Prototype Ten
Chapter 11

Copyright ©2007-2009 - Shakes Peer2B

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President Caprio's nerves were raw, and he tried not to let it show to his visitor. What the hell had they expected? When you have a global government with power to dictate policy and law to the national governments, you need a way to enforce the laws passed by the global government. This was not the first head of state to come to him with complaints, nor was it likely to be the last.

"I understand your concerns, Mr. Prime Minister," he said, suppressing the desire to tell his visitor to his face that he was an incompetent thief who had no business running a country. "Certainly, it is daunting to face the prospect that some of the laws that have been in force in your country will be overturned by the United Earth Congress. I also understand that certain practices within your government are traditional, and have been for so long that they hold the force of law. Nonetheless, if we are to achieve our goals with regard to defeating the aliens, then we must have your full cooperation."

"But UE Police!" the Prime Minister huffed, "Rooting through our files, demanding access to our computers, even arresting honored members of my government!"

"It is harsh, sir," Caprio said placatingly, "I know, but it is not just your government that is being so treated. Even members of the Congress of the United States have been arrested. No one is immune, sir, not even heads of state. We must assure ourselves, as quickly as possible, of a level economic platform from which to launch manufacturing and research efforts on a grand scale if we are to defeat these aliens, and anyone who disobeys UE law is subject to trial and imprisonment. We are at war, and drastic measures are needed to wage that war effectively. You, personally, ratified the Constitution of United Earth that gives us the authority to take whatever actions are necessary to get our manufacturing and defense to the state of readiness required to deal with this threat. If these measures are too harsh for your country to bear, you can, of course, secede from the union, but in so doing, you will lose any protection your country might have expected from UE forces. If my memory serves me correctly, your military lost over half its aircraft before you joined the UE. Since that time, you have lost none. How long do you think your people will stand with you if you remove that protection? I will take your complaints under advisement, sir, but I cannot promise redress unless the UE courts find that your people have been illegally arrested. Now if you will excuse me, my calendar is quite full."

As the Prime Minister shuffled out, Caprio brought up his calendar on the laptop that sat open in front of him. Clicking a button on the screen brought up the image of his secretary.

"Gretchen, is the Minister of Education here yet?"

"He has been waiting for a few minutes, sir. Shall I send him in?"

"By all means." Caprio dismissed the intercom window and walked over to the conference table by the window as the door opened. The Education Minister, looking as frazzled as Caprio felt, was show in. His careworn face lighted briefly with a smile when he saw his old friend.

"Oskar!" the big Norwegian with thinning blond hair beamed as he stooped through the doorway into the President's office. "How are you? You look as though you have the weight of the world upon your shoulders! Ah! But of course. You do carry that weight! How can one man bear such a burden?"

"I do not know, Rolf," Oskar smiled back. "If I survive the effort, I shall tell you how it is done."

"You have always reached far beyond your grasp," Rolf shook his head, "and yet, you continue to achieve such amazing things!"

"At the moment, I feel that I have attempted to cross one swamp too many, and that I shall soon drown in the foul-smelling muck of global politics! Please tell me that you have good news for me!"

"Ah! That, I can do!" Rolf answered, putting his worn leather case on the conference table and taking the proffered chair. "Fortunately, educated people love showing off what they know! We have had so many volunteers to teach in the new schools that we may have to turn some away. We have the luxury of screening, not just for qualified teachers, but for those who are good at it!"

"This is wonderful news!" Oskar said, "And the schools? Are they getting built on schedule?"

"Some yes, some no," Rolf answered. "There are still obstacles to overcome; the building of roads and electrical distribution systems, local and national corruption, even finding enough engineers and architects, in some countries. That last, fortunately, is not as bad as it could be, thanks to the opening of borders. It will be much easier when the UE monetary system has been finalized, so we don't have to deal with national currencies."

"It is galling, I know," Caprio's head shook as he thought of his own problems in those areas, "but I cannot seem to make them move faster. It seems as though they believe these aliens will simply give up and go home and they will be able to just go back to doing things the way they always have."

Rolf stared at him in astonishment.

"You are joking, of course!" he said.

"Joking? Why would I be joking?"

"In the entire history of mankind, no government has been created and begun operation in a year and a half, much less a global government! How long did it take the European Union just to agree to become a union? Granted, what we have so far can hardly be called a full-fledged government, but it is far more than anyone expected to have at this point. What you have accomplished here is nothing short of a miracle! To be sure, there are problems, but they are minor compared to what you have already achieved! You want them to move faster, yet by historical standards, they are moving at the speed of light! Do not be downhearted my friend! Think, instead, of what you have already managed to get done!"

"I wish I could do that, Rolf," the President sighed, "but those damned aliens are still up there, and they are still attacking, and what we have accomplished is barely a skeleton of what we need. We have only a handful of retired FBI and Interpol agents for police and hardly any support structure for them. We have three judges to handle the entire global case load. Hell, even our laws are mere shadows of what they need to be. The UE congress is still thinking nationally and if I didn't go over there almost every day and remind them that we are fighting an interstellar war and that we have committed to fighting it together, they would never get anything done."

"This is true, but it doesn't diminish your success. It simply lends urgency to your need to accomplish more. These aliens, for whatever reason, seem willing to give us a sporting chance, at any rate."

"That is one of the things that puzzles me at night when my head is not full of a million things I must do the next day. Why haven't they just attacked full force and wiped us out? Why this cat and mouse game? Are they really being sportsmen about this, or is there something more sinister afoot? Are they testing us, perhaps? If that is the case, what is the prize for passing the test? What is the penalty for failure? These are questions to which I'm not sure I want the answers, but I cannot stop asking them anyway."

"Perhaps you should take a sleeping pill at night, instead of asking yourself unanswerable questions. There is a new study out, you know, that says several hours of sleep each night is actually good for your health."

"I have tried pills, Rolf," Oskar shook his head, "Unfortunately, their effects do not go away when it is time to be awake. I cannot function the next day if I take a sleeping pill."

"Well, even sleep deprived, you have managed to do more than any other person to create a unified Earth, my friend, so keep up the good work. We are all counting on you."


"Tiger leader this is Tiger six, I've got bogeys on my tail."

"Roger, Six. Eagle One this is Tiger one, how about a little dust off for our boy there?"

"No can do Tiger, we've got our own problems here. You're on your own this time!"

"Roger Eagle. Okay boys and girls, I count six bandits to our rear, let's give 'em hell. Two, you're with me. We'll break right and go over the top. Three and four break left and come in low. Five, see if you can drop back and take some of the heat off Six until we're in position. On my mark ... Break!"

Two pairs of FA-18t's split off from the formation, the leader and his wingman looping back to come in above and behind the bandits, while the other pair managed a diving turn that brought them screaming up from below the enemy craft. The enemy also split off into pairs to deal with the divided squadron.

 
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