Empress Delivers Imperial AddressThe Empress delivers her remarks.. Speaking before a Joint Session of the Imperial Diet Empress Sutāraito has delivered the Imperial Address. RBC presents the Address following without commentation.
"Fellow Rokkenjimans, Friends and Allies of the First Empire, honourable delegates from afar, I thank you for joining me here this evening.
A broken compass, betrayed values, uncertainty for the future; we've been here before, and this will not be another one of those Addresses I promise. We have endured much as a nation, we've been attacked from forces outside of our borders and I am proud to say that our Servicemembers return home victors in a conflict we never asked for, never desired, yet we saw it through to completion alongside our allies. But I'd argue, what has truly be won, however? There are casualties on each side, lives that will never be the same and yet, as it usually is, people like me sit in our offices, our throne rooms, we live in our palaces as so many lives are disrupted and I must ask, is there not a better way? Can we not simply co-exist, leave each other better from our interactions; must we resort to killing our young? I'm just out of high school so you can imagine my fright at suddenly having the say in where those just ending their education gratuate to exchanging bullets and, again mind you, I ask...for what?
We see piles of bodies on each side," she paused as she brought up a graphic image from what she saw in her intelligence briefings from the Empire, "what does anyone say to that? How do they respond, as human beings, to what we are capable of inflicting on other human beings? I found myself, after viewing this image and countless like it, in a moment of crisis. I doubted the better will of humanity itself, I doubted whether or not people were capable of even doing basic good, but then I remembered I, myself, am human. I, just as all of you viewing this speech, have the power to effect so much, but do we choose to do it? Do we escape the confines of our comforts to actually pick something up and say, "today I am making the world around me a better place"? Sadly, many of us would answer "no" and we'd return to watching the same five or so television series that make us feel better about ourselves.
I debated, before speaking with you all tonight, whether I would speak the speech my writers prepared for me, the speech I myself prepared, or just speak to you honestly and you know which one won?" She paused, pointing to her hear, "the one in here, I'm not reading from copy, I never needed to in high school and I won't start doing so now, I'm speaking to you as if we were in the same room, face-to-face, before each other in a way beyond a television screen. I believe fully in every word I speak because, the dream my mother fought for is dead. Be it the Assembly of Mundus, the Covenant of Nations, the aspirations for a global compact, a global understanding, I believe are dead. It's not the fault of any one nation or group, yet we must live in a world determined by the interests of states, the interests of intranational organizations, but I am confident we can make the most of that and, perhaps, work back toward a path of international accord and unity, if not for any other purpose than one: a common platform for the settlement of international disputes which precludes any nation from even considering sending its young to die on the field of battle.
Returning to what we saw in Kalasin I've seen so much more, so much worse, than what I showed you earlier. It brought about in me an almost existential crisis, a moment marked in my history yet one that I'd always pivot to; I'll always remember where I was when I first saw those heartbreaking and, I'd argue, spirit breaking, images. I nearly abdicated the Throne in those moments but, you know what guided me from that?" she paused as she pointed to the camera, "you did; all of you, as Empress I don't always get to see the better side of humanity. Indeed, at times, I must see the worst and I must make decisions based on what I see that ensure our Empire acts in accordance with our stated principles. In that spirit, I am proud to say Rokkenjima has stood by her principles and we'd take on an enemy even if our defeat were inevitable to defend them; and I had help in that, not one person can take on those sights and not be changed, but I had Thomas at my side and it was because of his guidance, his drive to see me believe in myself, that I made the decisions I made and asked him to be my husband. To break any suspension, he said yes.
After allowing the Diet to cool down from their applause, the Empress continued.
The ASDN is just the start, but we also must build links with our neighbours beyond that. Aosta, Abertone, the Iwi, Cassiopia, Lijiang; so many we've neglected to build alongside. We've seen great efforts and vast investments in what I will call legacy endeavours, growing contentment in our current position, yet such a sentiment is incompatible with what the Saisei Empress and her Vicegerent, Empress Emerita Evanthe, accomplished. We will look to build links across Mundus, restore those links that suffered under past constraints and, during my reign, we shall see the Imperial Diplomatic Corps give those folks in Northfort a run for their money. We once built the greatest diplomatic network known to Mundus for the time and we shall do so yet again. If we're to build a world within which a common playing field exists yet again our success in this matter is of paramount importance; some nations see the future of Mundus through lenses constricted by their regions but we, Rokkenjimans, have always been able to see beyond that, to see the larger picture, and that is a sense of sight I will seen restored to Chrysanthemum Throne.
With our new Constitution enshrining the very essence of Rokkenjiman Democracy into law I am confident when I say we are, once again, that shining city on a hill, an example which other nations may aspire toward, and we must work collectively together not only to be an arsenal of democracy, but also an ardent supporter of democracy in times of peace. It is not just in times of war that democracy is under threat but also those in times of peace; why, we saw it here when Charles Foster Ofdensen saw beyond his station and attempted to force his vision upon Rokkenjima. It is a relatively recent invention, in the course of governance, that mechanisms to ensure the common voice, that of the every-man, reaches even the highest offices of Government and that is something we must all, collectively, fight to maintain. It is not lost upon me that Rokkenjima has operated as an absolute monarchy, both prior to and following the Second Great Patriotic War, but in those struggles we've learned so much, and we've learned that a government
of the People is most certainly preferable than a government
for the People; I, you, all of us are the greatest servants of our People and it is our responsibility to represent the best of their interests.
This is why I am announcing a new, annual, budgetary priority of the First Empire to allocate र540.5m ($1bn) to support democratic governments across Mundus, to be not only the arsenal of democracy but also the guarantor of democracy in times it is not under a direct threat. It is not lost upon me that democracy is such a powerful force, yet it is also delicate enough that a combination of forces may strike it off course leading our collective societies and cultures back toward autocracy, dictatorship, and the worst whims of the human heart. We must always actively defend democracy, on and off the field of battle, and today Rokkenjima makes a commitment to doing both to the fullest of our capabilities. Even if it's something on the level of building schools to increase civic knowledge and engagement, or something as complicated as tackling corruption, the Democratic Preservation Fund will be open to all nations to ensure that we resist the worst we see in the human heart and preserve our governments from the forces which would render them torn apart or, at worst, at the mercy of the forces of tyranny.
It's also not lost upon me that many of our foreign viewers have a preconceived notion of Rokkenjima, yet such preconceived notions must be swept aside as what I and my Government represent is not that which has proceeded, but that which follows. Under my Reign Rokkenjima looks to the future and not the past which is why I am announcing my commitment to the fullest of explorations of diplomatic engagements beyond our legacy contacts to date; we truly live in a new era and it's one which sees Rokkenjima looking to build relations not with those we already hold strong relations with but those we've failed to see as possible to date. We must look to nations we've seen less engagement with, even those with whom we've had troubled engagements with, not as something to avoid but as something which with to engage, figure out our differences, and find solutions to those differences and build a network of connections not yet realized before upon Mundus. Some may naturally point to Northfort on this topic and I'll give them a point, but only for observation; Northfort has built links yes, but it has not harnessed those links, truly, for the betterment of Mundus. What they take as a talking point of pride Rokkenjima will effect real effort and energy to see a return to the days of standardization, of a common forum and understanding on international relations; this hobilty-cobilty, ad-hoc approach to foreign affairs lacking a common diplomatic forum for the nations of Mundus will cease and we will, once again, find the cohesion necessary to build the links which allow for such a common forum to exist.
We shall look to the Commonwealth, to the Covenant even, not for guidance but for the pitfalls to avoid. We shall take what worked from both while discarding the aspects that didn't and, together, build a Mundus that works for all of us. We've seen the failures of the present era, we know them all to well, and we can do better. We
must do better, because the current international system is, quite frankly, not working to its fullest potential. In the new year I will be sharing my visions for a new cross-Mundus agency, one which avoids the pitfalls of the past and one which works because, the current order is failing us on a daily basis. The lack of international cohesion and agreement on a myriad of issues can no longer be tolerated; just as we did when the USR threatened biological annihilation upon Mundus we must, just as we did then, join together to ensure that politics do not lead to our annihilation. The common forum must be restored and all of us, I refer to national leaders here mind you, must set aside our pride and work to see that realization become an eventuality. The Northfort Experiment has failed miserably, leading to losses of life not seen since before the Covenant/Commonwealth era. Do we persist on this path or do we, collectively, decide that our pride is not worth this continued loss of life?
I'll leave you all on those words; to think, to ruminate, to debate. The state of our Empire is strong, I'm proud to report, as strong as our aspirations for a brighter future and a renewed tomorrow. May Islyna bless you with her infinite wisdom, and may she bless this First Empire with the wisdom and sight to always choose the true and just path. Thank you."