Chapter 37:

It was 2001. Research was continuing at a good pace. Anti-matter containment was solved in theory. Operations in Earth orbit were becoming routine. There still had to be a separation between magical and non-magical space operations, but the magical world more or less solved the stealth problem. They had full access to non-magical technologies, so they heavily tested methods to prevent non-magicals from sensing them. What was not known, was if those techniques would work on Vulcans who had what the wizarding world would consider to be magical mind arts.

Space operations had careful long term plans, to start with what was being called the foundation, and later building upon it. The space station was now very large. The old Mir space station was not abandoned, but kept in orbit and used for some specific experiments.

Unmanned space probes were being sent all over. The old Voyager program was restarted with a magic based power source, and some magical programming to let it find areas to explore and find sources of intelligence and information and then report back to Earth. The magical portions of Voyager were hidden from the non-magical space agencies. It had initial programming to break contact with non-magical Earth, and then continuously accelerate. It should be able to reach many other star systems within decades. It would hide using magic, until it founds signs of humanity from Earth to report to.

It was only after Voyager 6 launched that I remembered that it had led to the plot of Star Trek the Motion Picture. Still, the movie plot turned out acceptably well, after Kirk and Spock solved the story.

The next Section 31 intervention wasn't even at our instigation. MACUSA, the US equivalent to a ministry of magic, asked for a representative to brief the new US President, specifically me. They said that Dumbledore's appearance would be distracting, and that I would be better placed to directly show my vision of what could have happened later in 2001 and about the extraterrestrial situation.

We didn't appear out of any portraits in the White House. We were worried that President McCain might have shot us himself if that happened. Of course we all were continually shielded against the weapons in use in that area at that time, my security team insisted on it. However, to best gain cooperation, we used a division of a US intelligence agency that works with MACUSA. We had an actual appointment for January 22nd. Yes, I existed in official non-magical records, as a French citizen, who lived most of his life in the UK, and now has permanent residency permission in the US after initially having a visa as a uniquely skilled worker. Luna had a similar category. My parents' visas were under the business investor category. Xenophilius was more difficult for MACUSA since his business had no employees, so they put him also in the uniquely skilled worker category and had him listed as a researcher for one of Starfleet's shell companies.

Getting back to the meeting with President John McCain and Vice President Colin Powell. Yes, they weren't the same ones from my 2001, but as they say in the time travel business, butterflies happen. Even without trying to change the timeline, little changes cause larger changes, over time, until the timelines become visibly different.

In the White House meeting room, after introductions were made, President McCain asked, "So you are the outfit who tells each new President about the little green men?"

One of the MACUSA team said, "Leprechauns? No, they mostly stay in Ireland."

Colin Powell, asked, "So you are saying that they are real?"

The MACUSA President Oneiros Tolliver said, "Yes, but we have far more important areas to talk about. Some people have an ability to do what would be called magic. Now we will show proof." He had his wand already in a shirt pocket, so he removed it like it was a pen, then carefully aimed it at the table away from anyone non-magical and transformed a water goblet to a cushion.

The non-magicals prodded it, Tolliver then continued, "I will now turn it into a cat." and did so, then turned it back into a goblet, and continued, "We have kept ourselves a separate, secret society, since 1693, due to the Salem Witch Trials."

President McCain said, "I understand. Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

Tolliver asked, "Is that your government's position?"

McCain said, "No, of course not. The First Amendment is very clear, you are free to practice witchcraft, others are free to have their beliefs about witchcraft, as long as no laws are violated."

Tolliver said, "That is why we have had such a strict separation between our two communities for over 300 years. Our connection between our two governments, and in a similar manner throughout most of the nations on Earth, is to help contain incidents that cross over between the communities, to protect each community, and to keep the Statute of Secrecy intact."

Vice President Powell asked, "I notice you are using the past tense. Is it your intention to change the relationship between the US government and your magical congress?"

Tolliver answered, "MACUSA, which stands for Magical Congress of the United States of America, is itself part of the ICW, which stands for International Confederation of Wizards. It requires that each national magical congress or ministry uphold the Statute of Secrecy, except for selected few non-magicals who are informed about magic, but are required to not tell others about magic. Magic that causes the erasing of memories is used when necessary.

There are presently trends, which I can and will tell you about, that might cause the ICW to change its decision in the future. MACUSA cannot decide on its own to change ICW policy.

The secondary trend is advance of technology which might result in knowledge of magic becoming too widespread to contain."

McCain interjected, "There is barely a secret in Washington that hasn't been leaked to the press. If you have been briefing the previous Presidents, how has it not been leaked?"

Tolliver answered, "I assure you, we are very good at keeping knowledge about us from spreading. Like I said, that was the secondary trend. The primary trend is probably what you thought this meeting was going to be about, and that is extra-terrestrial civilizations. We have determined that spacecraft of extra-terrestrial origin have been observing Earth since 1957, and in one accidental case crashed here in 1947. We have also determined that they are waiting until we have reached certain future technological milestones before openly contacting us. And finally, we have determined that there are a variety of civilizations in our region of space, some friendly, some hostile, some controlling, some predatory. Out goal is to build a united Earth of sufficient capability as to meet these extra-terrestrials as peers, before reaching the thresholds that would result in them openly contacting us."

McCain said, "But this isn't just theoretical is it? You have been acting. How?"

Tolliver answered, "I am going to turn the floor over to Tom Picard who has been one of the leaders of that effort, and who has an ability unusual among those of us with magic, the ability to see certain information about timelines, and possible futures."

I said, "Thank you. I'll go through the recent history. In late 1993 we obtained proof that aliens had crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947. There was no official record, and all people involved were sworn to secrecy, but using magical mind reading techniques, people involved, who are now retired, were checked, and it was confirmed that extra-terrestrials accidentally crashed there, were captured, interrogated, and later escaped, repaired their spacecraft and left. This confirmed other information that a people called Vulcans, from a planet 16 light years away, have been observing Earth since 1957, but carefully avoiding contact.

The magical community, the ICW, agreed that we need to prepare the planet for future contact. We decided that our highest priorities were to make sure that no conflict occurs between magicals and non-magicals, between magicals with each other, and between non-magicals with each other. We determined that scale of war possible in any of these circumstances could be catastrophic to all of us. In addition we determined that we will not give an opening for an alien civilization to use divide and conquer tactics. Furthermore we decided that we will combine magic and technology, to develop a space combat ability that should dissuade nearby civilizations from considering Earth as a place to be conquered or guided, that we would join them as equals.

Our initial intervention was to recruit scientists and engineers in both the former Soviet Union and the United States. Then, the mission was expanded to co-opt the Soviet resources, including personnel, and any stray nuclear or other weapons. Then, a base was needed. As the project scaled up in Kazakhstan, it was decided to start helping the non-magical country, partly to improve cooperation, but also as a showcase of how a society that combined magic and technology might look like."

McCain asked, "Did your outfit end communism?"

I answered, "No, that was before we were doing any interventions. We did however, help secure the portion of the Soviet weapons stockpile and weapons making knowledge, that had the possibility of falling into non-state-actor hands.

After a while, the experiment in Kazakhstan was too successful, in a way. We were seeing a trend where all high technology throughout the world was going to be outclassed by companies in Kazakhstan that had help from magic. Several other magical ministries or congresses, including MACUSA, demanded that their non-magical counterparts not be left behind. Our next step was creating 10 research centers around the world, including one in San Francisco, that would both develop space technologies, but also help the non-magical industries of their region, and prevent wars or terrorism, among non-magicals and magicals.

We prevented a terrorist attack in Oklahoma in 1995, and one planned for September 2001."

I then projected imagery of both attacks from my timeline, carefully curated to not show differences between the timelines.

McCain said, "So you guys are helping us. What do you want? Why should we trust you?"

Tolliver answered, "There has been a lot of mistrust over the centuries between our two communities. As you have pointed out there would be many that would want to try to kill us, maybe not as high a percentage as in 1692, but not absent either.

That is why we think some more years should pass before dropping the secrecy, but also feel that it must be done before any open contact with extra-terrestrials occur. Our current thinking about how to deal with mutual mistrust, would be government to government relations, rather than having either government try to rule the other community. We would like to establish the foundations of that relationship, here, today, which will evolve when open contact between our communities are reestablished."

McCain said, "Allright. Let us keep our communication lines open. I'd also like to test your ability to help, by asking you to look into American POW's or human remains, in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia."

We went to a lot of weddings in the last few years. Most recently, we went to the wedding of George and Ivett Weasley. After enormous effort by both of them, they convinced the best man Fred Weasley and Ivett's maid of honor and childhood friend from Hungary who works at Starfleet Kazakhstan, Enikő, to start dating each other. Enikő was a deer animagus, exactly as her name in Hungarian would suggest. George told Fred that if he is learning to speak Hungarian, then so is Fred.

George and Ivett's wedding was in Kazakhstan, not the Burrow, although all of the Weasleys attended as well as many of their Starfleet and Hogwarts friends.

After Luna came back from Starfleet Medical, my parents and Xenophilius were waiting for us, with Picard wine for all of us except Luna and Renée who were served grape juice. We still didn't know how my mother knew these things. Luna said, "A boy, and they say January 5th, but he will actually be born on January 2nd."

Renée was playing with her magically animated magical creatures. Xenophilius turned up the difficulty level so that chasing them led them to hide, while a gentle approach led them to stay close.