The Great Empire--Bilingual Edition

by Joaquim Augusto Ferreira Barbosa De Melo

  * * *

  10. Descendant of good families of the Empire, she headed to the U.S., the largest economy in the world, to do higher studies in economics.

  The Great Empire

  21st century

  The square, in front of the presidential palace, stood out at that deserted hour, with its lights and those of the illuminated façade of the imposing building. By the main gate, the guard of honor performed the ceremonies of the shift rendering. On the horizon, in the distance, the first rays of light were waking up, bringing with it another hot summer day. Through the windows of the palace, with the lights on in their compartments, it was possible to foresee the beginning of activities inside - life was returning to the buzzing of every day.

  Just before the opening hour of the palace services, a car stopped in front of the gate - it was Snu who was presenting herself to take office as Assistant to the President. If for the other officials it was a morning like so many others, for her it had a special meaning - everything seemed bright and attractive. She addressed the Administrative Services delivering the letter she had received days before, she was then forwarded to the office of the Chief of Staff of the palace, with whom she had a short welcome meeting.

  For agenda reasons, the President of the Republic, with whom she would work, could only receive her the following day, so on that day Snu was accompanied at all times by the Secretary of the Chief of Staff. In the morning they went through the departments and services and she was introduced to the heads of each sector. In the afternoon, the whole time was dedicated to the contact with the formal organization of the services. Through the reading of manuals and other documents, specially prepared to welcome new employees, she learned how administrative relations between ministries and their departments were processed. Part of these tasks had already been carried out in her future work office. At the end of the Snu day she felt tired. For her it had been an intense day full of new information, but very rewarding.

  When Snu arrived home she noticed the tape recorder had a message - it was William who wanted to know how her vacation went and when was she planning on returning to New York. Only at that moment did Snu realize that two weeks had passed without making a single phone call to her friend. She felt uncomfortable about it. For a moment she was immobilized in front of the phone, without taking any initiative to call him. She looked at her watch and at that time in New York William would probably still be at work. She decided to leave the phone call for later - she had some news to give him. Minutes later the phone rang again and the number was William’s. She answered the phone, and on the other end of the line came the voice that was familiar to her.

  - Hello, how are you?! Everything okay with you?

  - How nice to hear from you! I just got home. I heard your message and I was going to call you!

  - When are you coming back?! I’ve missed you so much.

  - I’ve had recent changes in my professional life. I don’t know if it will be possible for me to return at least for now! I promise to write and tell you everything.

  The call continued for several minutes, but Snu did not disclose details of the professional changes to which she had referred, despite William’s insistence.

  The following day, already back in the palace, Snu had confirmation that she would be received by the President in the first hour of the afternoon. Despite the anxiety of meeting personally the highest representative of the Nation for whom she would work full time, Snu remembered with intensity the moments lived in the Congress. In her memory there was still the applauses from all present, precisely for the initiative of her new leader. The morning time was occupied with operational and technical matters essential to her future tasks. The installation of the computer network in her office had turned everything upside down - cables and equipment side by side with folders and manuals stacked. The office would have communication with large databases and an enviable computer network, so sophisticated security systems were also being implemented at the accesses. Also in the furniture, sober and functional, integrated video and audio communication systems had been applied. When the time for lunch arrived Snu had an already expected visit, the Secretary of the Chief of Staff who, like the previous day, was available to keep her company during the meal. This gesture, particularly pleasant for Snu, allowed her to integrate more easily, and informally learn a little more about the daily life in the palace. At the end of the meal and at the appointed time, Snu went to the office of the President’s Secretary, who introduced her minutes later.

  - Mr. President, I have Dr. Snu with me. May I bring her in?

  - Please do. - Said the President, dryly and without taking his eyes off the document he was reading.

  Snu quietly entered the office, trying not to disturb the silence there. While she waited standing, she looked around the room, that seemed sober, large and tastefully decorated. The curtains were drawn and the place looked almost twilight, (not very bright) one could say that the sun rarely came in there. Snu, clinging to her curiosity as an observer, did not notice that the President had finished the reading and was now packing the papers while addressing her a few words.

  - Please, take a seat!

  Snu looked in the President’s direction and solicitously sat down in a chair, thanking him in a shy voice:

  - Thank you very much, Mr. President!

  The president looked at his new assistant. And, without words of introduction or circumstance, he went straight to the point:

  -The place for which you were appointed has very specific goals. You will advise a project that I consider unique. In general terms, we intend to lay the foundations for the construction of more perfect civilization models that can then be replicated worldwide. Through a deep reflection of existing societies, we intend to implement a new model of social organization, based on new cities, thus providing a strongly innovative future for humanity. We want to build a more equitable, prosperous and just society. A society where every citizen feels that it was worthwhile to be born and can lead a life full of positive personal and collective achievements through shared experiences and in peace. Based on this model, we will build cities and pilot regions. Once confirmed, it will serve as an example for this new world that we intend to build. It is an ambitious and complex project, so it will have many multidisciplinary teams. Your function will be to serve as a link between my office and the coordinating bodies that I will create for this gigantic work.

  - But, Mr. President, I...

  -Don’t worry; I’ll deliver challenges that are piecemeal and increasingly complex, always supported by appropriate resources. Without further ado, I leave you with a first task: to identify the main wastes that most frequently occurs on a planetary scale, classifying it and giving it a percentage and relative weight, with as much precision as possible.

  Snu, on hearing all that, was astonished. Her face, although restrained, was already showing an expression of incredulity, fixing all her attention on the President’s words - with her eyes open wide, as if trying to see something that the mind couldn’t discover. When the President finished his presentation, Snu once again tried to react by saying:

  - But, Mr. President, I...

  At the beginning of the sentence once again, the President interrupted it to add:

  - That’s all for now! We’ll get back to you as soon as I have the requested data. You can leave! - The President added, returning to the reading of another folder.

  The new Assistant got up and left, stunned, as if she had been punched in the stomach. When Snu got to her office, she just dropped herself on the chair. In the first moments she simply felt a total bewilderment - she didn’t know what to think, let alone what to decide. she urgently needed to return to her lucidity to look with clairvoyance at all that again. As the minutes went by, she gradually returned to her normal state, increasingly consolidating the conviction that there was only one solution left to her - to resign. That conclusion, however, came up against a very strong feeling of loss that w
as taking over all her senses. For the first time in her entire existence, Snu felt that she was at a crossroads and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Convinced that a hasty decision could lead her to a path with no return, she began deep breathing exercises in the later moments, hoping for a better oxygenation of the cells that would allow her the necessary serenity to take an assertive attitude. Through her mind thoughts ran in turmoil and sometimes contradictory. She turned on her computer in the hope that her research on the Internet for reasons of interest would help her to deviate from negative thoughts and those distressing moments. In the late afternoon and just before returning home, Snu wrote a resignation letter, citing reasons of unpreparedness for the job. However, on her way out, she did not send the document she had just written to the Personnel Department, but preferred to wait until the morning of the following day in the hope that the evening would help her in that difficult decision. Upon arriving home, the whirlwind of emotions did not diminish, not allowing a quiet night’s sleep. The next morning Snu felt exhausted and shattered in her hopes “the much-desired professional path is coming to an end even before it began,” she thought. When she arrived at the office, the first thing she did was to send her resignation letter to the Personnel Department - to the surprise of all the employees in that service. By the end of the morning, three hours had not yet passed and the Secretary of the Chief of Staff had already sent her a sealed letter sent by the President of the Republic. Snu looked at the envelope and before deciding on its opening she took a few minutes. Then she took courage and opened the envelope to be astonished once again by the attitude of the President in what she had just read:

  “Request denied. Must remain in office until re-appointed”.

  Shocked, once again, she let herself lie motionless in her chair for brief moments. Then she got up and went to the window. Outside, the sun was shining brightly! In the square she watched the coming and going of people and vehicles, indifferent to her personal drama! Then she noticed that in one of the square corners a child was playing with a ball, doing stunts, trying at all costs to keep the ball in the air. The minutes passed and the child, without manifesting fatigue, kept the ball there without dropping it. That scene made Snu smile, commenting to herself “if even this child fights for his goals, why shouldn’t I do the same?” Then she looked at her watch and as the time for lunch had come, she left the office walking to the palace’s restaurant. Upon arriving, Snu noticed that at the table at the back, the Secretary of the Chief of Staff, who was having lunch with a colleague, signaled her to join them. She preferred, however, to stay in the company of herself. After the quick meal, she went outside. It was a hot day; she made a tour of the gardens, through the shade of leafy trees, some of them secular, while she digested recent events. As the beginning of the afternoon approached, Snu gathered in her office. She opened the computer and began by identifying the contacts of Statistics Institutes around the world. She then drew up a complete list and built up a draft e-mail requesting collaboration in the sending of statistical data. She grouped the data obtained by common countries and languages. She then went on to translate the initial draft, making as many replicas as there were different languages. By the end of the afternoon, Snu had sent e-mails to all the destinations identified, so the first phase of the work requested by the President was completed. The following phases were perhaps much more extensive, laborious and complex; however, Snu was determined to take up the challenge. The following day, at lunchtime, she commented with her colleague on that small step that had brought her such satisfaction.

  - I do not know if all the statistical offices will respond and even if they will respect the requested deadlines, but one thing I do know, however long the road may be, I am willing to continue.

  - I like to hear you talk like that, determined and brave. You’ll see that the future still holds very good news for you.

  In the days that followed some answers began to arrive. Some, requesting an extension of the deadline, others, giving incomplete information and many of them indicated as “not available”. In that small sample it was evident that the vast majority of Statistical Institutes did not have the data requested. For Snu, it was beginning to be clear that the statistical treatment of the information requested had to be obtained by research from other sources and with other resources. To this end she exchanged views with the President and it was decided to involve the main University Centers in the country, asking the Rectors to collaborate in this collection, with the recruitment of volunteer researchers to face the gigantic task. In the following days, Snu went on to make contacts by letter, always taking care to mention that the matter was an initiative of the Presidency of the Republic. Thus began the great involvement of the Universities in the creation of a multidisciplinary team that was expected to grow in number and extent.

  Weeks later...

  As the days went by, without receiving any answers, Snu began to feel that the project was walking at a snail’s pace. Once again, at lunch, she commented on this with her colleague.

  - How are things going with the project?

  - All very slowly, to my taste.

  - Have you tried other routes?

  - I’m identifying other sources on the Internet.

  - Well?!

  - The first results are encouraging. I have some hopes. But let’s talk about other more interesting things...

  Soon after, the conversation drifted to other matters with which they filled their mealtime.

  The first regular meetings Snu had with the President were almost limited to chronological information of contacts and responses. As the weeks went by the information began to arrive more intensely, via the Statistical Institutes. The University Centers, initially distant, also began, at a certain point, to give the first signs of collaboration, with information from the Rectors that groups had been created for this purpose among researchers, in various multidisciplinary areas of the Faculties. The Rectors themselves began to send letters assuring personal commitment in the promotion of these groups. Thus, after several months, the first results by academic means began to appear one after another. In such a way that event influenced Snu’s good mood, that she could not hide it in her daily life, and even provided subject for a conversation with her colleague.

  - What’s with the light look on your face? Any admirer out there, huh?!

  Snu, who didn’t expect that question, answered with a loud laugh.

  - No, not at all!

  - Your eyes can’t fool anyone! We’ve known each other for some time, so I know how to tell when something good is influencing your everyday life. You not wanting to admit it, is another matter!

  Snu, at her friend’s insistence, had no choice but to talk about the origin of all that good mood.

  - Lets just say that things at the professional level are starting to get their results.

  - Don’t tell me they promised you a promotion!

  - You think so? If they did, you’d know by now, wouldn’t you?!

  - Maybe!

  - All this good mood has to do with the project I’m involved in.

  - Ah, yes! Waste accounting, right?!

  - You know, most people are not aware of it in their daily lives!

  -Yes, few people care about it!

  -Now that I am receiving the statistical data on a global scale, I am becoming aware of the real dimension of the problem.

  - I didn’t know you were so interested in this project. Last time we spoke, I got the feeling you had a lot of reservations about it.

  - At the time, those responsible for the bodies dealing with statistics, from whom I had requested data, paid little attention to identifying and quantifying the waste, so I came to think that I had an impossible task ahead of me. Fortunately, the situation has changed.

  - So that’s what making you so happy, I’m surprised! I always thought that the reason for so many smiles were another!

  From then on, the conversation returned to every day’s business.
However, that afternoon, Snu got involved in a personal reflection that would greatly contribute to the approach and complementarity of the project.

  With the arrival and abundance of data on “waste statistics”, it is now clear to Snu that so-called consumer societies have much to do to reduce waste, always, and not only in times of crisis. She also begun to become aware of a near non-existence of policies to hunt down waste, whether by individuals, corporations or public authorities. It was also evident that the stimuli were predominantly on the side of the consumption of superfluous goods (read waste), much by the influence of marketing with its constant appeals. In an environment of strong stimulus to consumption, particularly in so-called societies of abundance, waste thus became “kings and masters”. Everywhere, waste is present, from the energy sector, as a result of obsolete and/or mistaken technological solutions: from electricity, heating and, above all, transport; to sectors that are fighting with each other, in an unbridled competitiveness of domain: communications, armaments, and also in pointless territorial wars. According to Snu, its reduction involves not only disciplinary public policies and a new civic conscience of individuals and corporations, but also a new existential approach to Man, betting more on being than on having. If it is true that a society without waste is almost utopia, it is no less true that what serves no one, can contribute to reduce inequalities and needs throughout the world. If these astronomical funds were used to reduce the wounds of humanity such as hunger, epidemics, lack of education and so many others, they would contribute greatly to a more equitable, just and prosperous society.

  After those moments of reflection, Snu returned to her initial task, speeding up the process with the Universities. For this purpose she sent a letter to the Rectors, proposing a meeting on the premises of the palace, with the presence of all the volunteer Researchers registered. Days later, after the meeting, the researcher’s high receptivity to the project was achieved, obtaining a redoubled enthusiasm of the teams. The work of the President had thus received a high impetus, now growing at a surprising pace! The national mobilization against waste had woken up to a wave of adhesions that was difficult to foresee. The President’s involvement, which dragged many other public and private bodies into his enthusiasm, contributed greatly to all this. The Institute of Statistics of the country itself became one of the greatest enthusiasts of the project, developing a background work and launching a program to collect data on waste by sector of activity. In the words of the person in charge of that body, that work would provide a real economic and social revolution in the country. The enthusiasm also spread to the ministries that began to see in waste a lost economy of high value. The press, more sensationalists, even said that “the government finally dug up the underground, parallel economy, which did not pay taxes and directly harmed the interests of an entire nation. In order to involve as many citizens as possible, a website was created where everyone could compete with suggestions for the reduction or elimination of waste. A central computer team sorted out the information collected, supplementing it with data for further processing and analysis. Finally, this information was processed by multidisciplinary teams of university researchers, proposing necessary and effective measures for its reduction or elimination. Finally, these proposals were forwarded to the respective ministries, which had to convert them into decisions, either by internal administrative means or by conversion into national laws. Among the suggestions, some were quite simple to implement and with surprising results. Many of them included waste such as time (avoidable travel expenses in many of the basic daily activities). At first, there were some expressions of dissatisfaction and misunderstandings, especially in the public sector (generally very inefficient). Thus, both in companies (private and public) and in people’s lives, concerns began to arise for the containment of waste now treated in an almost systematic way.