Wake-up Call: 2035

by Robert J. Traydon

  At 6:00 a.m. the hotel management confirmed that all 500 dignitaries had arrived safely and were checked into their suites. Within half an hour all were accounted for in the restaurant, where they sat down to enjoy an exquisite buffet breakfast.

  At 7:30 a.m., the dignitaries were ushered to their seats in the auditorium and the interpreters shown to their cubicles in the upper gallery. Everyone was unconditionally relieved of their electronic devices, including mobile phones, tablets and cameras, to ensure that no unauthorised recordings could be made and leaked to the media. Every measure had been put in place to prevent this possibility.

  By now traffic was gridlocked within a two kilometre radius of the Burj al Persia’s exclusion zone. Cars, vans, trucks, motorbikes, reporters, journalists, spectators, activists and fans were all fighting their way through the manic crowds. People were even resorting to climbing up trees and street lights to get a better view. It was like nothing the city of Dubai had ever experienced since its dramatic rise from modesty on the sands of the Arabian Desert.

  The exclusion zone’s temporary perimeter barricading was similar in many respects to the permanent defences that surrounded American airbases. Anything less would not have been able to hold back the hundreds of thousands of people who had come to witness what was now being broadly recognised as the greatest assembly of human influence in history.

  Two minutes before eight o’clock the 12 Principals were informed that all the dignitaries were seated and ready for the summit to begin. They then made their way into the auditorium in single file and took their seats behind the curved table, symbolically representing a united front. There they sat before the gathering of 500 distinguished dignitaries, all of whom had risen from their seats as a mark of respect.

  The Principals could feel the tension radiating through the air. They had been selected by the Supreme Beings to represent the human race and now the time had come for them to exercise that responsibility. In the auditorium was a sea of captivated faces almost all of which they recognised. The interpreters could be seen in their upper gallery cubicles, ready to translate the summit’s official language, English, into the native languages of the 243 non-proficient English speaking dignitaries.

  The dignitaries looked on, taking note that the 12 people standing before them matched the names of those who had supposedly disappeared. At this stage, the dignitaries had only been informed that the summit was of the utmost global importance, and that this supposed ‘new evidence’ affected the future of every human being on the planet. No other information had, as of yet, been divulged.

  Rumour had run its course regarding the recent, veiled chain of events. Many of the dignitaries had mocked the outlandish suggestions that had been circulating on world news networks: now was their opportunity to finally hear the true story from the 12 people who now held the stage.

  8:00 a.m. Earth: Summit – Day 1 (Introduction and Encounter)

  It was exactly 8:00 a.m. when President Jameson stood to address the largest congregation of world leaders and influential people that had ever gathered in one place. The previous record had long been held by the memorial service for Nelson Mandela over two decades earlier.

  She spoke with energy, “Good morning to all of you, distinguished dignitaries, who sit before us here on this truly historic day. We greatly appreciate that every one of you has made the effort to amend your demanding schedules in order to attend this summit. I can assure you that your effort is duly warranted as this will undoubtedly prove to be the single most important summit ever convened in the history of humankind.”

  She motioned towards the other Principals and continued, “I could never have predicted how the events of the last four days would bring the 12 of us together, and encourage us to unite so strongly as a team. It has been an honour and privilege of mine to work as an absolute equal with the people that I share this stage with today.”

  President Jameson then outlined the venue particulars, the ground rules governing the proceedings and the high level agenda for the five days. She specifically requested the dignitaries to reserve judgement, comment and questions for the question session scheduled for the afternoon of Day Two.

  She went on, “The ultimate goal of the conference is to achieve expeditious resolution on a global treaty that can be signed in goodwill by every one of us here, upon the conclusion of the summit. This treaty shall constitute the preliminary foundation of our environmental obligations, to which all nations shall be unequivocally bound … and on which we can build in the future.”

  There were murmurs from the dignitaries at the references to the treaty and the environment. No nation wanted to be tied down by global treaties, especially when they were of environmental inclination. The dignitaries were also wary of the fact that the summit’s planned duration was five days. Some had been hoping to make an ‘early exit of convenience’ if the content did not live up to their expectation. But there were obviously high stakes at play here, so they were prepared to tolerate much more than they would normally.

  President Jameson spoke on, “I just want to reinforce the key importance of every one of us maintaining an open mind throughout the proceedings. We all need to leave behind our personal agendas, preconceived ideas, prejudices, political views, religious beliefs and traditional human objectives, while we contemplate the content of the presentations that are to follow. We need to approach this situation with a clean slate of innovative, lateral thinking, not to mention absolute cooperation.

  “The 12 of us here before you, stand resolute in our decision to be totally open and transparent about the events that took place four days ago. We are wholly committed to giving you an account that is 100% accurate and inclusive of every detail no matter how insignificant, since even the smallest omission could mean the difference between our success and failure.

  “We will need your buy-in and input, and the only way we can obtain this is to ensure that you are in possession of all the information that we have. It would serve no purpose for us to withhold or manipulate any of this information, since we have no hidden agenda. As a strongly united leadership body, we will all be better positioned to deal with the challenging future that stands before us.”

  She paused for a moment, then continued, “I would like to open the summit by giving those on stage with me the opportunity to formally introduce themselves and briefly outline their current occupations and areas of expertise. I am aware that most of us are already well known to many of you, but this will ensure that we are all equally informed.”

  The auditorium was eerily quiet. It was rare that not even a whisper could be heard in a confined space shared by 512 people.

  One by one the Principals stood to introduce themselves. While each of them spoke, their respective pictures and life accomplishments were projected onto a huge screen which now covered the feature wall. President Jameson was the last of the 12 to introduce herself and directly thereafter she continued with her opening.

  “The circumstances in which we find ourselves now are unprecedented; hence the reason we called upon you, 500 of the world’s most influential people, to join us in setting a new course for humankind’s future. In this situation there is no hierarchy – we are all equals, because we will all be equally affected. What this summit achieves over the next five days will determine humanity’s future and the fate of our world.

  “I will now recount the extraordinary events that the 12 of us, who sit before you here today, experienced together on Thursday last week. It is likely that you are all aware of the circulating rumours regarding our unexplained temporary disappearances that day; and we would now like to take this opportunity to officially confirm that these rumours … are absolutely true!”

  There was a rumble of chatter amongst the dignitaries but it soon died down as an eagerness to listen overcame their need to talk. Many of the dignitaries were hunched forward in anticipation of taking in every word.

  President Jameson then proceeded to relate the e
ncounter, and how the 12 of them had been selected as ‘Principals’ to represent the human race. It went smoothly, but upon mention of the word ‘teleport’, the dignitaries started to look at her with sceptical expressions. The word was synonymous with science fiction and certainly had no place in real life. Jameson disregarded the groundswell of throat clearing, coughing and general restlessness, and carried on.

  The dignitaries quietened down to continue listening to what Jameson was saying. The moment she referred to ‘extra-terrestrial Supreme Beings’, the dignitaries glanced around at each other in an attempt to gauge their counterparts’ reactions. They could no longer hold back their scepticism and audible whispering began to spread across the auditorium.

  As soon as she mentioned the Supreme Beings’ spacecraft and the view of Earth from orbit, an unexpected silence prevailed. The dignitaries were dumbfounded by what they had just heard. The US President’s serious expression hadn’t flinched while speaking, meaning that she was being absolutely serious about what she was saying.

  This astonishing revelation was bordering on the ridiculous. Some were not sure whether to believe what they were hearing or laugh out loud at its absurdity, while others felt irritated that they had amended their busy schedules and flown all the way to Dubai only to hear some outrageous tale. The Soviet President even asked his interpreter, in jest, to bring him a box of popcorn and a soft drink.

  Jameson pressed on explaining the existence of the Galactic Federation and its Galacian Senate. She then stated that the six Supreme Beings present at the encounter, represented the Milky Way galaxy’s highest leadership, known as the Federal Alliance. This included the galaxy’s reigning Empress and her five Chancellors. After describing them and their designations, she informed the dignitaries about the number of life harbouring planets present in the galaxy, but as she spoke, pandemonium grew until it could no longer be ignored.

  She halted the proceedings and sternly reminded the dignitaries of the summit’s ground rules. The dignitaries slowly quietened down and tried to prepare themselves for whatever was to follow.

  When absolute quiet had returned, she continued, “I must highlight one specific exchange of conversation during our encounter, which should give context to the entire account. I took the liberty of asking the Supreme Beings whether they were visiting Earth with hostile intent and they responded in the most unexpected way. They confirmed that they have absolutely no intention of conquering or destroying our planet. Their sole intent is, in fact, precisely the opposite: they want to save our planet … they want to save the Earth from our relentless environmental destruction”.

  9:30 a.m. Earth: Summit – Day 1 (Introduction and Encounter)

  President Jameson’s statement caused a dramatic stir across the auditorium and the dignitaries muttered under their breaths to one another. Many of the dignitaries had expressions of disbelief and irritation, and some openly voiced their contempt. Jameson was forced not only to call for calm, but also to physically gesture for it. Some of the Principals reiterated her gestures.

  Once the commotion had settled, she spoke, “We openly acknowledge that it sounds absolutely ludicrous: a group of extra-terrestrial Supreme Beings flying thousands of light-years across the galaxy to come and visit Earth, and then deciding that they need to save it … from us! But I can promise you all that this is the absolute honest truth.

  “I must assure you that the 12 of us also struggled to accept the reality of this astounding revelation, and we therefore sympathise with your emotional response and scepticism – but you need to be patient and hear us out.”

  She continued after a brief pause, “The Supreme Beings warned us that the Earth is facing imminent environmental collapse … a collapse solely caused by us … and one that will render humanity extinct before the end of the century. They want to help us prevent this from happening.”

  Almost all the dignitaries shook their heads and expressed groans of disbelief in her statement. Everyone was aware of the difficult environmental situation, but the notion of ‘imminent collapse’ … that was just preposterous.

  She then gave context to the Supreme Beings’ intentions by explaining the Galactic Federation’s mandate: ‘To ensure that goodwill, peace and wellbeing prevail across every sector of the galaxy’. She emphasised the Principals’ steadfast opinion that the Supreme Beings had the genuine intent of ensuring the safe future of planet Earth.

  The dignitaries balked at the assertion. The notion that extra-terrestrial beings could be visiting Earth at all, let alone with honourable intentions was inconceivable. If they did really exist, then there had to be ulterior motives that the Principals were obviously unaware of.

  Despite interspersed jeers, President Jameson went on to explain the full scope of the conversation that had taken place between the 12 Principals and the Supreme Beings. She described everything in detail, except for the environmental information, the Galacian Senate’s ballot and the Ultimatum, which she said would be expanded on during the course of the summit.

  By the time she started to draw her account to an end, the patience of the dignitaries was wearing thin. They regarded Jameson’s account as some elaborate work of fiction, which not only pushed the boundaries of lunacy but also called into question the collective sanity of the Principals. Cynicism was rife across the auditorium.

  She again called for calm and continued only when an acceptable degree of order had returned, “I request just a few more minutes of your attention to allow me to cover one last important aspect before we break for lunch. This should validate much of the information that has been relayed to you this morning.

  “The Vice President of the United States announced three days ago that our nation had built a large colonisation spacecraft as part of a classified project known as ‘Project New Horizon’. Subsequently, numerous international astronomers representing various space agencies attended the unveiling of NASA’s new WorldSeeker telescope, which included the observation and verification of the New Horizon spacecraft.

  The dignitaries were all well aware of this, although pictures of the spacecraft had not yet been published.

  Jameson continued, “What I would like to do now, however, is make a noteworthy correction to the information given in our press release and declare that the spacecraft does not belong to the United States. It is, in fact, an Exploration and Research Spacecraft that belongs to the Galactic Federation, which settled into orbit around Mars subsequent to the Supreme Beings’ visit to Earth. We will now show you what this spacecraft looks like.”

  Images of the spacecraft captured by NASA’s WorldSeeker telescope and Mars geo-mapping satellite, were then emblazoned on the feature wall’s screen as a slide show. They showed the spacecraft’s perfect cylindrical shape from multiple angles and gave chilling perspective to its immense size. It was obvious that the spacecraft was well beyond the realm of human technological capability. It could only have been made by some advanced extra-terrestrial species… superior to human beings.

  Given the context, the dignitaries gaped at the slides in utter amazement. Each image was tagged with the associated names of the internationally recognised astronomers, and their respective space agencies, who had witnessed the capturing of the images. There was thus no question as to their authenticity.

  “I want to formally apologise to every one of you for my government’s cover story. However, it was necessary for us not only to secure this incontrovertible photographic evidence, but also to withhold the truth until the summit – to protect the greater safety and security of societies all around the world. Now that you have been made aware of the circumstances, we hope that they give credible context to our cover story’s intention. I urge you to accept our apology and not let it compromise your trust in us for the remainder of the summit. You can be sure that this was a once-off, and that nothing else we disclose to you deviates from the truth in any way.”

  As the disturbing gravity of the situation began to sink in, the dig
nitaries felt like they had just been hit by a freight train. The revelation of the existence of extra-terrestrial life was almost too much for them to bear. The whole account was beyond belief and yet it now included corroborated evidence that validated its authenticity. None of the dignitaries would otherwise have considered the account to be either plausible or true.

  The dignitaries realised that they would need to thoroughly re-examine everything that had been presented to them thus far, including the details that they had flagrantly discounted. If this account was to be believed, then humanity was facing an extremely serious situation. This definitely warranted the urgency and scale of the summit.

  President Jameson then said, “I want to reassure you that everything you have heard thus far in this auditorium, is the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. All 12 of us here today, stand testament to this truth.

  “The session that is to follow after lunch relies heavily on your acceptance of this account as fact, and for that reason we ask that you keep an open mind about all the information that you are now privy to. We appreciate your attentiveness up to this point and shall now break for lunch. Proceedings will resume at exactly 1:00 p.m.”

  It was midday as the dignitaries began standing up and making their way to the restaurant. Questions and theories were flying in every direction as they tried to make sense of the absurdity. Throughout lunch, conversation remained at a fever pitch with sporadic bouts of heated debate and outright argument.

  Some of the dignitaries surmised that the United States might be disguising the full extent of its space exploration programme with a double bluff, and that this spacecraft was indeed theirs. Others claimed to doubt the authenticity of the images since they could so easily have been fabricated, and even suggested that NASA might have bribed the astronomers to falsely verify the images. A few argued that it could only be the truth since there were 11 other Principals of impeccable reputation, standing behind what the US President had said. Controversy reigned and questions burned like hot coals in the dignitaries’ minds. The afternoon session would be fascinating to say the least.