The African Union has nearly unified the entire African continent, though not in the form of a single countryâ
In reality, this will lead to some issues: currency, policies, power structures, customs... The barriers between countries have disappeared, but that doesnât mean people can easily move.
The African Union is a parliament, a cooperative organization modeled after the European Union, founded because King TâChaka of Wakanda couldnât bear to see his compatriots killing each other. Reaching today was an unexpected journey.
Since itâs a parliament, it means that truly major matters need to be discussed, like Ultron.
Ultron has long been exposed to the African Union and has brought immense pressure upon it.
"...11 months ago, the Rocksen Group suddenly halted its frontline attacks, and then we discovered those combat robots; they call themselves Ultron, as everyone knows."
TâChalla is reporting as the Chief Commander of the African Union military:
"Before that, the Rocksen Group occupied parts of the Middle East and North Africa, directly interrupting our trade routes with Europe. After that, the Rocksen Group never appeared before us again, clearly killed by the machines they created themselves.
And Ultron is a more lethal opponent than Rocksen; they develop too quickly."
Despite the difficulty in obtaining intelligence amid intermittent communication failures and Ultronâs occupation, TâChalla still managed to capture some. He is now using a classic projector to "screen videos."
Compared to "advanced" storage systems and devices, projectors and film are indeed much less efficient, but thereâs no worry of them inexplicably being burnt out by electrical currents, making them the primary storage technology of the African Union, especially for military intelligence.
The screened video splices together reconnaissance recordings from different stages and tries as much as possible to stay in the same area. Itâs clearly visible that at first, it was just human vehicles and equipment bustling about; soon the extraction became "explosive," "reckless," even one might say destructive:
Oil wells spewing flames, mines directly collapsing, the extraction utterly disregards cost and consequence, or perhaps such has already been calculated, only its operation differs vastly from human methods.
The result is the land seems to be undergoing metallization. This is Ultron.
"It has been eroding this land, and our frontline has retreated significantly. We cannot retreat anymore; if we retreat, Somalia will be finished!
We must continue to hasten military construction and immediately dispatch troops to thwart its activitiesâ
Just now, we received a message, a message brought back by our frontline reconnaissance soldiers at the cost of their lives: He said he saw Ultron robots swarming out and heading towards the Middle East!"
TâChallaâs finger forcefully taps the screening board: "They must have encountered a strong enemy in Europe! This is the best time for us to launch an attack!"
"But if we do that... I remember our social system canât bear the strain. If we proceed, we are risking everythingâ"
A member of the assembly raised his hand, a plump one with a gold chain, which hasnât been very valuable since industrialization, but of course, remains one of the most valuable metalsâif the market could return to a free economy.
Then a second member chimed in: "Comparatively, we should seek new paths, wartime economy has rendered our nationals overwhelmed, many complaining and fearing their prosthetic devices.
If they really leave, shouldnât we seize the opportunity to sail and contact the Americans?"
He stood up and opened his arms to his compatriots: "We previously rejected Rocksen, if we had chosen cooperation back then, perhaps Ultron wouldnât have had the chance to grow into what it is today!
Though the connection is broken, donât you remember the last time we received information from the outside world?
New AmericaâI mean President Ellis has significantly boosted the GDP of the entire United States! They have markets, money, technology, people...
We need more allies, not oppressing our own people!
Even if someone is indeed attacking Ultron, whatâs that got to do with us? Instead of using our nationalsâ lives to support others, we should focus on improving their lives!
Our economic development has stalled for a long time; itâs time to reform internally..."
"Oh? How to reform?"
Mos turned around, the red prosthetic eye examining the member caused him to feel uneasy, but he still stiffly spoke:
"The countryâs minerals must be controlled by the state! The Atlas Group is simply too big, if this continues, it is bound to become... some kind of monopoly!
We should pursue anti-monopoly! We should nationalize the Atlas Group, think about how much money this company earns every year!"
The discussion at the scene had already begun, and soon a calmer, more composed member raised a hand. However, in TâChallaâs eyes, he seemed to be striving to create an air of... an elite politician.
"We should nationalize the Atlas Group!"
"Yes! Thatâs what I mean!"
The atmosphere of the discussion on the scene suddenly reached a climax!
Nationalization of the Atlas Group?
This was quite a bold topic!
Now African politicians have learned a few things, though the limitations of equipment and lack of educational accumulation make it hard for them to be as shrewd as real cyber-politicians, they understand the basic conceptâ
Nationalizing an enterprise, isnât that just taking over the enterprise, allowing the politicians to do whatever they want?!
Simply put, capital seizing a company would go through acquiring equity and shares, but governmental units, thatâs nationalization!
And some "shrewd" individuals think even further: first nationalization, then leveraging their power for "privatization," in the end making it their own?
Nationalizing an enterprise, this was the first case on the African continent!
But whenever they thought of the Atlas Group, they couldnât help but salivate...
TâChalla observed the faces of these people with utter disappointment:
He was here to conduct a military report, yet the topic inexplicably veered to this, in fact, this topic had been hinted at earlier... back when the United States first collapsed, clearly someone had listened to the Rocksen Groupâs lobbying at that time.
Perhaps now someone remembered the lobbying.
Yet, his people were dying, every moment.
TâChalla looked at his father TâChaka without hiding his disappointed gaze, eyes seemingly saying:
Did you see, Father, these are your "brothers."
The latterâs face was flushed red: "What are you talking about!"
"Your Majesty!" Another member raised a hand, "Clearly everyone is very interested in this! This is the most deserving topic to explore, itâs a democratic meeting!"
"Yes, yes! Perhaps our production capacity is insufficient because Atlas is a single enterprise. Think about it, handing this company over to the union will improve efficiency and boost our GDP by so much!"
"Ahem..." The member next to the one proposing nationalization interrupted the discussion by speaking, looking towards Mos, "President Mos, how do you see it? We collectively agree this task is most suitable for you, youâre the most knowledgeable among us.
Trusting this enterprise to you is the best for the union."
TâChalla looked towards Mosâ
TâChaka surely wouldnât agree, he had interrupted such thoughts multiple times in previous meetings...
Unfortunately, he also denied some of TâChallaâs other ideas, as maintaining the democratic nature of the union was very important in his eyes.
Thus, these rodents needed a new leader to lead them into dividing... the "nationalized" ownerless Atlas Group.
In the othersâ view, Mos would likely agree, as the greatest power was entrusted to him.
However, TâChalla knew, or rather he believed... he wasnât mistaken.
The people looked towards Mos, at this Tanzanian President, Minister of the African Unionâs Department of Industrializationâ
His response to them was laughter!
"HahahahahaâEveryone, nationalization is a great proposal! Itâs novel, and indeed meaningful!"
Many members present were pleasantly surprised, and quite a few who remained silent earlier also revealed happy expressions. However, a few were shocked and angry, or rather ashamed.
But Mosâs expression and voice quickly sank:
"But nationalization, first, there must be a country, right? I donât see a country hereâ"
"Just a bunch of robbers, thieves... a bunch of shameless scoundrels!"
The expressions on everyoneâs faces, whether secretly delighted or disgraced, froze completely!
BANG!
Mos kicked the table in front of him to pieces. The industrial prosthetic wasnât agile but exerted enormous force, the explosive fragments seemingly foretold something, something abstract within this "hall of democratic decision-making" also shattered!
"Shameless scoundrels donât deserve to appear here, a bunch of riffraff mixing among us... General TâChakaâ"
"Take them to prison, thatâs where they belong."