THE MOMENT
General Mann watched the battle from the safety of a private office a world away. He sat, notably tense, with his eyes glued to the large screen showcasing the violence. Fortunately, he wasn't alone. He had three loyal staff sitting in with him. And, of course, there was Captain Marina Stormhold. She wasn't under the General's command and because of that, she could complicate the ongoing firefight at any point, if she chose to.
A decidedly non-athletic middle-aged man with a coppery red bushy beard was at the center of the action on the display. General Mann's infantry had been trying to subdue the individual for almost six hours and he wasn't getting the least bit tired of fighting back. Despite his apparent size, his moves were all graceful and efficient. The General expected a difficult operation, the stranger, Arachnos, was a nanoswarm embodying an advanced war A. I. But, after throwing bodies at it for six hours, not a single soldier had managed any sort of hit.
He was old, and set in his ways. And, he had enough experience to see the implications of what was happening. Not just on the screen either. A quick glance around the room informed him that his staff were all entranced with awe. They stared with their mouths open in disbelief. This wasn't what any of them expected.
Before Marina arrived, he discussed the operation with his staff and they all decided 12 hours was more than enough. He had an entire army at his disposal, and yet, they'd reached the halfway point without any amount of progress, and no sign of that changing in the next six hours either. He'd spent an entire career assessing battle trajectories and making decisions. This one was objectively the easiest decision he ever had to make; yet, subjectively, it was the hardest for a man like him. But, he'd never shied away from difficulty. He sighed and stood from the comfort of his couch.
"Well," the General said, turning to his men. "We're fucked." He lifted a glass. "That said, I propose a toast. To Captain Stormhold, and the U.E.A. Not only did you hand us our asses; you did it with class." The staff stood with their General, and all raised their glasses, then took a drink.
"Does this mean we're not going to use all 12 hours allotted?" Captain Stormhold asked.
"I imagine it'll play out exactly the same," General Mann nodded with a sigh. "It's been six hours and my men haven't scored a single hit on Arachnos. Not only that, your A.I. war machine has been completely non-lethal the entire time. You've sufficiently proven how obsolete my soldiers are, and I can see the reasoning behind your requirements. Continuing the exercise would just waste six hours I could be using to dissolve our military."
"Then, the exercise is over," Marina nodded. "But, I won't formally welcome you to the United Earths of America until all military branches are officially dismantled."
"I said I can see the reasoning; but, laying off everyone in a military branch is going to be disastrous to the economy. You know that, right? I'm hoping you wouldn't ask such a big thing from us without that in mind," the General asked. He was there to make the final decision on orders from the higher-ups. He didn't have to convince anyone, he just had to decide. But, he needed to know there was a bigger plan before putting his soldiers through that.
"The U.E.A. is multiversal," Captain Stormhold replied with a nod. "Your Earth will be connected to our trade and travel network. It will mean limitless opportunities for everyone, including your newly unemployed soldiers. They can go to any Earth they choose and find meaningful employ in any field."
"Oh...," General Man replied with a hint of confusion on his old leathery face. "He knew Captain Stormhold was from an alternate universe, and technically the exercise against Arachnos was on a separate Earth devoid of other people. But, he'd never considered what it meant that another Earth existed. All he was told was the country's military might was on the line, and he worked out the details of the engagement with Marina. He was too distracted to think about the rest; but, once she said it, he had newfound hope.
"Wow..., the U.E.A. opens up that many options huh?" the General asked with a chuckle. "...maybe we're not fucked after all."
"You never were," Marina smirked. "That's honestly the most amusing part to me. You were so confident humans were better than Arachnos; yet, you missed a completely human weak point."
"And what's that?" The general asked with a tilt of his head.
"Well, Arachnos is an A.I.," she said. "Do you think he ever sees a situation and says to himself, 'Well, I'm fucked' before giving up?"