“Initially Hoth thought that this was all fair. I mean why should you value a female elven life as worth more than a male, but then everyone realised what this meant to the Elven Nation as a whole. The loss of a significant portion of the breeding population meant the potential destruction of the entire race. It is possible that some female elves became angry, but there is no mention of that in the history books. It appears as though elven society as a whole came to the conclusion that they should not have messed with what was working. The men, in particular, became strongly of that belief and castigated themselves, giving up any job that was not warrior related and leaving the city.
“Up until now, male elves consider themselves expendable and responsible for preventing another war. Any male children born stay with their mothers until reaching maturity and then leave to start their training. So, why did we not bring any male elves back? There were no skilled male warriors nearby to ask.”
Chapter 7
The next two weeks passed in relative routine. After one week, Vienne and Wendy had spent the equivalent of seven weeks practising with their familiars. Vienne was ready for her own hang glider which made travelling for the following week even easier. Wendy discussed her familiar called Spitfire and her abilities which led to a trip to the firing range. It turns out that Spitfire can prevent guns from being fired, or, more accurately, stop the explosion that ejects the bullet. Under careful testing we found out she could also cause the gun to explode. It worked particularly well when someone attempted to fire a gun, she would just transfer the heat from the bullet in the barrel to the bullets in the magazine. She was now equipped with flares that she could turn into flame throwers.
Most of our time we spent in England. This time we allowed the press to know what we had done a day or two after we had been there. We wanted to check there was still no strong anti-elf sentiment and it helped the politicians. Their elf friendly policy was being rewarded. One of our early transformations was a young girl. She had turned seventeen about a month before we saw her. This was when we were doing our work in London at Imperial College. She was an up and coming tennis star who had Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis that was destroying her career and her life. Initially, she was not someone who wanted to join the Elven Nation, but after I was captured, she publicly renounced her British Citizenship and travelled to Fiji. She had carried on with her tennis training and had been admitted to the Wimbledon competition as a wild card. I had given her my permission to represent the Elven Nation. Since elves are naturally stronger, faster and fitter, I wasn't sure it was going to be fair, but I would leave that up to the tennis governing body to sort out. Wimbledon was starting in a week and she had arrived and was helping with more publicity.
We were going to London to sign the agreement that momma had worked out. Through Andi, I had been aware of all the negotiations. Momma had a long term view based on what had happened occasionally in Lagbit's World. If elves had allowed humans to settle with them in a location, the humans had out-bred them and eventually the elves who had begun the community were a tiny minority. Therefore all humans who wished to stay on the Isle of Wight would have to have British citizenship, with a permanent visa for the Elven Nation. This visa did not pass on to their children who would have temporary visas and all visas could be revoked under certain conditions which were mainly about criminal activity. All property would be bought by the Elven Nation and then leased back to the original owners.
This was done for several reasons. Momma wanted to make it a law that only elves could own property in Elven territory. Additionally, Andi wanted us to put up cameras everywhere so that she could find the criminals, paedophiles or even wife beaters. To do that effectively you needed to see into peoples homes. There was the issue of privacy, but Andi reckoned that it could be set up so that she was the only one to be able to access the images and sounds. To achieve this we needed to install hidden cameras and to do that we needed to own the property. Then we could just put it down to property maintenance and assessment.
She then suggested using 'elven psychics' giving tips to our police force to catch them in the act. Recently psychics were being given a lot more credence since they seemed to be instrumental in solving a number of crimes occurring around the world. No one needed to know about the hidden cameras. If any were discovered, we could pretend to blame someone. Andi suggested we put them in smoke alarms and put them in every room as part of a safety feature. She would also be able to monitor that all the alarms were working properly.
Owning all the properties also gave us the ability to go green so to speak. The plan would be to put solar panels on all the houses and a wind generator on the roof. Roads would eventually be replaced with a solar panel base and clear epoxy top. The projection was that we would be a net energy exporter. Hot water could come from a Heat Pump system which uses ambient air temperatures like a reverse fridge to reduce the electric loading. All vehicles would be electric with supported charging stations. We had already been in communication with a major electric car and battery manufacturer, who was willing to do deals to promote their own agenda. The British Government had offered to help the residents to relocate if that was desired or ensure they are appropriately compensated for their homes and cars.
We wanted to make the tax system as simple as possible, so it was going to be a straight ten per cent. No deductions, no allowances and no fiddling the books. We could use an honour system with a random test with a truth spell to keep people honest. The penalty for non-elves would be a severe fine and deportation. I didn't expect elves to be able to cheat us since that would be a betrayal of the Elven Nation, and almost all the elves were being employed by me anyway.
At that rate we expected some companies wanting to relocate to take advantage of our low tax rate. There would be temporary visas for workers and again all properties would be leased.
The production of waste was a big issue, but we believed that the technology was available now that we could stipulate that all products entering Elven Territory were either biodegradable or recyclable.
There would be a border control. Mia was not interested in legal identity documents like passports but did want everyone entering to undergo a simple truth test that would confirm their purpose in visiting and whether they were conforming to our rules. I don't think the world believed in the truth spell so a few elements that the British Government was agreeing to may come back to bite them.
What took the longest to negotiate was the justice system. Since we had a working truth spell that worked on everybody and we intended to use it. This completely changed the whole system. There was controversy over the death penalty and how it was to be carried out. Since we wanted to use those convicted to bring more elves across from Lagbit's World we didn't want to stipulate the method but just said in a humane way. Essentially anyone who was attempting to kill another, successful or not, anyone attempting to capture an elf for whatever reason and anyone who sexually assaults a minor or an adult for that matter, were all capital offences. There were no second chances or even a prison. If the offence was less severe, you would be fined, deported, given a community sentence or made to take a magical oath.
Before the signing today we were going to prove the truth spell worked. Anyone who wished to remain would have to abide by our rules. The truth spell takes a lot of the guesswork out of these situations. You can have misunderstandings, but under truth spell, you can't pretend to have misunderstandings. There were still lawyers involved but mainly to make sure the right questions were asked.
At the moment, only myself, Vee and momma were able to use the truth spell, but since all who travelled to Lagbit's World with me started as a priestess, we could train up almost any elves to be able to do the spell. Once they were able to do the spell in Lagbit's World they would be able to do the spell on Earth. Ideally, I wanted judges or lawyers and enough security personnel who were willing to work the border control.
We put our laws on our website and the conseque
nces of breaking them. We wanted everything to be as clear as possible. The plan was to speak to the politicians tomorrow, sign the agreement and then invite momma from Fiji to take over. Roni, Katie and Ash would take over our Fiji operation and Simone would continue establishing our Fiji island. I would flit between the two, hoping to use our druids with Earth familiars to help speed up the island renovation.
To make the whole economy work, we were going to have to position ourselves as a sort of company. Then start paying everyone as employees. I had no real idea about any of this stuff, but fortunately, I didn't have to. I just needed people who did. Andi could handle a lot of it. We were earning money from some of the transformations and had a few other ideas to consider. I thought becoming a financial centre would be a good idea, but that would take time. Andi suggested beginning a computer software company. She thought she could produce a better operating software and add a little bit of herself to make it somewhat intelligent and have a secondary function as spyware. Alternatively, if someone could come up with an idea, she could write the code for it.
We flew into Hyde Park, dismantled our hang gliders and put them into these large canvas bags. As we walked to our pick up point, Andi told our ground force to meet us. We drove to a nice hotel and settled. It was nice to see my maids again and to be pampered like a princess. I was hoping to stay here for a few days, then disappear for one more month while we sorted out the Isle of Wight then settle there more securely. Vee was already showing a bit of a bump and seemed happy enough to keep going, but I wanted something more fixed and comfortable for her. Once this was signed and momma was here, I could take Mia to Lagbit's World and resolve the Wendy issue.
Chapter 8
I was about halfway through my breakfast when things took a turn for the worse. My breakfast table usually just consisted of Vee and me, with the rest of my guard at tables around me. Since I was having lunches and dinners with Wendy on Lagbit's World and since she was momma's bonded, even if momma didn't know it yet, I now included her as part of my inner circle.
Andy informed me that Cari Rutberb, the lawyer who was representing Vee in New York regarding her inheritance, had been kidnapped. I stopped eating immediately and asked Andi to start a meeting.
I placed a phone in the centre of our breakfast table and asked Inda to keep us private. I believe she created an air shell around us and all extraneous noise disappeared. “I am calling a meeting, Cari Rutberb, an elf in New York, has been kidnapped.”
“Who is Cari?” Wendy asked.
“I have an inheritance due on my twenty-fifth birthday that is being challenged by my Aunt, claiming that I am no longer human and so her son should inherit it all. Cari is the lawyer representing me,” Vee told her.
“The case concluded yesterday. DNA evidence suggests that we can still be classified as human, even if we are a different race. It has set a precedent that hopefully will protect any elves in America,” I informed her. I wondered if part of the reason for the ruling was because I had made it quite plain that if Elves were not considered human in the US then their citizens would go on the exclusion list. I made sure Cari didn't word it as a threat more as an obvious result of not considering us human and then abusing that ruling.
“If the case is over, why has she been taken?” Wendy asked.
“I don't know.” I had spoken to Andi about this before. “There are a lot of reasons why elves are in danger. The most common are ransom, super soldier experiments and fuck toys. At the moment all we know is that she has been taken.”
The phone came alive with Andi's voice. “We have Mia, Roni, Katie, Simone, Tia, Vee and Wendy in a meeting to discuss what to do about an elf being kidnapped in New York. To summarise, all I can tell you is that at about four am, four people invaded Cari Rutberg's hotel room and made off with her. She has been taken to a nondescript house in Brooklyn.”
“First priority is to rescue her. Do we have anyone available nearby?” I asked.
“No. We have been concentrating what forces we have around you, Fiji, New Amilyf and now the Isle of Wight,” Mia informed us.
“What about using the Senator's wife? Another psychic download that will let the local authorities deal with it,” Roni suggested.
“I would prefer it to be our people, but time may be of the essence,” I said.
“If we sent people in the next half an hour, by the time they arrive it may be too late,” Katie said. “I think we have to let the local forces deal with it.”
“How likely are they to do something about it, just from a psychic tip-off? I don't think they would be able to get a court order to search the premises. The best we can hope for is for them to camp outside and prevent anyone from leaving with her,” Roni stated.
“I think we should do both,” Simone suggested. “Organise the tip off and send some of our security forces.”
“For the quickest response, they need to fly from London. Andi can talk to Mika, who I think is the most senior of your ground forces outside of your honour guard. I can then replace however many she wants to send from our guards here,” Mia said.
There was a pause while everyone thought, but no one came up with a better idea so I asked “Any objections?”
There were none so I formally asked Andi to put it in motion. “Alright, as much action as we can take on our first priority has been taken. Next priority, we need to know why this has happened and how to prevent it in the future. Any suggestions?”
“You can't prevent something if you don't know the reasons why. We need to send an investigative team. I think we need to choose some investigators who are either already elves or wish to be and teach them the truth spell,” Katie said.
“To teach them the truth spell, I think they would have to go to Lagbit's World with me. Andi do we have any elven investigators nearby,” I asked.
“We have two former police officers who can travel to your location within a few hours,” Andi replied.
“What are their current roles?” Mia asked.
“Both are in the Isle of Wight observing. They were going to be part of our new police force there,” Andi answered.
“Perfect. They won't be missed for a little while. Send them to me,” I ordered Andi.
“Anything else?” Vee asked.
“Good luck with the signing,” Mia said. “I think it will be a very important step for the developing Elven Nation.”
“Thank you for your wonderful work, momma. Hopefully, I will see you soon. When are you due to come out here?”
“Day after tomorrow. I am just finishing up handing over everything to Katie and my flight is booked.”
We all signed off.
We carried on with our breakfast. I could see that Wendy was a bit puzzled about something. “What is wrong, Wendy?”
“Nothing.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“It's just, why are you including me? I have only recently become an elf and only know a small fraction of what is going on.”
“In theory, the Elven Nation is a monarchy, but in reality, I consider it more council led. I believe more heads help make better decisions and on the whole, I want it to be a meritocracy. But there is no getting away from the fact that I am responsible for creating the Elven Nation on Earth and need to keep doing that. I, in turn, am going to rely on those around me who I trust. You are going to be bonded to someone I trust a lot, and I don't expect her to keep secrets from you. If you imagine it like security clearance, by being my mother's girlfriend, you now have the highest clearance. I am going to trust you unless you give me a reason not to. You will notice that I have kept you in all our discussions. So far, you haven't said much, but I expect you to tell me if you think I am doing anything wrong, or have questions about anything we are doing. It may be that you need more information to understand why we are doing something or it may be that our morality differs. Regardless, I need that input, because if I find enough people saying I am doing something foolish, I need to reconsider.”
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“Are you worried that power will corrupt you?” she asked me.
“I have heard it said, but I have also heard that power attracts the corruptible and I didn't ask for this. Is there anything we have done or are planning that makes you uncomfortable?”
Wendy considered for a bit. “I am a bit worried about invading everyone's privacy by putting cameras in everyone's bedrooms. It feels wrong and I don't like the idea of someone watching me when I want to be private, so I imagine others will feel the same. Also, what if someone finds out about the cameras. I don't think that can be completely hidden forever.”
“There is truth to what you say and you are not the only one to be worried. I think I need to explain some not very nice facts, but let us start with the easy ones. Andi is the one driving this and has solved the risk of discovery. She has found some wireless alarms that also include cameras. We will install them everywhere and not hide the fact that there are cameras present, but offer to have them connected to a security system for an extra fee. What they won't know is that Andi is able to hack into them anyway.
“The real question is why does Andi want this system installed? Imagine Andi like a hugely powerful AI, that can access and process huge, staggering amounts of data. Already Andi knows all the addresses of every person who has looked at inappropriate images on their computer. She also knows which ones just look and who posts images. She can't know if they do more than that. However, she also knows the statistics. Approximately one in twenty children is sexually abused and one in fourteen is physically abused and that is not including neglect. Over 90% of those abusers are from someone emotionally close to that child. Researchers have come up with those figures but they are really guesswork since we know most children will never report what is going on. Andi believes it is much worse than the accepted figures. She has also told me that she suspects fifty per cent of women before they reach the age of thirty will have either been raped or escaped a near rape. That is one in two. I want there to be zero. The only way to have any chance at that is to lose a bit of privacy to an AI. Andi is not going to record any of the imagery, only use it for information and she truly does not care what goes on between two consenting adults or more than two for that matter.”
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