Britain's Last Meeting

Part III

17th October 2121

5:23 AM, a sharp pain ran up Ted's arm, jolting him awake, confused at first, until he saw his watch glowing on his wrist. Immediately he was reminded why he always used his old digital alarm clock to wake him instead of his watch. He rose from his slumber and took a look out the hotel window, still dark, as expected. He had been so tired when he arrived in London, at 7 PM the night before, that he had fallen asleep not 10 minutes after he arrived and got undressed, before he could close the curtains or pack away his dirty clothes. And as punishment for his early hibernation, he was now awake, 4 hours before Guillermo was due to arrive in Heathrow Airport. He spoke to himself "Oh well, no use going back to sleep now." And stood up out of bed and commenced a morning routine. He showered, shaved, got dressed in a suit, tie, and a long autumn overcoat which stretched down to his thighs.

Once he was ready, around 6 AM, he left the hotel with his bags, and made his way to a local food stop. He was never out this early, so he had never seen one without a line. He tapped in his order on the screen, and a minute later a mechanical arm extended from a hatch in the wall, holding out his food. As he was in no rush, he decided to walk to the airport, which after walking an hour compared to what would have been a 5 minute train trip, it became apparent that it was a mistake. Luckily, the cold air and flat ground meant he didn't work up a sweat, but he was still tired and annoyed at himself. By 7:15 AM he was in the airport, he looked down at his watch and read the instructions which had been sent to him by Judith Wilson.

"It is the norm nowadays to meet diplomatic agents on the runway as they exit their planes. Meet Mr. Aragón there at 9:30 AM"

Ted waited around for 2 hours, idly tapping at his watch, reading highly propagandized news, and messaging his only friend Gertrude about his current situation. By 9:15 he had decided that now was a suitable time to go outside on the runway and wait for Guillermo Aragón. Soon after he arrived at the meeting location, Guillermo's plane soared down like a graceful eagle, a rather large plane for just one person. Once it took it's landing, a ramp extended down out the side of the plane, and a sliding door opened. Out stepped a man, in a simple, yet foreign suit. He carried himself with a mixture of prestige and confidence. There was a reason he exited the plane before his bodyguards in shining armour. As he reached the bottom step, he spoke in Spanish, "Buenos días Theodore, ¿Cómo está usted?"

Ted stared at Guillermo with a puzzled look on his face, he realised he had forgotten to memorise any Spanish words. Frozen with embarrassment, he failed to say anything, even in English.

Guillermo, noticing Theodore's puzzlement, attained a look of very slight disappointment, and began to speak in English, with a weak but noticeable Latin American accent. "Apologies, good morning, Theodore Scott." Mr. Aragon extended his hand.

Ted scrambled to collect himself, and reached out his hand to meet Guillermo's, encountering a surprisingly firm handshake. "Welcome to the United Republics of Great Britain," Spoke Ted, almost robotically, "I hope you'll enjoy your stay Mr. Aragon."

Guillermo replied, "Please, call me Guillermo. Anyway, I am here to represent the glorious and holy Kingdom of Heaven, on behalf of the infallible Pontifex Humanus, as I'm sure you'll know."

"Yes, I do know, may I ask what the nature of this meeting is?" Ted asked politely.

"Diplomacy of course, what else are diplomatic meetings for." Guillermo redundantly answered, with a wide grin on his face.

Ted, not satisfied with that answer, reiterated "But what specifically is this about?"

Guillermo avoided the question, "You ask too many questions joven, time will reveal all." He stated cryptically.

Soon after that the two of them walked out of the airport, escorted by the armoured bodyguards until they reached a car and driver waiting for them. They boarded in complete silence, the driver had already been briefed on where to go, Ted couldn't find any words to say, and Guillermo was just enjoying the view. For the duration of the car trip, Ted couldn't bring himself to talk, he was completely frozen by fear caused by the immense pressure put onto him.

"Why me?" He thought to himself, "He specifically requested me, for what reason."

He was in over his head; one misstep could worsen relations with the greatest superpower on Earth, possibly leading to extreme hardship and isolation, or worse, war. And he still couldn't say anything. A great barrier walled off his thoughts from his mouth. But, lucky for Ted, Guillermo seemed perfectly happy to soak in the sights from behind the tinted windows. Finally, the silence was broken, Guillermo spoke.

"I just finished a tour of the European Ecclesiastic Provinces, as well as the Archbishopric of France."

Ted's head rose, and he began to nod along.

Guillermo continued, "And while they are beautiful lands, truly belonging to God and the Kingdom of Heaven, I sometimes find the procedures and ceremonies exhausting, especially after a while. Meeting after meeting with bishops, governors, deacons and so on, all with spectacular festivals, numerous prayers, and armoured nobles. It is an interesting experience to come to a secular country and be met with so little of that, only a young man and a handshake."

Ted looked concerned, "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered out, "we are heading to a more prestigious place, and this is my first time meeting a diplom-"

"I know." Interrupted Guillermo bluntly, "and please, don't apologise my friend, as I was saying, as much as I enjoy the holiness of a ceremony, it is nice to sometimes have a little break from the prestige." Guillermo made direct eye contact with Ted, "In fact, it is why I made a request to meet you instead of some diplomat or high standing politician, you are a young politician who clearly has little time or knowledge of the courtly proceedings, and the scheming of politics. It made it an easy choice." His voice began to ease a bit, "Anyway, what is this prestigious place you speak of, it sounds exciting."

And so, as they were driven, Theodore described their destination, the Scarlet Spire. It was a spectacle of art and architecture. A resort of sorts, with the purpose of housing and entertaining politicians, foreign diplomatic agents, celebrities, and other people of honour. It was located not far from London, but it was surrounded by rolling hills and picturesque pastures. The spire itself was a large circular building, wide at the bottom, and coning upwards until it reached a pointed end. Paneled with red stained glass, with some hints of blue and white, giving it a British feel, it truly was a sight to behold for any who attended. It was off limits to the average person, and so Theodore had only been there once, at the celebration after the elections in which he was put into power.

By the time Ted was done describing the Scarlet Spire and all its facilities, Guillermo was able to see it for himself. He manufactured a look of amazement and bewilderment, despite having seen far more impressive sites in his time as a diplomat. Ted was fooled by Guillermo's facial expressions and exclaimed proudly, "You see, I told you we'd make up for the underwhelming welcome!"

Guillermo was silent, and slowly his expression became more genuine. Seeing the downstairs facilities, the pools, bars, and theatres impressed him. As he got closer and saw the magnificent restaurants snuggly packed into the balconies, he began to marvel at it all. In his head ideas began to spin, he wondered what it might look like at night, he wondered what the reflections might look like from different angles, or when crowded. While he had seen more magnificent buildings before, especially in the Holy Capital, this one had a specific charm to it, something that could only exist in a democratic façade like the United Republics.