Time of Monsters - The Crisis of the 21st Century (IC)

[The Conscience of Mike Lebowitz]

OOC Thread

[Plzen]

Northern Commonwealth, 2047 CE
Population - 29.63 million residents
GNP pc - 29,175 (1990 Int'll$)

---

By the 2047 Nordic Council elections, therefore, Northern politics was dominated by the doublethink of two simultaneously-held yet seemingly mutually incompatible beliefs. The first belief was that the global depression caused by the 2035 Financial Crisis, which was entering its 12th year with no end in sight, was a temporary struggle caused by the release of certain long-running pressures not unlike the Oil Shocks of the 1970s or the Recession of 2008 and that world affairs would consequently soon return to normal. The second belief was that the world outside of its borders were rapidly spiraling out of control and out of the prosperity that characterised the early 21st Century, and that consequently the Northern Commonwealth could survive only by isolating itself from global issues.

The first belief was fueled by, on one hand, visible recovery in the Commonwealth itself and, on the other hand, wishful thinking. After the terrible initial years of the depression that characterised the late 2030s, the Northern economy largely pulled out of its freefall. Although GDP and other productivity indicators had not recovered - and, indeed, would never recover in the 21st Century - to its peak value of 2036, the measures taken by the populist administration of Secretary-General Jørgensen created for most of society a vague illusion of recovery. For instance, a combination of job-sharing programs, public works, and import-substitution development pushed unemployment levels down to 8% by 2047. It was not terribly unreasonable, therefore, for some people to believe that a general, global recovery was possible.

It was, furthermore, commonly believed that the Northern Commonwealth, being a small economy compared to the great powers of the world, could not continue its pre-2035 prosperity on its own. Rising factor costs around the world pushed up the cost of imported products, including not just luxuries like wine or animated films, but also fundamental services like education and finance as well as basic goods such as fuel and rare earths. A stubborn refusal to accept that the era of Northern prosperity was over, therefore, led directly to a stubborn refusal to accept that the globalised and post-industrial era was over. The world would soon recover, the reasoning went, because it ought to.

However fallacious this line of reasoning might have been, it served excellently to dispel fears that the Northern Commonwealth would once more, as in the 1930s, end up as an island of democratic stability in a world of economic crisis and political instability. Islands of stability, as the people of Denmark, Norway, and Finland learned back in that era, don't necessarily survive.

It is similarly easy to see the origins of the second belief. Although the Commonwealth, reliant as it was on its export industries and on global trade, was not at all insulated from the devastating consequences of the global depression, it was possibly the only major country on the planet that could say confidently in 2047 that life was decidedly better than it was at the turn of the millennium. In Norway and Iceland, which saw booming new industries attracted by cheap electricity, water, and base metal costs in a world steeped in a resource crisis, a reasonable argument could even be made that life was better than it was at the beginning of the depression in 2035.

The contrast between the Commonwealth, in which the general view was that life was still fairly alright, and the greater world outside could sometimes be stark. The 2011 East Africa famine signaled the start to a long series of water crises and food shortages across the semi-arid regions of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. It was during the election season of 2047 that food shortages in the Sahel stopped being news, in the sense of being an event, and started being the new normal state of being.

This comparative prosperity of the Northern Commonwealth, naturally, attracted a large number of immigrants not just from the usual developing countries but increasingly also from its European neighbours, with the effect of souring native-immigrant relations and, more importantly, reinforcing the notion that life really was better in and that there was something special about the Northern Commonwealth. Over the early decades of its existence, the Commonwealth grew increasingly hostile to foreign immigrants. This culminated in the Immigration Act of 2044, drafted by the Jørgensen II Cabinet and passed by the Nordic Council to resounding popular approval, which restricted migration from any given country to the Commonwealth to the number migrating from the Commonwealth to that country, in effect fixing net migration at zero.

From the perspective of Northern voters, increasingly uneasy at international news that was reporting greater and greater tragedies with each passing year, the thought that the Northern Commonwealth might be able to isolate itself from the pressing world issues that was evident to all and somehow escape their effects must have been yet another comforting fantasy.

- Sven Rasmussen (2098), Chapter 3: "The Pretence of Normality, 2035-2054." Northern Europe 2000-2200; Reflections on the Previous Century and Thoughts on the Next

[Labstoska]

The decline and death of British democracy
Part 1: The coalition's last gasp

It is a common misconception in modern Britain that the adoption of 'big tent' ideological policies by all major parties was the last great effort to preserve British parliamentary democracy, yet in truth the adoption of the 'catch-all' strategy in British politics lead to one of the greatest periods of stagnation in the history of the United Kingdom. Due to the immense shift from the traditional version of a party to large all encompassing coalitions the ruling party would now not only need to face down the opposition but often they would have to ensure that branches within their own coalition did not attempt to usurp power. The new name of the game was compromise in a time when radical change was more necessary then ever.

These piecemeal reforms and constant political slow burn had lead to a mass disillusionment among the population for the status quo. The 2041 election had the lowest turnout in British history. This disillusionment lead to the rise of more radical figures within and outside of the major coalitions, the foremost among them being Jonathan Morrow the leader of the resurgent far-left within the L-L coalition, he was the result of the L-L coalition's huge losses in the 2041 elections to various far left and far right fringe parties and so in order to appeal the disillusioned voters they fielded Morrow, a man who harkened back to the old days of leftist labour as well as embodying the strongman persona popularised by Boris Johnson's administration.

He promised a wide range of reforms across the country. The first and most popular among these was the plan for nation-wide transportation works, Britain had failed to adapt to the ever increasing amount of car owners using it's infrastructure and so cities such as: London, Manchester, Aberdeen and Birmingham had become a congested hell with a driver spending an average of 100 hours a year in traffic. The second issue Morrow claimed he could resolve was the sorry state of British worker's rights, despite the global depression the United Kingdom had managed to keep their unemployment rates shocking low however the price for this was that most of the working class were tied up in minimum wage zero hour contracts and forced to work under some of the most atrocious conditions. Morrow also made the pledge that all prime ministers before him had made: to end the war in Northern Ireland which had now dragged on for almost thirty year, the IRA had been forced onto the backfoot but in the process the citizens of Northern Ireland had been forced to give up certain... freedoms.

Short forth by his pro-worker policies and populist outlook Morrow was propelled into number 10 and for the first time in a while reform was the main agenda of the government. Of course once Morrow actually attempted to push through his policies in the house of parliament he discovered that the situation in British politics was far more dire then he had anticipated. Every bill or act he tried to push through was shot down or compromised into oblivion and in a system that had to be very carefully handled Morrow would do nothing but push and push doing nothing but alienating members of his own party.

All Morrow could do was watch as the public turned away from him and looked once more to the extremists on the left and right. Until the 2049 elections the status quo would reign of course that was what everyone believed right up until the 21st of August.

To the public the L-L coalition remained as it always had been: an unshifting political monstrosity, however in actuality Morrow's attempts to force his reforms through had lead to massive divides being exposed between the coalition's branches, these tensions built up and up until the 21st, when Morrow put foreword his plan for the construction of a new nuclear power plants in the midlands naturally 6 MPs from both the coalition and the opposition stood up and berated Morrow calling him a 'wanna be tyrant' and other such insults. For the next few hours the viscous arguments continued until a vote was called, and to the shock of the house Morrow's proposal actually passed, Morrow had seemingly pulled out every trick he had up his sleeve from calling favours to downright threatening MPs to finally get something done.

This was the final breaking point for the coalition. Andrew Gallagher, leader of the centrist branch of L-L, was the first to denounce Morrow's actions and announce his party's split from the coalition. Others soon followed suit leaving Labour without a majority and unpopular in the eyes of the public, the National Conservatives seemed to be having an immense stroke of good fortune when from within their own party MPs who belonged to the centre-right split off in favour for the newly emerging centrist parties.

Morrow was left stranded lacking a majority in parliament and disliked with the public, the only thing that the disparate factions of the house of commons could agree on was that he needed to be removed yet as time would tell Morrow was a man determined to implement his vision of the future and he had one last tool left at his disposal to bring that future to fruition.

[The Conscience of Mike Lebowitz]

President Tolentino Signs Executive Order Strengthening the Buy American Act of 1933

President Michael Tolentino signed an executive order on Sunday strengthening the Buy American Act of 1933 by abolishing exceptions for government procurements and forcing all American businesses to use copper and structural steel that has been melted, not just finished, on US soil. The executive order echoes the protectionist provision of last year's "Economic Stabilisation Act", and is part of a far-reaching attempt by the Tolentino administration to prevent further contraction of the US manufacturing sector by increasing demand for domestically-produced structural materials. Tolentino said the act was intended to "breathe life into" the American economy in a press conference on Monday.

It has been suggested that Tolentino is trying to avoid being unseated in next year's presidential primaries like his predecessor was, as Democratic attempts to curtail growing opposition in the House of Representatives and take back the Senate intensify in response to increasingly-disastrous Congressional elections and the Democrats' loss of the Senate in the 2046 midterms. Whether Tolentino will face real opposition if he becomes the Democratic nominee is uncertain, but trusted political analysts have ruled the possibility "unlikely". Tolentino has refuse to comment on his possible performance in 2048 beyond stating that he will be running, and that it is "too early" to ascertain his chances of winning the primaries.

Tolentino's protectionist actions are the most extreme of their kind to have been implemented since the Republican presidencies of the early 2020s and have won him bipartisan support, especially in the South and Midwest where US the manufacturing sector has been fighting a losing battle with simultaneous recession and globalisation for half a century. Tolentino has responded to infrapartisan opposition to his protectionism by comparing his actions to those of Barack Obama and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, citing the need for the United States to secure its own industry in the midst of the global recession. Tolentino has hinted at going further with what has been dubbed a policy of "New Protectionism", suggesting to CNN on Monday that the effects of the order would not be pronounced as one might have expected if the multitude of exceptions to the Buy America Act continued to remain in place. Investors have had mixed reactions to these statements, with money over the past few days noticably flowing into the pockets of domestic manufacturers at the expense of investment in Chinese and Indian structural metals.

The price of copper in the United States has jumped 6% since the executive order, and Freeport-McMoRan CEO Matthew Flecker (who has come under considerable public scrutiny after it was discovered he was arranging a private meeting with the president this week) announced the day after the order that he would begin a nationwide expansion of domestic copper extraction to help meet demand.

Kentucky Senator Miles "Abolish the 28th" Clay (R) aroused controversy following the executive order when he claimed that it was in response to increasing obstructionism, mainly Republican in origin, in both houses of the US legislature in response to Democratic control over presidential politics. Miles, joined by several other Republicans in Congress, has repeatedly opposed Democratic bills purely in an attempt to hamstring the party's performance in future elections and remove their grip from presidential politics. Tolentino, who has not directly responded to Clay's comments but has called the Senator's actions "puerile" and "demagogue-like" in the past, has told the press that he doesn't know how to respond to a statement which "has nothing to argue against". Obstructionist efforts in Congress have, contrary to Clay's inflammatory statements, ,not significantly hindered the President's New Protectionism thus far and are unlikely to in the foreseeable future.

[Reverend Norv]

Resurrection Times: An Oral History of the Regulators
Chapter Two: The Storm a-Comin'
Melody Cooper
(Berea College Press, 2095), pp. 80-85

The Regulator movement had always been a bundle of unexamined contradictions. "We knew it was fragile," admits Pete Armstrong, the Yale-educated Ohio organizer we met last chapter. "We were working in these conservative areas, and talking this language that was basically old-school Marxism: 'We dig the coal, we grow the corn, our labor makes the wheels turn.' And as long as we didn't point out the contradiction, we figured we'd be okay. And then one day, it's '47, '48, and you look around, and there's fifty or sixty million people in Regulator country, and you realize: 'Shit, we're too big to fail.' You know? You can't talk about that stuff now, the contradictions, not ever, because you can't take the risk when that many people have already bought in. You just have to keep going ahead. Don't look left. Don't look right. Keep going."

But at a deep level, by the mid-2040s, the Regulators' inherent contradictions were beginning to catch up with them. "We used to quote Bill Hayward," Armstrong remembers. "Every strike is an incipient revolution. And we talked that way about everything we did too: self-reliant education, self-reliant healthcare, self-reliant defense. Incipient revolutions. We were conscious of the radicalism of the project: we were trying to wean ourselves off dependence on the government. Off government itself, in fact."

That was a thinkable thought because of the depth of state and federal neglect in Regulator country. But for most ordinary Regulators, it still presented a certain problem of cognitive dissonance. "Because we were still - you know - participating in America," explains Suzie Marsh, the Arkansas schoolteacher we encountered in Chapter One. "We got together in this volunteer school in the church, this classic self-reliant Regulator thing, and we said the Pledge of Allegiance and taught the Constitution. We were living with one foot in America and one foot in something else, something that came next. And we didn't realize it. Or if we did, we didn't want to."

Moreover, the ultimate radicalism of the Regulator project - the "incipient revolution" beneath its communal self-reliance - was in tension with the essential pragmatism of its growth and flourishing. The Regulators functioned, in the real world, as a response to the failure of public services and private industry. They stepped in when the system broke down. So Marsh and her fellow volunteers organized their Regulator school only when the last public high school closed; Kentucky hardliners like Pedro Gonzalez took violent action only after the police failed to prevent the murder of union organizers. For as long as the old systems of the early 21st century kept working, the Regulators did not mess with them, because there was no public appetite for them to do so. To most folks in Regulator country, the movement felt like a way of fixing problems, not like a paradigmatic shift in their identity and loyalties.

Armstrong was right that the radicalism existed even within the pragmatism; the years that followed proved that much. But it was one of those contradictions that he couldn't speak aloud.

...

2047 was a significant year in bringing some of these tensions into the foreground, because by 2047 Regulator Country was enormous. It stretched from small towns south of Pittsburgh, down through rural communities in backcountry Virginia, to the Chattooga River in Georgia. In the west, it was spilling far across the Mississippi into Iowa and Missouri. Millions of children attended Regulator schools; over a million people relied on Regulator healthcare. Regulator militias, though they answered only to their town meetings and could not be centrally organized, nevertheless counted a net total of more than a hundred thousand men under arms.

For men like Armstrong, the sheer scale of it was both exhilarating and terrifying. "You know," he recalls, "we were thrilled, because it meant we'd been right: we'd understood the problem right, we'd understood what was necessary to address it. The Regulators' success was our vindication. But at the same time, we had no goddamn idea what we were doing. Right? We'd unleashed this wave of change, of social reorganization, and it had no governing body. No fixed direction, no obvious endpoint. It was way, way out of our hands. We kept organizing new towns, but we had no illusion that we were in charge. We were just holding on to see where this thing would take us."

Not all of the movement's early organizers were comfortable with that. Ruth Lawrence, who had been so essential in establishing the online resources and best-practices models that kick-started Regulator education, declared in March 2047 that she was leaving the movement: it had become, she declared, a threat to the national coherence of the United States on a scale that she could not have imagined a decade earlier. She went on to testify that summer before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security regarding the way in which Regulator society was fundamentally changing many rural Americans' identity and political loyalty. Lawrence was especially concerned about the children of the Recession, who had never known any functioning governance besides the services that the Regulators provided. "We are raising a generation of kids," she declared, "who have less reason to think of themselves as Americans than anyone in this country's history."

Lawrence's testimony, which made international news and was hotly discussed in the coastal media, cast the fundamental contradictions of the Regulators - the tension between revolution and pragmatism, patriotic imagery and left-wing socioeconomic theory - into stark relief. The movement was left scrambling to respond. Influential organizers met in Evansville and tried to figure out, in essence, whether Lawrence was right: were they eroding loyalty to the United States, and if so, was that even a problem? "The United States," Pedro Gonzalez observed dryly, "ain't never shown that much loyalty to me."

Ultimately, the organizers - acutely aware of their lack of real power, and therefore of the need to speak with one voice in order to maximize their informal influence - came to a rough agreement. This became known as the Evansville Declaration. It proclaimed that the Regulators were proud Americans, standing in a distinctively American tradition, and teaching loyalty to Americans as a people and to the democratic ideals of the country's history. But their loyalty to the United States government was conditional upon that government's respect for their rights and dignity.

The Evansville Declaration carefully - prudently - stopped there. But the implications were blindingly obvious. Washington had failed to respect the rights and dignity of people in Regulator Country. And so the Regulators had, in practice, disavowed their loyalty to Washington in return. Pete Armstrong and Pedro Gonzalez and their friends had, by their strategic silence, confirmed Ruth Lawrence's worst fears.

While it would later acquire the sacred character of a founding document, the Evansville Declaration was initially highly controversial. Dozens of town meetings in Regulator communities discussed it, and many accepted it only with reservations, or rejected it entirely. For all its attempts at equivocation, the Declaration still signaled that the core contradictions of the Regulator movement had surfaced and could, at least for the moment, no longer be ignored. And for a few months, it looked like those contradictions might tear the movement apart. "My mama just absolutely stopped talking to me," says Suzie March. "She sent me an email saying that we were all traitors, and that she couldn't bear to look at me, knowing that I'd turned my back on my country. It just plain absolutely broke my heart."

In the end, it was the blunder of the Tolentino administration that restored some unity to Regulator Country. The President's expansion of protectionist policies around copper and steel was intended to boost the economy in the Midwest and South. Many commentators saw it as an attempt, after the Lawrence hearings, to buy back some public support for the government in Regulator Country. But the problem in Regulator Country had never been a lack of jobs; for years, coal and light manufacturing had hung on or even expanded. The problem was that they were bad jobs, jobs that only benefited the minerals corporations rather than Regulator families. Tolentino's executive order - an order that transparently served the interests of Matthew Flecker rather than those of rural America - reminded millions of Regulators of the reasons why they had questioned their loyalty to the federal government in the first place.

"They'll tell you to be grateful for the jobs," Pedro Gonzalez inveighed in Grayson, Kentucky. "For the jobs that'll kill you with black lung and cave-ins and industrial accidents. Jobs that'll dump waste into the water your kids drink. Jobs for bosses who'll make millions, and shoot you if you ask for an extra quarter an hour. Yeah, you got jobs. No school, no church, no community, no decent food, no money, no hope, no future. But you got jobs. What's the matter? Ain't you grateful?"

By October, the crisis of confidence was over. Regulators rallied behind the uneasy formulation of the Evansville Declaration, with its unspoken conclusion and strategic silences, and accepted its grievance - however radical - as a necessary response to a bought-and-paid-for government. Mostly, Regulators just stopped talking about questions of national or civic loyalty, and got back to talking about the details of running their self-reliant communities. Suzie March's mother called to tell Suzie that she was reinvited to Thanksgiving. The contradiction was safely buried again, just below the surface.

But the balance had shifted. "After Evansville, we had all accepted that a day might come when we would be Regulators first, and citizens second," Pete Armstrong reflects. "Before Evansville, that was a thing we couldn't say. After Evansville, it was still a thing we didn't want to say. But we knew. It had been forced into the open. The possibility was real, now. And once we'd accepted it, there was no going back."

[The Felan Federation]

Detroit, Tower Industries HQ
Vera Fairbright
2047

"Who is the blame for the Old Crimes? I am not sure. Perhaps it was destined to happen, or if it was just Human Nature? Frankly, I blame the Baby Boomers." - Vera Fairbright(92), former CEO of Tower Industries.

---

If one were to look out into the world - one could see a duality. A world that was slowly in the midst of chaos and economic depression - and on the other hand was the greatness, like Detroit. Many saw it as the usual wax and wane of the global economy. Things would rise and things would fall as they always did - the corruption would be purged and the renewal would help propel the economy up once more. Granted, many were in agreement that the Second Great Depression may need more of the government' aid - like it had been in the days of FDR. Or if that failed, radical solutions. Already there was a more post-luddist method of seeing things with the Regulators. On the other hand of the spectrum was a more corporate approach lead by Tower Industries.

The company itself had come from meek roots themselves, like Apple or Microsoft before - it gathered together people of ideas and thoughts, before taking their chance and making it a reality. Vera Fairbright had been the head of this company - in the times, where protectionist ideals were just being started, where technology and efficiency were the running words. Thus began Tower Steelworks, the bedrock from which Tower Industries would grow - first they perfected their craft, then they bought their first factory in Detroit which were selling them almost at free-price, then came success. Unlike other companies that sought to cut into everything, or out-source work or even ignore regulations - Tower Industries banked on the old ideals that had made America successful. Home-grown produce, skill and a mentality that emphasized cooperation with the community and wages that would invite people back.

Success was achieved, due to both ingenuity yet also tariffs that allowed the small company to grow and refine their method even more. If they couldn't compete with quantity, then they would compete with quality - and later on, they could match quantity as well. Once that had been achieved, other avenues of research and potential were explored. Green technology was slowly growing with each passing year, and the company took great interest and invested millions in pioneering the new technologies - netting it even more money and prestige, as green technology became cheaper and better long-term over the previously dominant fossil fuel industry. However, even success can be hampered by failure in leadership - although this time, the leadership came from a political level. Detroit had become an almost negative sum game - taking more money in each year than it could ever hope to return. A crisis situation that might leave Detroit in becoming a failed or even lawless city in itself. Thus a radical solution was approved - selling of government property to private enterprise.

Even critical infrastructure was sold off in order to cover the costs and payments of numerous debts - a no-win situation itself. Thus Tower Industries soon found in it's portfolio the literal keys to a city and it's people. Though controversial and bordering on illegal according to some Judges - the sale of Detroit had been approved by the Federal Government in the end. Although, Detroit still needed fixing and perhaps a new model of rulership needed to be tested and tried out. In 2040, an Executive Order was signed - making the City of Detroit a federal territory and thus able to be granted to Tower Industries - as the first corporate city as the Corporate Overwatch of the City of Detroit.

There were many who cried out this mess, many who rioted, who sued the government and the company and those whom attempt to rally both public and political support against this move. However the deed was done, and the future of Detroit was now in the hands of Vera Fairbright. It took two years of constant repair, before the city was able to be returned into a state of normalcy. Afterwards, for five years it was given a new lease on life. Old laws were removed, while new laws were made rather straight and simple. Everything, bordering on murder, slavery, terrorism and other Class-A Felonies, were made legal. Though controversial, the idea was simple - 'people would do things forbidden to them anyways, one could either punish them or regulate them. One can't fix human behavior, but one can mitigate it' - thus the Las Vegas of the Midwest was born. A place where drugs, sex and all types of alcohol was legal yet regulated. A place where many business set up shop, taking advantage of the low-taxes and minimal red-tape.

However, if one worried about it being a dystopian nightmare - they would be stereotyping capitalism in itself. Though much lee-way was given to business, they also offered much opportunity for those on opposite spectrum as well. As Vera Fairbright, was of the younger generation - whom believed in equality of opportunity and wage. Thus far from being a place of oppression, it was a place of great success - in similar veins to the idealism of the Roaring Twenties. Tower Industries employed thousands of people daily - paying them wages that they could only dream of, medicare that was cheap and quick, housing that was affordable and safe, security that was unbiased and efficient. Every scrutiny by the government was welcomed with open arms, even if it was more paperwork - as throughout their ownership, not one scrap of foul-play would be discovered and Tower Industries happily paid it's fair share of taxes to the Federal Government. Being rather open and transparent in their income, costs and wages they paid.

It was such examples that made some believe, that the economic depression would eventually pass over and a new boom would begin again. Since while the rest of the country grappled with unemployment and stagnant wages - Detroit was growing and growing with each week and month.

---

Luxurious carpets adorned the hallway, that lead up to the office of Vera Fairbright. The CEO of Tower Industries - a global conglomerate that was making news almost daily. Outside the clear-tinted windows was a city alive and breathing life every day - when one looked down at Detroit, they might have once seen a city yet one in decay and ruin. Now one could see a city in growth and progress - even if the problems that afflicted the old Detroit, like gangs and violence, were driven even more underground than before. Although for now, the CEO of the fastest growing American company, was busy enjoying herself behind her laptop. A child of the digital age, though an adult now, it didn't lessen her desire on enjoying herself with some entertainment - even if some stubborn idiots still kept gawking the idea that video games were the cause of violence. Alongside energy drinks, chips, cookies and Coca-Cola.

Although, when Jack Chirstenson entered, she paused her game and shut her lap-top - since her oldest friend and main lawyer, didn't usually visit her - when something hadn't happened. "Did you hear the news, Vera?"

"News? What news? Did some Republican go ham again? Democrats decry big business and threaten to raise taxes again?" she asked, causing the older and more mature member of the Group of Eight - to simply pick-up a remote from her desk and activate the plasma-screen. Namely President Tolentino signed into practice more Protectionist Laws that would eat into their bottom line...as usual.

"So?" asked Vera, not one for pinching pennies - and though a few percentages would be eaten up, it wasn't anything that bad.

"Ugh. Vera, please focus. Some of the investors aren't liking this," spoke Jack.

Vera groaned at that, sinking into her chair and yawning loudly. "They hate everything. I make them millions and they complain it wasn't what they expected. I lose millions and they complain again. Why do you think I still keep seventy-seven percent of all stocks still in my pocket. I let it fall below fifty-one and the damn investors will eat me and this city empty before you can say Roosevelt," she replied, putting more backbone in her decision. The idea of flipping of investors and supporting the working-man. Tower Industries could do that especially since they basically owned ALL of Detroit in theory - even though a large portion of it was delegated to other departments or outright outsourced to other domestic businessmen.

"Just...keep an eye on the market, okay? You might dislike it - but you could play it like tennis," said Jack.

"I hate tennis..." she groaned, before nodding in reply. Then enough, once that was over - other business came onto the table. The growing cost of energy was an issue - since many states still dug in their boots and didn't want to switch over to renewable energy. Since that would demolish all those 'worthy' jobs in the coal mining industry. Although that meant bigger energy costs for the rest of them - including Detroit. "I see. Have we gotten approval yet from the Federal Government?"

"...they are still dragging their feet?" replied Jack.

"Ugh! Seriously? You try and make the world a better place and they call you out for being too ambitious. I try and milk money and I merely have to walk through most red tape..." she groaned, shaking her head. "Alright. See, if we can get the old goat on the phone. He is trying to avoid getting booted anyways. If not, see if the other guy in-charge of the permits is open for talks."

[Hastiaka]

Iglesia ni Cristo | Church of Christ
1 Central Avenue, New Era, Quezon City, Philippines

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Chapter One: Taking Over Nations

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38 Years of Brother Eduardo V. Manalo's Triumphant Leadership
by Brother Peter C. Richardson, Editor-in-Chief

For the past 38 years, the Church has expanded rapidly and intensely across the world. Under the stewardship of Brother Eduardo V. Manalo- the Church's Executive Minister, the Church of Christ or Iglesia ni Cristo has reached all corners of the world. For the past 38 years, more than 10,000 houses of worship were dedicated to God, more than 15,000 congregations were established and 200 more ecclesiastical districts were also established. More than 20,000 new ministers were ordained and currently there are 10,000 ministerial students enrolled in the Iglesia ni Cristo School for Ministry. Currently, there are millions of members of the Church in more than 170 countries and in 160 nationalities. The Iglesia ni Cristo has brought large tracts of land in both the Philippines and in abroad. Because of this, we sometimes ask, how did the Iglesia ni Cristo achieve this? How did it happen from one man in an impoverished third world country managed to preach the true gospel and spread the message of Jesus Christ all throughout the world? In just 133 years, the Iglesia ni Cristo managed to emerge as a powerful religious institution from an outsider's' perspective. Let us examine how the Iglesia ni Cristo had achieved its glorious and triumphant status.

As also foretold in the prophecy, the work began by the messenger in the Far East would reach the west. In a related prophecy in Isaiah 59:19, recorded is the following:

“So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.” (NKJV)

When the glory of God from the rising of the sun or the Far East is revealed, so they shall fear the name of the Lord from the West. And so the second part of the prophecy which says, “and from the far west I will gather you,” would also come to pass. According to the World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1976 (p. 88), included among the states of the United States which are located in the Far West are California and Hawaii.

The Iglesia Ni Cristo also reached these states of the US as appointed by God in the prophecy. The growth and progress of the Church Of Christ would not only be confined in the Far East but this would also reach and spread in the Far West. God’s instrument in starting the gathering of scattered members of the Church Of Christ from the Far West, was Brother Eraño G. Manalo, the previous Executive Minister of the Church. And here’s what scholars who have done research concerning this matter say:

“As early as 1967, Iglesia ni Cristo migrants to Hawaii began gathering other brethren in Oahu, Hawaii. In 1968, the Iglesia ni Cristo established its first overseas congregation in Honolulu, Hawaii. After a month, Brother Eraño G. Manalo proceeded to San Francisco, California, and officially established the first INC congregation in the continental United States (Reed 1990). In less than forty years, it has expanded to twenty-four American states and seventy countries. Some of the largest INC congregations in the United States are found in Bay Area. Offering both Tagalog and English services, the INC has more than fifteen hundred members in the San Francisco and Daly City locales alone.” (Asian American Religions, p. 349)

The Church’s overseas mission began when Brother Eraño G. Manalo officiated at the inaugural worship service of the local congregation of Honolulu, Hawaii in 1968, which was followed some weeks later by the establishment of the local congregation of San Francisco, California. Fifty years after that historic gathering of God’s chosen people in the Far West, as prophesied in the Bible, the Church—under the stewardship of Brother Eduardo V. Manalo, the current Executive Minister—has spread throughout 170 countries and territories around the world. Here’s what nonmembers of the Church say concerning its rapid growth and progress:

“In terms of membership, the growth of the Iglesia ni Cristo since 1914 may be described as astounding. From a handful of adherents during its pioneering years, the membership of the Iglesia ni Cristo has multiplied to millions. Its rapid expansion outside the Philippines began on July 27, 1968, when … Brother Eraño G. Manalo, opened its first congregation in Honolulu, Hawaii. The seed germinated and grew rapidly. … Significantly, it even has a congregation in Rome, Italy, near the very heart of the Catholic Church; another in Athens, Greece, and yet another in Jerusalem, Israel, the birthplace of Christianity.” (Philippines Free Press: The Philippine Century 1900-2000, p. 214)

---

[The Hobbesian Metaphysician]

CNN Office
Richmond Virginia
The Williamsburg Fever-17 Years Later

"I would like to welcome you to the Angeline Hour, Mr. Albright...I know this is a somewhat controversial topic for you given your history, but please if you need to we can break at any time". The properly dressed woman couldn't have been more than thirty years old the senator thought to himself as he looked at the host of the show. She was certainly right given many people knew the Virginia senators opinion on the Williamsburg Fever, he lost his daughter in the disease along with a million other people. "Thank you, Mrs. Angeline, especially for having me on this show...I am surprised your boss even allowed me on to be quite frank" Albright chuckled. This caused Mrs. Angeline to awkwardly smile before speaking up "This is America, Mr. Albright even if things have...gotten worse over time we still allow free speech".

Mrs. Angeline moved away from the papers in front of her knowing full well she would get an earful for it later. "I want to go off script for this interview...I know that you were one of many Americans affected by the fever, even if it was many years ago. Some think had it not been for this fever you very well may have not gotten involved in politics yes?". This question caused Albright to visibly gulp a second before answering "Yes Mrs. Angeline I suppose you are correct...had I not gotten the privilege to watch my daughter choke on her vomit in a quarantine camp I may just be a crotchety teacher". The silence in the room was intense and awkward, but Mrs. Angeline pressed on hoping to get a reaction out of her guest as she thought "maybe this will spike up my ratings a bit".

"I know that it must be hard doing this every year on the anniversary of the fever, but surely something positive has come out of this Senator?". The man neck looked like it might explode with rage before he took something out of his pocket, and looked down. Whatever it was she couldn't see it, but her guest seemed to calm down quite a lot. " I....suppose it helped me reflect on the fragility of life, and how beautiful it could be. This is why in honor of my daughter, and the other million victims of the fever I continue working on the million flowers campaign". Mrs. Angeline spoke back up "While I understand the intentions are admirable, your critics claim the organization supports a pro-secessionist viewpoint senator?".

Senator Albright spoke up "The government decided to secede from us the moment they began to bomb American cities, and put regular Americans in quarantine camps to die. I didn't even get to bury my daughter, but instead a nurse had to sneak out a locket she had. If it weren't for her I wouldn't even know what she looked like. I had to hold a funeral with my daughter already having her ashes spread out in some horrid mass grave. Tell me, is that the kind of government with its citizens best interest in mind?".

Mrs. Angeline recomposed herself " I know its hard sir, but it has been seventeen years.....one day you will have to move past. We have therapists, and counselors you can speak too if you like?". The senator sat back in his chair "You know, it is funny they said the same thing years after 9/11, but no one survives the trauma. In a way, the old me died back then along with much of my family, but counseling can only do so much. You can ask that much of those 'regulators' who run around rural America because in the end, the government failed us back then just as it does to them today."

Mrs. Angeline looked off in another direction, and rushed to speak up " I...want to thank you for stopping by, and please have a good rest of your day Senator". The two exchanged their typical platitudes, and the host gave a small bit of information about the million campaigns. While ratings may have spiked the corporate execs weren't exactly happy with how the interview turned out. They wanted him to be humiliated and denounced, but now they feared their up, and comer may have given a voice to extremism. Regardless the dice have been played, and all that remains is to wait, and see what happens next.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Nicoletta Botticelli

“… And while fears over the closing auto plant in Atessa, Val di Sangro and the mounting unemployment continue, there is still some good to brighten our days. Local bank Banca degli agricoltori, or BdA, organised a barbeque for all those affected. For more on this, we now go to local reporter Erminio Alban”

The autocue text disappeared from the camera mirror just as the red light went out. Nicoletta Botticelli sighed as she combed her hand through her curled, oaken hair. She rested her fingers on her temples, a sign she was stressed, and closed her eyes. In a realm far removed she heard Erminio rattle away in his fast-paced Neapolitan accent, talking to locals who were enjoying a free meal on the local bank’s expense. A welcome break from the weeks of worrying since it was announced the factory might close its doors.

She shook awake at the sound of a glass of water hitting her desk. She looked up to see Reginaldo Moroni, the jack-of-all trades of the Rai 24News studio. He had a talent of appearing when least expected with exactly the kind of help you needed at that moment. He gave a kind, deep smile, and Nicoletta immediately felt grateful.

“Thanks, Reggi…” she said, picking up the glass. It was ice cold, and the first gulp gave her immediate chills. The studio was warm, despite the air condition working full blast to cool the place down, so ice water had become kind of a second currency, more valuable than the lira. Which was not hard, of course. She put the glass against her forehead, letting it cool her thoroughly.

“Pretty neat of BdA, right?” Reggi said, looking sideways at a screen that showed Erminio with his arm around a local granny, and kissing her on the cheek.

“Sure…” Nicoletta said, sounding positively exhausted. “Sure, if you just forget for a moment that BdA is owned and operated by Banco BPM. Banco BPM being one of the major stock owners of CC. CC in turn, of course, having liquidated the assets of the local Fiat plant in order to pay a higher dividend to its stock holders, since Italian cars don’t sell as well anymore and labour is expensive. But if you forget about all that…”

Nicoletta let out an exhausted sigh and took another gulp of water. Beads of sweat and condensation from the glass dropped down her forehead across her nose, and onto the papers she kept in front of her as desk dressing. They were not necessary with the autocue.

“You’ve been keeping tabs, Nicci” Reggi answered, leaning against the desk.

“Yeah” Nicoletta answered. “Just because we can’t be honest about CC here, thanks to that bonehead Arthur Bullock, doesn’t mean I can’t do my own research”

In the early days after Creditori Combinati s.r.l. v Italy, CC bought the exclusive right to place ads on RAI programming. In essence, this gave them a veto on RAI’s actual programming, since they now controlled time slots, and it gave them access to RAI’s public and private funding. There was an unspoken agreement that RAI would not go out of their way to criticise CC, which resulted in them not showing anything negative on the large credit company. In an interview, Creditori Combinati CEO Arthur Bullock famously said “Acquiring RAI was either the worst or best investment I ever made, depending on whether you ask the accountants or the PR department”.

“I just wish…” Nicoletta began, but the altered expression on Reggi’s face immediately silenced her.

“What’s…” she tried, but she was immediately shushed by Reggi’s held up finger. He held a finger to his ear, meaning he was getting something over his earpiece.

“Uh-huh…” he said. “Yeah…”

“Jesus… Apologies, alright. Yeah, I’ll tell her. Five minutes of commercials before we break. Copy”

There was a moment of silence. Reggi and Nicoletta looked at one another, Reggi trying to find the words and Nicoletta trying to pry the information from him with het very eyes, like scooping out a mayonnaise jar. Reggi took the glass from Nicoletta and gulped down the last remains of lukewarm water, his hand trembling as he put the glass back down.

“Breaking news…” Reggi muttered. “They’re typing the cue now”

“What is it?” Nicolette asked, ready to jump Reggi like a jaguar and break his neck if he didn’t answer in two seconds. Reggi saw the bloodlust in her eyes, and quickly relented.

“They call it Zatorska”



Marolo Gaudio

It was around eight when Marolo Gaudio finally got to lock the door of his butcher’s shop along the Via Bartoletti. He had done some good business that day, supplying a barbeque so generously paid for by the local BdA. He himself had some money stashed away there, so it was nice to see that it was going towards something good for the community. Even when sold at a discount, he had sold a lot of his stock, and had turned into somewhat of a local celebrity overnight. The streets were still filled with people returning from the city centre, or looking for a good bar to continue their evening.

“SALUTE, GAUDIO!” slurred a group of youngsters passing by. Marolo have them a polite wave. Three years ago he would definitely have joined them, but that was before Leonia was born. The night was kind enough, though. Just warm enough to make the breeze that passed down from the mountains a welcome relief. The air smelled like charcoal and bonfires. This night was magical, but tomorrow things would return to normal, he knew. And normal was not desirable.

In truth, he had seen his profits diminish over the past few weeks. As more and more people were laid off, fewer and fewer people were interested in his butcher’s work. Meat was disappearing from people’s menus as more and more people were left without a job. Already, it was said that 1 in 4 adults in the town did not have a job. That figure could only rise, as there was little else to do. The Fiat plant brought in the village’s life blood from outside. There was hardly any tourism there. There were no large olive farms or mines. No factories would be opened in their neighbourhood after the failure of this one.

Walking home, he passed by a boarded-up apartment along the Via IV Novembre. The family that had lived there before had lost their livelihood a few weeks before, one of the first to be laid off. A few days ago they had left for Naples, where rent was cheaper and more work could be found. Three kids, age 6, 8 and 10 ripped from their familiar surroundings to go live in the big city. A chilly wind blew through the town, and Marolo popped his collar to protect himself from the cold.

As he turned the corner onto his own street, the Via Filippo Turati, he immediately saw the figure dressed in a black suit. He stood under the street light in front of his house, a trail of cigarette smoke trailing from the orange tip near his mouth. Another chilly wind blew through the town. The man was wearing a hat, something out of a spy movie, and next to him on the sidewalk stood a briefcase. He seemed to check every car that passed, and glanced around every so often. As Marolo approached, the saw that the man had spotted him. The figure picked up his suitcase, and when Marolo walked onto his driveway, the man first spoke.

“Mr. Gaudio?” he said. Unexpectedly, his voice was rather high-pitched.

“Yes? Can I help you?” Marolo asked. He rather wanted to head inside and lock the door, but he feared that, like with a T-Rex, his hunting sense might be based on movement.

“I represent a business venture from down in Naples, looking to expand in this region. We offer support services for people working in dangerous neighbourhoods, and we feel like you might soon need such services”

“I…” Marolo didn’t quite understand that the dark man was telling him. Supportive services? Dangerous neighbourhoods? Atessa was a perfectly safe town, apart from the occasional drunken brawls at the pub.

“Thank you, sir, but I’m going to go now” he said. Just before turning around, the man reached inside his pocket. Instead of the expected silenced pistol, he took out a business card, and handed it over to Marolo. Curiously but cautiously, he took the offered piece of paper. It had a phone number on it, and a name: Lattanzi Investment.

“Give us a call if you ever need anything” the dark man said, before turning around and walking away. Dumb-founded, but still staring at the almost blank piece of paper, Marolo returned to his front door. He fumbled a bit with his keys before finding the right one, and absent-mindedly pushed open his front door.

“Hey honey!” he registered his wife say from the living room.

“Hmmmm” he answered.

“Come quick, there’s breaking news on RAI!”

“Hmmmm…” came another answer, but by then he had walked into the living room by sheer muscle memory. On the television was a woman dressed in purple, whom he vaguely remembered was a newsreader for RAI 24News.

“I didn’t know we watched RAI…” Marolo said lazily, but before Gisella could answer the lady started speaking.

“Good evening, you’re watching breaking news at RAI24. Half an hour ago an anonymous source from inside the accounting department of Creditori Combinati leaked what has been dubbed the ‘Zatorska Rapport’, named after the head of the advising firm that produced the paper. The rapport details the forecasted sources of income for CC, and concludes that income will pay back all accumulated debt well within the 20 year period set by the Supreme Court in the case CC v Italy. Various sources are now speculating that CC should lower the tax burden, which is one of the highest in Europe. As of yet, Arthur Bullock has not yet commented on the leak or the information contained in the Zatorska Rapport. We go live to our correspondent here in Rome…”

The rest of the conversation seemed like a blur in the background. Marolo, despite not fully understanding what had happened, felt his stomach churning. The country had seemingly just grown accustomed to CC being essentially in charge, and this news seemed to rock the boat again, and perhaps not entirely for the better.

“Maybe we can finally go on holiday with Leonia. Somewhere along the Adriatic…” Gisella said, although she obviously was just as shaken as Marolo.

“I suppose Bullock will be furious when he hears the news” she added, desperately trying to make sense of the news.

“Yeah” Marolo said, looking again at the card the dark man had given him. “I bet you he is, honey”



Arthur Bullock

The office of the CEO of Creditori Combinati was worthy of a head of state. Essentially, this was because for all intents and purposes, Arthur Bullock was indeed the head of state for Italy. The head of government, too, since his funding was required to start any programme of note within the Republic. The office was mainly decorated with large wooden panels, with large paintings to break up the monotony. Large potted plants filled the corners, and to the side a fireplace filled the room with a pleasant smell of burning wood and the crisp crackling of a log fire. Above the fireplace hung a large painting of Bullock himself: tip to toe, in a grey suit, supported by his trademark silver walking cane. He had once been in a car accident which had cost him the full use of his left leg, but through the use of his cane he had made the injury into a defining trademark.

His hair, both on his head and in his short beard, were silver too, almost white. Genetics and a healthy diet, as well as vast sums of personal wealth, had made sure he still had a full head of hear. His look was stern, both without his reading glasses as on the painting, and with them as he sat behind his desk. Despite his age, his grey suit made him look like an imposing figure, able to beat a younger man senseless if he wanted to, which is mainly how he kept his staff in line and his colleagues on their toes. No matter who you where, when Arthur Bullock invaded your personal space you backed down.

There was a knock on the door. Arthur waited for a moment, continuing to read the last page of the rapport that had only an hour ago been leaked to the press. He made a habit of letting people wait for him. His time was more important and valuable than anyone else’s, and he was never to be rushed into anything. After a few minutes, having read the final page a couple of times and really letting the contents sink in, he spoke.

“Come in”

His delivery was firm and deep, like he had walked straight from the pages of a Shakespearean play. The golden handle twisted down, and the large door slowly drifted open. A young head full of dark hair popped around the corner. Arthur nodded.

“Come in, Jessica”

Jessica Bullock was the oldest grandchild of Arthur, the daughter of his eldest son, who had died in the same car crash that had cost Arthur the use of his leg. As his eldest grandchild, Jessica was the heir to his fortune, and she had been trained all her life to play the part. Jessica had inherited much of her grandfather’s business acumen. However, she had inherited none of his age, which made her look like the young, energetic, up-and-coming new face of the company. Unlike her grandfather, she spoke Italian fluently, which made her a much rather seen guest than her grandfather, who mostly stuck to the shadows.

Jessica held beneath her arm a pink folder, which Arthur immediately recognised as the latest figures coming down from the stock exchange. He put out his hand to take it from her, but just before closing his fingers Jessica pulled it away again.

“Guess first!” she said. She liked to play games like this, and was the only person living or dead who could get away with this kind of nonsense. Arthur looked sternly in her direction, and then cocked his head in a thinking pose.

“10%” he said firmly, and in line with his earlier predictions.

“Higher” Jessica answered, barely able to supress her glee.

“15%?” Arthur added. Jessica shook her head.

“25%!” she exclaimed, handing Arthur the pink folder. The CEO took out the report from the stock exchange, and double-checked all the numbers. There was no change in his facial expressions, but he sat upright now, pushing his reading glasses further onto his nose.

“A quarter…” he said, incredulously. Jessica nodded.

“It seems like your gamble paid off, granddad. The shareholders are ecstatic with Zatorska. They are finally seeing CC as an worthwhile investment instead of as an executor for their debts”

“Yes…” Arthur said, triple-checking the numbers. He had expected a rise in stock prices for CC, but not this level. It was perfectly incredible. The markets had jumped at the opportunity. Which was, in hindsight, to be expected. Tax income was almost a given over the next few years. Governance was one of the few products that always had a market, and the only one which was enforceable by law. It made perfect sense to invest in that, especially if income was so much higher than what was required. Arthur fell back in his seat.

“So, I have had the accountants crunch the numbers” Jessica began again, even more enthusiastically than before.

“They are preliminary, but it seems that every percentage point we increase taxes with will increase out stock price with…”

Arthur held up his hand, suddenly and violently. He took off his reading glasses and put down the pink folder, folding his hands and leaning over his desk.

“We’re not going to increase taxes, Jess” said the ageing CEO. Suddenly, he looked old. It was the first time Jessica had seen her grandfather look his age. His eyes were bagged, his skin wrinkled, his hair thin and grey. His hands were long and thin, and the spots and veins were clearly visible.

“What?” she inquired, incredulously.

“You heard me. We’re not going to increase taxes. In fact, these numbers give reason to lower taxes across the board, drastically” he said, putting his reading glasses back on and taking out pen and paper to start making notes.

“But… But…” Jessica tried, dumbfounded.

“Granddad, we are sitting on a gold mine” she tried.

“We are sitting on the national finances of a sovereign state, Jess” her grandfather responded.

“Ow, come on!” Jess blurted out. “Who are you to turn away from good profit? This could make CC the company of the century!”

“Could be. That’s not what CC is for” was Arthur’s response. “We are refinancing the Italian State’s debt”

“Oh, please! Give me a break. You did not raise a coward in me.”

“There are things a parent can’t teach, young lady. Experience…”

But Jessica had had enough. She angrily turned around and stormed towards the door.

“We will talk about this in the morning, when you’ve cleared your head” she shouted. “When you’re yourself again”

With that, she slammed the door shut, leaving Arthur alone with his painting, potted plants and his fireplace. He sighed, and looked at the pink folder in front of him, and then at the door. Picking up his cane, which was resting against his desk, he pulled himself up and walked towards the door himself. A standing clock in the corner counted the seconds, and the steps of an old man wandering across a carpet. Never before had Arthur felt so uncharted, and there was much still to occur in the future.