Sentience 1: Storm Clouds Gathering

by Gibson Michaels

  It was a given that federal government agencies were monitoring virtually all members of congressional delegations of planets where the Separatist movement had taken root. Keeping the Alliance Bureau of Investigation in the dark about this group meeting was highly desirable, but safeguarding the details of these discussions was imperative. Therefore, being well aware that most, if not all, of the congressional membership of the Southern planets were under constant surveillance by the ABI, these attendees had traveled to Bama by circuitous routes, each employing multiple surveillance evasion procedures dictated by various Southern private security firms having a large number of former AIA and ABI agents in their employ.

  Senator George was a rotund, yet dignified man in his mid-sixties. Although impeccably dressed, his thinning gray hair, chubby red cheeks and thick pouting lips made him a rather comic figure to the uninitiated. But his deep, velvety voice instantly inspired confidence and trust. From his physical appearance alone, one would never guess that George was one of the most respected men in Congress — possibly second only to Senator Lincoln Collier of Ginia, who was virtually worshiped in certain circles for his relentless congressional crusades against the Consortium’s inexorable subjugation of the South.

  “We are all painfully aware of the devastating effects the Consortium-backed Alliance First law has had on our Southern economies over the past six years, so there’s no need for us to go back over that ground,” Senator George opened. “The first order of business is to determine exactly where each of us stands on the matter of secession. We have to know exactly where we are before we can plan where we’re going. I’d like to call for a vote. All those who earnestly believe our current difficulties with the Alliance federal government cannot be resolved by means other than our achieving full independence from said government, please raise your hand.” Some faster than others, over the next few seconds all nine delegates raised their hands.

  “Good, we’re all in agreement then. Next, we need to discuss what form our independence should take. Naturally, our current situation has made us fearful of a strong central government, yet we thrived within the Alliance before the Consortium became strong enough to dictate governmental policy and subvert the checks and balances built into the Alliance constitution. Whatever form of government we create always has to recognize the planetary rights and sovereignty of its members, yet the commonalities of our goals and needs for a common defense demonstrate the need for a limited central government capable of meeting communal needs beyond the capabilities of our individual planets.

  “I’ve done some research on governmental forms throughout history and believe the one coming closest to meeting our needs is a confederacy. The main problem with confederacies in the past was their members retained so much independence and power locally, the central government was too weak to respond effectively to the needs of the group as a whole. In general, I think a modified version of the current Alliance constitution, specifying the powers reserved totally to the member planet states, and those reserved totally to the central government, will be the best approach in forming a new government. Let us retain everything good from the Alliance while repairing everything that went bad with it.

  “I’ve taken the liberty of loading a synopsis of my proposals concerning a Confederation between our respective planets, a basic outline of a modified constitution, into the computer terminals in front of you. Please load these files into your personal comps and study them this evening, so we can vote on them at tomorrow’s meeting. Naturally, any new constitution will have to be ratified by all the member legislatures, but if we can come to agreement here, we’ll at least have a working framework to build on. The more details we can work out ahead of time, the faster we can create a functioning, effective government when the time comes. I’ll now open the floor for discussion of this topic and this topic only.”

  There were a couple of questions asking for clarification of a few points in the proposal, and one or two supportive comments before Senator George continued the meeting.

  “Obviously, with Discol located within the Maylan system, our position would be eminently strengthened if Maylan were to join us. While Separatist sympathies run strong on Maylan, with an almost even split in opinion amongst the populace being reflected in their legislature, it is doubtful enough votes can be generated for a bill of secession to be passed, even after the next election. Nor is it probable a sufficient majority would exist for the required popular ratification, even if it was. While it would be nice if the Alliance would simply pull out of the Maylan system, ceding Discol and Waston to us, I don’t think we can count on their generosity extending quite that far —" a comment that elicited a chuckle from the assembled delegates.

  “In fact, as the seat of the Alliance federal government is physically located in the Maylan system, it is highly probable the new Alliance president will immediately move federal military assets to occupy Maylan at his first opportunity. Losing one’s capital would be a rather embarrassing way to begin a new administration, so I think it safe to assume Maylan will not be joining us any time soon.

  “Our most pressing concern is Ginia. Ginia is Maylan’s closest neighbor and, therefore, also dangerously near Waston. While Ginia does have a large mining concern, it also has the largest industrial complex in the South, so a majority of their raw materials remain on Ginia to fuel their own industry. This means that the Alliance First monstrosity hasn’t decimated their economy the way it has most of ours. Therefore the Separatist movement is, unfortunately, rather minimal there right now. As a result, it’s doubtful that Ginia will secede anytime soon, if at all. But the federal government’s response to our secession may very well push them into our camp. It all depends upon who takes over from Buchwald, and how much of a Consortium whore he or she turns out to be.

  “As we all know, the Consortium will not be pleased with what we’re doing, and will no doubt exert unprecedented pressure on the government to bring us back under their thumb by force. The personal integrity of Ginia Governor Myron Banks will probably preclude him from allowing the Alliance Fleet to use Ginia as a launch point for any potential military incursion. In fact, even the mere suggestion of using Ginia as part of an intended military operation against any of us might very well outrage the Ginian people and ignite the fires of secessionism there.

  “Ginians are a proud and honorable people, with deep ties to the rest of the South. In spite of their not personally suffering the same economic strangulation that we have, Ginia has sided with us unswervingly in all our failed attempts to thwart the Consortium agenda the Northern politicians have forced down our throats. They have shown enormous pride in Linc Collier’s consistent congressional and personal vendetta against the Consortium’s corrupt influence on the Northern politicos. The bottom line is the federal government’s response to our secession will probably have more to do with Ginia’s future than any influence we might exert.”

  “They won’t let us go peacefully, you know,” stated Senator William Beauregard Remington from the planet Missip.

  “They’ll have to. We have every right to secede,” countered Congressman Philip Angston of Socar. “There’s nothing in the Constitution which forbids us seceding from the Alliance, so any action the federal government might take would have to be economic in nature, as any military incursion would be totally illegal and a clear violation of our rights.”

  “When was the last time anyone up North gave a damn about ‘our rights?’ ” countered Senator Sonya Trainer of Floda. “Besides, they’d just make it legal. The damned Yankees have given up thinking for themselves and just do whatever the Consortium tell them to.”

  “Yankees?” asked Remington.

  “Yeah, like marionettes. The Yankees dance whenever the Consortium yanks their strings. The Consortium are the Yankors and the federal government are the Yankees. I think the term was first coined by Joja Governor Jennifer Steele.”

  “Yankees, I like that. Let's all make sure we pass that
one along to our media outlets back home. Yankees... That’s priceless!”

  “Surely the moderates would never allow a military invasion,” insisted Senator Albert Worley of Nocar. “We have several sympathizers amongst the Northern moderates.”

  “They didn’t stop that Alliance First monstrosity when it came up for a vote back in ’54,” noted Congresswoman Alice Thurgood of Joja. “The moderates in both parties were under so much pressure from their party leadership that many abstained rather than alienate the Consortium money-mongers. The moderates have lost seats in both parties since then, which are all filled now with good little Consortium puppets. The moderates are dying and you can bet your ass the few that are left will either fall in with the Consortium line, or lose their seats to Consortium-backed candidates in the upcoming election. No, we certainly can’t count on any help from the moderates when the time comes. Even if it’s not now, the federal government will be a wholly owned subsidiary of the Consortium after the next election.”

  “And that’s exactly why we’re all here today,” interjected Senator George. “If we can get back to our previous discussion, we will come back to the military question momentarily. Discussion of Tucky and Souri shouldn’t take too long, as they are very similar in their situations. Both of them have strong Separatist leanings, yet they lack a clear-cut majority. Again, neither seems ready to join us anytime soon, but future events could change their situations rather abruptly.”

  “What do you think about the odds of secession succeeding without the government resorting to military force, Admiral Kalis?” asked Senator Remington.

  Fleet Admiral Roger Kalis was one of the few senior military officers who could be relied upon unquestionably to back the proposed withdrawal of the Southern planets from the Alliance. A veteran of over thirty years of Fleet service, Kalis had risen from the lowest enlisted rank to become a five-star admiral, and was currently acting as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in overall command of the entire Alliance fleet. On military matters, Kalis served as an expert advisor to Southern congressional leaders.

  “Depends,” said Kalis after pausing for thought. “It all depends on who occupies the White House after the next election. If President Buchwald were running again, I say we’d be all right. Unfortunately he has opted to duck the issue entirely by retiring after a single term. Probably figures that after four years of being hamstrung by Consortium flunkies, he couldn’t win another term anyway. Of the potential contenders in both parties, I’d say we’d probably get away clean if Fairchild gets in, but that’s a long shot. Tyler and Jackson are both maybes who could go either way, but Marrot is completely in the Consortium’s pocket. Bottom line, I’d say we have no better than a 20 percent chance to leave the Alliance without a war on our hands, so we’d better arm ourselves to the teeth before trying it.”

  That bleak assessment of their chances of avoiding a war sobered everyone in the room. Finally, Senator Remington broke the silence by saying, “Yes, it is indeed unfortunate our esteemed President has chosen retirement at this particular moment. It’s equally unfortunate that none of us will have a secessionist majority within our own planetary governments before the next election. However things turn out for the presidency, we’ll definitely be dealing with someone new and odds are none of them will be throwing us a going-away party when we pull out.”

  “I agree with Admiral Kalis,” said Congressman Samuel Bacon of Bama. “We have to hope for the best, but plan for the worst. We must arm ourselves as quickly as possible if we are to have any hope of keeping our independence after we declare it. But one thing is paramount — we must stand united in this. If one goes, we all go. It cannot work any other way.”

  “But I can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to muster enough votes for secession even after the coming election,” declared Senator Marjorie Hatch from Arka.

  “Nor can I,” stated Senator Pauline Sharp of Tensee. “We’re going to need a significant boost in the polls to have any hope of getting enough votes.

  “We’ll get both of you as much help as we can,” intoned Lusia’s Senator George. “It’s easy to remain philosophical about it as long as it remains theoretical, but when it actually starts happening, emotions get involved and the Alliance response to the secessions may drastically alter the opinions of some of our present foot-draggers. The main thing we need to focus on is getting our planetary legislatures discussing the secession issue and bringing it to a vote as soon as possible after the election. I know that a few of our planet's charters require a voter referendum on something like this, so it’ll be especially important to get the legislative vote done there quickly, due to the extra time involved setting up a popular vote on the measure.

  “Thanks to Admiral Kalis, we’ve managed to get a large number of our ore freighters out to interested parties in the international community, all of whom think they’re purchasing from our ‘legal’ 10 percent allotment allowed by the Alliance First law, so now we’ve managed to accumulate relatively significant amounts of funds in foreign banks. We’ve even managed to gain cooperation from several foreign sources to have some of these funds channeled back into Alliance banks from the outside. With working capital, we can now begin to make some progress politically, as well as acquiring weapons to defend ourselves.”

  “I just can’t buy it,” said Senator Worley. “The Alliance has the most powerful war fleet in all of human space. Even if we had the entire British and French fleets at our disposal, we still wouldn’t stand a chance of defeating the Alliance Fleet militarily. The military option just isn’t viable.”

  “On the contrary, Senator,” said Admiral Kalis. “If we were talking strictly about those weapons we can purchase from foreign sources, I would agree with you wholeheartedly, but we are currently in the process of acquiring a significant amount of weaponry from the only source truly capable of engaging the Alliance Fleet.

  With an incredulous snort, Senator Worley asked, “And just who might that be?”

  “Why Fleet itself, of course.”

  Chapter-18

  I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country. -- Thomas Jefferson

  The Planet Nork, City of Nork

  Consortium Headquarters

  June, 3860

  “This meeting will now come to order,” intoned James Preston Aneke, presiding Chairman of the Executive Board of the Consortium of Industrial Management. J.P. Aneke paused for a moment to allow the other board members to get situated and quiet themselves before proceeding. “Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, this is an emergency meeting of the Executive Board, so we will dispense with the customary keeping of minutes according to article four, section eleven, sub-section nine, paragraph three of the Consortium charter.”

  Around the large, circular table sat twelve of the most powerful leaders of heavy industry within the United Stellar Alliance. Each was the leader of one of the largest and most influential companies within their respective fields. J.P. Aneke himself was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Starquest Aerospace, the largest single manufacturer of interstellar transport vessels and commercial spaceliners in human-inhabited space. Aneke was considered by many to be the single most powerful man in human industry. He held politicians in the palm of his hand and virtually dictated to congress, most of whom were on the Consortium’s payroll — those who mattered anyway.

  To his immediate right sat Vice-Chairman Aline McCauley, who held a similar position at Alliance Energy, which was the largest single supplier of interstellar ship fuels and planetary usage fuels within the Alliance. Next to her sat Robert Eastman, Secretary and CEO of BioCom, the largest supplier of biological AI computers. On Aneke’s immediate left sat Morgan Rainey, Treasurer, who was President and Chief Financial Officer of Capital Interstellar Bank and Trust Company. Together with Noreen Lucado, Senior Vice President of
Keystone Mining and Exploration Corp., these five members of the Consortium Executive Board wielded enough influence to make them one of the most powerful groups in the entire Alliance, inside or outside of government.

  Keystone Mining and Exploration Corp. was the second largest supplier of raw materials in human space and the largest within the Alliance. Noreen Lucado was Acting-Director of Special Projects, sitting in for her boss Theodore Wentworth, who was currently hospitalized in a zero-G environment in a new hospital on Kilkenny Station, on the Irish planet Meath.

  “The purpose of this meeting,” continued Aneke, “is to develop a strategy for dealing with the current political crisis in the South... namely the Separatist or Secessionist Movement. First, we’ll hear a status report from Noreen Lucado, Acting-Director of Special Projects… Noreen?”

  “Thank you, Mr. Chairman,” Noreen began solemnly as she stood. “Ladies and gentlemen of the Executive Board, animosity toward the Consortium has been dramatically on the increase throughout the South for the past several years. Despite our aggressive public relations campaign, an alarming percentage of the Southern populous continues to associate the Consortium with the market restrictions placed upon Southern exports of raw materials by the Alliance First Act, enacted by congress in 3854. As a majority of the industries throughout the South are involved in the production of these types of raw materials, Southern leaders have complained bitterly that the enactment of that legislation has kept the market price they have received for these commodities at an artificially low level, while the prices they pay for finished goods from the North has increased along with international market levels.