Chapter 5 Custodians of Light

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The Rise & Rise of Homo Luminous

Chapter 5 Custodians of Light

Aftermath

As the UFP & the Luminous got over the shock of victory, as much as it was one, the name Sirus was cemented forever into history. Although well known amongst the Luminous as a great heroin, Sirus was little known to the rest of the UFP other than the first Luminous captain of a UPX ship. That had all changed within a year. She had gone from obscurity, to villain, to saviour & finally a great hero. Above all her sacrifice, & that of her Luminous crew, in defeating the invading Andromedans forced those distracters of the Luminous to think again. No more could the Luminous be brought into question as before, for they were the ones who knowingly sacrificed themselves so that the Earth, & ultimately the UFP, would live on.

This event, this realisation, would revolutionise the UFP. No longer could Homo Sapiens claim a self-righteous position within the Federation, nor Homo Spiritous for that matter. A price had been paid. A very expensive entry price. One that no other could refute. And woe was them that did. A calling cry became the anthem of the Luminous: "Remember the Thermopylae!" It would be a spiritual & holy day for the Luminous. A day which only they truly could rejoice in, unlike any other specie. And it would soon become a weapon against any fool who still tried to treat any Luminous as second rate.

As stated, the UFP would be revolutionised by the self destruction of the UDF Thermopylae. Its reportage & the consequential coverage of the victory over the Andromedans, ensured that the entire UFP population were informed of this historic & horrifying event. All the same, it was also a celebration. An evil & destructive enemy had been defeated. More importantly this enemy had been defeated more or less single handedly by the Federation’s newest member. Praise came from all quarters, especially from the President & Congress. Even, for the first time, the entire Joint Chiefs concurred with the others.

This military victory, however, did not mean a huge influx of Luminous volunteers into the UDF. Although the stigma of pacifist disappeared overnight from the rank & file, most Luminous were still not interested in a military career. Just as before, most were interested in exploring the unknown. As previously UPX &, to a lesser extent, NGW remained the first choice. In fact, thanks to Captain Sirus, Luminous applications to UPX almost doubled. The knowledge that extremely dangerous & deadly aliens out there did not scare any of the Luminous. In fact they embraced the challenge. So much for being a specie of cowards.

Like with the UDF, most other institutions, & above all citizens, rapidly changed their minds about the Luminous. Places that had deliberately blocked Luminous entry now opened their doors. Ironically, Luminous seldom took up positions in these places for some considerable amount of time. It appeared that the Luminous were more than happy to continue to patron those establishments that welcomed them in the first place. What was one conservative university’s loss was another liberal university’s gain.

Not surprisingly then, most Luminous hovered around the centre-left of politics. The first generation was almost exclusively of this political mind set & most Luminous have remained that way over the eons. This was an unusual situation for their Lyonies benefactors have been, for the most part, on the centre-right. The Vargary, Unis, & Homo Spiritous, among most others, are all over the political spectrum, while most Sapiens share the right with the Lyonies. Such are the paradoxes of democracies.

Politics, like societal matters, had been an area of discrimination prior to the defeat of the Andromedans. Only Earth was Luminous so Senators were limited in number &, even with a population of 12 billion, so too were Luminous Representatives low in overall numbers. At first, as often took place, the Luminous politicians could be ignored. Sheer numbers & lack of any party structure or any coalition with one, often saw the Luminous left out of Congressional decisions. Needless to say, any chance that a Luminous could become elected President was ludicrous.

But after the Thermopylae, all that changed. The established parties from the centre-left took in the Luminous Senators & Representatives - one of which was a relative well known Luminous with the name Mal Rensis.

Onward

Mal Rensis had had an extensive career. In his younger years, he had been a crew member, & first officer to Lenous Sirus, on board the Luminous Discovery when First Contact took place with the UFP. After that historic event, he continued to serve with Sirus as the Discovery ventured onto several more missions. And like Sirus, he was taken into custody for only a short period before the Luminous Space Treaty was signed.

Unlike Sirus, Rensis never went onto bigger & better things with UPX. He had stayed with the FSA prior to its eventual end when Full Membership was granted into the UFP. After some years in the Earth (Luminous) Government’s Department of Science & Technology, he then spent a decade lecturing at the great Western University. After a Senator died in the Luminous Planetary government, the position was offered to Rensis. Although only meant to be temporary until the next election, he was nonetheless re-elected twice. Then Rensis stood for the UFP Senate. Having developed a large following among the Luminous, he was successful in his Federal Senatorial bid.

Although not among the first Luminous Senator to represent Earth, that did not distract from the true concerns of Rensis. Like his fellow kind, equality to him really meant equality, not something in token form. Back on Earth, however, such complaints were often ignored by higher levels in the UFP, but as a UFP Senator, ignoring Rensis was somewhat difficult. Nonetheless, when it came to a vote, Rensis personal vote did not matter due to sheer numbers.

Since the Thermopylae, however, that all changed. Rensis had been invited by & joined the Planetary Labour Party, the smaller of the two centre-left groups. It did not take him long to work his way to the top. With very little support from anyone except form the Luminous, he nonetheless made a major impression upon the other Labour Party members. Soon his voice could be heard in the Senate keeping fellow Senators on their toes. Even President Molony would be called to task if some injustice took place.

And for Rensis it mattered little if a Luminous was in need - all citizens were equal & if an injustice went unheard, regardless of specie, then Rensis would be that needed voice. Many minorities now turned to Rensis & in doing so his support base spread far & wide. Soon the opinion polls clearly indicated that Rensis had enough support to become a candidate in the next Presidential election. He did not disappoint.

There were four contestants for the UFP presidential election. President Molony was nearing the end of her second term & by the articles of the Constitution, she could not campaign for re-election. It was an Administration with a mixed success record for the retiring President. She had seen the Monolith finally decoded, a completely successful intervention in the Elysium Universe, successful First Contact with Spiritous Sanctus Sapiens (SSS) & defeat for the Andromedans. Her major stumbling block, if it could truly be called that, was the full integration of the Luminous into the UFP. President Molony, however, was glad to be stepping down.

The four hopefuls, on the other hand, wanted her job & Rensis was one of them. He was not, though, the leading candidate. In fact he was last. Leading the way was Dens Bonlind. Bonlind was Governor of Blurgiss Prime & had achieved a large following from the conservative Federal Alliance. Not far behind was the Conservative Coalition’s Nilous Lynons, a very influential Lyonies Representative & current Speaker of The House (naturally he would have to resign from the House of Representative & hence the Speakership if elected). And thirdly a Sapiens, who had ironically gained the Liberal Democratic Party’s support, & was currently the Governor of Renaissance, John O’Malley. O’Malley had previously led opposition to the Luminous before & little had changed.

There were also three independent & two small party candidates. None of the independents ever had a chance to win, let alone influence the final outcome. The two minor parties, however, at least had a chance at the latter. Often in close elections, the preferences from either minor party could influence the final outcome. This was more often the case with The Greens rather than The People’s Party. This election, though, would be no different &, as previously, the two minor parties took opposite sides. The Greens gave their preferences to Rensis, while the People’s Party gave their preferences, ironically, to O’Malley.

Although the Presidential campaign was supposed to be a four way contest, the media almost ignored the two conservative candidates & concentrated on the two centre left ones. Rensis refrained himself from the start, trying not to get into a negative campaign with O’Malley. The Liberal Democratic Party candidate, however, concerned himself little with such niceties & constantly hammered Rensis with the usual rhetoric about the Luminous. Lynons stayed well clear of such tactics as well as Rensis. Bonlind became frustrated with the media & soon lost his cool declaring that ".. the media are like vultures if not worse! They’ll pick the meat from you’re bones before you’re even dead. The [media] coverage of this election campaign has been disgraceful".

Equal time for the candidates, even with Bolind’s outburst, never really occurred. Even when the Presidential debates began, most of the attention was on O’Malley followed by Rensis. The other two were virtually left out, except when a question was occasionally asked of them. Other than that, not even slight comments were aimed in their direction. Lynons tried to broaden the debates to involve everyone, but his concerns that "… the comments of Governor are bordering racism…" went unheard. Even Bolind concurred, although this went unnoticed.

It was not until the third & final televised Presidential debates when Rensis lost his temper. Clearly O’Malley overstepped the line (if that had not already happened several months previously) when O’Malley blatantly stated "If you want the Federation in taters within five years, then vote for that creature over there [pointing at Rensis]. Just like Captain Sirus almost brought destruction on Earth, so Rensis will upon the entire UFP. At least Sirus realised her mistake & committed suicide to save grace".

The reaction of Rensis was unprecedented. He was First Officer to Sirus on the Luminous Discovery & both were close friends. Apart from insulting the legendary status of Sirus within Luminous society, it was also a deliberate slur aimed at Rensis. A very angry Luminous replied "Clearly you weren’t aboard the Thermopylae! But then again you’re such a coward, you wouldn’t be!" Rensis, now shouting at the top of his lungs, continued, "Remember the Thermopylae; remember Sirus & the 300; now you’ll remember me!"

O’Malley tried to reply to Rensis, but had no chance. The rage within Rensis was horrifying. The Planetary Labour Party’s candidate picked up his lectern, no mean feat considering its weight, & hurled it across the studio at O’Malley before anyone could stop him. O’Malley dived for cover as the coward he was. All this was televised live before billions of UFP citizens. As Rensis was charging towards where O’Malley was hiding, the live coverage was stopped. Complaints came in from billions of viewers demanding the return of the broadcast. It never did.

What the Federation did not see were security guards running onto the podium, where the four candidates were just standing, in an effort to stop the brawl. The nimble Luminous, even at 65 years of age, managed to get past several of them before being restrained. O’Malley looked on in horror at the infuriated Rensis. Never before had he seen a Luminous displayed such emotions, let alone violence. He was not the only one.

The campaign, however, continued. It was not the same, though, after that Presidential debate. The next day, in a shock to everyone, Lynons retired from the election race. In doing so he gave his full & total support to Rensis. Lynons stated, "I’ve always admired the Luminous, but I never thought that they had what it took to be a leader of this Federation. That’s now changed." In appreciation of Lynons’ decision & for the reasons involved, Rensis offered him the Vice-President’s job if he should win. Lynons accepted.

O’Malley’s position, on the other hand, did little to change his campaign tactics. He did, however, cut back on the insults & negative campaigning. He declared that it was because of the "childish reaction of Rensis", but polling immediately indicated that most of the citizens of the UFP were agist at O’Malley’s comments & behaviour at the third debate. Rensis, meanwhile, had surged ahead in the polls & had become a creditable contender to Bolind.

The election itself was an anticlimax as elections go. Thanks to the unorthodox alliance between the centre-left Planetary Labour Party & the centre-right Conservative Coalition, Rensis gained two important things as politics go. First off, he had equalled Bolind as the favourite. Secondly, if he did win, this alliance would also have a slim majority in Congress. This would make life for the Administration easier for its first term in Office.

The results reflected the above situation. O’Malley was slaughtered at the ballot box. He barely received 10 billion votes. Most of these were from fellow Sapiens. The rest of the ballot was shared between Rensis & Boland. It came down to preferences however. And this is what won it for Rensis. The Green vote was expected, but the People’s Party vote was not. After O’Malley was discounted from the race, the flow on preferences from the People’s Party went to Lynons. He had already pulled out from the elections, so all of these votes went to Rensis as he was also the official candidate for the Federal Alliance.

Fresh Blood

President Rensis Administration was not a happy one. Although he would serve two full terms, & more importantly be the foundation for many Luminous presidents to come, many in Congress & elsewhere made life difficult for the Luminous President. Having said that, President Rensis oversaw many reforms for the UFP, especially laws protecting the rights of minority groups. Many complained that the President was deliberately legislating for his own interests, with some justification, but ironically it would be Sapiens who would eventually gain the most.

The most important aspect, however, of President Rensis Administration was known as the Skimmer Drive. Thanks to the technology provided by the SSS, the UFP had successfully built & used Vale Gateways. At first it was only used by UDF units as a means to enter the Elysium Universe & operate with the SSS. Afterwards, however, the Vale Gateways were almost left abandoned. The occasional UDF mission would be conducted in the Elysium Universe in order to keep contact with the SSS, but nothing else required their use.

That was until UPX began exploration missions in the Elysium Universe. Although the SSS were not overly happy over these missions, they did not stop them either. They did often, however, send a "guide" along to accompany the UPX mission. This guide’s job was to ensure that UPX did not get involved in anything that they should not. Having said that, all UPX missions had been briefed on the political & military situation in the Elysium Universe by the UDF. And this situation was considered serious.

That did not stop several breaches of protocol on behalf of UPX captains. Often these were Luminous personnel would could not see the sense in following some of the more ridiculous orders. One such captain, Jo Maincamp, decided on her own to locate the boundary of the Elysium Universe. Not at all understanding the enormous differences in the realities of the different plains of existence, Captain Maincamp & the UPX Pioneer 10, inadvertently discovered the method of skimming. Arriving at an unexpected location, let alone time & date, a UEA Explorer Team of SSS had to rescue them.

Afterwards, when Captain Maincamp was debriefed by UPX, several other captains decided to try the same act of skimming. Unlike the UPX Pioneer 10, however, they managed to return to their starting location at the right place & time. Soon the art of skimming became well practiced & UPX began several official missions using this travel method, even though they did not really understand what they were doing. The UPX explorers did know, though, that they could travel hundreds of light years, in the real time & space universe, within a few hours. It was unbelievable.

All this activity, however, was unappreciated by the SSS. Soon relations became cold between the UFP & the SSS. Not long after, UPX ships started being intercepted by SSS Guardian patrols & turned back. Complaints thus began to be lodged with both the UFP & SSS governments. President Rensis approached the SSS over the matter by himself going to the Elysium Universe. At one point the UDF even got involved & suggested that the UPX ships be withdrawn & Sparta class battlestations would conduct these exploration missions instead. The President just ignored the idea for the stupidity that it was. It might have been one thing to go up against a Tempilous battleship, but not a SSS Guardian.

Thankfully the President’s diplomatic mission was a success. The practice of skimming would be banned, but in its place a new ship engine would be developed that would permit ships to basically do the same thing, albeit only for distance travel. Time travel would be banned. Any violation would be intercepted by SSS Guardian units thus making such missions pointless. Furthermore the ship(s) violating this ban would be confiscated & later destroyed (but not the crews - they would be sent home).

Many in the UFP did not like this situation, especially Congress. Cries of loss of Sovereign rights & so forth, could be heard for weeks, but their complaints were fruitless. UPX did not like the decision at first, but realised that they really had no choice in the matter. The UDF, after rethinking their position, were thankful that there would be no conflict with the SSS. A resent top secret study by NGW concluded that "… a Guardian SSS was without doubt the most deadly & powerful creature known to exist. In terms that we can understand, a Guardian could easily destroy a city of 5 million inhabitants. A Sparta class could do serious damage, possibly even kill a Guardian, but the ship would probably be destroyed in the process. We only have 29 Sparta battlestations. There are well over 1 million Guardians."

So it was that the Skimmer Drive was developed. Several NGW personnel actually went Beyond the Vale to cooperate with the SSS in the design & construction. Unlike a Vale Gateway, which was a structure all of its own, a Skimmer Drive was part of a ship’s overall engine equipment. Essentially the new engine would open a wormhole, in a similar fashion to a Vale Gateway, but then skim the fringes of the Elysium Universe allowing the ship to travel vast distances in a fraction of the time that regular warp travel permitted. Its benefits for the UFP were obvious.

By the end of President Rensis second term in office, the Skimmer Drive had begun to be used by both UPX & UDF vessels. In fact the first ship to gain from the new drive was the UPX Sirus. This ship’s first mission, after its successful trails, was to return to the planet of death which Captain Sirus Lenous had fatefully discovered a decade previously. Unlike the journey of UPX Discovery, which took over a month from Terra to this planet, the UPX Sirus did it in five days. Upon the arrival of the UPX ship, a retired & old Genis Omal dedicated the planet to the memory of the three hundred & one with a new name: Sirus.

Commercial success of the Skimmer Drive came not long after. As the entire UPX & UDF fleets had benefited from the new technology, so too did the rest of the Federation. Distances that once took months to travel, could now be done in days. Trade increased as a result in all manner of things. Tourism, however, was probably the biggest benefactor from the new drives. Now more people could go further & at cheaper fares than ever before. Previously it would not be unusual for most UFP citizens to never leave their sector. Now many ventured far & wide.

Several planets thus became havens for these tourists. One of the most popular was Saturn Prime. It had fallen off the list of popular tourist destinations eons ago. Even though its famous rings were a crowd puller, especially the amazing trip on the "sky train", distance had made this location unpopular. After all it was out towards the rim & the Federation had grown so dramatically since its foundation. Now millions returned to visit. Many even stayed almost doubling the planet’s population in ten years. All this soon returned Saturn Prime into one of the richest planets of the UFP.

The richest planet, Eden, soon discovered, however, that it had serious competition on its hands. If the reversal of Saturn Prime’s fortunes were not enough, then Earth’s was. Already over the last thirty years, Earth had made its presence once again felt within the UFP. Now that travel times had dropped so rapidly, many took advantage of Earth’s business opportunities over a range of products & services. As Saturn Prime returned to its previous fortunes, Earth returned to its previous glory. No other planet was visited like Earth. Its trading figures too resembled its return to an economic powerhouse. Even Epsilon, the UFP Capital, fell into second place in both tourism & export figures. Only imports kept Epsilon in the economic race.

With all this activity centred on Earth, the Luminous, however, began to feel crowded. All of a sudden, Earth was not their planet any more. Like the couple of billion of their fellows who had left the planet not long after First Contact, billions more Luminous left Earth for other locations. Many went to Eden, Saturn Prime, Phoenix & a few even made Epsilon their new home. But, by the time of the second Luminous UFP President Nive Sonchester was elected, just under 1 billion made planet Sirus their new home.

Foundations

It took fifteen years after President Rensis for another Luminous to be elected President. President Nive Sonchester was another who had a controversial Administration. And she did not wait some years to make some critical decisions to cause this controversy, President Sonchester started it off on her first day. The colonisation of planet Sirus, which had begun by the Luminous, was totally illegal. The planet, not to mention the entire region of space around it, had never been claimed by the UFP. Even though the previous civilisation had been destroyed by the Andromedans, the UFP refused to claim the territory for themselves.

The Luminous did, however. It began, thanks to the new Skimmer Drives, as a journey of pilgrimage. Numerous charted ships would take Luminous to the planet for a short stay. Soon, some Luminous set up businesses there to cater for the pilgrims. It all seemed harmless enough & no one took any notice of this enterprise. That was until UPX took an interest in the planet. It was soon discovered that 3 million Luminous had set up permanent residency on the planet. Although the issue was raised in Congress, there was little anyone could do.

Within the next decade, especially with what was taking place at Earth, Luminous headed for Sirus in greater numbers. It was all totally illegal, but the planet was well beyond any UFP jurisdiction. Various issues were raised on the matter, but Congress could not agree to any solution. By the time Nive Sonchester became the leading candidate in the Presidential elections, 958 million UFP citizens inhabited the safe regions of the planet.

Among the Luminous were also a few million from the various Terran species & a similar number of Sapiens, Spiritous, Vargary & Unis. Even some Sassnorah had arrived on the planet & now lived there. It was true that a number of Luminous complained about the presence of other species on "their" holy planet, but it seemed that there was no way now that the Luminous could escape their destiny.

Such was the situation behind President Sonchester’s decision to usurp planet Sirus & all the unclaimed territory between the planet & the current borders of the UFP. Congress was in uproar over the Presidential order & debate seemed endless on the matter. Just as it appeared that Congress would not accept the necessary legislation, the Sassnorah, who had only recently opened diplomatic relations with the UFP, announced their displeasure of the annexation of Sirus & demanded that it was their own. This was ridiculous.

The President’s immediate reaction was ordering the 8th UDF Fleet to Sirus & establish a naval base. Congress was not happy over any of these developments, but were not about to be dictated to by the Sassnorah. By making the decision of accepting the lessor of two evils, Congress passed the Sirus Sector Proclamation Act thereby authorising the President’s Executive decision on the matter.

The Sassnorah were surprised that the UFP had made such a final decision. They were actually hoping that Congress would reject the Sirus Sector Proclamation Act & that their threat had ensured of that outcome. They did not understand that their attempts at manipulation would turn against them. Furthermore the presence of the 8th UDF fleet ensured that they did not attempt anything stupid. Ironically, about 500 000 Sassnorah became UFP citizens. They would become the foundation stone for the future, when the Sassnorah would become a member of the Federation.

The Sentinels

Several more Administrations would go by after President Sonchester before another Luminous became President, but significantly the Luminous could no longer be ignored. As their population increased so too did their voice. As an after effect, the once mighty & influential Sapiens almost became insignificant in a Federation that they created. Never again would there be a Sapiens president, although a number of Senators & Representatives would always remain. Spiritous too soon discovered that the Luminous had become their main rival, while the Vargary & Unis remained in second place as before.

The pretenders to the throne, the Blurgiss, were rather annoyed at being kept in their place Many minorities, on the other hand, were more than happy to see them kept out of the Presidency. Even though hundreds of eons had passed since the Liberation War, a few kept the memories of the past alive. This ensured that the Luminous had their support, especially when the Luminous was a minor specie themselves not too long ago. For their part, most Luminous remembered these early allies & ensured that they were always treated fairly & with respect. This was even given freely to Sapiens in equal measure, although many Sapiens, or Spiritous for that matter, did not appreciate Vargary jokes about how Luminous should hand out sweet potatoes to their cousin Humans.

Within three hundred years, since the Luminous Discovery made First Contact with the UFP, the Luminous had become a major partner in the Federation. Now numbering some 30 billion overall, Luminous influence on several worlds had become obvious. Several worlds had become "Luminous" & their influence in politics & economics clearly showed.

Earth had once again become the heart of the Federation, while on Epsilon Luminous numbered greater than any other specie (although not in the overall majority). In a similar fashion, Eden, Phoenix, Nirvana & Saturn Prime all had large Luminous populations that saw them be the largest group amongst the inhabitants. It was the planet Sirus, however, that was home to the largest Luminous population after Earth. With a population of 5 billion, 4 billion were Luminous.

Such a large population ensured that the planet Sirus soon became an important player in the Federation. Having a UDF fleet also located there ensured security & jobs. UPX soon set up its own base on the planet, while reducing its earlier base at Terra. It was not long, however, for UPX to discover that there were no other habitable worlds within reason of Sirus. A few destroyed worlds were, alas, discovered. These were beyond rehabilitation, unlike four others (Phoenix, Nirvana, Renaissance & Epsilon), which had been brought back to life at the founding of the Federation. Clearly the Andromedans had, sadly, done their job well.

As the Luminous grew in success & numbers, so too did their power base. Although the Congress continued to represent all the sentient species of the Federation, the Presidency never did. It had always been the domain of the larger species; namely Sapiens/Spiritous, Vargary, Zargah, Lyonies & Unis. Now the Luminous would be added to this group. By the time of the sixth Luminous to become President, the Luminous would afterwards basically share this Office with Spiritous. Only occasionally would a Vargary, Zargah or Unis become President.

During the final rise of the Luminous, significant numbers began to occupy numerous positions within the UDF. As before, Luminous had avoided serving in the UDF. Most continued to seek employment at UPX, NGW, MICC or LumCom. After that, most sought employment elsewhere, ranging from large government departments to small business. But as Luminous numbers grew overall, so did their representation in the UDF. Although on a pro-rata basis their percentage was lower than any other specie, 15 million Luminous served in their duties: & 15 million was still an impressive number. Only Spiritous & Unis had larger numbers. Incidentally, the Braggah, followed by Sapiens, had the highest pro-rata representation.

It was the tenth Luminous UFP President, Lenous Mirah, it has been argued, that initiated the final transition of the leadership of the Federation. Like previous Administrations, that of President Mirah was controversial. Its position on the Sassnorah was unlike that of any other. It also caused a clear polarisation of the Federation. One that almost split it. This was no where more seen than in the support for Lenous Mirah herself. The long time supporters of Luminous political leaders, the Lyonies, ceased with this particular election. In the end, however, Mirah was elected thanks to the superior numbers of Spiritous, Unis & Luminous among others.

Ironically, the Luminous on Sirus were the most at risk. After much tension between the Sassnorah & the UFP, Mirah stated that her electoral policy would include an invitation to the Sassnorah to join the Federation. All those, except for the Luminous, who bordered the Sassnorah could not object more strongly. The Zargah, for their part, objected to Mirah on weak economic policy. They argued that bringing the Sassnorah into the UFP would mean immediate funding. Considering the Zargah Sector had been in an economic slump for a decade, they argued with some justification that this funding should go to them instead. Later, when this economic situation had improved, then the Sassnorah may be invited to join the UFP.

Despite all this serious opposition, Lenous Mirah was elected with the barest of margins. Within a year, the President kept to her promise & invited the Sassnorah to join the UFP. This, they did, thanks mostly to a number of Sassnorah UFP citizens from Sirus. It was from this minor population group, that the UFP diplomatic corps called upon, who negotiated the necessary treaty arrangements with their counterparts. Like the Luminous had done, the Sassnorah would have to undergo Associate status first before they would gain full membership. Their votes, however, in the next Presidential elections ensured a second term for President Mirah.

The split, however, within the Federation over the Sassnorah issue would continue for eons. Ironically, it worked somewhat in favour for the Luminous. Sassnorah numbers more or less countered Lyonies numbers. Furthermore, the Sassnorah soon realised the benefits of being a good citizen of the UFP. They would never disappoint or betray the ideals of the Federation, unlike some of its veteran citizen members.

Yet even with this controversy, President Mirah's Administration began a long series of Luminous governments. Actually a more accurate description would be that of Human Governments. More often than not, thanks mostly due to the split, many of these Administrations would be coalitions incorporating Spiritous & Luminous personnel. Although there were a lot of complaints of "A Human only club", Congress nevertheless always had its say in all governmental matters. A counter balance thus ensured that no Presidency abused its power or position.

Overall, for the next 200 000 years, even though crises would come & go, the UFP had stable, wise & above all good government. Many may have complained about little things, but no one dared to leave the great Federation. It was to continue that way until problems on Earth became too great to ignore. Homo Intelligens, who had evolved & established several primeval societies, began to cause problem after problem. Soon, their antics would impact upon, not just Earth, but the entire UFP itself. In doing so, a new Era would soon after begin. The Rise & Rise of Homo Luminous, however, did not end - it would just change direction.

Alternative History Homepage

Chapter 4 Equality For All

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