The Conblomeration

CW: Themes of racism and ostracization.

The Conblomeration

David C. Russell

Word Count 1,362

Note: There is the sporadic instance of the occurrence of an expletive.

The year was 2040. The new year was nineteen days past. In the U.S. Capitol, the United States President was sworn in and delivered a purposeful inaugural address to the nation. All occurred from the new ballroom that had been constructed in the recent past. Americans watched from home, workplace, gyms, or in cafes across the land.

Her pronouncement was her eight minute speech. “We now refer to immigrants not as illegal aliens but exiles. I have a short, clear, message to each of you. Listen up. Exiles- On signature of my first Executive Order in about twenty minutes, your illegal residency status here would be ending in just months.” President Silverburg had captured the hearts and won the popular American vote. Her infectious smile, earthy demeanor, and promise to finally enact a program to end illegal immigration for good added up to widespread support.

The weather this Inauguration Day was rather frightful; Other than the Metro Rail system, public and personal transportation this day was reported light.

Silverburg added, “My first Executive Order is to direct Homeland Security to work with the National Air and Space Administration (NASA) to send all illegal exiles to the planet Mars.” Applause instantaneous.

“We have treated this crisis for far too long with kid-glove measures. Post President Biden, citizens have moved about to now where segments are occupying together in communities based on one’s ideology, their world view. One may wonder, Is the United States still the land of the free and the home of the brave?” Again, applause was instantaneous.

To look at the new President, one could notice her booming voice, little beady eyes that conveyed warning, suspicion, urging truth by others and nothing else. In other words, Don’t mess with me!

The leader exuded the inborn sense of Jewish compassion to love neighbor aright as one’s self. She spoke of her parents being Protestants by faith, but she had left that faith opting for Jewish spirituality. She often claimed, “My parents of Protestant stock, bless them, are in a movement that is not much more than homemade social services to make the poor, hungry, impoverished, illegal alien co-dependent.”

President Silverburg concluded her Inaugural remarks saying, “These exiles will be rounded up, transported to Mars in six months, and given provisions to sustain themselves for up to two years.”

All told, nearly four million exiles, formerly illegal immigrants, would be shuttled off to Mars. This would be twice the number in comparison with the exodus from Egypt to Cannan nearly 3600 years previous.

The next day, reported pushback was fierce and single-minded. It decried her cruel, heartless, inhumane stance. She replied in text,

“I have it on good authority that Mars has the most similar climate to our own, with water ice caps at the poles, seasonal snow, and dust storms.”

Supporters found her dictum to be refreshing. One popular pundit wrote, “We do not have to fake getting along anymore.” Scientists on interviewed peered into cameras, and claimed, “My concern, shared by many, is that the planet Mars was said to have more extreme variety in seasonal shifts compared to earth.” These expressions were dismissed by the general populous once uttered.

One of the first groups to be transported to Mars included a family of four Cuban exiles. The parents were in their thirties. The children were ages seven and twelve, respectively.

Media displayed common recurrence of the tearful goodbye scenes in which embraces, mixed with emotionally loaded words of love and support were expressed amid supporters and the effected.

“I guess we will meet in eternity. So, stay out of hell and make it to heaven,” was one widely published response or sound byte.

The group of exiles to first leave earth seemed to experience a journey of long days and nights. One resource claimed the travel time from earth to mars would be around 260 days, or about eight and a half months. The ship contained gaming stations, small theater and cafeteria, small library, and hundreds of digital books and videos. Similarly, other transport craft were built and being built at a febrile pitch to execute the President’s orders with urgency. This overall undertaking would create quite an expense to the American people and its supportive ally nations. Within NATO, support was growing for President Silverburg and her determination to bring this decades-old phenomenon to a targeted end. The Vice-President exclaimed, “Desperate times have called for desperate measures.”

The day and hour arrived for the exiles to literally set foot in their new land, new life, new surroundings, new everything! Temperatures were warm, but headaches were noted commonplace due to the light atmosphere contrasted with planet earth.

Groups and clans formed. The first few months were spent building homes and making processed meals so to continue their existence. The scene repeated itself as added droves arrived to populate their settlement.

As months passed, communication between earth dwellers and the new residents on Mars steadily dwindled. However, a group of collective thinkers communicated amongst themselves to draft a plan to return to America and as one put it, “invade the hell out of the goddamn country.” Meanwhile, food companies, church bodies, and humanitarians at heart, tried to address the needs communicated from afar. It wasn’t an easy task.

One person remarked, “It’s a hell of a lot easier to get groceries to Alaska and Hawaii from the contiguous forty-eight compared to sending food stuffs to Mars.”

The tone in the nation concerning the exiles appeared sharp and definitely divided.

Reportedly, three attempts to assassinate the President and her various cabinet members had been tried to no avail. A growing, concerted effort supporting the stance from a legal angle were heard by naturalized citizens, youth and elderly alike. They said, “We now feel you have finally bestowed us with honor. You recognize the work we put in so to become along side you, citizens in the land of the free.” One remarked, “People in this nation have to realize sooner or later that there’s a legal way to get here, and no other way is condoned.”

Perhaps sadly, yet historically, the population on Mars had decreased by nearly half as data reported in a an general census fifteen months later. Diseases, extreme weather conditions, developing depression, fights and feuds erupting were cited as the cause of the decline. Funds were being set aside to sponsor a planned American invasion by the unsettled inhabitants. It was projected this could be realized by the end of the President’s first term. Time would be the determinant in the end.

When asked about the census and the rumored plan of invasion, President Silverburg replied, “Decline happened among the pioneers who settled our country. It happens to any new people group entering new environs. It’s natural selection, thank the Almighty Eternal for such a thing. We will meet any terrorist attack with swift, sure, certain justice.”

On later findings concerning the exiles, the first group had thrived and beat the odds. The family of four, and many others too, had rebuilt life to nearly mimic that form they were most familiar when on earth. The children were schooled by their parents. Out of survival modality, families depended on one another to do their part in turning the impossible into possible. Likely, near-death only impelled and propelled desire to create a ‘good life.’ Practically this involved building a house, constructing beds or cots for sleep, becoming vegans, receiving means to construct a network of communication, etc. Initially, fire-pots, similar in principle to the incinerator, were created to handle light-to-moderate cooking activity.

Children made up games, imagined military service, played at being Government; adults did their best to co-exist, carve out a life they could value.

By year three, the near-forgotten responded along a continuum. This ranged from anger toward God and former country, to acceptance of circumstances, to embracing the now and moving on, to outright happiness for the fresh start given. One remarked expressing the feeling of many, “”Screw those Americans and their leaders. We’ll overcome them one day when they are flabby, apathetic, lazy and self-centered, self-absorbed savages.”

End