“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, “I’ve just come from a meeting with the president of the United States. He has told me that immediately following the dedication of the capital of the Union for Peace in Babylon, he desires to merge the armed forces of the world into a unified command based on the orders of the Parliament of the Union. All other forces will be mustered out and their weapons scrapped.” Al Augustus looked quickly around the room and added, “I’d like your comments.”

“Mr. Secretary,” the chief of Naval Operations began, “this plan is outrageous! There’s no question in my mind that this is simply a shortcut to tyranny! Once this is done, the sovereignty of the United States is ended. How can we allow this to happen?”

“I disagree, Mr. Secretary,” the chief of staff of the army answered. “We must never forget that the military are to be under civilian rule. Beyond that, I believe that our president is not a man, but a god. I, for one, have every intention of following his direction to help bring peace to the world.”

Each of the service chiefs responded in turn, and after a heated debate, Al Augustus asked those who agreed with the presidential directive to stand and those who disagreed to remain seated. To his amazement, all stood except the chief of Naval Operations and the commandant of the Marine Corps.

“For those of you who are standing, I want an immediate plan of implementation on my desk by 0900 tomorrow morning. It’ll be your call, so don’t worry that I or anyone else will be second-guessing you. What units should we place in a multinational command? Where should these units be deployed? What units should be demobilized, and which weapons destroyed? You need to understand that it is crucial that you focus on command integration within the Union for Peace. Is that understood?” Each officer indicated that he or she understood the task at hand.

“As you know,” Al Augustus said, “I’ve personally assigned four divisions and several air wings to a military depot in the West. These units will be demobilized at my express order, along with the three Sea Wolf submarines now at sea.

“As we begin this operation, I’m going to need weekly reports on your progress. This may be the biggest challenge of all, and we have extensive work to do.” Then he added, “The gentlemen who are sitting will please report to my office at the conclusion of this meeting.”

Later, in his office, Secretary Augustus told his private secretary that he was not to be disturbed under any circumstances. He walked over to the television in the corner, switched on CNN, and turned up the volume. He motioned the admiral and the general to seats close to him.

“Gentlemen,” he said, “are you affected or unaffected?”

“Unaffected, sir,” came the answer from both.