There was a dull roar through the large circular room. Voices murmured, papers fluttered, chairs scooted across the tan carpet… it was funny how loud a group of quiet politicians could get.

The Secretary-General cleared his throat loudly, which proved to be a powerful signal. All inessential personal quickly stood and left the sound-proofed room. It was possibly the most effective response he'd gotten from the den of bureaucracy yet.

However, these were special circumstances. And the people seated around the curved desk were not the usual U.N. representatives.

"Ladies and gentlemen, rulers of the world, we've met here to deal with several matters that could not be dealt with, except in person." The Secretary-General glanced around the room, trying to appear as stern as possible. "I'm well aware of how invested some of you are in the matters we shall discuss at this summit, and I can understand your urgency. However, I believe we can all agree that there is a certain matter that takes precedence over the others." The Sec-Gen nodded towards the U.S. seat. "The chair recognizes the President of the United States."

"Thank you, Mr. Secretary." The charismatic man smiled, holding the attention of the room easily. "Looking around at the concerned faces in this room, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's just a little bit curious about our beloved nations' personifications." This kicked up a few mumbles and whispers. The president continued, "Now, I'm not saying that they can't offer real insight into the nation we each rule, or that their suggestions are completely useless…"

The President of the Republic of Italy began grumbling.

"…but I believe we can all agree that there are times we could benefit from their temporary absence."

"Or perhaps benefit from their abstinence," the President of France muttered, eliciting several snickers.

The President of the United States cleared his throat. "That being said, I propose an arrangement wherein a ruler may be temporarily freed from the responsibility of tending to their national personification."

"You mean to control them," The President of Russia stated bluntly.

"No," The U.S. President laughed lightly. "I doubt any of us would be truly capable of that."

Nervous murmurs rose around the room.

The U.S. President jumped back in. "What I mean to say is, we would be arranging matters so that they would conveniently want to leave when we wanted their absence."

"Manipulation, then." The Russian President was pulling not punches today. Not that he ever did.

The Secretary-General jumped in. "Thank you, Mr. President," he said, nodding towards the United States seat again. "The chair will now address any concerns about this new proposal."

There was a moment's pause. A hand raised.

"The chair recognizes the Prime Minister of Canada."

"We know so little about them," The Canadian PM announced. "Yes, we all have our various files on what our predecessors were able to gather about them, but for the most part, we know very little else about them. They clearly live their own lives and have their own personalities…"

"How does this affect us?" The Russian President asked.

"It will most certainly affect us if we begin trying to manipulate them," The Canadian PM replied a bit testily.

"Petition to begin further research on the nature of personified nations," The Secretary-General cut in, jumping ahead to the end of the conversation.

Nearly all the nations indicated their approval. They had to admit, they were all a bit curious.

"Passed. Mr. President of the United States, since this pertains heavily to your proposal, would you accept the task of establishing how this will be accomplished?"

"It would be my honor, Mr. Secretary."

"Fine then. Moving on…"

Every leader in the room leaned back in their chairs, suddenly much less interested in the topic.

Well, except for the U.S. President and his clean energy proposal…