47: Civil War Breaks Out

"Father, McConnell's plan has been initiated."

In the underground command room of Tianqiong City, white flower's voice rang out calmly, as if reporting an inconsequential weather forecast.

Her massive information processing core had long since brought all public and private information streams on Earth under surveillance; as long as an area was covered by wireless networks, any movement could not escape her perception.

"According to the latest intelligence, President Miles will sign the first batch of presidential executive orders within 48 hours. The content includes declaring a state of emergency in Washington D.C. and authorizing the National Guard to take over urban security. The biometric characteristics, movement routes, and communication content of all relevant personnel have been intercepted and archived by me."

"Do you require me to immediately transmit this intelligence, which includes complete video evidence, to Mr. Elon?" white flower asked, her logic core waiting for a simple "Yes" or "No" command.

Lei Wen watched the holographic screen quietly, observing the sandbox that was constantly simulating the future development of the situation.

On the sandbox, the blue and red light points representing the Democratic Party and the Republican Party were like two burning nebulae, colliding and tearing each other apart in an irreversible trend, eventually carving a deep, bone-exposing wound across the vast map of North America.

Every flicker of the model represented tens of thousands of people being drawn into the fray, and hundreds of billions in wealth turning to ashes.

He did not immediately answer white flower's question, his fingers tapping gently on the cold surface of the console, emitting a rhythmic sound.

He countered, "white flower, what do you think a forest fire means for the entire ecosystem?"

white flower's core database began to operate at high speed.

In less than a nanosecond, she retrieved and analyzed all human records on ecology, natural philosophy, sociology, and history, from Aristotle's Politics to Toynbee's A Study of History.

A moment later, she provided an answer that transcended simple data analysis: "In the short term, it is a devastating catastrophe. It will destroy a large amount of existing vegetation and life, disrupt the original ecological balance, and cause immeasurable losses."

"But in the long run," her voice continued without a pause, the chain of logic clear and complete, "it is also a necessary purification and rebirth."

"It will burn away those dead trees and overspreading vines that have long since rotted and are hindering the growth of new species, releasing nutrients back into the soil."

"After the fire, new species with greater vitality and adaptability will rise from the ruins, and the entire ecosystem will enter the next evolutionary cycle with a more vigorous posture."

"In human sociology, this is known as creative destruction."

"Correct." Lei Wen nodded. He stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking his steel kingdom operating efficiently deep underground.

"The forest of America has been sick for too long." His voice echoed in the quiet command room, carrying a hint of historical gravity.

"Those intertwined giants of traditional industries, those oligarchic families that have been passed down for hundreds of years, they are like towering dead trees that have long been hollowed out from within but still occupy a vast amount of sunlight and nutrients."

"They use their massive root systems to stifle the growth space of all new sprouts, and use their dense branches and leaves to block the light of all change."

"Their very existence is the greatest irony to the word 'progress'."

"A small pruning, a gentle reform, cannot burn them to death." Lei Wen's voice turned cold. "I need a raging fire capable of burning the entire forest to the ground."

"I need to make this storm sweeping across America strong enough, strong enough to completely clear them—along with their rotten roots that spread to every corner of this country—from this land. Only in this way can new seeds truly take root and sprout."

"And," his gaze shifted to the gray area on the sandbox representing the continuously expanding power of Paradox Technology, "I also need a perfect stage."

"A stage that allows Paradox Technology to no longer merely present itself as a commercial company or a technology provider, but to reveal our power to the whole world in a more powerful posture—one capable of standing on equal footing with any superpower on this planet."

"We need to let everyone understand who will define the future."

"Therefore," he finally issued the command that would change the course of history, "do nothing. Do not alert Elon, and do not intervene with any side for now."

"We will just be quiet spectators."

"Quietly watching how they step by step send themselves to the judgment seat of history."

white flower did not raise any further questions.

She could not fully understand concepts like "purification" and "rebirth" that were full of human philosophical speculation, but she could understand the logic of the command.

This was the optimal solution between long-term pain and short-term pain.

"Command confirmed."

...

Washington D.C., The White House, The Oval Office.

Interim President Ms. Miles was sitting alone in this office that symbolized the highest power in the world.

The rain outside the window tapped against the bulletproof glass, making a dull sound, like a funeral dirge played for the impending fate of this country.

In front of her lay a neat stack of the first batch of presidential executive orders, drafted for her overnight by Senator McConnell.

Each document was meticulously worded by top-tier legal advisors, making them appear impeccable on the surface.

But hidden beneath those flowery words was unquestionable violence and greed.

Her hand was trembling slightly.

As an old politician who had been grinding away in the political meat grinder of Washington for decades, she knew better than anyone what signing these documents meant.

It meant she would completely tear off all disguises regarding "democracy" and "freedom," tying herself, the entire Democratic Party, and the entire country to a chariot that had already been tampered with and had no brakes, hurtling toward the abyss of civil war.

She had hesitated.

That sliver of a politician's final reverence for order and rules made her feel a fear from the bottom of her heart.

She had also thought about refusing, thought about using a gentler way to achieve her goals.

But as soon as she closed her eyes, she could recall yesterday afternoon, the cold, emotionless eyes of McConnell and the capital tycoons behind him.

They did not threaten or intimidate; they just calmly told her: "Miles, this is your only chance, and it is also the only chance for all of us."

She knew that from the moment she sat in this position, she had no way back.

She was a pawn pushed to the front stage, with countless invisible hands behind her.

She would either follow the script and become an iron-fisted president who would go down in history (or perhaps go down in infamy).

Or she would disappear silently in some inconspicuous corner due to a sudden heart attack or a bizarre car accident.

They dared to kill even a figure with real power like President Donald; there was nothing they dared not do.

In the end, the desire for power and the fear of death were like two giant pythons, completely strangling the last shred of her reason and conscience.

She picked up the Parker pen that once belonged to Lincoln, to Roosevelt, symbolizing presidential power.

The nib slid across the paper, leaving behind twisted and scribbled handwriting.

Outside the window, a bolt of lightning tore through the night sky, illuminating her pale and twisted face like a phantom.

...

Miles's actions were like a detonated bomb, instantly shattering the already extremely tense situation in the United States.

When the first presidential executive order regarding "declaring a state of emergency in Washington D.C. and authorizing the National Guard to take over urban security indefinitely to cope with potential terrorist threats" was announced to the nation via television and the internet, the entire United States fell into a state of public outrage.

Countless government employees, from clerks in The White House to staff officers at The Pentagon, from FBI agents to Treasury officials, were plunged into immense confusion and hesitation.

They had sworn allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, not to the dictatorial orders of an interim president who had ascended to power through suspicious means.

This order was openly trampling on everything they protected.

However, when the first batch of M1A2 main battle tanks belonging to the Virginia National Guard roared as they crushed across the Arlington Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River, and when fully armed soldiers began to seal off Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court with barbed wire and roadblocks, all hesitation and opposition were temporarily suppressed by that cold torrent of steel.

The guns and tanks of the U.S. military were not to be trifled with.

The military's attitude became the final straw that crushed the fragile balance of this country.

In the changes of the past few years, the interests of the U.S. military had suffered unprecedented and severe losses.

The reconciliation with China had caused them to lose their greatest imaginary enemy and the excuse for astronomical military budget expenditures.

The loss of command over the voyager had caused them to completely lose their dominance in future interstellar armed forces, reducing them to a supporting role.

And the endless new technologies from Paradox Technology had turned the newly commissioned, hundred-billion-dollar new-style fighter jets and the second Ford-class ship in their hands into meaningless, obsolete scrap metal overnight.

All these feelings of loss, dissatisfaction, and anxiety about the future had long since accumulated massive resentment within the military.

Therefore, in this high-stakes gamble that would determine the nation's fate, the military forces, represented by the hawkish generals at The Pentagon, stood without hesitation on the side of Miles and the Democratic Party, which represented the "old order."

They needed a change, a change that would allow them to regain power, glory, and budget.

Under the cold muzzles of the military's guns, the capital region temporarily fell into a suffocating silence.

But this silence was merely the short, oppressive calm before the storm.

...

Compared to the temporary silence of the capital region under violent suppression, those "red states" led by the Republican Party, primarily in the West and South, immediately erupted with a heaven-shaking roar capable of rocking the entire North American continent.

The Governor of California, surrounded by tech giants from Silicon Valley, was the first to step out and deliver a televised speech.

The Governor of Texas, wearing his iconic cowboy hat, stood with countless armed militiamen behind him.

The Governor of Florida, under the launch gantry at the Kennedy Space Center...

Governors from over twenty states jointly issued an extremely stern ultimatum to Washington on the same day.

They publicly declared that the actions of Interim President Miles had seriously violated the First and Second Amendments of the Constitution and were the most shameless trampling and betrayal of the American democratic system.

They demanded that Miles immediately revoke all illegal presidential executive orders and immediately initiate the presidential election process, returning the ultimate power of adjudication to the people.

Otherwise, in order to defend the founding principles of the United States and its democratic system, they would have no choice but to take the most extreme measures—exercising the power granted by the Constitution to secede from this federal government that had become utterly corrupt.

Facing the immense pressure from the local level, the Miles administration and the mainstream media under its control, such as CNN and The New York Times, launched an even fiercer and more hysterical counterattack in public opinion.

They portrayed these red state governors as a group of traitors corrupted by money and power, intending to split the country.

The ace host of CNN, in a prime-time program, tearfully accused while facing the camera: "Look! These politicians, bought off by Silicon Valley tech oligarchs and that mysterious Paradox Technology, are trying to push our great nation into the abyss of division! They have become puppets of that Eastern power and evil capital! They are selling out America's national sovereignty!"

"True American people! Unite! Take up the weapons in your hands and defend the freedom and democracy we have hard-won! Do not let our country fall into the hands of foreign forces and techno-fascists!"

The conflict between the two sides continued to escalate and intensify over the next few months, like two high-speed trains colliding.

From verbal wars to mutual economic blockades, and then to small-scale armed confrontations between the two sides' National Guards at state borders.

The entire country was torn into two camps that were incompatible with each other and filled with deepening hatred.

Everyone knew that a civil war was already inevitable.

It was just that no one knew when or where that first shot would be fired.

Finally, on December 25, 2030.

This Christmas, which should have been full of peace, family, and joy, became the darkest day in American history, its significance even surpassing the Pearl Harbor incident.

In Sacramento, the capital of California, there was a sea of people in front of the State Capitol building.

The Republican leadership headed by Elon, along with the governors of 23 Western states, jointly signed a document on a massive piece of parchment made in the style of the Declaration of Independence.

This document would be known to future generations as—the Sacramento Declaration.

Elon walked onto the podium, facing the live cameras of the whole world, and read the contents of the declaration in his slightly hoarse but powerful voice.

He recounted the various "atrocities" of the Miles interim government since it took power—from trampling on the Constitution to martial law, and then to attempting to steal the nation's economic lifeline.

Then, he announced the final decision in an incomparably solemn tone, as if conducting a sacred ritual:

"...Given that the federal government in Washington has completely abandoned its founding principles, betrayed the trust of the people, and degenerated into a dictatorial tool manipulated by a few corrupt interest groups."

"We, the legitimate elected representatives of the following 23 free states, hereby solemnly declare to the world:"

"Effective immediately, we formally secede from the United States of America, which has been tainted by tyranny."

"We will form a brand new nation that truly follows the spirit of the Constitution and democratic principles, embracing the future and progress—"

"The American Union."

"And hereby, we jointly elect Elon to serve as the first interim president of the Union, until we can hold a fair and free formal general election."

The declaration was finished.

There was a brief silence at the scene, followed by an eruption of earth-shaking cheers.

The Union's flag was based on the Stars and Stripes, but replaced the 50 stars representing the old federal government with a single red star symbolizing Mars.

Countless new flags representing the Union were waved among the crowd.

The Second American Civil War.

Erupted officially amidst the Christmas bells.