"Admiral Childers, you asked for this meeting. If you would take it from here, please."
"Thank you, Minister MacDougal. The purpose of this meeting is to bring you up to date on something that has been proposed, and is currently getting underway. It has implications for you. After that presentation, I will have a proposal for you.
"To recap a bit of history, after the Commonwealth of Free Planets won its freedom from Earth, we had three major political groups in human space, the Earth, the Commonwealth, and the Outer Colonies. When Earth lost its grip on the Commonwealth planets, it had no economic motivation to try to retain control of the small Outer Colonies. Those Outer Colonies subsequently grew up, if you will.
"The Commonwealth and the Earth, under its plutocratic government, remained in a tense standoff until several years back, when that government was toppled. The Commonwealth and the Earth's democratically elected government are now friends. We have deepened that friendship by sharing the multiple-hyperspace technology with Earth, and working together to establish a large number of New Colonies made possible by the technology.
"The Outer Colonies, meanwhile, have had a tense relationship with the Commonwealth, because they struggle against our economic success. They have tried to blunt that success with repeated raids against Commonwealth planets, rather than reforming their own systems of government, but those raids were unsuccessful. Ultimately, a number of them joined together to deal the Commonwealth a heavier blow, but our new technology was on-line in time to defeat that attempt. We also took the opportunity to decapitate the regimes of the participants. Some of those Outer Colony planets are now reforming their systems, notably Paradiso and Tenerife.
"We recognized an opportunity here, in the small window of time – perhaps fifteen years, perhaps twenty – that we have this technology and the Outer Colonies don't. Ultimately, of course, they will duplicate this technology, and we will be back to where we were. Perhaps worse.
"We have proposed the establishment of a corporation, Galactic Mail And Defense Corporation, to provide mail and freight services to all human planets, and to use the revenues from that to defend all human planets against interplanetary attack. I will present the details of that corporation next, but you should know before I get to that the Earth and the Commonwealth have reached an agreement to pursue this path together. What began as a proposal, has now become the policy, as yet unannounced, of both the Earth and Commonwealth governments.
"Let me now present the details of Galactic Mail And Defense."
Jan presented the proposal, as she had presented it on Earth, and supplemented by the decisions made on the open questions at the Earth meeting the week before. At the end of that presentation, she made closing remarks.
"If you consider the ultimate effects of a success of Galactic Mail, you will realize there are longer-term goals. These goals are: 1) the massive expansion of the human race throughout the galaxy, effected by subsidizing small colonies with corporate dividends largely earned from large economies; 2) the suppression of the formation of any smothering multi-planet central government by eliminating the motivations of common defense and postal services; and 3) ultimately ending war and armed conflict in space.
"I have been nominated to head this organization. While I have not yet officially accepted this position, I am doing some initial work on getting it organized. That includes staffing the organization, especially the higher executive positions. It also includes site selection. While it will be incorporated on Earth, Galactic Mail need only maintain an agent there. For the operational structures of the organization, we need a host planet. We would centralize mail, freight, and defense operations on that planet, and employ initially on the order of half a million people, many of whom would move there from Earth and the Commonwealth. This would likely grow to two and a half million employees over the next ten years.
"I would propose to you The Yards is the ideal location for Galactic Mail to set up its operations, and I would suggest it may be time for you to come out of the shadows."
Jan sat down, and the ministers began talking to each other in hushed tones. Prime Minister Petros, sitting at the head of the table with her ministers on one side and the Commonwealth delegation on the other, allowed this to go on for a few minutes. She rapped her water glass once on the table. Everyone fell silent.
"Thank you, Admiral Childers. What an interesting proposal. I have a few questions, if I may," Petros said.
"Of course, Prime Minister."
"You said half a million employees. Is that immediately?"
"Yes, Ma'am. That is approximately fifty thousand aboard ship, and four hundred and fifty thousand in support, to cover the first three hundred planets. As the New Colonies grow, that number will increase proportionately, hitting two hundred fifty thousand aboard ship and two million, two hundred fifty thousand in support within ten years. One of the requirements for site selection is there simply be enough physical room for an organization that size with a sizable space operation. Growth beyond that point would be slower because I would expect Galactic Mail to open additional operations centers in the medium term."
"Where do all those employees come from, Admiral? That is approaching the size of the Earth or Commonwealth navies," Petros said.
"Yes, Ma'am. Many of them would come from the Earth and Commonwealth navies as they downsize."
"Why would the Earth and Commonwealth navies downsize, Admiral?" Petros asked.
"Because with the rise of Galactic Mail, they would become unnecessary, Ma'am."
More excited talking among Petros' ministers, which she allowed for a couple of minutes. She rapped her glass once, again. Silence.
"You said you had not yet officially accepted this position, Admiral Childers. We are of course familiar with your reputation, not just as a military commander, but as a hyperspace mathematician. On what is your acceptance of this position conditioned?"
"I have to move my family, Ma'am. My husband–" Jan waved a hand toward Bill, to her left – "and two small children. To where is an important consideration, to me."
"And would you find The Yards acceptable, Admiral?" Petros asked.
"It is my preference, Ma'am. The offer I put on the table to you has not been extended to anyone else."
"I see." Petros consulted her notes. "What do you believe the odds of success of Galactic Mail in achieving your long-term goals?"
Jan waved to Durand.
"My organization ran this analysis, Prime Minister. We calculated the odds of success at over 90% if Admiral Childers heads the organization," Durand said.
"And if she does not?"
"Less than fifty-fifty, Ma'am."
Petros consulted her notes again.
"Have you considered the passenger business as well, Admiral Childers?" Petros asked.
"We gave some thought to it, Ma'am. We believe the better solution would be to sell passenger ships utilizing the new technologies to existing passenger lines. Passenger carriage is a different business model, and we think it would be better to co-opt the current passenger lines than to compete against them. There are a lot of complications there, from port facilities to branding. That business is also, I believe, immune to monopoly efforts."
"And the existing passenger liners being used in the New Colonies effort?"
"We believe now those will continue to be used to establish New Colonies, and transport large numbers of immigrants to existing New Colonies. That business is not profitable to a commercial passenger line because it requires a big ship on the way out and is dead-head back, Ma'am," Jan said.
"Admiral Childers, you mentioned The Yards coming out of the shadows. Do you believe it is necessary for this planet to become publicly known for Galactic Mail to be sited here?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Or it would become known, in any case. Too many ships, too many people, too much system traffic."
"I see. Finally, Admiral, what would our next step be, if we were to decide to proceed as you outline?" Pet
ros asked.
"Were you to so decide, Ma'am, I would like to see several site proposals. Three at a minimum, I think. Sites of several hundred square miles for the operations center, with weather suitable for year-round space operations, tectonically stable, not in the common path of major storms like hurricanes, adjacent to or near enough to a city that can grow to accommodate millions of new people and the services to support them, and to which we can add a ground-based rapid transit connection to the operations center. Something like the Central Valley of California on Earth, but without the earthquakes, or the plains of Texas between Houston and Dallas, but with weather more like California. And with a favorable tax treatment. The initial payroll is going to begin at over seven billion Commonwealth credits a year, which employees will spend in that city, so that shouldn't be an issue," Jan said.
"Taken all together, a tall order, Admiral."
"Yes, Ma'am, but with a whole planet to choose from, why not look for a site with everything?"
"Indeed. That takes care of my questions. Let's take the rest of you in turn. Minister MacDougal?"
"Thank you, Ma'am. I just have one question, Admiral Childers. What do you see this development doing to foreign policy and diplomacy?" MacDougal asked.
"That depends on your point of view, I suppose, Minister MacDougal. The only thing it does is to take war – interplanetary war – off the table. You could say that doesn't change much, or you could say that it changes everything. It will probably increase the advantages the skilled diplomat already enjoys."
MacDougal chuckled.
"Indeed. Thank you, Admiral."
With a wave, MacDougal passed the floor to Minister of Defense Juan Carlos Simonov.
"Admiral, you said with Galactic Mail, the military becomes unnecessary. Do you truly believe that?" Simonov asked.
"The military has two major roles, Minister Simonov, defense against attack, and offensive operations in support of some foreign policy objective. Galactic Mail will take the former role, while making the latter impermissible, or at least unprofitable. Lesser military roles will still exist, and then the question is, Is that the best way to fulfill those needs."
Simonov looked doubtful, but passed the floor to Treasury Minister Georgy Jimenez.
"Admiral, I am assuming there will be large construction projects to build the operations site. How will those be financed?" Jimenez asked
"Bonds issued by Galactic Mail, Minister Jimenez."
"And how will electronic monetary transfers between interstellar parties be handled?"
"Those transfers will be cleared through Earth's banking system, with a small percentage fee charged by Galactic Mail. That is one of the revenue streams of the company, Sir."
Jimenez passed the floor with a wave to Trade Minister Morgan Saunders.
"Admiral Childers, I see that Galactic Mail will be enabling trade, and lessening frictional costs on imports and exports, throughout human space. How will that freight operation be organized?"
"We believe there will likely be economies in having certain routes direct between or among large trading partners, while trade among other systems will likely be handled with a hub and spoke system, with a large orbital transfer station at a single location. There may be more than one location as the system expands, Minister Saunders."
"Will this orbital transfer station be at your operational headquarters, Admiral."
"The initial hub? Yes, Ma'am."
Saunders returned the floor to Prime Minister Petros with a wave.
"Very well, Admiral Childers. Thank you for your presentation. I must say such a presentation from someone else – anyone else, really – would be greeted with a great deal of skepticism, but we know better than to take your proposals lightly. We will deliberate on what we have seen today, and be back to you. Would you be available to make future trips for further discussions?" Petros asked.
"Of course, Prime Minister. After all, if we proceed along the lines I have discussed, I will be living here."
"What sort of timeframe are you working on, Admiral? When do you need to know from us, one way or the other?"
"Sooner is always better, Ma'am. That said, site selection won't be a pacing item for several months. If we could have a decision from you within a couple of months, including potential additional meetings, that would work out well for us."
"Very good, Admiral. Thank you again."
Petros stood and shook Jan's hand, as did the other ministers in turn, and they left, leaving Durand, Bill, and Jan with MacDougal. Jan held out a memory chip to MacDougal.
"This is the full text of our presentation, as well as the complete underlying proposal the Earth and the Commonwealth have already agreed to, Minister McDougal. Could you please distribute it to today's attendees?" Jan asked.
"Of course, Admiral. Thank you. And now, if you would."
MacDougal led them back outside to the shuttle pad. They shook hands and said their goodbyes, boarded the shuttle, and headed back to the Freyja in orbit.
"How do you think it went?" Jan asked.
"I think it went pretty well, actually," Durand said. "They were engaged, they asked good questions, there was a minimum of negative body language. As for how the result will come down, I can't say. They are tough to read, because we simply don't have enough experience with them. Nobody comes here often enough to know them that well."
"What do we do next?"
"The ball's in their court. We'll have to wait and see what happens."
"I'll tell you what we do next. We eat. I can't believe they didn't feed us," Bill said.
At The Yards
"We've had their proposal for a week, and we have all had time to look at it. I need to hear where everybody stands on this, and then we can have some discussion. Let's go in reverse order. Minister Saunders, you're first," Prime Minister Petros said.
"Thank you, Prime Minister," Trade Minister Saunders said. "My position has been for a long time that we should emerge into the greater world. Our trade position is severely hampered by our remaining hidden. We have one trading partner, and that is the Commonwealth, more specifically the Commonwealth Space Force. The good part of that is their requirements have been for warships, which are mobile, self-contained, and very expensive. In light of the initiation of Galactic Mail, however, the CSF will be downsizing, and we will likely have no foreign market at all. I therefore support the proposal, including the siting of Galactic Mail's operations center here, and coming out of hiding. By the way, the siting of Galactic Mail here is a huge win for us, and would normally only occur after a competition among several bidders."
Saunders waved a hand to Treasury Minister Georgy Jimenez.
"Thank you, Minister Saunders. I, too, am in favor of the proposal, including locating Galactic Mail here and emerging from hiding. It is getting increasingly difficult to hide our financial footprint in the markets. Shell corporations and in-kind transfers can only take you so far in hiding an economy as big as a planet's. As our population has increased, it has become very difficult. Even now, if someone thought to look, they could unearth the truth. I think it is better we emerge from hiding at a time of our choosing, and the offer from Admiral Childers for locating the operations hub of Galactic Mail here is a huge incentive to make that time now. It is hard to overestimate the impact this will have on our markets and our financial position."
Jimenez waved a hand to Minister of Defense Juan Carlos Simonov.
"Thank you, Minister Jimenez. I have had to face some unpleasant realities this week. While proud to have defended this planet, it is apparent Galactic Mail will make that role unnecessary. We have remained in hiding as one part of how we defended this planet. While coming out of hiding poses additional risk, having the hub of Galactic Mail's defense operations here would basically make us invulnerable. With hundreds of ready drones stationed here to respond to an attack or attacks on any human planet, this system would be the best protected of them all.
"My one
worry is about Admiral Childers. I have no concerns about her being the head of Galactic Mail, but rather about her not being the head of it. I would like to see the CEO or president or whatever they call her position be a five-year or ten-year term, and have the initial shareholders name her to that post prior to distributing other shares. Once she has been in office for an initial term, I have no worry she will be affirmed in additional terms based on her performance.
"What I don't want to do is have her be the interim head, and then have the very first board replace her with someone we don't know, and may not trust."
Simonov waved his had to Foreign Minister MacDougal.
"Thank you, Minister Simonov. We in the Foreign Ministry have had little to do given that we have been in hiding. All of our relations have been with the Commonwealth, more precisely with the CSF alone. Emerging from hiding presents a tremendous challenge to us. Nevertheless, I think it is the right move, for all the reasons already stated. Galactic Mail will happen. It will be located here or not, but it will happen. In that context, is it better for us to be its home base and emerge from hiding, or worse? I think it's better. Much better."
MacDougal waved his hand to Prime Minister Petros.
"Thank you all. I concur in your individual recommendations, for the reasons stated. Minister MacDougal, can you make inquiries of Admiral Childers through Admiral Durand as to whether an initial term of office for Admiral Childers can be granted along the lines suggested by Minister Simonov?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Please do. Minister Saunders, have you given any consideration to sites on The Yards suitable for Galactic Mail's headquarters?"
"Yes, Ma'am. There are four, actually. Two are here, near the capital, one north and one east of Phoenix. One is on the outskirts of Athens, the other on the outskirts of Carthage."
"Excellent. So we have something to show Admiral Childers the next time she comes around to visit?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
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