October 28, 2048 Whidbey Island WA

The Garrett Valdison connected warriors who collaborated during the Revolution have rented an entire Scandinavian / German restaurant for two days of feasting. The building is a beautiful reproduction of a Viking longhouse fitted out as a mead / dining hall.

 

Around the periphery are dining tables and chairs, with framed coats of arms on the walls. Down the middle is a long banquet table with seating for seventy-two. The massive chairs have carved animal heads at the tops of the back posts. At each place setting there is an upright polished mead horn with engraved silver cap.

 

At both ends of the hall there is a massive fireplace with a small blaze exuding the wonderful smell of Alder wood. Above the east fireplace is a majestic elk’s head. In the west, that of a giant boar with ten inch tusks. Overhead are sixteen large chandeliers made from deer antlers, fitted with gas flames resembling candles.

 

The late morning sun is streaming through the small windows. Roasting foods are in rotation above the flames as they slowly cook to perfection.

 

Over the east fire are two colossal turkeys. One is stuffed with a goose, stuffed with a chicken, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with bread and prune dressing, basted at intervals with peach brandy. The other is stuffed with traditional bread and apple dressing and basted with cherry brandy. There is also an entire side of beef rubbed with savory spices, and kettles brimming with small potatoes, butternut squash, and rich gravies.

 

In the west fireplace there is are two massive pork roasts. One is skewered with prunes and basted with blackberry brandy, the other with dried pears, basted with apricot brandy.

 

When dinner is served, there will be pitchers of cold cider, cranberry juice, black currant nectar from Belgium, and pumpkin spice eggnog. None in this brave company drink alcohol.

 

The fragrance of all this splendor is making everyone ravenous. The warriors are all with wives or girlfriends. A few of the men, and most of the women, have required introduction. Everyone is clad in traditional Nordic attire. The men are waring shirts of mail. Those we recognize at table are:

 

Garrett Valdison now 76, Gretchen Van Roon, Britt Linstrum

Clifton Farris, Amy Stillson

Hilton Armstrong, Liz, Burgess Crowell, eldest at 87

FBI Special Agent John Coluvis

Lambert Swanson, Monique, Natasha

Vick Madison

Morgan Fairfax Johnston, Trevor Wilson

Bertram Siegfried Anderson, Lars, Sven, Peter

Dr. Darl Kaufmann, Rodman Berghofer, Werner Kahl

Max Johann Dietrich, Karin

Emile Bonvuar, Venus, Brett, Adriene

Randal Chadwick Johnston, Litner Lamire, Rothman Blonder

Kilmer Dobson

Walter Durrant, Daryl Johnson, Bonnie, John Mosely, Paul Donnelly, Hugh Bellows, Karl Beckmann

Carl Edmund Norris, Rachael Heathwick

Greta Ingram

Tedmund Farrel

President Roswell Benedict

York Edmunds, Chelsea Ryder

Professor Lars Hanson

Sigurd Warner, youngest at 40

Harlan Sewell

 

Dinner is served. These folks know enough to enjoy food without talking overmuch. They eat heartily and long, slowly savoring every morsel. After Chocolate Torte Grand Marnier, pecan pie a la mode, and baked egg custard glazed with maple syrup, the time for conversation is at hand. Garrett rises to speak, 

 

“Ladies and Warriors, I salute you.  We have come through very difficult times, but have been blessed with the opportunity to assist our elected officials in making the most useful changes to Planet Earth in all of human history. What many of us did individually must remain our own, but in studying the known demographics, I conclude that those present here today constituted around eighty percent of the paramilitary resistance in the US and Canada, and roufgly twenty percent in Europe.

 

“Australia and New Zealand had smaller problems and managed to implement their own solutions. Sigurd Warner, and his friend at Oxford, Ling Chong, got the revolution started in China. I’m very proud of this group and feel deeply honored to be among you.”

 

Everyone applauds. Garrett continues:

 

“At first I found many of the events opening the Period of Natural Correction to be perplexing or sadly disappointing, but now I see the great splendor in the aftermath. It’s as though all of the problematical peoples of the world knew that they needed to self-destruct in order to bring the world to perfection, but at the same time, wanted to go out with a good fight. I suggest we honor and thank them all with a moment of silence.”

 

There are many happy smiles. Mead horns are raised. Garrett continues,

 

“One of the most splendid side-effects is that the world population went from nine billion to two billion … quite a correction. This had a further consequence in showing people the advantage of fewer numbers, thus inspiring them to further improve the world by curbing birth rates so that we now are down to one billion, well on the way to the target ideal of three hundred and twenty million.

 

“We have all been introduced, and now I’d like to ask our good friend President Roswell Benedict to comment on the current status of the Ten Point Program.”