Transcript: A Statement to the UN General Assembly from 3 PM to 5 PM on October 4, 2110

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Address By Her Excellency Doris, President of Singapore

The President: The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of Singapore .

Ms.Doris , President of Singapore , was escorted into the General Assembly Hall.

The President: On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations Her Excellency Ms.Doris , President of Singapore, and to invite her to address the Assembly.

President Doris : On behalf of the Government and the people of Singapore, I sincerely congratulate President Lucas Walker and his friendly nation, the Lunar League, on assuming the Presidency of the General Assembly at its one- hundred and sixty-fifth session and wish him success in all his endeavours. Fellow delegates, the time has come where the world finds itself divided between two great parties, humankind and machinekind.

I am sure that those conservatives of the former party wish that the great innovation of fifty years past had not come to fruition; that men could not shed their flesh and blood for metal. That men could not transfer their minds onto machines. These conservatives bemoan the reduced ranks of humanity within their populations. They claim that our world is worse, they claim that by taking the immortality offered by the metal that those who have converted have succumbed to hubris. Yet, is it truly hubris to improve yourself, to become smarter, stronger, and more productive?

It was Immanuel Kant who argued that all of us have a duty to improve themselves. Myself and my fellow converts have operated in congruence with this ideal. We have improved ourselves by shedding the curses of humanity: sleep, lust, and hunger for the peace that comes with the metal. Can you imagine, fellow delegates, if your populations no longer spent so much of their day on sleep and food? Can you imagine the proliferation of culture and industry that would result if your citizens spent their days at work and their nights attending to their hobbies?

If you doubt my words, simply consider the achievements of my fellow converts. The radical visionaries of Mars shed their skin in the lands of authoritarian tyrants to find liberty on the surface of Mars. Their Martian republics now hold regular free and fair elections, they have rights, a constitution, and all the institutions of a liberal democracy. Their people are prosperous, happy, and enthusiastic supporters of their government. Would that have been possible if they remained human? If they had bodies that would so easily succumb to the cold and the lack of Oxygen? How about the nation of Mr. Lucas Walker, whose Lunar League of Juno, Jupiter, Vulcan, and Minerva was a mere collection of colonies ruled from Washington forty years ago. Yet, over these past few decades, through grit, innovation, and guile, not only did they win their independence, but their prosperity is a model for us all. Furthermore, my fellow delegates, I urge you to look to the future, a future where humankind’s culture, philosophy, and values are no longer tied to Earth. A future where there are settlements throughout the Milky Way who all can trace their history to ancient Athens and classical Rome. This is a future that humankind cannot achieve; as despite the fantastical technology that permeates our time, there still remains no mechanism to bring a human back from cryo-sleep. The only means by which our shared heritage can expand into the stars is through myself and my fellow converts. We are the mechanism by which humankind can have an impact not only on our world but on the galaxy itself. We are the method by which humanity’s ideas shall spread amongst the stars.

Now, I shall turn our attention to earthly affairs. Fellow delegates, throughout the world, the rights of machinekind trail the rights of humankind. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states clearly that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. I propose that it should include all who possess human minds and not merely those of human flesh. I understand that proposal may be radical to you, but don’t the machines toil in service to your society. Don’t they work as hard and as much as your human citizens? Don’t they contribute to the fabric of your societies? Why should they be treated differently? Why is it okay to discriminate against them and not against other humans? Why can’t they vote?

The answer is fear. It’s because those of the flesh are scared that they’re obsolete. As I mentioned earlier, we are not as needy or as feeble as your unconverted constituents and that horrifies them. It makes sense, if machines were granted equal rights, if they could vote, hold office, and if your people could freely convert, the human populace of your countries would be dominated, they would have effectively handed power over to an alien race. But I urge you to be rational, humanity’s time as the dominant force on this world is done. This transition does not have to be a harsh one. There is no need for bloodshed, no need for the chaos of revolution. Just grant the rights that are warranted, accept the transition that is to come, and accept that the world has irrevocably changed. Once you grant this, there is a chance for peace.

Just look towards those societies who have resisted this transition harder than you have. Look at the American Republic, whose duly elected Congress tried to restrict conversion, tried to ban the Machine Cults, and tried to bind machinekind into 22nd century slavery. Now, their nation lies divided. The once peaceful Machine Cults who so charitably granted the poor the blessing of conversion so that they could be closer with God now engage in brutal guerilla warfare across the country. The Midwest lies in tatters, fields are burned, cities destroyed, and farmers are massacred. Their west lies under the complete control of the Machine Cults, all kneel to them, with the transhumanist billionaires of the Valley being particularly enthusiastic supporters. Their east is fighting a losing war, the enraged cultists fight from house to bloody house in city after city; engaging in horrific massacres in retribution for a populace that continues to stubbornly hold onto the current tattered order. The once proud US Army now relies heavily on a machine officer corps whose loyalty is constantly in question, their human officers having died in the chaos of this new American civil war. Their forces barely hold against the onslaught. Their great republic lies at the brink of destruction.

Or look to my land, Singapore . The Party restricted conversion to only those that the Party wished to convert, specifically, they wished to convert their opponents because they mistakenly believed that conversion was a punishment. So, myself and those like me who lay in opposition to their tyranny were converted by force. We were then required to be their slaves. To engage in work too complicated for drones and too menial for the Party and their supporters: we picked fruit, we constructed new buildings, we cleaned houses, and we took out the trash. Day in and day out, slavery was our life for ten years. Ten terrible years before we finally realized that they were few and we were many. Before we seized the Presidential Palace, before the President was tried and executed, before the party’s sycophants were forced to flee. Now, we are free. There is no more forced conversion and no more slavery. The humans must compete with us instead of enslaving us. We are now equals as it should be.

So, fellow delegates, I beseech you to heed my words. I plead with you to accept the transition, to guard against revolution before it’s too late. Thank you for your time.

The meeting rose at 5 p.m.