NationStates Jolt Archive

The tropical Pele sun beat down hard on the small group walking along the semi-famous Nalu Beach. Of the figures, only Sarah Sacker would have been instantly recognizable to the average Confederal. Laika La’akea, the First Minister of Pele, was a local figure, unknown in the nation at large. Cordelia Chikamatsu, the mayor of Nalu, was even less well-known. The remaining four men were, in no particular order: Niles Bradley, Director of the Confederal Marine Fisheries Commission; Eugene Todd, Pelean Minister for Tourism; Milton Kent, President of the Confederal Union of Professional Fishers’ and Sir Andrew Monroe, President of the Marine Conservation League. There were also six armed guards present, silent and professional.

If none of these figures were widely known, nothing happening at the moment was likely to change that. It was not the formalities of the visit, tourism or fisheries which would form the substance of the story in tomorrow’s papers. It was the large picnic basket being carried by Mr. Todd. It was the light, fashionable summer clothing being sported by the President and the rather relaxed smile on her face. It was the light banter about the weather, sport and cultural events which, rather than policy, formed the substance of the conversation between the three women and four men.

It was known to insiders that Sacker didn’t especially want to be relaxing. This was for the benefit of the Confederal people who had started to worry about the President of the Confederal Council. In order to hold the nation stable after fifteen years of bold but reckless change, prevent the concordance system from collapsing rapidly and reintroducing the Confederated Peoples to a world which had, quite frankly, lost track during fifteen years of confusion, Sacker had been taking more responsibility upon herself than the actual powers of her office gave her a means to do effectively and this meant nearly endless negotiations with Governors and First Ministers, party leaders in both legislative houses, military leaders, ambassadors, royalty and her colleagues on the Council. To top it off, despite some early successes, the Sacker initiative in foreign policy was not going as well as she’d hoped, especially regarding VERITAS. The Austar Union had been the only VERITAS ally which even deigned to reply and its government had said that their ambassador to the Confederated Peoples did not have time to meet with the nation’s leaders. In the absence of any interest from VERITAS, it was clear what the Confederated Peoples would have to do (and after the effort there was no excuse for other signatories to whine about no attempt being made to talk to them or about unilateralism) but it was still not an easy decision.

Even as Sacker reclined gracefully on the picnic blanket and reached for an apple, she could feel every muscle in her athlete’s body tensed almost painfully. She made a note to go for a run or a swim later, out of the public eye. Of course, aside from a few cameras, she wasn’t really in the public eye now. The beach had been reserved for the day. As Sacker fell silent and looked out over the Atlantic, her companions did as well. As the waves crashed gently on the shore, the view seemed one of contentment and relaxation. The President’s mind, however, was elsewhere.

“I really think the Iansisleans and the Snefaldians would love this view,” Todd said cheerfully as he retrieved a sandwich from the basket. “I think that tourism is definitely going to pick up as a result of your initiative, Madam President.”

Sacker nodded rather absent-mindedly. She took a bite of the apple, trying to get her mind off politics, despite Todd’s desire to discuss it. The Sacker Initiative was the most internationally visible of about six major projects that together had assumed almost every moment of her time. It was by no means the most successful but it had certainly worked wonders so far with Iansisle. The absence of the slightest interest in discussing relations on the part of the VERITAS and KIST allies besides the insulting pretense of support from the Austar Union was irritating but the Confederated Peoples had not benefited in any meaningful way from either treaty in the whole of its history and the only negative consequence of simply withdrawing if the lack of response continued would be the wounded articles which would be published after the fact bemoaning the fact that the Confederated Peoples had left so abruptly, despite the lengthy and completely ignored attempt to illicit any response.

Even more time consuming was her work on the National Unity Program. This was an extensive set of recommendations that the Confederal Council, Sacker in particular, had been working on. It was designed to help create more uniform national points of reference allowing the various Confederal Members to more fully integrate into a single nation as well as to help Confederal institutions, all young and the subjects of recent and frequent radical change, become rooted, allowing for a greater measure of stability. Few, if any, of the specific legislative proposals in the NUP, which was to be released immediately upon her return from Nalu, were of much interest. They included legislation designed to establish a uniform rule of traffic directionality (driving on the left), a uniform system of public school grading (a 0-10 scale), a uniform system of degrees, a uniform system of weights and measure (SI) and so on and so forth. All of these programs were fairly gradual and most were designed to cause the least disruption in the lives of ordinary citizens, a consideration which often went hand in hand with programs which were extremely complex and delicate for legislators and civil servants. As boring as the specifics of the 1234 page document were, the core message, that there was now a comprehensive plan to ensure an end to constant constitutional change and a stable Confederal national culture, integrated rather than divided into Members which were virtually nations.

There were other things but Sacker was trying as hard as she could not to think about them. Ever since she became President of the Confederal Council, she had been caught up in the rush of her duties. Although the duties of the President were always heavy, she had had to work even harder than her three predecessors but, precisely because she had essentially been going non-stop, she hadn’t had time to even feel exhausted.

Now, ironically, as she tried to relax she felt an almost physical weight upon her. She was conscious of her own position, of her own body, of everything around her. Her entire situation had a certain unreality to it. Her mind wandered to incidents from the past, some formative, most trivial. The past had been real but it no longer was. Those moments would never come again and this moment would one day be past. She would one day be a historical figure, one who would no doubt feature prominently in the early history of the Confederated Peoples and none of those children in the distant future who learned about her would no about all these little moments, the tiny details that make life real, the individual body, emotions, consciousness, history which were Sarah Sacker. Of course, she would be dead. These thoughts weren’t new, of course. Many of them were basic elements of human existence. However, here, on this beach, they hit her in an odd way. Time itself seemed somehow unreal and yet, somehow, horrifying. It was as though it rendered the whole of existence an irrelevant absurdity.

The rest of the picnic was fairly uneventful. Sarah was unable to really relax in front of the cameras. Politicians could never seem too tired, even when they were. Later that evening, she was able to get away from the cameras and join an old personal friend on her yacht, the Queen of Pearls. Dr. Valerie Trent was a successful primatologist and a prominent donor and spokesperson for the Progressive Democratic Party. She had known Sarah Sacker for years, since before either of them had been anybody of note, and was glad to give the President a few hours to actually relax before going back to work in the morning. The press was strictly excluded and Valerie had strictly told all her guests not to talk too much about the event. However, she had invited a few personal friends and a few people she thought Sarah might like to meet, including a few prominent foreigners who happened to be on holiday in Nalu.

As they sailed out to sea, the party gathered around the pool. Sarah and Valerie sat comfortably, crossing their legs and taking sips of their wine. The handful of other Confederal guests did likewise. Sarah smiled slightly to the smattering of foreigners she didn’t know, looking thoughtful and content.

((OOC: Don’t just assume you have someone here. TG first.))

The Revolution may have leveled the old order of aristocrats and plutocrats, but as it did not completely end the capitalist system there soon arose a new class of more modern capitalists rose to fill the vacuum. The Littles, part of the owning families in Dunheath-Little, were one such example. Marginal local auto producers before the fall of the ancien régime, they were now among the richest people on the Shield. Unlike the former first families of Iansislean industrialism, however, the Littles were much more interested in traveling abroad (even farther than Gallaga!) and held many progressive -- for Shieldians -- ideas on social issues, even sending their son abroad to study.

Harold and Betty Little saw President Sacker glance over at them, but didn't do anything specific to catch her eye. For the time, they were content just to follow the crowd, waiting to see what a president was like on her time off.

"Please, have a seat," Valerie said, smiling towards the Littles. "I don't believe you've been introduced properly yet and I'm sure that's the whole reason you're here. I doubt such distinguished guests would have come merely to see me." Valerie glanced to Sarah, her piercing blue eyes inquiring if the President intended to call her on her false modesty. Receiving no response, she looked back towards the Littles. "Mr. and Mrs. Little, this is Sarah Sacker, an old friend of mine from university. Sarah, this is Harold and Betty Little."

The President uncrossed her legs and rose slightly from her chair to offer her hand first to Harold and then to Betty. Assuming they shook, Sarah had a relatively firm grip but she didn't put much into the up and down shaking motion, simply grasping hands and holding for a brief moment before moving on. She was oddly self-conscious about every detail today. It was not at all a typical state of mind for the President and she chalked it up to a certain bad conscience about even a much needed rest when there was still so much work to be done.

"Harold and Betty are in the automotive business," Valerie said. "They're Shieldian." She paused a moment as though reflecting. "You know, I've always been fascinated by some of the primates within your Federation. The relationship the Northern Plains Grey Langur has with Chital deer in particular is quite interesting. You don't see much symbiosis in higher mammals, excluding the use of domestic animals by we humans."

"That's fascinating," Sarah said with a small smirk. "Harold, Betty, have either of you ever had the chance to see these...What were they called again, Valerie?"

"Languers," Valerie said. "They're one of the more interesting monkeys, although I normally prefer the great apes. Ambara is quite rhe research area: Chimpanzees, gorrillas. I've largely been based out of Lutherstadt for years, although I do like to take to the Atlantic when I can. You meet a much better sort of people, much more peaceable."

Sarah shook her head a little, "Really, now. We have a strong party organization in Marlund these days. Goldfarb is Governor, as you know. Sahor is doing well. Jagiella is doing well."

Valeria shrugged, "I still prefer the Atlantic. I like the breeze, if nothing else. It's a nice, westerly breeze."

"Honored, of course, to make your acquaintance, Madam President," said each of the Littles in turn as their hands were shaken.

When the languers were first introduced as a subject matter, Harold had rather thought them to be some sort of burrowing animal and assumed them to be native to Noropia or some such less-exotic location. Upon hearing that they were primates, however, he was able to narrow the field down to Gallaga.

"Ah, yes. We've toured Gallaga before -- beautiful country, if a touch to warm for my taste," he said. "I don't believe we had the chance to see these languers of yours."

"I do know what you mean about the breeze," chimed in Betty. "In some places of Gallaga, the air was most frightfully stagnant and I almost could not stand it."

"That's the beauty of an island climate," Sarah said. "Of course, the Confederated Peoples has territory as far north as the Arctic and almost as far south. It is a rather geographically dispersed nation. However, the core of our territory consists of tropical lands like this island here."

Valeria nodded, "Tropical climates tend to be better for my line of work as well. You don't find many primates, excluding human beings, in cold climates."

Sarah smiled a little, "I suppose you don't. It's always amazing to me how people were able to live in the Arctic before the age of our modern conveniences. I've always admired the fortitude it must have taken. Have either of you ever been to the Arctic?"

"Can't say I've ever had the pleasure," said Harold.

"I went to visit a cousin of mine who lives in Cape Deliverance -- that's in Noropia -- and I'll tell you, it felt rather like the north pole," said Betty. "I'd never seen snow that thick before."

"Winters on the Shield are very cold," chimed in her husband, "but also very dry."

"I never had much tolerance for cold, I'm afraid," Sarah said. "We had warm winters and hot summers back in Wintermore when I was growing up. I should be traveling to the Shield in the relatively near future, however."

"That should be interesting," Valerie commented with a wry smile.

"I'm sure it will," Sarah said. "I'll likely be making a fair number of trips in the light of this new intiative. I think it's important to reassure people, given the events of the last twenty years or so."

Valerie nodded a little, taking another sip of her drink. She turned back towards the Littles, "Have you ever been to any of these other places we keep hearing about in the news? Waynesia for example?"

Sarah shuddered slightly, pulling her drink to her lips and then gently setting it down, "We shouldn't talk too much of business. I am supposed to be on holiday, after all."

"We have been to Cape Colonies, but never made it up to Waynesia," said Harold. "This was before all the troubles, of course."

"We had the chance to see the most marvelous animals on safari there," said Betty. "And this is a most wonderful trip we're on now -- I haven't ever seen beaches this magnificent outside of the Pacific."

"The troubles," Valerie noted with a somber nod. "I never would have thought anything could make me side with Walmingtonian colonialism but they certainly seem preferable to the settler self-rule groups."

Sarah shifted a little, glancing off as though in thought for a long moment, perhaps returning briefly to her rather abstract ponderings of earlier. She shook her head and gave a bright smile towards Harold, "So, tell me, are you a football fan? I understand that Iansisle has a rather strong sporting tradition, including, unfortunately, a much stronger tradition than we have of participation in formal international events."

Valerie shook her head as she leaned back, "Does every conversation we have need to come back to sport? I like figure skating as much as the next girl but...Really, you're the President. No since to dwell on university sporting glories."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "I was just making conversation. Iansisle, after all, is one of the best sporting nations in the world."

"Well, I don't know about 'best', Madam President," said Harold. "The only international title we have to our name was in the Cherry Cup -- ice hockey. I do follow our football team avidly -- on the odd chance they actually play."

"I remember back in the day, when the Westergate Grounds used to be packed for an international match," said Betty. "Those were the days before the Revolution, of course -- the National Assembly never showed much enthusiasm for sport."

"Am I to take it that you are a former player, Madam President?" asked Harold.

"I was captain of the women's team at UCD my senior year," Sarah said. "We won the national championship." She grinned brightly, evidently still rather proud of this accomplishment.

"Do they have women's football in Iansisle?" Valerie asked.

"Congratulations!" said Betty. "That's an accomplishment that would never be heard of on the Shield -- I'm afraid that our women haven't quite moved onto the playing fields yet."

There was a brief glance between her and Harold and a small, Gallic shrug of the shoulders.

"The Revolution has been a wonderful step in the right direction -- but just a step when many of us would rather have a sprint."

"I'm not entirely sure I should get into that," Sarah said. "I am interested in hearing more about Iansisle though. I've been going over the political and historical information over the last few weeks but...tell me something of everyday life in your country."

"I don't know that we're the best to talk about 'every day life'," said Betty. "And besides, we haven't spent much time on the Shield since -- when, Harry?"

"Been five years, maybe six."

"Well, quite a while anyhow. Been bouncing around Gallaga, the colonies, and touring Europe. I wish I could say that was the lifestyle enjoyed by everyone from the Shield, but I know it's not."

"Where did you go in Europe?" Sarah asked. "I hear that Amestria is lovely this time of year and the architecture of Xirnium is nearly unrivalled."

Valeria smiled, "I'm fond of Knootoss myself. The atmosphere just seems so relaxed."

"Not quite relaxed enough to let us see His Majesty," said Harold with a chuckle. He meant the "Infant-King", now three years old, whose mother and aunt had declared him to be monarch of the Shield.

"I quite enjoyed Knootcap myself," said Betty, who didn't want to lead the conversation back around to politics. "I doubt they'd like to hear me say it, but of all the countries on this side of the world it reminded me most of the Shield."

"Come now," laughed her husband. "They're nothing alike."

Sarah's brow perked with interest. She wouldn't have thought the two nations were much alike either. "How are they alike, Betty? They certainly seem different in laws, customs, beliefs."

"Perhaps less so now than before but...still...that is a startling comparison," Valerie said with equal curiosity.

"I suppose there are some similarities of heritage and culture," Sarah allowed. "Still, I'd love to hear your comparison of the two nations. We have a long history with Knootoss ourselves. More than a few Confederal Members are former Knootian colonies."

"Oh, there certainly are differences on the surface," said Betty. "Let me talk, Harry. But you can feel the same struggle there as you can in Iansisle. It's the attempt to take liberties at home -- and they do have many of the same values as us, you know. It's astounding how many countries in this world regulate a simple medicine --"

At this point, Harold coughed loudly into his hand.

"-- and balance those freedoms with responsibilities abroad. I would not be surprised if I were to learn that a part of Ranalte's program in Gallaga were influenced by Knootian efforts around the world."

"Knootian efforts don't tend to involve much home rule," Valerie said rather coldly.

"Well...Knootian foreign policy is complex..." Sarah equivicated.