It was an unfortunate reality that the opportunity for early remedial intervention on Andorayan Sanctuarium had long passed. This meant that whichever option was voted for, its scope and consequences would be enormous. The Exploration Division would be given the arduous tasks of executing the verdict, and ensuring that the planet’s environmental equilibrium was successfully re-established. Commander Trennor knew this better than anyone, since the responsibility would rest on his shoulders alone.
He reluctantly considered the part he would have to play in executing a possible vote of Total Threat Removal. How would he live with himself after carrying it out? He then thought of the millions of other cohabitating species that he would be saving. Would that be enough to ease his conscience for time eternal?
The Exploration Council continued working on their three separate Remedial Intervention Plans – one for each of the three remedial threat removal options that could be voted for, assuming the Senate found in favour of remedial intervention. The plans needed to be as prepared as possible for whichever one might secure the majority vote.
Trennor sensed apprehension in his Council and crew, but reassured them that any and all action taken would be for the greater good of both the planet and the galaxy.
Observatory Spacecraft: Remedial Intervention Plan
While focusing on the Remedial Intervention Plans pertaining to the Suspended and Selective Threat Removal options, Commander Trennor and his Councillors debated over what the most effective communication method between themselves and the human species would be. As previously determined, the human species would almost certainly regard any form of intelligent extra-terrestrial life as hostile, and this had to be taken into account in their execution plans.
Any direct encounter with the species would need to be approached very delicately, to ensure that its fragile social order would not be jeopardised in any way. An overt extra-terrestrial event could ignite global anarchy, making it impossible for the species to implement the required societal and environmental reforms. It was imperative that a state of peace and stability be preserved throughout the process if they were to have any chance of success.
Trennor addressed his Councillors, “Considering everything we know up to this point, I believe the most effective way for us to engage with this human species would be the following. To start with, we identify a core leadership contingent made up of 12 of the species’ most widely influential individuals. These individuals will represent their entire species and will be referred to as ‘Principals’. The Principals will be brought on board the Observatory to meet with us directly. This will negate the need for us to travel to the planet’s surface, thus nullifying the innumerable risks associated with that undertaking.
“Rather than sending official notification of the encounter to the Principals, they will be unknowingly hyperglided on board the Observatory. All 12 will arrive in our hyperglidonian room at exactly same time, thus allowing them to take some comfort from each other’s company when faced with the strange circumstances. They will most likely recognise each other, which should ease their fear and anxiety. The room’s interior will be shrouded with images of their planet’s most magnificent vistas, setting the tone for their encounter. We will give the Principals some time to acquaint themselves with one another and their surroundings. Once they have settled down, we will inform them that they are safe and secure in their new environment.”
The Commander continued, “We will then ask them to remain calm and take note of the instructions that will lead them to the Council Chamber. Once they’re in the chamber, a select group of encounter ‘facilitators’ representing the Galactic Federation will enter and address the Principals. It is imperative that the facilitators not appear physically different from, or potentially threatening to, the Principals. Thus, to ensure minimum disruption and discomfort, the facilitators will present themselves in human form. Their guises will mirror the varying ethnic profiles and genders of the human Principals, and they will each exude similar characteristics to historically celebrated human luminaries.
“The facilitators will also undergo a ‘library infusion’, which would include all our knowledge relating to the species, their languages and their planet. The infused library will allow the facilitators to access information that might be required at any time during the encounter and to communicate with the Principals in whichever language they are fluent. It shouldn’t be apparent to the Principal delegation that they are actually sitting opposite six extra-terrestrial beings.
Trennor went on after a brief pause, “Once the Principals are persuaded of their safety and have eased into relatively calm and reassured states of mind, the facilitators will then begin the encounter meeting. The Principals’ emotional states will be monitored constantly to ensure that, when necessary, fear and anxiety can be addressed. We cannot allow these emotions to compromise our enlightenment efforts.
“We must prepare an agenda for the facilitators to follow during the encounter. The content must include as a minimum, a summary of their planet’s environmental situation, and the customised Environmental Restoration Strategy that shall govern their future way of life. The Principals will then be instructed to communicate the content of the encounter to the planet’s human population on our behalf.
He then asserted, “Regarding the duration of the meeting, we must not keep the Principals on board the Observatory for longer than a three-hour period, as the unexplained absence from their home planet will cause increasing alarm.”
Observatory Spacecraft: Selection
Commander Trennor addressed the spacecraft’s master system directly, “Titan, with respect to our Remedial Intervention Plan and its proposed encounter, please identify for us the 12 human beings who command the widest range of influence in terms of the planet’s human population and its environment.”
The Titan took an instant to sift through its expansive Knowledge Catalogue and duly identified 12 names. The orbonic projector awoke from its hibernation state and increased in diameter to fill the centre of the room. Once initiated, the names, faces and corresponding details of the 12 selected humans were cascaded across the holographic display:
The logic behind the selection was then summarised by The Titan. It highlighted the fact that, during the rise of the human species, the planet had been carved into numerous separate territories, or ‘nations’ as the species referred to them. Each nation operated as an independent entity and even though there were inter-dependencies that linked various nations, no centralised governing authority representing the entire human population existed.
The Titan described how some nations were much more powerful than others in terms of status, wealth, influence, general education level and population size, while other nations had amalgamated to form similarly powerful unions, leagues and alliances. It had thus selected the political leaders of the four most influential independent nations and three leagues/unions of nations, to represent seven of the 12 positions. These leaders also happened to govern, either directly or indirectly, over 80% of the human population.
It went on to justify its selection of the leaders who represented two of the planet’s most high-profile international organisations, which had relations with almost every nation. Next, were two leading television personalities: the first was a celebrity renowned to be the world’s most popular television talk show host, while the second was a widely-known and trusted current affairs journalist, reporter and anchor.
The final selection had been reserved for the world’s most highly regarded and outspoken environmental scientist, Edward Payton. A professor at Oxford University, he was famous for his vociferous campaigning for the world to embrace moderation in every aspect of human life, to slow and ultimately reverse environmental deterioration.
The Titan then explained the deliberate omission of religious leaders; stipulating that the world’s most prominent religions were already represented by the 12 human Principals selected.
It then
highlighted a key selection advantage. Even though the Principals spoke various native languages, they were all fluent in one common language, known as English. This would simplify the encounter’s proceedings.
Trennor addressed his Council, “So there we have it. The 12 individuals identified here now unknowingly hold their species’ destiny in the palms of their hands. Let us now focus all our attention on the encounter’s agenda and content, as it could well be required within the next 12 hours. This encounter will need to be faultlessly executed in order to convince the Principal delegation that their planet is unquestionably on the brink of its environmental implosion point, and that urgent remedial action is required in terms of our Environmental Restoration Strategy.”
He continued, “Of course, all of the above depends on the outcome of the Senate’s ballot. It is probable that none of this will be necessary, but let us not assume anything at this stage.”
At that very instant there was a ping on the Commander’s glide surface. He looked down and saw a message from Empress Aeryssia herself containing the ballot results. He opened the message and was momentarily dumbfounded by what he saw.
Endurion: Senate Sanctorum – Verdict
In the Galacian Senate Sanctorum, the Senate members all stared at the ballot results in a spellbound state. The outcome, which had been immediately dispatched to the Observatory, showed the following:
Remedial threat removal votes cast – 42
Total Threat Removal – 14
Selective Threat Removal – 13
Suspended Threat Removal – 15
Most Senators had been expecting a result in favour of Total Threat Removal, especially considering the generally conservative tendencies of the Senate. But it had been very close. Just a single vote had spared the human species from total removal. That vote had swayed the tide of fate in their favour and given their existence a second chance. Whether the Suspended Threat Removal option was the better choice or not, would only reveal itself during the remedial intervention effort.
Apparent from the result, however, was that 27 Senate members were prepared to accept a degree of immediate threat removal being carried out on the dominant species. This indicated that if the option to suspend threat removal failed to deliver the necessary results, there would be no hesitation in escalating the intervention level.
Empress Aeryssia spoke, “So, we have voted in favour of Suspended Threat Removal. I commend you all for having cast the votes that you did today. This is a very difficult and controversial situation that we are facing and one that I would not wish upon a Senate of any Galacian generation. I personally believe that the correct option has been selected, but only time will tell.
“I would like to stress the importance that every Senate member fully respect the outcome of the ballot. I realise that the path we’ve committed ourselves to has many risks, but we must not underestimate the potential that when this dominant species realises just how critical their ecological situation is, they will willingly cooperate and accept our Environmental Restoration Strategy. Should they not accept it, or fail to comply with it, then we will vote again to escalate the intervention level accordingly. I trust that it will not come to this, but we, the representatives of the Galacian Senate, must be prepared to face this possibility.”
The Senators’ acknowledged their understanding and agreement.
The Empress continued, “We all have a difficult journey ahead of us, but I am confident that our united efforts will result in success. Our primary objective is to save this planet’s wondrous diversity of life, and we will do whatever is necessary to realise this objective.”
She went on to explain that the Exploration Council was, as mentioned in Commander Trennor’s expedition update, preparing a preliminary Remedial Intervention Plan. This would detail how the Council intended to inform the dominant species of its planet’s plight and instruct them to adopt the proposed ER Strategy into their system of governance.
The discussion continued for a short time before being brought to a close by the Empress. She excused the 36 Senators and requested that her four Chancellors remain behind. The Senators’ chairs withdrew into their respective cylindrical cubicles that encircled the sanctorum. One by one, flashes of light appeared through the cubicle windows, as they were hyperglided back to their departments.
The Chancellors’ chairs were drawn towards the Empress. She addressed them, “My fellow Chancellors, I am very concerned about this precarious situation and, as such, I believe that we need to do something unprecedented in the Galactic Federation’s leadership history.”
Observatory Spacecraft: Confirmation
Commander Trennor stared at the ballot results and a surge of relief came over him. He had, as a Chancellor of the Galacian Senate, voted via proxy in his expedition update. His votes had been in favour of Remedial Intervention and Suspended Threat Removal. He believed that, evidence aside, this dominant species should be given leeway to prove themselves capable of restoring their planet’s environment. He considered the fact that it had been his vote that had secured the ballot’s majority.
The verdict meant that his exploration crew would be spared the ordeal of having to carry out immediate Selective or Total Threat Removal, something that would surely have tested everyone’s moral resolve. Trennor was also aware that of the three options, this was the most complex for his team to execute. This placed enormous responsibility on him. Most concerning was the knowledge that for as long as the reckless behaviour of the human species was allowed to continue, unrecoverable species were being forever lost to this world, the galaxy and the Universe. Time was of the essence and immediate steps had to be taken to stop the destruction.
The Commander looked up and addressed his Council, “Councillors, I have just been notified of the Senate’s verdict. The first phase of the intervention ballot confirmed that a route of remedial intervention will be followed. In the second phase, the Senate majority voted in favour of the Suspended Threat Removal option … by just one vote.”
The Councillors expressed both shock and relief at the result. They had also been expecting one of the other two options to win the ballot.
Trennor ran through the results in full, then spoke further, “Even though there are some of us here in this Council who may not believe that this species deserves this opportunity, it is our duty to carry out our mandate as instructed to the very best of our ability. Everything we do from this point on will have a direct influence on how many more cohabitating species become extinct, so we need to act swiftly.”
The Exploration Council was now required to submit their Remedial Intervention (RI) Plan to the Senate for review and approval. This would include their customised Environmental Restoration Strategy. If approved, they would be expected to put their plan into immediate action.
The RI Plan was progressing well and would be ready for submission within the hour. Trennor was pleased that he and his Council had been working on it during their 10 hour wait for the results. He redirected everyone’s attention back to the plan and the meticulous work continued.
A quarter-hour later the Commander received another message, this time from the Empress herself. He read it, then looked up at his Councillors in total disbelief. The level of attention that the Galactic Federation’s highest leadership was giving to this situation was without precedent.
Trennor immediately informed his Council that Empress Aeryssia and the other four Chancellors were travelling to the Observatory and would be arriving within two hours of the notification message being received. The communication delay between Endurion and the Observatory’s location was just over six hours via the IGT Station. This meant that they must have left the Senate Sanctorum soon after the message had been sent, and were most probably already well within the confines of Stellar System 413.
The Councillors were equally stunned by the notification. The notion that the Empress of the galaxy would be gracing the Observatory with her eminent presence was remarkabl
e.
Trennor was not concerned about the impromptu notification since his Exploration Council’s proposed Remedial Intervention Plan was almost complete. The hour prior to their expected arrival would be spent preparing a presentation of the plan’s content. The Commander had to convince the other Federal Alliance members that his Council’s plan was ready for implementation and also that it maximised the remedial intervention’s probability of success. The meeting of the Empress and other Chancellors would allow real-time interactive review of the Remedial Intervention Plan, thus greatly reducing its finalisation time.
With just minutes to go before their arrival, Trennor sat back very pleased with the result of his Council’s work. Together with the assistance of the Observatory’s various departments and the Titan, they had been able to devise a plan that was all-encompassing and justifiable. They had spent precious time considering the numerous uncertainties at every stage of the remedial intervention, and had prepared alternative solutions for each one to ensure that the process would be kept on track.
Their ultimate goals were clearly defined: to convince the Principals that they needed to revolutionise the current behaviour and governance of their species and, at the same time, ensure that the environmental equilibrium of their planet be restored.
Observatory Spacecraft: Federal Alliance
Empress Aeryssia had taken the decision to assemble her six-member Federal Alliance and together, deal with the problem on Andorayan Sanctuarium. She and her four Chancellors were nearing the end of their journey to meet with her fifth Chancellor, Commander Trennor, whose counsel and wisdom would be invaluable.
Wake-up Call: 2035 Page 8