The Weapon - Resurrection - part 27
By Diana the Valkyrie
A speech the United Nations
Update: 29/06/2003 to valkyrie05



Ten minutes later, I was staring open-mouthed as she hovered in front of me
"Grab your bag," she said, "we're flying." "Where to," I asked as she rocketed
upwards with me in her arms, "New York?" "No," she said, "I already told you,
that would be too dangerous for you. We're going to Freedonia." "Freedonia?
Why on earth are we going to Freedonia?" "Because that's where Matty is, plus
I need to get formally accredited as ambassador." "Ah." "That's halfway around
the world, so we've got half an hour before we get there. You can help me plan
what I'm going to say to the UN." "Oh." I'd been hoping for some of this
in-flight entertainment I've been hearing about. Oh well. First things first.

"Can you give a live video feed to the various news-sites, like you did to my
PDA?" I asked. "I already thought of that. I'm talking to a few dozen news
media companies, organising coverage. I'm telling them that this will be the
news event of the year, and if they don't cover it, they'll lose audience to
their competitors." "Dozens of them?" "It's telephony, baby, I'm just wiggling
electrons down wires at them, I'm telling all of them the same story, it isn't
exactly difficult. Now, you're human, you tell me what I should say that will
appeal to the UN delegates and humanity in general."

"Rule of three, Wendy. People like in when things come in threes, or have
three parts. So, divide the speech into three parts. The first part would be
how things are now, the second part will be how things will be if we don't
pull out of this hole, and the third part will be how things will be if
everyone forgets past animosities, joins together and moves forward for a
brighter future." "Sounds good." "And can you illustrate it with pictures? Or
even video? A picture is worth a thousand words." "Sure, I can project onto
the wall behind me, no problem. But you've covered the carrot, you've missed
out the stick. What I'll do to people who don't cooperate."

"I think you should soft-pedal that, Wendy. Don't make any explicit threats,
just implied ones, non-specific." "I don't know about that. You know my best
ability is breaking things. Shouldn't I throw around a few threats?" "No, not
in the speech. But maybe you could drop a few hints at the press conference."
"Press conference?" "Surely you've organised a press conference?" "No" "Oh."

"Look, Wendy, here's what will happen. You'll talk at the UN for 30 minutes,
call for a vote, end of UN appearance. But then the press will want to make a
major story out of it, and they'll want to ask you a zillion questions. You
need to arrange a press conference immediately after the speech, and you
should plan on it lasting some hours. And there will be hundreds of press
people wanting to attend." "OK, can do, I'll book a big room at the hotel
where I'll be staying." "What about the money for that?" "Money?" "Money."
"Oh, that again. Well, how would I know?"

Duh. "Wendy, pretty much anything that we do in this world involves money."
"Yes, but I don't know how much to ask them to pay for a press conference."
"You don't, they get in for free, but you have to pay the hotel for the room."
"Oh." "And I can't stump up the funds, academics like me aren't exactly
rolling in lettuce." "Lettuce?" "Money. Because it's green." "Oh. So what
should I do?" "Get the networks carrying your video feed to pay you for it."
"OK, I'll tell them that. How much?" "Ask then for ten thousand each
news-site, tell them it's to cover the costs of the press conference, and
they'll be able to transmit that live too." "They're saying yes, peanuts, not
a problem."

We talked some more about the details of the speech, and the ensuing press
conference. Obviously I couldn't tell her in detail what to say in answer to
questions, but I did get her to promise that she'd run her answers past Duncan
before speaking. At least that way, she wouldn't say anything too outrageous.

. . .

We landed on the Island of Freedonia, outside one of the cottages. Wendy
walked up to the front door, and knocked, and a woman about my age came to the
door. "Matty!" said Wendy. "What?" said Matty. "Bunny bunny bunny bunny whoops
bunny whoops bunny bunny bunny bunny" said Wendy. "Oh my God," said Matty,
"you!" as Wendy wrapped her arms round her. "Me" confirmed Wendy. We all went
inside. "But your hair, it's blonde now" said Matty, "and you're a lot
taller!" Wendy smiled. "Yes yes, I know," Matty continued, "it's not really
hair and you don't really have a body. But oh, oh. Wendy. I've missed you,
missed you so much, I'm so glad, oh, oh." and she started crying. "I'll put
the kettle on," I said, and left them to it.

By the time I got back with the coffee, Matty had recovered, and was talking
to Wendy at a rate of nineteen to the dozen. Wendy was stretched out on the
floor, playing with two small children, talking with them, and occasionally
answering Matty. I sat down in a handy chair, and just watched, enjoying the
domestic scene. Put Wendy together with babies, and she's happy.

Eventually, Wendy looked up at me and said "Well, it's show time", said
goodbye to the children, promised them that she'd be back soon, and lifted off
into the sky. I asked Matty if we could watch the speech on her TV. Ten
minutes later, Wendy flew slowly into the big circular UN meeting hall, her
cape streaming out behind her, did a graceful loop through the air, and landed
on the stage. But there was something new. Something different. Something
very, very different. Wendy had wings.

Wings?

She's never had wings before. She doesn't need wings to fly. Wings? They where
snowy white, and huge. I was guessing there was a fifty foot wingspan there,
and they beat slowly up and down as she flew, maybe fifteen beats per minute,
the feathers bright under the flourescent lighting. And I realised what she
was trying to symbolise. What looks human and has great white wings? Right.

She stood at the podium, and folded her wings behind her; the elbows of the
wings made a great frame for her head, and added another twelve inches to her
already impressive height. Her cape settled quietly around her shoulders,
reaching down almost to the ground, and she waited quietly until the hubbub
died down. When she had silence, she started.

"Here's where we are now," she said, and above her, she projected a rapid-fire
montage of scenes. Banner headlines screaming "Unemployment rises", factories
with "for sale" notices, overcrowded hospitals filled with dying people, gaunt
malnourished people with ribs you could count, gasoline filling stations with
"Closed" signs. "And things are getting worse," she continued, showing more
headlines "First National Bank collapses", factories being demolished, mass
graves being dug and filled, unused cars rusting on the highways. "And this is
where we're heading for," and she put up a single video sequence, of a
starving and filthy baby, crying and crying and crying, and no-one coming to
help.

Then she switched off the image. "But it doesn't have to be like that. I'm the
Guardian of Humanity, and I won't let it be like that. All of us together, you
and me, humanity and the Guardian of Humanity, we're going to build a better
future, and if there's anything that gets in the way of that, I'll break it."
She showed a video clip of her flying at a brick wall, and smashing it down.
"Because here's how the future should be. Humanity deserves a new deal, a
better deal than we're getting." The video she showed now, was of happy,
laughing children playing tag in a park, running and shouting and having a
great time. While across the video, she spun headlines of "Unemployment
down!", factories with notices saying "People wanted for hire", growing crops,
bunches of flowers, shops full of good food. But the happy children were the
centerpiece of the shot throughout the montage.

She froze the video, zoomed in on one laughing child. "We've got to stop
fighting each other, we've got to stop making barriers between people. We have
to break down the walls. The first thing we have to do, is put an end to all
barriers to international trade, so that people with extra food can trade with
people who have extra oil. We have to put an end to all economic sanctions,
and we have to do it now, right now, not tomorrow, but now. And that's why I'm
calling for a vote, a plenum vote, right now."

We hadn't warned anyone that she was going to do this, we wanted it to come as
a surprise, so that it would be difficult to sabotage. "Those in favour of an
end to all economic sanctions, stand up and shout "Yes", and do it now." She
gestured with her arms, and a mass of delegates surged to their feet and
shouted "Yes". And then she said "and if you want to keep the economic
sanctions, stand up and say "no"" And there were very few people willing to do
that.

I knew why. Been there, done that. When Wendy wants something, it does
actually need a major effort of will to oppose her. Because people are pack
animals; we are natural followers of a leader. One animal is the alpha, the
others follow the alpha's lead. Wendy had presented herself as the ultimate
alpha; obviously more powerful than anyone else, taller (if you included the
extra foot of height she gained by hovering) and with a clear plan for action.
And it didn't exactly hurt that she looked like she'd come here direct from
heaven.

No-one counted the vote. That wasn't the point. This wasn't the formal voting
procedure, it was a piece of theatre. But it was theatre that could not be
denied later; a formal vote would inevitably follow. And Wendy made sure that
there could be no anti-climax to the roar of "Yes" by rising from the podium,
straight up into the air.

Then she spread her wings.

Those wings.

She looked like a gigantically oversized eagle, white and fluffy, and ... oh.
Huge wings, spectacular, white-feathered and spreading wide, they must have
been twenty, thirty, fifty feet across.

Wendy, I think you're over-egging the pudding. You do not want to look like an
angel. Or do you? Maybe you do. Maybe us humans need the symbolism.

She spiraled round the great circular hall, rising higher and higher with each
orbit, and finally exited the meeting hall by going straight through the
ceiling. How did she do that?