SECOND CHANCE:

KING OF THE ISLANDS

By

R. Richard

Excerpt

I WANT MY KINGDOM of Fori Novor to have a written constitution.

I have obtained a number of written constitutions from advanced civilizations. I have also obtained an advanced civilization computer program that analyzes the character of the people for whom a constitution is to be written.

After a bit of study, it seems to me that there's no such thing as an ideal constitution. A constitution that suits one group of people might not suit another group of people.

One seemingly simple thing has to do with the right of a citizen to a timely, public trail. All of the sample constitutions that I review guarantee a citizen of the state the right to a timely, public trial. However, there the similarity ends. Some of the constitutions guarantee a jury of the accused’s peers, the other citizens of the society. Other constitutions don't want a jury of peers, but a trial by a judge, trained to interpret the law. Still others use a professional jury, essentially a jury of legal scholars trained to interpret the law. The jury of legal scholars thing seems to be an attempt to have a trial by judge, but with more than one judge to offset any bias in a single judge.

Some of the constitutions have sections that clash with certain items of Corin international law.

Another problem is freedom of religion. I'm, in general, for freedom of religion. However, I'm not in favour of religions that require their worshipers to kill the worshipers of other religions. I'm also not in favour of religions that use human sacrifice, even willing human sacrifice.

I finally wind up using a lot of the standard sort of terms that appear in almost all of the constitutions as a basis for my constitution. I also use or add a lot of items that deal with the sea, since Fori Novor is an island and things like sea access and fishing are of greater importance to the citizens of Fori Novor than would be the case if Fori Novor were more inland.

I also add a number of items that reflect the long existing law of Fori Novor as regards farming and homes. The details of Fori Novor law are slightly different from the model constitutions that I have, but not really a lot different.

There's a lot to think about as I write a constitution for Fori Novor and I bounce ideas off of any number of the more concerned and more intellectual citizens of Fori Novor.

I had naively thought to get consensus from the citizens. Instead, the best I can get is a situation where everyone has about the same amount of complaints.

One item that no one except me likes is the fact that I'm the absolute Monarch of Fori Novor. None of the restrictions or limits in the constitution apply to me personally.

Now you might think that after review and feedback I would submit my constitution to the Parliament of Fori Novor for ratification. (Have you not been reading the foregoing?) I'm the absolute Monarch of Fori Novor. I, in effect, tell the Parliament and the people of Fori Novor, “This is your new Constitution and the supreme law of the land. You have no choice and no voice in the matter. This is how it is. Live with it.”

Actually, the citizens of Fori Novor seem to like the new rules. This last is not surprising, since the new rules are pretty much the same as the old rules and the changes are mainly what the people find that they want in any case.

There's a lot of discussion in the news and in public forums in Fori Novor. The likes and dislikes expressed are pretty much the same as I got when I submitted my constitution for review.

I do get a delegation who come to talk to me about my new Constitution. However, they're not from Fori Novor. They're the heads of the governments of the islands around Fori Novor.

The heads of the governments of the islands around Fori Novor have a message for me. The spokesman says, “We find ourselves with many, many problems. Our small island economies aren't sufficient to deal with the times. Our peoples are unhappy and they point to Fori Novor and say to us that they want things as they're in Fori Novor.”

I say, “I suspect that the citizens of your islands don't really realize that I'm not just the King of Fori Novor. In fact, I'm the absolute Monarch of Fori Novor. There are no limits on my power. Do your citizens really want that sort of government?”

The spokesman then tells me, “Our citizens realize your power and your results. They're willing to give you the same power over them, in hope of getting the same results.”

I can't believe what I'm hearing. I ask, “Do you mean that your citizens are willing to place themselves under an absolute Monarch?”

A man named 'King Willis' (he's not a King, it's just his name) looks around at the assembled diplomats and says, “Your Majesty, the people are not just willing, they demand it.”

I say, “I don't have enough people on Fori Novor to really run all of the islands. I'll need to leave at least most of the governments that currently exist in place. If you accept me as King, I'll issue orders to those governments. My orders will be obeyed or very harsh punishment will follow. Do you understand?”

The people rise and say, in unison, “Yes, your Majesty.”

I call for clerks and they prepare and sign documents that transfer all of the power of all of the islands from the current governments to Justin Imperiale, King of The Islands.

After they have signed away their freedom, no one seems exactly sure what to do.

I'm sure of what needs to be done next. I say, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have maps to prepare and a demand to serve on the Association of Nations. My job is to look after my people of The Islands, as my Kingdom shall be henceforth known. My people are now the people of all of the islands. I'm off to do what I need to do. If there's any island that rejects my rule, I'll deal with those who run that island as I did with those who ruled Fori Novor before me.”