An Appeal to Sanity

---Two days after Day Zero of the Abyssal attacks across the world, the Secretary-General of the United Nations held an emergency press conference at the UN Headquarters in New York. Below is a copy of her now-famous emergency speech. ---

Good morning to our friends in the UN Press Corps. I would like to thank you for answering the sudden summons and I would also like to apologize to you for having to report here today, especially considering the current situation we face. Indeed, it may be hard for some of you to attend to your duties as members of the press while feeling anxious over the safety of your loved ones at home. For that I salute you all.

For many of us, the past 48 hours have been a whirlwind of bad news and worse news. The entire picture is still not clear to us, but the images that continue to trickle in are clear enough: from the roughed-up and nearly obliterated waterfront of Montreal, to the fire-engulfed silhouette of Tokyo, to the rubble and destruction of New York right outside this very room; all point to a deliberate and unprovoked attack on us all. Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen: the world is at war.

Indeed, we are at war. Probably for the first time in recent history, we are not at war amongst ourselves. Probably for the first time in recent history, we are at war with a force far more sinister than whatever weapon of war our own hands have created. Probably for the first time in recent history, we are fighting a war for the survival of the human race.

Perhaps you think I may be exaggerating here. After all, the only places that have been attacked so far are countries that have a coastline, river or tributary that leads directly into the sea. Yet the brutality and sheer intensity of all the recent attacks point to one thing: this is only the beginning of a long, brutal war of extermination against us. These entities have shown that they will give no quarter, and that they do not differentiate between combatant and civilian alike. For what purpose, we do not know at this stage. Whatever it is, it is clear that they will not stop until they have annihilated us all.

We cannot stand idle as these brutal, devastating attacks continue to disrupt the peace. Even as I speak, these monsters of unknown origin are rampaging through anything they perceive to be a threat; I fear that it will only be a matter of time before they move further inland and cause more devastation than what they are doing now. The lives of countless hapless citizens are at stake, and we cannot simply overlook that.

In this time of crisis, we are fortunate that there are courageous men and women who, in utter disregard for their own safety, continue to stand fast and face the enemy on all fronts. They face the enemy, knowing that they are standing up against an unknown force with power that far exceeds anything that they have faced up to this point. Here is where I wish to make my point: For the past two days, military forces around the world continue to mount defensive operations against this unknown menace with little to no decisive action. Human lives continue to be thrown away in piecemeal defensive operations as the enemy slowly gains ground. This costly tactic has to stop.

I call upon all countries suffering from these attacks. Your determination to protect your citizens from further devastation is commendable, but your efforts will be for naught unless you work more closely with each other. Now more than ever, the need for closer cooperation between nations is called for. To ignore the need for a unified strategy against this unknown threat is to ignore the undeniable truth that the enemy is out for total war. Act with purposed haste in order to better combat the enemy, and ensure that your forces are coordinated in order to avoid unnecessary loss of life.

I call upon all the citizens who so far are trying to go on with their lives even in the midst of all this fighting. I urge you all to adhere to each and every advisory your individual governments will release. It is in your best interest to follow them, in order to avoid being put in situations where you will be in unavoidable danger. Continue to work together, avoid inciting panic, and most important of all, have faith in one another. Orderly conduct and absolute trust in each other is your best defense and means of survival in these trying times.

Above all, I call upon the permanent members of the Security Council. We are facing a serious threat to the survival of humanity itself. As such, it would be in the best interest for all concerned if you could work around your differences with each other, and to actively seek a combined long-term strategy in combating the enemy. Individually you may have the strength to resist for far longer than any of the world right now; indeed, the United States or Russia, in their own capacity, have more than enough resources to survive longer than any of us can manage. However, we cannot say the same in the long run; even with production at full swing there is no telling when the enemy will step up its offensives and eventually overwhelm even two of the most powerful nations in the world. I am here to remind you: this fight is not your own. Within you five nations lay the power to mobilize the entire world in defense of our peaceful way of life. I urge you to pool your resources together; surely, with your combined might, the enemy will crumble in defeat. Do not let the powers of the Council’s Military Staff Committee go to waste because of your ideological arguments. If we are to survive, your brightest military minds must work together in order to achieve absolute victory.

This is a test of humanity, the likes of which we have not experienced since 1938. We are faced with an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, the likes of which we have never encountered before. The enemy threatens to lay waste all that we hold dear. Yet we must not let this shake our spirit. We must keep in mind: we are all in this war together. The road will be long. The road will be rough. We will have to make great sacrifices along the way. But in the end, I am confident that we shall triumph. After all, we have yet begun to fight.

Thank you all for your time, and may you all stay safe.