Order of Magnitude

LVII. The Prime Minister's Speech

     Fightin' Gerald Sloane stood at the front of the National Assembly. He hadn't spoken in this chamber since they elected him Prime Minister. He was usually much too busy trying to fix the broken country to come back to this place, but today was different. Today was going to be the day he formally introduced his bill for an immediate vote. The public would now know what he had been working on the past few weeks, and he wanted to be the face of his new legislation. He wanted them to know that he was their hero.

      Sloane flashed a smug smile at all of the assemblymen, especially Barrimore Kane. Kane just stared through him with glaring eyes. Three cameras were put in position facing the Prime Minister from three separate angles. Sloane wanted the words to get directly to the people, so he asked for all of the major networks to play his speech over the regular programs. This was going to be an important day for the country, and he wanted to be sure that everybody got the message.

      The cameraman controlling the center camera waved to catch the Prime Minister's attention, then gave him a five second countdown. Sloane nodded, and his smile grew wider the closer he got to one. Then a light over the camera flashed red, and the Prime Minister was beamed into millions of televisions across the country.

      "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he began evenly. "This is Prime Minister Sloane with an urgent message for the entire country. As you are all aware, the growing threat of parv-related attacks across the nation has become too dangerous to ignore. Ordinary citizens are being murdered by a cowardly group of terrorists that are lashing out in an unprovoked manner." Sloane paused for effect. Good speech, he thought to himself. It's important to let the people know how serious this threat is. "And yes, they are terrorists," he went on, veering from the words on the teleprompter a bit. "To call them anything else is a gross fabrication of the facts. These are terrorists. And as such, we need to treat them like terrorists."

      Sloane studied the scrolling words on the teleprompter, trying to get back on track with his speech. "We have lost many things to these parvs. We've lost friends, neighbors, family, and even our own elected officials. While I never saw eye to eye with Prime Minister Antony, I am honored to have called him a friend. And if he was here today, I'm sure he would feel the same way that I do."

      Fightin' Gerald Sloane went off-script again. "Bottom line, we're all mad as hell. Now, we have two choices here. We could either lay down and let these terrorists roll over us, or we can stand up and defend ourselves." At this point, Sloane felt that he didn't need the teleprompter anymore, and started addressing the Assembly directly. "That is why I am officially introducing a bill for immediate adoption. I call it the Sloane Act, and it will allocate funding for my Parv Patrol, whose sole purpose is to keep our country safe from these terrorists. When my speech is over, I will call for a vote. And remember, the people are watching. Anybody who votes 'nay' will be exposed to the voters as a traitor to this country."

      The smile grew bigger. He had them, and he knew it. "Now, some of you may be asking 'Sloane, where are we going to get the money for this?'" He threw a glance at Kane. "That's simple; I'm temporarily reducing the budget for our space, education, and border programs. Right now, our problems are 100% domestic and we need to make our country safe from the inside before we worry about frivolous expenses."

      There was a murmur from the crowd, but it didn't bother Sloane. He could read the room. He knew that his bill was going to be passed tonight. Might as well finish strong. "Ladies and gentlemen of our assembly. Ladies and gentlemen of the country. I offer you a chance to make things right again. I hope you endorse it. Good night, and good luck."