Allanea
17-01-2008, 00:53
New Dornalia, Save New Wuhan Fund headquarters
Kazansky stood at the podium alone, wearing an all-black suit. Uncharacteristically for an Allanean, he even wore a tie. A red tulip was attached to his suit, as a single, solemn symbol of mourning. He was silent for a moment and then spoke. None of the New Dornalians stirred – it was an unusual and unexpected sight for an Allanean to speak at this particular charity event. It was wildly known that it was the Allaneans that tore New Wuhan apart back during the time of the ESUS-GFFA war. Sure, the guilty were tried and executed, and the Allaneans offered compensation, but not all was quite right. Some wounds take a long time to heal.
The President sighed, feeling the pressure of a thousand pairs eyes bear down on him, like the scopes of two thousand rifles. It was the pressure of guilt too – for despite not being directly responsible for the massacre, he still failed to prevent it. And so he spoke.
“Among my people, I am known for my long speeches. Many consider me quite eloquent. But just this time I will not speak for long. Sometimes, killing – even of civilians – is justified, if it serves a purpose, if it prevents some greater evil. But nothing can be said, no argument can explain away the murder of two hundred million people for no purpose at all. The slaughter of two hundred million New Dornalians that night on New Wuhan cannot be justified. And even despite the fact that we punished those responsible with the highest penalties under Allanean law, it cannot be fully forgiven.”
“Our society, as it was at the time, created a military that granted enormous power to a Council of Admirals, unmonitored, not even fully answerable to the Chief of Staff and Commander in Chief. Allaneans, with the horrors of the One-Day War fresh in their mind, both feared massive orbital bombardment – and glorified its' use as a be all and end all of miltiary engagement. These attitudes, combined together, created the massacre of New Wuhan.”
“At the time, we had to retire from the international scene, to complete a reform of our military, to ensure greater transparency, and, most importantly, respect for the sacred value of sapient life. And still the shadow of New Wuhan hangs heavily over us. It likely will continue to do so.”
“And yet still, to this day, New Wuhan has not been fully rebuilt. To this day it bears the scars left on it by the Allanean sword. We cannot, perhaps, heal fully the scars left by that sword on the souls of those who lost loved ones in the war. But we can do our best to heal the physical damage we did on the world around us. And that is what we shall do.”
“I hereby endow this Fund with ten billion dollars, to be used as its board of directors sees fit. I again issue my most sincere apologies to the people of New Wuhan in particular and of New Dornalia in general.”
“I have nothing more to say. That is all.”
“May God forgive Allanea.”
* * *
Kazansky remained in New Dornalia for several days, distributing ten billion dollars of additional funds to several charity groups in the nation – the Music for All Program, a program providing musical instruments and music courses for the children of the poor, the Abhuman Legal Defense Fund, the local chapters of the Salvation Army and the New Wuhan Conservation Society. He also purchased several live dragons for transport to Alcarinqua, and three rare guitars.
And of course there was the press to deal with.
Kazansky stood at the podium alone, wearing an all-black suit. Uncharacteristically for an Allanean, he even wore a tie. A red tulip was attached to his suit, as a single, solemn symbol of mourning. He was silent for a moment and then spoke. None of the New Dornalians stirred – it was an unusual and unexpected sight for an Allanean to speak at this particular charity event. It was wildly known that it was the Allaneans that tore New Wuhan apart back during the time of the ESUS-GFFA war. Sure, the guilty were tried and executed, and the Allaneans offered compensation, but not all was quite right. Some wounds take a long time to heal.
The President sighed, feeling the pressure of a thousand pairs eyes bear down on him, like the scopes of two thousand rifles. It was the pressure of guilt too – for despite not being directly responsible for the massacre, he still failed to prevent it. And so he spoke.
“Among my people, I am known for my long speeches. Many consider me quite eloquent. But just this time I will not speak for long. Sometimes, killing – even of civilians – is justified, if it serves a purpose, if it prevents some greater evil. But nothing can be said, no argument can explain away the murder of two hundred million people for no purpose at all. The slaughter of two hundred million New Dornalians that night on New Wuhan cannot be justified. And even despite the fact that we punished those responsible with the highest penalties under Allanean law, it cannot be fully forgiven.”
“Our society, as it was at the time, created a military that granted enormous power to a Council of Admirals, unmonitored, not even fully answerable to the Chief of Staff and Commander in Chief. Allaneans, with the horrors of the One-Day War fresh in their mind, both feared massive orbital bombardment – and glorified its' use as a be all and end all of miltiary engagement. These attitudes, combined together, created the massacre of New Wuhan.”
“At the time, we had to retire from the international scene, to complete a reform of our military, to ensure greater transparency, and, most importantly, respect for the sacred value of sapient life. And still the shadow of New Wuhan hangs heavily over us. It likely will continue to do so.”
“And yet still, to this day, New Wuhan has not been fully rebuilt. To this day it bears the scars left on it by the Allanean sword. We cannot, perhaps, heal fully the scars left by that sword on the souls of those who lost loved ones in the war. But we can do our best to heal the physical damage we did on the world around us. And that is what we shall do.”
“I hereby endow this Fund with ten billion dollars, to be used as its board of directors sees fit. I again issue my most sincere apologies to the people of New Wuhan in particular and of New Dornalia in general.”
“I have nothing more to say. That is all.”
“May God forgive Allanea.”
* * *
Kazansky remained in New Dornalia for several days, distributing ten billion dollars of additional funds to several charity groups in the nation – the Music for All Program, a program providing musical instruments and music courses for the children of the poor, the Abhuman Legal Defense Fund, the local chapters of the Salvation Army and the New Wuhan Conservation Society. He also purchased several live dragons for transport to Alcarinqua, and three rare guitars.
And of course there was the press to deal with.