Ursula Orlich furiously wiped her hands with a wet cloth. They still felt dirty; why did they still feel dirty? She knew they were clean - she had rubbed at them until they had reddened and burned - and yet still, it felt to her as though something, dirt, filth, was stuck fast to them.
She sighed, stopping just by the door to the chamber to lean against the wall. "You're losing it," she muttered to herself, breath catching in her throat. "Don't lose it." Seventeen years, she thought, she had held firm, watching the tides of state go in and out, leaders rising and falling after the other, thinking, always, of the silliness of it all. Laughing, even, at how ridiculous, how bizarre, how surreal, it all seemed to be. But she had taken their place among their ranks, now, and in but - how long had it been? - two months (it couldn't have been just two months, surely not) she had found herself exactly the same as they had been, floundering and desperate and terrified.
She looked down at her hands again, and for a moment she thought she could see the slightest trace of dirt, blood, something, at the edges of her fingers. But she shook her head, and it was gone, her skin perfectly clean, if chafed.
A little confused, a little scared, she at last walked into the room with careful pace, her eyes fluttering as she took in all the new and foreign things before her, the people, the plush and fresh furniture, the bright lighting. She sat, though hesitantly, at her designated seat, leaning back in her chair, pursing her lips as she listened to the long speeches of Commissioners and Prime Ministers and Presidents galore.
And at last, she spoke after Mouri-Kudo finished with her remarks.
"Thank you, dear Commissioners," she said, "for holding this conference. I doubt that anyone here is particularly familiar with me, for good reason, so let me take this time to introduce myself. My name is Ursula Orlich; I am the current head of state, the State Protector, of the Republic of Istkalen. I am something of a caretaker in that position, a steward, really; I will not be here for long."
"The Union is facing a crisis of credibility. We have seen mounting crises, from climate change to the formation of bloc antagonisms, that it has refused to deal, or is incapable of dealing, with. It has become, as a result, useless in the eyes of many. If we stay the present course, we risk the possibility of mass exit and eventual, total collapse. It is thus crystal-clear, in my opinion, that reform is necessary. We must brook no delay in pursuing a course of European reconstruction that creates the institutions necessary to avert disaster, whether ecological, social, or diplomatic - and thus gives the Union renewed purpose and life."
"This means, for us, continued support for frameworks like the Freedom of Navigation Act that protect national integrity and prevent imperialism and piracy. It means the expansion of such regulations to new and other frontiers, from space to the air around us, likely to come into contestation in coming years. It means further work to protect the environment around us, from the institution of union-wide biodiversity protections to the establishment of a European carbon price, whether direct or indirect. And yes, it means investigating the possibility of genuine integration - of zones of free trade, of common protectionsregarding and coordination of monetary policy, even of free movement - that brings the countries of this Union further together and makes discord and war untenable."
"We are pleased, then, to hear of the Commission's committment to a strong role in enforcing and ensuring peace in the Union - that it stands, and will stand, always on the side of the continued integrity and stability of its member states against civil conflict and war that seems ever to grow. We are, however, less than pleased at its apparent opposition to the actions the Council has taken, in recent months, to bring Europe further together and strengthen the rule of law in realms where the medieval principle of might once ruled."
"The power of the Council, we believe, is the only force that can, and will, drive the integration necessary to preserve the peace and the integrity of this Union. The experiments with multilateralism we have seen, from the failed Bergen Treaty to even the Caspian Council negotiations, have seen only partial, if any success. All have found themselves hijacked, held hostage, by one or two major powers who seek, too often successfully, to impose their own interests above those of the Union to the detriment of everyone else. It is only the Council, where in law and in power every member-state is equal, where equitable and unbiased solutions have been and can be found to the issues we face - and thus only the Council that can be trusted with the task of driving forwards the growth and renaissance of this Union in a way that benefits all without privilege or condition."
"Let us stand, then, for a strong, a united, and rejuvenated Europe, where equality and the rule of law prevail - a union with rights for all and privilege for none."
