The Revolution

Chapter 9

The days became weeks, became months and the divisions between the states deepened. War seemed inevitable.
In response to the formation of Pure Pangea United, the four remaining states formed the Pangean States of Gaia, a loose treaty of co-government. The ashes of the General Assembly formed the foundation for this treaty. State autonomy was a stated goal, in stark contrast to the rise of an authoritarian regime in the south.
As PPU atrocities mounted, a lengthy list of "official" sanctions was levied by the PSG against the three states, limiting the flow of vital supplies to Grandville, Mount Vessio, and Shapsburg. Each new sanction deepened the divide between the states, causing inflation to rise sharply across the entire continent.
As the PPU Government cracked down on "deviency"--homosexuality, transgenderism, blasphemy, and a long list of other "sins, the flight of people targeted by the government increased sharply. Many wanted the relative freedom of the PSG. Almost overnight, the border closed, making crossing impossible unless on "official business." A military presence was quickly set up. There was a market for mercenaries who helped citizens cross to the North, but the trip was dangerous and expensive so only certain rich and coragious people made the journey.
Both Pure Pangea United and the Pangean States of Gaia spent exorbitant amounts of money to build up their respective militaries. PPU had both a head start and a more zealous and propagandized citizenry, and was able to build a much larger force. The PSG factions argued to install a mandatory draft but ultimately decided against it for the time being.
Tired of low pay and long hours, an organized group of Flux miners threatened to shut down the largest fields in what would have been the largest organized labor strike in history. The leadership was susceptible to infiltration which DSI, FluxCorp, and the other power companies were more than pleased to exploit. Through their proxies, the movement was poisoned from the inside out and was ultimately unable to produce any labor stoppage.
The threatened flux strike, caused similarly threatened strikes in many different industries. A group of truckers for the second largest trucking concern threatened to strike. Rather than subtly breaking up the union like in the north, the husband and wife duo who were the leaders were violently ripped from their homes by Mount Vessio sheriffs. By the end of the next day, they had been executed via firing squad in a public square in their hometown.
Grandville Governor Greg White, High Reverend of the Friends of Gaia nakedly consolidated power in his favor. He took responsibility publically for the deaths of the high-ranking pastors and was more than happy to ride that notoriety to pushing his most radical agenda. His first order of busisnes, he made church attendance compulsory.
Governor White's second order of business was to make abortion and other female reproductive health procedures illegal. Many women would be injured or die from seeking unsanitary and unsafe procedures.
Quickly, many PSG-based media companies, especially social and news media, found themselves unable to operate in PPU. The PPu government wanted complete control over the information the citizenry was shown.
The fires of war have spread from the explosive demolition of the General Assembly. The Third Flux War has begun.

The impressive design of the Grandville State Parlement's main chamber served two purposes. The first and most obvious purpose was to show the power and majesty of Grandville's control over nature and Pangea itself. The second, and less well known, was a monument to the founders in all of their infinite wisdom.
Governor Greg White entered from the side entrance to row upon row of standing men and women waiting for him. He was always awestruck by the dozens of stories of gold inlaid, gleaming rock with a large dome of steel and glass topping the main chamber. It always made him feel small and Greg hated feeling small.
He crossed the hall to the podium, each of his normally heavy footfalls dampened to be inaudible by the plush, purple carpet under his shoes. The elected Parliamentarians stood silently, the weight of what they were collected to do silencing the normally talkative throng. The tension was thick as oil.
Greg reached the podium and pulled a slip of paper from the breast pocket of this well-tailored black suit. He pulled a pair of reading glasses from the other pocket he did not need, but a focus group had said made him "look Presidential." He put the glasses on and looked up at the large monitor that showed 02:00, the time left for him to talk.
The parliamentary rules were simple and ancient. The person bringing a vote to the floor had two minutes to make the case for their bill, if there were any dissenters, they would also have two minutes to explain why the bill should be killed or sent back to committee. Finally, before the vote, anyone with more to say could have forty-five seconds to make a point.
The timer began to count down and Greg began to speak.
"My fellow public servants, in times of grave state security crises, there come decisions of great importance. The coming conflict is going to be rapidly evolving. Our current system of checks and balances is too slow to react to the modern battlefield.
"I know the bill standing on your desks is unprecedented. There is a historical precedent for the temporary disbanding of the legislative branch. The constitution even allows for it in Article Five.
"The coming conflict will take a singular will. I have the will to bring victory to the PPU. We cannot be tied down by endless bureaucracy like our enemy will be."
He paused for applause that did not come. 00:30 left on the clock.
"I hope that enough of you can see my vision and will help me to make the right in this new world. With your help, we will restore Grandville and Gaia as a whole to the greatness The Founders envisioned." Greg looked out into the crowd, their faces stone and showing no emotion. He had made his case, there was nothing more he could do.
Greg left the podium and crossed the floor of the main auditorium to some claps from the throng. He headed to a secure room to watch the rest of the debate.
The next to speak was Daniel Yu. He had prepared a speech against the bill.
The Grandville Emergency Security Act would disband the legislative branch of the state government, placing any of their powers under the executive branch, under the command of Greg White. Many disagreed, even though the Office of the Governor assured the parliament it was a temporary measure. No plan had been provided for reinstating the parliament once the emergency had passed.
The timer reset. 02:00.
"The words you have heard from our Governor are designed to disguise a naked power grab by a man who has used his position to run rampant over the laws in this state. If we allow this man to throw away the checks and balances The Founders intended to be in place, then we have installed a dictator."
In his room, Greg bristled at the term dictator.
"The state of Grandville was built on freedom for every man. Under Greg White, people live under constant surveillance and fear of the morality police coming and knocking on their door for any number of small offenses. Governor White's policies have already led to record inflation and staggeringly high violent crime." Yu continued.
"Is this the man who we want single-handedly wielding unlimited power? May I remind my colleagues that Greg White has already had numerous political dissidents executed, and we have stood by. Now this same man wants us to step aside while he fights some 'War for Greatness.' I ask my colleagues to join me in voting 'no' on the Grandville Emergency Security Act."
There was a smaller smattering of applause from the crowd.
Greg sat back in his seat, anger growing in his chest at the gall of Daniel Yu to speak about him like that. Greg's rage was, in a word, murderous.
He imagined wrapping his hands around Daniel Yu's neck and watching the light leave his eyes. The thought gave him a thrill, but he kept his demeanor calm ever the politician.
He wished for the comfort of the trickster angels in times like this, but they had retreated to the realm of his dreams.
There was only one more speaker, and then there was the vote. Standing at the podium was a long, thin man with a mustache that did not crowd the lines of his mouth. His name was Baxter Matheson and he was known among the parlementarians as a brown-noser, a suck-up.
The monitor reset to 00:45.
Matheson was speaking off the cuff, with no notes to use as a safety net. "My friends, we have the opportunity to do the will of heaven. Many years ago, The Founders instilled their wisdom in us, passed down through the ages through The High Reverend. It's clear to me and any normal citizen that Greg White has been shown the path to a great Grandville, a safe Grandville, a pure Grandville. The choice is clear, if you believe the words of The Founders, then you must vote 'yes.' I cede the rest of my time."
Matheson left the podium and returned to his chair to a decided split of cheers and boos. It was obvious that the vote would be close.
As the room got set up for the vote, the news programs covering this parliament session began killing time. GNN outlined what the current voting trends indicated--that it could go either way.
Gaia First News spent time explaining the voting rules. A roll would be called, each member would then vote "yea," "nay," or "no vote." For major emergency votes such as this one, the affirmative votes must hold a 3/4 majority for passage.
The Pangea Broadcast Company shifted to a picture-in-picture setup with talking heads debating what future ramifications this vote would have. One of these experts with a bald head and a 21-letter name ominously remarked, "The balance of power will shift in Pangea today."
Greg sat back in his chair as the first votes were cast. In his hand he held a bottle of water he nervously sipped from. Around him, his staff chatting nervously. The tension in the room was palpable.
The whole process would take about forty-five minutes. There were 100 parliamentarians and each one was in attendance, including the nearly 100-year-old Jamison Baldyr, a man so racked with illness and dementia, it was a small medical miracle to get him to vote. He had outlived the previous three High Reverends but looked unlikely to outlive the fourth. As expected, he voted "yea."
For a moment or two in the early voting, it looked like there was enough momentum to reach the twenty-six votes needed to kill the Grandville Emergency Security Act. As the last vote was set to be called, the tally stood at 74 to 25 for the measure. The final vote came down to Paxton Williams, a man known as a bit of a wild card. Where his vote landed would determine the whole vote. The moderator called his name and he stepped up to the microphone.
Everyone in the building was on the edge of their seats as the weak voice said, "yea."
Cheers erupted from the staffers around Greg who had been silent for the last twenty minutes. The hours and days of hard campaigning had resulted in a win.
The Grandville State Parlement was no more. Greg White was now the most powerful politician in Grandville, if not the PPU.
He thought to himself, Now it's time to go to work.