Chapter Nine
KIRO-TV, Channel 7, Seattle, WA, May 22
“We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming,” a serious-looking Anna St. Cloud reported, “to take you to the National Assembly Building in Abuja, Nigeria, where the participating heads of state have been meeting for three days to set up the workings of the new world government. I understand that the government has an important announcement that is going to be carried worldwide. We go now to Abuja, Nigeria.”
The camera changed to a podium with a strange seal on it. The device had a golden eagle in its center that was similar to the garuda of Hindu or Buddhist mythology. In its talons, it held a white ribbon scroll that read “Republic of Terra.” An Indian woman walked up to the podium confidently, smiled and said “Hello, people of Terra. I am Katrina Nehru, and I am happy to have been chosen to be the first president of the Republic of Terra.” She paused. “Now, I know that many of you have never heard of the Republic of Terra,” she said when she continued, “which is why I wanted to talk to everyone on the planet today. The world’s leaders have been hard at work for the last week, working to set up this new world government, and I wanted to make you aware of our progress.”
“Many of you may be wondering why we chose the name, ‘Republic of Terra,’” she said. “There are a couple of reasons. First, we wanted everyone to understand that we are a republican form of government, in which the affairs of the state are a public matter. There are no rulers working on their own secret, hidden agendas; instead, all of the government is here for the best interests of all humankind. I know this will be met with some cynicism around the world, but I am here today to tell you that it’s true. The Republic of Terra has been established as an entity where the president is legitimized by both a constitution and a public vote to work in the best interests of the entire world. This form of government closely follows the governmental systems of many of its participating republics, like Russia, France, the United States and my own nation, India.”
“The second reason,” she continued, “is that our government is already faced with a need to grow beyond the borders of our own planet. We have been contacted by the government of the planet Domus, in the Epsilon Eridani system, and they have requested to join our union. Our government has been set up to include not only the former nations of Earth, but also the two states that form the government of Domus.” She looked straight at the camera as she said, “There is strength in numbers, and we need the resources they have. We have welcomed them into our union.” Her tone of voice suggested that this point was not up for discussion.
“The next questions that you are probably going to ask,” President Nehru guessed, “are how is this government going to work, and how do I know that it has my best interests at heart? As I have already stated, the Republic of Terra government will function similarly to the largest republics on the planet, with the current nations of Earth becoming states in the new republic. Although there will be some growing pains, I expect the transition to go fairly smoothly, as most people live under similar systems. For example, most of the participating nations have three branches of government to ensure the separation of power. The Republic of Terra also has three branches of government, the executive, the legislative and the judicial branches, so this should be very familiar to most of the people of Earth.”
“Like India and the United States, the executive branch of the Republic of Terra will be led by a president, who will be elected indirectly by an electoral college of representatives from the current nations. The president will serve a five-year term and can be re-elected once. The legislative branch will have a bicameral, or two-house, parliament. The upper house, or ‘Council of States,’ will be made up of two representatives from each of the previously independent nations, who will serve in staggered, six-year terms. How each of these will be elected is up to the individual states. Seats in the lower house, or ‘House of the People,’ will be proportional to the individual state’s populations, with a seat given for every 50 million people or fraction thereof. That way, each nation will have at least one seat in the House of the People, regardless of its actual size. These representatives will also serve in staggered, six-year terms.”
“The judicial branch will be made up of a Supreme Court, which will oversee the efforts of the High Courts in each of the current member nations. Its function is not to impose new laws over the member states; instead, it is the ultimate interpreter of the constitution and will be empowered to strike down state laws which are in contravention to it. It will also have original jurisdiction over cases involving fundamental rights and disputes between the nation-states and the republic’s government.”
“We intend for this nation to be built around order and the rule of law, led by an open and transparent government. No individual will be above the rules,” she said as she walked around to the front of the podium. “Delegates from all of the participating nations have developed this, our new seal, as a symbol of the government and people of the Republic of Terra.” She pointed to the golden eagle. “Our new nation is a nation born of war. The eagle, or garuda for many of our Asian population, is a strong, brave bird that symbolizes our nation’s strength through war, while the gold color symbolizes greatness and glory. Like the Seal of Indonesia, the feathers on the bird are symbolic. There are 22 feathers on each wing and five feathers on the tail. If you put these together, you have today’s date, the 22nd of May, which is the date that our new republic was born.”
“The shield on the eagle’s chest is a martial symbol, standing for defense not only of the countries, but of the two planets in our republic. It has a background divided into quarters, colored black and white in a checkerboard pattern. The black quadrant bearing the golden star at the upper right corresponds to the belief in One Supreme God. The color black represents space and the star for the one God that exists no matter where we go. The star is a common symbol not only for Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, but also for the secular ideology of socialism as well. While this symbol may be disconcerting for some, there will not be any religion that everyone is made to follow. People are encouraged to believe in whatever manner they will, or not to believe at all if that is their desire, but it was important to the overwhelming majority of the participating nations that this symbol be included.”
“The yin and yang symbol of unity is in the lower right on a white background. This symbol shows us that, regardless of how opposite or contrary we may seem to each other at times, we are all interconnected and interdependent on each other. There are many dualities in nature, like light and dark, fire and water, and life and death. Neither of these has meaning without the other. They are physical manifestations of the yin and yang concept that draws all of us together. The American motto of ‘E pluribus unum,’ or ‘Out of many, one,’ was also suggested, but this symbol was chosen as it is symbolic to a larger number of our people.”
“In the upper left quarter on a white background, there is a golden laurel wreath. This symbolizes our belief in the concept of democracy and its importance in how this republic is governed. The laurel wreath goes back to the ancient Athenians, who first came up with the concept of democracy. It can also symbolize a master’s degree of wisdom when it is used as ‘poet laureate,’ or can refer to victory. These last two concepts are also significant in the laurel wreath’s choice as a symbol.
“Finally, in the lower left quarter on a black background is a golden sheaf of wheat, representing sustenance and livelihood. With a fair government and a strong military to protect us from the dangers that lurk beyond our system’s borders, our people will be able to follow their dreams and be productive and happy.”
“Completing the design,” she said, pointing over the eagle’s head, “there are two gold stars over its head. These symbolize the two star systems, the Solar System and the Epsilon Eridani system, that make up the republic. Will there be additional stars in this constellation?” she asked. “Who knows? I, for one, expect there to be more; however, that is dependent on what we do to make it possible. Not just what I do, but what every member of the Republic of Terra does on a daily basis. Everyone is important to our efforts to protect and defend our planet. To paraphrase the American statesman, John F. Kennedy, ask not what your planet can do for you, but instead, ask what you can do for your planet and the Republic of Terra!”
She turned and went back behind the podium. While she was moving, a number of people came onto the stage. “As president of the Republic of Terra, I am looking forward to working for all of you,” said Nehru. “Until a worldwide election can be held, the council of leaders forming the republic decided to set up the initial government in relation to the populations of the countries represented. Since China has decided not to join our efforts as of yet, India is the largest participating nation, with over a billion people. As such, India was selected to fill the presidential post, and I was chosen for this position. For those of you who don’t know me, I was previously the vice president of India, where I was also Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. The president of India stayed on in that position to ensure the continuity of our government and ensure that the country continued to put all of its efforts into supporting the new government.”
“Similarly,” she continued, “the United States also nominated its vice president for the vice president slot of the world government. President Bill Jacobs decided to stay on as the U.S. president to ensure that the transition went smoothly. Indonesia, the third largest participating nation, will fill the Speaker position for the upper house of the legislative branch, the Council of States. Their president will be filling this position. The Brazilian president will be the Speaker for the lower house, the House of the People. The fifth position in order of succession, the Secretary of State, went to the Pakistani president.” She looked behind her at the men and women assembled and received a nod. “At this time, we will have the swearing in ceremony for the first five officers of the new government,” she said.
Nehru walked over to join the other four leaders. With a small smile of satisfaction, she saw that three of the five leaders were women; besides herself, the presidents of Indonesia and Brazil were also women. All four of the other leaders were each standing in front of a representative of his/her respective faith. Nehru went to stand in front of the Hindu guru waiting for her. As one, the spiritual leaders said, “Do you swear in the name of your God, or what you hold holy, to faithfully execute your office within the Republic of Terra?”
The five leaders replied, “I do.”
The religious leaders asked “Will you preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law, to the best of your abilities?”
The five leaders answered, “I will.”
The religious leaders asked, “And will you devote yourself to the service and well-being of the people of the Republic of Terra?”
The five leaders replied again, “I will.”
The guru reached out to shake President Nehru’s hand as the rest of the religious leaders did the same for their charges. “Congratulations, Mrs. President,” said the guru.
The camera at KIRO-TV returned to Ms. St. Cloud. “There you have it, live,” she commented. “The new president of the world, President Katrina Nehru, has been sworn in. We now take you back to your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress.”
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