Weinberger had set out for the meeting on his own legs, but had collapsed halfway there. He was given oxygen and a couple of injections that instantly jerked him back on his feet. However, he was put in a wheelchair as a precautionary measure. As he was pushed in the wheelchair for his meeting with Odongo, he reflected bitterly that his own personal state reflected the state of the global financial system for which he"d been made responsible.

His misadventure resulted in his being late nearly twenty minutes for the meeting, and Odongo had been fuming while waiting for him to show up. Nelson Odongo had appointed himself to the post of Chairman of the new world parliament. His new t.i.tle officially meant he was simply an organizer and administrator; privately, he felt he was now the leader of the entire world. He was very displeased that Weinberger was late. He thought it showed a lack of respect. But when he saw Weinberger in a wheelchair, his att.i.tude instantly changed.

He waved away Weinberger"s apology and expressed deep concern for his health. He did not offer Weinberger the option of resigning his post on grounds of poor health. Nor did he propose that someone else temporarily take over Weinberger"s duties.

Odongo had always disliked Weinberger, and that was the reason why he had led the drive to appoint him Finance Minister in the new world government. He knew the task of replacing all existing currencies with a single, global currency based on coinage could mean a shortcut to the grave for Weinberger. That outcome would simply be a just outcome, considering what Weinberger"s International Money Fund had done for Africa.

He was still a kind-hearted man, though, and he let Weinberger drink a cup of tea before hitting him with the news. The moment the cup held by Weinberger"s shaky hand clattered down on the saucer for the final time, Odongo said:

"We have decided to introduce the new currency earlier than we initially planned. We want to make it the only legal tender as of March first."

Weinberger gasped and clutched his heart. He appeared to be in great need of a fresh cup of tea, at the very least. Odongo solicitously poured him one from the teapot. Then he continued:

"I know this step is very radical. But I"m sure you"ll agree the old financial system doesn"t work any more. Basically, it has ceased to exist. Attempting to revive it just for the transition to our new currency doesn"t make sense. We might as well jump in at the deep end."

"One moment," said Weinberger weakly. "Who is "we"?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You said, "we". We decided and so on. Who is "we"?

"Oh, a little informal group of concerned and influential new world parliamentarians. Carlton Brock, Ruslan Grot, and w.a.n.g Wei, to name just a few. Of course we"ll put this initiative to the vote, but there is no reason to believe it won"t pa.s.s."

Weinberger was silent. The three names Odongo had just dropped had plenty of weight. All the members of the new world parliament were supposed to be equal, but of course some were far more equal than others. The three nations they represented - "nations" meaning administrative ent.i.ties, not independent states - were nations that had already started minting the new currency. And Weinberger needed as much of the new currency as possible, preferably yesterday. He said:

"But it"s impossible to to have enough of the new money by the first of March! We need trillions to replace the old currencies. We haven"t even fixed the exchange rate."

"What exchange rate?"

"For the old currencies. I mean people will have to replace the money they have with the new currency. They need to go to a bank, put their old money on the counter, and get new money in exchange. I can"t put it any plainer than that."

"We won"t be exchanging any of the existing money for the new currency."

"What!?"

"As you have observed yourself, it"s impossible. It just can"t be done."

"But how are people going to pay for what they need to live?"

"We will be simultaneously introducing the minimum guaranteed income we"ve all agreed on."

"This is lunacy," gasped Weinberger. "We won"t have enough coinage to pay it out! And anyway, we haven"t determined yet how much it"s supposed to be."

"We have. I mean of course we will be voting on it this very afternoon, but you can take it as done."

"How much?"

"A thousand a month."

"A thousand what?"

"A thousand whatever. Cents, pennies, kopeks, fens. You name it. They all have exactly the same value: ten grams of aluminum."

"But that won"t be enough to buy enough food to survive! And what about other necessary expenses?"

"You"re wrong. You"re familiar with the law of demand and supply, aren"t you?"

Weinberger was silent for a while. Then he said:

"I see. You"re a.s.suming that prices for everything will plunge through the floor."

"Of course they will. A meal will cost a couple of cents."

"But you still need an enormous amount of coinage. It"s impossible to mint enough in time."

"It is."

Weinberger didn"t say anything. He stared at Odongo, breathing through his mouth. Odongo said:

"First of all, there"s no need to pay each and every adult a thousand coins. It could be a single gold coin. Secondly, everyone will be allowed to mint money. Of course if they do, they won"t be receiving any guaranteed income payments."

"What? Who do you mean by everyone?"

"I mean every single adult in the world. Of course the coins minted will have to conform to established standards. The value of metal used must correspond to the value stated on the coin. And there must be a list of metals and quant.i.ties used on the reverse, along with the name of the mint. The mint itself must be registered at a local government office."

"You will be allowing private individuals to make money? It"s insane! The government has to have control of the - "

"Kasper, Kasper," Odongo interrupted soothingly, shocking Weinberger into silence with the use of his Christian name. "You"re forgetting something. Something very important. Remember the new tax system? Ultimately, ninety percent of that money is going to find its way into government coffers. To us, in other words."

"And how are you going to collect that tax?"

"Through tax collectors. We"ll need a lot, I know, but that"s good. We"re going to hit sky-high unemployment, you know that. This will help with that problem."

"I can"t imagine myself managing millions of tax collectors."

"You won"t be. All that will be handled by local governments. You"ll just have to deal with global issues. And of course you can have as much support staff as you like. After all, you"ll be setting your own budget. You"ll be in total control, Kasper, and it will be much easier than you think."

Weinberger sat, breathing heavily and staring into s.p.a.ce, for a good minute. Then he said:

"You"re going to have global revolution on your hands."

"Correction," said Odongo. "We already have a global revolution on our hands. And we have to deal with it, fast. That"s why we"ve formed a new world government, and that"s why we"re introducing a new global currency."

"You don"t understand. People will rise up in arms. A hundred new wars will erupt."

Odongo sighed.

"Kasper, Kasper, Kasper, " he said. "What do you fight wars with?"

"Please stop," said Weinberger. "I"m in the wrong frame of mind to engage in talkshow quizzes. Wars are fought with armies, with weapons."

"No," Odongo said. "Wars are fought with money. You of all people should know that."

"But you just said everyone can mint their own money!"

"Exactly," Odongo said.

"Oh G.o.d," Weinberger said after a pause. "I see it now. This is... This is..."

"It"s brilliant," Odongo said. "No one will fight when they could be minting money instead."

He smiled at Weinberger. He said:

"Would you like some more tea? I"ll have a fresh pot brought in."

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