XLI
The President Speaks
After a full six hours of sleep, Lois felt like a new woman… almost. She certainly felt better than she had in the last six days. She was addressing the world again in one hour and been awake for only twenty minutes, which had been time enough for two cups of very good coffee brewed by her personal chef. Two more cups and she'd feel human again!
By her side, Clark looked quite passable as a secret service agent in his black suit and glasses. Her man certainly had the build and the quiet confidence to pull off the disguise. The New Genesis aliens Barda and Scott Free also shared a similar disguise, but with less conventionality. Barda drew attention wherever she went... as would any seven-foot-tall woman. Lois suppressed a giggle. The president had made the mistake of asking Barda Free how strong she was when they had first met. She watched as the very tall, statuesque woman snapped off a piece of her marble countertop and ground it to powder in her bare hand as though it were crackers for her soup. They had been close friends since.
Unlike his wife, Scott Free was not a physical power house. In fact, he seemed… average. A full foot shorter than his wife, Scott Free made an unlikely protector. As best Lois could tell, he was simply an escape artist. But Clark certainly respected him and that was fine with her.
As she munched on a bagel, Lois made changes to her speech. She knew her speaking points well enough, but wanted everyone to see the big picture. They weren't alone in the universe. The time for human conflict was finished, they needed to support their allies in the stars.
The important thing right now though was just being available to the public. The last thing she wanted to do was to hide herself behind locked doors... however happy it would have made Clark. That's why she insisted on having the speech on the south lawn. It was a beautiful Fall day and she wanted everything out in the open. She had never backed down from a fight in her life.
Thirty minutes before her speech, Clark excused himself and left her momentarily. His surveillance flight-path as Big Blue had been registered with security and the Air Force. He wanted to personally scan every square inch with a three mile radius from where Lois would be standing. He would remain in the air until she was ready to walk out of the White House and then quickly land while all eyes were on her.
Lois watched from afar as security scanned every press member allowed onto White House property. The White House itself was providing the video feed to the news agencies. Fighters patrolled the skies above with orders to bring down any unknown craft. Block IV rolling airframe missile batteries were covertly positioned to the sides of the White House lawn with programming to shoot down any unknowns. She was as safe as she could be.
At 9:00 A.M. a tired, but confident President Lane descended the steps of the White House to the stage that had been constructed for this occasion. Fifty hand-picked reporters stared up at her with bated breath as she approached the podium. The vice-president took her hand, leaned over to whisper in her ear - only to inquire how she was holding up. She was doing fine actually... Better than he would be as soon as they were able to connect him to the bomb.
Her generals stood behind her, her secret service agents flanked her and the rest formed a barrier from the crowd below. Barda was directly below her facing the reporters, Scott Free was on her left, and now her man of steel on her right. President Lois Lane took the mike and began:
"The world is not at war.
America… is not at war.
As you all know, Kahndaq suffered an inconceivable tragedy two days ago. The American government is sending water, food, and medical supplies to the people of Kahndaq. If their government allows, we will send all decontamination expertise and equipment we have available to help the people of Kahndaq.
This is not the time for inspections, nor for negotiations. This is a time of healing. This is a time of aid… compassion. It is a time to put away our fear. It is a time for Americans to roll up their sleeves, to help where they can, to continue our good work and progress towards a dream of peace and prosperity.
In this age of miracles, we are not a rock, not an island. We are a world of many. Many cultures, many faiths… but I also believe that each of us is born with human compassion, the capacity for charity and understanding. To believe in freedom, you must also believe in basic human compassion.
America believes in freedom. America will not dictate to Kahndaq, or any other nation. We will talk… we will communicate… we will grow. Let us be more than nations. It is my sincere hope that this tragedy will allow us to begin down the path of peace away from the funeral pyre of hate.
As a planet, we stand divided before our neighbors to the stars… We are not alone. Let us face the vastness of the universe… together. We will heal together. We will learn together of the things beyond heaven and earth so the universe may live together.
Our acceptance must begin here. It must begin now. If we close our hearts to our own kind, to humanity, how can we open our hearts to others who are not like us? We can remain ignorant of the Universe no longer. There are things out there beyond our comprehension. We must be a planet united, a people united by our compassion, our hopes, and free out eyes from avarice if we are to behold the glory of the stars."
There was applause.
She fielded questions from the press for twenty minutes, with as many details as she could provide. Many people still did not believe in aliens, even if they walked among them. When she was finished, she turned and invited General Mason to the podium to discuss the situation in Kahndaq. She glanced quickly at Luthor as she rejoined Clark. You believe in aliens, don't you Lex... You just hate them.
She tuned out General Mason's facts and figures that she had already heard too many times. Her mind drifted to other pressing matters, specifically the lack of any response or intel from Kahndaq. She had expected death threats and declarations of war. There had been nothing. Utter silence from the defiled nation.
Maybe she should send Luthor to Kahndaq as a special envoy…