink.”

  “There will always be more classes to take,” Catie said. “It’s been nice seeing everyone, but I have to get ready to go to one of the other parties. I’ll see you guys around.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “How could you not know this was going to happen?” the president screamed at his cabinet.

  “It appears that they only invited a few countries to witness the ceremony,” Director Lassiter said. “We understand that only the Aussies, the Kiwis, the Mexicans, and the Moroccans were invited.”

  “Well, now what do we do?” the president demanded as he looked at Secretary of State Janet Palmero.

  “We can put pressure on our allies to not recognize them if you wish,” she replied.

  “Will it work?” the president asked.

  “It might, but if it doesn’t, it could create issues for us later,” she replied.

  “If I may,” General Wilson said. “The big seven are going to be slow to recognize them, we should bide our time with them. The ones we should worry about are the ones that were invited,” he said. “We could quietly put pressure on them to not offer recognition. The longer it goes with no country recognizing them, the more leverage we will have.”

  “Okay,” the president said. “Now what is going on with this second press conference?” he asked.

  “More publicity,” Director Lassiter suggested. “They need to keep up the pressure to get recognized.”

  “I think there’s probably more to it than that!” the president almost shouted. “Now, are you going to figure it out?”

  Chapter 20

  First Kiss

  “Down with despots!” yelled the man. He waved his sign around as he stood on the box he had set in the middle of the sidewalk in front of the MacKenzie Discoveries’ corporate offices. “Down with despots!”

  Catie was just coming into the office to meet with a gentleman who wanted to open an exercise studio. She and Natalia stopped to watch. “Should I break that sign over his head?” Natalia asked.

  “You can’t do something like that,” Catie said. “He has a right to protest.”

  “But in the middle of the sidewalk?”

  “He is blocking the flow of traffic,” Catie said. “Oh, here comes a constable; I want to see what she does.”

  The constable walked directly up to the man, “Sir . . . Sir,” she said to get his attention.

  “Are you here to arrest me? Did His Highness send one of his jackbooted thugs to stop me from spreading the word?”

  “No, sir,” the constable said. “You have every right to protest, but you can’t do it here in the middle of the sidewalk.”

  “Where am I supposed to do it?” the man yelled at her. “From your jail cells?”

  “No, sir. Might I suggest you would get just as much attention if you set up over there on the median? You would even be able to get the attention of people walking on the other side of the street.”

  “Why should I move?”

  “Because it’s against the law to block the traffic flow, and it is also unsafe. The way you’re waving that sign around, you might hit someone. Please, let’s move you over there where it will be much safer.”

  “What if I refuse to move?”

  “Then I’ll write you a ticket for blocking traffic,” the constable said. “And then I’ll block off the sidewalk so people won’t be walking by you and risk getting hurt. They’ll all be on the other side of the street and will probably be mad at you for making them have to go out of their way. Now, that won’t help your cause, will it?”

  “I guess not,” the man said as he stepped off of his box.

  “I’ll carry your box,” the constable said, “you just handle that big sign.”

  The constable got the man set up in the median, directly across from MacKenzie Discoveries’ front door. She even helped him get back up on his box, holding his sign while he climbed up and then handing it to him.

  “What despots you guys are,” Natalia said with a big laugh.

  “We’re just learning,” Catie said as she joined in the laugh.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Hi, Catie,” Sophia said after Catie answered her call.

  “Hi,” Catie answered, “what’s up?”

  “A bunch of us are going to check out that new burger place, The Oracle Diner,” Sophia said. “Won’t you come along? You haven’t been yet, have you?”

  “No, I haven’t been to it yet,” Catie said. She was trying to decide between going on this outing or having dinner with her mother.

  “Artie and Chris are coming, and of course Jason and Annie,” Sophia said. “It’ll be fun. The servers wear roller skates.”

  “Okay, I’ll come if my mom lets me skip out on dinner with her tonight,” Catie answered.

  “Oh, she’ll let you go for sure. I’m doing a review of the restaurant for the Delphi Gazette. Do you think I should have named the paper the De
lphi Oracle?”

  “It would be a cute name, but an Oracle predicts the future, a newspaper reports the past.”

  “I guess it would be a strange name for a paper, maybe I’ll have a section in it called The Oracle and make predictions.”

  “You could,” Catie said, “but you might want to see if you’re any good at predictions first.”

  “Good idea,” Sophia said. “I’ll see you there.”

  Catie sent a text to her mother asking about the dinner. Her mother just sent one word back, “GO!”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Catie arrived at the diner a little late, so that Natalia could go in earlier while her new backup, Morgan, could cover Catie until she got into the diner.

  Catie was surprised to see Frankie at the table when she arrived. Sophia had arranged things so Catie was sitting next to her and across from Frankie.

  “Hi, everyone,” Catie said. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “Oh, we just got here,” Sophia said. “They haven’t even come over to take our order yet.”

  “Then I’d better get inside the booth before I get run over,” Catie said as she slid in beside Sophia. “Has anyone eaten here before?”

  “Nope,” Sophia said. “I already asked. ADI said the burgers are great, although how she would know I’m not sure.”

  “Sam and Kal ate here when they opened,” Catie said.

  “Oh. What did they like?” Chris asked.

  “Kal said the fries are great, he had the Hawaiian burger, I guess he misses home,” Catie said. “Sam had the onion rings, which she loved, and the prophet’s burger.”

  “Did she like the burger?” Annie asked.

  “Apparently, it’s one of the smaller ones,” Catie said, “which is what she cared about, but she did say it was good.”

  “Here comes the server,” Sophia said. “Catie, are you ready to order?”

  “Sure, I’m having the same thing Kal did, we always like the same food,” Catie said.

  The server skated up; she was wearing a red and white striped dress and big cat-eye glasses, red, of course. It took a few minutes before everyone finally ordered. Once they were finished, Catie turned to Sophia, “Hey, Madam Reporter, did you hear about our protester?”

  “What protester?” Sophia asked.