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[Sourced mainly from a recording of the event found in Ambassador Trestogeen’s office. RBB]
It was a beautiful sunny day at the United Nations building in New York and many members of the public were photographing the Ambassador’s shuttle which hovered a metre off the ground near the main entrance, a tourist attraction in its own right. Others were taking the usual pictures of the flags and outside of the iconic monolithic building. A large security detail surrounded the complex to prevent any protests from passing through the entranceways. In a nearby park, the army sat, out of sight, ready to intervene if any more serious problem were to arise. Occasional fighter planes flew overhead, but high enough not to be oppressive. There was a nervous apprehension about New Yorkers since the recent attempted coup.
Inside, a babble of expectant conversation filled the General Assembly auditorium. The Secretary General entered the hall and the noise of conversation dropped a level. She was accompanied by the entire Federation diplomatic team – the Ambassador herself, Yol Merofort, Ya Mistorn, Yol Herodeen, Yol Ruud, Ya Lindron, and Ya Churmbin in her exoskeleton, followed by her two assistants. They took their seats at the focal point of the room.
Perfect Okafor got to her feet and walked to the lectern as the talk in the hall faded to an anticipative silence. Speeches were to be in English with the usual UN translation system in operation.
‘Heads of State, ladies and gentlemen, and honoured guests. Welcome to this special meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations. It has been called in order to allow Federation representatives to explain how Federation membership would be implemented if the Assembly were to vote in favour at a later meeting.
‘I will introduce each of them and they will raise a hand for the benefit of those who have not yet met them. Firstly, in the centre, Ambassador Moroforon, her immediate assistants are to her left. Yol Merofort, Ya Mistorn, Yol Herodeen, Yol Ruud, and Ya Lindron. To her right is Councillor Ya Churmbin, who will represent Earth at Federation meetings during implementation. Her assistants, beside her, are Yol Grath and Ye Disteen. I should, perhaps, point out to the assembly that Ya Prold Churmbin wears an exoskeleton because she comes from Delarkon, a world with little gravity, which is, in fact, only eighteen light years from us. One of the nearest Federation worlds to the Earth. Its civilisation, however, is 160,000 years old – and that is young compared to average Federation members. The average Federation civilisation is over 900,000 years old and the Federation itself has been in existence for close to a million years. To most planets, Earth’s barely five thousand-year-old culture still hasn’t reached infancy.
‘I’ll hand over to the Ambassador,’ she said and returned to her seat to a raft of applause.
The clapping continued as Ya Moroforon made her way to the lectern. She said, ‘It gives me much pleasure to, once again, address this great assembly of heads of state of the planet Earth.’
Her secradarve materialised in front of her and her fingers lightly spun it around on its axis. ‘Every world is different. Each has its own methods, customs, folklore and conventions. I can tell you, that of all the worlds I have visited, Earth has some of the most complex and interesting traditions. That may be because your civilisation is so young. Most planets do not venture into space until they are tens of thousands of years old. Your planet has achieved space exploration remarkably quickly, perhaps faster than any other known world.
‘Inducting a young world with such a variety of fragmented civilisations into the Federation promises to be challenging. Some methods discussed today, will not actually be put in place in all countries, but I have asked my team to ensure that we give a broad explanation. Keep in mind that none of this is set in stone. Certain aspects will be compulsory, but many can be subject to negotiation on a state by state basis. While the nature and authority of heads of state is bound to diminish eventually, the transition to becoming a full Federation member will offer them... you a great challenge. You’ll be supported throughout by our most skilled administrators.’
She turned the secradarve over in her hand and swiped it. Patterns within changed, coalesced and stabilised.
‘Firstly, let me speak of famine and poverty.
‘As you know, a guiding principle is for every person in the world to receive a fixed income. The wealthiest people in Britain or France will receive the same as the poorest people in Gambia, Myanmar or Central America. This won’t happen overnight. It isn’t the Federation’s policy to punish the wealthy or reward the poor. People with large incomes will see their income drop over a period of between two and five years. This hasn’t yet been set and is part of our negotiations with you.
‘However, the poor will, from day one, receive that minimum income, as will everyone who earns less than the standard sum. Initially, to ease transition, the afed used here will be equivalent to a US dollar, although that will change when you are fully integrated. All other currencies will disappear as afeds are introduced, one country at a time.’
A light came on beside the Zambian delegate. The Ambassador waved for him to speak.
‘Will that not cause serious problems where exports are going to or from a country which is not yet using afeds?’ he said, and his light was extinguished.
‘No,’ said the Ambassador. ‘Robots will have assessed each country’s trade and will ensure that any disruption is minimised. It’s important to understand that, from the moment membership is granted, all trade is conducted by the Federation, in theory if not in practice, so the Federation deals with any financial conflict which might arise.
‘That means businesses affected by cross-border currency problems are already nationalised.
‘I should probably go back a step,’ she said, swiping and turning the secradarve, which turned honey-yellow.
‘Before the introduction of minimum afed payments, a fleet of ships will arrive to bring food, water, and medical supplies to all areas of famine. That will be the very first action. The sooner you vote in favour, the sooner we can complete the mercy mission.
‘To summarise. Supplies arrive for famine areas. Robots take over businesses and shops. They’ll be assisted by humans until specialist bots can be introduced or existing bots adapted. Everyone gets their afed allowance. Life proceeds as normal, but without the poverty.
‘Robots will ensure ample supplies are brought into poor areas to be available to be purchased and online purchasing will be as simple if you live in a street in Kigali, which currently has no postal address, as it will be if you live in a major city in the heart of Europe. You might wonder how this can be achieved so quickly and seamlessly, but that is a routine function of robots. They don’t suffer from procrastination, do not require time off or holidays, and are able to multitask. The whole world will be using afeds within a week and all businesses, plus local and national governments will be in the hands of robots too. Cash will no longer exist within ten days.
‘I should add that people who wish to continue to work in businesses or government will be welcome to do so as part of their community service hours. It’s expected that the number of hours will be set at between twelve and fifteen per week initially. You will be able to choose what you do. If you fail to make a choice, then a variety of jobs will be suggested until suitable work is found.
‘I’m now going to hand over to Yol Bod Herodeen who has a few words to say about law and order.’
There was substantial applause and the Ambassador returned to her seat as Yol Herodeen came to the raised area with his own secradarve, which pulsated with indigo and turquoise light as it hovered at the upper left corner of the lectern.
‘Good morning, everyone,’ he said and heard it reflected from many of the delegates.
‘Law and order often causes anxiety to honest people,’ he paused, ‘it gives criminals even more anxiety!’ There was some sporadic laughter.
‘Every robot is always alert to crime, including the billions of nanobots, which are capable of detecting any substance or object you might like to name. This is not a matter of extensive training having to be passed on from bot to bot. If one robot knows the law, all robots have access to that knowledge. If that does not worry criminals, nothing will.
‘Take drugs, for instance. The economic system and the fact that there’s no longer any cash, makes earning from drug running impossible. If a drug is on the proscribed list, it will be found. Your sniffer dogs can’t hold a candle to the olfactory senses of robots. The person in possession of a drug will be tried and punished in a matter of a few hours. Punishment might, at first glance, seem rather lenient, but as you’ll find, after you’ve got used to Federation membership, the loss of freedom is an extremely effective deterrent. You only have one life, why would you want to spend a single minute of it doing something you don’t want to do? Obviously, where addiction is involved, it’ll be dealt with by our medical bots. There are also many approved drugs which can be dangerous, but medical monitoring bots stop them from being abused.
‘Punishment sees the person being placed in stasis, an unpleasant state where your body is held rigid. You are then forced to read a book chosen by the judge. Along the way, you are tested on the book’s content and cannot move a muscle. It is a horrible experience. You can see the world passing by but cannot interact with it. We have found it extremely effective. There are various versions, of course, depending upon the individuals. An avid reader might be given picture books or forced to watch endless soap operas. Everyone has their weakness which the bots can exploit as punishment.
‘Try to buy illegal substances or steal something and you’ll be caught. That isn’t an idle threat. It’s one hundred per cent certain you will be apprehended. There’s no hiding place. This also applies to physical crimes like abuse, assault, murder, and rape. Terotonians and some other species are capable of reading minds. You cannot lie to or deceive them if they’re used. Certain courts are also able to order what is called a situation assessment in some cases, where time can be rolled back to get to the truth of an event.
‘Planets new to the Federation do find crime rising initially, but it is short-lived, falling back within days. There’ll always be domestic abuse and violence between people, but crimes of petty theft, robbery, and fraud etcetera, quickly become something which used to happen “in olden times”.’
‘I’m now going to hand over to Ya Lyl Lindron who will talk about war.’
Yol Herodeen returned to his seat to the sound of applause and Ya Lindron came to the lectern.
She made some strokes over her secradarve and left it hovering in front of her. She said, ‘War! I feel so fortunate that I’d never known war, in any shape or form until I came to Earth.
‘For my very first diplomatic assignment, I was posted to monitor the flare up of an old conflict in Sierra Leone between the government and rebel forces. I was so horrified, shocked, and traumatised, that I was prescribed sessions with a Terotonian to ease the nightmares it gave me.
‘You must remember that the people of Earth see images of war, unrest, terrorism, and other conflicts daily on their televisions. It is commonplace for you. You become desensitised. For someone such as me, who had never seen any group violence of any description through my entire life, what I walked into in Sierra Leone was the epitome of your mythical hell. One of my bodyguards was shot through the arm, blood spraying me and my clothes. His colleague fired back, and the assailant fell into the roadway. She was an eleven- or twelve-year-old girl in truncated army fatigues, her AK-47 Kalashnikov lay beside her. She should have been in school or playing, not participating in a pointless conflict. Now, she lay dead in a muddy gutter and I could see her lifeblood being washed away by torrential rain. How futile? How unnecessary? And nobody cared. An irreplaceable and infinitely valuable life ended for nothing.
‘Many of you see this sort of thing on television all the time. You become hardened to it. You expect it. A flicker of sadness or regret might cross your mind, but you can forget such scenes in minutes. I beg you to try to see these things as if it’s happening to you or your family. Only then will you understand how dreadful it seems to Federation citizens who live in peace throughout this side of our galaxy. So, let me repeat what I said while you listen with a new understanding. I watched a pre-teen girl dying in a muddy gutter with her lifeblood being washed away by torrential rain!’
Ya Lindron paused to give people time to visualise the scene.
‘I saw other atrocities; families crying over the loss of fathers, brothers, mothers, and children. People with limbs missing, eyes lost, disfigured and mutilated for life. War truly is hell!
‘As new members of the Federation, billions of nanobots, so small you can hardly see them, will arrive on Earth with the sole purpose of locating military equipment. As weapons and explosives are found, they will be beamed to enormous supply ships in orbit whose robot crews will dismantle them and recycle whatever is useful. This will include everything from nuclear missiles to hand grenades, sub-machine guns to pistols. All weapons will be collected.
‘Certain approved weapons will be allowed by permit for farmers and others who have a genuine need for them, but all others will be taken. Soldiers will receive the standard afeds and, for those who wish to do so, they can train to join Federation Enforcement Units as part of their community service.
‘Your world will at last be free of the threat of mass murder in the name of war. On other planets where war was in progress when they joined, some conflicts continued with hotchpotch armies using sticks, stones, bows and arrows, swords, and knives until the realisation dawned that there was no point to any of it. The use of makeshift weapons to hurt others is, of course, a crime and they were quickly arrested and put into stasis. Hundreds of fanatics wasting their lives in stasis until amnesty was eventually granted once the opposing parties came to their senses.
‘The removal of famine and poverty, the elimination of crimes, and the end of armed conflict are three wonderful benefits of membership. Thank you for your attention. I’m now passing the microphone to Ya Heldy Mistorn.’
Ya Lindron returned to her seat with particularly loud applause, no doubt ringing in her ears. Heldy Mistorn flew vertically to about five metres, then tumbled forward in a flying version of a forward roll until she reached the lectern. With her photographic memory, she needed neither notes nor secradarve.
‘Enough of the bad stuff,’ she said, pirouetting on the spot. ‘Let me tell of the benefits of membership.
‘You have already heard that we can treat drug addiction. Our knowledge of the human body will grow rapidly, and medical bots will soon be in a position to cure almost all diseases, from dementia to multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis to motor neurone disease. Curing cancers, the curse of too many humans, is a piece of cake!’ she said, cartwheeling in mid-air.
‘Imagine the world with wars stopped, crime vanquished, poverty eliminated, and famine a forgotten ill of historic times. True equality and everyone with enough wealth to live long, healthy, comfortable and fulfilling lives. Will your next vacation be to Arlucian, the colourful world of Dabrune, or your neighbouring planet Delarkon where you can run, jump, and make love in low gravity?’ she said, flying rapidly upwards and diving back to the stage as if she was to plunge through it, stopping and turning upright at the very last second.
‘There are less obvious benefits. Clean air as the pollutants of your motor vehicles and planes become no more than a memory. Transport replaced by our autonomous electric vehicles and almost instantaneous shuttle travel. If you have friends or relations on the other side of the world, you can see them as often as you wish. While speaking of pollutants, your oceans are in the most dreadful state and we’ll be cleaning them up. It will be a slow process though. Easier is the atmosphere and climate change which will improve rapidly once our bots get to work.
‘Religion. Most Federation worlds have no religion. It is something which planets slowly outgrow, but if you do believe in a god or gods, you will have the right to do so without fear or intimidation. The laws which protect beliefs are some of the strictest. It’s even illegal to verbally abuse someone over their religion.
‘However, all the world’s borders will be open. If you want to live in equatorial heat you can do so. If you’d prefer a more variable climate, like here, then just come. The planet Earth is owned by the people of the planet Earth. No one can stop you moving freely wherever you wish,’ she said and pirouetted again, even more flamboyantly. ‘You can go and live on any planet you wish. The Federation planets all have an open-door policy.
‘Homes. Throughout the world, there is a dreadful shortage of homes and many millions are homeless. This will take time to resolve. Initially, fleets of space-liners will arrive to provide temporary shelters. Prefabricated structures will be constructed in the millions and everyone will have somewhere warm or air conditioned in which to live.
‘Over a decade or three, the prefabs will be replaced by more suitable structures until everyone has the chance to live in a home they love, in a location they can enjoy – stylish apartments at the centre of everything or a rural home in a village. Interestingly, we’ve found that those who own large houses and mansions soon downsize to smaller, more manageable buildings, freeing up large areas for groups of smaller houses. There is no compulsion to do that, it’s a natural process as the company of others becomes more desirable than splendid isolation. People who would once have been fanatical about running their businesses or climbing what you call the greasy pole, discover there is more to life, and they will tend to seek out social interaction with others. The change will be dramatic and pleasurable.’
A light came on beside Salman Ahmadi, the Iranian President. Ya Mistorn flew, at breakneck speed directly towards him, stopping a metre in front of him and bobbing up and down. For a moment, he thought he was being attacked and raised his arms, but quickly realised it was the quirky way she reacted to events, and she had only come to listen to him more intently.
‘Many countries,’ he said, regaining his composure, ‘have different laws. We are what is called an Islamic state and we have laws about how you should dress and the consumption of alcohol etcetera. We must be allowed our religious practices and to maintain standards.’
Ya Mistorn, tumbled over and shot back to the lectern. ‘Yes, Yol Ahmadi, you can certainly have different laws within the boundaries of your administrative area, or country, as you call it today. If your laws are infringed, the individuals concerned will be relocated into a nearby country which does not follow the same laws. This will result, eventually, in your country being populated by people who want to follow the religious practice you are placing into law. The key is their desire to follow the practice. Compulsion is not allowed.’
‘So, we can continue sharia law?’
‘Not entirely. As I understand it, your courts can cut off someone’s hand or stone people to death if taken to the extreme. You may have the law, but not the punishments. You can expel the person or give the agreed punishment, say for theft, which would involve stasis. However, laws not recognised elsewhere, for example not common laws, must include the option for the culprit to leave your country. Drinking alcohol, for instance. It may be illegal in Iran, but not elsewhere, so you can only evict the individuals. Theft, however, you can punish, but only with stasis, not by severing a limb. I suggest a one-to-one meeting with the Ambassador to discuss how the complexities of this might operate. Does that answer your question?’
‘It has given us much to consider,’ said Yol Ahmadi.
She spun around again, ‘Ya Okafor is taking the floor to announce the upcoming schedule and, this afternoon, Yol Slindo Merofort will cover the myriad points we’ve glossed over, by answering specific questions. Thank you,’ Ya Mistorn said, then performed several somersaults en route back to her seat, to great applause, as much for the gymnastics as the content of her talk.
Ya Okafor came to the dais and said, ‘I hope you’re finding this a useful conference. After Yol Merofort’s talk this afternoon, the diplomatic team will answer some of those obvious questions which cannot be dealt with in short presentations. We’re now breaking for lunch. We’ll reconvene at two o’clock.’ She brought down her gavel.