As the first of the group arrived Tim picked up his skateboard and headed over, "Ilan" Tim pronounced, "We're not on official duty and you know I always hated being called Mr.Carpenter, makes me sound like I'm someone in my sixties." he offered a hand, "I'm glad you could make it, especially with so much going on back home." He wandered over to the Recreation Centre and handed Ilan a pin badge bearing the letters GSSOC and handed it over, "You'll need one of these."
No sooner had he welcomed Ilan than Saki arrived, "The cakes we'll have, the skates sadly will have to wait, if we wrap things up quickly I'll take you to the new skate park." Tim offered as he tossed her the same badge. As Pryde arrived he said very little and appart from exchanging nods Tim launched a badge towards him in a gentle under arm throw. Tim waved the Heyran over and once more presented the plain white pin badge with the letters GSSOC in black written on it. Finally it was Birgit who arrived, Tim gave her a hug the two having shared several cups of hot chocolate and plenty of biscuits in the CTO days. Tim made sure everyone had a badge and then pulled open the recreation centre door. In struggled to open but Tim stepped aside letting them enter. Inside it was dark and dingy, a series of camping lights Tim had set up that morning illuminating the inside. There was the sound of someone pottering around, it was Ruth, Tim's former Secretary at the CTO apparently now co-opted into whatever it was Carpenter was now planning. She was in the old kitchen boiling a pan of water on a camping stove and making coffee.
In the centre of the old hall, the floor of which was covered in long forgotten debris which Tim had simply swept into one corner there was a circle of chairs, not the comfy leather kind you'd find in usual diplomatic circles but simple plastic ones you'd find in most classrooms throughout East Moreland. "OK, take a seat gang" Tim motioned and then headed off to collect the coffees which he helped Ruth distribute along with a tray of various biscuits. Tim then took a seat himself and pinned his own badge to his hoody. "GSSOC, Global Sort Shit Out Council" Tim pointed to each letter. "This is going to be the most bizarre diplomatic meeting you've ever been part of and what I'm going to ask of you is probably not going to make you popular if it gets out. So if anyone fancies leaving then finish your coffee and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. If your willing to give me twenty minutes of your time we may just one day change Mundus." he dipped his biscuit in the coffee and carefully extracted it ensuring the soggy end didn't drop in his coffee.
"What GSSOC.....we can sort a gang name out later....is intended to do is what I dreamed of one day while coming along here. When I was like eight years old I started coming to this place skating, playing tag rugby, playing guitar and trying to snog Penny Curtis, never achieved that last one. I dreamt of living in an East Moreland that didn't have the Borlanders, that allowed me to get to see the world, meet new and interesting people and drink coffee with them in wrecked building. Seriously though I once wrote" he pulled an old schoolbook out his back pocket and flicked to a page and began to read, "that Mundus should be a place where all nations are best friends and share their sweets." he closed the book and put it away. "I think though that's a dream the big wigs don't want us to achieve. We've had the CTO, me and Birgit even had a go at running the bloody thing and as such its on its arse. It doesn't work because we have nations far too concerned about their image on the global scene and shut down doorways to ideas that could benefit Mundus simply because it doesn't benefit someone who is standing for election, or someone in need of polishing their own propaganda halo. Looking round this room thats an issue none of us have. I want us to be the CTO. I want us to agree here and now that even if our nations are at loggerheads we keep the lines of communication open and that those of us in the room work together to try and get our governments to see sense for the good of all Mundus and not the good of the polls in the next election. I suggest we'll fail 9 times out of 10, but even if we don't get our own way we have the means and influence between us to make a difference. So what I'm proposing then is a backdoor CTO, we meet a few times a year, even if its to just drink coffee and eat biscuits and we sort out the worlds problems the best we can. I know its ambitious but between us we've the ears of some very influential people, I think its worth trying."
