I rolled my eyes, "It’s funny, but Dad, I’m serious, do not put that on social dia."
"Then how am I supposed to get more followers on the United Earth Concord Facebook page!"
"Really? Tell you didn’t. Plus, do people still use Facebook these days?"
"Of course, they do! I’m getting tens and tens of views on my personal page." Dad smiled and winked, "Of course I didn’t create a Universal Earth Concord Facebook page, King Tim! My boss, the King, doesn’t give enough ti off for that..."
"And if that’s how you’d use that ti off, he never will!" I replied, with a wry smile.
Aside from this incident, however, out effort made it clear to the Russians that it was pointless to try to launch further attacks. Equipnt and weapons would either be summarily destroyed or presented as a gift to the enemy. Personnel would sohow, find themselves suddenly deep within Russian territory with no idea how they got there.
The other thing that was made clear was that the UEC possessed either magic or so technological breakthrough that amounted to teleportation that seed to have no limit in the scope of its operation. While the CIA had strongly suspected this already based on the circumstance under which we extracted their man from El Modelo Prison in Colombia, now it was confird and widespread news.
With the Russians physically removed from Ukraine, President Dovzhenko imdiately signed on to the United Earth Concord becoming the first nation to official join, xico followed almost imdiately deciding that my earlier pressures and the example of Ukraine were too much. Guatemala rapidly completed the Legislative hearings and passed the bill to beco a mber. The bill was sent to President Arroyo for his signature. I decided to visit him directly, in my adult-form android, to talk about his thoughts on the matter.
I was going to use my usual modus operandi and use LITV to appear in so secluded location where I could arrive unseen and then just walk over from there. As I started to prepare though, it occurred to that the world had realized that sothing like teleportation had to be involved in the mass disappearance and reappearance of Russian soldiers from Ukraine. So there was really no point in hiding it.
I knew now that I didn’t need any actual equipnt or technology, since Joe could just manipulate the sa quantum forces required by an act of his universal will, but it felt more independent to use the chanism integrated to my android instead of asking him. It included an interface to determine the spatial coordinates in a very large number of dinsions from my visualization and understanding of the desired destination along with a confirmation process and safety constraints that would prevent from encasing myself in granite or boiling lava or anything other than air or vacuum for that matter. It was possible, even with living creature to do it, but required several rounds of safety over-ride approvals. If sothing already occupied the space the newly arrived person or item occupied, then it would be swapped with whatever was being moved. The volu so moved would correspond to the size of the LITV container being used. The one integrated in my android body was like a cramped phone booth size, just a couple inches above my head height. So, if I wanted to, I could transport into the middle of a clock of stone with a tiny rectangular air pocket, with a corresponding rectangle of granite appearing where I had been. In practice, my volu was usually replaced only by the air from wherever I went. This was mostly unnoticeable but occasionally resulted in odd slls being left in my wake when I departed.
Anyway, I don’t want to bore you with the little detail stuff that catches my interest. Since the cat was out of the bag with the Russian intervention, I used my LITV to appear directly in the Guatemalan Presidential Palace entrance hall. This had the unforeseen effect of startling the Presidential Guards who stood sentry duty inside. They quickly levelled assault rifles in my direction, ordering to the floor in Spanish. I raised my hands overhead and out to the sides fingers spread to show no weapons. One rushed over to , after stowing his rifle beside the other guard. Handcuffs ready, then we saw each others’ faces. It was one of the guards I had t on a previous visit with Arroyo, I could not rember his na, but I recognized his face. He clearly recognized mine, because he stopped in his tracts about four feet away. "Mister Bailey?"
"Yes. I’m sorry for the sudden appearance, I really didn’t think it through..." I shrugged. "I’m here to see President Arroyo. He’s not expecting . I guess I should have called or sothing."
He stared at wide-eyed, shaking his head back and forth slightly as if not believing his own senses. Finally, he recovered enough to process my words. He looked down at the handcuffs in his hand and seed startled to find them there, imdiately clipping them back into a pocket on his belt. He looked back up to , "You’ll have to wait a minute until we get so orders. Please wait right here, Mr. Bailey." He took several steps backward keeping his eyes on . Once he had a little more distance, he reached for the radio clipped to the front of his left shoulder. He pressed a button and explained the situation to soone on the other end who asked him to repeat it, then asked for another repetition before there was a period of silence. Probably the guy on the other end was trying to figure out how to react.
The silence and the wait extended for nearly four minutes, with the Presidential Guard and I looking back and forth at each with increasingly apologetic looks, and little shrugs, silently apologizing for causing this whole awkward situation and him apologizing for the delay.
Finally a door at the far end of the entrance hall burst open and Arroyo’s personal secretary rushed out, glanced around and headed straight for , motioning the second Presidential Guard to put his rifle away. Noticing my hands in the air, he shot an irritated look at the two guards, and said, "Mr. Bailey, please lower your arms. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding." He reached out both hands to shake my hand, one to clasp my hand and the other placed over the top of my hand as we shook.
"No, no, they’re doing their job correctly. I don’t think you want to encourage them not to challenge unexpected intruders in the Presidential Palace, do you?"
The secretary smiled and laughed, "No, I guess not. What brings you here today?"
"I was hoping to discuss the UEC bill the Congress passed this morning with President Arroyo."
"Well, I’m sorry, but he is very busy at this mont having a cup of coffee and standing on the back veranda, enjoying the morning sun." He laughed. "I’ve let him know you are here. He will et you in his office now if you like."
"Yes, that would be great. Sorry, I should have called first."
"Well, you ’re here now..." He gestured for to head toward the door from which he had erged a mont earlier. We walked through and down a couple of hallways through another set of doors with another Presidential Guard sentry and finally to the President’s office.
He was seated at his desk when I walked in, holding a cup of coffee. He set it down and gestured for to sit in the chair opposite his desk. "I think I can guess what you’re here to talk about," he said.
"Well, let’s talk then. The UEC asure was passed this morning, what do you intend to do?" I ask.
"Straight to the point, as always," Arroyo said with a smile. "That was quite so trick you pulled off in Ukraine."
"Well, you know, I do what I can to help." I shrugged noncommittally.
Arroyo’s smile deepened, "Yes. Well, I will be equally plain. My decisions will rest on your answer to one question. I guess you probably used the sa tricks here that you used in Russia to so extent. I wonder, though, why you decided to kill the gang mbers invading Guatemala from Chiapas and so others here, but simply relocated the Russians with minimal casualties."
I frowned. "Zero casualties," I said pointedly, "just because they decided not to report in and the Russian governnt can’t find them, doesn’t an I killed anyone."
"As you say, but you certainly killed people here. In so cases, piling bodies on the steps of the Palace of Justice in grueso fashion. A markedly different approach." Arroyo put his coffee down on the desk, and leaned forward, "Why was that, Timothy Bailey of the United Earth Concord?"
I paled and kind of felt a little sick as his description of my actions. It was true though. I did order those things. At the ti, I suppose, in part I wanted to make a point to the cartels, but I also had fewer resources available, and I didn’t want to show my hand with technology. All these excuses ran through my head to justify my actions.
"I will be honest, Mr. President. What I did in Guatemala was a mistake, an error in judgent by soone without the experience and patience to make a wiser choice at the ti." My eyes were downcast, looking at the front edge of his desk. I didn’t want to see what he thought of now. "I would do it differently today, if I could wind back ti and change the past. What I did here was painful to then, and completely unacceptable to today, but I did it. I accept responsibility for my actions. I could offer excuses, like they were all intent on committing violence and murder, or I had fewer resources at my command to choose other options, and the pressing ti urgency of the situation, but those would be excuses I used to myself at the ti. Today, my answer is that it was a mistake born of inexperience, lack of patience, and laziness. I should have taken enough ti to find better solutions and think the entire scenario out before I even began to interfere here, but I convinced myself that I had to act fast to save people dying every day at the hands of the cartels and drug pushers. Yet, I knew people were and are still dying of violence in Sudan or Yen and a hundred other places every day, and I still haven’t acted there yet.
"Guatemala seed like an easy nexus for my plans, and I rushed right in, not as well prepared as I should have been. I apologize to you, to the people of Guatemala, xico, and elsewhere for my actions here. I was wrong."
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