Written By Brad Harness
“Yes, that’s right, Georgie. Greenwich, England is where the world begins and ends. That’s London. London - which is the global financial capital. Greenwich is the place where the prime meridian runs through, where all the time zones are arranged around. It is where the zero line of longitude divides the planet into an eastern and western hemisphere.”
“Cool...cool, that’s what my teacher told us, too. So London, Greenwich, is a pretty important place, eh?”
“Yup. A century earlier it was the centre of the British Empire. Now it’s the centre of money, which makes the entire world go round.”
“An’ this Terran Federation, which replace the United Nations, is based there, right?”
“Exactly, the centre of peace.”
He thought for a moment, unsure of what to ask. “Well, I mean, I guess...umm, so does this Terran Federation now work better than the UN did? Does it bring peace?”
I had to wonder sometimes whether the Terran Federation was better, but, let’s face it, it is better.
“Yes, it’s better,” I told him. “It is backed up by the TF Security Force.”
And then I added, “And for another thing, the entire structure is better. Before, the UN had a General Assembly, where each country had one equal vote, regardless of how tiny country’s were. Little people running those places held up decisions and it took ages to get anywhere. Worse, the Security Council had 10 temporary and 5 permanent members...those 5 could veto anything the Security Council was trying to do. So vetoes were used, wars continued, and peace was nowhere in sight.”
“So how did that change?”
“Well, for a start, the Security Council was replaced by the Federal Senate. This is a much smaller group than the Assembly but much larger than the old Security Council. All are permanent members as long as they maintain the qualifications to be there: Larger than 1-million square miles, or, having a population of 100-million or more. And nobody gets a veto!”
“I think that war in Congo was ended quickly because the Federation sent in its Security Force to stop the fighting.”
“Precisely, Georgie. I think you are ready for your test, and I think I am ready for a little food in the ol’ furnace!” I chuckled, rubbing my belly.
Next Month: Part 6
