Yared Zerezghi — 2124

Amendment to referendum …

The entity known as the System, with regards to its inhabitants, will secede in order to become its own self-governing entity.

1. Those who have uploaded to live on the System shall no longer hold their citizenship (sometimes known as “dual citizenship”) to their country of origin.
2. The creations of those who have uploaded to live on the System shall be considered as originating in and governed by the System as a political entity.
3. The System as a self-governing entity shall enter into trade agreements with other governmental entities for goods and services required to maintain the System as a physical entity.
4. The exchange of goods and services between the System and the governmental entity named in the trade agreement shall be binding by those two parties only.
5. The act of uploading to the System shall be considered one of emigration, and regulations around immigration shall be set by the System.
6. No extant governmental entity may set undue barriers to emigration to the System beyond existing expatriation agreements, nor may they intimidate, dissuade, or otherwise hinder citizens from choosing to emigrate.
7. As a separate governmental entity, the System is a valid destination for asylum-seekers and refugees regardless of reasons for seeking such, with regulations for accepting such being set by the System as a self-governing entity.
8. Due to the nature of the System, the following limitations shall be put in place on this governmental entity:
   1. It shall not be able to declare war on any other governmental entity.
   2. It shall not enact any trade embargo, tariff, or other restriction on trade against any other governmental entity.
   3. It shall not provide favor to any one governmental entity over another except through the agreements set above.
   4. No other governmental entity shall declare war on or attempt to destroy the System.
   5. No other governmental entity shall aid or abet another governmental entity to conspire against the System.
9. The physical elements of the System including but not limited to the System hardware, resource infrastructure, and the “Ansible system” required for uploading shall be considered property of the System as a governmental entity.
10. The System of a governmental entity shall enact any and all regulations relating to its own governance, which no other governmental entity may hinder.

Signatories:

Direct Democracy Representative individual

Yared Zerezghi (NEAC) via Direct Democracy Representative.

Governmental representative

Yosef Demma (NEAC), Councilor.

System-side representatives

The Only Time I Know My True Name Is When I Dream of the Ode clade by way of Michelle Hadje, Jonas Prime of the Jonas clade by way of Jonas Anderson (Council of Eight), Council-members.

November 28, 2124

The response to the proposal was immediate and dramatic.

Yared had not know what exactly it was that he was expecting, but it certainly was not an immediate division within the DDR, with one half being suddenly and intensely for the referendum and its amendments, each for their own reasons, and the other half being suddenly and intensely against the referendum for completely separate reasons.

It was not that he’d not expected some division, but the divisiveness of the amendment itself was shocking. Where once there had been general consensus on the issue of individual rights and the L₅ launch amendment, there was suddenly no guarantee that the referendum itself would actually pass. It had been a foregone conclusion, and now, in the matter of minutes, the entire thing seemed to be crumbling around him, and, with his name attached as DDR signatory, he was responsible.

His instinct was to leave. To run. To hide. Some adrenal reaction drove him to leave, to back out of the ‘net, throw on his [hat] and nearly sprint from his apartment.

He made it the several blocks up to the undeveloped patch of ground before he calmed down enough to realize that, not only had he left behind any chance of responding to the flurry of comments on the referendum and its amendment (unless he wanted to use the intentionally clunky interface for doing so on his phone), but also any chance of syncing up with True Name and Jonas on the events.

Now, here he was, huddling at the base of a scraggly tree like some hunted thing, an animal seeking only to never be seen by unknown predators. Now, here he was, completely alone.

And yet he couldn’t force himself to rise. Couldn’t force himself to get up from his crouching position, couldn’t force himself to walk back to his apartment or, really, anywhere else, couldn’t even force himself to pull his phone from his pocket and get in touch with…well, who would he even contact? The only one he interact with in the subject — really, the only one he interacted with offline in any sincere capacity — was Councilor Demma.

Given this reaction, that seemed ill-advised.

Alas, with a thrill up his spine along the exocortex and a gentle ping from his implants, his phone began to ring. A glance at the screen confirmed his fears.

Demma.

“Shit, shit.” He stood, paced around the tree in a circle. “Shit. Shit, goddamn.”

He stared at his phone for a few long seconds, torn on whether or not to let it simply go to voicemail.

Eventually, that part of his mind lost out to the desire to hopefully find some reassurance, so he tapped at the phone to answer the call.

“Mr Zerezghi,” the councilor said. “Wonderful to hear from you. I was wondering if you had a few moments to talk? We stopped by the coffee shop and knocked at your door, but there was no answer.”

“My apologies, councilor. I went for a walk to clear my head. I’m…” He squinted around at the trees, then walked back to the street he’d come up. “I’m at the woodland park, a ways north of my place. Does your driver know where that is?”

There was a moment’s muffled conversation, then, “Of course. We’ll meet you on the road, yes? The residential side?”

“Yes. I’ll be waiting.”

After the click of Demma hanging up, Yared trudged back the way he’d come.

It was a short walk of perhaps only a minute or two, but even so, the car was waiting for him, the driver already standing beside it, waiting to open the door to let him in to talk.

“Yared, wonderful to see you, as well!” Demma said cheerfully. “Please, sit! We have much to talk about. I’m sorry that I was not able to provide our usual coffee, but there’s water behind the seat if you’d like.”

Settling into the cushy and cold spot that he’d found himself in so many times before, Yared shook his head. “No, thank you. I’m sorry I wasn’t at home, I wasn’t expecting you.”

Demma waved the comment away. “It’s alright, it’s alright. We probably should have planned better on when to introduce the amendment and when to meet up afterwards, but, well, we knew it was going to be today, so we figured that you’d be ready to meet either way.”

“I just…I just needed a walk.”

“Burning off some steam? Enjoying some fresh air?”

He fiddled with the hem of his [garment] for a moment, then shrugged. “I was a little surprised by the response to the amendment. It was making me anxious, and I stepped away to calm down.”

“Of course, of course.” Demma leaned forward to pat Yared on the knee before reclining again, looking relaxed, pleased. “I’ve not been monitoring the DDR myself, but my assistants have been keeping me up to date. It sounds like there’s a little bit of an uproar, there. You’ve certainly touched a nerve.”

Yared nodded, numb. He could tell he was dissociating, feeling remote from his own body, yet couldn’t do anything to bring himself back to the moment.

“I have some thoughts on the response, both on the DDR and among the various representatives I’ve talked to, but I’d like to hear your anxieties first, to see if I can soothe them.”

“I just wasn’t expecting it to blow up in my face like that. There was so much general agreement on the ideas you’ve suggested. You and Jonas, I mean. I thought that it was all vague and positive enough to seem like the natural conclusion to the ongoing conversation, and it’s not like it’s the first amendment I’ve written–“

“Indeed not,” Demma said, laughing. “That’s part of why we chose you.”

“Right. So I’m just not sure why it just all immediately went wrong. There was nothing in there that hadn’t already been discussed in the forums, and even on the ‘net from governmental types.”

The councilor tugged at his chin absentmindedly. “I think that there are a few reasons for that, Mr Zerezghi. The first is that there were no other co-authors on the bill, so it looked rather sudden. Even if you’ve been leading the effort quite effectively, and others look up to you, I can imagine that some see it as a power-grab once you’d reached that consensus.

“Another reason is that you used the word ‘secede’, which is something of a naughty word in many places. North America in particular has some quite strong feelings on the matter, given the troubles of the last century. Don’t misunderstand me, you had to use it for legislative reasons, but it still spun several people into a panic, particularly in the old United States. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, I suppose, but others were already using it. Respected voices, even. It’s not the first time it’s come up.”

“Of course, but it is the first time it’s been put in front of everyone as a something they must consider.”

Yared frowned. “If that’s the case, then perhaps we should have waited for a separate referendum.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Demma smiled, looking very much the kind, grandfatherly type. “Or rather, our analysts didn’t think so. They ran several situations through their various models and came to the conclusion that an amendment was the best path forward.”

“Why, though? I don’t see how introducing something so divisive would lead to anything other than either the entire referendum getting thrown out or, at best, delaying the process for months.”

“There may indeed be a small delay as debate kicks up again.” Demma nodded toward Yared. “Which we will help you participate in, much as we have up to this point. Still, broaching the idea as an amendment is a good way to get this idea in the forefront of people’s minds. They can have the debate with lower pressure on acceptance. They can always vote on original referendum without passing the amendment, correct?”

Yared nodded.

“So, if that happens, at that point, we can spin it off into its own referendum, and by then, much of the debate will have already started, and we can continue to work through the whole process calmly, as we have been.” He spread his hands wide, still smiling. “It is all a matter of risk management, Mr Zerezghi. You understand.”

“I suppose.”

“Have you had a chance to speak with Jonas and his friend yet?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. Like I said, I started to panic and went for my walk.”

Demma nodded absently. “I suggest you do as soon as you get back. I’m curious to hear their opinion on the result of this amendment. I suspect they are equally curious to hear your opinion. Please report back to me what they say, as you have been.”

“Alright.”

“Now, here are my thoughts on the matter,” the councilor said. “I think the amendment will be successful, and here is why. First of all, the DDR is far easier to send into a fit than you might be giving it credit for. We’ve watched it for decades now. It has a very short attention span, and dramatic reactions are part of that. Voters will work themselves up into a froth on whatever the current issue is, but there will always be another issue.

“Second, there will be another issue introduced in December. It is already being drafted up in Cairo, and will involve some issue of mid-level consequence, but one that will be of interest to many of the regular DDR voices. You’ll have to pardon me for not giving you more information until the referendum is made public, but I can tell you that it will involve both the subcommittees on environment and land management.”

Yared blinked. Demma was right, of course, anything to deal with land rights, especially here in the Northeast African Coalition, was bound to draw many of the loudest DDR junkies, himself included.

“Should I take part in that conversation, too?” he asked.

“You can if you’d like, so long as you don’t drop the current referendum completely. I don’t imagine you will, given that your name is on an amendment.’

He nodded.

“The third reason, however, is that there is more going on behind the scenes on the governmental level than you know. It’s often fashionable to ascribe ill intentions on politicians, but that is because they have often borne out when scandals come to light.

“There is nothing scandal-worthy here, I think, but there are still strings to be pulled. The correct hands shaken, the correct babies kissed, the correct promises of support on the correct issues. Some of those strings are the ones that everyone can see: the campaign contributions, the baby-kissing, the promises. Some of them are not, though. Thinly veiled threats, intimidation. Who knows, perhaps even some market meddling.”

Yared’s baseline frown deepened, to which Demma laughed.

“Politics are politics, my dear Yared. It is a game, as you know, but it is one with high stakes. When there are high stakes, one must use all the tools at one’s disposal, savory or otherwise.”

“I understand,” he said, still feeling that tension in his shoulders.

Still smiling, Demma soothed, “You have made your own harsh comments, I know. You have questioned your opponent’s competency. You have suggested that perhaps others band up against them and nudge them out of the debate. You have the very same toolkit, if only on a smaller scale.”

He let his shoulders sag, nodding.

“So. The DDR is easily distracted, a distraction will be provided, and politics will be done here and there. I promise that you’ll quickly see a swing in favor of the amendment. I’ve promised such in the past, and surely delivered.” Demma’s voice held a tone of conclusion, as though the conversation was nearing a decisive end.

Yared nodded. “Alright, councilor. I understand. I’m still having a hard time internalizing it, but I’ll work on that. Should I expect further instructions.”

“You’ll get them, yes, but for now, please enjoy a few days off from the issue. You’ve done your work for now, let it simmer, and then you can come back to it. I know it’ll be hard to do, but I trust you’ll find a way. Enjoy good food. Drink good coffee. Talk with good friends.” That avuncular smile returned. “You deserve it, Mr Zerezghi. And, as always, thank you for all of your hard work.”

And with that, the driver pulled the door open, and it was back out into the heat of the day for him. The heat of the day, the real world, and hopefully a bit of space from the stress. Hopefully. Hopefully he’d be able to let it go for a few days.

He didn’t believe that.