Pauline had turned white as a rag: "D... Destroy the NMWA?"
"Yes. There is no other way" Sobek replied without batting an eye.
Pauline felt sweat form on her forehead. She had expected a burdenso request... but that? Overthrow the organization that for centuries had prevented humanity from being plagued by useless wars? She felt like she was committing a cri. "Why?" she asked almost without realizing it.
"Because the NMWA is now irrecoverable. If we want to build sothing new, firr and fairer, we must first make it disappear"
Only then did Pauline realize that Sobek had a well-articulated plan in mind. "Could you explain to ?" she asked more confidently.
"Very simple. As I have already said, the NMWA is irrecoverable. Any reform that will undermine the power of the top nations will be eliminated imdiately. Internal change is impossible, so external change is needed" Sobek explained. "What I am asking of you, Pauline, is to create a new international organization, one which, unlike the other, will have a very solid regulation"
Pauline's eyes widened again. "Create an entire international organization? And how?"
"With what you humans love more than anything else: money" Sobek explained. "Jocelyne and I have been designing it for so ti. It is called the 'free market'. Imagine: how many nations would be willing to join your organization if trade within it were free and free from customs sanctions?"
Pauline's heart leapt. Even if a war were not in progress, nations would have made false papers to avoid paynts to customs. And now that the war was on and many people were starving, the possibility of free trade would have been too greedy a fish not to pursue.
Sobek knew it would work, because that sa pattern had already happened on Earth, with the advent of the European Union. "And if in addition to free trade, you also promised to solve the food problem?"
Pauline's mind was completely out of phase. Solve the food problem? With the ongoing war and extre famine, the nations would have flocked to her call like flies around a light! "Can you really do it?" she asked; the proposal seed too utopian to him.
"And how. I can and will, if you accept my terms"Sobek replied. "Here is what you have to do, Pauline: when you return ho, announce the creation of this new organization, guaranteeing free trade and the resolution of the food problem to anyone who joins it. However, to enter the nations will have to et the requirents, without exception, and will be expelled imdiately if they dare to violate them in the future"
Pauline nodded: "I think I understand where you want to go. The requirents you say will be to your advantage"
"No, Pauline, they will benefit everyone. Rember, I aim for coexistence, not domination" Sobek replied dryly. "The first requirent will be to have a rigid Constitution, or a state system that cannot be changed except with very complicated procedures and with the general approval of the people. In this way, we will avoid having to worry every ti there are elections and succession, because the new rulers will not be able to change the laws of their country too deeply. And certain articles must always be present in the Constitution"
Sobek held up a finger. "First, the nation in question repudiates any kind of war, except as a ans of defense for itself or its allies. In this way, no mber of the new organization will be able to start a war, but all mber states will intervene if only one is in danger due to a nation outside the organization. And in this way, even the war with the dinosaurs will beco a mory, because I can assure you, Pauline, that neither I nor any of my subjects want war, and we will never declare it to you unless you seriously oblige us"
"I understand. Very cunning" murmured the Queen of Prettania. She could well see the potential of this article: national defense would be guaranteed, but no one would have had the opportunity to make war on another if not for defense. In practice, unlike the NMWA which banned wars only for mber states, which led to the war with the dinosaurs, the new organization would never have a chance to declare war on anyone. The world would then have achieved true peace.
Sobek raised his second finger: "Second, the nation in question is committed to guaranteeing each citizen a sufficient amount of food to survive and a minimum-sized housing. As I have already told you, I will provide you with food, but by doing so I will have the guarantee that no human being will go hungry anymore. Anything other than food or small accommodation, be it cars, furniture, utensils or any other object, will need to be purchased with money obtainable by working. In this way, the production industry will not stop, but the problem of world hunger and holessness will be definitively solved"
At that request Pauline swallowed: "Lord… I an, Sobek… are you really sure that putting such a requirent is necessary? You said you will provide us with food, but we will in fact depend on you..."
"Not at all. I'll make sure you can independently produce the food you need. I've already told you, I'm not looking for domination, I'm looking for coexistence" Sobek replied, then narrowing his eyes: "And anyway, before the war your species produced more food on its own than it could consu. Even without my help you could fulfill this requirent"
Sobek said the last words with so harshness; the fact was, he hated that detail. Even on Earth, humans had been producing more food for decades than they could consu, but since food had to be paid for in money, millions of people were still starving, while only a small elite who got rich benefited from this economic regi. on the shoulders of others. Sobek was disgusted by this fact: rather than giving up that little extra inco, the rich of the Earth preferred to make millions suffer and die. And the sa thing happened on Eden. Sobek was intent on eradicating this plague once and for all, no matter how: comrcializing human life was the greatest cri ever committed by capitalism, and as such it had to be stopped.
Pauline seed to sense Sobek's state of mind, because she didn't say another word on the subject and instead shifted her attention to the conversation: "I understand. What else?"
Sobek composed himself. "Right, I'm sorry. Therefore, as a third requirent, there must be adjustnts to the state system of each nation, first of all the freedom of every citizen and the abolition of any form of oppression. And above all, power will have to be divided"
Pauline shook her head: "This goes against the principle of self-determination of peoples. I don't intend to"
"Nonsense. So in your view, if a dictator oppresses a nation and favors slavery, do we have to tolerate it because it is a problem of the people of that nation?"
Sobek's answer disturbed Pauline: "No, but..."
"So what's the difference? I am not asking you to impose the sa state order on all nations. Each nation will be free to choose its own, but it will have to respect certain values" Sobek explained. "Let's take the Great Republic of Beleriard. Here the freedom of citizens is guaranteed because they have the right to vote and to the active and passive electorate. Power is then divided between the legislative, chaired by the Parliant, the executive, chaired by Jocelyne and the Governnt, and the judiciary, chaired by the Judiciary. Now, let's imagine applying these rules to your nation, which is a monarchy instead. In the place of the president there would be the queen, who would form her governnt, but the governnt she ford should be subject to the trust of the Parliant, which would be composed of elected citizens, thus guaranteeing the principle of freedom. And supervising both of these bodies would be a group of judges who would make sure that the rules imposed on your Constitution are not violated. And I could give you many other examples of how nations could decide to change their legal systems, keeping their traditions intact but guaranteeing people their fundantal rights, and avoiding that a single man or a single state body gains too much power"
Pauline almost fainted in front of that speech. She had never thought of it this way. Indeed, this would not only have respected the principle of self-determination of the peoples, since they would have been the ones to choose how to structure their country, but would have ensured that the individual citizen was never deprived of her rights. Dictatorships would have beco impossible.
It seed incredible to her that she who proposed that revolutionary thod was a spinosaurus. Was she really an animal? Such argunts were high even for a human being...
"I guess you understand. Well, here's the last requirent" Sobek said. "Each nation will join three distinct bodies within our organization. The first body will be the Senate and will have the task of introducing new laws valid for all mber states. I will leave the thods for you to decide how to get the new laws passed, but I advise you to ask Jocelyne for advice on that: like , she too is dreaming of this world, and for years she has been studying a way to make the process as fair as possible, so that no nation imposes itself on the others"
"I will for sure" Pauline replied. "I imagine that the other two bodies will concern the executive and judicial power"
"Precisely. The latter will be chaired by a Court of judges carefully selected for their skills, and will have the task of supervising all nations to comply with the laws imposed by the organization's system, those imposed by the Senate, and finally that they follow the directives taken by the guardian of the executive power, or the Council. The latter will choose how to apply the laws decided by the Senate and how to behave in the face of certain international problems... such as, for example, the question of the dinosaurs" said Sobek. "I trust that, if you accept, the first Council of this organization will support my ideal of coexistence. I am more than certain that John Hammond will be happy to help you in this regard"
Pauline sighed: "Is that all?"
"That's all"
Pauline realized that the conversation was over for Sobek. Now the decision was up to her alone.
In a way, she wanted to create this new organization. She had the prospects of being more efficient, steadfast and confident than the now decadent and corrupt NMWA. Humanity could have experienced a new period of splendor.
On the other hand, however, the NMWA's reply frightened her. How would they react? She doubted they would stand still and watch their power vanish, especially the superpowers.
Suddenly sothing occurred to him… sothing that she, she soon guessed, Sobek had already calculated. If he had accepted, the NMWA would hardly have moved against her. This is because to do so he had to start a war... but the Kingdom of Niger was one of those countries that possessed the secret of nuclear power!
The four superpowers were so bold because the dinosaurs did not have nuclear power, so from their point of view they could not have reacted to their attack. But the Prettania Kingdom, on the other hand, had nuclear power! Going to war with the Prettania Kingdom ant risking being bombed with atomic bombs!
In practice, the NMWA could not have repeated with the Prettania Kingdom what it had done with the Great Republic of Beleriard. There would be no occupation. It would have been a war of propaganda and words... but with the famine and the crisis, Pauline knew that many nations would line up alongside her. Indeed, perhaps the ilong Republic, which already had doubts, would have chosen to support the new organization as soon as she realized the potential. And again, the Gardarikian Federation and the Confederate States of Vinland were democracies, at least on paper, so it was possible that soone in favor of the new organization would co to power in the next elections... and being a queen, Pauline knew how to influence the politics of another country.
The greatest risk, in fact, would co from the Almagna Empire, whose emperor was a hothead... but Pauline was sure that the other superpowers would keep him on a leash. After all, no one was hoping for a war between nations both possessing the atomic bomb.
Pauline realized that the creation of a new international organization could be the key to averting the nuclear disaster! Before, the four superpowers would have avoided the war to avoid being bombed, and so slowly she would have incorporated them one by one into the new organization, until the Almagna Empire, which remained in the minority, had no choice but to surrender. And since the requirents to join the organization would have required a repudiation of the war, then the war with the dinosaurs would also have ended without detonating a single atom.
Sobek's ideal of coexistence... could really co true.
"I think I have to discuss with Jocelyne. She will give detailed information on the type of organization you want to create" the queen said. "Give a few days to think about it"
But both Pauline and Sobek knew that the queen had actually already made her decision. "Go ahead. I don't intend to rush it" the spinosaurus replied good-naturedly. Neither of them said another word, each leaving to their own thoughts.
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