"This is inconceivable!"

The leaders of the four superpowers were gathered together and their faces did not bode well at all. Indeed, it could be said that they were furious. Only the president of the Meilong Republic remained stoic.

Over the course of two days, news of Eden Union's birth had spread like a hurricane. The people, initially shocked, had very gladly accepted the new organization: after all, the people were by now desperate, so they were easily bought by the promise of being able to solve the problem of famine; even if they were still afraid of the repercussions from the NMWA, they much preferred to go with those who guaranteed them food. Consequently, there were not many protests or opposition. Rather, it went in the opposite direction.

In just two days, another twenty nations had joined the Eden Union and at least forty others were pondering whether to do so or not.

"I don't understand. Why is everyone so eager to join the new organization?" grumbled the president of the Gardarikian Federation.

"It seems obvious to me" said the president of the Meilong Republic.

"Enlighten us then"

"Well, obviously they are attracted to the possibility of being able to solve the problem of famine. While they might just be buying food from the Prettania Kingdom, being able to get it for free is definitely more tempting. Furthermore, the Eden Union promises to be a much more well-structured organization than ours and much more egalitarian"

"Why? What makes it better than ours? There will always be stronger nations that will impose themselves on the weak, it is impossible to erase it"

"No instead. The free market has eliminated this possibility. Under Eden Union laws, the market is open and free of customs. Which means that one nation will no longer be able to threaten another with sanctions" Meilong's president replied. "So far, we superpowers have been able to govern without difficulty because if one nation disobeyed us we could close all trade links with it, and so would the other nations that supported us. But in Eden Union this will no longer be possible. This, added to the fact that it will not be possible for obvious reasons to resort to war, will completely cancel the excessive power of the superpowers and place all nations on the same level. This is why the Eden Union is too good an opportunity for small nations not to join it without thinking twice"

Tirion's president couldn't help but admit it was true. Perhaps nations would have found other ways to impose themselves on others, but at least for the moment the Eden Union seemed to all intents and purposes an egalitarian organization. "So what do we do? Do we impose sanctions or create an embargo?"

"And what good would it be? Among us, they are the ones who have the most resources" the president of Meilong pointed out. "We are literally fruit. By closing down our businesses, we will only preclude ourselves from buying their food, as well as passing for heartless assholes. Not to mention that the largest financial groups and the biggest tycoons on the planet have already declared that they fully support the new organization. What can we do? Going to war? Do we want to remind ourselves that they too have nuclear bombs?"

A furious silence spread throughout the room: no one literally knew which way to turn. "Damn!" snapped the president of Vinland "How did they get the backing of financial companies so quickly?"

*******

"Damn, uncle! How did you do that?"

Darius Tanz believed he had seen pretty much everything in his life, but still managed to be surprised when his uncle Nicholas showed up at the Tanz factories not with five, but with all and seventeen of the richest men on the planet.

"What can I tell you? You know I can be very persuasive" said Nicholas, patting his nephew on the shoulder.

Darius couldn't get over how his uncle had really been able to convince all the best tycoons on the planet to side with them. He didn't seem to be able to take his eyes off the room below them, where the wealthiest men in the world were lovingly dining together as if they were old friends.

"You probably helped save the world, uncle" Darius said, because even though Nicholas was an asshole, a son of a bitch and a bastard, he still deserved that compliment. "But now be honest with me. How did you do it?"

Nicholas took a sip of his wine. "In fact, almost all of them were ready to jump into the new boat. They had long known that the old woman was about to face. They just wanted a chance"

Darius understood. "Basically they were waiting for someone to build a new ark"

"Exactly. Ever since this situation began four years ago, we have all understood that sticking to the old ways would only bring us down. We then began to adjust to the new world. We are cockroaches, we adapt to the new conditions" said Nicholas, then pointing to a man in the crowd: "That's Andrey Vasilyev. Until recently he was an oil tycoon, but after the dinosaurs erased any chance of getting more, he focused on investing in clean energy. And that one over there" and he pointed to a tall, grumpy man. "Is Ivan Petrenkov, a billionaire who used to concentrate on the purchase of land suitable for industrialization, now a tycoon in the production of waste disposal plants. And I could go on for a while"

"So they were all ready" Darius murmured as he took a sip from his glass.

"Right. Those idiots who are still waiting for the world to return as before are just fools. The truly rich are not those who have gone to great lengths to leave things as they were, but who have adapted to change. The world is not still, after all" Nicholas replied. "Ever since the dinosaurs repulsed our assault three years ago it has been clear to everyone that the world was going to change dramatically. They had only one choice, to change or to be trampled by those who would change. They had no difficulty in choosing"

"Aren't they worried a little bit?" Darius asked suspiciously.

"Oh, they're worried it's sure. You don't become one of the richest tycoons in the world if you don't constantly watch your back" Nicholas replied. "But putting the pieces together, it's clear as day that the old world is now destined to end. If these people want to survive, their only choice is to support us. Even if the economy and politics will change radically, they will find ways to make money. It is easier for humanity to disappear than for capitalism to disappear, remember that"

Words would never have been more true. Even though Darius didn't appreciate that comment much, he knew Nicholas was simply telling the truth. However, he could console himself by knowing that at least the capitalists of the future would no longer have the opportunity to commercialize human life: with food and accommodation guaranteed by the nations, no one would ever have to endure hunger and absolute poverty. It was a step forward.

Nicholas put down his glass. "Let's change subject. What about our new ally, the Great Republic of Beleriard? When will you join the Eden Union?"

"Actually he's already a part of it, uncle, we just haven't announced it to the public yet. President Jersey preferred to wait until the end of the new elections" Darius explained. "You In three days you will formally declare your membership in the new organization. At that point the businesses will be officially reopened"

Nicholas smiled satisfied: "Wonderful. From what you told me they have made great strides in the pharmaceutical and energy fields". Of course, the man was already thinking about all the tenders and contracts that he could have obtained once the commercial routes reopened.

"Exactly, and very soon the scientific community will go to support their research to make even more progress. And of course they'll do the same with ours" Darius said.

"Are you still trying to get to Ares?"

"Why shouldn't I? Thanks to the new knowledge we have, colonization could be very rapid. Think about how we can get from a completely virgin planet: minerals, rare gases, new energy sources… isn't that what you always taught me? To aim higher and higher?"

Nicholas's smile widened. "Ah, nephew… I knew you were going to accomplish great things. You have what it takes to be an entrepreneur" he said satisfied. "Try to get to Ares as soon as possible. It would be a setback for the Commission that such a technological advance has been achieved by Eden Union"

"Yeah, that would be perfect" Darius said trying to take another sip, but he realized he had finished his glass. He tried to grab the bottle of wine to refill it, but his uncle stopped him: "Wait, come and fill it at the table. I'm sure my friends will be happy to meet you"

Darius thought for a moment, then chose to accept: "Yes... why not"

********

Three days later, a plane from the Great Republic of Beleriard landed in the Kingdom of Niger and Jocelyne Jersey, president of the nation elected for the second time in a row, alighted from it. Waiting for her was Pauline Mackenzie, Queen of the Prettania Kingdom and the official founder of the Eden Union.

The handshake between the two leaders of such different nations was immortalized by countless journalists and became a historic moment. For almost everyone it was a symbol of hope: the president of the first nation that had accepted the dinosaurs shook hands with the queen who had signed peace with them. For many, that was the sign of a more peaceful future.

Jocelyne remained a guest of Queen Mackenzie for several weeks and after a short speech she declared the adhesion of the Great Republic of Beleriard to the Eden Union, effectively reopening trade and naval routes to everyone.

Obviously, the industrialists and the great tycoons were waiting for nothing else. The same was true for journalists. An avalanche of people poured into the Great Republic of Beleriard, some to do business, some to document the life of its inhabitants, some to investigate whether the coexistence between humans and dinosaurs was really possible.

The images captured by journalists, youtubers, influencers and so on circulated in all the nations of the Eden Union; they were confirmation that dinosaurs and humans could live together. Seeing how the inhabitants of the Great Republic of Beleriard quietly coexisted alongside the dinosaurs, the peoples of other countries began to wonder why they had so persisted in fighting against them.

Of course Queen Mackenzie and the other leaders in the Eden Union didn't hesitate to pin all the blame on 'those corrupt and power-hungry politicians'. They didn't mention names, but it didn't take long for people to put two and two together and soon the names of the superpowers of Eden were on everyone's lips.

This had a considerable butterfly effect. The inhabitants of the nations that were already part of the Eden Union felt even more that they had made the right choice, while those of the countries that were still strangers began to doubt their politicians and hate their regimes. Very soon terrorist groups began to form and guerrillas began, especially in dictatorships and oligarchies.

In the eyes of ordinary people, the Eden Union was the salvation that ended war, hunger and the energy crisis, while the NMWA became more and more a group of fanatics too anchored in their seats to do the right thing. Obviously, journalists could not catch the ball and in fact very soon in many countries the media began to demonize the NMWA and the nations that were still part of it, extolling the Eden Union instead.

This was exactly what Sobek wanted. Propaganda in politics was everything, after all. If there was one thing that all dictatorial regimes taught, it was that as long as you give the people the illusion of being on their side and you give them an enemy to blame, the people are very easily duped. Human minds were much easier to plagiarize than previously thought: even the most solid beliefs faltered if you played well with a person. Among humans this power was often used for evil, as it favored demagogues and profiteers, but Sobek was different; he cared neither about power nor wealth, but only to build a more just, egalitarian and safer world for all. And to do so, he would use any means available to him.

And it was in that climate of uncertainty and change that Sobek chose to really talk to the world. In fact, about two weeks after her arrival in the Kingdom of Niger, Jocelyne Jersey warned Queen Mackenzie of a news that would cause a sensation: Sobek intended to personally visit the Prettania Kingdom.