Blazing Star
Copyright© 2021 by GreyOldWolf
Chapter 28: Nations United – or Not!
Simon had taken a long time to write his United Nations Speech. As the Corvette settled down on the grounds on part of the New York waterfront beside the United Nations buildings, Simon felt more than a little nervous. The corvette was shielded, cloaked and simply had to drop Simon and his party off so that they could make their way to the main assembly hall. That accomplished, it would hover in place so that it would be available as quickly as required. With Simon were Blaze, Dawn, Grant and George. Simon, Grant and Blaze were in their military uniforms while George and Dawn wore comfortable civilian attire. Dressy, but comfortable.
Grant, as per SOP, insisted on everyone, except Blaze and Dawn, wearing BSUs, just in case. They wore no obvious weapons. Neither Blaze nor Dawn required them, anyway.
The timing of their arrival was scheduled to be minutes before Simon was introduced to the United Nations General Assembly Delegates at 10:00 AM EST and his plans were to then read his speech and leave as quickly afterward as possible.
On approaching the Assembly Hall, Simon was approached by Admiral Guarant of the United States, who handed him a sealed envelope from President Dan Blake. Simon thanked Ben and continued into the Hall, where he opened the letter and read it.
Simon smiled as he finished perusing the documents in the envelope and put it in his pocket.
“Good news?” asked Grant.
“Excellent news.” answered Simon. “We have officially acquired the three USA Islands in the Line Islands chain. Now we have eleven.”
The two sisters, Marlyn and Gerlyn, met them just as they were entering the building.
Marlyn commented that the press was very curious about this announcement and speculation was very high. She informed them that they would be with the press during the speech, but meet them at the Corvette once they got a feel for the reaction. They left for the press gallery as Simon and his group headed for the main hall.
Simon and his party were ushered to a small area set aside for speakers near the head of the room where they could be summoned when the Delegates were ready for them.
A few minutes later Simon and his retinue were summoned and in front of the United Nations General Assembly for his speech.
Simon cleared his throat and began his prepared speech.
“Ladies and gentlemen, United Nations Delegates, Ambassadors, Guests and Members of the Press: My name is Admiral Simon Gordon. These are some of my associates, Grant Morgan, George Langdon, Dawn and Blaze. Today I, and my associates, are here with you to announce the formation of a new nation. We have entered into negotiations with The Republic of Kiribati and the United States and have completed the transfer of certain lands, territories, waters and all that they encompass into a new nation. This country shall be known as ‘The Island Nation of Pacifica’, or ‘Pacifica’ for short. It is comprised of eleven islands in the Central Pacific Ocean, currently known as The Line Islands. Eight of these islands have been acquired from The Republic of Kiribati and three from the United States of America.
We have provided a small packet of information for you and your nations, in order to provide a great deal more detail than I will cover here. Effective immediately, we will fully exercise our authority to the 200 Mile Maritime Boundary, Economic Inclusion Zone, Zone of Control and Zone of Influence as detailed in the packet of information provided to you at this time. In addition, additional details may be found on our website, the address as noted in your packet. Please note, these zones will be rigidly enforced. Any person or object, military or civilian must apply to the proper Pacifica authority for entry into or transit over these zones. That includes undersea, on ocean, in air and in space transit. Agreements are already in place with several nations for transit permission.
Our new nation is governed by what you may loosely call a ‘Benevolent Military Dictatorship’, although that is not totally accurate. Once again consult your packet of information and our website for details.
Financially, we have historically traded with various Nations, Corporations and Individuals as ‘S.F.G.’ and we will continue to do so in future, as well as trading as ‘Pacifica’, providing the same security and guarantees as in the past. Future trade and co-operation agreements will have to be negotiated. Contact persons are noted and updated regularly on our website.
Internally, we will be utilizing an electronic currency which will be known as the ‘Pacifica Credit’ or simply ‘P-Cred’. This currency will not be available outside our jurisdiction and will not be traded publicly or otherwise. International Financial Transfers will be in whatever currency agreed upon by both parties. Visitors and residents are ALL required to carry a banking and identification card which will allow P-Creds to be utilized to enable purchases. Since this is an entirely electronic currency, it will be handled exclusively by our own internal servers.
I’ll just give you a brief description of the ‘State of our Nation’. We have now completed a deep water, protected International Port for Ocean Shipping called ‘The International Port of Pacifica’. Currently, limited accommodations are available for crew and passengers, but that will continue to improve. Similarly, we have completely rebuilt the old airport on Kiritimati and have renamed it the Pacifica International Airport. It is now fully operational with four runways and can handle anything requesting landing rights there. Hotel accommodations at the airport and on the Island of Kiritimati are ready for occupancy. We do not intend, however, to become a major tourist destination as ALL incoming and outgoing flights must be previously cleared and contracts negotiated.
Our ‘Customs and Immigration Department’ will interview each and every person entering and leaving Pacifica to ensure our regulations are enforced. All goods, materials and shipments will also be scrutinized thoroughly. We will not tolerate any attempts at smuggling or espionage within our nation and its zones. We have the will and the means to fully support this policy!
We do not require nor permit any financial assistance. This also means that The Island Nation of Pacifica will not entertain ANY foreign ownership or influence. Pacifica and all that it encompasses is not for sale!
Finally, as my allotted time is almost up, ‘The Island Nation of Pacifica’ is not nor will not apply for, seek or wish for membership in this United Nations. This is simply an introduction to our new nation and explanation of some of her features. We wish only to remain peaceful, helpful members of the Nations of Earth. Once again, please, read the packet of information provided and feel free to browse our website for any additional information and contact persons if you have questions or requests.
Thank you for your time!”
As Simon left the podium and began to exit the building there was, initially, stunned silence, then gradually concerned mumbling followed quickly afterward by vigorous shouting! By that time, Simon was out of the building and well on his way to the rendezvous with the waiting Corvette.
“Well, that went well!” said Simon.
“Only because they were completely unprepared for the contents of your speech and the short duration.” stated Grant. “Once they read the details, I am sure that will change. Be prepared for considerable interest starting with our website.”
“Let’s wait a bit and get some feedback from our press experts on what the general feelings are within that group.” suggested Simon. So they waited at the Corvette for Marlen and Gerlyn.
When Marlyn and Gerlyn finally arrived, it was with flushed and beaming faces.
“What’s the news ladies?” asked Simon.
“Boy, did you kick a hornet’s nest there!” exclaimed Gerlyn. “Not only did you catch them completely off guard with your notice of a new country, but your statements regarding the independent nature of Pacifica really shook them up!”
“Not to mention the restrictions you are stating you will impose, but the final statement that this nation will not even request membership in or the assistance of the United Nations really blew them away!, stated Marlyn.
Marlyn went on to say, “The Press really didn’t have much to say about the whole situation, failing to fully realize the future implications of the reactions to the new situation in the Pacific. I am sure that over the next few days, that will change as other certain nations start to analyze and test those limits. The big fish in that campaign will undoubtedly be China and it will likely be large.”
“All too true!” stated Grant. “We have been watching China and its actions for quite a while now and expect considerable push-back on our borders and policies. I hope we are prepared.”
“Let us get back to Pacifica and watch some of the events unfold.” said Simon. “It should be interesting.”
With that, the Corvette left the United Nations, carefully ascended to space, as there was considerable air traffic in this area, and set course for the new nation of Pacifica.
Safely back in Pacifica, Simon was in his new quarters, which surprisingly looked similar to his other quarters but significantly larger, when he received a call. He and Blaze were alone at the time.
“Incoming call for you, Simon.” said Blaze. “It is the President of the United States.”
“Okay, I’ll take it here.” said Simon. “Hello Dan, to what do I owe the honor of your call!” greeted Simon with a smile.
“Cheeky bastard!” muttered Dan.
Simon assumed, quite correctly, that it was a friendly remark.
“I cannot recall another day when I have had so much ‘fun’ since the last time you completely astounded your guests with earth shaking revelations!” stated Dan.
He seemed amused and continued, “I have just spent the last several hours explaining to a lot of different aides that I seem to know more about some things than they do, and that seems to have pissed them off. Just a notice, I instructed our Delegation at the U.N. to formally recognize Pacifica in every way possible and to call for a full vote on that situation. Initially, they were not amused until I explained that we were likely to become a ‘preferred nation’ as a result. Some silence then serious activity was the result!”
“And how has that motion been accepted? asked Simon.
Dan replied. “It seems that there are four main groups forming up regarding your nation. The largest group, little more than half of the delegates, see no big deal here and are willing to officially recognize Pacifica and its status. They feel it will never impact them anyway, so have no objection. The second largest group are those who are favorably agreeing with full recognition and those include some of the major countries. Unsurprisingly The United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Kiribati and Japan are among them. Surprisingly, The Philippines, Taiwan, and a number of Asian countries have joined this group. I suspect that you will hear from those nations soon, perhaps with some of the Pacific Region island nations as well.”
“That sounds very good and somewhat expected, since it sounds like more political posturing. We will have to see how that works out.” replied Simon. “I take it the final two groups are those that cannot decide and those that are opposed.”
“You got that correct!” said Dan. “Our local ‘experts’ on Chinese affairs are predicting some major actions from them. Be advised! Be also advised, we have heard some chatter from the radical groups that they seem to be ‘excited’ about something. Not sure where that is going, but expect the unexpected. That is about all I have to pass on to you, but the day is not over yet!”
“Ok Dan, that sounds interesting. Thank you for the call!” said Simon.
“Bye for now.” replied Dan.
“Lots to ponder.” thought Simon as he drifted off to sleep for a much needed rest.
The following day saw a few events unfolding, mostly on the Pacifica website. Firstly, it started slowly! Access to web pages gradually increased until it could be deemed as ‘very busy’, then after a few hours went nuts and stayed that way. The AIs controlling PacNet were not overly worked nor concerned since their capabilities were so much more advanced than the typical earth-based web servers. Gradually, the AIs noticed a change in the source of network traffic origins. Comparing traffic with the aforementioned groups showed that the traffic from most countries tapered down to a reasonable expectation. Some dwindled to nothing. The concerning fact was that traffic from a few countries, one notably being China, had taken a dramatic and continued increase.
Several days went by before anything else significant occurred. Blaze, Dawn and the AI on board the Satellite over Pacifica had been watching all traffic over the Pacific Ocean and calculating routes and destinations. It had become obvious to them that China was completely ignoring any Pacifica imposed restrictions. In fact several course changes were noted to now cause potential future conflicts.