Adobe .pdf - Notes from An Alien

the Mediation Board. It will be a tiring experience and will necessitate much more work than I
wish I had to perform. I wish I could just tell people that the Aklans are intelligent and have the
Worlds' best interests at heart; but, people have to be reminded that they've shown us, repeatedly,
that they can act from the highest moral intentions while respecting others' beliefs; and, that they
are more than willing to die for their own beliefs. I think the vast majority of people don't need my
explanations—it's the ones who have financial power, mostly, who have to be exposed to my
position; plus, the common people need the detailed arguments if they decide to wield their own
influence in their Local and Regional Councils."
"Is there a chance that you're getting religious in your old age?"
"Ha! Even Anglana can't convince me to embrace the need for organized religion. She says she
won't stop trying but can understand my reasoning. She claims I'm still acting on Akla's wishes."
"Morna, what do you think about the reality of Akla still being an active force in people's lives?"
"I can postulate that people who form a committed mental and emotional relationship with
Akla's teachings can imagine they are being actively guided by his spirit. But, my speculations
can't incorporate spirit, in the religious sense, as a reality."
"Is my love for my mother a spiritual reality?"
"I would say not."
"Is your attention to your son's development and evolution more than a rational endeavor?"
"I would say not."
"Well, at least you can understand humor."
"How does that relate?"
"I've noticed that all the Aklans I've interacted with have an acute sense of humor."
Morna was silent as she interpolated Mura's comment into her science/religion analyses.
~~~
Anglana had communicated to the Worlds' Council that Mura was to be her planet's contribution
to the membership of the Council and that Mura, alone, could choose her replacement.
The discussions on the Worlds' News Meshes and in the chambers of the Local, Regional, and
Territorial Councils became a nearly riotous situation. The actions of various Independents,
expressed through their troops of Dissatisfieds, were riotous. After a year of discussion in the
Worlds' Council, no decision of acceptance had been reached. There were two years left before the
regular elections for Worlds' Council and the memberships of all other Councils were bound to
see radical changes. The political storm was ferocious. The death toll from the actions of
Dissatisfieds reached 10,043. Half of those were Aklans.
The Worlds' Protective Force was being bled to death by defections.
Corruption had reached a dangerous peak.
Delva and Mura had come to a momentous conclusion—they would appear on the Worlds'
News Meshes, rather than waste time appealing to the Councils, to teach the Worlds a lesson. The
broadcast was scheduled for the week before the lesser Councils' elections.
~~~
Mura, Delva, and Anglana were communing.
They were engaged in creating the structure of a debate between Delva and Mura. It was agreed
that the debate format would help the common person—those not involved in direct political
action but necessary to the healthy functioning of the political system—grasp the essentials of
what they wanted to teach the Worlds.
They had also decided that the main issue to be debated was not Mura's acceptance as a
member of the Worlds' Council but the broader issue of stable government and the eradication of
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