2030: The End of the American Century Chapter 1
2030 : The End of the American Century
by EDGAR NUÑEZ
Chapter 1
Manila, February 1, 2030
HE WASN’T sure but he thought he recognised the laugh. Suddenly it turned too silent, the pre-midnight gloom inside the editorial hall thick & heavy. Whoever was inside the room with the Publisher was so tickled with something he just had to belch such a soaring whoop of mirth that it penetrated the thick mahogany wall. The door was locked & he didn’t expect to verify tonight his hunch as to the identity of the happy visitor. Whoever the visitor was will take the private elevator down inside the room of the Publisher. The same way he came up.
The Publisher loved to stay late into the night in his office where he received his important visitors. Mostly the new oligarchy. The Manila Daily Planet was the top daily in the country. In fact, the only one with national circulation. There was officially a free press but the Powers have hounded the rest to oblivion. The Philippines has finally joined the ranks of the newly-industrialized countries, thanks mainly to the billions the Chinese have invested in the past two decades. The new Powers have argued that the country has had the freest press for so long but its economy had always been moribund. Why not impose the Chinese solution for a change? The people were too tired of poverty to argue. There was no whimper of an outcry when journalists started to be systematically gunned down. The newfound prosperity seemed to have lulled the Filipinos for good.
He was just a reporter, assigned to cover crime. He didn’t even wonder why he was targeted by the CIA to be their snoop inside the Daily Planet. One time he got drunk in a bar & next to him in the counter was an American. He was supposed to be a tourist & he was the only Caucasian in the bar. Majority of the clientele were Chinese businessmen who were out to celebrate their millions for the day.
Joe, the American, turned out to be a jolly fellow who wanted to know the delicious secrets of the city.
He was feeling hospitable that night. The Americans were no longer seen as cool companions, the Chinese, Russians & Japanese were, but he wanted to practice his oral English (The new Powers have mandated the preferential use of Filipino in all public conversation. The Daily Planet has had its English name for the past 100 years but the news were written wholly in Tagalog since 17 years ago).
He took Joe to a brothel. They met again the next week, then the week after that. He felt he was speaking English normally again. He spoke it in college but never had the chance to use it since then. He has always believed the more languages a man spoke, the more cultured he was. He spoke 8. Now 9, because he was confident to include English in the list.
Joe became his friend, he would like to think. Now that the US was no longer the richest country in the world, Americans were less ubiquitous. Having Joe as a friend no longer elicited comments he was lucky he befriended an American (the Filipinos have lost long ago their American colonial mentality). It turned out having Joe as a friend may mean added cash.
He didn’t blink when Joe proposed: “We could give you a million dollars if you work for us.”
Somehow, in the back of his mind, even in the beginning, he suspected Joe was up to something. He's always been big on his hunches. Well, not bad. He got to practice his English, now he had money to boot.
“What do I have to do?”
“Not much. You just open your eyes & ears. Then tell us what we want.”
“I report to you.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve always wondered how spies worked during the Cold War.” In a way, there was a stirring thrill of the possibilities.
“There’s a Cold War again now.”
“The major difference is that America isn’t the biggest economy in the world anymore. He can’t dictate to a capitalist side because everybody are capitalists now.”
“We are the good guys.”
“To the rest of the world, the good guys are those holding the money.”
“America isn’t poor.”
“It’s not the richest. It’s different being the Numero Uno.”
Joe just looked at him, unsure of pushing with the discussion. The world has changed much during the last two decades.
“Well, I guess my number one is the one who gives me the most money,” he finally said as he squeezed the shoulder of Joe.
Joe just nodded. Almost relieved.
Bert Ramirez, his name. 36 years old, still unmarried. His great paternal grandparents were Basques who tried to find their luck in the islands in the closing years of the Spanish regime. But you can’t discern his lineage anymore from the way he looked now. Some Malay, some Chinese, even Arab, crept up in his DNA somehow along the way. As far as he knew, only the family of his father remained in the islands. No extended family reunions on Christmas. Most emigrated to the US after the economic crisis of the Marcos regime. His grandparents were planning to petition them as well but the economy turned brighter as he got to college that his father decided they just stay put. The GNP per capita of the country has passed the 20000 renminbi (US$30000) this year. The Philippines was no longer poor & his father believed the Filipinos should be ashamed of working the dirty jobs in America. The newspapers were full of reports of overseas Filipinos returning to their home country.
But somehow, he knew Joe was counting on some lingering fondness because of his family connections to America. He didn’t have any. His graduating class was probably the first graduating batch which produced no migrants to America. China had just surpassed the US as the richest country then but nobody planned to migrate there either. Simply, migration was out of the question because things were already looking up in the Philippines.
Manila was transformed into a sophisticated international city. As the Filipino Diaspora returned in the last decade, the density of skyscrapers to house them has become the most intensive & modern in Southest Asia. He was proud to live in it. Even 20 years ago, it always had its sophisticated enclaves surrounded by rundown districts, but now prosperity has spread throughout the metropolis. It has become very expensive though. He remembered his South Korean playmates when he was young. When South Korea became developed in the last years of the 21th century, many Koreans escaped their suddenly expensive lives in their country & settled in the Philippines. He was struggling to meet his expenses now but he had no intention of leaving Manila. He was just firm in his belief there will be a way to ease things up.
Joe came at the right time.
New York City, February 1, 2030
RICHARD SARKOCY stood silently by the glass wall of his office room & stared at the jungle of Manhattan skyscrapers below. He’s not enjoying the view. Sao Paolo, Hongkong, Shanghai & Tokyo have more spectacular sets of high-rises, cities where he also had offices. He had maintained his head office in New York purely out of sentimental reasons. As a poor migrant from Hungary he built his way to become one of the biggest financiers in the world & he made his mark in New York. He misses the times when America was still controlling world finance 20 years ago. It’s not the same anymore. New York is just trading 20% of the volumes of Shanghai, Moscow & Tokyo.
After the Soviet Empire collapsed in the 1990’s, he eagerly contributed to the various color revolutions in the newly democratic states, especially in his native Hungary. They eventually returned however to the Russian sphere of influence as Russia enriched from Chinese investments. The vast swath from the former Western rim of the former Warsaw Pact bloc to the Pacific Rim has become financial territory for the Chinese, Russians, Japanese, South Koreans, Indians & Southeast Asians. The formerly large Western interests have been locked out or bought. Most large Western transnational corporations have been slowly gobbled up by rising Asian interests. He helped Lakshmi Mittal overtake the giant Arcelor in 2006. It turned out that was the pistol shot that opened a race for Western assets from the resurgent wealth from the East.
Western Europe is moribund. After experiencing decades of prosperity, the people, used to having the easy life, have had a hard time facing the new realities. High unemployment has forced Western European governments to bring down wages but that only invited outages. The crippling economic paralysis turned off investments, & as Russia boomed in the East, the former Warsaw Pact countries changed gears & rushed back to their former masters. When the dominant cable channel in the world, the Al-Jazeera International from Doha, mentions the developed world, it doesn’t include Western Europe in the grouping anymore.
The world is not recognisable anymore in 2030. He’s now 80, still a billionaire but there are 360 Asians & Russians richer than him. Democracy? Japan is ruled by a militarist Prime Minister. Russia has a dictator who boldly renamed his intelligence the KGB. The Chinese Communist Party still ruled China. The rest of the countries are ruled by strong leaders in the mold of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew who have no qualms to drop the iron boot in the name of so-called national security. The populace generally doesn’t put up resistance anyway. They are living well & it seems prosperity has remained as their single mantra.
A New York Times editorial this morning mentioned that American democracy is making a last stand in Manila. Alone among the major capitals of East Asia, a leaked secret report by the CIA revealed an active grassroots movement to revive American-style democracy. Richard has once contributed funds during the People Revolutions that unseated Philippine Presidents in the late 20th Century. He’s glad to know the fire has not been totally lost.
“I know they’re on our side, Richard. They’ve always been. After they sucked what they could suck from the Chinese, just you watch, my boys will return to the light,” the old Nicholas Benedutto was ecstatic when he blurted it in the phone. He was Ambassador to the Philippines for 6 years in the late 20th century before he was appointed the National Intelligence Director. He retired at a time when the US was still the only superpower in the world & he’s been very vocal about his vehement disappointments on the turn of events in the past decades.
“Ugarte is going to Beijing again next month. “
“The moron thinks he has it all wrapped up. We have to increase the fire for him to feel not too cozy kissing ass in Beijing every time he gets the itch .”
“I’ve instructed my man in Manila to speed up the gravy train.”
“Thanks, Richard. It’s good to know we are not giving up the fight.”
“I owe this country everything, Nick. I would die first before accepting the American way could be trampled anywhere in the world.”
(wait for Chapter 2)
by EDGAR NUÑEZ
Chapter 1
Manila, February 1, 2030
HE WASN’T sure but he thought he recognised the laugh. Suddenly it turned too silent, the pre-midnight gloom inside the editorial hall thick & heavy. Whoever was inside the room with the Publisher was so tickled with something he just had to belch such a soaring whoop of mirth that it penetrated the thick mahogany wall. The door was locked & he didn’t expect to verify tonight his hunch as to the identity of the happy visitor. Whoever the visitor was will take the private elevator down inside the room of the Publisher. The same way he came up.
The Publisher loved to stay late into the night in his office where he received his important visitors. Mostly the new oligarchy. The Manila Daily Planet was the top daily in the country. In fact, the only one with national circulation. There was officially a free press but the Powers have hounded the rest to oblivion. The Philippines has finally joined the ranks of the newly-industrialized countries, thanks mainly to the billions the Chinese have invested in the past two decades. The new Powers have argued that the country has had the freest press for so long but its economy had always been moribund. Why not impose the Chinese solution for a change? The people were too tired of poverty to argue. There was no whimper of an outcry when journalists started to be systematically gunned down. The newfound prosperity seemed to have lulled the Filipinos for good.
He was just a reporter, assigned to cover crime. He didn’t even wonder why he was targeted by the CIA to be their snoop inside the Daily Planet. One time he got drunk in a bar & next to him in the counter was an American. He was supposed to be a tourist & he was the only Caucasian in the bar. Majority of the clientele were Chinese businessmen who were out to celebrate their millions for the day.
Joe, the American, turned out to be a jolly fellow who wanted to know the delicious secrets of the city.
He was feeling hospitable that night. The Americans were no longer seen as cool companions, the Chinese, Russians & Japanese were, but he wanted to practice his oral English (The new Powers have mandated the preferential use of Filipino in all public conversation. The Daily Planet has had its English name for the past 100 years but the news were written wholly in Tagalog since 17 years ago).
He took Joe to a brothel. They met again the next week, then the week after that. He felt he was speaking English normally again. He spoke it in college but never had the chance to use it since then. He has always believed the more languages a man spoke, the more cultured he was. He spoke 8. Now 9, because he was confident to include English in the list.
Joe became his friend, he would like to think. Now that the US was no longer the richest country in the world, Americans were less ubiquitous. Having Joe as a friend no longer elicited comments he was lucky he befriended an American (the Filipinos have lost long ago their American colonial mentality). It turned out having Joe as a friend may mean added cash.
He didn’t blink when Joe proposed: “We could give you a million dollars if you work for us.”
Somehow, in the back of his mind, even in the beginning, he suspected Joe was up to something. He's always been big on his hunches. Well, not bad. He got to practice his English, now he had money to boot.
“What do I have to do?”
“Not much. You just open your eyes & ears. Then tell us what we want.”
“I report to you.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve always wondered how spies worked during the Cold War.” In a way, there was a stirring thrill of the possibilities.
“There’s a Cold War again now.”
“The major difference is that America isn’t the biggest economy in the world anymore. He can’t dictate to a capitalist side because everybody are capitalists now.”
“We are the good guys.”
“To the rest of the world, the good guys are those holding the money.”
“America isn’t poor.”
“It’s not the richest. It’s different being the Numero Uno.”
Joe just looked at him, unsure of pushing with the discussion. The world has changed much during the last two decades.
“Well, I guess my number one is the one who gives me the most money,” he finally said as he squeezed the shoulder of Joe.
Joe just nodded. Almost relieved.
Bert Ramirez, his name. 36 years old, still unmarried. His great paternal grandparents were Basques who tried to find their luck in the islands in the closing years of the Spanish regime. But you can’t discern his lineage anymore from the way he looked now. Some Malay, some Chinese, even Arab, crept up in his DNA somehow along the way. As far as he knew, only the family of his father remained in the islands. No extended family reunions on Christmas. Most emigrated to the US after the economic crisis of the Marcos regime. His grandparents were planning to petition them as well but the economy turned brighter as he got to college that his father decided they just stay put. The GNP per capita of the country has passed the 20000 renminbi (US$30000) this year. The Philippines was no longer poor & his father believed the Filipinos should be ashamed of working the dirty jobs in America. The newspapers were full of reports of overseas Filipinos returning to their home country.
But somehow, he knew Joe was counting on some lingering fondness because of his family connections to America. He didn’t have any. His graduating class was probably the first graduating batch which produced no migrants to America. China had just surpassed the US as the richest country then but nobody planned to migrate there either. Simply, migration was out of the question because things were already looking up in the Philippines.
Manila was transformed into a sophisticated international city. As the Filipino Diaspora returned in the last decade, the density of skyscrapers to house them has become the most intensive & modern in Southest Asia. He was proud to live in it. Even 20 years ago, it always had its sophisticated enclaves surrounded by rundown districts, but now prosperity has spread throughout the metropolis. It has become very expensive though. He remembered his South Korean playmates when he was young. When South Korea became developed in the last years of the 21th century, many Koreans escaped their suddenly expensive lives in their country & settled in the Philippines. He was struggling to meet his expenses now but he had no intention of leaving Manila. He was just firm in his belief there will be a way to ease things up.
Joe came at the right time.
New York City, February 1, 2030
RICHARD SARKOCY stood silently by the glass wall of his office room & stared at the jungle of Manhattan skyscrapers below. He’s not enjoying the view. Sao Paolo, Hongkong, Shanghai & Tokyo have more spectacular sets of high-rises, cities where he also had offices. He had maintained his head office in New York purely out of sentimental reasons. As a poor migrant from Hungary he built his way to become one of the biggest financiers in the world & he made his mark in New York. He misses the times when America was still controlling world finance 20 years ago. It’s not the same anymore. New York is just trading 20% of the volumes of Shanghai, Moscow & Tokyo.
After the Soviet Empire collapsed in the 1990’s, he eagerly contributed to the various color revolutions in the newly democratic states, especially in his native Hungary. They eventually returned however to the Russian sphere of influence as Russia enriched from Chinese investments. The vast swath from the former Western rim of the former Warsaw Pact bloc to the Pacific Rim has become financial territory for the Chinese, Russians, Japanese, South Koreans, Indians & Southeast Asians. The formerly large Western interests have been locked out or bought. Most large Western transnational corporations have been slowly gobbled up by rising Asian interests. He helped Lakshmi Mittal overtake the giant Arcelor in 2006. It turned out that was the pistol shot that opened a race for Western assets from the resurgent wealth from the East.
Western Europe is moribund. After experiencing decades of prosperity, the people, used to having the easy life, have had a hard time facing the new realities. High unemployment has forced Western European governments to bring down wages but that only invited outages. The crippling economic paralysis turned off investments, & as Russia boomed in the East, the former Warsaw Pact countries changed gears & rushed back to their former masters. When the dominant cable channel in the world, the Al-Jazeera International from Doha, mentions the developed world, it doesn’t include Western Europe in the grouping anymore.
The world is not recognisable anymore in 2030. He’s now 80, still a billionaire but there are 360 Asians & Russians richer than him. Democracy? Japan is ruled by a militarist Prime Minister. Russia has a dictator who boldly renamed his intelligence the KGB. The Chinese Communist Party still ruled China. The rest of the countries are ruled by strong leaders in the mold of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew who have no qualms to drop the iron boot in the name of so-called national security. The populace generally doesn’t put up resistance anyway. They are living well & it seems prosperity has remained as their single mantra.
A New York Times editorial this morning mentioned that American democracy is making a last stand in Manila. Alone among the major capitals of East Asia, a leaked secret report by the CIA revealed an active grassroots movement to revive American-style democracy. Richard has once contributed funds during the People Revolutions that unseated Philippine Presidents in the late 20th Century. He’s glad to know the fire has not been totally lost.
“I know they’re on our side, Richard. They’ve always been. After they sucked what they could suck from the Chinese, just you watch, my boys will return to the light,” the old Nicholas Benedutto was ecstatic when he blurted it in the phone. He was Ambassador to the Philippines for 6 years in the late 20th century before he was appointed the National Intelligence Director. He retired at a time when the US was still the only superpower in the world & he’s been very vocal about his vehement disappointments on the turn of events in the past decades.
“Ugarte is going to Beijing again next month. “
“The moron thinks he has it all wrapped up. We have to increase the fire for him to feel not too cozy kissing ass in Beijing every time he gets the itch .”
“I’ve instructed my man in Manila to speed up the gravy train.”
“Thanks, Richard. It’s good to know we are not giving up the fight.”
“I owe this country everything, Nick. I would die first before accepting the American way could be trampled anywhere in the world.”
(wait for Chapter 2)
posted by ED NUÑEZ at 9:18 PM
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