The room had numerous 3D media displays that showed either TV programs or computer generated images and reports; each media device was specially placed so every person at the table had the optimal view. In the center of the table was a small holographic interface. This allowed presenters to display their brief as a floating image, and it also could be used as a 3D video phone.
Muhammad bin Aziz, the Minister of Industry, began the meeting. “Caliph, thank you for taking the time to meet with us; we have a lot of information to go over with you.”
“I hope you have good news to report; it has been five years since we took power and we need to start showing more improvements.”
“Yes Caliph. I would like to discuss our manufacturing improvements first; we have completed construction of the aircraft manufacturing plants, along with manufacturing facilities to build our new air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. These new manufacturing industrial centers are spread throughout the provinces of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Indonesia. They will employ 330,000 people directly and engage another 6 million workers for supporting positions.”
“With help from our Chinese and Russian advisors, we have been converting our manufacturing capabilities towards war production at a rapid pace. We also have numerous munitions factories under construction, and the Chinese are in the process of assisting us in establishing our own ground-based laser anti-ballistic missile defense system. We believe we can have our first operational laser battery to cover Riyadh within the year,” explained Muhammad bin Aziz.
“Excellent. And how has the modernization of our armed forces been going now that the Americans are fully out of the country?” asked Caliph Mohammed. His face did not hide the fact that he was clearly impressed with the economic success being made.
“Caliph, as you know, a lot of our equipment came from the US and Europe, so replacement parts are going to be a problem since they are no longer going to provide them to us. We began leveraging 3D printing capabilities to copy and replace the parts that are not readily available. With the help of our Chinese and Russian advisors, we have begun rebuilding our armored and mechanized infantry forces in line with theirs as well.”
“We are gearing our entire military towards defending against and defeating those infidel pigs in Israel and the US. We have begun a full modernization of our air defense capability with the most advanced Russian equipment available. Russia has also offered 100 fighter pilot advisors to help train our air forces to handle the Israeli and American Air Forces,” Muhammad bin Aziz said as he laid some papers down on the table in front of them. He knew the Caliph would be pleased to reaffirm that the economy was being shaped to confront their greatest enemies.
Clearly Muhammad bin Aziz had things under control. It was good to see that he knew how to develop the industrial capability to take on their adversaries. “All right gentlemen, continue with your current projects and report back to me at the end of next month. In the meantime, I have a meeting with Talal bin Abdulaziz, our Foreign Secretary,” said Caliph Mohammed. The group stood up in deference to their leader as the Caliph got out of his chair and exited the room with Zaheer to walk down the hall to his next meeting.
Talal was a tall man, about 6’ 1”, and weighed nearly 280 lbs. He was also a wealthy businessman who knew how to work deals and get what he wanted. When Caliph Mohammad walked into the room, Talal stood up as a sign of respect. Caliph Mohammad nodded slightly to Talal and then sat down. He didn’t need any pleasant niceties with his Foreign Secretary, so he just jumped right into business. “How are the meetings going with the other foreign heads of state? Have the other Arab countries agreed to join our great Caliphate? Also, were you able to make any headway towards establishing our free trade agreement with China and our military defense pact?”
“Caliph Mohammed, let me address these questions individually. First, I have spoken with the leaders of Yemen, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Lebanon, and Tunisia. They have all agreed to join the Caliphate, and the majority of their population agrees as well. They will move to make the transition over the next couple of months.”
Mohammad Abbas nodded his acknowledgement.
“Moving to the trade agenda — the Chinese are ready for a free trade agreement with us. I am working out the final details of when such an agreement will be finalized and signed.”
“Excellent,” responded Mohammad.
“As to the defense pact, the Chinese are more than willing to share technology and military equipment with us (just as the Russians are), but neither country wants to enter into a military pact with us. Their representatives said that our intentions to destroy Israel and attack the West will draw them into a war they would like to avoid, or at least participate in at a time of their own choosing, not ours,” said Talal, apprehensive at the thought of disappointing the Caliph.
However, despite the last bit of bad news, Mohammed was impressed with Talal. He was a real mover and shaker and could get things done. Some things were understandably still a little out of reach.
“In a way, that was to be expected Talal. We may be able to approach the military alliance later on.”
The two men strategized on tactics of espionage in order to support their foreign goals. With the proper information, anything could be accomplished.
2037 and 2038 saw tremendous growth in the US and a rebound of the economy, though numerous world governments and financial institutions were still angry about the new gold-backed NAD. The $45 trillion dollar US debt had just been reduced to $9 trillion NAD; however, it would still take a while to pay off. American First Corporation was starting to post profits near $60 billion a year and was growing fast, which was starting to offset a portion of the budget deficits. The change in currency also forced many other countries to back their currencies with gold or silver in order to have any chance of recovering from the Great Global Depression and the debt crisis.
With the world’s reserve currency revalued, numerous governments around the world were forced to do the same. The US had remonetized its debt at the expense of its debtors, affecting virtually every other major government. This caused an increased strain between central governments and various financial institutions that had, up to this point, heavily influenced the lending and holding of government debts. The US/China relationship had already been shaky since their incorporation of Mongolia in 2034 at the height of the Great Global Depression. Now the revaluation of the debt owed to China further stretched the already tense situation.
Despite the enormous challenges facing the US, there was an energetic sense in the air as people across America began to feel like things were finally turning around. Roads were being paved, bridges repaired, schools fixed and modernized, and tens of thousands of miles of high speed rail were being laid. People had jobs, and though they weren’t the highest paying jobs, they had a way to put money in their pockets again. People slowly began to spend extra cash, and demand for consumer products started to pick up across the country.
The tariffs on US firms importing products back into the US to sell tax-free finally forced US firms to repatriate their manufacturing back to America. Of course, the nationalization of American assets and facilities in China also forced a lot of US firms to cut their losses abroad. The Chinese government had seized nearly $375 billion NAD from US corporations in an attempt to collect on the US debt the Treasury Department had just remonetized.