Federation, page 11
‘Well, paying would make it happen quicker,’ said President Spence.
‘Why should the quality of your health depend on the extent of your wealth. We are all equally wealthy and equally healthy here.’
‘Or we would say you are equally poor,’ said Yol Spence, folding his arms defensively.
‘Explain. What do you think I don’t have that more afeds could give me?’ said a fifth local person in quite an angry manner.
‘Opportunity to travel and to be educated in the best universities and to have the most luxurious possessions, to move to a more desirable location and so on,’ said the President.
‘Sir, I can live wherever I wish, and I went to the best university for which I was qualified. Money should have nothing to do with education. That’s daft!’
‘There must be a better house you know of somewhere else where you’d prefer to live!’
‘Perhaps so, but why would I want to give away my spare time to get the extra afeds to buy that house. It is time which is a living being’s most precious resource. Is time not important to Earth people? We spend it doing whatever we wish, not just to earn more afeds.’
‘I think we’ll need to differ on this,’ said the President and he walked away from his table muttering, ‘They’re all a bunch of commies,’ under his breath.
‘Where have you all been this year? Travelling, I mean,’ asked President Toscano.
‘We’ve had four weeks in Csohjvup just a short while ago and are going to Arlucian, the capital of the Federation, for two weeks to see some of the famous shows, later in the year. That’s enough for me in a year without disrupting the children’s education. I would miss my hobbies if I was away longer,’ said the citizen called Yol Djsot.
The second citizen said, ‘I like being at home and teaching the children. They are only young for so few years. It is lovely to live through it with them and we’ll do our travelling when they’re older.’
‘Same with me,’ said a third, ‘but we did go to Orbit Seven earlier in the year for some zero-gravity fun.’
‘That must be very special for you after living in this heavy gravity,’ said Prime Minister Grange.
‘Well, this gravity is normal for us, I suppose. We don’t feel heavy when we’re at home, but zero-gravity is fun for all people, I think.’
‘I’ve reached the age where I no longer have to carry out community service, so we go for holidays several times each year,’ said an older woman.
‘Tell me,’ said President Toscano, ‘how do you feel about having your surplus afeds taxed and removed by government each year?’
A fourth citizen said, ‘Most of us tend to ensure we’ve bought anything special we’ve needed so that the surplus is minimal, and you can keep up to A5,000. It is part of our system though and helps ensure good roads, infrastructure, health and education. No one begrudges it and you can get dispensation to keep the surplus if you have a special project or trip planned in the next few years.’
‘How often do the annual number of afeds you receive change?’ asked Melanie Grange.
‘Most years there is a balancing exercise raising or lowering the income by a few percent. It is usually an increase and is above inflation.’
‘And the age for retiring from community service gets shorter too, which opens up more opportunity to travel.’
‘What proportion of your life is subject to community service?’ asked Melanie Grange.
‘About a third.’
‘To put that in Earth terms, Ya Grange,’ I said, ‘currently you’d retire at age forty-five. It drops by a year about each decade. One day it will be gone forever and no one will need to do any community service.’
‘That’s amazing,’ said Prime Minister Grange. ‘So, from that point on in your life you just live off your income and contribute nothing?’
‘Except the end of year balancing exercise, no,’ I said.
One of the group said, ‘There was that period of five or six years when I was younger, about twelve years ago. Income went down by quite a chunk the first year and by a small amount the five years which followed.’
‘What caused that?’ asked President Toscano.
‘Wasn’t that the Rostern Empire thing?’ one of them said, rhetorically.
‘A war?’ asked President Spence, who had eventually returned to the conversation, but always seemed to have a negative slant to his queries.
‘Oh no. Nothing like that. What was it all about?’
An older citizen spoke, ‘Yes, it was the Rostarn Empire. Fourteen years ago.’
‘But what caused the downturn?’ asked President Spence, seemingly glad that there was something which had failed in the system.
The older person continued, ‘The Fed found an empire on the northern boundary and they decided to join us. Their planets were much poorer, and it cost the Federation a lot to bring them up to our standard.’
‘How big was the empire?’ asked Prime Minister Grange.
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said the old person, ‘lots of planets.’
I decided to cut in to the conversation, ‘The Rosteran, not Rostarn, Empire comprised nearly a thousand worlds and it was a severe drain on the Federation, incorporating them into our economic system.’
‘So, old man, how do you feel about having to pay for those people to help them become as wealthy as you, but at a considerable cost to yourselves and everyone else in the Federation?’ asked President Spence, as if he was winning a major point.
‘We are all people. I am only too happy to help them. Because it was spread over everyone in the entire Federation, it was only a tiny percentage really and soon forgotten. It had no real effect on our family’s lifestyle. We didn’t want for anything and it meant there were new planets to visit,’ he said.
‘We also gained a lot of technology from them,’ I said, ‘and we used it regularly to travel at extraordinary speeds within atmospheres without causing disruption to weather and winds. Some of you have experienced that on Earth using our shuttles. That was Rosteran technology.’
‘And are they all now earning the same as here?’ asked President Spence.
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘but they are still providing fifteen per cent of their time on community service, about twenty hours per week, because some planets still needed a lot of mechanisation. Earth will be a similar drain on the Federation, but we’ll hardly notice the cost of a single new planet joining. A thousand planets, however, well, yes, that did hurt. I believe they’ll be down to the usual ten per cent within a decade and it is reducing each year.’
‘Why didn’t you just help them technologically to improve in their own time?’ asked the US President.
‘At a small cost to everyone over a few years, we were able to help them reach our standards far more quickly. The Federation always puts the citizen before anything else,’ I replied.
The questions went on most of the afternoon and were mainly on the same theme. President Spence either kept quiet or asked very negative questions, so much so that I felt it needed special mention in my report. The following is a page of the report I sent to Yol Slindo Merofort for the Ambassador that evening.
[I felt it was better to show a segment of the actual report rather than incorporate it into the storyline. It becomes relevant at a later time. RBB]
4
and I’ll send each of those as attachments.
I’m becoming increasingly concerned that Yol Jack Spence has a very negative approach to everything to do with the Federation, particularly the economic system and the health, education, and other benefits to our citizens.
Being careful how I have phrased the questions, I have discovered from the other leaders with us that there is a political system called Communism and another, less radical, called Socialism. Both are anathema to the United States of America, and this is pretty clear from Yol Spence’s questions and statements. Our economic system has similarities.
I understand the Capitalist system which operates on the Earth, but his principles seem to be from a very severe wing of that economic model. I feel that he would rather someone be hurt than to try to help them to improve themselves. He also looks with disdain at people’s enjoyment of their time with their families and hobbies,
5
almost as if he wants to punish them into working on things in which they have no interest. As if working up to fifty per cent of their time on something boring has merit because it allows them to get the benefits quicker, which would be freely given by our system over perhaps a longer period. Apparently working fifty per cent of the time is not unheard of on Earth – eighty hours per week! Many work into their seventies too.
I think the bulk of this arises from the lack of mechanised production on Earth. While human beings are having to work in factories and in the fields of farms to produce sufficient goods for the system, they cannot be enjoying the benefits of mechanisation.
Kind regards,
Ja Ruud
15 Flagship
[Taken from Yol Slindo Merofort’s notes and videos. A charming aside which he recorded while on the Ronoi. RBB]
‘And what’s Daro been up to?’ Slindo asked the viewer which hovered before him.
On the screen, two slim female Purrs were in view. One on a couch and the other hanging from a bright yellow framework behind, with a child swinging on her free arm.
Another small blue face popped into view, upside down on the left of the screen, ‘Nothing. Haven’t done nothing!’ he cried.
‘And I’m supposed to believe that, am I?’ asked Slindo.
‘Honest, Dad.’
‘He’s being very good, Slin. He’s too worried you won’t bring him that teddy bear from Earth, so he’s been on extra special good behaviour,’ Eloo said, fishing Daro into her arms as he tried to throw himself from one side of the frame to the other.
They all laughed.
‘How’s it going, Slin?’ asked Viro, the other wife.
‘There are problems. Difficult to say, really. Biggest problem is that they are not unified. The first thing we must achieve is a single leader we can talk to, or a small committee at the worst, but at the moment, with few exceptions, each part of this world seems to have only flimsy relationships with any other.’
‘Teddy bear,’ cried Daro.
‘Shush, we’re talking,’ said his mum, pulling him into her chest. The miniature blue ape struggled to free himself and leapt back on to the frame, where he was immediately pursued by Rindo, the other child. They vanished off screen in a rolling tangle of blue limbs encased in an explosion of laughter.
‘I’d better go. This lady I’m with is likely to be leader of this world eventually. I must go and prepare her for the next world we’re to visit. Love you all,’ said Slindo and he cut the QE connection.
««o»»
‘Garincha, you got the documents from our ambassadorial support teams, especially that of Yol Ruud?’ asked Yol Merofort, settling back into his comfortable chair with a glass of drindle.
The ambassador flicked through the notes. Ya Mistorn read them over her shoulder. The ambassador drank from her glass, ‘Yes, Slindo, these don’t look good. What are we getting wrong?’
‘As I see it, they are all suspicious of the Federation’s economic system and are concerned that they are going to be worse off if they join us. Some of them, however, have a further problem. They see our system as eroding their own personal power. Yol Spence is a good example, but many of the leaders, including the more reasonable ones like Yol Hood and Ya Meunier, have an element of the same distrust. We need to find a way to counter this.’
‘Ha ha! Maybe they actually want to remain poor and working most of their lives to survive!’ said Ya Mistorn, flying from Ya Moroforon’s shoulder to the terasco, upon which she stroked a short haunting melody with a depressing bass climax.
The Ambassador said, ‘It does seem strange that they prefer to work long hours rather than receive a sensible income for doing what interests them. Call in Bod Herodeen, Slindo.’
The powder blue ape spoke a few words into his wristwatch.
‘He’ll be here shortly.’
‘Slindo, do we need to demonstrate how actual Earth industries could be mechanised?’ asked Ya Moroforon.
‘They have all been viewing industrial areas of the planets they’ve been visiting. We’ve answered questions and discussed the systems with all of them, but it still lodges in their minds as something we do, but they can’t,’ said Slindo. ‘I have a feeling much of it might come down to individual wealth. They seem less interested in the bulk of the population having an improved lifestyle than the problems wealthy individuals who own profitable businesses might cause them when they’re told their income source is about to stop.’
‘We can always mitigate that over a few years,’ said the Ambassador.
‘They have a sense they are losing something, yet even the wealthiest Earth business owner will have an adequate income plus a graduated extra amount to cover their shock. It falls on deaf ears,’ said Yol Merofort.
There was a chime from the door and Yol Herodeen entered, a tall, slender humanoid enfolded in a blue and red robe which had a feature of a thick, oversized, velvet collar in a contrasting magenta.
‘Thanks for coming, Bod. Would you like a glass of drindle?’ asked the Ambassador.
‘Thank you, Ya Moroforon,’ he said.
A drinks-bot trundled across the room and delivered a measure of drindle, in a heavy cut glass tumbler, to Yol Herodeen who settled into an armchair.
‘What impression are you getting from Ya Okafor and the leaders who are travelling on the flagship for their visits?’ asked the Ambassador.
‘As you know, we have broken the seven of them into two groups of three with Ya Okafor alternating between each. Yol Mahmood, Egypt, Ya Eze, Nigeria and Yol Ahmadi, Iran, seem enthralled with the mechanisation they’ve been seeing. Yol Yamata, Japan, Ya Sillic, Croatia, and Yol Janssen, Netherlands, less so. Ya Okafor, herself, seems very open to all aspects of the Federation,’ said Yol Herodeen.
‘So, why aren’t the last three impressed by the factories?’ asked Yol Merofort. ‘That last one yesterday had more than sixty products in production at the same time. What is there for them to not like?’
‘I think it is suspicion,’ Yol Herodeen said. ‘You must remember that if they move all their production to automated factories, the people will suddenly have no use for their expertise and knowledge. I think part of it is a fear of how that will be explained to their populations, especially Yol Yamata and Yol Janssen.’
‘Yes, I see,’ said the Ambassador.
‘But surely they must see the sense of freeing up their citizens’ time. Surely no one would prefer to make gadgets rather than being able to indulge their own hobbies?’ asked Ya Mistorn.
'It is different with the two leaders of Islamic countries, Yol Mahmood and Yol Ahmadi. I think there may be religious worries behind the scenes, and I've noticed how they've kept themselves apart from the others,' said Yol Herodeen.
‘Did you know they pray to their god several times a day?’ asked Ya Mistorn.
‘Really?’ asked Ya Moroforon.
‘Yes. I’ve watched them,’ she said as she flew back from the terasco to hover behind the Ambassador.
‘Garincha, I think we ought to spend some time alone with Ya Okafor, on a more informal basis and talk through the problems,’ said Yol Merofort.
‘Set it up, Slindo. After tomorrow’s visit. In here. Where are we tomorrow?’
‘Dabrune, it’s the transition world,’ said Ya Mistorn.
««o»»
[The following is taken from Paula Wilson's diaries again, with occasional reference to Yol Merofort's notes. RBB]
I had to pinch myself each time we disembarked. This time we were on a planet called Dabrune. They had only been members of the Federation for two years so were very much in a transition phase.
Today Perfect was with Yol Merofort, Yol Herodeen, Prime Minister Yamata, President Sillic and Prime Minister Janssen. Our shuttle detached itself and within a few seconds we were preparing to step onto the surface.
What an extraordinarily colourful world. Absolutely beautiful. The shuttle hovered behind us and we were standing on what looked, for all the world, like a seaside esplanade, but the scene gave the impression it had been painted by numbers though only after someone had shaken the palette.
In the far distance, were some islands. They sat low in the water and were a subdued, flaxen, fawn, latte, and marigold. The softness of the warm orangey colours was not untypical of distant objects in a landscape, but their outlines and shapes seemed somehow, gentle, delicate, welcoming. I thought immediately that if I were walking on them, the texture underfoot would be of velvet.
What set them off was, of course, the sea. Between the beach and the islands lay, maybe, five miles of pale, liquid amethyst, sprinkled with waves comprising plum swells and the palest crests. It was breathtaking.
The blush pink foamy waves slipped landwards up the beach, carrying the sound of tumbling gravel as if in some romantic movie. Even the multi-coloured pebbles themselves looked unreal. Had they, perhaps, been painted individually in all the shades of brown and gold which could ever be conceived?
As we stood on the contrasting dull slate tarmac of the esplanade, everyone in the party was silent, looking, mouths open, at the scene. The stillness lasted only a few seconds when the trance was broken by the sound of a dozen camera shutters, real or electronic. Everyone was taking photographs and talking in hushed tones about how amazing the tableau was.
I took a number of photographs myself and, for sure, one of them would adorn my lounge forever and a day. I never wanted the first sight of this world to fade from my memory.
A vehicle approached. An open fifteen-seat carriage, being driven by, presumably, a couple of Dabrunians. One stayed behind the driving wheel while the other stepped down and came over to meet us. Yol Merofort took his appendage, turned to us and said, ‘This is Ya Errofin and her driver is...’
‘He is Yol Drayk. Welcome to Dabrune and also to Stat, the town,’ said the creature in a wistful-sounding musical voice, which rose and fell melodically with each syllable.
