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complex.  “I’m afraid we’ll have to continue the discussion at a later date,” Flower said politely.
     
    Her aides shooed the technician out the door, leaving the First Representative momentarily alone in her office.
     
    Flower picked up her phone.  “Get me the Equality Minister, please.”
     
    As her aides returned to the room, Equality Minister Tanya Eldridge came on the line.  “Good afternoon, First Representative.”
     
    Uncharacteristically, Flower ignored the pleasantry.  “Have you made any progress in planning for the arrival of that spaceship?”
     
    The Equality Minister actually laughed.  “Slow down, First Representative!  We’ve only been at it for four days.  We just finished orientation and HR training today.  A lot of these scientists and astronomers have never worked for the Terran Alliance.  They needed to be briefed in on our state-of-the-art compliance and diversity protection systems.”
     
    Nodding impatiently, Flower said, “So you haven’t developed any plans yet for meeting the aliens?”
     
    “No, but I’m confident we’ll figure it out quickly.  Also, I must ask that you not refer to the extraterrestrials as ‘aliens.’  You surely know that term’s problematic history.”
     
    Flower said with complete sincerity, “I apologize for my ignorance, what would a more inclusive title be?”
     
    The Equality Minister replied sagely, “I have given the matter a great deal of thought.  ‘Extraterrestrial,’ while technically correct, also has a negative connotation of otherness.  My Equality Council and I just two hours ago voted to adopt the term ‘Superterrestrials,’ which can be shortened to ‘Supers.’  That name conveys the fact that these beings are not of our Earth while respecting their relation to our world.”
     
    Flower had barely heard Eldridge’s words.  “When will you begin planning what you’ll say to them, how you’ll meet them?”
     
    “Tomorrow.  We had a long final orientation session, so I sent everyone home for the day.”
     
    Glancing out her window, Flower saw the bright early afternoon light and grimaced.  “Please complete the work as quickly as possible; we need to start getting ready for this.  Also, please share whatever plans you develop for the al—... Supers with Dr. Takagawa.  She will need to know how to design her weapons.”
     
    The glower from the Equality Minister was very nearly audible over the phone line.  “I doubt ou needs to know anything in particular in order to make barbaric weapons.”
     
    Flower sighed.  “Please continue your work.  Goodbye.”  She hung up the phone.
     
    The First Representative rubbed her forehead, trying to ward off a headache.  She tapped the intercom to her secretary.  “Please get me the latest polling numbers on personal approval ratings for Minister Eldridge.” 
     
    She sat back and sipped at her green tea.  In two minutes, the email window flashed on her computer.  She opened the message and the attached document.
     
    Her face was impassive as she scanned the numbers.  While one could not become First Representative of the Terran Alliance without worldwide support, popularity in certain key regions foreshadowed support throughout the world. 
     
    Tanya Eldridge was formerly a representative of the region that had once been the northeastern United States.  That sector was the bedrock of her political support, with a 70 percent positive approval rating.  The rest of the United States wasn’t far behind.  Her standing in Western Europe was also strong.  The weak areas were places with relatively strong residual religiosity or archaic economic views: India, the southern United States, regions like that.  Those places tended to be lagging indicators, however, particularly when the rest of the most influential countries favored a particular candidate.
     
    Flower called her assistant, Gavin Henderson.  He might be busy with Takagawa’s project,