Arkrium (Ar-kree-uhm)
By Jack Ross
The whole summit was broadcast live, so I don't need to rehash it. But I'm going to, because I'm on special assignment and my editor can't tell me what to do any more (sorry Danielle)*. Everything was on the verge of falling apart. You could feel the tension as world leader after world leader expressed their dismay and disgust with the Roraima people, with the noteable exception of the Canadian Prime Minister who encouraged all to consider the broader context. For all President Torrie Eltap's preparations, the whole thing seemed like it was ready to fall into disaster, maybe even another armed conflict... But President Eltap never so much as flinched. Smiling her winning smile as each one danced around calling her the "T" word. And when all the secretaries, presidents, and prime ministers had their chance to speak, she quietly gestured to someone off to the side, and dropped a bombshell; "Ladies and gentlmen, I would like to introduce Ellie and Jacob Hersche."
Everyone was stunned, even me. These kids, twins, couldn't be more than 16 years old, but here they were crating out a box as two others rushed out with a table for them to put the box on.
"I'm Ellie," the young lady said brightly."I'm Jacob," the young boy said, working the crowd.
"But everyone calls him Hersche,"
"And this is Arkrium." They said in unison as they pulled off the crate covering, what can only be described as, the granddaddy of all science experiments. Arkrium, for years only a theoretical element, has been the holy grail of clean energy for decades. Thought to be found too deep below the earth's crust, scientists could only dream of one day obtaining it, as the enormous pressure that far down would crush any vessel sent to retrieve it like a ball of paper... But for certain Metas, that's not really an issue. The foreign dignitaries, moments ago smug in their distaste for the Roraimian people, now sat in stunned silence as the kids turned their contraption on, and evidently wirelessy charged all of their cellphones.
"As you can see, my most esteemed colleagues, Roraima has much to offer the world. We carved out a sanctuary with violence, to be certain, but we do not wish to join the world in violence. We want to give your countries what they've been looking for, for the last 100 years; Infinite clean energy." To put it in perspective, the glowing rock inside the science experiment is roughly the size of a bottlecap, and my wife, a nuclear physicist working and teaching at Harvard, tells me it could power the entire city of Los Angeles for two years, give or take. The Roraimians say they could have a thousand times this much brought safely to the surface in the space of a week.
After a few moments, one by one, each of the assembled dignitaries look at each other. But it's that moment between the US Secretary of State and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, caught in that amazing photo taken by Times photojournalist Tim Holt, that said everything; Agree to recognize Roraima, and gain access to the most powerful substance in the world, or face the consequences of turning their back on the nation poised to become the next global superpower.
The treaty was signed in an elaborate ceremony the next day, even by the US President himself. All 12 countries -- the United States, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, France, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, Argentina, Pakistan, and, of course, Roraima -- signed the agreement, to recognize Roraima as an independent nation. Further to that, each of the 11 other signatories agreed to petition the United Nations to allow Roraima membership.
Arkrium, the most powerful substance on the planet, literally gave birth to a nation. Incredible things we see in this age of heroes.
-JR
*Editor: No you're not.
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