“Welcome,” shouted The Concierge. “Three cheers for The Prime Minister.”
The call prompted the usual three ‘hip, hip hoorays’.
“Wonderful,” The Concierge replied. “Now we just want it a to be a little bit louder, so that Joanie can hear you loud and clear all on her own way upon high. Let her know that she is going to come out of this election, not only duly elected, but also with a world record, of which she can be justly proud.”
The cheering was repeated, this time fractionally louder.
“Tonight is Halloween,” The Concierge continued. “The night when all spooks, wizards, witches, warlocks, ghouls and gremlins come out into the night, and when all things that frighten you come out into the open ready to be dealt with one by one. It is also that time of year when you, the people, have your chance to express your views and say what you think of us. It is also a time of celebration and feasting, a holiday, granted to us by the pioneer of our One Party Democracy, our dear Founder Eric Fallon. We celebrate, ladies and gentlemen, a system that brings us freedom and prosperity without rivalry, bitterness and corruption, and spares us from the squandering of precious resources that ensues as sides locked in opposition struggle to secure power. This is because, ladies and gentlemen, in our society those in charge do not seek power. What they seek is good management and the welfare of the people they serve. For here, politics is history. We are run by technicians, not politicians, and our wonderful first lady, Joan Carmichael, and others like her, are likewise technicians, trained and experienced to do the job that needs to be done, not trained to fight elections and defeat opponents.”
The Reverend gave a single beat of his drum and the crowd applauded, the setmates following the staff members’ cue.
“The cauldron, which is the centrepiece of our festivities, is a concept which owes its existence to a staff suggestion which we received a few years ago with the aim of making this event more interesting and entertaining than it used to be. It has since been copied in other Island territories so you should not be surprised if you see a copy of it when you go to Kamchatka.
Above the cauldron, perched upon high, we see a woman who leads by example and whom we know cares passionately about each and every one of us. We must now respond in kind by telling her, in no uncertain terms, that we, like her, will not glibly accept things as they are just because life is comfortable. Nor will we fall victim to the temptation of change for change’s sake. For we know what we must do. What must we do?”
“Progress. Progress. Progress,” shouted the staff members, urging the setmates to repeat the words after them as The Reverend beat his drum three times.
“Indeed we must. So, in a few moments I shall wave my magic wand, and then I will ask our very own Island folk group, Ten A Penny, to begin playing, as I now have pleasure in declaring The Island Election for 2107 officially open.”
The crowd cheered and The Reverend beat his drum repeatedly as blasts of mist shot up from within the cauldron, temporarily obscuring Joanie each time. Then the music began, ‘carried away by a moonlight shadow’. The crowd danced rhythmically to the beat, Island staff leading the way for the others to join in. Then, after about two minutes, Joanie began to descend slowly until she eventually sank out of view, leaving just the cauldron with mist which simply overflowed as opposed to being blasted.
After that the various stands began to serve punch, popcorn and other delights. Gary and the others passed the hot dog stand and were duly served with vegetarian hot dogs.
Further on they passed a table by Leo’s Lake upon which were laid piles of small sticks of 2107 Election rock. Setmates helped themselves, as they ate and made merry for about half an hour. Then the band stopped for a well-earned break as magicians, jugglers, clowns and men on stilts showed off their skills, whilst at the same time The Queen and the other royals joined the throng, as ever, exchanging greetings with as many people as possible.
For the first time Gary shook hands with King Neville.
“So, how are you finding The Island? A bit different from where you were before?”
“A lot different,” Gary replied.
“All enjoying it I hope as well as learning?” The King then asked to the complete set.
“It is absolutely fabulous,” replied Yvonne “It’s like living in a dream. I don’t know how we can thank The Queen enough.”
“Oh, it’s very simple,” said the King. “Just vote for Joanie on November fifth. That is all that she asks.”
“But how do we know that our question will be accepted?” asked Carl.
“Oh it will be. You need have no fears about that. Otherwise one of my advisers would have been in touch with you. Enjoy the party.”
“Thank you Your Majesty,” the setmates said as The King moved on.
About twenty minutes passed. Then, there was a strange screeching sound, almost like the sound of a wild animal, but with a slight whistling tone. The people froze, their eyes drawn toward The Great Dome. As they stared up the two ornamental golden eagles on The Dome separated opening up a segment of its roof. Then, from it, emerged what appeared to be an illuminated witch mounted on a broomstick, complete with black cat. Using its legs to become airborne it then flew with the aid of its mighty steel wings. It circled overhead before flying out over the coast so that everyone could stand back and admire the object.
“It’s The Eagle,” Jobine called out to the set, as she waved and approached them from the Gloriette, dressed as a skating phantom on roller skates.”
There were a few cries of “Wow” from the setmates as they gazed at the great bird, which circled around for about ten minutes before it returned to its base, prompting spontaneous applause from the crowd. A short display of fireworks then brought the evening festivities to a close before The Night Watchman, dressed as the man in black, made his customary appearance as a hint to everyone that the show was over, at least for the time being.
*
Election Day arrived and at three o’clock all of the setmates assembled in normal dress on the lawn of the Training Centre facing the Stone Boat where The PM sat, accompanied by her Concierge. The Concierge opened proceedings:
“In accordance with the law of One Party Democracy I now declare the forum open. I will briefly outline official procedure, which is as follows. The nominated representative of each set shall put forward their set’s question, exactly as submitted. When called that representative shall rise and read out the question which has been agreed. The candidate shall then answer the question, with the right to reply being reserved for the representative. A short dialogue only between the representative and the candidate may follow, which I, as returning officer, have the authority to terminate. I now call upon Antonio Rodriguez to present our first question.”
The Brazilian man presently rose to his feet.
“Will you ensure that children will always be able to choose their school, and that no school will refuse a child if they are oversubscribed?” He asked.
“A school cannot refuse a child a place simply because it is oversubscribed,” Joanie answered. “They must make room and any of our MPs would argue the case for any school that is in such a position to be given whatever resources it needs in order to cater for any excess demand. The right to freedom of choice with regard to a child’s education is a basic right for all children within our territories. Next.”
“Mr. Anton Praznowski.”
A tall Russian gent rose to his feet.
“Madam Prime Minister, will you assure us that you will do all that you can to ensure that Russia, with the help of The Island, will maintain its commitment to improving the world’s environment?”
“The communists inflicted great damage on the environment in the twentieth century and work is still ongoing to rectify this. That said, as you know, Russia has, with our help achieved the greatest rate of environmental improvement in recent years and Non-Capitalist Economics has helped greatly. We will continue to press for capitalist coun
tries outside Russia to match at least the Russian rate of improvement so that we can reverse the decline worldwide. You still have your hand raised.”
“Yes, because our set believes that The Island’s measures do not go far enough. Do you feel that more action should be taken against those countries with the worst records? After all, it would be good for everyone, wouldn’t it?”
“Both Russia and The Island are, at present, limited as to how far they can intervene internationally, but I do accept that the world is changing and that the situation could change in the next decade or so. With the new sovereignty of nations concept, which I know you have researched, and that I will continue to press for, the days will soon be numbered for governments that do not fulfil their duty to practice and enforce good environmental practice, as they could find themselves being bought out by governments that do. It is the next stage of globalisation. Next.”
“Miss Delia Fremse.”
“We cannot uninvent nuclear weapons,” declared the Danish girl. “So they are still a danger to the world. What do you think can be done to reduce the danger and what are you personally prepared to do?”
“I accept that we cannot uninvent these horrific weapons of mass destruction, but we can try to remove the incentives for people to want to either build more or use the ones that already exist. My belief is that by improving the quality of life for people all over the world, and by keeping our 200-year revolution that our Founders started seventy years ago on course, I think that we can put into play a form of obsolescent drift. Then, eventually, these weapons should just simply vanish into history. You don’t seem satisfied.”
“In the meantime how serious do you believe the danger is of our dreams being shattered by our supposedly nuclear free state being held to ransom by an enemy?”
“Of course there is a danger, but I do not think that the danger is very great. Our people exist throughout the world and I have every confidence that our grapevine would warn us of any impending threat in the unlikely event that one existed. Not only that, our power to retaliate economically is very strong. We could, if we wished, supply any market for any product at zero cost in money terms, and all countries know that this is a very great weapon of ours should we ever be forced to use it.”
“Mr. Barnes Brigham.”
“Good health is our right,” a South African man asserted. “And from time to time everyone needs good healthcare. Should you be re-elected can you assure us that everyone will receive the healthcare that they need, and that reliability will continue to improve?”
“We have a slightly different approach to healthcare than other countries. Our philosophy is that harm to one is harm to the whole. Thus, when it comes to healthcare room will always be found and resources provided. Economics is not a consideration, only the ability to provide. Of course, no one can ever guarantee that every operation or treatment will be 100 per cent successful, but we do guarantee not just to match, but to exceed, the highest standards that currently exist in the world today. This goes for all aspects of the service and I can say that we will always be driven by our desire to continually improve the system rather than by targets. We benchmark our health service against that of every country and are proud of our achievements. As you will have seen from Commander, our hospitals have the appearance of top class hotels relative to those in capitalist countries, and our doctors and nurses will always have access to the world’s finest training and resources. Next.”
“Miss Marie Lafarge.”
“To what extent do you support or otherwise the action by an Island truck driver in agreeing to accept a consignment of lambs destined for slaughter from a lorry hijacked by Russian animal rights activists in Magadan, and then subsequently driving them over the border in northern Kamchatka and taking them to a sheep farm there?” asked the French girl.
“I know a lot of you read about this in The Island Times last month, and I know that most of you feel strongly that it was wrong of my officials to reprimand the driver for this, and to serve on him a Declaration of Deviance with an accompanying sentence of three months of Directed Labour. The problem was that, although what he did was right to many people, he acted against international law, because he was outside our territory when he committed the offence. This caused embarrassment to the Russian authorities, as well as requiring us to compensate the farmer who, of course lost his revenue. I know you feel for the animals as I do, but you have to understand that it is simply not our right to interfere with the affairs of territories that are not our own in this kind of way. Technically, his actions amounted to theft and therefore he had to accept the punishment, which, incidentally, he was happy to do. Next.”
“Miss Lei Tan”
A 26-year-old Filipino girl rose.
“Prime Minister. Can you assure us that the issue of child abuse is being satisfactorily addressed in The Island’s territories?”
“Yes, now I would like to commend your set for the excellent research that you have conducted in this area. You obviously looked back at our records and discovered that some years ago a man was expelled from The Island by the then Queen Mary for alleged improper conduct towards certain minors. This proved that even this our wonderful Island can sometimes have its problems. However, in answer to your question, I do feel that we are addressing it satisfactorily. I say that because, although there have been cases of child abuse in The Island territories, the occurrences are rare and the level of severity minor relative to other nations.
The expulsion happened before I became Prime Minister. When I took office I instigated a programme, through The Self-policing State, in which children volunteer to help the authorities to control the problem and mitigate its effects, working with offenders in many cases before the offences are committed. In other words we adopt a philosophy of prevention rather than cure, and it does work, if only partially. These brave children act as befrienders to those who feel that they need the befriending, bringing about a controlled set of circumstances. Potential offenders who accept the terms and conditions laid down by the rules can remain within the law, and this has greatly reduced the number of cases of child abuse coming to court. Our brave band of children help to make these rules so they, between them, decide what is acceptable and what is not. I am proud to say that they are very effective at what they do, and proud, having defused many potentially harmful situations. I will continue to support them. Next.”
“Mr. Andros Katriatis.”
“Do you feel that The Island’s media is fair and accurate in its reporting?” asked a Greek gent.
“The Island media tends to be a bit of a discreet entity, as you know. Reporting is honest and open, but, as with all media organisations, there are limits as to what can and will be reported. Occasionally some items do have to be censored in the interests of the community. We can’t tell everyone everything. I know that in your research you looked closely into the reporting of the demonstrations in northern Kamchatka, and expressed dismay at the Greencoats who turned away the little girl who wanted to cross the border into Island territory. Some of this reporting was, I accept, suppressed, and we told our reporter that some photographs should not be printed as they could distort the truth, conveying the wrong impression to the outside world about The Island. Some scenes turned ugly and I kindly requested the media not to publish photographs of the riots nor of the combined actions of the Greencoats and the Russian police in controlling the crowd. The Russian journalists thankfully responded in kind. There were casualties, I accept that, and I have to share in the responsibility for that, but sometimes we have to be firm to prevent a situation that could be even worse. I know your set really felt for the little girl and her family, who were highlighted by our reporter Ms Smith, and I sympathise, but I’m sure that you can understand that we had to do what we did otherwise there could have been anarchy. We can absorb new towns only at the rate at which we can buy up the land and buildings and finance our tax liabilities, and wherever the border is placed there will alw
ays be those who will find themselves on the other side of it. I see you want to speak again.”
“Yes. Don’t you think that this situation could get out of hand soon?”
“No I don’t think that because we have a very good understanding with the Russian authorities, who will use whatever force they deem fit to keep those who belong on their side of the divide to stay on their side, and as long as they do both sides can suppress reporting on the issue. It is unfortunate that we have some very poor towns close to our border and that those who live there are aware of the stark contrast between their towns and the ones on our side that have been absorbed by The Island and therefore have been converted to Non-Capitalist Economics. It is a fact that our Greencoats have fired warning shots to deter those who feel that they can sneak across undetected, and they have been informed that even if they do manage to get across they will be handed over straight away to the Russian authorities. It sounds harsh, but believe me it is the least worst option. Next.”
“Miss Anne Clancy.”
Anne rose.
“Will you take steps to drive out the fear of ageing by urging your MPs to provide improved access to the technology currently available for life extension and for more resources to be committed to the improvement of this technology in the interests of the community?”
“This subject has been debated in the Kamchatkan Parliament on several occasions and there has been a broad consensus to allow improved accessibility to what technology there is. Most people accept that this technology is in its infancy despite prolonged efforts to make it a reality. Progress is being made, but we all have to accept that it is slow, and that it is more likely that it will be your children rather than yourselves who will reap the benefits. We do owe it to the next generation to create a world with some of these benefits in place, but they will have to understand that should there be such a thing as life extension in this century it will certainly not be granted purely for play without a return of some sort for the community. I will do my best to put these measures in place. Next.”
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