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New York City, the United States of America
March 10th, 1778
"Well then, congratulations on your marriage," Jefferson stated, his sentiments echoed by the other men in the room.
"Thank you all for your presence," Samuel said as he settled down into his chair, "Now since the formalities of my wedding are over, we can begin our first Watchmen Society meeting of the year."
The Watchmen Society meeting was the biggest to date. Nearly all the members (both old and new) were present in Kim's house in New York City. The house's living room was just large enough to fit all five dozen delegates that were present. The only missing members were John Adams (who was still in Europe as the Chief Secretary of European Affairs) and Pelissier (who was attending to matters in Quebec and was watching over the Napoleon family). The official cover of the meeting was for all of them to attend Kim's wedding, which was a hugely celebrated affair at a local church. Samuel spent a private night with his newly wedded wife and arranged for his house to be cleared for the meeting the day after. Elizabeth and his "sons" were visiting Hannah Arnold in Connecticut, while his businesses were being managed by various supervisors. So he was free for the entire day, to manage the future affairs of the United States.
Some of the newest additions to the Society were Lafayette (who was vouched for by Kim and accepted so that he was aware of the upcoming French Revolution), Colonel Poor (who returned from Kentucky just weeks earlier with a girl in tow), Alexander Hamilton (for his service during the Revolutionary War and his "other" history), and Henry Lee (for his "future son" and his brilliance in cavalry).
"As per usual, let us welcome the newest members of our ever-growing group," The former Marine announced, "We have four new members: General Lafayette, Colonel Poor, Captain Hamilton, and Lieutenant Colonel Lee."
"All members of the military?" John Hancock asked as his eyes scanned the new members.
"Former military, but with great political potential. Now let us begin the session. As agreed upon in our last meeting, the newest members, and members who have joined our session for the first time, will be granted a chance to learn anything they desire on my laptop."
A loud gasp escaped one of the members and everyone turned to see Benjamin Franklin nearly toppled over in his chair, earning more than a few chuckles. The man returned from France at the beginning of the year, which meant that this meeting was his first one as an official member of the Society.
"We will go alphabetical by each individual's last name. So, Mr. Franklin, you are first."
Kim pulled out his shiny laptop (which always remained clean for some odd reason) and placed it on the table. Franklin strutted over eagerly and looked at the laptop in awe, "So this is the "laptop." Truly an ingenious machine! I saw it briefly before in Philadelphia, but I was unable to see the fine details of it from afar."
"What would you like to search up?"
The man thought for a few moments before smiling, "An invention that is advanced and world-changing. Something that I would have never imagined in my lifetime."
Samuel smiled and typed away on his keyboard, "I imagine this article would fit your criteria."
"The Internet," As the inventor read the article, his facial expressions changed from confusion to intrigue, "The entirety of the world's information, at a person's fingertips! So you're telling me that if someone had one of these devices and had a "connection" to this "Internet," they would be able to search for any types of information ever recorded?"
"You are correct. While I do not have a connection to the internet, I have something called "Wikipedia" which was originally from the internet and downloaded into my computer. Keep in mind, this "Wikipedia" is only a very small fraction of the total knowledge available on the internet. But even still, this has information about millions of different people, places, events, etc."
"So if I typed my name into this "Wikipedia," it would show all the relevant information about me?"
"Would you like to try?"
"As tempting as it is, I will decline," Franklin smiled, "I'm sure the information you have about me from the future will change due to your presence. Perhaps I will ask you about this another time."
The other members searched for information relevant to their personal life or trade. Hamilton searched up for the economics of the future United States and his own personal legacy. Needless to say, he was flabbergasted about the numbers ("$20 trillion? I have no idea what that number means, but it sounds impressive. Also, about the National Bank..."). Lafayette learned about the French Revolution and republicanism in France, though he did look a bit sickened at the destruction of the monarchy and the "Reign of Terror." Lee researched about his famous "son," who was mentioned in his conversations with Kim. He also discovered tanks and the future of calvary, which both impressed him and disappointed him ("There is no honor in warfare in the future"). Meanwhile, Poor looked up about the history of African Americans and the history of the United States Marine Corps. He was disappointed with the former, but interested in the latter.
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"Now we got that settled. The first order of business is... the expansion of the United States and our Society. There are only two states that have not ratified, Maryland and Rhode Island. However, they will most likely ratify by the end of this year. We have several potential states looking for statehood, including a proposed Cherokee state that will encompass southern Kentucky, northern Georgia, and eastern Tennessee. Other future states include Vermont, Kentucky, and Georgia. So by the year 1790, we may have approximately twenty states, which means that we may need to spread our Society further."
The debate on this matter was short. One person would be "scouted" and selected to join the Society from any future states in order to ensure that the states had an individual that was "in" on the secret. Additionally, any Society members that joined the government, both on the state and federal levels, would act independently from the Society to prevent the group from dictating the American government. They were to only safeguard the American republic and advise the government only when necessary.
"Speaking of the government," Jefferson stood up from his chair and looked at two people in particular, "I believe there are two individuals here that have... an excellent chance of heading the new government when it is formed in two years."
Washington and Kim looked down at the table as all eyes turned to them. Samuel spoke out first, "I thought it was settled that George would be the first president?"
"No no. That was your own decision, Samuel. I am fairly certain that I supported you for the presidency."
"What happened to "non-interference" in governmental policies?" Hancock asked with an amused expression on his face.
"That doesn't necessarily mean that we are forbidden from running for governmental positions. We are to act independently and with the people in mind, but we can still run for Congress and the such," Jefferson answered, "And I'm sure looking at the other history, there is already a very suitable candidate in this room..."
"I am already retired," Washington casually pointed at Kim, "He has incredible foresight about the future, strong leadership, and prestige. I believe it will be simple for him to run and get elected."
"But you were the first George. At least run for one term."
"I'm old."
"You're 48."
"And you're 30! You are much younger than me. Let me retire to my farm in peace."
"If you agree to become the first president, I will run after you."
"I will appoint you as my vice president and then resign immediately after taking office."
"You wouldn't!"
"Gentlemen!" Franklin bellowed, "It is obvious that these two act like children when the presidency is mentioned. Therefore, I will settle this dispute. Washington will head the Continental Congress as the first "acting" president until the elections are underway in two years. Afterward, Kim will become the first "official" president after elections. Well, if he is elected."
Samuel nearly threw his hands in the air, "Are all the delegates in favor of this?"
"Aye," Many of them stated.
"Why?"
"Because you are from the future and can set excellent precedents for future presidents to follow?" Jefferson answered questioningly.
"I will think about it," Kim muttered, "Now moving on... The next is the exploitation of resources. I believe we have already covered negotiating with the Cherokees in regards to the goldfields that are near their territory..."
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