A murmur ran through the crowd. Many of the delegates present were still loyal to the Juireans; many were not, yet they all missed the stability the Juireans had brought to their sectors. For the most part, Humans were resented by the majority of the delegates, even though all those present knew there was no viable alternative at the time.
“After the war, and the destruction of Juir, we Humans found ourselves deluged with calls for leadership from the members of the Expansion. For thousands of years, there had always been one central race to set the rules and maintained peace and stability in the galaxy. Now that the Juireans were gone, that job fell to the Humans.”
Adam paused to take a sip of water. He caught Kaylor’s eye, who was watching him intently with a frown. Adam sent him a quick wink as he finished with the water.
“Now the thing you have to realize about Humans is that we enjoy being in charge, so the opportunity to govern a galaxy was quite appealing to many of us, even though we didn’t have a clue about what we were doing. Luckily for us — and for all of you — none of the members sought to challenge us militarily for that position. That would have been a mistake.
“However, it wasn’t long before we began to realize just how involved the Juireans had been in the day-to-day operations of the Expansion. The rules and regulations that had evolved over time — along with their enforcement — came as second-nature to the Juireans, and it appeared at first that the Expansion functioned pretty much on its own, with very little outside influence or direction.
“We were wrong. It turned out that running a thing as big as a galaxy takes a total commitment from those attempting it. Over the past seven years, the Human race has tried to embrace that commitment, not only for the good of the Expansion, but also for ourselves, for without this total commitment, we were doomed to fail.
“As you’re probably already aware, Humanity is very good at certain things, and primary among these is the fighting of wars. This was the main reason the Klin chose us to go up against the Juireans. However, we also pride ourselves on being good administrators. This is a talent, however, that we may have been fooling ourselves about.
“Most of the governmental systems on Earth consist mainly of an accumulation of past laws and regulations all stacked one on top the other, with very few of the old, inefficient or outdated laws ever being purged from the system. We simply write new laws to try and correct the effects of the old ones.
“But now we found ourselves in control of a galaxy, and just like before, our leaders jumped right in and starting setting down thousands upon thousands of new laws, regulations, and guidelines regarding how the Expansion should be managed, even though we had no idea what we were doing. Unfortunately, a lot of these early efforts didn’t work and only made things worse — to say the least. The feedback from many of you in this room has helped us gain our footing, but it’s still a mess.
“Most of what I’m saying is just a lead up to what has been our greatest revelation. On the Earth, our land is divided into about two hundred separate and distinct countries. I know most of you cannot grasp this concept, but you must understand we are new to the galactic community. Before now, we had not looked upon ourselves as one race or one planet among many. We do now — and things are changing — but old habits die hard.
“But now we found ourselves in charge of a system with eight-thousand separate units — like having eight-thousand countries to deal with. This has proven to be incredibly difficult for us. For example, most of the countries on Earth have consulates — diplomatic missions — with all the others. Now — as a race — we had to establish eight-thousand more, and with races and cultures completely foreign to us. This caused an overwhelming demand for not only thousands of new diplomats, but also for all their support staff. In addition, we found that this new responsibility spilled over into so many other areas we had never imagined, from commerce, to medical science, to supplying housing and other materiel support for all our various missions. And more than just the sheer need for personnel, there has also been an unbelievable amount of new things to learn — from protocols, to cultural differences, histories and so much more.
“The Juireans, for their part, had four thousand years to evolve into the role we Humans suddenly inherited overnight. We were allowed no period of transition. One day we were a solitary planet existing by ourselves in the Far Arm. The next, we were expected to assume the position of leaders of an entire galaxy. The job has been daunting, as well as incredible strain on the Human race.”
He took another sip of water. Now it begins….
“And now to the main reason for this meeting,” he began. “After much discussion back on Earth, we have settled on a course of action which, over my objections, has been called The Cain Initiative. Although it is named after me, I was not the first to suggest it. Instead, there has been a constant and growing group of Humans who have supported this action almost from the beginning. At the conclusion of this meeting you will be sent more detailed explanation and guidelines for the Initiative, but in summary, it simply states that the Human race is relinquishing all control of the Expansion-”
An uproar of voices exploded throughout the assembly. Although none here were especially fond of the Humans, they were accustomed to having one authority in charge. After all the turmoil, confusion and uncertainty following the fall of the Juireans, they were not anxious to have a repeat of those times.
“Please calm down. Quiet everyone,” Adam pleaded. Once order was restored, he continued. “That’s right: Humanity is giving up the Expansion. We will be returning to our part of the galaxy, namely the Far Arm. This changeover will happen in approximately six months. And now for more of the details.
“We have designated Kroekus of Silea as the interim Administrator of the Expansion Union to assist in the changeover, a role he has been competently filling for several years, yet until now, always under Human direction. Over the next six months, and with your help, he will be tasked with devising a governing document which will establish the general operation principles for the new EU. The representatives within this room will form the core of a new governing assembly. Once complete control is turned over to the EU, you may decide to have direct elections of your leaders, or may choose them from within the assembly. The ultimate decision will be yours, as will all others that follow.”
Adam continued to get more serious with each new item he outlined. “We do realize that with the sudden departure of the Humans there will need to be established a new universal military and police force to maintain order throughout the galaxy. To achieve this, each member will be requested to supply one military-style starship, with trained crew, to the Expansion. If this is accomplished, then the new government will control a police force of eight thousand ships, making it the second largest military force ever to operate within the galaxy. This should go a long way to maintaining security for your respective worlds.
“In addition, Kroekus will continue to advise the EU in financial matters concerning currency, banking and trade — something he is very proficient at — so there should not be a repeat of the meltdown that occurred when the Juireans left.”
Adam paused again and took another sip of water. When he finished, he looked out at the crowd with burning eyes. “This next part you should pay particular attention to. Although the Humans are leaving the Expansion, we have a word of warning for all of you present: We are not doing this out of weakness. We are doing this because we do not want to repeat the path taken by the Juirean people. We do not want to become slaves to our success or to the sheer size of our endeavor.