The S.U. Space station

Rivendell

Elizabeth's head was still spinning from the decision she made a few hours ago. She was happy to say yes, but it still hit her like a freight train out of nowhere. In retrospect, there were so many clues she could have picked up on, starting with Michael’s nervousness in the last few days and Anna’s unexplained constant cheerfulness. Yet, when he knelt before her and offered her this beautiful diamond ring that was on her hand right now, she was struck speechless.

Her new life bore little resemblance to the one she led back when she was an FBI analyst. OK, maybe that is not completely true as all the skills she was taught at the Academy served her well as one of the directors of the Solarian Union intelligence agency. Still, the old her would not be able to imagine the life she was leading now, being in this magical place in space, surrounded by close friends and family, feeling happy.

She looked at Michael, standing to the side and looking at the world below him. He carried such a heavy burden on his shoulders, a future of the entire nation that started as an idea of his when he was still all alone.

The Solarian Union, ancient civilization, AIs, aliens, and continent acquisition deals, those were all the stuff of history in the making. Events that children of the future will learn in schools one day. Moreover, they were all standing in the eye of that hurricane, trying to do the right thing, without making mistakes that would endanger the lives of millions. She still woke up at night seeing the faces of those they were unable to save during the bioweapons attack. Though, the ones they did, and the thousands of messages from the people expressing their gratitude, helped ease that pain.

Elizabeth knew the times ahead of them would not be easy, and there would be more demands on his time, but she could accept that. The future they were building was more important than any single one of them.

She looked again at Michael and saw a shadow of pain in his eyes. The look she was learning to recognize and which he usually got when thinking about his dad. Robert Freeman would’ve been so happy to see them engaged. She smiled, remembering one time the old man said to her that they should get married so she could make an honest man out of Michael, and that they should start working on providing him with a few grandchildren to spoil.

With a quiet sigh, Elizabeth fixed a smile on her face; this was not the time to dwell on sad things. Tonight, they should enjoy themselves, and make a good memory to last them a lifetime. She excused herself from Alice and Anna, who were talking about the plans for the wedding, and went to join Michael.

***

Michael looked around the wide terrace on which they were having the engagement party; it was built especially for these kinds of occasions. The view was magnificent, and he could not imagine a more appropriate place. Everybody was gathered in Rivendell, wanting to share such a happy occasion with them both. The food was made by several chefs that had emigrated to the S.U., two of them leaving five-star establishments for a chance to live and work in space. Who would have thought that his life would go in such a strange and extraordinary direction? Certainly not him, while he was working in that soul-numbing cubicle, waiting for the workday to end so he could go home to his not-so-great life.

Being the leader of the Solarian Union, having an upgraded body that should belong to a comic superhero, and negotiating a deal for the ownership of an entire continent, were mind-blowing things. For all that, they all paled to the fact that Elizabeth had said yes to his proposal.

He wished his father was here, to be part of the celebration; the old man would have got such a kick of the fact that Michael was getting hitched. Something he talked about for years before…

Around him were all the people that he felt close to, having a good time and talking to each other. Elizabeth was chatting with Anna and Alice, while Pete was dancing with Lucretia, with a goofy grin on his face. Jack was explaining to Al that some jokes are not proper in certain circumstances, caused by a funny sound-making cushion that Al had previously placed beneath Jack’s chair. Tyron was sitting with Emma, holding hands, and looking at Zizi, Natalie, and Leah, who were having a competition on who could spit the farthest, dutifully judged by Ares. So many others were also present tonight, relaxed, and carefree.

“Why aren’t you by your fiancé’s side? Being a wallflower was never your thing,” Max said through his implant.

“I want to soak it all in. Remember where we were before this all started? I wouldn't be able to even imagine this setting, let alone all these people that grew so important to me. I only wish Dad was here.”

“Michael, he would have wanted you to enjoy this moment, and you have time for reminiscence when you’re alone. Now turn to your left, Elizabeth is coming.”

Michael looked in her direction and saw a beautiful sight; the light was falling on her face, making it glow in subtle radiance.

“Have I told you how much I love you lately?” He asked after she got close to him.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t mind hearing it a few hundred times more,” Elizabeth said and kissed him.

They spent the rest of the day in Rivendell, enjoying the jubilant atmosphere and the people that created it. It was one of those perfect days that people tend to remember for the rest of their lives.

***

Earth, New York City

United Nations Headquarters

Thousands upon thousands of people have surrounded the United Nations building complex in New York City, despite the fact that the assembly was in a closed session. The entire world knew that there was only one item on today’s agenda, and it concerned them all. That is why there were so many spectators outside, completely blocking traffic. The sea of signs and posters was like a colorful forest, which was what it took to make them all. Most of them were about people wanting free energy, life-prolonging treatments, and CEI implants. The mood of the mass was single-minded, they knew what they wanted, and they had better get it, or else...

The chronic naysayers were nowhere to be seen, in the face of such massive approval, they didn’t dare to show their faces.

Michael was once again standing before the same door, as he did one month before. He was waiting to be summoned inside and told their decision, since the Solarian Union wasn’t a United Nations member. Of course, Max was streaming a live video feed of the vote directly into his CEI, using a micro-drone, so he already knew what to expect. It was funny in the way, how much money the UN has spent on improving their digital security after the video of the last session leaked out—not that it helped any. Max had placed his micro-drone on the ceiling, and the thing blended in so well, it was impossible to detect.

For the past month, he had taken more calls than any other time in his life. Every single one of those leaders behind these doors wanted more questions answered, and all of them tried to get some concessions for themselves—without offering anything more in return. There were even several propositions by a few consolidated blocks that wanted to change the original deal, so the S.U. would only get part of Antarctica that was unclaimed. Then, they wanted to exclude the research stations and dozens of similar demands. The answer was resolute no, each and every time. Especially to the ridiculous proposal where the biggest countries wanted one entire level each on the new space station.

In all fairness, he did yield to a few benign terms, as they were already planned in advance. Even the ideas for them were proposed by certain individuals who were close to those in power; it was a very lucrative thing to have an attentive ear of some world leaders.

For one, all countries would have embassies in the Solarian Union, which was not such a big deal. Max had already made plans for the embassy dome to be built close to the site of the new hospital. It will be a specialized dome that will house all of the foreign ambassadors and their staff, with nice residences and a few parks. Max even included a golf course, opera house, and a casino in the plans, to make them relaxed and to take their money. It was Emma’s idea, “Keep them fat and happy, and give them a lot of distractions,” she said. Why go to all that trouble? Well, they needed to maintain good relations with the Earth’s nations, so that they could streamline the entire immigration process, without any interference. Besides, that dome would be like a five-star hotel/prison; the conditions outside would not exactly be pleasant, Antarctica was not known for its tourist destinations. Any suggestions about embassies on the Ascension, or the new space station, were turned down flat.

A dozen small research stations would be spread across Antarctica, where foreign scientists could perform their experiments to their heart's content. Of course, they would all be built and controlled by the Solarian Union. What’s more, as all the ambassadors, those people would essentially be trapped in those locations. Antarctica’s weather was the best deterrent for foreign spies, with the temperatures of −70.6°F (−57 °C), and in some places even going down to −135.8°F (−93.2 °C). In such conditions, human beings are extremely focused on staying warm.

The last concession that was agreed upon was a small research station on the Moon, with the same limitation that ISS2 had. The Solarian Union would build it and control it, and they would get to play in it. Just a few scientists from every world nation, with minimal amenities and creature comforts; after all, they should not get too comfortable. Max gave a briefing about how everybody secretly planned to join the Solarian Union in space, creating their own habitats and spreading even further. Eventually, Michael and the others would need to burst that bubble—it would simply not be allowed. It was the S.U. way or a highway, and everyone on Earth should accept that fact.

He smiled to himself as he remembered that evening in Rivendell and the moment of ecstatic happiness when Elizabeth accepted his proposal. It was as if the weight of an entire space station was suddenly lifted off his shoulders. The party that followed carried on until the next morning; it helped that all their friends and family were already on the station, waiting for Max to signal them to come to them. It was one of the weirdest parties he had ever been to; the fantastical Elven city was reverberating with the sounds of rock ‘n’ roll and some techno tracks Elizabeth liked.

The moment came and the doors opened; the same man in a black suit told him that they were ready to receive him. Michael walked slowly inside and stopped before the speaker’s dais.

“Leader Freeman,” the President of the General Assembly began. “I’m happy to inform you that the General Assembly of the United Nations voted in favor of your proposal. The continent of Antarctica will become the sovereign territory of the Solarian Union.”

That was it; with those few words, a new chapter for the nation he created has been opened. Every member stood up from their seats and started clapping enthusiastically; there were even a few loud whistles that broke from the crowd. They were not clapping for him, but for themselves and the deal they made. To be honest, Michael was not all that surprised with the outcome of the vote, they all worked very hard at stacking the deck. After the original proposal, the votes were barely above 50% in their favor, especially those that stood to lose their territory in Antarctica, and they had a veto power to stop the whole deal in its tracks. There were even some propositions for many of them to make a coalition and to attack the Solarian Union. Therefore, the time-honored tools when dealing with international realpolitik were used—bribes and blackmail.

“You spent how much?!” He shouted when Max showed him the spreadsheet; he could hardly believe it. The amount of money spent on bribes was staggering, more billions than he would have liked to contemplate. In spite of that, as AI replied, “It’s only money, and getting an entire continent at that price—it’s a bargain.”

Regardless of the fact that for such insane amounts, he could have bought some small countries outright, and then some. The blackmail was morally wrong but necessary; it was essential to sway a majority of votes, and extensive secret files of the late ‘High Council’ provided all they needed. The movers and shakers on the top level of governance tended to be morally corrupt individuals. Where there was a sin, there was a weakness to exploit. Max even gave him a long lecture about realpolitik, and a few examples of unscrupulous things that were done in the past, yet, which brought substantial results.

Conversations (a.k.a. bribes and outright blackmail) were clandestine and conducted by Max. They usually went along the lines of: “Hey there, Mr. World leader, sir. We will keep your reprehensible secret if you do this little favor for us—vote yes. In addition, here is the carrot, think about your retirement and maintaining that extravagant lifestyle of yours. With this fat money transfer, all your worries will be swept away.”

The entire thing made Michael want to take a shower, to wash away that feeling of filth when he read through the files of a few individuals that were present in this very hall. The only consolation was that Max had all intentions to remove those rotten apples from the political stage, in the future. Most likely using The Truth Site he created for bringing exactly these sorts of people and their deeds to the light of public judgment. It was convoluted moral and ethical logic, but he understood that some things needed to be done out of necessity, and they never claimed to be paragons of righteousness in the first place.

The last nail was the public opinion, which Max so skillfully manipulated. The people of Earth were so riled up by the freebies that they were going to get, the whole deal ended up similar to shooting fish in a barrel. Even China had no choice but to accept, with so many of their people wanting to better their lives. Most of these world leaders were sent to the assembly with a clear message, ‘Bring home the bacon, or don’t bother returning at all.’ In the end—everyone loves freebies.

Michael was then led to an ornate table to the side of the speaker’s dais. They had already prepared a signing ceremony with a beautifully crafted contract; there were marked places for Michael’s signature, as a representative of the S.U., and for all members of the assembly. For the next hour, he had to sit there, smile when a representative of each country was called in to sign, sat beside Michael, and put his signature on the contract. An official photographer then took each individual’s picture to memorialize the moment. Michael wondered, given all these preparations, what would have happened if the deal fell through at the last moment.

In a few weeks, they planned to organize a grand ceremony, or a party if you will, where he would get to rub shoulders with all these people and their significant others. He dreaded that time, and wondered if he could send Jack or Ben, as a substitute; but knew that Elizabeth and Max would make him go to it personally.

There were still some wrinkles to iron out; like all the jobs that will be lost due to the new technologies. The Solarian Union was prepared to offer free training for new positions, for them to work in hundreds of conversion factories all over the world, which will be open soon. Everything in the world was designed to use conventional energy, and transferring would not be easy. The projection was that it would take at least ten years to make that transition. During that time, somewhat of a hybrid model would be used by utilizing systems that were already in operation. Companies that were working on electric vehicles climbed immediately on the bandwagon with great enthusiasm. The entire project would cost the S.U. a fortune and would have broken the bank if it weren’t for the abundance of metals and minerals in the asteroid belt that Max was mining, and which they would soon be selling.

Despite everything, not everyone was so happy about the deal, and naysayers were riled up. They didn’t want to give away a piece of land, even if most of them did not have the faintest clue where it was located. What’s more, those protests happened all over the world, mostly mixed with religious messages saying how humanity should remain on Earth, where God placed them in the first place. Several groups were opposed to life-extension therapy, screaming how the planet was already overpopulated and that more people should die sooner, rather than later. The world was filled with wackos, chronically disagreeing with anything that had popular backing. A famous photo was taken during one of those protests; ten people walking around with twenty signs; they couldn’t gather more participants to carry them. They doubled up, so it was funny in a sad way.

The moment an okay sign was given, Max started deploying construction probes all over Antarctica—filled with the nanites. He had sites for various projects already picked out in advance and was only waiting for the final vote. In the middle of the continent, a domed city would be built, as a central hub for all the S.U. activities on Earth. It would be like a giant skyscraper, miles in circumference. Similar to the new station, with many climate-controlled levels, except that the largest part would be under ice, right down to the bedrock below. From the surface, only the dome would be visible, but underneath will be enough space for every imaginable thing. At two miles of projected height, it had better be enough. It was the best solution Dr. Ross, and his think tank came up with, adjusted for Antarctica’s harsh weather.

One thing that needed to be done as soon as possible was a new immigrant-processing center in space. The problem was that more and more of their potential recruits were already influenced by the world’s security agencies. They must have noticed a pattern of disappearing individuals and thought to rig the game. It was insane to what lengths they would go to place spies in the S.U., and Max had already had enough. He tried to ask them nicely to stop, but it always fell on deaf ears. Even when he started to leak some of their closely guarded secrets to the press, as a warning, didn’t really help. It did lessen the pressure for a while; still, that kind of fanatical mindset wasn’t all too different from a terrorist one. They believed they were in the right, and nothing in the world was going to dissuade them from what they perceived as their duty. Sending two out of every ten recruits’ home was slowing down the process, so the decision was made for an expansion of their entire recruitment mission.

A large platform would be built in the Earth’s orbit, just a giant disk with a dome top. And the name was already chosen—Ellis platform. It will be the immigrant-processing center for the S.U., able to accommodate hundreds of applicants at the same time and as foolproof as Max and Ares could make it. From regular background checks to various scanners that would detect any concealed devices. Each applicant will have to go through a procedure, which was, in essence, a mind-reading session. He would sit in a booth while all his life signs would be read. Microexpressions, heart rate, pupillary dilation, even his brain will be constantly scanned by the equivalent of an MRI machine installed in the walls. Max guaranteed a 99% accuracy rate, and that was more than good enough for Michael. They needed to ensure the security of the S.U. since there were still many nations down here, which would gladly wipe them all out if that meant getting full access to all of their technology.

Finally, all his official duties were over, so he and his bodyguards boarded the transporter and went home.

***

Transporter 001

Destination: City-Ship Ascension

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Max asked from the holo-screen on the transporter’s canopy.

“You knew they were going to stretch this out as much as they could. My hand is cramped from all the handshaking, and my face hurts from all the polite smiling I had to do,” Michael grunted.

“Well man, you are the face of the Solarian Union, there are a few official responsibilities that come with that position,” the AI stoically said.

“Forget that, and start working on Jack so he could take over as an ambassador of the S.U., he’s way better at mingling with high brass anyway,” said Michael and tried to work the kinks out of his hand.

“Yeah, good lucky with that. Jack never liked rubbing shoulders with the top brass,” Tyron said.

Michael closed his eyes and deeply sighed. “I know, but I need to find someone, most of those people are no better than the ones we fought against.”

The big man smirked and returned to the novel he was reading on his tablet.

Leaning on the seat beside Michael was the contract, which was essentially a deed to the entire continent of Antarctica. For a moment, he wished again that his grandfather and father were alive, so that he could show them this piece of paper, and brag about the biggest property deed their family ever managed to acquire.

“If I have anything else on the agenda today, cancel it; I need to rest,” he said to the AI, in a tired voice.

“No problem, I’ll rearrange— “

The AI suddenly stopped talking, his image on the holo-screen frozen in a moment.

“Max… what’s going on?” Michael asked, a bit apprehensively, for it seemed his transporter driver had suffered a stroke.

The AI looked at him, with a self-satisfying smirk plastered on his face.

“I found it—the stasis chamber module—I know where it is.”