‘Real change requires real commitment, not just double-talk. The Clinton and Bush administrations budgeted funds to produce hydrogen fuel cars, only they gave the money to the automakers. President Bush’s promise of a new energy future required hydrogen to be extracted from fossil fuels and nuclear power, effectively maintaining Big Oil’s agenda, a policy my predecessor also adhered to. This year, our new energy plan will commit $50 billion to developing hydrogen automobiles using renewable sources like wind and sun and biomass. Furthermore, within the next thirty days, the White House will introduce legislation aimed at outlawing gasoline-powered vehicles by 2023.’

The president pauses, allowing his last statement to sink in amid the applause.

‘Fuel cells will, by law, replace gasoline. New jobs will be created as we retool our automobile plants and fueling stations. The economy will prosper, our air quality will improve, and the United States will rejoin the global effort to reduce greenhouse gases!’

The room erupts in applause.

‘Change is never easy, but it is necessary. The war on terrorism led to great changes, changes that affected our civil rights and the freedoms this country was founded upon. Within the next ninety days, I will ask Congress to dismantle the monolithic Department of Homeland Security and restore the pre 9-11 restrictions on domestic surveillance.’

Chaney pauses again as members of both parties rise to cheer.

Belle Glade, Florida

Three-and-a-half year old Lilith Eve Robinson is in the backseat of Quenton Morehead’s 2003 Buick, strapped in a child protection device. The reverend has cracked the windows and left the radio on for her while he visits the recently widowed Sherry Ann Williams.

Lilith squirms, her bladder full, her stomach rumbling as the State of the Union speech plays on the radio. The toddler has not eaten since lunch seven hours earlier, and knows she will not eat again until her grandfather emerges from the widow’s home sometime around eleven-thirty.

And then the child stops squirming as her mind suddenly focuses on the president’s words, her subconscious absorbing them like a sponge.

‘My fellow Americans, humanity has a future, and it is a bright one, as bright as the stars in the night sky. And this is where our future lies, for it is space exploration that shall advance and unite our species. This year, we shall end NASA’s moratorium on new projects and set new apolitical goals for the colonization of Mars. We shall encourage the private sector to join us, and we will open the frontier of space for all people, so that we may rejoice in our humanity, unite in harmony, and better ourselves as a species. Thank you all. God bless you, God bless America, and good night.’

Lilith unbuckles her safety device and climbs out of the infant seat. Prying open the back door, she jumps out of the car and looks around.