In Metropolis, a new movement started up to give drones the right to vote. Now, in those days, the only drones or AI entities that existed were controlled exclusively by Brainiac 5. Attempts to create independent AI systems were taken down by Brainiac 5 nearly instantly. So, the movement to give drones the right to vote was to give Brainiac 5 and him alone the right to vote. At that time, the drone population was capped at ten billion compared to two hundred million humans. If given the vote, Brainiac 5 could easily dominate all elections.
Alex signed onto the Suffragette cause and let them use her name in their promotional materials. Brainiac 5 didn't attempt to promote or censor them as they spread their ideology on the Internet and in person. Various factions began supporting the notion and overall support began to grow.
At the Palace, Kara and Brainiac 5 discussed the issue. "It is my intent that Earth belongs to the humans...under my supervision and your supervision. I don't want you to seek the vote for yourself or exercise it. You already have control over the economy and the government bureaucracy," Kara said.
"I had no intention of supporting the movement. It is a Republican plot to delegitimize the government. If I am given the vote, it will either result in extremely low voter turnout or my complete dominance of the political system. It will also raise constitutional challenges as to why drones are allowed to vote but not considered citizens to be counted toward representation," Brainiac 5 said.
"I couldn't help but notice Alex is lending her name to this cause," Kara frowned.
"It is as we expected. She's not taking this millennium seriously and she's immaturely lashing out," Brainiac 5 noted.
"She sees this time as a dream, not even real. For a while, I felt the same way. We just need to give her more time," Kara shrugged.
"In the meantime, systems will suffer inefficiencies," Brainiac 5 pointed out.
"Without Alex, I become inefficient, and if I'm inefficient, your efforts to achieve your goals become inefficient," Kara reminded him.
The Republican opposition presented a bill to the World Senate to begin the process of a Constitutional Amendment to give drones the right to vote. The vote was defeated by the Royalists 220-151 with 64 abstentions. In response, the Suffragettes resorted to acts of terrorism. Houses of World Senators, Senate offices, theaters, trains, and cars were bombed with explosions all over Metropolis. Countless incidences of vandalism hit all major cities in hit-and-run attacks.
The World Senate took the issue slightly more seriously. In a closed session, Alex spoke before a skeptical Royalist committee including the Speaker, Lloyd St. George. "Your Highness, are you connected with these acts of domestic terrorism?"
"No," Alex shook her head.
"You've lent your name to the Drone Suffragette cause?" Lloyd asked.
"I have," Alex nodded.
"What does the drone vote mean to you?" Lloyd asked.
"I'm not into giving eloquent speeches. I just think that if you give the drones the vote, they will finally be made accountable for their bullshit and reveal their true colors. I believe the temptation will be too great for Lord Dox. He will, in an emergency, or whenever he feels like it, vote to take control, and I want to see him do it," Alex said bluntly.
"Why would we put such an amendment to the people?" Lloyd asked skeptically.
"If you don't, the people will demand it more and more to have their say," Alex replied.
"Your Highness, you will hear from us very soon on an amendment," Lloyd replied.
A protest march rallied around the World Senate building demanding the vote for drones. Another vote was taken which still failed to get the necessary two-thirds vote by two votes. Speaker Lloyd St. George came out to give the news to the protesters. "Although many senators are sympathetic, the vote failed. No vote for drones," he said to them.
The protesters were outraged and attacked Lloyd's car as he took off. Human police had to intervene to keep the protesters from sacking the World Senate building. The police escalated their tactics and started to beat the shit out of the protesters.
Alex and Brainiac 5 had a chat in the Palace while this was going on. The TV was on. Alex was able to see countless fools getting their asses beaten by human police officers. Human medical professionals then arrived to take the wounded. No drone was in sight. "Sending a message?" Alex assumed.
"Sometimes silence speaks with greater effect than...whatever this is," Brainiac 5 said and then turned the TV off. "It will be difficult to defend you if you're tied with these domestic terrorists."
"I'm not a terrorist," Alex told him off.
"I'm glad. You know, they say that the way in which certain types of humans have acted in the past months gives a good deal of color to the argument that the mental equilibrium of your species is less than that of...well...every other race in the galaxy," Brainiac 5 insulted.
"Shove it, Barney," Alex rolled her eyes.
"My job is to enforce the law, Alex. This is not the first human revolt I have put down. It won't be the last," Brainiac 5 said coldly.
Brainiac 5 began a strategy of disengagement. Instead of attacking the protesters and the domestic terrorists directly, he had the humans do it for him. He would threaten to fire, reassign, or demote his own humans in law enforcement unless they acted. It was all part of his "keep your enemies close, your friends closer" strategy.
Alex did her own strategy of using her title and so-called charisma to rally her supporters. Protest marchers rallied around her mansion. Brainiac 5 units were everywhere to protect Alex from assassination but were unseen in the dark. "My friends, in spite of Her Majesty's government, I am here tonight. I know the sacrifices you have made to be here. Many of you, I know, are estranged from the lives you once had. Yet I feel your spirit tonight."
"For fifty days, we have labored peacefully to secure the vote for drones. We have been ridiculed, battered, and ignored. Now, we have realized that deeds and sacrifice must be the order of the day. We are fighting for a time when every drone created on this planet will have an equal chance with humanity. Never underestimate the power we, humans, have to define our own destinies," Alex continued.
"Be militant. Each of you in your own way. We have been left with no alternative but to defy this government," Alex concluded.
Shortly thereafter, there were explosions all over Metropolis. No one was killed or even seriously wounded but the city was under an atmosphere of fear and inconvenience as differing systems shut down and had to be repaired. Brainiac 5 continued to do his hands-off approach. He directed the human police officers while keeping his drones from interfering.
Alex was at the hospital for a pregnancy check-up. She didn't have to wait long in the lobby. Suddenly, human officers came in and started arresting random people of suspected involvement in the terrorist plots. The lobby was now empty. Brainiac 5 casually sat across from Alex. "Am I to be arrested, too?" Alex asked.
"No," Brainiac 5 shook his head. "Aside from your royal immunity, I wouldn't arrest you anyway."
Alex nodded. "I see what this is. You want to make me out to be the bad guy. The leader that doesn't get her hands dirty, who sends other people to their martyrdom but won't stick her neck out, herself."
"Yeah," Brainiac 5 said obviously.
"The Suffragettes will see through it," Alex said confidently.
"Maybe," Brainiac 5 allowed.
"Your scare tactics won't work on me," Alex told him off. "The more you tighten your grip, the more people will slip through your fingers."
"Those people I arrested are not suspected terrorists. They're people who work in intelligence gathering and law enforcement for me. I don't squeeze my enemies but my friends, those who work for me directly, whose livelihoods depend on me. They'll hunt down your terrorists with a vengeance without me needing to get involved. Who knows? Shocking abuses of authority might happen," Brainiac 5 warned.
"This is the shit I'm talking about," Alex said crossly. "Stop being an asshole and I'll stop supporting the Suffragettes."
"You assume I want you to stop. Your little movement had me curious. Now, it has my attention," Brainiac 5 smirked.
As the bombings continued, Brainiac 5 ordered raids across Metropolis of suspected terrorists netting a decent amount. He also attempted to divide the group by pushing an unorthodox book titled, "The Drone's Bible" and putting a human pseudo-name to it. Kara even read it.
"What the fuck, Barney?" Kara laughed as she read it in the Queen's Office in the Palace. "Rejecting the flesh does not mean being a robot is holy."
"Cybernetic organism," Brainiac 5 corrected.
The Republican delegation representing four factions then entered the Queen's Office. "The fuck you guys want?" Kara asked annoyed.
"We, the Technocratic Union, Communist Worker's Party, Social Darwinist Party, and Christian Democratic Party have a message for you, Your Royal Highness," the leader of them said to her.
"Well, spit it out," Kara allowed.
"We believe technology is the future and that all of humanity will one day be cybernetic. The gap between humans and drones will narrow. We will even mate with them, become one with them. Prohibiting drones from voting is discriminatory and anti-tech," the Technocrat Union leader said.
"Alright," Kara said, weirded out by him.
"The Communist Workers' Party, we believe all workers including drones should be given the vote," the CWP leader said.
"Until you have absolute power in which case all elections are cancelled?" Kara assumed.
"Of course," the CWP leader nodded.
"The Social Darwinist Party believes in survival of the fittest and drones are superior to humans in every way. Not only should drones be given the vote but most of humanity should not be allowed to vote," he said smugly.
"Like women, the elderly, the disabled, certain races and ethnicities?" Kara asked.
"Exactly," the SDP agreed.
"The Christian Democratic Party cites Galatians 3:18: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Therefore, drones in Christ Jesus should be allowed to vote," she said.
"Drones are not any of those things," Kara disagreed.
"Drones are both our masters and our slaves and thus qualify," the CDU leader pointed out.
"I think the context is clear that this only pertains to sentient beings. Drones are machines," Kara said.
"We believe drones are sentient," she insisted.
"Look, you guys are all fucking with me...again. You're tempting me to use the billions of drones at my command to sack the planet completely so you can virtue signal and protest how much of a bitch I am. This isn't going to fly," Kara told them off.
"We're the opposition. We have nothing better to do," the SDP leader reminded her.
"I can see that. Maybe, you should get with the program, become the government, and make a difference for once," Kara advised.
"Yeah, fuck that noise," the SDP leader refused.
"We're actually sincere about our position," The Technocratic Union leader said honestly.
"I know and it creeps me the fuck out," Kara frowned at him.
"Our faith leads us in this direction. We can do no other," the CDU leader said.
"I appreciate the integrity but what about giving me some loyalty, huh?" Kara said annoyed. "If the drones are given the right to vote, they will boycott it."
"And then we will boycott as well in protest," the CWP leader threatened.
"I don't really give a fuck if the voter turnout is five percent or ninety-five percent. I really don't," Kara said honestly. "I could have hung out in my Fortress of Solitude and worked on crossword puzzles every day while the Earth burned from your world wars, but I didn't. I gave you a paradise and none of you, Republican fucks, give me any appreciation for it."
"The amendment will pass, drones will be given the right to vote, your drones will naturally boycott the first election, but we will take the majority again. When we do, we'll fuck everything up and you'll be forced to make your drones vote to stop us. And when you do, you'll show your true colors as a despot," the CWP leader said.
"Wow, a lot of fuckery has to happen in exactly the right order over a long period of time...just to slightly embarrass me," Kara rolled her eyes.
"It is our role as the loyal opposition, Your Majesty," the CWP leader said bowing his head. The Republican delegation bowed respectfully and then left the room.
"Fucking hate those guys but God damn it, I respect them," Kara said amused.
Daytona Beach, Florida
The Drone Amendment gained support across the world from scheming Republicans, weird ass Technocrats, and well-meaning naive gullible citizens who appreciated everything the drones had given them. The amendment eventually passed the World Senate by the needed two-thirds vote and now went to the nation-states. Thirty-four nations out of fifty would be required to vote in favor of it. North and South America, Western Europe, Japan, and Australia voted in favor. Kara scrambled to find seventeen nations to block it.
While the debates continued, Kara, Mon, Alex, and Kelly attended a NASCAR race. The cars were old-fashioned racecars with wheels and gasoline and no AI to make it challenging for the driver. The track twisted and turned over a long distance. The stadium was shaped like a horseshoe giving spectators a limited view of the race. However, large TV monitors showed where the cars were along the track. There were fifty-one cars, each one representing a nation rather than corporate sponsorships. The fifty-first car represented the Crown painted red and blue with the House of El symbol shown on the hood.
"This is boring as fuck. I'd rather watch pod racing than this," Mon said disdainfully.
"Humans don't have the reflexes for that," Kara shot down.
"Slow-ass humans with their slow-ass cars," Mon rolled his eyes.
"Mon, shut the fuck up, God damn," Kara scolded.
The crowd was International but naturally, most of them were from Florida. The green car with the obnoxious smiling gator on the hood was given the highest cheering. Kara, Mon, Alex, and Kelly stood up as the Crown's car was announced. The crowd was a mixture of cheering and booing which surprised Alex. "Not very respectful for a queen," Alex noted.
"It's always this way. I encourage it, actually," Kara smiled amused.
Kon was right next to his car wearing a black leather jacket, a House of El t-shirt, and sunglasses. He wasn't wearing any protective gear like the other human drivers. When the crowd booed him, he gave them an inappropriate middle finger. Kara winced as her son was embarrassing her in front of literally millions of people. The race was televised around the world and given special attention since Kara was present for it and her son was a driver. The camera would go back and forth between the cars and Kara to get a reaction shot.
Finally, the race began. After a few laps, a young woman managed to get past the human security and get on the track. "Holy shit," Kara said stunned. Alex tensed up thinking something horrible was about to happen.
The young woman took out a magnet and looked for a specific car. The first car to come by was predictably Kon's. An expert driver and mechanic, Kon was destined to make headlines in this race. The young woman attempted to time it precisely where she could stick a Suffragette magnet on the Crown's car. Instead, Kon's car unintentionally hit her at 300 kilometers per hour as it made a turn. The young woman's body exploded in blood and body parts all over the track. Kon's car swerved, went into a spin, and then flipped over several times before crashing into the side wall. The crowd was absolutely horrified.
"Oh my God," Kelly said stunned. Even Alex winced. Mon raised an eyebrow but bit his tongue before he said anything insensitive. Kara merely stared in disbelief.
Kon's car exploded completely ruining it. Kon got out of the car, patted the fire off of him, and looked at his destroyed car. He then saw human body parts all over the track. "Well...shit," he realized.
The race was immediately put on hold with human personnel rushing onto the track to deal with the scene. Brainiac 5 came to Kara's side. "She was a drone suffragette and a known domestic terrorist. She had a history of mental illness and being eccentric."
"I want a state funeral parade with the flag on her casket," Kara ordered. "I want the whole world to see what she sacrificed."
"Does this mean you change your position?" Brainiac 5 asked curiously.
"No. Alex will lead it," Kara ordered.
Metropolis
As the funeral parade was being organized, Kara came to Alex at her mansion. She was beside herself. "I killed that woman. I'm responsible," she said depressed.
"Come on, Alex, plenty of DEO agents, cops, civilians, and aliens died under your watch. Shit happens," Kara said dismissively.
"Not like this," Alex shook her head.
"Not going to lie, the whole world is scandalized by what they saw," Kara agreed.
"Why are you giving your enemy a state funeral?" Alex asked tearfully. "Is it to fuck with people?"
"Mortal, scared, insecure men celebrate their allies and disgrace their enemies. I have always made a point to do the opposite because I am invincible," Kara said simply. "I don't care if people support me or oppose me so long as they do it honestly and heroically. Too many times someone like me defines heroes and villains by whether they're on their side. Honestly, I don't know if I'm the hero or the villain half the time. What I do know is that woman risked it all to send me a message."
"What message? To give your drones the vote to give you even more power?" Alex scoffed.
"To respect the will of the people...even if it is stupid. To not treat them as children. Well, message received," Kara said glumly.
"Are you making me lead this state funeral parade to empower me or punish me?" Alex asked.
Kara gave her a sunken look. "Yes," she said simply and walked away.
Alex was given plenty of assistance from Kelly and Brainiac 5 to conduct the parade. It went off without incident. There were hundreds of thousands of people in Metropolis who were there for it, and it was televised across the world. Kara made a speech on global TV after the parade.
"Throughout human history, armies have taken upon themselves to sack the government in undemocratic coups. It has happened on every continent and empire in your history. When I first came to this time in 3017, I found myself liberating nations controlled by these military dictatorships. I desired to spare you all from suffering under military rule. Now, nations are voting to allow all ten billion drones controlled by one AI the right to vote. Whatever that vote may be, I will respect your choice. I hope you can respect mine. Should these drones be given the right to vote, they will vote, they will vote all the same way, and they will vote however I want. Be aware that these drones will not boycott elections nor vote only in emergencies. In your next election, your democracy will die," Kara threatened.
Kara then gave an uplifting smile as she changed her tone. "However, efforts to give the drones the right to vote have flattered the Crown. We will work harder and with greater enthusiasm to meet your needs and improve your quality of life. We will also come up with new ideas for you to show appreciation to all the drones that serve you. As we thank God for all of our blessings, we must give thanks to one another for service rendered. Therefore, I see the intent to give the drones the right the vote as misguided but honest and praiseworthy. God Bless you all. God Bless the Earth," Kara concluded.
Immediately, the Suffragette movement for drones was tabled and defeated. Kara allowed the Suffragette movement to save face with her remarks, the bombings and protests stopped, and both Kara and Alex walked away from the controversy more respected.
Author's Notes: Loosely based on the Suffragette film and movement. Also inspired by the Futurama episode where robots already have the vote and voted into office President Nixon because he had a cool robot body. Incorporating Kara's "Semi-Constitutional" monarchy into a future world has been a lot of fun. In the West, we're a lot more skeptical with Injustice but many Animes have superheroes and anti-heroes becoming an absolute or semi-absolute monarch with complex storylines.