Extinction Level Event
Page 22
UN Headquarters, New York City
In the cavernous hall of the General Assembly, Bao Feng takes a seat behind the rows of assembled delegates. General Secretary Albert Haartaagnan had finally decided to address the global epidemic of EWK-1 and had called a emergency special session of the general assembly to address the world as a whole. Glancing behind towards the rear of the hall, Bao takes in the multitudes of reporters and news crews from over 180 nations gathered, preparing their cameras for the Secretary General's speech. The majority of the directors of the UN's organizations and specialized agencies are present, though as Bao looks around she notices that Trip Manjak is conspicuously absent. During the last month 'Trip' had received nearly continual media coverage for his relentless global travels supporting the fight against the EWK-1 advance and his personal taking command of all the FAO and WFP efforts around the world.
Major topics that were expected to be covered in the address included the global response to the environmental threat posed by EWK-1; the implications of the effects of the virus for future generations; and the development of new sustainable measures to be taken to ensure continued agricultural productivity, especially in those countries hardest hit by the epizootic. Many countries were experiencing heightened levels of civil unrest, social chaos, and general lack of authority due to the perceived inability of their respective governments to provide for the needs of their populations.
Bao looks around again. A dozen more delegates and aides file into the chamber, but Manjak is not amongst them. Sitting in the rear of the hall, Bao is favored with a view of the entire assembly, comprising all 192 member states, non-affiliated members and partially-recognized states sitting to Bao's right, and directly in front the main podium for the Assembly President, Secretary General, and speaker. Above the podium is a giant wooden sculpture of the UN symbol, the world in a wreath of olive branches symbolizing peace. As she looks towards the podium the President of the Assembly makes his way towards the podium followed by Albert Hartaagnaan. The President calls for order over the din of hundreds of human voices chattering amongst themselves. Bao, despite being a regular at UN meetings, cannot help but remember her classes from elementary school in Wuhan, China, where the teacher would similarly call on the assembled students to quiet down and pay attention to the front of the room. The President calls for order again, this time to a much quieter audience. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you The Secretary General, Albert Hartaagnaan." Hartaagnaan takes the podium as a hush descends upon the chamber. Hartaagnan sweeps his gaze across the hundreds of assembled delegates, taking in the eye of each and every man and woman in the hall.
"Honorable representatives and delegates of your countries, Ladies and Gentlemen; my fellow human beings. During the past six months, we have witnessed an extraordinary event, one unprecedented in our lifetimes take place here on our planet. We have all bore witness to this series of events, with mixtures of despair, anxiety, and hopelessness cloud of vision of the future as a result of it. We have all broken down, into petty groups defined by mere lines on a map, and mere names, trying in vain to find stop the catastrophe from spreading onto our land. We have failed in that regard."
Hartaagnan takes another look around the hall, now having all eyes focused on his. his tone drops to a woeful note, "The terrifying reality that began six months ago started due to the irregular and immoral secretive actions of a specific member state, in a unclear and unprovoked attempt to find yet more destructive ways of sowing malevolence and discontent amongst its perceived enemies. While this covert program was already in breach of numerous international protocols and treaties, the governance of this state failed to provide adequate security to prevent malcontents from tampering with the biological weapon they had secretly designed. As a result of this negligence, this weapon had been released unintentionally upon our unsuspecting planet, putting the lives of billions in jeopardy." Hartaagnan pauses as general disorder erupts on the assembly floor, many accusations and a few less-than-polite words being tossed between the delegates, particularly in the direction of the American representative. "Order!", calls out the President in a booming voice. The chatter, bickering, and arguments dies down as quickly as it had started. Hartaagnaan begins anew.
"Regardless and irrespective of the causes and sources of this catastrophe, the fact remains that it is now all over the world. This is not a problem for one, or two, or ten nations to resolve- rather, it is one that the world must face as a whole. Each and every one of us is currently, or will be affected by the apparent extinction of the earthworms sooner or later. This is an extinction level event that will seep down to touch us all, and as such we must band together as brothers to put aside our differences and make real groundwork against the forthcoming consequences." Utter silence reigns in the deathly still hall as the audience holds its breath, waiting on Hartaagnan's every word. All the news and media of the world over focus on the General Secretary's grim face as he continues speaking:
"The lowly earthworm as we know it is nearly an extinct species at the moment, and all those species on the planet, including us, that are conjoined with it in the fragile balance of the global ecosystem are in danger as well. That fragile balance has been terribly unbalanced, even more so than the damage we have wrought on it for the past hundred years. Our forests are dying, our savannahs are drying up, and our farmland is a fraction of what it used to be in quality and quantity. Many species of animals, from the Monarch Butterfly to the Golden Eagle, which were not in danger before are now at risk. Worst still, the multitudes of plants that comprise our diverse biospheres across the globe, from Indonesia to India to Panama, are equally if not more so at risk of extinction. The potential gene pool, as well as the medicinal and nutritional qualities of these flora may be lost to us forever."
"Friends, Humans, Countrymen of all the nations of the world. . . . we are facing a global crossroads. . . an extinction level event. It is possible that we, as a race, . . as a species, may also be dragged down the maelstrom before us. If we are to survive this, it will take the willing and voluntary collaborative effort of every government, every organization, every state, and every individual- only together can we steer our world past this catastrophe and head once again for a brighter future. I implore you to put aside your petty differences and insignificant bickering and join together so that we can get a clear and concise consensus on the path that we must take -to preserve ourselves as a species. There is no turning back, there is no staying in place, we must go forward together and as one. Only then will we survive."
Hartaagnaan pauses for effect before continuing. "It is my great honor to now introduce to you our new Director for the Food and Agricultural Organization, Dr. Trevor Manjak, who has been one of our most instrumental and pivotal figures in this struggle since its discovery."
Hartaagnaan steps away from the podium, while Manjak stands up from a chair he was sitting in nearby and walks to the podium. The two men shake hands to hundreds of cameras in the background before Manjak takes the podium.
"Normally, I would begin by saying 'Good Evening'. That would not seem appropriate today since, as we all know, it is not a good evening." This remark serves in purpose in lifting up, if ever so slightly, the somber and heavy weight that had descended upon the chamber . "As you all well know, we are facing a grave threat, an existential threat to be precise. The FAO, working in conjunction with governments and agencies around the world, has come together with a plan to ensure the continued adequate supply of food to sustain the current world population. By current, we mean the 6,5 billion of us that are on the planet right now. We can no longer afford to continue our population growth with such a limited resource base, especially with the gruesome conditions imposed upon us during these last six months. "
"Agriculture, throughout human history, has revolved and evolved from the basics of farming. Using the soil to grow and cultivate crops for consumption. However, this process, on which all of us are dependent upon for survival, is no
w declining across our world because of the worms' extinction. Soil nutrients, processes, and general health that is maintained by the earthworms will no longer be able to be maintained."
"To counter this, we are proposing the World Agriculture Stabilization Resolution, Number 1555, which mandates all member states to introduce a radical new food production system based primarily on vertical farming and hydroponics. Hydroponics and Aeroponics, the methods of growing produce without the use of soil, will have to be increased worldwide by thousands of percentage points in order to sustain our population. Conventional farming is no longer an option. Nor will the deforestation of forests and subsequent expansion of farmland be an adequate solution. Rather, the usage of innovative new technologies is the only viable solution to this catastrophe."
"Governments will individually manage and fund their respective projects for developing national aeroponic and hydroponic farming; however, the United Nations Security Council in conjunction with the FAO will mandate quotas based upon national resource consumption and population of the respective countries. The UN will also help organize transnational engineering, construction, and planning teams for countries that do not have the necessary workforce for these projects. Timetables for the implementation of the Stabilization Resolution will revolve in periods of two years, and it is hoped that progress will commence as quickly and efficiently as possible to alleviate further pain and suffering."
Manjak pauses again, taking a good look around the chamber, seeing mixed reactions on the faces of the hundreds of delegates, and making sure to make eye contact with his fastened audience before continuing his speech.
"A worldwide shift to aeroponic and hydroponic farming will do nothing to alleviate the loss of hundreds of species worldwide that are affected by their ecosystem disruption. However, to preserve the huge gene pool that many of our rainforests, jungles, and other biodiversity hotspots represent, the governments of Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Indonesia, and India, have already agreed to a gene bank program which will store the genetic information of all the world's species for future generations. We are currently working to first invite all megadiverse countries to become involved in the program, and then the rest of the world. The program with the United Nations will also entail the extensive collection and categorization of numerous species in controlled greenhouse and zoological environments. These agreements will supplement previous agreements outlined in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocols on Biosafety."
"Resolution 1555, due to the special nature of the case, is to be voted on by the General Assembly in order to be binding for all member states. The Security Council has nominally approved the Resolution, and it has already been approved by the FAO. In order to be binding, Resolution 1555 will need a supermajority here in the General Assembly."
"I urge each and every one of you to merely remember one thing when voting on this Resolution- we are all in this together. If one of you follows up a plan and your neighbor does not, an imbalance is created. If some of us pool resources together while others do not, inequality is generated. With the potential future of our species at stake here, please vote for the best interests of everyone as a whole, with no preference for localities or miniscule differences. That is all."
The usual applause after a speech is given after Manjak makes it clear that he has concluded, although the tone is quieter and even more caliginous than possibly ever in the history of the assembly's meetings. The President takes the podium again, stating, "I shall now put to the vote draft Resolution 1555. Please keep in mind that we will be using electronic voting as opposed to a show of hands for this vote".
The representatives speak through their headsets, retranslating the speech from English to dozens of other languages as some of them try to go over Hartaagnaan and Manjak's speeches over again. Most representatives, however, will have already received instructions on voting procedures by their respective governments. At the front of the great hall, Manjak sits impatiently with himself, hoping that most the governments follow logic and vote a clear YES to the resolution. A large, new screen behind Manjak, but easily visible to the rest of the hall, turns on, ready to display voting results to the representatives, the media, and the world beyond. After ten minutes of short reconsideration by the assembly, the President calls for the vote to begin. Tallies start lining up on the giant screen, with green Y representing affirmatives; red N for negatives, and a white A for abstention. The tally starts to take count. Surprising Bao, red tallies manage to keep up with green tallies in numbers during the first minute. After 100 tallies, Bao notices Manjak and the Secretary-General start to look worried. Several countries even abstain, which strikes Bao as something completely illogical at this stage. The system does not count abstentions as votes due to the "present and voting" system of vote counting, which only counts 'Yeses' and 'No's'. Another minute later 150 votes are counted, the ratio is now 72:70 in favor of Yes. It ends shortly thereafter with 93:80 vote ratio, which becomes readily apparent that it is not enough for the supermajority necessary for it to be binding to all countries. The President throws a strongly disappointing glance in Manjak and Hartaagnaan's direction before looking back forward to address the assembly.
"Motion to pass Resolution 1555 is not passed. Supermajority is not achieved, and Resolution 1555- the World Agricultural Stabilization Plan- will not be passed with a simple majority according to the Security Council resolution."
"I shall now call on those representatives who wish to speak in explanation of vote. I should like to remind representatives that explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats", states the President. From the back, Bao notices Manjak's face has turned to a sullen gray, visibly unhappy about the defeat of the resolution. However, there is nothing she can do about it at the moment. Not surprisingly, in response to the President's call for individual explanations, a host of nations rise up to defend their voting position, particularly the ones that voted negatively to the resolution. The representative of one of the Middle Eastern countries begins his rebuttal to the Stabilization Plan. Bao listens intently as he rattles off a long list of grievances including infringement of sovereignty, massive costs burdened by people from third world countries, political dominance by the Security Council onto smaller nations, lack of property for construction of such facilities and general infeasibility. The representative receives a mixture of applause and silence from the rest of the audience at the conclusion of his thirty-five minute explanation. Bao privately acknowledges merit to some of his arguments but overall considers the timing of their delivery to be terrible and detrimental to the UN as a whole. Seven more representatives then takes turns defending their reasons for their vote, two aggressively support the plan while the remaining five back the first speaker's comments. After three hours of non-stop rebuttals, criticism, and rebukes the President calls for a recess. As the delegates swarm out of the arena to call their governments, discuss the issue with their colleagues, or merely go the bathroom, the area outside the General Assembly Hall is crowded with pinstripe suited people from all the corners of the globe. Bao walks over, and after greeting several UN co-workers she spots Manjak in discussion with the Japanese representative.
Bao Feng makes her way through the sea to her 'technical' boss. Manjak notices her approaching, and quickly excuses himself from his conversation with the Japanese man. "Not what you expected?", asks Bao as she walks within earshot of Manjak. "No", answers Manjak glumly, "This is too important for insignificant politics to stop, yet, I see that when problems aren't addressed earlier people will bring them forth whenever they have a chance to do so." "Many of the countries opposing are less developed ones. They see your plan as a push by the developed world for something that they cannot afford." "Yes, but I think that while we are all equally affected by this disaster, they have felt it hit harder and faster than the developed countries. Haven't they learned a thing during these months?"
Bao, as the head of the WFP, is mandated to stay at the conference, even if it involves her doing little except listening to the representatives heatedly argue their points. The session resumes shortly afterwards, continuing the along the same pattern of discussion that it held after Manjak's speech. After another four hours the Assembly is adjourned until the next day. Bao, however, realizes that until a consensus is made it is useless to remain at the Assembly session. As such, she decides takes a flight back to Rome the following day and get back to running the WFP's operations at full throttle.
Washington, DC
At the Department of Agriculture headquarters, Stephen Onassis finishes a teleconference with the Vice President of the United States, arguing back and forth over the feasibility of a program to supply Canada with small quantities of rations. Stephen Onassis completely rebuked the proposal called it a thinning out of already stretched resources, which had not gone well with the Vice President. The VP had good intentions in proposing the deal, in a effort to start his own "Good Neighbor Policy." Unfortunately, with total national food production at an all time low of 50% normal productivity and caloric value at only 67%, there was no way any food was to be spared if the nation's 306 million residents were to be fed and kept alive until a more global and lasting solution could take effect.
Onassis was surprised that the VP didn't see that, although he suspected that he proposed the policy in order to make a name for himself. Perhaps he though now was the time to strengthen alliances with needed support. Irrational. and Illogical. Not to mention untimely, thought Onassis.
Another pressing issue for the Secretary of Agriculture's menu was the joint NSA and FBI investigation into Dr. Konovalov's work. Onassis would be one of the witnesses called to at the geneticist's upcoming trial, basically to explain the by-now obvious consequences of the Doctor's actions. Nonetheless, Onassis was interested in finding out how Project Deniability had started and how the secret program was run. While not having high security clearance, particularly for defense matters, Onassis was still allowed to read some of the files and all of the files from Konovalov's private research firm, all of which were deemed to be "controlled unclassified" information by the NSA. Onassis had spent many hours over the past five days pouring over Konovalov's files outlining his collaboration with NBACC to develop the ultimate earthworm killing bio-weapon.
As it turns out, the project was the brainchild of Dr. Jackson Medina, who proposed it to the Secretary of Defense. Unbelievably, Project Deniability was approved by the Secretary who saw it as a potentially useful weapon that skimmed the line between legal and illegal. According to the Secretary, he briefly explains how the BWC is designed to outlaw weapons targeting humans, but makes no reference in relation to other potential target populations. Realizing the loophole, and the viability of Project Deniability, the Defense Secretary gave Dr. Medina the green light to start development of the EWK-1 virus. Dr. Medina was given full responsibility for the program, as well as plenty of jurisdiction over the running of the program. It was mandated to be top secret, and as such very few people, amongst them the Secretary of Defense and Dr. Medina, even knew of its existence. Dr. Konovalov merely had compartmental knowledge of the program, yet somehow had gained access to the laboratory where the EWK-1 samples were housed in.
How did he figure out what the program was and where the experimental samples were kept? Odd. He must have gotten that information from Medina. But then why would he give him classified information? It was more and more obvious that Medina had a much bigger role than he previously admitted. Could the two of them have collaborated in stealing the virus? Was this intentionally released instead of a transportation accident? The fact that Konovalov was entrusted to transport the secret shipment seemed odd and worrisome as it was. Were they on the payroll of an outside group to give them a sample of EWK-1?
These were all questions that Onassis hoped the NSA and FBI would soon have answers to. He also knew that their investigations would have to be very quick and precise, since so far the only results have been the implications of two well-known and highly respectable public figures in a two seemingly unconnected, yet both disparagingly harmful gross mistakes. At this point, Onassis deeply felt that the public's confidence in its scientists and leaders had already been shaken, and was being still being tested daily by their ability to weather the crisis precipitated by the actions of the two men in question. Onassis himself was under constant public scrutiny over his management of the USDA during the last six months. On more than one occasion he was even chastised by reporters and during a congressional hearing over USDA activities prior to the outbreak of EWK-1, even though there was no way for the organization to predict such an event. The worst possible criticism came from a particularly nosy interviewer who seemed to view the entire episode as not a unexpected crisis, but rather a failure of the USDA to foresee and prepare for a national food shortage. Of course, USDA policy was designed to introduce techniques and policies to avoid such shortages in the first place, and less so to counteract them in the event of one. Onassis admits to himself that, unfortunately, this time that guiding principle had fallen short.
The phone rings. "Onassis", the Secretary answers as he picks up the phone. "Sir, this Colonel Tompkins from the NSA. We have something interesting for you to see." "What is it?" "We have uncovered some new unnerving evidence, and strongly recommend that you meet us at Fort Detrick, NBACC facility. As the Secretary of Defense is no longer leading this investigation, we still need a cabinet-level position to oversee this aspect of the investigation." "I will be on my way immediately, as soon as you tell me what is so urgent." "We have had a bigger security leak than we realized initially. We believe that you should also inform Dr. Krishnan at the NBACC before you leave for the facility." "Very well. What did your team find?" The Colonel explains in a few sentences the NSA's revelations after going through the Fort Detrick's digital security records, which, unlike the base's cameras', was still operational at the day before first contamination. Onassis is quickly briefed on the new information, and once again asked to head to NBACC by the Colonel.
Without further ado, Onassis clicks off the phone and dials Dr. Krishnan at NBACC.