Through the Looking Glass

Smoke and Mirrors: Rerun of the past

New Eden, United Federation

December 03, 2003, 9:00 am. 

President Lilian Stokes is walking along the garden of the Presidential manor, the official residence of the president of the United Federation alongside Emperor William Smith, the latter wearing a long white long sleeve and black pants, and leather shoes, "we did drop around the equivalent of six hundred billion US Dollars unto the reconstruction of the United States Eastern Seaboard, " Lilian Stokes mumbled while walking alongside William while the sky remains dims due to the geographical location of the continent of Edelweiss which is slightly above the continent of Antartica, the same phenomenon is observed on the continent of Silvia, "between all the member states of the OFN block we do have quite a sizeable monetary reserve. " 

Emperor William Smith chuckled while walking alongside the former, "But then again having too much money on reserve does have its disadvantage, " he pointed out while the two continued their walk, "Lilian can I see the budget for next year? " he questioned. 

"of course your majesty, " she quickly responded, "but then again the budget for the fiscal year 2004 is still being debated in Congress but is sure to pass, " the head of government of the United Federation pointed out while walking along the garden with William, a park that has been made sustainable for the unforgiving weather pattern the geographic location where Antarctica was formerly located, cold winds and strong breeze. 

"I still remember that this was once a dead garden, " William remarked before turning around to look at the rejuvenated garden which now has green vegetation. 

"A commitment to the Federation's adaptability, " Lilian Stokes calmly responded before pulling out a set of papers held together by a binder in the side, "you can see that on the first page is the projected government expenses for the fiscal year 2004 alongside the expected revenue, " she pointed out while handing over the paper to William who calmly grabbed it and looked at the summary of the budget which includes the expenditure, revenue and the debt held by the public and by foreign interest groups, "ninety-five percent of our debt is held by the public while only ten percent of our debt comes from external debts, " he pointed out. 

"left over from the second abyssal war, " President Lilian Stokes quickly responded while the two are walking towards a set of tables that have been prepared by the servants who are working in the Presidential Block, a white table and chair with a parasol, "according to the department of the treasury that is the time period where there is a spike on government burrowing, " she stated while sitting down while William continues to read the paper. 

"Should I be concerned? " the head of state of the United Federation questions while seating down and placing the stack of paper on the table erstwhile the servants of the presidential manor are pouring hot tea onto the teacup, "I do not have that much of a background on economics to fully understand the subject matter. "

"well no one really understands economics, " President Lilian Stokes calmly responded before lifting the cup of tea, " even the treasury can only guess the possible future trends in macroeconomics while their artificial intelligence units can give out predictions with a certain degree of accuracy. " 

"so what does Jonathan have to say? " William inquired uttering the name of the artificial intelligence unit assigned to assist the secretary of the treasury in formulating fiscal policies. 

"quite a lot actually, " she calmly responded. 

flashback eleven months ago 

January 02, 2003, 

10:00 am. 

inside the presidential office room which has been deemed by the public as the rectangular office due to its shape, President Lilian Stokes is having a conversation with the secretary of the treasury, Madeline Monsour who has come together with Jonathan, the artificial intelligence unit assigned to assist the secretary of the treasury in formulating fiscal policies to keep the Federation's economy healthy.