Calm Act Box Set (Books 1-3)

by Ginger Booth

  Emmett added, “The vision will sell. Lot of greenbelt. But the mini-cities preserve the character of the old city.”

  Ash nodded emphatically. “Harlem, the West Village, Central Park, Chinatown, Lower East Side, nightclubs and bagels and knishes – we can keep the city’s soul. New Yorkers can get behind that.”

  Cullen nodded. “Looks like a plan. Well done, gentlemen. Thank you for your hard work. Ms. Baker? As Colonel MacLaren’s partner on Project Reunion, do you approve?”

  I was taken aback by the question, though not as badly as the officers were. Emmett pursed his lips.

  “I trust Emmett, and Cam,” I replied hesitantly. “In terms of Project Reunion, the city is only one part. This part looks good.”

  General Cullen sighed. “Agreed. Gentlemen, I need to leave. We did resolve the key sticking point, plans for the city. But I hope you’ll address the rest of the Apple Zone together this afternoon. Seek a coherent vision. A path to dissolving the borders. Since you’re here.”

  General Cullen left them to it, and so did I.

  31

  Interesting fact: Based on Amenac and Project Reunion polls, public approval of the U.S. Congress was below 5% in March, to greet the announcement of the next phase of the Calm Act. This counted ‘they’re better than nothing’ as approval. The number of people who said they ‘strongly approved’ of Congress was statistically insignificant.

  I settled in to watch the death of the Calm Act with the PR team, at Dave’s Amenac loft in Totoket. Not the whole team – the reporters were out filming responses, and Emmett was on duty in New York. But Carlos and Dave, Mel and Popeye and Will, Shelley and Trey were here. Mangal and Shanti sat next to me on the floor. We made a big potluck dinner affair out of it.

  We’d been chatting up this special report for weeks, encouraging people to watch live. We provided vote buttons and online discussion threads to make it a participatory event. Most of us had computers open on our laps, in addition to the broadcast up on the big screen. We had to keep on top of any technical glitches, of course. Also, the first votes on any live poll would be ours.

  The Speaker of the House would address the nation at 7 p.m. Our program began at 6 p.m. After the Calm Act, What Next? declared the big screen, with a countdown timer. Will did us proud on the graphics, which featured a slow procession of the iconic images of Project Reunion. With one minute left, the slide show stopped on Ty Jefferson in a wheelchair, under the white flag of surrender on Staten Island. Overflowing bowls of buttered popcorn took strategic positions as we settled in to watch, and the countdown dropped to zero.

  “Good evening. This is Amiri Baz, for Project Reunion. This segment of tonight’s special report was pre-recorded on March 13th. On March 15th, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to declare the second phase of the Calm Act over, and announce the third phase.

  “Tonight we’ll be speaking with the military governors of the Northeast. By video, we have Army General Ivan Link of New England.” Link nodded from the screen. They each did, in turn. “Navy Admiral Sondi O’Hara of Virginia–Maryland–Delaware. Army General Charles Schwabacher of Ohio–West Virginia. Air Force General Seth Taibbi of Pennsylvania. And joining me in person, on a Navy destroyer in New York harbor, Army General Sean Cullen of New York–New Jersey. And our own Project Reunion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Emmett MacLaren.”

  Emmett was not thrilled to be there. The military governors were way above his pay grade. But he’d acceded to Amiri’s request on the grounds that this was a Project Reunion communication. Whatever he was feeling, he hid it well.

  “General Cullen,” Amiri selected, “what do we expect from the Speaker’s announcement?”

  “We don’t know, in detail,” Cullen replied. “What we do know is that phase two of the Calm Act was set to expire on March 15th, or when the U.S. population fell to 200 million. Whichever came first.”

  “Oh, my God,” said my neighbor Trey, Shelley’s boyfriend, possibly the only one of us in the loft who didn’t already know this. The on-screen vote at the moment asked whether you knew the purpose of the Calm Act was to cull the population, Yes or No. Trigger fingers brought the initial results to 20% Yes, but that slowly fell toward 5%.

  Cut to raised eyebrows on Amiri Baz. “Are we allowed to say that?”

  “It’s the truth,” Cullen bit out. “The goal of phase two of the Calm Act was to reduce the U.S. population to sustainable levels. These were my orders.”

  Amiri pounced. “You were ordered to murder –”

  “No,” Cullen interrupted sharply. “I was ordered to establish and maintain the borders until those conditions were met. Neither I, nor any soldier under my command, was ordered to kill civilians. We were ordered to keep them in place, and let them die,” he clarified bitterly.

  “You disobeyed those orders,” Amiri observed gently. “With Project Reunion.” The camera angle widened to take in Emmett and Cullen, who simply nodded.

  “If I may,” General Schwabacher broke in. “There was an Army team assigned to vet the Calm Act before it was published. The members of that team – rightly – do not choose to be identified. But I do not feel that I have that right. I was their commanding officer on the project.”

  “You supervised the vetting of the Calm Act?” Amiri echoed for clarity. The camera briefly visited Admiral Sondi O’Hara, who looked shocked. None of the others looked surprised, so we didn’t show them.

  “Yes.” Schwabacher frowned. “What you need to understand is that the borders and the Calm Act were instituted to protect viable sections of the country from being overrun and destroyed by refugees fleeing non-viable regions. Climate change has been kind to us here in the Northeast. Relatively. But our vetting team was working in Fort Leavenworth Kansas, where prospects were already…unspeakably grim. The goal of the Calm Act was not to reduce the population to 200 million, but rather to protect 200 million from being dragged to below 100 million by resource wars. I believe it accomplished that,” he ended softly.

  “Was that the projection?” Amiri clarified. “That without the Calm Act borders, twice as many people would die?”

  “Yes,” Schwabacher confirmed. “The vetting team confirmed that. Not only would more people die, but the quality of life of the survivors… Well, the entire continent would fall into war and chaos. The Calm Act was a crash program for a soft landing. Without it, we’d all be in the same position as New York City.”

  “Does everyone agree with that statement?” Amiri asked. “General Link.”

  “I have great respect for General Schwabacher,” Link replied. “And General Cullen. Everyone here. And I know the talent General Schwabacher had vetting this. I’ve spoken to several of them, in fact. I believe them. This could have been a lot worse. In Europe, Asia, Africa, South America – it has been worse.”

  “A program note,” Amiri said. “We took a break for the military governors to compare notes. So what do we expect now? General Schwabacher, you seem to be the best informed on the Calm Act.”

  “I don’t know what the third phase says,” Schwabacher confirmed.

  “I don’t care what the third phase says,” said Cullen. “The lives of people in New York–New Jersey started improving immeasurably when we set aside the Calm Act.”

  “Colonel MacLaren,” Amiri picked on next. “You seem to disagree.”

  Emmett shook his head slightly. “Amiri, a lieutenant colonel does not gainsay a 3-star general.”

  A mutter from the military governors was summed up by General Cullen, Emmett’s commander, sitting beside him. Cullen flourished an open-handed wave of invitation. “Permission to speak freely, Emmett. We’d like to hear what you have to say.” It was zero risk. The guests had the opportunity to review this episode and request changes.

  Emmett nodded. “Well, a couple things. I don’t concede that Project Reunion violated the Calm Act. Because it wasn’t done by force. And I believe that was the main point of the borders – to
prevent neighbors from taking each other’s resources by force. I’d expect the third phase of the Calm Act to say what happens to those borders now. And to the authority of the military governors. But…”

  “But?” Amiri prompted.

  “We don’t care what the Calm Act says about that,” Link answered. “New England has its own plans. Beginning with dismantling the internal borders, including Boston-Providence, in a controlled and orderly fashion.”

  “We’ve decided,” Cullen confirmed. “New York–New Jersey plans to rebuild. In peaceful trade with our neighbors, all represented here today.” He waved to the video screens next to Amiri. “Our goal is ambitious, and probably long term. We want all of our citizens living at level 5 and above.”

  In the loft, Mel asked, “Were all of New Jerkzey’s people at level 5 before the Calm Act?” We shushed him. Though I suspect he was right – they probably weren’t. And Cullen needed to come up with a new name fast, before ‘New Jerkzey’ caught on for New York–New Jersey.

  “We are allied and at peace with our surrounding neighbors,” Taibbi confirmed hastily from the big display. “Pennsylvania will abide by the terms of our…capitulation…to New York and Ohio and Virginia. Regardless of what the Calm Act says. Our planning process is behind our neighbors. Because we were cut off from the outside world, and we’re under new management. But our plans will hinge on peaceful trade, and a successful conclusion to Project Reunion.”

  “Admiral O’Hara, I understand you’re in a very different position,” Amiri prompted.

  “Yes,” O’Hara said gratefully. “Virginia–Maryland–Delaware is different. D.C. and Baltimore are under Army martial law, yet a Navy admiral is overall military governor. Our external borders are controlled by our neighbors. Our civilians feed the eastern seaboard Navy. We also have Army resource coordinators, very good ones. I have to say that greater Virginia’s future plans, as a region, are not well developed yet. However, certain resources of the Navy are unfrozen as of March 15th. We are prioritizing requests as we speak, to help with the rebuilding. And the eastern naval blockades will continue intact to protect us all from external threats.”

  Actually, the Navy had unfrozen all their assets early to help with Project Reunion in New York. But she didn’t go on record admitting to that. It wasn’t her call, anyway.

  Amiri asked, “So you don’t command the eastern seaboard Navy?”

  “I do not,” O’Hara confirmed. “That would be Admiral Huyck for the Northeast. I’m the military governor of Virginia–Del–Mar.”

  “And your relations with your other neighbors, not here with us today?” Amiri asked.

  “We are on good terms with the Carolinas and Kentucky–Tennessee, thankfully.”

  “General Schwabacher?” Amiri asked. “Your situation is also rather different.”

  “Yes,” Schwabacher replied. “Although I’ve come to the same conclusion. Ohio–West Virginia has its own plans, regardless of what the Calm Act prescribes. The Calm Act was written years ago. They foresaw what they could. Now we face current reality. In our case, we’ve been pleased to help stabilize the northeast. Ohio and West Virginia make a great team. Kentucky–Tennessee is a good neighbor. To our west, there are…more uneasy pairings. Indiana–Michigan. Illinois–Wisconsin. Those marriages were not made in heaven. Ohio must remain strong. But eager for peaceful trade. We hope to revive our industrial base, jointly with Pennsylvania.”

  Amiri nodded thoughtfully. “So none of you plan to relinquish martial law. Regardless of what the Speaker says on March 15th.”

  “I’d like to answer that one,” Cullen offered. “In the Apple Zone, we still have dire living conditions. The entire national infrastructure has collapsed. We have no currency, broken transportation, chaotic food distribution, unreliable power. If it weren’t for the Rescos, like Colonel MacLaren here, most Americans watching this broadcast would be living in conditions at level 3 and below. They would not have the luxury of watching us tonight by Internet. We continue to be buffeted by severe storms. These conditions warrant martial law. If we relinquished it at this point, we would backslide.”

  The voting widget switched over to ask, Do you believe martial law is still needed in New England? Yes or No. Viewers would receive a region-specific question, also at the level of their military governor. People outside the U.S. weren’t shown the voting widget or the results. People in Amenac’s loft with me got to see results from all regions. New England, home to the Great Pumpkin and the Recon-con, had the lowest approval for martial law in early polling, at about 60%. New York–New Jersey had the highest approval, at 98%, followed closely by Penn. Greater Ohio and Virginia–Del–Mar ran around 75%.

  General Link chimed in. “The Rescos were added to the Calm Act by General Schwabacher’s Army vetting team. I’d like to point out that whatever this third phase is, the Army did not vet it. The Resco program has been an enormous success. But we were very limited in Resco availability. With peace, we can shift more officers into Resco roles. Shift troops to restoring infrastructure. That’s what we intend to do in Boston-Prov. Though I’ve lost two of my most outstanding Rescos to General Cullen, Colonel MacLaren and Major Cameron in Long Island.” Link attempted to smile graciously. “When you think ‘martial law’, think Rescos.”

  The poll in New England got slightly more pro-Resco, if not pro–martial law, rising to 65%. People were free to change their vote until the question changed.

  “What about restoring democracy?” Amiri prompted. “Reuniting the United States?”

  General Schwabacher responded, “That’s a very interesting question. When my team vetted the Calm Act, the most dire consequences came from trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, if you will. No, we’ve paid a horrific price these past two years, on a crash program to de-globalize and re-localize. We did it to save the planet, and ourselves. I agree with General Link and General Cullen. Now’s the time to rebuild from the ground up. Stay local.”

  “May I still speak freely, sir?” Emmett asked General Cullen. “As a Resco, I believe part of that localization is true, direct democracy. Most communities under a Resco are more active democracies today than they ever were. Your vote matters. Directly. Immediately. Do you vote for your military governor, or your Resco? No. That’s a military meritocracy. Not a democracy. I’ve served under three of these governors – they merit our trust. As we go forward, from the ground up, democracy will play an ever larger role. But I don’t see that as either-or, martial law or democracy. We have both. Now.”

  Amiri nodded, and said, “We have time for just a quick round. Briefly, I’d like you each to sketch your vision for your region. I understand this is pretty much regardless of what the Speaker announces. General Link? How about you start us off.”

  Our polling widget changed over to Do you believe New England is on the right track? This one had five levels of Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree, with a midpoint of Mixed Feelings.

  Link replied, “Borders dismantled and New England reunited. Increased travel and trade and standard of living, while maintaining safety and order.”

  Schwabacher for Ohio–West Virginia: “Sustainable clean power. Re-industrialization. Agricultural production. Good jobs. Maintain order and a strong defense.”

  O’Hara for greater Virginia: “Our plans wait on the Speaker.”

  Taibbi for Pennsylvania: “Complete Project Reunion. Focus on agricultural trade with New York–New Jersey, and re-industrialization with Ohio–West Virginia. Steel and power.”

  Cullen: “Complete Project Reunion. Restore transportation. Short term, Rescos everywhere. Medium term, level 5 or above everywhere.”

  Amiri said with a broad grin, “I have to follow that one up. I understand one of the new ‘Rescos everywhere’ is our own Colonel MacLaren, Resco for the Apple Core. What are your plans, Colonel? What’s next for New York City, after Project Reunion?”

  “Recruit more Rescos?” Emmett quipped back. “That’s true, b
y the way. Lieutenant Colonel Ash Margolis already joined me in the city as a second Resco. This year – clean water and sanitation. Power. We’ve already established communications everywhere. Rebuild communities. Jobs. Trade deals. Food.”

  “You’ve got your work cut out for you, all of you,” Amiri said admiringly. “Thank you all for speaking with us. We’ve gone a bit overtime, but we’ll give our viewers a 5-minute break. And return with the Speaker of the House, slightly delayed.”

  And yes, that last part was by design. PR would not broadcast the Speaker’s speech without viewing it first. We reserved the right to slice, dice, or simply refuse to show it. Carlos Mora and Mel were already huddled in a corner wearing headphones, previewing the live feed from the Congressional Ark. They didn’t look happy.

  I was still glued to the big display. One side showed our continued bio-break programming, the polling results across regions. Over 90% of eligible viewers participated in our polls. The response was solidly in favor of the military governors and their plans, even O’Hara’s ‘wait on the Speaker’ non-plan. Apparently she was in tune with what greater Virginia wanted. It made sense that the Washington D.C. region had higher hopes of the Federal government than the rest of us.

  The other side of the screen displayed website traffic, echoed from my computer, as Mangal and I poked through the unusual patterns. Popeye and Dave and Will watched over our shoulders, equally enthralled. Overall traffic was lower than for our popular specials, of course. Politics. Most people would wait for highlights on the grapevine at work tomorrow, rather than take time for boring politics. But the weather was cooperating with high viewership in the Northeast. Yesterday favored preparing the fields. Today we had a lost fragment of arctic cold visiting, for a bone dry hard freeze under deep blue skies, with whipping winds. A good day to stay indoors.