“Nothing's the same anymore, is it?” Martina asked as we stared at each other. I leant back on my military cot. We were in the barracks, managing to sneak in without being seen by any of the other military personnel.
“No, everything has changed now.”
“It used to be a place of mystery, of dreams.”
“I wished it could go back to that again. The reality is not nearly as romantic.”
“Neither is our own little space station.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“So, Melissa is your girlfriend?” Martina said.
“Why do you ask that?”
“I’m not allowed to ask questions?”
“No, I guess it’s no problem. I haven’t known her long enough to call her a girlfriend. Let’s just say I wouldn’t mind.”
We didn’t talk much after that, just stared down at the ground—with new perspectives—thinking of Earth. No longer with the innocent eyes of youths, now we looked with the cynical eyes of hardened soldiers. What a difference a few slivers of time makes. Sometimes those slivers can cut right to the heart of the matter.
When we got back to the lab, I could see that Samuel was working with the presidential simulation module. To my surprise, he had a pen and paper, archaic tools for our society. He had a pile of pages filled with some of his work. He was staring at them with a look of satisfaction as we walked towards him.
“You know you can create text documents in here,” I said.
“Thanks for the news bulletin young man,” he said. “But I’m not from the dark ages. It just so happens that I’m comfortable working with pen and paper. It may be a little bit more work, but where I come from, it’s always good to save energy. We don’t leave our computers running twenty four hours a day. I’ve been working on a presidential speech. My goal is a smooth transition to a real government. I think we can all agree on that.”
“Let’s hear it,” I said.
“You want me to read it?” he said.
“Sure, why not.”
“My fellow citizens of the world,
I am here to address you on some pressing matters facing us all. I know that you all are aware of the bomb that went off in my presidential suite. One primary reason for this address is to ensure you all that I am alive and well; and have survived this attack. I want all our citizens to realize that I've decided to stay in high security enclosures as we root out all those responsible for this attack.
I know many of you probably assume this attack was somehow perpetrated by Earth terrorists. In a way, I wish this was so; but it was not. The attack was perpetrated by World Government military rebels who were trying to undermine the stability of our government. I can assure you that these rebels are a small minority of our primarily loyal troops, and they've been rooted out over the last few days. The government is stable and strong; still firm in its conviction to run in a democratic fashion. Yet this situation has caused me as an individual and leader, to do much soul-searching.
I will be leaving politics in the not too distant future. I will continue with my functions as President as long as it takes to organize an election and have a smooth transition to a new government. I want to make it clear to all of you that my primary objective is for our society to evolve in a positive, democratic way. We must all realize that democracy is never achieved. It is an unattainable ultimate goal which we must all stay diligent if we hope to approach it. We must keep working towards this ultimate goal at all times. As a society, we can never rest; we can never relax and say: we live in a democratic society.
In every society, there are always forces, lobby groups, business interests, politic interests--working against democracy--against the true freedom of elections--against the freedom of the press--against the freedom of speech. These forces will never go away in any society, at any time. This being said, we cannot let this destroy or conquer our spirit as a people. We must continue to work, to fight, for what is right.
At this point, generations have passed; all of you have lived your entire lives on this station, with maybe a sojourn to the Earth base. This cannot continue. The Exodus that has already commenced must continue. This will create a far greater complication in our governmental system. We must learn to integrate with those who inhabit the Earth. Yes, you have heard me right. For far too long, we have simplified our governmental decisions by labeling all Earth dwellers as ‘terrorists’. There's no doubt, there are terrorists that live on Earth; and they must be dealt with harshly, but military intelligence has discovered many enclaves where common people, peace-loving people like ourselves, have survived and live now on Earth. There must be a place for these people too in our society.
There is only one way for us to truly achieve peace in our lifetime. We must value all lives the same. There can no longer be different tiers of rights and privileges. It is the only way, my dear friends. If not, war will be with us forever. It is the natural by-product of a world of haves and have-nots. Through these two fundamental principles of a just society—democracy and equality—we will have a solid foundation to build a legitimate future. It is my sincere hope, my fellow citizens; that we will all work together towards this goal. This is why I hope that you all get involved.
Leadership needs to come from the people. We need new leaders with fresh views. I hereby pledge to set up a fund for new parties and fresh campaigns. If you can meet minimum requirements of party and leader support, you will have access to the same limited campaign funds as all the other candidates. There will be equal airtime on the World Government networks for all these established candidates. The time has come to say 'No' to victory for the rich and powerful; for the ones who can buy as much public relations and exposure as possible—it is time to say 'Yes' to true equality, true democracy. I dream of a better world, my fellow citizens, a world not for the chosen few—a better world for all of us.”