Presidents Speech
(Copied straight from .XML 'backup' file, needs formatting and corrections. ZM User (talk) 20:15, 22 April 2024 (PDT))
US President's "First Contact" Speech
This was one of the pivotal moments in human history as the President of the United States of America announced to the world that contact had been made with extra-terrestrial beings. To compound the shock he also revealed the threat posed by the Sa'arm and the approaching Swarm, and the proposed mutual protection alliance with the Confederacy. The idea of CAP testing was broached and that all of us, 14 years and older were now eligible to help. However, whether we volunteered or not, all of us were fighting for the survival of our race.
The year is not known, just that the speech is given in April of "Year 2 of the Swarm Era".
References
It was first mentioned in Average Joes by Thinking Horndog. This is the origin of the "Swarm Cycle"; every other story is a development from this one. Other stories can add to it and amplify, but they cannot contradict it. The following are excerpts from Average Joes, not the complete text:
"EVERYONE over the age of fourteen MUST be tested and MUST obtain a CAP score. This is critical! Even if you have a low CAP score, you may be selected for emigration -- but if you do not obtain a score, you will NOT be considered. Volunteers for the Defense Forces with CAP scores of certain published levels will be afforded the opportunity to select others to emigrate and maintain their residences on other worlds while they perform their duties in the Defense Forces in accordance with their aptitudes and capabilities; certain high-priority individuals may select up to ten people to emigrate with for this purpose. Obviously, fertility is a criterion -- we will be looking to ensure the continuity of the human race as it expands to new worlds. Emigration is not a picnic -- colonization of new planets is hard, dangerous work -- but it is the future of the race and will provide the wellspring from which our eventual salvation will come."
"We are entering a dark time -- one in which we must set aside our individual differences for the global good. Some of our most cherished institutions will become irrelevant in the face of the conflict to come. We must all band together to survive this threat, using the time left to us wisely to look outward, toward the foe, rather than inward at petty differences with our neighbors. Let us reach out to each other and our allies in friendship for the good of all. Good night and God bless you all."
Civil Service by Duke of Ramus starts with the partial quote
"Volunteers for the Defense Forces with CAP scores of certain published levels will be afforded the opportunity to select others to emigrate and maintain their residences on other worlds while they perform their duties in the Defense Forces in accordance with their aptitudes and capabilities; certain high-priority individuals may select up to ten people to emigrate with for this purpose. Obviously, fertility is a criterion -- we will be looking to ensure the continuity of the human race as it expands to new worlds. Emigration is not a picnic -- colonization of new planets is hard, dangerous work -- but it is the future of the race and will provide the wellspring from which our eventual salvation will come."
From Building a CAP Based Future by Allan Joyal
For US citizens, tests are mandatory for all who have passed their 14th birthday. Anyone turning 14 has three months to get tested. Further, the President is drafting legislation to reduce the age of consent to 14 to match the new reality.
A useful quote (from the story, not the speech) is "The aliens provided a galactic map showing the full scope of the Sa’arm advance. The front is several hundred light years across."
(Someday this will be a navigation template. It will provide a bar across the bottom of each article with useful navigation links. Until then, this is just a placeholder to get rid of all the red "broken link" indicators. -ZM User (talk) 10:00, 3 May 2024 (PDT))
