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Continent of Vinland, 2073

The Supreme Ruler of Vinland, Demian Roskhald, after listening to the ministers’ reports on the state of affairs on the Continent and preparations for the upcoming elections, concluded the meeting. He then retired to his private office with two of his closest associates, Benedict, the Minister of Information, and Holofernes, the chief guard of Vinland.

Mister Roskhald was the second ruler in the history of the Continent to win the general election of 2057. Some attributed Demian Roskhald’s success to his oratory skills, while others pointed to the close-knit team that helped him in the election campaign. Among those who served on Mr. Roskhald’s campaign staff at that election were Benedict and Holofernes. Together they went a long way, and, having taken the chair of the head of the Continent 16 years ago, Demian Roskhald awarded his associates high positions. In their circle, Benedict and Holofernes addressed the ruler only as «master» – as a sign of respect for his merits and high position.

The office was equipped with special soundproofing devices so that no one could overhear what was happening behind these walls. Here a circle of the ruler’s closest and most trusted representatives gathered, who had many common secrets. Demian Roskhald knew that he could always rely on the ministers, and they, in turn, sincerely admiring the master, did everything to ensure that his power was not threatened.

Despite Mr. Roskhald’s widespread popular support, decisions on key issues were made by the Senate. Holofernes and Benedict managed to lure some important opponents to the side of the ruler, but even despite this, it was not always possible to implement the necessary laws. Politically independent senators blocked amendments related to expanding the powers of the head of Vinland and increasing the budget for space programs. In the upcoming elections, Demian Roskhald was going to win a landslide victory so that his supporters would take even more seats in the renewed Senate. All forecasts were on the master’s side, and therefore temporary difficulties in the Senate, as well as a small group of rebels, did not cause much concern to the ruler.

The only thing that continued to oppress Mr. Roskhald was the constant control by the Artificial Intelligence, which bore the name of the ancient powerful god Kronos. He served on the Continent as an arbitrator and guardian of 282 laws, which were also called the code. Each law began with the word «If» and contained a normative legal act valid in the territory of Vinland. Over time, 35 of them, prescribing rules of conduct for citizens in contaminated territories, were excluded from the code, since the consequences of the disaster on the inhabited part of the Continent were eliminated.

Strict enforcement of the laws was ensured by senators representing the citizens inhabiting the twelve regions of Vinland. When a ruler failed to secure a majority vote on a decision, a group of senators turned to Kronos for advice. In the last tenure of the master, who secured the support of the majority, although not overwhelming, this happened extremely rarely. Fearing heated debates and subsequent control by Kronos, Mr. Roskhald planned to put important laws to a vote in the Senate after the elections, receiving a mandate from the citizens for the next eight years of rule.

The main part of the code prescribed in Artificial Intelligence was compiled by the ruler of one of the regions of the Continent, Anatoly Kramer, several years after the disaster and has undergone virtually no changes since then. The written laws had gradations and in order to amend them, it was necessary to overcome a certain percentage of votes in the Senate. Changes affecting daily life could be introduced into the code with a simple majority vote, and amendments to laws governing the political structure and military program of the Continent required the support of at least 85% of senators. Such a barrier was not determined by chance: the drafters of Code 282 wanted to make it impossible or at least complicate the monopolization of power, and also to prevent the resumption of space programs. To avoid dictatorship and suppression of popular unrest, the movement of drones and combat robots in service with the guards was also controlled by Kronos. This entire system was designed to protect the interests of citizens, preventing the concentration of power in one hand.

The Supreme Ruler, who was also called the guarantor of Code 282, was elected by a majority vote of the inhabitants of Vinland. Despite the fact that Demian Roskhald publicly expressed the need to comply with the current code, promising to stand guard over it, deep down he saw control by Artificial Intelligence as a great threat. In the event of mass protests or a vote of no confidence in the Senate, Kronos received a signal and could unilaterally decide to deprive the head of the Continent of his powers. In this case, he had to resign, and the Senate, announcing the date of early elections, appointed a temporary ruler.

These restrictions irritated Mr. Roskhald. Unlike the vast majority of citizens, he refused to see Kronos as the Supreme Wisdom maintaining the balance of power, and, on the contrary, believed that many of the laws he protected needed to be changed.

Benedict and Holofernes, who occupied the chairs opposite the master that evening, shared his worries and fears. It was obvious to them: the code limited the rights of the head of the Continent, not allowing him to direct even part of the budget funds to the development of space programs and new types of weapons. They had long hatched a plan to rid Vinland from the control of Kronos, making the ruler’s power on the Continent absolute.

Demian Roskhald, having taken his seat, looked around at his closest associates and asked the Minister of Information how preparations for the elections were going.

– Everything is ready, master! Elections are scheduled for the 27th anniversary of the creation of the Continent. This day has been declared a holiday. Concerts and general celebrations will be held everywhere. Yesterday on the central channel they showed how loyal members of the Senate and ordinary citizens are asking you to nominate your candidacy for a third term in order to continue the development of Vinland and protect the planet from the meteorite heading towards it. We will show your speech, where you announce your agreement to make this difficult but responsible decision for yourself – to run for a new term, today at the best time, immediately after the end of the Apollo’s Arrow show. The program has a high rating and a loyal audience, which guarantees a large number of positive responses.

Continuing to look at the recording, Benedict added:

«And then we will broadcast live from the Senate, giving the floor to your most loyal supporters.» They will be delighted and express special gratitude to you for this bold decision, and perhaps shed a tear. Starting next week, commercials will begin broadcasting about your contribution to the development of the Continent and what positive changes will occur in the lives of citizens if you are re-elected.

After listening carefully to the Minister of Information, the ruler asked:

– What should you focus on? Have you studied citizens’ requests?

Taking his eyes off the notes and looking at the master, Benedict replied:

– As always, personal well-being and safety. Starting tomorrow, propagandists on central channels will begin to convey to voters that only you will protect Vinland from an external threat and make their lives better. The people have high hopes for you; according to the data received, your rating today is 84% versus 72% of the votes cast for you eight years ago. You have two opponents who together will not get even ten percent. To be more convincing, we have already prepared opinion polls where your rating fluctuates around 90%.

To ensure that the Minister of Information and his team of specialists do not make gross mistakes that allow Artificial Intelligence to annul the election results, the master warned:

– Your main task is to conduct fair elections, since Kronos and his minions will carefully monitor the transparency of the electoral process and record even the slightest violations. Fraud must not be allowed under any circumstances; all votes are tracked. 86 percent will be enough for me: such a threshold of voter confidence will allow our like-minded people to occupy the necessary majority of seats in the Senate to make the necessary amendments to the code.

«We will take your comments into account, Grand Master.»

«Maybe we should play the foreign invasion card?» – Holofernes, the chief guard of Vinland, entered the conversation.

After thinking a little, the master replied:

– No, it’s better to continue developing the story with the meteorite, they’ll be more willing to believe it. And we’ll save the threat of a foreign invasion for a special occasion. Benedict, what do you think about this? – the ruler asked the Minister of Information.

– I agree with you, Grand Master. We need to continue to escalate the situation with the meteorite approaching Earth. We will prepare the people for the fact that in order to protect the Continent in your third term, it will be necessary to increase defense spending and launch into orbit a new satellite that will allow monitoring the approach of dangerous objects to the earth.

– Are the people reacting correctly to this threat from space, have you read everything? – the ruler asked thoughtfully.

«According to your instructions, we took a small meteorite heading towards Vinland and increased its volume thousands of times. Every day we demonstrate photographs of a meteorite taken with the latest telescope, its approach to the Earth and talk about the consequences of the collision, which should occur in 5—6 years. People are keeping a close eye on this albeit distant threat. A few years ago, we launched a special show, «Apollo’s Arrow,» in which professional pilots wearing virtual reality helmets demonstrate their skills in fighting this cosmic body.

After thinking for a moment, the Minister of Information added:

«But I believe that, in addition to the hypothetical threat from space, closer to the elections it is worth creating an additional event, a provocation that will rally people around you with greater force. What happened must be blamed on one of the candidates or, better yet, on the rebels. It is necessary to continue to press them, forcing them to make mistakes. I am convinced that Holofernes has agents who can organize an attack on behalf of the resistance.

The ruler and the minister of information turned their gaze to Holofernes. Collecting his thoughts, he said:

«Grand Master, I just wanted to report on the upcoming operation to capture a group of rebels consisting of four people. We are listening to their conversations, and according to the information we have, they are planning to invade the live broadcast of the Apollo’s Arrow show again today. A special squad of guards is monitoring all exits from the building around the clock in the hope of capturing one of their leaders, Frank Tierney, but he has not yet appeared in that apartment.

– Did you manage to find out who exactly invaded the show last weekend? – the ruler asked.

Seeing in what happened his omission as the head of the guards of the Continent, Holofernes replied with annoyance:

«This attack was not like the previous ones, which we repelled with ease.» Obviously, a professional or group acted and used very expensive equipment. It has not yet been possible to find out who exactly carried out this invasion. As for the group we discovered, they use conventional technology, we can easily prevent the attack.

After listening to Holofernes, Benedict entered the conversation:

«I think it is necessary to capture those rebels immediately so that they do not have even the slightest opportunity to get into the airwaves.» In the report we will show the negotiations of the rebels and the equipment seized in the apartment, thereby demonstrating the determination of the master. If they manage to invade the airwaves for the second show in a row, the people may view this as a weakness of the ruler. Over the past week, we have made a lot of effort to portray the rebels who carried out that attack as a bunch of robbers, ready to do anything, even capable of interrupting a popular show for the sake of their own selfish goals. It will be more difficult to do this the second time.

After thinking a little, Holofernes decided to propose a more radical option:

«We have received intelligence information that the group of Zelot, the second leader of the rebels, is preparing a provocation before the elections. There is our agent in his circle. He can push the resistance to an action that will expose them as robbers and the master as a savior.

– Wonderful, Holofernes! – Benedict approved. «We need actions that will cause people’s rejection of the rebels and even greater sympathy for the master, which will rally them around his figure!» On the eve of the elections, we will push these robbers to the most radical actions: a chemical attack or an assassination attempt on the ruler, perhaps combining both scenarios for greater effect. The main thing is that this does not threaten the master personally and does not cause him physical harm.

– The safety of the ruler is above all! – said the chief guard.

Looking at his watch, the Minister of Information said:

– Grand Master, it’s time for the «Apollo’s Arrow» show, and in three hours there will be our live broadcast. It’s time to start the election campaign. Maybe you should collect your thoughts and rest? And I will go to the studio and personally make sure that all the preparations are completed.

Having thanked Benedict, the master listened to Holofernes’ report about the secret expedition that had returned from the contaminated area, which finally managed to find top-secret information about «Project A129» in one of the caves located high in the mountains. The special headquarters of the space agency was evacuated to that same cave shortly before the disaster.

* * *

Despite the fact that the broadcast was interrupted by a rebel attack last weekend, interest in the show continued and ratings broke new records. The ticker announced that at the end of the show the head of the Continent would address the people. The guards monitored all suspicious hacker attacks on the television center and, taking into account previous mistakes, easily stopped all attempts to interfere. As soon as the speech of the Head of the Continent was announced, people clung to the screens.

The Taffer family also looked forward to Demian Roskhald’s speech, hoping that he would listen to the requests of the people, as well as the senators, and agree to run for a third term. Mother and son were sincerely concerned about the situation. It’s bad if Vinland is a mess. After the unprecedented incident, it became clear that urgent and tough measures were needed. Only Demian Roskhald, who had been at the helm of the Continent for many years, could cope with the situation. The main thing is that he does not refuse to run for a third term.

Most of the people in Vinland thought the same thing. As they say, you don’t change horses in midstream, much less rulers.

The performance has begun.

The expectations of the residents of Vinland were rewarded: Demian Roskhald nevertheless agreed to run for a third term and continue working for the benefit of Vinland. He explained the decision by saying that many ordinary citizens, seeing a significant improvement in life after the terrible disaster of 2046, urgently asked him to stay. He assured that he would continue to work hard for the prosperity and greatness of the Continent.

The first slide shown on air showed a graph of economic growth and the standard of living of citizens during the reign of Mr. Roskhald. The second showed the growth of wages and pensions, although not particularly high. The head of Vinland promised to create more jobs, increase pensions and continue to work to improve the living conditions of ordinary people.

At the end of his speech, Demian Roskhald decided to touch upon the topic of the Continental Code, interference in which worried a certain part of society. Looking confidently into the camera, the ruler promised that, despite the calls of his supporters, he is not going to make any changes to the laws prescribed in Artificial Intelligence.

Demian Roskhald ended his speech with the words:

– According to the laws prescribed in our «Code», the head of the Continent must receive a mandate from the people. Citizens of Vinland, I ask your permission for a third cadence to continue moving forward. Once upon a time, you entrusted me with a continent destroyed by a terrible catastrophe. After much effort, we were able to restore socio-political life and law to parts of Vinland. We have a lot of work ahead of us in the surrounding areas. Therefore, I hope for your support and am confident that I can justify your trust.

The Taffer family considered the ruler’s speech sincere and convincing. Mother and son, like most of the inhabitants of Vinland, were confirmed in their desire to vote for him.