Unexpected Returns
By Adrian Perez

"So where am I?" Everyone in the room looked Arab and Jeremiah wondered when he was. He was welcomed by many faces, none of them military, as they should have been. They should have all been American soldiers and technicians. One hundred years ago Jeremiah Hawkings had been put into a cryogenic sleep at the army base in Fort Dallas, Texas.

In his time, the people of America reigned supreme. The only powers rivaling it were the newly founded European Union and a floundering Japan. Many of the people in the world did not have electricity, and if they did, they only used it at night. Africa was a war torn sector, caught in cyclical upheaval. Russia was in command-economy-induced economic ruin. The problems of the world appeared to be the same basic problems that had been faced for the last twenty years, since the USSR's collapse gave hegemony of the world to the United States. But that was the world that Jeremiah went to sleep in, and as it is said by everyone at some point because of its constant truth: Things change.

"Jeremiah Hawkings. You are in the year twenty-one fifteen. You are in what used to be Iraq," the quizzical, little man in front of him explained.

"I'm not supposed to be in Iraq. So quickly with the explanations," Jeremiah tensed as he anticipated having to extricate himself violently from the situation.

The short man noticed the growing tension and spoke succinctly, "The world has changed. You have nothing to fear from us. You were loaned to us by the US government because they do did not have the technology to resuscitate you safely. Besides, the US is focused on other things currently. Please understand that there is much that has occurred, and that we can not tell you everything at once. Considering you have not eaten anything for the past one hundred years, you must be very hungry."

Jeremiah had been waiting for the first, 'You've been frozen for one hundred years joke.' It was one of his last thoughts as he had sunk to sleep.

They sat him in a wheelchair and went to a cafeteria. He looked at the quality of the food, "So I am at a military base."

"Yes, I am Colonel Abraha Ahmed. You are at the Adel Airforce Base in Baghdad."

"Baghdad, last I checked we were about to blow you up. What's happened Colonel?"

"I will start with the Middle East, and then tell you about the rest of the world. As you know, politics and economics are inextricably intertwined. The Middle East was a constant zone of conflict. It seemed that it would never end. At the time you were put to sleep there was a large economic slump. The economies of the world double dipped with two recessions in rapid succession. This economic wave hit Israel and destabilized it. Israel has very small parties and at the end of a bloodless political struggle there was a constitutional amendment that put the smallest, most radical parties out of the parliament, and into advisor roles. In practice, this took the radical right and left out of law-making power. Now the Arab states had to reevaluate there position. Afghanistan had been decimated, oil had cursed our people with money but little real industry. Israel was very rich and had western technologies. Soon our nations began to trade with Israel. And it is yet to be seen whom ate whom. But a man can walk from Israel to Jordan without harassment, and vice versa. We are a monetary union surprisingly enough, the MEU, Middle Eastern Union. Perhaps they got tired of unwelcome visitors in their cafes, and perhaps we had gotten tired of being a powerless people."

"I thought it would be hundreds of years before that happened."

"There is quite a bit more, Mr. Hawkins. The Middle Eastern Union is only a small part of the Earth. We have done quite well for ourselves. Our medical and biotech industry is the best in the world. That is the main reason you were brought to us."

"What about the US? Is the US still the same?" Jeremiah asked.

"Yes, the US is still very much the same. Though it occasionally forgets that there are other sharks in the water. It has also extended NAFTA in the form of the Pacific Trade Agreement to Japan and Australia. And it is not the best at everything anymore," Ahmed paused, "Mr. Hawkins, please come with me for a moment."

Not much option was given as Jeremiah was given a blanket and wheeled outside. Colonel Ahmed looked up and held his gaze in such a way that Jeremiah followed it to the Moon.

"Did you look at the Moon often, one hundred years ago, Mr. Hawkins?"

"Yes, I grew up in a part of Texas where you could still see the stars."

"Mr. Hawkins, right now there are eighty thousand people on the moon. We call it Luna now. Nine tenths of those people are Chinese, and one tenth are American and European. A month after you went to sleep Mr. Hawkins the Chinese put their first Taikonaut into orbit. Three years later they had a space station. And three years after that, they had people on Luna. Internally, the Chinese have not changed. The Chinese are almost totally capitalist now, with the defense and power industry still nationalized, and a committee of powerful party members running the country. They now dominate a free trade union of most of Asia called FAN, the Federated Asian Nations. FAN controls most of the cheap labor in the world and leverages that into political strength by threatening its cut much as the Emirates did with oil. But China is still a dictatorship, as are many of the Asian Nations. We have kept India out of FAN by incorporating them into our own union. India is now the major provider of the Middle East's service sector. As a result between our trade, those one billion in India have plumbing, clean water, electricity, and a growing education system. Pakistan joined FAN. It was unfortunate that we could not see eye to eye though we are brothers in Islam. But I can not go on lecturing. I have a briefing in the late evening." Colonel Ahmed gave Hawkins a comforting, casual salute and left the table. A nurse (one he now identified as Indian) began to wheel him back to his room and he heard a commotion coming from the airstrip that caused him to turn. His cryogenic pod was being loaded into what he now understood to be a spaceship, probably the one that brought him here.

The next day Colonel Ahmed was at his bedside when Hawkins woke. Jeremiah had slept for only a few hours. It was five in the morning. Ahmed began, "We will take you back to the US to meet the President. We have not yet told you, but you are a national hero. You may return here if it is too much for you in the States. Your President is on a schedule, let us proceed immediately."

They gave him an American Army uniform. There were three small flags on the shoulder, the Canadian, US, and Mexican. Things had changed. They boarded the rocketplane and with a swift, but not too un-airplane-like jolt, they were in the air.

"Wait, didn't you pack anything, Colonel Ahmed?" He asked Ahmed.

"No, it takes thirty minutes to get anywhere in the world. I'll be back in Iraq for dinner."

As they entered micro-gravity, Jeremiah panicked," I think I'm going to lose my lunch."

"You can't Mr. Hawkins. We gave you something that abates all motion sickness." The pause in gravity was over as quickly as it had begun. The craft reentered the atmosphere and air breathing engines put them into a low cruise. Jeremiah looked out the window along with Colonel Ahmed.

Hawkins startled, "Wait a second. Those cars aren't staying on the road. Wait a second. Where are the roads?" Small dots whizzed about over buildings, parks, and lakes.

"Woo hoo! Flying cars," Jeremiah yelled at the top of his lungs. The pilot inquired over the intercom if everything was okay and Ahmed appeased the man.

The Colonel responded a bit pessimistically to Jeremiah's zeal, "Yes. Ninety-eight percent of the world has its basic needs met now through various beneficial unions and education efforts. Famine and disease have been fought to non-existence. Goods flow unencumbered across most every boarder. But America is still the ultimate consumer market."

They landed smoothly in Washington D.C.. A band, full press, and the President of the United States were waiting for him at the spaceport. Hawkins was delighted. He shook hands with the President, posed a few minutes for photos and got into the Presidential Limousine. He was relieved that Colonel Ahmed got in the car with them. The limo picked up off the ground and headed toward the White House.

The President asked, "So Lieutenant Hawkins. Has the Colonel here updated you on the going-ons of the world?"

"A bit, sir. I have yet to hear about Africa and Latin America, and I have still have no idea how there can be eighty thousand people on the moon."

The President smiled as if there were press nearby, "Luna. Well. I'm less of a historian then Colonel Ahmed is here, but you can sum up Africa in three points. The North African Nations are now part of the EU. Which I always joke with PM Londoncraft that they have to change it to the 'EU plus North Africa.' And it gives them a really funny looking coin. East Africa belongs to the friends who revived you. And Central Africa is still the worst place on Earth. The EU attempted peace keeping forces there but its far easier to blow up a country than to occupy. So they pulled out in 2099, like we did in '87."

Colonel dared an intercession, "And they will have nothing to do with anything that they think leads up to a trade union. To them, the sudden unification of the world into suprastates must be terrifying in the context of their generations long war for some sort of stable identity. Which amounts to a tariff or total blockade of any goods, even the ones that are obviously helpful."

"But they always seem to take medicine," the President cut in, indicating the prime industry of the MEU. Ahmed withdrew, not wanting to speak about politics with one of the most political men of the world. The President apologized lamely with, "But the EU and MEU are definitely making inroads. And if they don't want to reach some agreement with us, maybe those poor countries can do it between themselves if they can ever remain cohesive enough to care."

Reinvited into the conversation, Ahmed spoke, "And that is where the last major strife is left on earth. Latin America has also made a trade union and is thinking of monetizing that union as well. Though Mexico will probably not take part. The LAU as it is called has invited investor confidence in the region, and has given incentives for countries to intercede and aid the region during crises. The stability has led to a growing middle class, that has caused military dictatorships to be phased out in a similar way to the MEU. But there is still a dictator ruling Venezuela, which is the main contention over monetization. If the LAU moves on without them in further unionization, they will not get the benefit of Venezuela's oil economy. So it may be some years before that region finally unites fully."

"Or a short few if that dictator Gonzaga gets his ass kicked out of there," the President added in his crass, off camera mode of speech. They arrived at the White House to a full press core. Not a flash went off as cameras did not need flashes anymore. But it was still overwhelming for Hawkins having so many people point and shout at him. The President hailed Jeremiah as the first 'Chrononaut,' and talked about the amount of jobs that the new cryogenics industry would produce.

They went to a cocktail party afterward. It felt too early in the day. Though he was showered with attention, Hawkins was awkward. He saw Colonel Ahmed being pressed by some starlet, and went to intercept him. The Colonel startled them both as he begged a rapid excuse from the movie star, grabbed Hawkins, and walked/ran out of the room. "Want to hear the rest of the story?" the Colonel asked.

"So there's more story? I hope we're going back to Iraq. It was way more peaceful there." They boarded a spaceship and returned to Iraq, just in time for dinner. Between bites, they spoke. Ahmed said, "I told you of the colonies on Luna. The Chinese were putting dissidents, criminals, and volunteers into their colony. It is very similar to what the English did long ago with Australia. There have already been two very young generations born on Luna. Luna produces crystals, microprocessors, and other micro gravity products. For the past five years, China has been increasing its taxes on Luna. Radio communication between Earth and Luna is quite slow, but since yesterday it has totally stopped. Eighty thousand people are not communicating with the earth for a reason. China has been silent to our inquiries. Unrest over taxes and representation were problems that existed in the US long ago when they declared independence from England. There is a rumor that China sent soldiers to the colony." Ahmed paused for a moment, seeing if Jeremiah was digesting both the food and information well.

"I got here just in time for the first colonial revolution since the first wave of European colonialism." Jeremiah pondered the probability.

Ahmed tapped an implant in his jaw that was relaying information to him as they spoke. "Five minutes and thirty-eight seconds ago, a huge ball of rock hit and glassed a major portion of the Gobi Desert in China. I think negotiations between China and the new state of Luna are officially over."