BAD WINE CRAPPY CHOCOLATE

CHAPTER FIVE-9

"You didn't just go outside the box," he exclaimed, "you tore the damn thing to pieces!"
The President was even more impressed years later when he discovered that the elected officials who had asked him to give a speech promoting congressional unity were all members of the Roster Committee. They expected him to decline their invitation, and hoped he would try to persuade an alternate suggested by them, Senator Chris Cane, to give the speech instead. President Briar did so, and their agenda was presented to congress and, more importantly, to the American people, in a venue where many important political speeches had been made. Chris helped devise the scheme, and could not help but be proud of his performance.
Two years later he was narrowly re-elected as the senator from Illinois. He adopted the Roster Plan's tenet of a healthy lifestyle, and used his newfound energy to promote the constitutional amendment.
"I have seen how Washington works, or rather doesn't work," Chris would tell the people who attended the town meetings he organized. "Make this plan a reality! I won't rest until the people of this nation have a responsive government!"
Banners reading "Don't just change your representative—Change the system" billowed in the breeze as he implored them to support the plan. A frustrated electorate, their country on a path to financial ruin, heard him. The idea of all but abolishing the federal government appealed to them. Soon the majority of voters began to insist that politicians running for office either endorse Cane's constitutional amendment or chose another career. Many of the people attending the rallies would turn their backs on candidates who did not include a glowing assessment of the Roster Plan in their speeches, though some claimed they were planted there by the consolidation movement, which was now the operative name of the organization created to gather support for the amendment. Liberals and conservatives finally agreed on something: the current form of government didn't serve the best interests of their country. Party loyalty rapidly disintegrated with an "every man for himself" mentality quickly emerging in its place. Foster's assurances of lifetime employment to the politicians that supported the plan provided the final impetus for passage of the amendment.
On September 1, 2060, the Seven Sovereign Territories were created. The USA was now referred to as the SST. A solid blue flag with seven white stars replaced the traditional red, white, and blue banner. The national anthem was replaced with a somber, classical piece of music.
Congress had committed suicide.

After the amendment was ratified, Chris Cane attended the gala celebration at the Commodore Hotel in Chicago. He had never felt as fulfilled or certain about the purpose of his life. Daniel Foster embraced him and then led him from the ballroom into a small alcove.
"So, what are your plans now?" he asked.
"I'd like to catch my breath," Chris said with a smile.
"And then?"
"I'm considering my options. I might just make a run for senator of the Second Sovereign
Territory. To be honest, I thought I'd be too tired to do it at this point. Getting the amendment done required a Herculean effort. But your Vitala has made a new man out of me."
"Would you consider doing an ad for it?" Foster asked with a grin. "I'm only kidding, of course. I think you'd be the best man for the job. This never would have happened without you."
"I think that sentence applies more to you than me."
"I'm just a businessman. I freely admit that all my efforts are ultimately designed to better Allisours. You, on the other hand, are a statesman. You're dedicated to the betterment of our country."
Foster embraced him before walking away.
Long after the festivities were over, Chris sat in the deserted ballroom with Roger Rainer. They had managed to come up with a bottle of champagne, and slowly consumed its contents as the sun began to rise.
"Foster is going to back me if I run," Chris told him.
"If? You've got to throw your hat in the ring. None of this would have happened without you." "You exaggerate, Roger," Chris responded in a kind tone, to the second such compliment of the evening.
For just a moment the senator let himself believe it, despite his admonishment.
"You can win it easily," Roger told him. "Collins is going to run, but he's always been a believer in not rocking the boat, so you can get him for being too conservative. And Jenkins is a liberal who's too unstable to be trusted. And then there's Evans, who's trying to be an everyman. He shows up to the rallies in a pickup truck. But it's just a gimmick. Evans rides in a limo until he's a block away from his destination and then gets into the truck. You can nail him with that."
"I appreciate the advice. But if I run, I want the campaign to be about ideas, not ideology."
"Politicians are just like magicians. The audience knows they're a fraud, but they say something the average person wants to hear. You forget that at your own peril."
"I don't care. The political parties are dead, since everyone has the same opportunity to reach the voters on the Mibil network. Allisours is providing access for free as a service to the country. Every candidate can make a speech, and if enough people support them, they get to make another one. Through the process of elimination there will eventually be only a handful of candidates, and the voters will chose between them. There can be a real debate now. I saw an article by a man in Joliet who invented a train that runs on gravity alone. The energy savings from that would be enormous. Or how about buying out the cattle ranchers? Eating meat will eventually become a thing of the past, and we can use the land for agriculture. With more land under cultivation, each acre can be less productive, which means we can use less fertilizer. That will help eliminate water pollution. We'll put the prisons there too, but only those who commit the most egregious acts will be incarcerated. The people who can benefit from rehabilitation and education will be dealt with differently. And we'll leave some of the land open to cool the planet. That's what I want my campaign to focus on—the future. I'm not interested in spending my time putting the same trite labels on my opponents."
"I understand," responded Roger, who was taken aback by the determination in Chris's voice.
The political consultant leaned back in his chair, removing a piece of confetti that had stuck to his blonde hair. He thought for a long while before speaking again.
"Your name is synonymous with the consolidation movement," Roger finally continued. "So I guess you could get away with that."
"There's no other way for me anymore. I want real change."
He was elected senator of the Second Sovereign Territory, using the slogan Chris Cane Change: Three Words That Go Together. The days that followed were a blur to him, as he labored night and day to mold a new bureaucracy from the former governments of several states. A countless number of appointments to the newly formed bureaus had to be made, and the senator suddenly discovered that he knew more people than a 53-year-old person could have possibly ever met. The senator initially relied heavily on former officials of the old system to provide services for the citizens of Territory Number Two. During the subsequent years, Senator Cane sought to replace those appointees. Roger Rainer became aware of one such dismissal and immediately sought an explanation from Chris.
He found him on Michigan Avenue with Ted Backus, the mayor of Chicago and a close personal friend. Chris had appointed a mayor for each of the seven cities in the territory. They were watching the construction workers widening the road so it could be used as a walkway for the horde of pedestrians that were moving into the city. Roger could not imagine Chicago without the familiar noise that motor vehicles produced. Yet that was coming to pass, as the territory's leader looked on with an obvious air of accomplishment about him. Roger motioned for him to step away from Backus so they could talk in private.
"Why did you dismiss Doris Weaker?" Roger asked abruptly.
"She was doing business the old fashioned way," Chris replied with disdain. "The construction companies bidding on the contract to build the walkways in Chicago were required to give Doris a kickback. That was acceptable in the old days, but these aren't the old days anymore."
"Weaker had a lot of experience," Roger pointed out. "She was the city controller for ten years. I thought Weaker was doing a good job."
"She's firmly entrenched in the past, and I'm trying to build the future. I'm going to see a new form of transportation tomorrow. It's called an air craft, because it floats on a cushion of air. This machine runs on solar power and bio fuel, so there'll be no fumes to pollute the air. And we'll also be reducing our reliance on fossil fuel, which means fewer imports, which will result in a reduced trade deficit. We can use them to make deliveries in the cities. They can also transport people, but I want to restrict their use for that purpose. Walking is preferable to riding."

"It better be," Roger replied. "You're turning all the streets in this town into sidewalks. When the construction boom is over, what are these people going to do for jobs?"
"Allisours and other companies will keep growing. I'm sure there will be enough work for everyone."
"Which reminds me, one of Foster's people suggested that we review their newscasts before they show them on the Mibil network. Does that sound right to you? The government approving the news?" "We'd only be checking it for accuracy. I admit it might not look completely appropriate on the surface, but it's only being done to make sure the facts are correct."
"If you say so, boss. Just remember, your six-year term is up next year. And there's really no
advantage to being an incumbent in an election anymore, since everyone gets equal time on the network." "There is one advantage to being an incumbent: people will reward you for a job well done. And that's exactly how it should be."
Building new housing became a priority due to the influx of suburbanites and rural dwellers into the cities. In order to achieve the goal of having the maximum number of people in the smallest amount of space, the designers were compelled to look skyward. Apartment buildings that were 2,000 feet tall or higher quickly sprang up everywhere, as if from seeds that had been carried by the wind. These buildings leaned six inches from dead center to compensate for the rotation of the earth, a feature necessitated by their staggering height. Instead of skyscrapers, they were referred to as starscrapers. Many construction workers lost their lives building these symbols of the consolidation movement. After one such accident, Rainer came to see Chris.