章 46: Traps and Countertraps

"Welcome everyone, I don't think we need any introductions with each other. I have His Highness Victor von Doom, the ruler of Latveria here with me. Since it was he who called for this meeting, I will let him take the stage and talk about the meeting agenda." President Clinton welcomed everyone and sat down after handing off the meeting to Doom.

Everyone present in the meeting except Doom had already made up their minds on how to go about this meeting. They had already discussed how much leeway they would give to Doom and what false promises they would make. So the meeting started calmly.

Doom didn't stand up. He didn't see it necessary to stand up for these worthless pigs who thought of themselves as very smart and intelligent beings for having control over the masses of sheep. In the past, Doom wouldn't have even paid any attention to their nonsense but he was starting to appreciate the game.

There was no need for some grand technological device or any magical artifact. Just by playing within the rules they had set, Doom found that he was able to get what he wanted with ease.

"Okay then, let's not beat around the bush. I have heard that you have some opinions on how Doom has ruled over his country in the past. I am here now, so state your grievances so that I may allay them.

I do not wish to play petty games with my lesser so it is in the best interest of all of us if you would agree to quash this little squabble you have started with Doom. My proposal for the world government is beneficial to all of you and you know it, there is no need to get hung over about the leadership."

Doom didn't mince his words because he was not afraid of offending any of the people present. He just said out loud everything he was thinking. This caused some gasps and murmurs to sound on different screens. All of their faces showed some degree of frown and annoyance including Clinton himself.

They were expecting Doom to engage in political double-speak where they would remain polite and cordial even if they were really insulting the other party. But Doom came out with something they had not expected at all and threw them off for a moment.

The British prime minister was the first to reply, "Doctor Doom, we all know about your villainous past. Just because you are doing good right now does not absolve you of all the crimes you have committed. As a head of state, you have some say in the matter of the governing body of the world but you are entirely unfit to be the leader of the world."

The others chimed in with their contributions to the argument as well.

"Yes, you are a known dictator who has ruled your country by killing off any dissidents and suppressing everyone who speaks against you. A leader of the world with such tendencies is definitely not the right choice."

"Your acts of terrorism in your neighboring countries as well as others, including some of our own are also well known and documented. How can a man who has charges of terrorism against him be fit to lead humanity?"

Doom just sat there listening to the lists of reasons provided to oppose him. Some of them sounded very reasonable even to Doom himself. Politicians are very eloquent that way. After the discussions on why Doom is unfit to be the leader died down, Doom spoke up again.

"For a second, let's say I agree with your ridiculous assertions about Doom. Then pray tell, who is fit to be the leader of the world?" Before anyone could answer Doom continued.

"You two call me a dictator and a tyrant but it hasn't even been a century since you gave independence to some of your colonial countries that you had been exploiting for centuries. You still have some small colonial countries that are fighting for independence.

Meanwhile, my people live a happy and fulfilling life in Latveria. And you said that I quell dissidents and suppress opposing voices. Do you think I don't know where those voices originate? You fund chaos and profit from war. How are you even seeing yourself as my moral superior?"

Doom started tearing down on each of the people who spoke against him.

"There is no need to pretend here, each of you has done things as bad if not worse than me. I just don't hide behind lies and hypocrisy like you do. I take responsibility for my own actions instead of giving orders from closed doors and acting like I did nothing wrong. You just gave the orders after all right?"

President Clinton then broke the silence after Doom tore down the masks of all the participants of the meeting. "We all have our shame that we like to hide. But that is not the point of this meeting though, is it? We are discussing who is fit to be in the leadership of the whole world."

Doom looked at Clinton and suddenly smiled, "Okay then. Since you all like democracy and the democratic process so much, let's just do it your way and put it up for a vote. We will all jointly create a charter/constitution for the world and outline the powers and responsibilities of this world government.

After everything is finalized, we can just let all the heads of state vote on the leader they want. This shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"

Everyone was confused by the sudden change of attitude in Doom but they all agreed to the arrangement mentioned by Doom. Although Doom had public opinion on his side and some countries were already supporting him, they understood politicians better.

America had already been firmly placed as the world leader along with its ally nations. They just had to leverage that influence and they could definitely gain more votes than Doom.

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On a beach somewhere in Brazil, Savant and Sage were sunbathing while enjoying the view of the sea. Both of them had just come back after a swim in the ocean and were now resting, with Sage lying on top of Savant.

A smartphone was placed at the side of a table with a couple of different drinks inside a cooler. The phone was playing a slow Brazilian romantic song. It was an idyllic atmosphere until the song ended and the classic music before the start of the news played.

"Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the afternoon news segment of our radio channel. I am your host André and I hope you are having a great day. Let's begin with the top news of the day.

Just this morning, the first meeting regarding the creation of a world government was conducted in the UN headquarters with representatives from over 195 countries present. According to our sources, the proposal has already passed the preliminary stages and it is almost a certainty that Earth Federation will be a thing in the near future.

In the coming weeks, the charter for this federation that will be governing everything on this planet will be discussed and finalized. Once operational, this federation will be the most powerful organization in the world. Experts are being flown to the UN from all over the world to help consult on how to create and manage such an organization.

For those who are less inclined towards politics and just want some entertainment, there are rumors of betting games popping up to guess who will be the first leader of Earth. I must remind you that you should not gamble, and I am not promoting gambling. But If I were to bet, I'd put my money on Clinton."

Savant chuckled after listening to the colorful news casting by the Brazilian radio host. Sage raised her head buried in his chest and looked up at Savant.

"Doom has the public opinion on his side in a lot of countries but it hasn't reached worldwide. But the influence of America and Clinton is very clear in the world. Why are you so confident that Doom will not lose?"

Savant caressed Sage's hair gently and answered with a smile, "Right now, in the eyes of most heads of state, Doom is like a pirate ship while America and Clinton are like an aircraft carrier. Although Doom's ship is as big, stable, and even stronger in some aspects than the Americans', at the end of the day they still see it as a pirate ship.

Both of these ships will take them to the same destination, so of course everyone would want to board the ship they see as the safer choice."

Sage looked at Savant with a blank look and said flatly, "Let me guess, you will sink the aircraft carrier and force everyone to ride the pirate ship? Can you do better metaphors next time?"

"My inability to come up with a better metaphor aside, we won't sink their ship. That would be counter-intuitive. It would only alienate everyone from Doom and make them fear him more. No, the Americans will sink their own ship and then the pirate ship of Doom will turn into the only hope and savior in the stormy seas." Savant said as he played with Sage's hair.

"And why will the Americans sink their own ship? I don't think you'd resort to mind control or something like that." Sage was thinking when she had a sudden flash of insight. But before she could speak it out, Savant put a finger on her lips and winked.

"No spoilers. Now stop talking about these boring things. I gave up the position to Doom because they are too boring. We have more interesting things to do between us."

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I have been having some problems since two weeks back so the upload schedule was disturbed. I apologize for that. Thanks for the support.