AmEarth

President Chen was very pleased with the nuclear detonation. His advisors had been right. The Earth had not been in danger. Now, all the detractors and disbelievers were in a tough position. He knew that he needed to seal the deal, so AmEarth would be respected. He summoned a meeting of the Joint Chiefs and called in his possible successor.

“Peter,” President Chen spoke to him in a serious tone.

“Yes, sir? Did you approve of my reporting?” Peter asked.

“Of course. It was fine, fine. I’m calling on the other matter.”

“What is that, sir?”

“The issue of succession that I mentioned.”

“Oh…well, my family is fine with it, and I’m still very honored and excited.”

“Good. When I became president, there was no choice or plan for the next one. We did not maintain the US system of elections, as that would jeopardize the continuity of the WPP and NASA’s benevolence. We have been careful not to politicize the actions of the defense of the Earth, so elections were suspended. Now, Essie is saying that the succession should be based on merit, arguing that humans should not elect via popularity or good looks or even political tendencies. Instead, the successor should be chosen by the data analysis. In other words, she will find the best person to keep AmEarth running smoothly.”

“And that’s me?”

“Frankly, yes. But it can’t be announced that you are suddenly the winner and replacement. Essie will select the top ten candidates and then a worldwide popular vote will elect the best candidate. Essie will insure you are singled as the top contender. I don’t expect that you will fall out of favor with her anytime soon, but the process will familiarize humanity with ten candidates, then three or four favorites, and finally the chosen successor. This way, by the time you become the next supreme president, the Earth will be ready for my departure and your arrival.”

“But I might still not be the president, right? I mean, there is a chance that the popular vote might leave me out?”

“Yes, but that’s highly unlikely. In fact, Essie can’t seem to find people with your level of recognition in public service, meaning that you have reached the entertainer level. Only well-known actors, sportsmen, and rock stars rank above you in terms of recognition level.”

“Mr. President, may I be candid?”

“Surely.”

“Do you know how long a president’s tenure will be?”

“No. Essie will be calling the shots from here on out. It will be best that you don’t know, in line with the rest of the world. You will have no reason to change your priorities due to the end of your tenure, and so forth. It is akin to being a king, but the interests of AmEarth will be inseparable from your own interests. You might serve until your death or for only a year. We cannot know. I spent the latter part of this decade designing this program. If a better suited person arrives on the scene, the computer might begin to track this individual and then make the decision to begin a successor process.”

“Are we leaving everything up to Essie?”

“No; there is the Supercomputer Committee, of which I am the chairman, but we do respect the findings. After all, we wouldn’t have ministers from around the globe working in New York had it not been for the solution that Essie found to political integration. Essie can manage an enormous amount of information that no human could possibly control, and it has guided AmEarth toward the best use of the world’s resources. Yes, it has made some humans immensely rich, while some are still not living that well, but the purpose is for improvement—the gradual improvement of all. Essie has deciphered that capitalism is the best system for growth, and we agree that the American Way works. However, it is also benevolent and has prevented most of the world’s ills from the past, like famine and disease, not to mention war. Overall, it has worked to improve AmEarth and our lives.”

“So the president just follows her directives?”

“Kind of. We ask her what to do and plug in the parameters of our desired outcomes, and she helps us to make decisions. Say you want to help Sri Lanka, for some reason; perhaps you think it has been neglected or that they have something new to contribute. As president, you have the power to request a computer review of Sri Lanka’s assets and plug in the new parameters. Imagine that they have discovered a new flower with a new aroma. Well, Essie would guide you to make directives that would regulate the planting of said flower and the value of its resource so that it would not be manipulated by unregulated markets. Overnight, you could have a new industry in Sri Lanka. Maybe the press of AmEarth could run stories on the new scent, helping those citizens reach billions of consumers who wanted to experience the new smell. You see?”

“I do. That sounds fantastic.”

“If you think of the progress of AmEarth in the past two decades, you couldn’t call it anything other than fantastic. You have no idea of the power contained in the supercomputer. However, you won’t be able to run against it. If she determines a course that you oppose personally or morally, you won’t be able to stop her.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“It is. I’ve had to approve directives that I don’t support, but the outcome has been better than I imagined every time. Essie might steer you in a direction you disagree with, but she anticipates the reaction by the counterpart, and the threat is simply that…a threat. You see?”

“I guess she has learned to bluff.”

“Not exactly, but she has learned to anticipate moves. It’s more like chess than poker. We will start the succession effective immediately.”

“Excuse me?”

“We have begun the process already. Expect an announcement from me tomorrow at 1700 hours.”

Peter was in a state of shock, but all he could say was, “Yes sir.”

“And Peter, don’t forget that the communication skills you have are skills needed for the presidency. You are the physical embodiment of the AmEarth mission and the human voice of Essie’s directives. You’re not a traditional politician, vying for votes and pandering to the masses. You’re something more.”

President Chen clicked off the phone and left his office for his appointment with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Peter was stunned and confused. The succession pattern would now be computer-chosen and massaged for a public-approved yet computer-chosen outcome. He was not too happy with the idea that people could be so easily manipulated by Essie. This new presidency felt empty; not nearly as powerful as President Chen’s term had seemed. Having a Essie operating behind him with the objective of helping the “greater good” was not so bad, but considering that he couldn’t imagine what she would determine going forward, Peter was essentially like anyone else in AmEarth.

President Chen knew what to expect and how to manipulate it. The Joint Chiefs were celebrating in the conference room as the sun was setting on the New York skyline. The slightly drifting windows of the building’s thirty-ninth floor made the room look like it was turning along with the Earth. President Chen entered, and they all clapped for what seemed like minutes before he stopped them with a wave of his hand.

“Director Kanter, please give us your report,” President Chen said.

“We have detonated the thirty kiloton warhead over Poland at 600 kilometers above the surface. All the fallout remained in the exosphere, where no human will ever come into contact with its radiation,” Dr. Larry Kanter, director of NASA, explained.

“General Roberts, report.”

“We have seen diminished activity on subversive social sites. Our main focus in Eastern Europe has observed an immediate drop in participation at the rallies. Immediately after the explosion, a massive anti-AmEarth rally dissipated. Most people no longer doubt that aliens exist. We believe that subversive leaders will continue espousing these views, but most ears will be deaf to them. We’re going to determine who these leaders are and try and integrate them into society,” General Mark Roberts of the AmEarth Army reported.

“Good. Perfect.”

“Mr. President,” General Roberts said.

“Yes.”

“I just wanted to apologize for having doubted the operation. It was flawless. Your scientists were right on the mark.”

“No problem, your uncertainty was understandable. Nothing like this has ever been done before and we were all preoccupied.”

General Roberts was worried that he might be perceived as a threat to the inner core of AmEarth. The Joint Chiefs and the executive had a special relationship that relied heavily on Essie and her directives. He was, after all, one of twelve core members of the Supercomputer Committee. The top secret information contained within that committee was so sensitive that any minimal inkling of rebellion could be seen as treason.

Blind trust was not something with which any of these individuals were comfortable, but it was usually difficult to go against Essie’s directives, as they always seemed to work. Experience was making these men rely on Ser more and more, and their trust had not only yielded the greatest empire in history, but also an improvement for humans around the globe. It was hard to find a flaw with the system, although they all knew that there wauld be a scenario in which sSupe could fail. It was for this purpose that President Chen had created the committee to oversee the computer’s questions and answers. It would be important that this committee knew all the realities of AmEarth in a highly classified manner. The committee was composed of the five cChiefs o sStaff, Pesident Chen, two top NASA scientists/officials, the dDirectorof the NSA, and a man by the name of Sergio Ramirez-Bulatov. This last member was a brilliant art director whom President Chen had recruited to conceptualize and create the alien look and feel. These twelve people knew that AmEarth was founded on a lie; not about whether the aliexisted or not— – theistence of generic aliens was not in question—but rather the lie of contact and reciprocal aggression with them.

Essie was not located at the Shadow White House building. It was a sensitive issue to President Chen, and he knew that any threat directed toward AmEarth would probably be centered on New York, so he had placed the servers for her very far away. After all, it was the brain of AmEarth. As in any organism, President Chen had decided to place Essie at its head. To him, this should be far from the extremities—the cities. The computer needed a nice cold climate and a powerful satellite system to connect to the Internet, so the northern regions of Alberta, the former Canada, had been chosen. Deep in a concrete bunker, protected by a system of locks that Essie herself opened and closed, and powered by geothermal energy received from the earth beneath it. The work of the committee centered on fulfilling the directive of finding a new supreme president who did not know the reality of AmEarth. It was Essie’s solution to a problem that had vexed President Chen. The leader of the world must believe that the alien threat was real. Otherwise, he would need to avoid the media, as President Chen now did. It was a serious problem for AmEarth, because lying was difficult. It was not that President Chen couldn’t lie; he was actually quite good at it, but software programs in every police department could now detect facial lies. No one could outplay that technology without looking psychopathic.

AmEarth needed a Peter Johansen to maintain its continuity just as much as it needed aliens threatening the Earth. Without such a threat to galvanize public support, the viability of the AmEarth empire was impossible. Essie had prognosticated these necessities and had begun spewing directives to achieve this outcome.

“Gentlemen, we will begin my succession by announcing the ten candidates for the presidency of AmEarth tomorrow. Of course, you all know that whoever is chosen must not know the truth behind AmEarth, but must be open to following the directives. It will be a powerful position, but limited by Sssie to a great extent. I believe that the has selected Peter Johansen, so barring any popular backlash, he is slated to be the next AmEarth pPresdent. Any objections?” Pre

No one uttered a word. The imprimatur of Sssie was enough.

The work of Sergio Ramirez-Bulatov was not known to humanity. He was responsible for the appearance of the alien technology, its rockets, computer chips, and the physiology of the aliens themselves. Of course, no alien had ever come to Earth, but humans had “received” images of them and had “sent” their own. The images received by these “aliens” had to have a completely different environment. To mask the problem of a reality that would involve many workers and potential leaks, Sergio had created a low-resolution solution.

His aliens were out-of-focus dark brown creatures that seemed to live in round rooms where they floated. President Chen had sketched the idea of a society in which advanced creatures would be self-reliant and alone. Sergio had come up with the idea of a large amniotic-like sac that kept the aliens happy, each like a child in the womb. This image was easy to manipulate with different size aliens having different features, unclothed and happy—always in a similar space. The insularity of the housing avoided the problem of having to show the planet or its fauna, and mankind seemed to accept this. It was a point brought up only by the alien deniers, but as issues grew, so did the solutions. In one episode, President Chen had asked Sergio to show a peek of the planet by permitting a slit of a round room to allow the exterior in. Sergio had created a sky with a red sun and large puffy pink clouds that did not allow the horizon to be seen. It was an abstract image that quelled deniers, as it showed a different size sun with a different quality of light.

Sergio Ramirez-Bulatov had been discovered by President Chen and vetted by Sssie as the perfect candidate for this delicate task. He had been born to a Russian mother and a Mexican father. His parents had divorced when he was thirteen because his father was an incorrigible cheater. His mother’s brother had been a famous Russian graphic artist turned pop artist by the gallery system back in the 1990s. His father was a Mexican entrepreneur who ran bars and discos and who could charm a ladybug into marrying a scorpion. Sergio had studied art in London before working in New York, and was recruited into New Zealand’s Weta studios at the turn of the century by filmmaker Peter Jackson. He had worked at Weta and had become involved with Robbie Taylor, the daughter of the duo owners, Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger, essentially ending his career. He had been fired by Mr. Taylor on the basis of an old trick used to fire art directors he no longer wanted— -mely adding retardant to latex so that a project was late to set. Through no fault of his own he was out of work, and without knowing that his dismissal had been unjust, he had tried his luck at many careers and had attempted to continue his relationship. He had worked odd jobs, but eventually had to leave New Zealand because there was simply no reason for an art director to be on the island unless he was working for Weta. His relationship had failed, and he’d entered a mild depression. It was at this point that , whadresidet of AmEarth had called him.

Recruited by President Chen to create a body of work that could have no signature, he had essentially traded all of the rewards of individual fame for immense fortune and a position on the most powerful committee on Earth. The blow from being fired from Weta, plus his parents’ divorce, had yielded the perfect personality that President Chen and Essie needed. Sergio was quiet, hardworking, and a loner. He crafted and sculpted in completely secluded warehouses and only opened the loading dock to deliver his work directly to NASA director Larry Kanter.

Unknowingly, his work could in itself be a clue to be used against the system. He had created the artwork as originally as he possibly could, but any creation is always a representation of its artist. Of course, this could only be done by people who were familiar with his work, and those were few. His mother could recognize the work, but she swore that she would be quiet, and he kept her in regal conditions—she wouldn’t risk losing her only source of income. If he was outed as the creator of the Keplerian race, AmEarth would think that he himself had leaked the news, which would constitute treason—the only offense punishable by death. His only comfort was that he worked completely alone. No one other than President Chen and NASA knew the whereabouts of his studio, and he did all of the work himself. The first set of artifacts he crafted with extreme precision and where sent to the Smithsonian Museum as the true originals.

Ramirez-Bulatov then proceeded to make a multi-million orb empire because his companies held the rights to fabricate all of the replicas of the aliens for sale to museums, schools, and universities. He would make these a grade lower in quality so they looked fake, this way keeping the Smithsonian works looking authentic. He also received a handsome paycheck for being on the supercomputer committee. ecause Ramirez-Bulatov had invented and designed the aliens it was important to keep the source material from other manufacturers, otherwise the risk was high that they could detect foul play. His empire of replicas was anonymously held through shield corporations and the name most people knew for where these products came from was Roberta, LLC.