Wake-up Call: 2035

by Robert J. Traydon

  Other experts welcomed the concept of an environmentally orientated global goodwill treaty. They openly expressed their full support for it, saying that it was about time the world united against environmental destruction, especially after so many other previous attempts had failed*. They argued that had the traditional bureaucratic channels been followed then this treaty would have taken months, if not years, to be debated and agreed upon, and even then there would be no guarantee of obtaining worldwide ratification. Not to mention the environmental degradation that would continue unabated in the interim.

  [* The much-vaunted Climate Change Conference (COP 21) of 2015, which was attended by representatives from all 195 of the world’s nations, was unfortunately overshadowed by brutal terrorist attacks in Paris three weeks prior. At that stage, terrorism was deemed to be a far more serious threat facing world security, than that of climate change, and thus took centre stage across the world’s top leadership.

  Priority misdirection aside, a major shortcoming of the COP was its primary focus on carbon emissions reductions rather than population management. The notion that emissions could ever be curbed while the world population continued to grow was a delusion. Despite this key fact, the carbon emissions focus prevailed in subsequent COPs.

  It became a sad reality that even though the COPs garnered a fair degree of global support, the promised funding never materialised and the emissions commitments were rarely met. All the while the world population grew steadily. This, together with the fact that many developing nations were rapidly modernising to Western standards, meant that global demand for affordable power had soared.

  The average global temperature passed the critical ‘2°C above pre-industrial level’ mark in 2023, and was now approaching the 3°C mark at an exponentially increasing rate.]

  Many were impressed by the calibre of the summit and the dynamic, innovative and admirable leadership that had been shown by the world’s leaders. They stressed that sometimes unprecedented action was needed to shake up the world and force humanity to deal with reality. They suggested that bureaucratic processes clogging new legislation be amended to accommodate the treaty’s requirements as needed, and in reasonable time.

  A few environmentally inclined politicians recognised the fact that the environmental situation could no longer be ignored and openly supported the action taken. One even went so far as to say, ‘The world has finally been given the wake-up call it deserves!’

  7:00 p.m. Earth: Soviet Airspace

  It was 7:00 p.m. Moscow time. The Soviet President, Yaroslav Rivensky, was on his Tupolev Tu-288 presidential plane on his way to Moscow. The plane had been in the air for four hours and would be landing soon. The President had happily traded flight duration for peace and quiet by instructing the pilots to travel at subsonic speed. His head was pounding after the long day and the last thing he felt like was the incessant roaring of supersonic flight.

  He sat in the aircraft’s lounge watching the end of the press conference being streamed live from Dubai. He had found it very interesting and wondered how his nation’s people would react to it. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to deal with any fallout or civil unrest in the summit’s aftermath. His intention was to address the Soviet Union within the hour to quell any fear or uncertainty arising from the press conference and make it known that his government had everything well in hand.

  He asked the air hostess to pour him a well-deserved vodka in celebration of the marathon summit being over. He had deliberately kept a low profile throughout the week as he knew his opinions would not have been appreciated. He was not about to be dictated to by a bunch of fictitious extra-terrestrials, and certainly not by a delusional American President and her 11 cleverly recruited accomplices. Throughout the summit he had grown increasingly sceptical about the whole situation. Numerous parts of the story had gaping holes and it stank of scandal.

  He had laughed to himself at the thought of extra-terrestrial beings telling the Principals to play God, and save the Earth from human destruction. What a preposterous notion.

  Representatives from his own Space Agency had confirmed the sighting of the spacecraft during their visit to NASA a week before, but for all they knew the so-called spacecraft could be some giant inflatable raft that was all part of the American President’s ploy. The Soviet President also had significant resources at his disposal and was certain that he could fabricate a similarly ludicrous story, and then conveniently back it up with artificial evidence.

  But one specific question had plagued his mind throughout. What strategic benefits did the Principals, especially the Principals representing the developed world, stand to gain from this deviously orchestrated charade?

  It was a possibility that they were aiming to boost their nations’ ailing economies, which had still not fully recovered from the catastrophic Junk Bond market crash of October 2027, and the subsequent global economic depression that lasted through the remainder of the 2020s and early 2030s. This whole charade would greatly benefit their economies by igniting rocketing demand in their well-established renewable energy sectors, which together, were responsible for supplying over 80% of the world’s renewable power generation and storage equipment.

  Rivensky had signed the treaty only to avoid attracting unnecessary negative media attention. His nation had had enough damning publicity over the last two decades due to its successful annexation campaigns of key states including the Crimea, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Kazakhstan; and subsequent re-establishment of the Soviet Union – all achieved under the leadership of his venerated predecessor, Vladimir Putin. Ever since the annexation campaigns began, the Soviet Government had been ostracised by a raft of political and economic sanctions. This caused terrible hardship in Russia and the other Soviet states, which included an unreported wave of starvation that claimed the lives of an estimated five million citizens across the Soviet Union.

  Not signing the treaty would have been viewed as an overt signal of his personal contempt for the Principals and the summit. Even though he was feeling resentful about this entire situation, he knew that signing had been a shrewd move.

  There was a particular aspect of bitterness that Rivensky was struggling to come to terms with. If by some remote possibility the whole encounter story was true, for what reason had he not been selected by the Galacian Senate as one of the 12 Principals representing Earth? He could immediately justify why he should have been chosen before at least 10 of the Principals. His nation’s unmatched nuclear arsenal made him the most powerful man on the planet* – surely that was reason enough? His absurd exclusion from the group of Principals made him feel nothing but contempt for these supposed extra-terrestrial beings.

  [* It was an undisputed fact that the Soviet President was personally in charge of more nuclear weapons than the rest of the world combined, including the United States of America. Yes, the Soviet Union had suffered a shocking economic recession as a result of the globally instituted economic isolation agreement, but its nuclear strength alone justified its superpower status.]

  Then, to take it even further, these extra-terrestrials had had the nerve to hand an ultimatum to humankind – the ruling, indigenous inhabitants of the Earth! Who did they think they were? What right did they have to travel half way across the galaxy and meddle with our way of life? Human rule over planet Earth was its right alone and it shouldn’t tolerate any extra-terrestrial interference in its affairs whatsoever. The Earth belonged to humans and they could do with it whatever they pleased. If people ended up destroying the Earth, then so be it… it was obviously meant to be. He scribbled his thoughts down into his private diary for later contemplation.

  His mind was already scheming a way to leverage his nation’s nuclear might against these brazen extra-terrestrial beings … if, of course, it ever came to light that the encounter story was actually true. Rather than lying down and rolling over like a submissive dog, as suggested by the Principals, he believed that it would be in humanity’s best int
erest to rise up against these unwelcome visitors and put them squarely into their place. That’s what any true leader should do. He would personally teach these extra-terrestrials a lesson they would never forget, and send them home with their extra-terrestrial tails tucked firmly between their little extra-terrestrial legs!

  8. RESPONSE

  September 2035 – March 2036 | Earth: Post-Summit Events

  In the days and weeks after the summit, the 12 Principals stayed in contact with the 500 dignitaries via IntraGlobe. They had created a dedicated IntraGlobe forum named ‘Ultimatum Compliance Treaty’, to which all the dignitaries had been registered, irrespective of whether they had signed the treaty or not. The forum kept everyone fully informed of the most recent news, implementation progress and monitoring results. It also proved to be a valuable referencing node for nations to exchange innovative ideas, best practices and relevant knowledge.

  But as the weeks turned into months, much of the dignitaries’ initial dedication to the treaty began to wane as resistance from the world’s population grew. The Principals found themselves engulfed in controversy for their outspoken attempts to garner support for the Ultimatum. Some had even received death threats by email and post, the first ever in their lives.

  What became apparent during the first three months after the signing of the treaty, was that democratically governed nations were experiencing extreme difficulty in the implementation of the Ultimatum. This was in glaring contrast to some of the autocratically governed nations who were far more successful in their attempts: they were able to amend their constitutions with limited bureaucratic obstruction; and then institute and enforce the numerous conditions with far more dexterity and speed than their democratic counterparts.

  Some rogue nations only implemented the conditions that were of benefit to their regimes or dictatorial leaders, while others simply refused to implement any of the conditions in spite of having signed the treaty in good faith. A few nations suffered military coups to displace their ‘pro-treaty’ heads of state. Once the coup leaders were in power they set about publicly vilifying the Ultimatum. Those nations whose heads of state had not signed the treaty, continued as though it didn’t exist.

  There were also nations that were so poor, or in such degenerated states of civil war, that there was no chance of the Ultimatum ever being implemented. Providing compliance assistance to these nations had to be done very delicately, since many of the reforms were not viewed as assistance at all. The population management reforms, in particular, were viewed as an attack on cultural identity and traditional way of life, rather than assistance.

  Some developing nations believed that the Ultimatum and its population management conditions were all part of a greater conspiracy by China and the West to reduce their numbers in preparation for a possible ‘second scramble for resources’. Some heads of state responded by motivating their citizens to have more children, offering them increased social grants and other incentives. Eventually all compliance assistance efforts by developed nations were abandoned, since many of the undeveloped nations were now even worse off compliance-wise than they had been before.

  Sanctions began to be imposed upon nations that were either disregarding or not complying with the Ultimatum, but only with limited intent and effect. The compliant nations whose responsibility it was to impose sanctions, often did so in such a way that their own economies were not negatively affected, thus reducing the sanctions’ potency. Some nations put sanctions in place merely to create the illusion that they were taking action against non-compliant nations – but behind the scenes trade continued as normal.

  Where nations imposed sanctions with genuine intent, the non-compliant nations often established new trade links with other non-compliant nations. This nullified the effect of the sanctions and only ended up hurting the economies of the nations that had imposed the sanctions in the first place. Many rogue nations also prided themselves on self-sufficiency, and as such, had little legal international trade that could be targeted. It soon became obvious that the use of sanctions in response to non-compliance was fraught with complication, corruption and fraudulence.

  Global immigration slowed tremendously as all nations tightened their immigration policies and locked down their borders. In many developed nations, natural population decline had long been countered by immigration. Thus, in the interest of complying with the Ultimatum’s population targets, immigration was greatly reduced. This placed enormous pressure on the nations from which immigrants generally originated, now pushing their population growth rates even higher.

  During the latter half of the first year after the signing of the treaty, the wide disparity of implementation success became acutely apparent between the United States of America and China. Especially after the United States experienced an unprecedented leadership change.

  At first, President Jameson was able to exercise her presidential authority to pass various ‘Ultimatum Executive Orders’ into law, including a Population Management Bill. However, her initial success was met with considerable resistance as law makers made it increasingly difficult for her to leverage her authority. Her much publicised ‘Ultimatum Campaign’ was besieged with criticism from almost every sphere of society. It faced intense condemnation from environmental cynics in politics and business who were driven solely by power and wealth. They refused to believe the environmental data or hear the rationality behind the Ultimatum, simply because they had too much to lose from its implementation. It was a case of personal detriment far exceeding the importance of collective benefit.

  All the while, she tried to encourage other nations to adopt their own population management programmes, but only with limited success. She had found that having open conversations with other world leaders about population management was nothing short of exasperating. She often thought back to President Zhuge’s reference to the unyielding views of 15th century religious leaders, since it held strong relevance in this context. These religious leaders were not prepared to consider any progressive views, because they didn’t fit in with their narrow and obsolete frames of reference at the time.

  The exact situation was mirrored now with world leaders, although the circumstances had changed. It was not a comparatively superficial dispute about whether the world was the centre of the Universe or not … it was a critical debate regarding the primary reason for the world’s rapidly deteriorating environment.

  Within the United States, public feuding and animosity began to grow against the raft of reforms that had been pushed through, especially the Population Management Bill. People across the nation expressed their contempt in a series of demonstrations, marches and mass protests, some of which numbered a few million people. They lambasted Jameson for her intrusions on their personal freedom. She responded by saying that people did not understand the true environmental cost of their personal freedom, and that humanity’s ‘selfish freedoms’ came at the expense of every other species’ freedom. To this end, in a televised national debate, she had asked: “Is our species’ freedom and entitlement to life really more important than that of all other species?”

  Her cabinet grew nervous and began to question her unpopular opinions and actions. The growing opposition she faced on all fronts became overwhelming.

  During the sixth month after the summit, President Jameson was accused and found guilty by the Supreme Court for acting beyond the authority of her inaugurated appointment as President of the United States. Upon the formal announcement of Jameson’s impeachment verdict, she was, with immediate effect, revoked of all her entitlements and presidential duties and formally instructed to step down. It was also announced that all the Ultimatum Executive Orders that were deemed unconstitutional by Congress, would be rescinded. Included in the rescinded orders was the highly controversial Population Management Bill.

  Jameson was seething at the misguided audacity of the verdict. She expressed her outrage by denouncing the House of Representatives and Senate, going so far a
s to accuse them of putting the future of American citizens and the rest of the world at unnecessary risk.

  While being forcibly removed from the White House, she had shouted, “What the United States is doing is tantamount to terrorism … terrorism against the environment, terrorism against other species, and terrorism against the people of every other nation. The United States’ environmentally destructive precedent is the single greatest threat to our world’s safety and humanity’s future existence!”

  The highly regarded Vice President McKenzie resigned from his post within an hour of Jameson leaving the White House, stating that if Jameson’s integrity and leadership capability could not be trusted by America, then neither could his. His resignation was a bombshell that reverberated across the US Government and the entire nation. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was forced to swear in the Speaker of the House as Acting President until suitable candidates could be found to replace both Jameson and McKenzie.

  March 2036 – April 2036 | Earth: Post-Impeachment

  The Chinese President had sympathised with President Jameson’s plight. She had not deserved the humiliation suffered at the hands of her own country, especially after she had served it so diligently. She was an incredible woman and an equally incredible leader, and there was no doubt in Zhuge’s mind that she was the most suitable person to lead the United States through this challenging period. It was tragic that she had become a victim of the very democracy that she had for so long held in such high regard. It had turned on her like a spoilt child against its loving, yet firm parent.