by Ted Mayes
“The emperor plans to have two assistants here, with three month terms before they move on to the next post. The next assistant is supposed to be here at the beginning of March.” There was a grin on Michael's face. “He’s currently posted some distance away.”
“Yeah, the emperor mentioned that. They’re going to be paired up in their postings?”
“That’s what I understand. Tommy, their next posting is going to be decurions for the June class of basic training. Any help you praetorians can give them would be helpful – tell your men, okay?”
“Sure thing.”
Ari came hurrying in and dropped his bag under one of the benches. He came up to the table and quickly saluted. “Sir, on the way here, I happened to meet Dean Harrison. As you know, she is also training her successor and she asked me to give you a message. Though an official message will be coming through channels, she wanted to let you know that it’s been decided to host a number of rock concerts each year. She wanted to give you an early warning because of the possible drug problems.”
“It must be one of Dean Yosaka‘s ideas, because I can’t imagine Dean Harrison being too involved with rock.”
“That could be, sir, but there’s a point about the possibility of drugs at a rock concert, and you saw the urban praetor’s report on the increasing number of attempts to bring drugs into Ostia.”
“Yes. Did you get any feedback from Marine Intelligence yet about that.”
“The first suspicion they have is a drug cartel, but they will investigate and give you a complete report as soon as they can, sir.”
“Good. As far as the concert is concerned, it would seem to me that the theater wouldn't be a good fit for a rock group. Please make a note to investigate with Fleet the possible use of the landing field. It might help to have that connection with our interplanetary flights. Now, what else is on the schedule today?”
“You said you wanted to ‘inspect’ Fleet and the Urban Praetor’s this week and had tentatively mentioned the praetor’s office for this afternoon. You also wanted a time on the schedule to review personnel for promotion, and Mary Chen had said that you needed to meet with a UN representative this morning. She said that she had messaged you about it earlier.”
Michael frowned. There had been a certain element of national and international bureaucrats that seemed to be unwilling to let the empire operate on its own. As a group they seemed to want to place the empire at least partially under their control, and occasionally they tried to make that happen. It was rather tiring to deal with them. Normally Mary Chen handled all of it, but there were times that the diplomatic pressure got too heavy and she brought them over to him. This was one of those times. “Well, until they arrive, go ahead and dig into the reports. I want to look over the progress on Project Ark.”
While Ari got busy with one stack of documents, Michael checked the latest report on the first ark. It was, in the opinion of the leader of the project, at the point that an inspection would be beneficial, especially to point out any corrections that might yet be needed. The report indicated that a visual summary record was available, and Michael opened his portfolio to view it.
The first part of the recording was a quick skim of the ark, from the sun-side, with its ‘lens’ to allow sunlight in, to the dark-side, where three apparently miniature docking ports were cut into the rocky exterior of the ark. The recording entered one of the bays, then the docking tube, and then one of the main elevators going down to the floor of the interior. Then the record again ‘took flight’ and the view was one of an extensive grasslands. After a brief ‘flight’, the view ‘landed’ and one could see the awe-inspiring sight of the land curving up and overhead. Michael nodded to himself as the recording came to an end. He could certainly see the topographical similarity, even though there was nothing in view larger than a small bush. He could also agree that it was time for a preliminary inspection. He was attaching a note to the visual recording and sent it to Tommy, telling him to get the inspection scheduled, and sent a copy to the emperor.
By that time, there was noise outside in the street. Ari, after informing him that it was Mary Chen with the UN diplomat, got up from the table to stand back against the wall. Mary came in, escorting a gentleman with First close behind them. Michael motioned for benches to be brought forward and stood to greet the arrivals.
“Consul, this is Mr. Gordon Chambers, an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Mr. Chambers, this is Consul Baxter.”
“Welcome, Mr. Chambers, please be seated.” Michael waited for his guests to be seated. “Now, Mr. Chambers, Praetor Chen informs me that you were most insistent that you needed to see me. In what way can I help you?”
“A number of things, Consul Baxter. First of all, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali has instructed me to invite you, the empire, that is, to apply to join the United Nations. I’m sure your application would be favorably received.”
Michael sighed. “I understand that you have already brought the topic up with Praetor Chen and have already been given the emperor's response. Why would you expect that asking the question again would lead to a different answer?”
“Because, Consul, we’re talking about the United Nations!”
“Yes, that was understood.”
Michael's calm tone seemed to be confusing to diplomat. He stammered for a bit and then asked, “But what reason could there be for refusing such an invitation?”
“The emperor hasn’t said why he made such a decision, but, in my opinion, there’s no point to our joining the UN. The UN was, I believe, founded as a place for the nations of the Earth to talk things over so that war could be avoided. Ostia itself, only a square mile, could hardly be called a nation.”
“But you have outposts on the Moon and Mars, don’t you?”
“True, but isn’t that merely another reason we cannot be considered a nation of Earth?”
“But the nations of Earth, through the UN and international treaty, have claimed those extra-terrestrial bodies on behalf of mankind!”
Michael smiled. “Tell me, does the UN claim land in China, Russia and the United States on behalf of mankind?”
“Of course not. Those areas are already claimed by nations and peoples!”
“Then, would it be fair to say that the United Nations, that ‘mankind’, only claims places they don’t control, and when nations or peoples control certain locations, those aren’t claimed anymore?” The diplomat frowned, but said nothing. “However,” Michael continued, “that is only my personal opinion. The emperor has not told me what his reasons are for not applying for membership in the UN.”
“Is that decision final?”
“It is, unless and until the emperor changes his mind, which, however, I do not expect him to do.”
“On another matter, will the empire reassure the international community that they will not deploy weapons of mass destruction in extra-terrestrial locations?”
Michael glanced at Mary, who gave him a helpless shrug. “The empire has given assurances of that in the past and your question seems to imply that our assurances have not been believed. Considering that the empire has no weapons of mass destruction, it should be easy to conclude that we will not deploy things that we don’t even have.”
The diplomat raised an eyebrow. “Many scientists feel that some of the, shall we call them ‘technologies’, the empire has could be considered such weapons, especially since the empire seems to be extremely reluctant to share information with the world scientific community. Take, for example, whatever knowledge or technology that made possible the ‘creation’ of the new Martian magnetosphere. It has been suggested that such knowledge could also be used to remove Earth’s magnetosphere, which would be disastrous.”
Michael smiled again. “Assuming your presupposition is correct that the empire is responsible for the event, I was told that scientists were positive that Mars had once had a magnetosphere, so is the reappearance of the magnetosphere ‘catastrophic’ or ‘beneficial?�
� As for the removal of Earth’s magnetosphere, the little I’m aware of would suggest that such an event would be far worse than ‘disastrous.’ One scientist told me that a world-wide nuclear war would be less damaging and easier to recover from. However in view of your great desire for information to be widely spread, I’d be most interested to hear from you which current world political leader you think should be trusted with such deadly knowledge?”
Chambers apparently thought of about answering, but no sound actually left his mouth. Eventually he asked, “So the empire refuses to share their scientific knowledge with the rest of humanity?”
“If the empire had such knowledge, to whom should we release it, if you cannot even think of one trustworthy person to whom it should be given.”
“If we could pass on to another topic,” Chambers said smoothly, “a complaint has been received that the empire is to blame for the disappearance of an important international businessman.”
“Indeed,” Michael said flatly. “And what is it we are supposed to have done?”
“It has been reported that this businessman was vehemently opposed to future imperial plans, that he was taking steps to oppose the empire when he disappeared, supposedly abducted by imperial forces.”
Michael waited a moment to see if Chambers would amplify his statement. When nothing further was said, he asked, “And what is the evidence for this complaint? You say he was opposed to ‘future imperial plans’? As a member of the Imperial Council, I’m convinced that no one outside of Ostia has any knowledge of ‘future imperial plans.’ Was this individual aware of the Moon colony and the Mars expedition before they were generally known? Please tell me what terrible plan the empire has and how he was going to oppose us.”
Chambers was wilting a little bit under Michael’s sarcasm. “He seemed to be of the opinion that the empire had plans to take over the world’s economy. I’m told that he was taking steps to prevent the empire from buying or selling any more gold.”
Michael was giving the diplomat a look of mild disgust now. “A few moments of rational thought should have shown you how preposterous that idea is. The empire has been in existence for some 19 years, Mr. Chambers, and how many international companies does it own, how many stocks and bonds and mutual funds in national economies all across the world? Answer – none. How much gold has the empire bought from Terran sources in that time? Answer – none. How much gold has the empire sold to outside interests in that time? Answer – none. It seems to me that the complaint you mention sounds more like something your businessman would have done if he had had imperial resources. And further, you say the claim is that ‘imperial forces’ abducted this individual. Now I know, whether you do or not, that imperial forces have been under very close watch for several years now. My question is, what imperial forces committed this abduction? When did it happen? Who saw the imperial forces do it? What forensic evidence backs up this claim?”
“It is only a claim, not an accusation, Consul, because so little is known. When the disappearance took place is unclear, no one was seen and there is no forensic evidence of any kind.”
“And this is part of the reason why you urgently needed to see me? I don’t have time to waste, Mr. Chambers. In the future, please be content with what Praetor Chen has to say to you, and, Mary, don’t you waste any time on ‘protests’ like this in the future. Good day, Mr. Chambers, and I advise you to consider one thing. If I really was the bogeyman you pretend to be concerned about … if you really believed that I could abduct or kill someone at long distance and not leave a shred of evidence behind, able to commit ‘perfect’ crimes at will, then I would suggest that you would be much more fearful in my presence, since I could treat you the same way. First, the gentleman is leaving.”
Michael kept his head down, looking at a report, until Chambers had turned away, but he looked up in time to give Mary Chen a wink. He heard Ari moving quietly to take his seat again, and, without looking at him, said, “What do you think of that, youngster?”
“Well, sir, my first impression is that everyone’s confused because the emperor is showing no interest in playing the game. They expect him to join the UN and play the political games currently in progress. They see the money pit and the only thing they can think of is what could happen to them if the emperor wanted to use his money to claim a spot in the world’s economy.”
“And you’d think that some of them would know better.”
“Perhaps some of them do, sir, but not all of them. It’s also my impression that they’re scared. It’s like they feel that a big change, bigger than just interplanetary travel, has taken place, but they’re not sure what it is.”
“What’s changed is that there’s more than one game in town now, and they don’t know what to do.”
“Questions, sir?”
“Go ahead.”
“What if the Under-Secretary-General had been able to give you the name of a current political leader that he trusted?”
Michael laughed. “Easy, I would have said we’d consider a transfer of knowledge just as soon as ‘mankind’ agreed that whoever he named could be trusted.”
“Second question, sir. I know that we ‘took action’ in the case involving my codjit, Beth Jordan. Is it inconceivable that we might do something like they claimed?”
“In the case of Miss Jordan, the two individuals who were ‘diverted’ were literally planning rape and murder against her. They were warned, but ignored our warning and continued their planning. I have no regrets at all about handing them their heads. This unnamed businessman who disappeared while apparently trying to control the world’s gold market, I know nothing about him and he apparently was not trying to harm a Latin, Fleet or Marine. As I think you’ve come to discover, there’s more than enough work here to keep both of us busy, without trying to figure out who, among Earth’s individuals, should ‘disappear’.”
“Yes, sir. That message from Dean Harrison came in. She recommends a poll to see which rock bands to approach, and, as far as drug problems are concerned, she suggests carefully setting out our policy and inviting the bands to visit to see what the ‘situation’ would be like.”
Michael thought for a moment. “It sounds good to me. Draft a message to the Dean agreeing with her suggestions and plan on staying in touch with her office about it. Oh, and include in the message to her the idea that it might be an additional ‘carrot’ to offer the band, or a band, that they would be the first rock band to give a concert on the Moon.”
“Yes, sir.” Ari sat down and began composing the draft message, and Michael picked up another report – this one on the plans of Imperial scientists to insert satellites around all of the solar bodies. One more thing to juggle, he thought.
* * * * *
Amanda was trying to be patient, but it was one of the more difficult things that she’d done. The flight to New York had been one long exercise in trying to remain dry-eyed. She’d managed it, and had even managed to act halfway normal when her Dad had picked her up at the airport. She’d managed to hold everything together until she’d headed for her room, pleading a headache as a reason for not staying up and partying on New Year’s Eve. She opened the door to her room to find clothes piled everywhere. She was about to ask Samuel to move it all when she realized, or remembered, that she wasn’t connected to Samuel. Then the tears, for no real reason, came and she couldn’t hold them back.
After a less than restful night, Amanda surprised the staff by getting up early, and was surprised herself to be told by the cook that she’d always been an early riser, like her mother, when she was young. She surprised the staff even more by going out for an early morning run, and coming back for a ‘healthy’ breakfast. Then she showered, put on clean clothes and went down to the study with her satchel and curled up in a big chair in front of a fire. It was time to think as the emperor had ‘suggested.’
The first thing to do was to think about, and decide, what to do about the Honors List that she had tuck
ed into her satchel. She’d read it on the flight and wasn’t quite sure whether the emperor meant for her to make it known, or not. For the most part it was non-controversial, because the citations for honor weren’t that unusual. There were, however, a couple ‘highest honors’ that were marvelously opaque, but even some of the possibilities that were hinted at were enough to send a chill down her spine. One imperial scientist was given a summus honor for ‘his work in demonstrating the feasibility of stellar transfusion.’ Another received the award for ‘demonstrating how to calculate the existence and position of gravitic vadi (her mind automatically translated ‘shallow place, ford, shoal, channel’ but none of those words made any sense to her) in the ecliptic, as well as the sub- and super-ecliptic, aether.’
She finally reached the decision that she was no longer in charge of publicizing information about the empire, and if the emperor wanted that information to become known, he could find another way of doing it. That decided, she got up and made sure that the Honors List she had was completely consumed by the fire. Then she sat back down, got out a legal pad and started to make notes for herself.
She was still at it some time later when her father came into the room, apparently a little hung-over, so she smiled at him, but remained quiet. He sat down opposite her and focused his attention on the morning newspaper. They sat quietly together, until Amanda looked up at the fire and noticed that her father was staring at her. “What?” was all she said quietly.
“The last time you were home on New Year’s Day, I was a little indisposed, and you seemed to take great delight in making as much noise as you could.”
“Yes, well, looking back now, I think I was still angry at you for the divorce and Mom’s death.”
He continued looking quietly at her for a while. “And are you still angry? Or has something changed?”
“I’d like to think I’ve changed, hopefully for the better, and I don’t think I’m still angry. I think that too much has happened over the last, what is it, seven months. Our fights feel like they’re a part of ancient history, and other things seem to be more important.”