George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 207

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“So, is this Sodom? Gomorrah? Or is it Zeboim? Admah?”

Carl Rove, confronted with a cauldron of chaos he couldn’t have imagined, looked around with a bewildered expression. He thought no one had used the Oval Office like this since James Madison burned down the White House during the War of 1812, or since the reconstruction under Harry S. Truman, but that record was broken today.

“If I had to classify it, I’d say it’s purgatory.”

Too static to be hell, too dynamic to be heaven. That’s why this office is perfect as purgatory. The person sitting in this chair can become the destroyer of the world, or its guardian.

“I swear, this office has never been this dirty. What on earth happened?”

Carl Rove knew that the Oval Office wasn’t exactly spotless due to the heavy workload, but the state of things was so severe that he couldn’t just let it pass. No matter how busy, there wasn’t usually a clear footprint stamped right in the middle of a pile of documents.

“That’s what happens when you try to put the ocean in a cup.”

Of course, Carl Rove wasn’t scolding him for the messy office. He was genuinely asking, ‘What could possibly have made it this bad?’ He remembered the neat stacks of documents, no matter how many there were. He remembered his President, who remained calm even in the face of daunting situations.

So, the fact that the office was in such a state meant there had to be a good reason.

“Ah, right. What do you want to know first?”

“Everything.”

The President, looking more exhausted than the word ‘exhausted’ could convey, began to pour out the story of what had happened.

“Let’s start with the fact that Kim Jong-il’s will was quite shocking, which has made the situation in North Korea very unstable. How about the fact that a civil war is about to break out in South Sudan? It’s well-known that the Kurds are about to declare independence, and the governments of Iran and Turkey are glaring at each other over land issues, but I bet you haven’t heard that the Iranian government has officially made racist remarks, going beyond religious discrimination. Then there’s the fact that the Chinese are spreading unverified treatments. The Japanese messing with their constitution is quite an interesting story. I heard five minutes ago that one of our destroyers collided with a cargo ship and was almost completely wrecked. One minute ago, I received news that the gas fracturing [fracking] law I ordered at the beginning of my term has finally come to fruition. Oh, and there’s the minor issue of this white beast being particularly annoying today.”

Listing them all out like that, it was quite a lot. In fact, if you separated them, they were all things that could be dealt with, but the problem was that they all happened in a single day. The related materials and reports piled up and collapsed all at once. And the problem was that there wasn’t even enough time to order someone to sort it out. To get someone to sort it out, he’d have to call someone in, but there wasn’t even time for that, so here he was.

“This is what this seat is like. Still don’t want it?”

Bush said that as he called someone to clean up the office. He was finally temporarily free from the continuous stream of reports. It had been a truly insane day. But the end of the workday was still far, far away. He wasn’t even sure if it was possible to leave work at all.

“You may or may not believe it, but I’ve never been interested in that position. I wouldn’t run even if someone offered me ten million dollars. I’m confident I’d have a heart attack and die on my first day.”

“Well, the workload is a bit much. But if it were ten years ago, I would have said I’d do it, even as a joke. Or would I have?”

Finding a politician without ambition for the presidency was like finding a needle in a haystack.

“Well, at least I can’t deny that your insane workload is one of the biggest reasons I avoid that position. There are other reasons too, though. Like you said, I’m getting old myself.”

But that needle was right in front of him. Two of them, in fact. As the old saying goes, even the governor of Pyeongan Province [a historical region in Korea] can quit if he doesn’t want the job, right? Of course, because he was the President, it wasn’t a position that someone could just push him into, but still, he was saying he wouldn’t want it even if they offered.

“Still, it’s manageable if you give up your personal life.”

“It doesn’t seem like a very good job if your personal life disappears. Isn’t that illegal? You should comply with labor laws.”

“The seat that makes those labor laws is right here.”

“That sounds terrible.”

The indescribable exhaustion on Bush’s face faded, and he looked quite relaxed.

“Good. You look a little better now.”

“The reason I called you is because there’s something I need you to do.”

“I hope it’s not a trip to the Middle East.”

It felt so far away now, but it also felt very close, close enough to remember if he closed his eyes.

“Didn’t you get a medal for that?”

As Bush said, the medal was hanging in the most visible place in the Carl Rove family trophy display. It was one of the proudest achievements of Carl Rove’s later years.

“There’s no guarantee that it will succeed a second time. Like you said, I’m getting old too. If it were 20 years ago, I might have solved it with my fists instead of words.”

Saying he would have solved it with his fists wasn’t a metaphor. He might have actually gotten into a physical fight.

“There’s no end to the story. Don’t worry. It’s a domestic trip.”

“That’s a relief. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.”

In fact, he would have gone quietly even if he had been told to go to the Middle East. Even though they were talking playfully like this, their positions were those of the President and Deputy Chief of Staff of a country. There might be some playfulness in the conversation, but the content was serious.

“I need you to go to the fire site in the Southeast. I’m going to go once anyway. Take a look at the numbers in this report. Are these normal numbers?”

They were removing the kudzu [an invasive vine] and replanting the burned trees. In fact, even though they were planting trees, the work environment was almost like ecological restoration. They were even rescuing lost animals and releasing them back into the wild. But the speed of the work was too ideal. And usually, these kinds of things were numbers that came out when the report was manipulated.

“It’s not impossible, but it’s seriously ideal. It’s like the report just took the thought of how good it would be if it were just this much and turned it into numbers.”

“I’d be happy if the site was really like this, but I don’t think so. So, I’d appreciate it if someone trustworthy could go and check it out.”

“Understood. I’ll be happy to go. But I don’t have to worry about being kidnapped this time, right?”

“Kidnapped? If you’re so worried about being kidnapped, how about taking a fighter jet? It’s more fun than you think. The G-force is a bit hard to handle when you accelerate, but when you look at the sky, which is like the deep sea, you get a transcendent feeling, and the worries of the world feel like tiny dust.”

“If you’re doing that, isn’t that a serious problem?”

“I’m kidding. I saw that sky and dreamed of going into space. I have no doubt that by the time I retire, the United States will be starting to build a base on the moon.”

“Re-election is confirmed then.”

“That’s right. I honestly think re-election is confirmed. There’s just no one who can come out in the Democratic Party. Even if they do come out, I’ll end up getting re-elected anyway.”

“That’s a lot of confidence. You never know, maybe the Democratic Party is preparing a secret weapon. Who knows?”

“I can know. There’s a reason I can know.”

That was, of course, because he knew that in the original history, Bush had almost ruined the United States in his first term but was re-elected because there was no strong candidate to oppose him.

“That’s a lot of confidence. Should I leave right now?”

“That’s what you should do. Take a week or so and investigate slowly and carefully.”

He wanted reliable information rather than quick information. He was determined to crack down on all corruption, so he needed accurate information so that no one was wrongly accused or missed. Carl Rove gathered the necessary documents and left the office.

“Let’s see. The Deputy Chief of Staff is gone, so let’s finish up this agenda…”

“Mr. President, you seem very sensitive to corruption.”

What leader wouldn’t be sensitive to corruption, but Bush’s was beyond imagination. The United States was famous for its harsh laws, but Bush went even further. Noblesse oblige [the responsibility of privileged people to act with generosity and nobility], was it? When corruption came out of politicians, he attached all sorts of minor crimes to the laws that could be applied and thoroughly drove them into the abyss.

This was not politically good. Why are there words like ‘rich man’s disease’ or ‘rich man’s law’? Why do politicians look out for each other? Why did nobles in the Middle Ages not kill each other when war broke out, but just take money and let them go?

Isn’t it because they all scratch each other’s backs for their own good? There was nothing good about being ostracized from that community.

“Do you have a separate reason?”

“…Hmm, that’s right.”

Bush stopped playing with the documents and began to stroke White, who was occupying his lap. The fluffy fur was all over his suit.

“You may not believe it, but I really liked war games. A lot.”

This was not the story of the owner of this body, but of the Oriental who occupied half of this body.

“Hmm, like board games?”

“Think of it as similar. I didn’t get to do it often because of my circumstances, but I enjoyed it when I got tired of studying or looking up news.”

“I think this is the first time I’ve heard about your hobbies other than exercise.”

Bush smiled bitterly at the fact that his personal hobbies were so barren that he had nothing but exercise.

“In games, human rights are not necessary. In fact, strategic games with human rights are even rarer.”

In fact, most strategy games are all like that. Isn’t the first thing you do in the national game is to send workers to the enemy’s camp under the guise of scouting and harass the enemy until they die?

“Reality is similar. Stalin’s Five-Year Plan, China’s policy of hiding one’s capacities and biding one’s time [Deng Xiaoping’s strategy for China’s foreign policy], etc. National projects and scientific developments that have dramatically developed the world. All of them were projects that seemed to deny human rights head-on. They are being criticized for ignoring human rights, but their achievements and efficiency are highly praised.”

In simple terms, ignoring human rights can produce tremendous efficiency. Why are machines efficient? Because machines have no human rights. As long as they don’t break down, they can be run 24 hours a day. Machines don’t get paid. They don’t have vacations. All they need to eat is electricity. Conversely, if you treat humans like machines, you will inevitably get tremendous efficiency, whether you like it or not.

“But what do you think is the reason why we should protect human rights?”

The Chief of Staff answered immediately without hesitation.

“Because they are fundamental rights.”

“That’s a textbook answer. But it’s the right answer. That’s right. If there were no human rights, old people like you and me would all have to die. It’s not hypocrisy or pretense. It’s a treasure that humanity has finally obtained after thousands of years of maturation.”

Bush laughed loudly, then suddenly became serious and glared at the documents in his hand.

“The problem is that there isn’t a single country in the world where this is properly protected.”

Including the United States, the country Bush himself was ruling.