Bainbridge couldn’t help thinking that this was one time when the President really ought to be in the meeting. Action was needed, and cold, hard decisions… not meetings.
“Let’s hear the damned thing again,” Clayton, the President’s Chief of Staff, said. He was a small, pinched lawyer of a man who looked as though he was always expecting the worst.
This time, Bainbridge thought, Clayton’s notorious pessimism could well be justified.
A crackle of static sounded from a hidden set of speakers in the room. “Nations of the world,” a voice said a moment later. Bainbridge thought it sounded German… or possibly Dutch. Northern European, certainly. “This is Heinrich Adler, and I am speaking to you from the operations center of the BGA petroleum consortium’s Bouddica oil production platform in the North Sea. My name is not important, but my message most assuredly is. I and the people with me represent the People’s Revolutionary Front, an organization dedicated to redressing the wrongs and imbalances of a world political system designed to take advantage of the poor, the oppressed, the technologically backward peoples of this earth. You, the rich and powerful, have long been able to ignore the plight of the billions of human beings who have needed your help; you have raped this planet, upset the balance of nature, impoverished whole nations by your callousness and greed.
“For too long, the majority of the world’s population has had no say whatsoever in affairs that concern them… the distribution of food and consumer products, the benefits of the technology so esteemed by you richer nations, or the use of the mineral wealth torn from their own soils.
“For too long, the majority of the people of this world have had no voice because they have been powerless in the face of the capitalist nations, disenfranchised simply by accident of birth. We, the People’s Revolution, will redress this wrong. We will be their voice. We will be their power.
“In short, the People’s Revolution is declaring itself to be another state among states, a nation as legitimate and as real as any other nation on the face of the earth. The single difference is that we are a state without boundaries. We exist everywhere, for the benefit of the disenfranchised everywhere, for the redressing of social wrongs everywhere.
“It would be easy enough, of course, to dismiss my words as the ramblings of a madman. I assure you all that I and the people behind me are saner than any of those who now occupy the halls of power in the world’s capitals. However, since we have been forced to play the game according to their rules rather than according to the rules of moral right and of justice, I am taking this opportunity to announce that the People’s Revolutionary Republic is, as of this moment, a nuclear power and worthy of the respect due any of the world’s nation-states that hold similar power.”
There was a pause in the broadcast, as though the unseen Adler were waiting for the real meaning of his words to sink in. The vault-ceilinged emptiness of Room 208 was silent, save for the hiss of recorded static.
“A nuclear device has been transferred to the Bouddica oil production facility,” Adler’s voice continued after a moment. “It will be detonated if our demands are not met. These are our demands.
“First. The United Nations, meeting in special session, shall vote to recognize the People’s Revolutionary Republic as a legitimate state and to admit that state to the UN, with all rights and powers accorded any other member state of that organization.
“Second. Since the People’s Revolutionary Republic is not limited to any one geographical area, it requires a place where it can do business as a state among equals, a place to receive ambassadors, conduct trade negotiations, and the like. An office suite within the United Nations Building in New York City will be made available for this purpose. Our representatives will consult with the appropriate agencies at a later date in order to guarantee such matters as security, privacy, and our specific requirements for space and personnel.
“Third. The governments of the United States of America, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Russia will all immediately and formally recognize the People’s Revolutionary Republic, and agree to an exchange of ambassadors and other representatives, which will take place at our United Nations office as soon as such a meeting can be arranged.
“Fourth. Arrangements will be arranged for the transfer of six thousand million American dollars to an account in the name of the People’s Revolutionary Republic to be opened in the British Bank of Commerce at its London office. This sum is to be raised as follows: one thousand million American dollars each from the United States of America, Great Britain, and Germany, the three governments whose combined investments are represented by the BFA petroleum consortium. In addition, five hundred million American dollars apiece will come from the governments of Norway, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark, all of which have a serious stake in this matter. Finally, to make up the total sum, another five hundred million American dollars will come from Lloyd’s of London, which, of course, insures the Bouddica complex. This money will become the initial operating capital for the PRR. Even states without boundaries require a national treasury.
“Fifth. Citizenship in our nation will be free to any who ask it and who can demonstrate that their legitimate needs have not been met by their former governments. Any attempt against the lives or liberty of members of the People’s Revolution, against our representatives anywhere in the world, or against citizens wishing to join us in any country, will be considered an act of war against the PRR.
“Sixth. We have a list of our people already apprehended by various governments. Among them are two PRR people now being held by the government of Germany, and eight more who were taken prisoner in Middlebrough, England, last Saturday. These people are to be released without delay. Failure to do so will be considered an act of war against the PRR. Furthermore, one of the PRR personnel now being held by the British government is a Korean woman, a Ms. Chun Hyon Hee. Arrangements are to be made to fly her at once to the Bouddica facility.
“If you fail to satisfy us that our conditions are being met in good faith in every particular, we will have no alternative but to detonate our first nuclear device. We estimate a yield of approximately one hundred kilotons, or roughly five times the power of the explosion that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945, and the blast will have three immediate consequences.
“First, the three hundred twelve civilians on Bouddica and the twenty-four crewmen of the Noramo Pride will die. Next, the blast will do considerable damage, both from shock and from heat effects, to the infrastructure of the North Sea oil fields and the attendant drilling and pumping apparatus. It is impossible to guess how extensive this damage will be, but at the very least, a great many of the seafloor pipelines that now supply Germany, Great Britain, and Norway with crude oil will be ruptured, as will dozens of well heads, sea-bottom pumps, and surface derricks. I’m sure the representatives at Lloyd’s will be able to give you a succinct estimate of the damage purely in terms of dollars, pounds, and marks. The Bouddica complex alone is worth several thousand million pounds, and that is only one of many such production platforms that could be destroyed or heavily damaged by blast or rendered uninhabitable by fallout. In particular, the oil platform and other facilities at Ekofisk, as well as the seafloor pipeline to Middlebrough, will all sustain considerable and possibly irreparable damage.