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[The information source for the Spence meetings, came from minutes kept on an encrypted White House intranet. The Yokafor meeting was from one of Slindo Merofort’s video records and Paula Wilson’s biography of the Secretary General. RBB]
Jack Spence sat behind the famous Resolute desk in the oval office. Chief of Staff, Robert Nixon relaxed in one of the visitors’ chairs. They had just finished discussing what the President had learned on his week-long excursion around planets of the Federation.
‘It all sounds amazing, Mr President.’
‘Wish I’d taken you. You must watch the video, Bob,’ the President pressed a button on his intercom. ‘Nancy, is that video file downloaded?’
A tinny voice replied, ‘Yes, Mr President.’
‘No disturbances please, Nancy,’ he said and released the intercom. He stood. ‘Bob, come and watch this,’ and the two men moved to a fawn Chesterfield. The President pressed a remote control and a section of the wall panelling opened to reveal a two-metre television monitor. The video began to play.
‘They filmed us most places,’ the President said, ‘and this is a fair representation of the trip.’
‘Sorry, Mr President, I don’t understand the commentary.’
‘Oh, right. It’s Galactic Standard,’ he said, pressing another control. He freeze-framed the image, ran through a menu of subtitles and selected English, then skipped back to the beginning.
‘They put every conceivable language into the subtitles,’ he said as the documentary continued.
The two men watched the film, the President freezing it regularly to explain major points which arose out of what they were seeing.
‘What do you think, Bob?’
‘Amazing, but you realise our jobs will become redundant?’
‘Yes, but it won’t matter. We can continue to do them if they still exist, but it’ll all be voluntary,’ said the President.
‘That’s all very well for someone like me, sir, because I love what I do, but what about secretaries and media people, lawyers and cleaners?’
‘Well, that’s the beauty of it, Bob. All the menial administrative and manual tasks will be taken over by robots. The big blue ape showed me a dictation system which was out of this world, literally, and everywhere we went, drinks, food and cleaning was all done by automatons or people who loved cooking etcetera.’
‘And everyone earns the same?’
‘Yes, and, from what we can make out, earnings will be in the region of forty thousand a year for everyone,’ said the President.
‘And how do you sell that to a CEO earning five or ten million a year in bonuses or share options, Mr President?’
‘Well, that’s the next stage for us.’
‘Yes, sir, but how?’
‘I want a meeting in the Roosevelt Room. You set it up, Bob. I want the majority and minority house leaders, the two potential Democratic candidates for president, Vice President Slimbridge, and some top industrialists: Gray, the internet guy, Sutherland, the space nut, that Lucy woman, investment guru.’
‘Lucy Searle,’ said the chief of staff.
‘Yes, that’s her. You select a good range so that we’re using the whole Roosevelt Room. Set up the video in there, too.’
‘When, sir?’
‘Yesterday, or sooner.’
‘Okay, sir. I’ll get onto it, but I’d urge you to call a few close friends and associates first to test how it will go down.’
‘You think it’s necessary, Bob?’
‘Mr President, I think it is essential. You seem to be carried away by what you’ve seen, and I can see why, but you’re talking about turning all these extremely wealthy individuals into relative paupers. Try it on some trusted friends first.’
‘Okay, Bob. You set the main conference up for a couple of days hence and I’ll send Nancy in with a list for my own private session for some time tomorrow.’
‘I’m on it, sir.’
‘Thanks, Bob.’
‘I don’t mean to sound negative, Mr President, but this sort of change is going to be welcomed by the majority but hated with a vengeance by a great number of powerful individuals.’
‘Appreciate your candour, Bob. Be with me on both meetings. I’d value your input and support. I do have your support, don’t I?’
‘Wholeheartedly, Mr President, but I think you must be careful how you play this. You realise it could be your last act as President – joining this Federation.’
‘Yes, Bob. Yes,’ and the President let the end of the “yes” fade away as he returned to his desk and the monitor concealed itself within the wall panelling until needed again.
««o»»
Perfect and I entered the flagship and were met by one of the Ambassador’s assistants.
‘Good morning, Ya Okafor, Ya Wilson. Do you know your way to Ya Moroforon’s shuttle? I’m quite happy to accompany you, if not.’
‘No. Thanks. We’ll be fine,’ said Perfect and we walked along to the junction which led the length of the ship to the Ambassador’s personal shuttle.
We’d just crossed the fourth of the six-way junctions, treading apprehensively on the force-field floor before trusting it completely, when a door flew open five metres along on the left and a tiny blue ape shot out, screaming as if the devil were after it. Somehow, it managed to grab the handle of the door opposite, then swung up to the ceiling where it almost flew away from us using grab handles which were obviously there in case the ship was ever in zero G.
It happened so fast, and barely a second later, a second, slightly larger ape followed the first's wild, escape trail. The gap between them was closing and they both vanished down a side corridor.
A slender larger ape emerged from the doorway and shouted down the corridor, ‘Rindo, stop chasing Daro! The two of you get back here immediately! Don’t make me come and find you!’
We stood still, dumbstruck, watching what was obviously a domestic scene among some of the Purrs on board. The female turned and saw us.
‘Oh, I am sorry,’ she said. ‘Children, eh?’
By now, two sheepish-looking child apes were making their way back along the corridor. To our surprise, Yol Merofort emerged into the corridor beside the she-Purr.
‘Ah, Ya Okafor, Ya Wilson. You’re early. This is one of my wives, Eloo,’ he said, then to his wife, ‘this is the lady I’ve been telling you about and her biographer.’
‘Pleased to meet you, Ya Merofort,’ we said, almost in unison.
‘And these two terrors are my children, Rindo and Daro,’ Yol Merofort said as the two youngsters stood beside their parents, Rindo holding his dad’s hand and Daro clinging to Ya Merofort’s leg.
‘How lovely to meet your family,’ said Perfect.
‘My other wife’s at home. I’ll walk you to Ya Moroforon’s shuttle.’
‘Nice to have met you,’ I said to Eloo, as Daro climbed up her body and hung on her neck, studying us furtively.
‘Yes, me too,’ she said, grabbing Rindo’s arm securely before disappearing back into the cabin.
‘We guessed we’d be in one location for a while and the boys were missing me. They are so active at that age,’ said Yol Merofort as we continued along the corridor.
‘What ages are they?’ I asked.
‘In Earth years, Rindo is eight and Daro is six. School’s out for four weeks so they talked themselves into an excursion to Earth with Eloo.’
‘We must organise something so that they can get out of the ship,’ said Perfect.
‘No need. Yol Spence sent one of his ex-ambassadors to take us around the sights, Colin Hall. We’ve been up the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty. The trouble with kids this age is that they love climbing. Had to stop Rindo climbing the mast on the Empire State building.’
‘Oh, my God,’ I said.
‘Don’t worry, they might look fragile, but have a grip like an automaton. Never fall once they are older than two or three Earth years.’
‘You wouldn’t worry, all those hundreds of feet from the ground?’ asked Perfect.
Yol Merofort laughed. ‘No. Our species used to live in the canopies of the rainforests of Purrs. If we hadn’t had such balance and agility, we’d never have survived.’
‘I’d be having palpitations,’ said Perfect.
‘Here we are,’ said Yol Merofort and we turned in through the airlock into the Ambassador’s shuttle.
We were faced by three Racutaans. One was slightly larger in build so probably male, but the other two were almost impossible to tell apart.
‘Good morning, Ya Moroforon,’ said Yol Merofort. ‘Our guests are a little early.’
‘No problem,’ said the lady Racutaan on the left, obviously the Ambassador. ‘Gerish is my husband and Telorcha my sister. Meet Ya Perfect Okafor, the Earth’s Secretary General and her assistant, Ya Paula Wilson.
There were handshake greetings all around.
‘See you two later,’ said the Ambassador and her husband and sister left the shuttle. ‘Perfect, Paula, would you like something to drink? My bot is now programmed for coffee, several blends of tea and hot chocolate.’
‘Coffee would be good,’ Perfect said and I agreed.
‘Now, Perfect, would you like to explain why you asked for this urgent meeting?’ the Ambassador asked as we all took seats in the lounge area of the shuttle.
Ya Mistorn flew into the room, somewhat out of breath. ‘Sorry. Just heard you arrived early.’
‘Didn’t mean to inconvenience you all. The New York traffic was quieter than normal today,’ said Perfect.
‘It’s not a problem, Perfect. We were all on personal time. So? I assume there’s a problem,’ said the Ambassador.
Perfect outlined the suggestion that the entire General Assembly be dealt with, but with her coordinating things. ‘That way,’ she said, ‘we don’t have to aggravate all of the political and religious factions, and, in a sense, we’ll have a world consensus.’
‘What about your Security Council’s vetoes?’ asked Yol Merofort.
‘They have agreed to forego them and accept simple majorities on votes.’
‘That’s a surprise. I got the distinct impression Yol Spence, Yol Ivanov, and Yol Cheung were very protective of their ability to stop anything they didn’t like,’ said the Ambassador.
‘Yes. Surprised me too, but I think the fear of being voted out of office under larger democratic boundaries had its worries for them, particularly Yol Ivanov. India is the world’s largest democracy and its population would far exceed Russia and its allies,’ said Perfect.
‘Can we live with that, Slindo?’ asked the Ambassador.
‘Yes, as long as Perfect really is able to keep it under control. You don’t think they’re saying one thing now and will change their minds when it comes to the real decisions?’
‘No, Slindo. I think I can hold it together.’
‘Okay, Perfect. We’ll agree to that,’ said the Ambassador.
‘Now, I’d like to raise some other concerns,’ said Perfect.
‘Fire away! Is that the expression you use?’ said the Ambassador.
‘Yes, Garincha. These are worries that I, personally, have and they will need to be watched carefully during the transition.
‘One, I think the wealthy will resist every attempt to take away their wealth.’
‘The documentary gives a good explanation,’ said Heldy.
‘I still think it’ll be problematical. Are they supposed to hand in their personal yachts, jets, mansions and numerous holiday homes? If so, on what sort of timescale? Some of these people have worked hard to achieve their wealth and won’t want to see their lives changed beyond recognition. Those with hereditary wealth even more so.’
‘The plan is to gradually remove their cash and investment wealth over a period of three to five years, but we are not intending to take their yachts, private jets and enormous homes from them. That will come naturally when they discover that it is increasingly difficult to crew and staff them with volunteers. You might find a pilot who loves flying, but cabin crew? Why should they do it?’
‘To see the destinations,’ Perfect said.
‘Well, they can do that by taking a robot plane to anywhere in the world for a few afeds. The yachts are even easier examples. The crew might want to volunteer to run a yacht, but not for an individual. It would only be to enjoy going to places they wish to see with like-minded travellers,’ said Slindo.
‘Can’t they crew their yachts with robots?’
‘It’s a possibility, but if individuals try to maintain a huge yacht or grand mansion, the cost won’t leave them much surplus for necessities. Repairs need financing. Goods in the Federation economies are not free. The standard income will be in the order of forty-two thousand US dollars roughly. If they want to spend all of that maintaining an historic castle or classic yacht, that is up to them,’ said Slindo.
‘Okay. Well I’m flagging it as a problem. The second matter is how automatons will be phased into society,’ said Perfect.
‘It’ll be a seamless process conducted by Federation administrators, most of whom are bots themselves. If your car is designated to receive an autonomous driver, it will happen, unless it is some sort of vintage vehicle you wish to drive yourself, but its maintenance costs would be paid by the individual. Most people will very quickly switch to autonomous taxis after a few months. Easier and cheaper. It’s just a matter of letting people sort out when they’re ready to make the change... and the saving,’ said Slindo.
Perfect said, ‘You said that businesses would continue to operate under the original owners until they were fully mechanised. What happens to the owners then?’
‘Some might want to stay on as a hobby,’ said the Ambassador, ‘but most will be given the market value of the business. That could, of course, be millions, but at the end of the year, the bulk of it would be handed back to the Federation in tax, a third of it being taken in each of three years, eliminating the wealth we mentioned in our last meeting.’
‘Paula and I were talking yesterday, and we’re still a little confused about how a good idea can be brought to market,’ said Perfect.
Yol Merofort said, ‘The last thing we want to do is discourage innovation. If you’ve a good idea for a new food, or drink or gadget or type of recreational pursuit, you visit one of the enterprise centres. There you discuss your project with an administrator, probably an automaton, who will work with you on the costs of bringing it to market. If it’s viable then it would enter the design phase, all discussed in detail with the individual and then it would enter production.’
‘And if it’s not viable?’ asked Perfect.
‘In that case the individual still has the opportunity to have some prototypes produced, perhaps to use as gifts. The cost of producing them would be borne by the individual though.’
‘How will corruption be dealt with? You said that it was important. At the United Nations we’ve been struggling with it for years,’ said Perfect.
‘It isn’t easy,’ said Yol Merofort, ‘but the way our currency operates, we can see the path which any particular money has taken. Fraud and corruption show up as larger events, so can be extracted and the individuals prosecuted. Spotting it is virtually impossible with your currencies and banking system. With ours, computers can see what has happened almost immediately.’
‘The courts will be overflowing in the first few months, but people soon learn that crime does not pay,’ said the Ambassador.
‘And other crimes, like drug dealing?’ asked Perfect.
‘Afeds are a virtual currency. No cash, restricted wealth and diligent computers soon reveal the perpetrators,’ said Yol Merofort.
Questions and answers went on for several hours, before the Secretary General was satisfied that she fully understood the sequence of events which would occur in the early years. The Federation’s experience introducing membership to thousands of worlds meant that there were few exceptions which could arise, and they were confident they’d be covered when they did.
Perfect and I left the ship far more content than we’d felt when arriving. Knowing the aliens had families also personalised them for us. They were no longer strange alien beings, but were people just like us.