Plus We Have a Motorcade [Thursday, February 20, 2014,1st period]

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh was talking quietly with a blonde woman and a dark haired man at the front of the classroom as the students arrived. He'd even offered the guests coffee (which Gert had fetched) because that's the nice guy Josh was, provided he didn't actually have to do anything.

"Hey everyone," he said when the students arrived. "I know you're all currently dreaming of Bali, but I wanted to show you that attending a school where you're taught baking by a giant pink pony and your hypothetical future children leap through portals to stop by for a weekend won't kill you politically. Meet Peter Wiggin and Natalie Adams, or if you already know them, say hello again. Peter dropped out of school here and is now running his version of Earth with the capabale assistance of Natalie, and they're both here to tell you a bit about their jobs and if they have a motorcade and their own airplane. You know, important stuff."

He led the class in applause, then took a seat in one of the student desks.

Comments

Re: Speech, Speech!

[lockestheway]

Peter had come here largely because he was tired of getting lectured about his image by his PR people, if he was crushingly honest. But he wouldn't be, so there was that.

"My name is Peter Wiggin," he said, "As your teacher has already indicated, I left this school last year after winning the election for Hegemon. I did so at a time when the office is actually diminishing in power due to changes in the circumstances surrounding the human race - but that doesn't mean my work has lessened in importance."

Or at least he put significant effort into being perceived as if it hadn't.

"The Hegemony was instated many decades ago, after we had experienced attacks from another species. We realized that in order to weather future attacks, we would have to unite all international militaries under the same umbrella. To facilitate the enormous infrastructure that was now required, they set up a political entity that would oversee certain areas of government."

He cleared his throat. "Much as you can see in the European Union of this time, though, it's easy for these kinds of institutions to grow, especially if there's a need for it. Quickly, we wound up with a triumvirate - the Hegemon, political leader of the world, the Strategos, the leader of all Earth-based forces, and the Polemarch, which commanded our space navy."

"The idea behind the Hegemony was that it dictated certain policies that were important on a global scale, such as the two-child policy. Because we were trapped on Earth, we lacked resources for a larger population than the one we had. Families were restricted to an amount of children that would replace but not grow our population."

"But something changed shortly before I became Hegemon," Peter continued. "The alien threat was defeated for good. As a result, the various states of Earth began to assert their independence again, since the original need for a Hegemony had been eliminated."

"That doesn't mean we've stopped being necessary. In fact, I'd argue we're needed more than ever. It's easy to keep the peace when everyone is afraid - it's a lot harder when the fear vanishes. As Hegemon, I broker between nations, perform diplomatic functions, and generally try to act on behalf of all people on Earth, not just the ones that happen to hail from my home country."

A beat.

"Yes, I have my own airplane. And a helicopter." He tried to smile disarmingly. "I also keep a small peace-keeping unit under the employ of my Strategos. Most of my time is spent speaking to world leaders, overseeing the creation of new policy and, above all, making sure that old laws that are no longer necessary are changed or removed for the betterment of everyone involved."