Before the former Lone Star state of Texas could be granted at their pleading request to be reinstated into the collective fold of the United States, certain conditions would need to be met. Every member from the House and Senate in Austin, including the people who had temporarily filled vacated positions after others were removed from office, understood what would be required. Although many were not happy with what faced them, it was infinitely better than the alternative of spiraling into the economic status of an impoverished nation. Therefore they grudgingly accepted exactly what those conditions implied.

Excluding the previous two months due to his capture, the former Ambassador Pearson of Texas had met with the American Secretary of State on the second Monday of every month throughout the previous eighteen. Therefore the Secretary suggested to President Harwell that incorporating the same time slot for the official signing of the documents would be a good idea. Accordingly, an entourage of representatives from the Republic of Texas arrived at the State Department to meet with both men at ten o’clock on the morning of September eleventh 2028. The date on the calendar, if not the year, was symbolic in that it represented one of the worst days in the history of the United States. However it could now also be remembered as a date of victory which led to reunification.

A few select members of the media were in attendance for the event, and their cameras were all abuzz as President Harwell entered the large conference room in stride with the man who had through Republic of Texas constitutional law risen to the temporary position of President. Although the alterations which were forthcoming had been accepted without exception by the legislature in Austin, it personally made his stomach turn to think that his signature on their behalf would minimize the stature of Texas so significantly. However he had no choice in the matter as without a doubt the republic was the vanquished party, and it would do no good to deny it any longer. As a consequence, before Texas could become a state again, large portions of her land would be taken away from her. Therefore what had previously defined the perimeter of Texas would undergo significant changes, and after the documents on the table were signed, they would be enforced at noon eastern time.

In the far western reaches of Texas, her neighbor New Mexico would be enlarged via a substantial portion of land which included El Paso and the surrounding territory. The old line which ran north and south between the two states would remain as it was, but the right angle turn to the west at 32 degrees north latitude would no longer exist. Instead the line would continue further to the south until reaching a point just outside of Big Bend National Park. From there it would take a forty-five degree turn to the southeast and run straight on until reaching the Rio Grande River which defined the international border with Mexico. The purpose of extending the state line further to the south, and the slight jog to the southeast, was so that the entirety of the western flange of Texas and the National Park would now become part of New Mexico.

As the new line would increase the size of New Mexico by roughly twenty-five percent, her legislature had no problem with agreeing to a small concession in return. At the very northeast corner of the state, the line which had represented the boundary of Oklahoma would be moved to the west a few miles so that the north and south running line would be uniform all the way up to Colorado. With no town or measurable human population within that tiny sliver of land, no citizen of New Mexico would become displaced into Oklahoma by the slight adjustment. As for what had been southwest Texas, towns such as Kermit and Pecos would become part of New Mexico while Fort Stockton and Wickett would serve as the first towns in Texas along Interstate-10 and 20 respectively.

Oklahoma would also benefit from altered boundaries, as the Texas panhandle region containing the city of Amarillo would be lopped off and annexed into the Sooner state. In order for that to transpire, the straight east to west latitude boundary line of Oklahoma and Texas would be moved south. The new line would commence where the Red River, which defined a much larger portion of the boundary between the two, crossed into Texas northeast of Childress. From that point the line would head directly west until reaching the line with New Mexico, and cross Highway-87 and Interstate-27 just north of Tulia in the process. With the combined land gains of the Texas panhandle and the tiny sliver from northeast New Mexico, Oklahoma would increase in size by roughly one-third.

Not wanting to snub either of the other two states which had suffered as the neighbor of Texas, both Arkansas and Louisiana would be afforded a concession of land as well. In the northeast corner of Texas, the 95 degree longitude line would be adapted as a new eastern boundary. As the line stretched south from the Red River, it would then intersect with the continuation of the already existing east to west boundary line of Arkansas and Louisiana. As a result, the extended section of land for Arkansas would include, albeit barely, the town of Mt. Pleasant near Interstate-30. The gains from Texas by Arkansas would be the least in terms of square mileage, but as she had originally shared a minuscule boundary with her goliath neighbor when compared to the other three, the lessor amount was justified.

Lastly there would be Louisiana, and she would gain a more sizable section along the eastern boundary of Texas than that of Arkansas. Following the newly established 95 degree longitude line further to the south, good sized towns such as Longview on Interstate-20, Nacogdoches, Lufkin, and Livingston along Highway-59, and the entire Beaumont and Port Arthur region near the Gulf of Mexico had been annexed to Louisiana. Although Houston would still fall within the confines of Texas, the port of Galveston and several population centers lining Galveston Bay would not. Barely spared to remain within Texas was the NASA Johnson Space Center just southeast of Houston.

An enlarged map was shown for the media after the documents had been signed, and what had always been instantly recognizable as the shape of Texas no longer existed. Within the next two hours it would be much smaller in size, and when she was readmitted to the union, other alterations would be tended to.

Those included a constitutional provision which prohibited Texas from ever leaving the United States, as whether under positive or negative circumstances, it was imperative that the nation would not fracture again.

The next alteration dealt specifically with representation in the United States Congress. Although two Senators from the state would remain the same, the Representatives within the House would change based on the drastic population drop. That figure would need to be estimated for the time being as the next census would not begin for more than a year, but modern technology would provide the means to be reasonably accurate.

That led to the final condition of reinstatement, as Texas would not be readmitted into the union until after the upcoming November election. In order to receive a simple majority in Congress for that reinstatement, the eight Senators and every Representative from the four neighboring states had demanded that provision as well as the concession of land. California, who had brought up the concept of weakening Texas by subdividing her land, agreed with the assessment and stated they would also cast a negative vote unless the additional provision was met.

For those paying attention the posture of the west coast state made perfect sense, as the weakening of Texas would serve to strengthen the position and stature of California in the long run. Among other things, she would move up from being the third largest state to the second, and her electoral votes would be further distanced in a positive direction from that of Texas.

President Harwell believed that argument was a key point, and it represented another reason why he agreed with keeping Texas on the sidelines until after the election. If he, with the help of Congress, could do so, then he would surely earn the trust and loyalty of those citizens within the states who had benefited.