by Lee Correy
But history’s full of such things. So is life. People’s lives everywhere are full of little melodramas when they strive for high ideals. People’s lives are full of heroisms regardless of the cultures they live in.
Culture, civilization, and humanity grow and progress because people try to better themselves and their children. All great civilizations have depended upon this. The Commonwealth’s an example of what can be accomplished when people decided to try by freeing themselves, decided that the future could be better if they worked to make it so, and discovered there’s such a thing as hope to carry them through the difficult times.
As for myself, I find it impossible to label as “trite” the concepts of freedom—of choice, of trade, of type of social institution, or of anything else.
Whether we’ll make it or not remains to be seen. But I think we will. We’ll try. I think we’ll finish the job my forefathers started in 1776.
It’s too early yet to tell.
Ask my children three hundred years from now if you can find them among the stars.
APPENDIX 1
The United Mitanni Commonwealth
PEOPLE: Population (2050) 3,597,628. Age distri 0-14: 21.3%, 15-59: 61.4%, 60 + : 17.3%. Ethnic groups not applicable; data not available. Languages English (official); Arabic, Galla. Religious Catholics: 11%; Protestants: 22%; Muslim: 32%; Hindu: 21%; other: 14%.
GEOGRAPHY: Area 567,300 sq. km., slightly larger than California. Location on Indian Ocean coast of Africa. Neighbors Ilkan Empire on N, Chibka Socialistic Republic on S, Kingdom of Malidok and Emirate of Kalahol on W. Topography Toak Plains rise sharply to altitude of 500-2000 meters (1640-6560 feet) from sandy coastal area and extend inland for 350 km. to meet the Dilkon Range of mountains rising as high as 4328 meters (14,200 feet) (Mount Doradun) through which 5 main passes at elevations of at least 3500 meters (11,500 feet) breach the Dilkon Range to the continental interior. Capital city Topawa. Cities Topawa (423,000), Pitoika (130,000), Chukut (53,000), Liupp (32,000), Oidak(55,000), and Vicrik (31,000) ar largest. Vamori Free Space Port and its Vamori City metro area have estimated population of 25,000 including transients.
GOVERNMENT: President Conobabi Chukut Nogal b. 14 July 2002, in office 20 July 2048. Local divisions (countries) Topawa, Liupp, Chukut, Vicrik, Oidak, Vamori Free Space Port, Maralha, Morosabe, and Kulala. Armed forces (impys) Landlmpy 200,000; Coastlmpy 10,000; Airlmpy 50,000; Spaclmpy 20,000; total regulars 280,000; reserves (Citlmpy) approximately 1,500,000 additional.
ECONOMY: Industries space craft, astronautic equipment, primary metals, plastics, ceramics, light high-technology industries, tourism. Chief crops feed grains (wheat, millet), legumes, soy beans, cotton. Minerals iron, coal and coke, bauxite, molybdenum, manganese, chromium, titanium, gold, silver, sapphires, granite. Other resources timber, fish, salt. Per capita arable land 6.69 hectares. Meat prod beef 428,000 tons, lamb 30,000 tons, fish 52,500 tons. Electric prod 48,880.8 gWh (includes 5 gW SPS rectenna). Labor force 43.6% industrial, 31.3% agricultural, 20.7% services & professional.
FINANCE: Currency tally and score (100 score = 1 tally) (approx. 0.936 tally = $1.00 US). Gross domestic product $8.8 billion. Per capita income $2446.70. Imports $2.75 billion. Exports $2.76 billion. Tourists 1,200,000, revenues $632.4 million. National budget $4,425 billion expenditures; $5,535 billion revenues; international reserves $3.25 billion. Change in consumer prices +1.05%.
TRANSPORT: Motor vehicles 703,300 in use. Airports 22; 3 international. Airline service 14 international carriers including 2 Commonwealth internationals; 4 internals. Railroads 8,100 track km. Roads 22,086 km. surfaced. Seaports Pitoika, Vamori, Liupp, Maralha.
COMMUNICATIONS: Telephones 1,760,000; TV sets 985,000; radios 2,500,000 (est). Int. & ext. networks are satellite-based.
HEALTH: Life expectancy at birth 97.6 years male, 98.7 years female. Population increase 1.87% annual. Pop. per physician 933. Pop. per hospital bed 175. Infant mortality per 1000 live births 7.3.
EDUCATION: Literacy 97.6%. Pop. 5-19 in school 98.3%. Students per teacher 38.
PHYSICAL QUALITY OF LIFE INDEX: 94.5 COMMENTS: "The Japan of the Tropics," the Commonwealth has risen in 50 years to a position of leadership in the developing world and one of the bridging nations to the Post-Industrial World of the remainder of the planet. By virtue of its Vamori Free Space Port, it has become a leading spacefaring nation with more space craft registered in the UMC than any other country. The nation is characterized by long-range planning, embracement of high-technology, adoption of selected parts of import cultures, high personal and industrial productivity, high sense of personal responsibility among citizens, the work ethic of the successful industrial nations of the past two centuries, and a strong base of free enterprise coupled with national pride and a compassion for other developing nations. The Commonwealth has developed strong international friendships because it has chosen a low-key competitive economic policy in the world markets. The Commonwealth is also respected because of its latent military strength which depends upon universal military training and, hence, a very large trained reserve. The strong military posture has been necessary because the nation's success has created envy among some nations, especially among its neighbors.
(From The Terrestrial Almanac and Book of Facts, 2050, Telenews Enterprises, Inc., Houston, USA. Used with permission.)
2007.05.26/MNQ
86,000 words