Visitors

Chapter Two

Chapter TwoThe Captain was impressed and said so. Here he was alone with the Prime Minister and his wife, and not another witness present. This was trust indeed and marked a man with faith in his perception.

Initial conversation centred on the families of the hosts and guest; it was very much as if the Vicar had come round to supper. Eventually Shaw’s curiosity could not be contained.

‘Presiding over a Cabinet discussion on the Budget I find purgatorial.’

‘Ah, you’ve got me on that word!’

‘I’ve scored one at last!’ Shaw chuckled while giving the meaning. ‘How do you deal with the nightmare of taxation?’ he questioned.

‘You may find this difficult to imagine, but we don’t have taxation as such. We have rent-collection centres and, when there is a special need, donations are invited which often build up a reserve well above the immediate requirement.’

‘But how do you pay for education and health services?’

‘We have no government-funded health or education service. There are centres for those unable to help themselves, but there the need is small.’

‘But how…?’ Shaw was baffled. ‘The need for welfare funds to combat poverty… How…?’

‘There may be simplicity – that is mostly by choice – but there is little poverty, and those who are in poverty are mostly those who cannot help themselves.’

‘I am totally baffled. You cannot be a primitive, simplistic society, for people who can send heralds halfway across the universe are the very opposite!’ Shaw shook his head. ‘How do you do it? Your citizens must be uncommonly advanced.’

‘And you must have a powerful belief system,’ Mrs Shaw interjected.

‘Yes, faith is often needed, but truth transcends all.’

To Mrs Shaw the gentle eyes of the Visitor said it all, and she had no doubt that what he said was so.

The Prime Minster was reflective. This man was not a charlatan. He would bet his life on that. But what of war and strife: had they banished that? There had to be a snag somewhere!

‘What about criminal activity? How do you deal with disruptive elements? What about war?’

‘Constant vigilance is the only answer, and when it’s spotted crime must never walk abroad unpunished.’

‘And war?’ Shaw pressed.

‘War happens when a tyrant thinks he sees an easy victory. So prudence and vigilance are essential. Complacency, in this respect, is criminal!’

The Captain wasn’t a dewy-eyed tree-hugger, Shaw concluded quickly.

‘I’m still puzzled by your system of collecting revenue,’ he added.

The Visitor smiled. ‘Can I ask you a question?’

‘Of course.’

‘How valuable is the land on which your great financial city rests?’

‘Unbelievably valuable!’

‘Who collects the value?’

‘The landlords.’

‘And who creates this value?’

Deep in his memory Shaw trawled up a conversation he once had had with someone on the hustings. He had dismissed it then for he had seen no votes in it. Now the import of it all rushed back.

‘Your question: who creates the rent? Everyone who works there; the whole community,’ he answered.

‘As you say here, that would be a tidy sum!’

‘Very tidy! I remember now, my experts told me that this idea was “old hat”.’

‘“Old hat”?’

‘That’s another one!’

The Captain laughed

‘They meant out of date.’

‘Natural law is never out of date.’

‘Oh dear, the academics won’t like that. “Natural” is “out”!’

‘Tell them that Nature says it’s in!’

Shaw and his wife laughed heartily.

‘This is a most enjoyable evening, Prime Minister. Laughter is so healthy!’

‘Captain, I know what the objectors will say. When collecting the rent, what about the twentieth floor?’ Shaw continued.

‘We have the same thing, but the twentieth floor is of no concern to the rent-collecting service. They are only interested in the person or body who holds the title to the land area; for, no matter how sophisticated, the building rests on land. In your case it would be the freehold owner. You even have a name for it: ground rent. We have long since rid ourselves of those lingering vestiges of land ownership but you still have leases, sub-leases and so on. Such factors cause interim difficulties but they would soon settle down.’

‘And ground rent funds the working of the state?’

‘Yes, except for emergencies, as already mentioned.’

‘Captain, I find it difficult to credit. Welfare is such a massive burden!’

‘When men’s labour is free of tax it brings about a revolution and, when those with enterprise have easy access to a business site, commerce mushrooms. People are working as free men. Believe me, it makes a huge difference. The welfare burden will shrink, the education bill will shrink, and citizens at last will have the dignity of choosing their health care and their children’s education. They’ll be no longer in receipt of charity, or have the anxiety of cruel waiting lists. Charity breeds dependence, but give the people justice and they will rise to it.’

‘Captain, this is all very well in the long term, or for yourselves who have had it in place perhaps for many decades, but we by necessity must proceed slowly. Immediate implementation would be a tyranny!’

‘Having observed your system, it would take years to introduce on a significant scale. Yet it is the natural system. No other way can you avoid the basic cause of poverty in this age. The old manorial system that my ancestors once observed is past.’

Shaw was once more shocked. Had they been visiting Earth since the Middle Ages? Who were these people? He had much more to learn.

‘Clearly, Captain, yours is a race of great achievement. Why then have you shown such continuing interest in our planet? For, as you’ve just said, you were observing us in the medieval period.’

‘We owe you much for you have a genius when it comes to spiritual insight,’ the Captain answered quietly. ‘Even now, your enlightened ones preach the unity of spirit that unites us all. Yes, we learned much, and we wish to show our gratitude.’

Shaw waited for the Captain to elaborate but he remained silent. Eventually it was Mrs Shaw who spoke.

‘How do you intend to act, Sir?’

‘We have no plans. We can respond to questions but that is all. As you say in your military circles, it’s our rules of engagement. ’ The countenance of the Visitor seemed even more benign.

‘What questions do you think we should be asking?’

The Visitor laughed.

‘You’re not a politician for nothing, Mr Shaw.’

‘I continue to be amazed at your facility with our language and the idiom – well, that is really amazing!’

‘Britain was my subject at what you would call university.’

‘Now, Sir, what have we forgotten? What does this country need?’

‘The centre, the core of certainty is being eroded. We have watched this disturbing trend with sadness.’

‘This, and the fanatical counter-trend burning in the Muslim states, concern me greatly, but every time I speak I’m shredded by the media.’

‘“Shredded”? – Yes, I get the meaning! Does the shredding worry you?’

‘If it did I would be dead.’

‘Keep speaking, Sir. You’ll be planting seeds and they will grow. Britain is a fertile land.’