"Oh, yes. I'm to be your teacher and companion. But I'll try to give you a quick fill-in. Our world of 2054 is quite different from yours. And, we hope, in better shape. We've proved that the only way to maintain world peace is by world government. And the only successful type of government is a dictatorship."
Jay gasped. "You mean the entire world—has reverted to dictatorship?"
Ilaria laughed. "Not reverted. We finally accepted it as the only logical form of government for an entire world."
"What happens when the dictator goes wild? He always has."
The smile was there again. "You're not quite ready for that," Ilaria told him. "But, it has been taken into consideration."
Out of the corner of his eye, Jay saw the slight puff of Ilaria's chest, the self-satisfied square of his shoulders, the quick set of his jaw. He wondered what part Tribune Kevin Ilaria played in the 'dictator control' this world had provided.
"The system has worked and is working. See this?"
They turned a corner in the corridor and faced a great domed room. On the far wall hung a white tapestry of something like 40 x 40 foot dimensions. On it, emblazoned in letters of red and yellow made to look like flame, were the characters PPB. In the lower right-hand corner, in white outlined with blue, was the same PR that Ilaria wore. Jay waited for the Tribune's explanation.
"PpB stands for Pax per Bello," Ilaria explained. "Peace through War. That slogan was written in 1967 by Julius and adapted in 1971 as official."
"Julius?"