Draconisis had poked us, prodded us and found us to be some amusing thing that he was above, they all did really. We've met friends and allies sure, but things had to be done or else we would remain the butt of every joke. The last planet in our galaxy to achieve intergalactic capabilities and only because we were pitied. Still, it didn't stop me from taking one final measurement.
Whether I liked it or not the other Ambassadors looked to me as sort of a leader. Since I started trying to answer questions in front of Section 6 nearly two years ago a lot of people saw me as a leader. Like Ioana who was from the area around Section 8 and she had the pleasure of living with Bob. One of the Androids who happened to be the most stubborn strategic analyst Mom said she'd ever met. But he was also one of the best so when Ioana had asked me to talk with him about the final preparations and going over numbers mom said I should say yes, but Bob didn't make it easy.
"Bob what are the metrics?"
"You're an engineer. You can understand my graphs and charts without my help."
"You mean 'lack of', right?"
He glared at me and I stared right back at him just as defiantly. Mei-lin kicked the table and Nik stifled a laugh before she spoke. "Will one of you read the damn thing before I go to bed. Tomorrow is a big day and I don't want to be tired for it!"
Frantz walks past us and quickly swipes through the projections.
"The stats seem to have leveled out over the last 3 weeks. 78% say we should join, 7% are undecided 11% are against and the last 4 don't care as long as we continue to get tech and medical aid."
"See it wasn't that hard was it?" Bob said to me in a mocking tone.
"I think I'm starting to want Vould here instead."
Bob smiled before he continued. "The numbers seem pretty clear to me, 82 percent are essentially in favour of Earth joining the war, not a surprise. The rest may change their minds later on but I expect they will move onto other means for pulling out of the war including parading other causes that are tangent to their personal goals."
"That's some pretty hard speculation Bob." I was surprised that he'd gone so far ahead in thought.
"A political landscape, no matter where in the universe, is always the same. Sentient beings for the most part are selfish and when they feel strongly about change they will see it happen lest compromises are met."
I understood now why Emmeth said Bob and I sounded the same.
"I guess you're right but we have to stick to the now for the time being. We're essentially talking about sending a third of the human race to the front-lines and the rest staying here and defending our home world. That's..."
"Insanity."
Emmeth spoke for the first time in two days which caught me off guard.
"I... I didn't want us to do this."
He stood up and opened the window before walking to the holo-table. "What you need to do is realize that as an Ambassador you are at the will of the people, we forgot that before and you remember how fucked up things got. If we say we want to go to war the best thing you can do is remind us that war comes with a body count. You Ambassadors have to make us understand the serious nature of an entire fucking planet agreeing to send their people to die!" Emmeth started breathing heavily but no one dared to say anything as his hand gripped the table. "We CANNOT let the Halgred or ANYONE else think they can do and say whatever they want to us. They say we're barbaric? We'll show them barbaric when we kill Halgred by the thousands! We'll show people that if they want to keep us as allies they WILL show us respect!"
By now the table had warped around his hand from his grip. He looked down at it then back at the hesitant faces of everyone in the room and broke his hand free.
"I... I'm sorry."
"It's ok Em..."
"NO! It isn't ok!"
He started to cry, looking directly at Frantz's scar and walked out of the room feeling like he was going to puke. I made a move to go after him but Catty grabbed my arm.
"You have to get ready for tomorrow, I'll calm him down."
She left the room and we were silent for a few seconds before Bob continued.
"What the sub council's main priority will be from now on, Mei-lin and the rest of you, is monitoring and diffusion. Making sure the outliers are spoken to, not ignored and left to their own devices. I'm not saying give in but the sub council's will have to constantly let everyone know all viewpoints of the war. It's lucky I guess that you're society is still rebuilding itself so that makes things equal parts easier and more difficult. There are roughly 42 of you in charge and awake at any given time. Make sure to always be in contact about everything. The way things have been set up so far, constant discourse between continents is a must."
The sub council members were nodding in agreement, some of them were recently elected and looked as much. Star's screen moved to the top of the group as she started to speak.
"So what exactly are WE going to be doing once we fully commit to the war. Do we stay on Earth? Do we travel to the Stadium every month?"
Bob looked to Lancieta and she cleared her throat before sitting up in her chair.
"You've already had the basic briefing. Ambassadors are expected to experience the things they approve in one way or another. From sitting in on tactics meetings and military training, to terra-forming and setting up new colonies for their people among other tasks. You all will be traveling, fighting and expected to maintain clear minds and always have the well-being of your homes in mind. If your actions ever show otherwise other members of the Stadium can send word to your home world. Being dismissed is an issue left to home world governments except in extreme cases."
"Like what?"
Mom looked at me then at the others to make sure she had our attention. "There have been incidents where Ambassadors attempted to cull their populations in order to deal with certain economic or ecological issues. There are others but that's a good example."
Kyung's screen replaced Star's.
"What precisely are we doing about tomorrows worldwide... press event? Aside from those big platforms and the holographic display? What exactly are we saying?"
The rooms went quiet as we each tried to answer the question in our heads.
*****
The sun was setting on California and the ride to the World Conference Theatre was uncomfortable to say the least. My friends and I barely said anything to each other. For the first time since The Fall we were all driving someplace together but this time felt different from the pieces of memory I retained about that night. There was no wind really and the sky was painted orange with pink hues splashed here and there. The smell of the wet forest from the rain earlier in the day was refreshing and I couldn't help smiling. Catty and Frantz said they'd walk up to the Ambassador's section with me but Lancieta said that would confuse the other planets and Ambassadors whom hadn't met us yet as to whom were the Ambassadors. She was in another car with Yora and Roisin driving behind me. There were other people scattered here and there on personal vehicles weaving in and out of the trees, the fastest humans were just running as usual. For the most part everyone was already there waiting for the Ambassadors of Earth to make our ultimate announcement about Earth's involvement in the war against Draconisis and Halgred.
"I still can't wrap my mind around it." Frantz sighed heavily and leaned back in his seat.
"Around what exactly?" Emmeth was happy someone broke the silence.
"This, all of this. I feel like any moment I'll wake up in a hospital bed in the same room as you guys and tell you about this dream and how I might be a furry."
We all burst out laughing but stayed quiet for the rest of the ride. Mei-lin and I went over what I was going to say tonight a few times last night but I'd be speaking to 2.5 billion people. The number being unimaginable made it a little easier I guess.
We pulled up to the theatre and when we stepped out the people who were still outside started cheering, immediately all the food I ate in the last week threatened to come pouring out of my mouth. My legs started shaking and when I saw the crowd of thousands of people in front of me I imagined billions of people covering the entire surface of Earth shoulder to shoulder staring at me. Lancieta immediately grabbed my hand and I felt a little better.
"Remember to breath, they're all just looking for guidance."
The applause died down as I waved to everyone and made my way in with my family. We walked back stage and I got mic'd up for the conference. The curtain was still drawn when I walked onto the stage and the holograms of the other 6 slowly appeared one after another. I felt better after seeing them because if I didn't know any better I would have said they were physically standing next to me.
We quickly went over how we were going to start and made sure we had comfortable chairs for the upcoming 3 hours of question and answer with the various representatives. Everything was calibrated to make sure there was no delay between us talking and we took our seats when the production leaders told us we had 1 minute. The seconds ticked away then the curtain opened up and even though there was no roof the entire area looked as if it were daytime. I swallowed hard and stood up.
"Hello and welcome to the First Global Conference of Earth. The time has come for us, the Humans of Earth, to talk about the consensus we've reached on the question; Are we now unwilling combatants in a war we have no right being involved in?"
*****
The hours went by in a flash of us answering questions and addressing concerns. Now, finally, everyone was waiting for the speech we had prepared. This was what most of the people of Earth were expecting and had gathered for. I spoke first.
"I'm sure there are more questions you all want answered but we'd be here for months and according to the world-wide metrics everyone has made their decision already. Through the tech provided to us from various other civilizations, we have been able to come to the conclusion that most of the people on this planet we call Earth want to join the war against the Halgred."
A roaring cheer erupted that was almost deafening but quickly died down as Jaina stood up.
"We've told you the disadvantages of joining this war over the last three weeks but the sentiment remains. We must pay those assholes back for destroying our homes, the people we love and our lives! And that is exactly what we're going to do."
Cheers erupted again with bursts of fire shooting from the fire breathers, loud booms were heard from those who people called "Thunder" and beams of light shot into the sky, crackling across the clouds. It seemed as if the elements were celebrating. The other Ambassadors stood up as well this time and cheered. Enakai raised his hands the crowds settled down quickly.
"There is one thing we on this stage wanted to make clear to you, many people in the cosmos still think we are barbarians. Others still believe we are incapable of not killing ourselves off or even worse, that we'll become like the Halgred. Many other's think we'll join the Halgred."
The crowds went dead silent. You could feel people silently rage as the notion ripple across everyone, you saw it in their eyes. Kyung walked forward.
"We must come together as humans. No longer can we let our physical differences divide us, now more than ever. For us to gain the respect we deserve from the other races WE can fight among ourselves no longer! We all have a common enemy! An enemy who didn't think twice about killing our families. They didn't see us as Asian, Latin, or what have you! They saw the people of Earth as under-developed animals, hell-bent on destroying ourselves and our planet!"
Star took over.
"Our declaration of war is more than us saying we'll help the rest of the Universe or that we want revenge. What this declaration says, here and now, is that Humanity will no longer be divided. From here on out WE will continue to advance as a race and a culture, together! We are bigger than our differences and from here on out, we will demonstrate that it is not war that brings us together but a hope that our future is what WE build for ourselves! In this vast Universe, we've found out no one knows why we're here or where we came from! That puts us ALL on equal ground, no one better than the rest!"
Ade put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. The crowd practically begged for him to speak.
"The only thing that separates us is how we face adversity. The universe asked us important questions. It asked if we are weak. It asked if we can survive, if we can thrive as a species together, instead of tear ourselves apart. We've asked the very same of ourselves. It's been documented through the millennia of Human History. Tonight we will finally answer that question."
Ioana walked to the middle of us. She looked to the three on her left and the three on her right, opened her wings behind us and rose a fist into the air.
"WE WILL NO LONGER BE DIVIDED!"
The crowd erupted in a cheer so loud it could've knocked us back. Then slowly, fists started to rise up into the air and a chant started. It was hard to make out at first but then it became crystal clear.
"Together! Together! Together! Together! Together!..."
The six of us on stage rose our fists as well, joining in the chant and in that moment we really were united, all 2.5 billion of us on this strange Bestial Planet.
The thing is, moments don't last forever.