by D. J. Holmes
Just a couple of minutes later James couldn’t resist raising a hand to rub some of the frustration out of his forehead. The vote was at tie. Five had voted for Gupta’s plan, five against and Admiral Allende had abstained.
“In the event of a tie the Chairman is to cast the deciding vote,” Christine reminded him. “How do you vote Chairman?”
James shot her a wearied look. She knew full well how he would vote, and what the response would be from those who had opposed the plan. “I’m reluctant to cast the deciding vote when such a significant decision is before us. As a Council we should be more unanimous as we strive to defend our people. However, I am an Admiral with many years’ experience. Gupta’s plan is the best option we have available at present. I therefore vote in favor. Admiral Gupta will immediately begin preparations for taking Home Fleet to the Beta system where she will seek to discourage the Karacknids from any further aggressive actions. In the days and weeks ahead we can assess this plan as more ships and options become available to us.” To cement the finality of the decision James brought his gravel down. “That is all the items on the agenda for our unscheduled meeting. We will meet tomorrow to go through the normal agenda as usual.”
“This is a farce,” Bernard said as he jumped to his feet. “You’re risking everything just to placate the Germans and the Japanese. It is not our fault the Karacknids chose to invade their territory.”
“Nor is it theirs,” Koroylov countered as he rose to his feet, anger rippling across the council room. “We must stand with them as best we can.”
“With us?” Hoffman sneered. “You’re sending your ships to our borders but no further. How is that with us?”
James stood and quickly made his way out of the meeting room. He had no desire to hang around and hear whatever other words would be exchanged. We did the right thing, he thought as raised voices followed him down the corridor. But at what cost?
“Well?” a grim voice asked him as Andréa stepped out of a side room. She paused and turned an ear towards the continuing arguments. “Perhaps that’s all I need to hear.”
James shook his head. “It’s done, Gupta’s ships are to leave for the Beta system as soon as possible. But it did not go well. I fear you were right. I hope they will have calmed down by tomorrow.”
“More words I hope you don’t have to eat,” Andréa said as she shook her head. “It never gets easier does it?”
James didn’t answer, he had nothing to say. “I’m going to retire to my quarters. I need to get some sleep.” Geneva was not among James’ favorite places to rest. He was too close to the source of all his stress, but he did have a large suite all to himself in a hotel across the street from the building the Emergency Council met in. It was already late and he didn’t fancy taking a shuttle ride back to Britain. Not when he had to return tomorrow anyway.
“Yes Chairman, try and get as much sleep as you can,” Andréa said. “There is a full schedule tomorrow. You’ll need to be up early to go over the various briefings we have for you.”
James closed his eyes in frustration as he kept walking. It didn’t seem to be getting easier at all.
Chapter 22
Whilst the Empire was founded to minimize political infighting and one up-man-ship as much as possible, it has not come close to removing it all together. It seems the game of politics is built into our nature.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.
Forty minutes later James was stopped from slipping into bed by the beep of his suite’s access hatch. With a groan he let go of his bed covers and straightened himself. He had just finished a short soak in his suite’s Jacuzzi bath. Sleep had just been a few minutes away. Quickly, he pulled on a jacket and pair of trousers before giving a command for his door to open. Without hesitation Fairfax, Koroylov and, to James’ surprise, Christine came into his room. They each nodded to him then, without being invited, found seats.
“We need to talk,” Fairfax said.
“Clearly you didn’t think it could wait until tomorrow,” James replied with a sigh.
“We wanted to catch you with memories of tonight’s Council meeting fresh in your mind,” Fairfax explained.
“You are already up to date then?”
Fairfax nodded. “Everyone who was in the building is up to date. Some of the council members weren’t exactly quiet about it.”
“Okay let me have it, how have I failed this time?” James asked, already aware that he was not going to enjoy the answer.
Christine smiled at his words and broke into a chuckle. “For once you might be pleased to hear it’s not you.”
“No,” Fairfax agreed. “It’s far more serious than that. I believe… No, we believe that the Emergency Council is reaching the end of its usefulness. The time has come to decide what will replace it.”
James shook his head. “We can’t be anywhere near there yet. Deciding how to respond to this latest setback was always going to be a difficult topic. It’s not surprising that there was such disunity.”
“The disunity is not our main concern,” Fairfax continued. “It’s the ferocity of it. We believe it speaks of what is to come in the days ahead. How closely have you been keeping an eye on the subcommittee to restore democracy?”
James was caught off-guard by the question. “Some, Andréa has been keeping me abreast of any significant developments. I thought there wasn’t much progress being made just yet?”
“Exactly,” Fairfax said forcefully. “Would you care to guess why?”
James sighed again, but it didn’t take much thinking to come up with an answer. “Because no one can decide how to go about restarting their democracies.”
“That’s part of it,” Fairfax explained. “There are many on the Committee who wish to see things restored to the way they were before in such a way that it ensures their re-election to whatever their specific system is. But there have been more difficulties, there is a push from Bernard and others to see a more open and democratic system being utilized by other countries. That’s not necessarily bad in itself of course, but it’s causing disunity. Worse, much of the discussion has actually revolved around how to replace the UN. Some would simply like to see it reinstated, others have various ideas. Some of which are downright suicidal. In the end, almost every discussion turns into a heated argument with no outcome.”
“What are you saying?” James asked.
“We’re saying that the democracy subcommittee and tonight’s meeting are harbingers of what is to come,” Christine answered. “You’re not completely blind, you have to have seen it too. The Emergency Council is becoming more and more fractured.”
“I’m not blind of course,” James said gruffly. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to encourage more compromise and bridge building. Isn’t that a part of my job as Chairman? But I still don’t see what kind of solution you are suggesting.”
“What Fairfax and Christine are trying to say more diplomatically than I,” Koroylov said, “is that it is time to do away with the Emergency Council and replace it with something permanent. Something that will be effective now in the midst of this Karacknid crisis, and for the future of our species.”
“The time to act is now James,” Christine said in a tone that almost bordered on pleading. “When we still have some goodwill within the Emergency Council and the support of our peoples. If we do not act soon, the window of opportunity may pass us by.”
“So they have recruited you to their cause?” James asked as he turned to Christine. Though he didn’t know the specifics, he knew Fairfax and Koroylov had been putting together a more concrete idea for Humanity’s future. Fairfax had been seeking to discuss it with him for several years now. Thankfully, he had had plenty of work over the last few months to give him a good excuse to avoid Fairfax’s constant requests for meetings to discuss his plans.
Christine nodded, “They have. Though I have added my own touches. I think we are ready to go public, but we need your support. Without it this
will go nowhere.”
“I’m not that important,” James said with a wave of his hand.
Christine shot him a smile that he knew meant she was about to manipulate him to get exactly what she wanted. “Perhaps not as Admiral Somerville no, though I would be prepared to argue that. But as Chairman, you most certainly are. All of Earth looks to you to lead them. They’ve been hanging on your every word during your weekly briefings. Your face is better known than all of the other Council members put together. You are the hero of the Battle of Earth, and of many other battles. You are the focus of all of the plans we have put together. Without you specifically, the future of our species is in serious jeopardy.”
James made to roll his eyes. “Stop it,” Christine demanded in a far sharper tone. She had a finger pointed right at him. “You forget, I have known you for more than twenty years. You have one serious character flaw Mr. Chairman. You’ve always shied back from taking on responsibility.” James opened his mouth to protest but Christine’s wagging finger made him pause. “I’m not saying you don’t discharge your responsibility admirably once you have accepted it. But you always hesitate to take that first step. Especially when things are complicated. You wanted to stay Captain when flag rank was offered to you. You wanted to retain command of small independent squadrons rather than a large fleet. You wanted to remain an Admiral rather than become Chairman. In every case your skills and abilities have been desperately needed and yet you hesitated. Now is no different, except we have no time to waste any longer.”
James wanted to argue, but he knew there was no point, not with the three people in front of him. They would not be turned away from what they wanted from him. They were all too stubborn. He decided to change tack. Something the man Christine just described would do, a voice in James’ head warned him. “Fine let’s put that to the side for one moment. Why don’t you tell me exactly what you are talking about? You want me to ascend to the British throne I suppose?” Andréa’s best efforts to find someone closer to the line of inheritance had failed. On the other hand, Fairfax’s propaganda effort within the British Empire to promote him as the heir apparent had gained significant momentum.
Christine smiled victoriously. “That is something we can discuss in due time, but it’s not our focus at the moment. This is,” she said as she stood and passed a datapad to James.
Accessing it, he looked at the file that was already open. The title made his stomach turn.
The constitution of the Human Empire.
In what follows the constitution for a free and united Human species is laid out. This constitution will protect the freedoms of every individual Human whilst uniting us as one. We shall be one politically, culturally, economically and militarily. Under the leadership of an Emperor and an elected legislature, the rights of every Human will be upheld and protected from all those who would wish otherwise.
“Really?” James asked when he looked up at Christine.
She already had a finger pointed at him. “Just read it,” she replied sternly.
Obediently, James lowered his head again. He wasn’t an expert in ancient constitutions or the legislative customs of many nations, but he had a passing familiarity with British and American history. As he read, he found Koroylov, Fairfax and Christine had borrowed from both heavily. Which is not a bad thing, James begrudgingly admitted. Essentially the document laid out a system of government that was based on a series of fundamental rights each Human being should not be deprived of. The rights include the right to freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, the right to personal private property, the right to fair protection under the law along with several others. From there the document went on to lay out exactly how Fairfax envisaged Humanity governing itself. Essentially it would mimic the current system used by the United Colonial States with two exceptions.
Instead of a President there would be an Emperor who would inherit his position from his father before him. From the Emperor’s offspring, the Emperor and the three houses of elected representatives would select the heir. As James read the reasoning for such a role, he found he largely agreed. Humanity didn’t just need a figurehead, but someone who would make decisions for the long-term benefit of the species. Someone who did not have to think about re-election and the need to clamber and struggle for enough votes every time decisive action was needed.
The second exception came in the form of a third house of government. There would be a House of Representatives made up of Representatives elected from every Human colony based on population. Then Senators would form a Senate with one seat per colonial world. Earth was the lone exception, being allowed five seats. In addition to those two elected houses there would be something that, in James’s mind, was similar to the House of Lords within the British governmental system. Whereas Representatives would serve for terms of four years and Senators terms of eight years, those in the house Fairfax had called the House of Servants would serve for a term of twenty years. One third of the Servants were to be chosen by the House of Representatives, one third by the Senate and the final third by the Emperor. They were supposed to be experienced individuals in the fields of science, economics, religion and politics no younger than sixty years of age. The House of Servants could not propose new legislation, but they did have the power to amend and pass said legislation. They too are designed to not have to worry about prioritizing short-term popularity at the cost of long-term decision-making, James realized.
“You think this will work?” James asked as he looked from Fairfax to Christine, they were the two most familiar with the American and British forms of government. According to Fairfax’s constitution, a piece of legislation could be passed by a simple majority of all three houses or a two thirds majority of two of them. Like the American system, the Emperor also had the power to veto a bill, though the two thirds majority from two houses could pass it if the three houses did not like the Emperor’s amendments. “Think about how much haggling and back-and-forth there was between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, or the Senate and the House of Representatives in the United Colonial States? Surely this would just make things worse?”
Fairfax raised his eyebrows, “Read on,” he said with a nod.
As James did, he saw one key point in the constitution. It made him smile. The constitution specifically forbid omnibus bills. Any piece of legislation any house wished to bring would have to deal with one specific issue. There would be no adding on irrelevant spending items or meaningless secondary items. He knew historically that such bills had been the bane of many Human democracies. “So, you’ve learnt a little something from Haven then I see?”
“She may not have mentioned it to you, but I did correspond with your wife on the earliest drafts of this. Her input was always helpful. And after she passed, on more than one occasion when drafting this I paused to ask myself what your wife would think,” Fairfax said with a smile. “I hope she would be pleased.”
James couldn’t help but look at the constitution in a new light. If Suzanna had worked on it, then in a way, seeing it implemented would allow a piece of her to live on. And if she was here now, James knew for sure, she would recognize the need for us to make some radical changes. We can’t go back to the way things were.
“So, what do you think?” Christine asked when James was finally done reading.
“It could be worse,” he begrudgingly admitted. “Though I see a couple of problems that still need to be overcome.”
“Oh, suddenly you’re an expert, after just one evening?” Christine quipped.
“You seem to forget, though I may have been avoiding it, I do have a lifetime of experience of being frustrated by politicians,” James countered. “Present company included,” he said as he caught the gaze of each of his guests.
“Well then, come on, out with it,” Fairfax said.
“For one, I could never embrace this without one addition,” James said with a passion that surprised himself. “Politicians should
be limited to two elected terms. Either two in the House of Representatives or Senate, or one in each. I’ve had my fill of career politicians. I get what you’re doing with having an Emperor and a House of Servants, but if you have Senators or Representatives who have served numerous terms and built a career around being a politician, they will always be compromised. If their livelihood depends upon it, they will never be able to act independently of their own self-interest. If they are limited to two terms, then it may be that being a politician will become something to aspire to. Something those who have already accomplished much in their lives then turn to, to serve their fellow man. As long as it can be a career in and of itself, it may always attract those who simply want power because they love to wield it.”
“My, my,” Christine responded with the widest smile James had seen from her for a few weeks. “We’ve had our own budding constitutionalist right under our noses all this time.”