Now we come to the tricky part. Each country kept its remaining armies and exercised their own control over them. The GAF was a separate army beholden to no country as originally envisioned. However, if the aliens showed up, all nations agreed that their separate armies would come under unified GAF control immediately and for the duration. To facilitate this event, training exercises would be routinely held around the globe. Questions arose promptly from the conference goers. How do you oversee costs and taxation through VAT? How do you exercise some form of control and direction over GAF?
Ultimately, it was decided by the conference participants that some limited form of World Government was needed to not only oversee the GAF, but to provide monies for the troops, and to oversee the new economic order. All reluctantly agreed, that a World Government became a necessary evil. Some saw the need for civilian oversight of the GAF. That group feared GAF seizing power across the globe and becoming a military dictatorship, using its armed might not only against the aliens, but its own citizens. Others saw intervention run amuck, seeing the GAF stepping in over every conflict around the globe. For example, should the GAF rush in to every genocide and ethnic cleansing? Should it ignore countries where the army trampled on the rights of minorities? Obviously, some form of civilian oversight and decision making, a world government body, was needed.
Participants came to the consensus that the World Government should be limited, lean, easily managed, and given specific mandates only. The breakthrough came when a delegate representing South Korea proposed a civilian council body of twelve. Ten of these seats would come from the ten top military powers maintaining the GAF. Two would be at large seats drawn by lottery. Decisions would be by simple majority. GAF would be under its control and abide by the Council’s decisions. The only exception would be a surprise alien attack, under which conditions GAF would assume autonomous control and response. Each country’s voters would select the political holder of its seat in a democratic manner. A primary system would be in place to assure that at least two candidates ran for the position. Once elected, the Council member would serve for eight years with no second term allowed. Should any Council member fail to complete his or her term, an election for a replacement to fill the vacancy would be held immediately. The replacement would get an eight year term. To avoid the changeover of the entire Council at once, elections for four early replacement seats picked at random from the original group would be held in 6, 7, and 8 years. The initial mandate was the power of taxation to 1) maintain the Council and GAF and 2) to assure a sufficient supply of scientists, engineers and mathematicians to provide the technological solutions needed for advanced weaponry on land and in space and to assure protection against biological or chemical attacks. The final decision was to name the Council, Earth First Council, to reflect its governmental philosophy. Its leader would be an elected chair serving a term of four years and no more.
Once the mandate was refined, it didn’t take long for the participants to realize that considerable funding and manufacturing capacity would be needed to produce the technological solutions. This need for considerable resources became the most contentious issue at the conference. A solution would have to provide sufficient funding, funding compliance, and a balance for civilian vs. military goods. To sell this taxation model would require that civilians continued a decent standard of living and that their needs as consumers were met. Capitalism had to be balanced against socialism. A tall order, it required late night, noisy, angry, alcohol fueled meetings. Near the end of the conference, the stalemate was finally broken. The result was a draconian proposal that tended to reign in the super rich and the mega-corporations and large banks, but also limited choices for the average person. It was decided to put the proposal to an up or down global vote, with every citizen having their say. The voting medium was decided to be Facebook. Enough time would be allowed for non-Facebook people to join. The social media were poised to become a global communication powerhouse that would revolutionize outcomes.
The proposal destined for ballot carried five parts. The first part was to provide budget resources to initially fund Earth First. These funds were to come from unclaimed estates throughout the globe from those individuals who died from Blue Flu, riots and other mayhem. The countries of origin would get 40%, while Earth First would take 60%. Part two was approval of the Earth First Council, the third was approval to form GAF, the fourth was to grant Earth First the power to exercise a VAT taxation on non-medical and non-food global sales to fund future GAF operations, and the fifth was to grant Earth First extraordinary economic global oversight in order to assure funding and manufacturing capacity for advanced weaponry to defeat the aliens. Conference participants overwhelmingly agreed to make it an all or nothing vote, as the loss of any one component would cause the others to be non-starters. The first three parts were deemed likely to pass global voting muster, as the fear of the aliens and their hostile intent was all too clear. The fourth part was the problem, as certain segments of the population would find it threatening to their lifestyle. It was also agreed that any country that blocked the internet or denied voters their rights to vote would be isolated from the world’s economy and protection.
The last part essentially was an economic manifesto that redefined the world’s manufacturing priorities and siphoned off funding and manufacturing capacity to build the next generation of weaponry needed to defeat the aliens. While it was not guaranteed that the aliens would return to finish the job, it was a bet that few would take. Balanced against this need was the understanding that average consumers and the population below the “one percenters” in terms of wealth should not be penalized with a lower standard of living and fewer life conveniences.
Essentially the needed manufacturing capacity would be gained through the elimination of competing products. For example, the number of car models available worldwide was ridiculous. If one was to agree on a limited number of the best and most efficient models, people could still have choices and some manufacturing capacity could be diverted to weaponry. While one high end model might still be allowed to exist, the super-rich would have fewer toys. The same was true of smart-phones, most appliances, cereals, wines, beers, cigarettes, furniture, and on and on. The same would be true for weaponry such as fighter jets. Clearly only the very best should be made, if the enemy was to be defeated.
Who would decide? A special manufacturing panel, actually several to expedite the process, would be appointed by Earth First Council. It would include engineers, economists, ordinary people, and experts knowledgeable in products. The panel’s expertise would be product specific, that is, automotive, appliances, and so forth, and be free of conflicts of interest. Manufacturers would present their products and any supporting data they wished. The latter could include safety data, fuel efficiency data, consumer data such as reviews and product evaluation from independent agencies such as Consumer Reports in the United States. The panel would narrow down the submissions to the best two competing products or in some cases, several because each would be in a subclass. For example, one could select two competing smart-phones, but would select two subcompact cars, two compact cars, two full size sedans, two full size vans, two pickup trucks and so forth. The final two products would be put to a global Facebook vote, winner take all.
The winner would have the entire global market, but in turn would be taxed at 25% of their profits with no loopholes or exemptions. These taxes would be used by Earth First to finance weaponry manufacturing and other related costs. Corporate profits would be carefully monitored to assure fairness and any windfall profits would be subject to extraordinary taxation. The losing manufacturers would have essentially three choices. One, they could sell their facilities at fair market value to the winner or merge with them to meet to provide the expanded capacity needed to meet increased global demand. Two, the facility could elect to transition into weaponry manufacturing with assistance from Earth First funds to enable the transition, or three the facility coul
d be sold to anyone on the private market. The only restriction was that no more than 50% of the losing manufacturing production could remain private, unless the Earth First needs were deemed met, then the percentage could be exceeded. The other winner restriction was that the CEO’s or President ‘s salary, benefits and stock options could not exceed ten times that of the average salary and benefits paid to production workers and managerial positions in that company.
Given that the salary cap was across the board for all surviving manufactures, the argument that someone would steal their expertise by offering a higher salary became moot. At first glance, it might appear that innovation was stifled by the elimination of competing products. Not so, as an appeal option was left in place. The manufacturer of any supposedly improved product or new invention that created a better product than the licensed one could present its case to the appropriate Earth First manufacturing panel. The panel had 90 days to decide. If approved, the first option was that the current manufacturer would retool to produce the new product and pay royalties to the company or inventor. If no agreement was reached, the current manufacturer would be seized by Earth First and turned over to the new manufacturer. Ninety days were allowed to reach an agreement. Generally agreements were reached. Specialty firms soon arose that competed to make new and improved versions of existing licensed products. Competition, instead of being throttled, became rampant again.
Of course, this being a historical documentary, you know that the entire package did pass. However, it was far from easy after the vote of acclamation. Resistance happened as does whenever special interests or the wealth and power of the super-rich are threatened. Dirty tricks abounded, ugly incidents and acts of violence did too, as did unending threats of what will happen if you pass this Earth First manifesto. For example, if you believed everything you heard, the citizens of the First World would become impoverished, highly unemployed, live at a much lower standard of living, and be subjected to domination by Second and Third World Countries. At least that’s what the Republican Party of the USA and the manufacturing/business/super-rich sectors said.
It didn’t happen! The PR campaign cranked out by these groups was fought tooth and nail by more liberal political parties such as the Democratic Party in the USA, liberal parties around the world, and refuted and exposed at every opportunity by the Hacker’s Guild. The latter mobilized flash mobs that countered the ugly thugs hired by the rich and right leaning sides, thwarting them at every turn. The Hacker’s Guild used some dirty tricks of its own. Outspoken mega-billionaires, corrupt politicians, and other special interest groups were hit with credit cards that suddenly stopped working, or had their account numbers distributed to the poor, or suddenly their bank balance vanished, or their names unexplainably appeared on no fly lists, or their hidden scandals or affairs suddenly became public knowledge. Some thought it was poetic justice. Others screamed for the hackers’ heads.
Ultimately, the average Joe and Jill were not deceived by the extreme rhetoric or threats. The bottom line was fear and the desire to be protected from the aliens at whatever cost. The special interests of the super-rich, the corporations, and right-wingers could not provide a suitable alternative that alleviated the public’s fear. The world accepted a rational change, but it took a few years. Ultimately all countries came on board, even Iran and North Korea. No one wanted to be left out in the cold. Oh, one selling point clinched the deal. The Earth First Council agreed that all this could be reopened and discussed again, should Earth defeat the aliens.
There were some aspects of this changeover that most consumers appreciated. First, the “which to buy” decision became much easier and more anxiety free. The consumer knew the product was the best and being sold at a fair price. Replacement parts for appliances, cars and other equipment also became less complex. No longer did you have to worry about part compatibility. You could buy parts to fix your toilet or dishwasher without worrying about which brand or model you had. Well, if you had the older products, it was still a problem. Of course that provided a nice incentive to upgrade. Consumers accelerated their replacement of existing products at a much faster pace than anyone thought possible. Business boomed and jobs were plentiful. Gloom and doom adversaries were completely wrong. There was essentially no unemployment globally, given the loss of population from the Blue Flu virus and booming manufacturing plants providing weaponry and new consumer products.
Today we in the United States enjoy a good standard of living, as do others around the world. Every global citizen has a P-Com communication device. It is a G-6 smart phone manufactured by Apple. It allows for instant communication alerts world-wide should the aliens return. It gives severe weather updates and warnings wherever dangerous weather occurs, thanks to a global-spanning weather satellite system. The P-Com is affordable for all and allows for communication needs by citizens all around the globe. It can connect to the internet, search through the globally dominant search engine, Google World Wide, send email, conduct web purchases, pay bills, and become a GPS for foot or vehicle travel. With the push of a button or detection of sudden loss of balance or violent movement, it calls the global 911 and its position is instantly found through the GPS chip in the phone. The P-Com is coated with a graphene, high gain photo-detector coating in the ultraviolet through infrared spectrum that works outdoors and indoors and with its high capacity lithium battery rarely needs a conventional charging. A rugged case that can be worn on belts or carried in purses has the same photo-detector coating and when the case is in contact with the phone, it transfers the trickle charge. Bandwidth crunch is a thing of the past, with Alcatel-Lucent’s core Internet router, the 9080 XRS.
While there are far fewer cars, trucks, computers, wines, beers, beauty products, clothes, appliances and so on to choose from, consumers are assured what they buy are the best, most trouble free, and easiest to service. Prices are reasonable and affordable world-wide. Everyone who wants a job has one. Of course, this aspect is in most part, a result of major population losses from Blue Flu virus and the increased manufacturing levels attributed to the alien war effort. Those with special needs were not forgotten. The disabled, emotionally challenged, cognitively challenged, and homeless received care and aid. A surplus of dwellings resulted from the loss of life from the virus, thus eliminating the homeless aspect of society. Food is also plentiful, given the fewer people, too. While all are saddened by the major loss of life, those left behind are better off. As a result, wars and localized conflicts have all but disappeared. Those few that started quickly ended when the GAF threatened to intervene to maintain global stability and the alien war footing. There was zero tolerance for illegal drugs. Marijuana was put on the same level as alcohol. Local police vigorously terminated illegal drug organizations. If the local police were seen as not doing their job or corrupted, GAF stepped in and solved the problem. Although intervention was harsh and violent at first, the disappearance of drug trafficking made the world a safer, less violent society.
At the close of the conference, a humanitarian proposal emerged. It was decided that all prisoners, except for those who committed violent crimes, were to be offered a special amnesty. In exchange for the forgiveness of their remaining sentence times, upon release these individuals would assist in body recovery, burial details, and demolition of areas ravaged by fire and riot damage. During these tasks, they would be fed and sheltered, but not paid. Upon one year of labor, they would then be offered paying jobs in the reconstruction effort and weapons manufacture and reinstated with all their rights, including voting privileges. The measure passed overwhelmingly and contributed greatly to the rapid restoration effort.
8. VIDEO: THE INCIDENT, Year One through Five, and Year Six, Present Time, PI
VIDEO: THE INCIDENT. The video narrator was on a roll. Over the next four years, a remarkable transformation occurred across the globe. As the Earth First world government was established and then rose to power, a number of major changes happened. It soon became apparent th
at the United Nations served very little purpose any more. It was disbanded and many of its functions and services became incorporated into the Earth First power base. In fact, the former United Nations complex became the seat of the Earth First government. While some grumbled, most of the planet’s inhabitants were happy with the arrangement. Things were definitely returning to normal and the standard of living got better for pretty much everybody. Here in the United States, the 99% were quite happy with the new arrangement. Only the super-rich and power- hungry politicians grumbled. The grumbles fell on deaf ears and eventually faded into the background. Business, finance and manufacturing interests did not join the grumbling group, as in the past. Things were booming, so they had no complaints.
Strife around the globe all but disappeared. The unifying force was the common enemy. Rather than fighting with each other, the threat of the aliens’ return bonded everyone together with a common purpose. That purpose was to be ready to defend Earth and defeat the aliens. Some even dreamed of taking the fight to the aliens’ home world and destroying them there, wherever “there” was. The knowledge that the GAF was ready and willing to keep world peace helped to quiet down those few armed squabbles that did arise.
The Manhattan Incident Page 29