When the Emperor requested and required someone to attend a meeting as soon as possible, it didn’t take long. The Imperial Gardener appeared in channel 22 within minutes. Drake joined him there.
“Be seated, Mr. Gretzky.”
Gretzky sat down. His avatar was dressed as a gardener, and wearing a green apron.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Mr. Gretzky, I want you to completely remove the Imperial Gardens as they are, right down to the structure of the building, rebuild all the underlying infrastructure like waterproofing and drainage, and then build them back up as they were in the time of Trajan the Great.”
“That sounds like a wonderful project, Sire. But we don’t really know what they were like in the time of Trajan the Great.”
“Ah, but we do, Mr. Gretzky. The Court Historian has found a recording of the gardens from 51 GE.”
“A recording, Sire? Not a simulation?”
“Yes, Mr. Gretzky. Observe.”
Drake changed the channel for both of them to the recording, dropping them at the meadow. They walked to the pool, Gretzky staring around in wonder.
“This is wonderful, Sire. My charter has been to maintain the gardens to the plan Augustus III drew up himself, but, you’ll pardon my honesty, Sire, he wasn’t a garden planner. This would be a tremendous project.”
“So you can carry this out, Mr. Gretzky?”
“Yes, Sire. I’ll need help with all the mechanical things, but I would love to do this project.”
“Very well, Mr. Gretzky. Get in touch with Housekeeping and have them clear the gardens and rebuild the infrastructure, then it’s all on you.”
“Yes, Sire. Thank you, Sire.”
Drake left Gretzky in the simulation, dropping out of VR back into his office. He signaled Mr. Moody he was available, and Moody opened the door seconds later.
“Mr. Norton, Sire.”
Norton came in, a small, thin man around seventy years old.
“Be seated, Mr. Norton.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I must say Your Majesty is looking good today. There are a number of things we should talk about–“
“Be silent, Mr. Norton.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Mr. Norton, I require your retirement as Co-Consul. You will be moved out of the Co-Consul’s residence this afternoon and into an apartment in the Imperial Research Building. You may remain resident there as the honored and respected former Co-Consul for the rest of your life if you wish. Thank you for your many years of service.
“That is all, Mr. Norton.”
“But, Sire–“
Moody came in at Drake’s signal.
“This way, Mr. Norton.”
Moody led Norton out, then came back to Drake’s call.
“Yes, Sire.”
“Have Housekeeping move Mr. Norton out of the Co-Consul’s residence into an apartment in the Imperial Research Building, Mr. Moody. Make it one with a nice view. Then have them move Mr. Diener into the Co-Consul’s residence. Is Mr. Diener here?”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Send him in.”
“Yes, Sire.”
Moody went out and came back seconds later.
“Mr. Diener, Sire.”
“Be seated, Mr. Diener.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Mr. Diener, Mr. Norton has just retired. I am therefore in need of a Co-Consul, and I am naming you to the post. We are going to be doing things in a much different manner going forward. I want the Co-Consul to be my good right hand, running the bureaucracy and carrying out Imperial policy. You will begin immediately. Housekeeping will be moving you and your wife into the Co-Consul’s residence this afternoon.”
“Yes, Sire. Thank you, Sire.”
“You’re going to have a million questions as we go forward, but I have your first assignment for you.”
Drake pushed a copy of Ardmore’s book to Diener.
“Read this book, Mr. Diener, and you will see what I’m up to.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“That will be all for now, Mr. Diener.”
“Yes, Sire.”
Moody came to Drake’s signal and let Diener out, then announced Pitney.
“Mr. Pitney, Sire.”
“Be seated, Mr. Pitney.”
“Yes, Sire.”
Drake turned to the Imperial Guardsmen in the corners to either side of the door.
“Leave us.”
One Guardsmen nodded and left the room. Burke, who had come on watch after lunch when Drake tagged this meeting, remained.
“Guard.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” a voice came back.
“Suspend audio monitoring for one hour.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
A soft ‘bong’ tone sounded from the ceiling. Drake looked over to the light switches by the door and noted a small flashing red light on the panel.
“Mr. Pitney, my Court Historian tells me that, during the reigns of the Four Good Emperors, the Emperors had a private intelligence organization that reported only to them. It was called Section Six, and only the Emperor, the Empress, and the Co-Consul knew of its existence.”
“Indeed, Sire.”
“Yes, Mr. Pitney. We are reconstituting this organization. It will be called the Department. You will lead it. It will be known only to the Emperor, the Empress, and the Co-Consul, who is now Mr. Diener. Mr. Norton has retired.”
“Thank you, Sire, but....”
Pitney gestured with his head toward Burke, standing in the corner behind him.
“Captain Burke is Heir to the Throne, Mr. Pitney. She who will be Empress. As is the Court Historian. They will be co-rulers after my passing.”
“Ah. I see, Sire.”
“That is the first of many deep secrets you will be trusted with, Mr. Diener. Your first assignment is to read this book.”
Drake pushed Ardmore’s book to him.
“The Court Historian will also provide you with a number of materials describing what he has found out about Section Six and how it operated. These materials will never be made public. They are from the Emperor’s own private files, stretching back six hundred years. Section Six was kept so secret, even within those personal files, it has been difficult to discern what it did and how it did it. But you will learn what you can and make up the rest.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“This new organization, like Section Six, will be run entirely in VR. There will be no physical headquarters, no meetings. You will use an avatar for any VR meetings, an alias for your name, and keep your identity secret. You will take orders only from the legitimate occupant of the Throne – me for now, and Captain Burke and Dr. Ardmore after I am gone.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“To all outward appearances, you will retire, and move to some nice planet somewhere. Most people have some plans for retirement. Go where you planned to retire to anyway. We will arrange a medical retirement if we have to, and you will receive your pension. Your wife may know you still do some consulting work of some sort, but that is all. That will result in additional income for yourself, as you will be paid as a department head, but in direct transfers from the Imperial Purse through an intermediary so there are no records and no exposure to budgeting or treasury. When you need things from the government, you will communicate them to me or Mr. Diener only.”
“What sort of things, Sire?”
“An official investigation, perhaps. A modification of Imperial records to create deep-cover identities for your agents. I’m told it has even included deployment of an attack ship carrier in the past.”
“Indeed, Sire.”
“Yes, Mr. Pitney. We are only now discovering how much the success of the early Empire was dependent on Section Six operatives. They were some truly outstanding people, and succeeded in the most difficult situations.
“That is your assignment, Mr. Pitney. Read all those materials for now, and we will talk again in a week or so. In the meantime, you are relieved of your other resp
onsibilities while we look into that medical issue of yours that has cropped up so suddenly.”
“Yes, Sire. Actually, I think I’m up for full retirement now.”
“That works, too.”
Drake signaled Moody, who came in and led Pitney from the room.
“Well, that was a good afternoon’s work, wouldn’t you say, Captain Burke?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. And it‘s only three-thirty.”
Drake chuckled.
“So what’s on our list next, Captain Burke?”
“A commercial supporter and a technical wizard, Sire.”
“Ah, yes. I wonder how Dr. Ardmore is doing with those.”
The new Imperial press officer tried, but could not get the day’s press release below forty-seven words.
PRESS RELEASE
– For Immediate Release –
IMPERIAL PALACE – Emperor Augustus VI superseded current Imperial Law with the Law of Ilithyia II today.
Government censorship not being authorized under the Law of Ilithyia II, the censorship department was disbanded and its employees furloughed.
Also today, the Co-Consul retired. Emperor Augustus VI has named Paul Diener Co-Consul.
The Co-Consul
Paul Diener left the meeting with Drake and went down to the Residence Wing to his apartment. His wife Claire had just gotten back, her cards group having played this morning and then dawdled over lunch together.
“Hi, Dear. How did cards go?”
“Sue got the best cards today. We won, but it was because she got all the cards.”
“Well, congratulations, anyway.”
“So how did your day go?” Claire asked. “Wait a minute. What are you doing home? Did you get fired?”
There had been a lot of furloughs lately, as the Emperor ruthlessly trimmed the fat and excess from his government.
“No, but we are moving.”
“We are? Oh, no. What happened?”
“I got promoted,” Diener said.
“To what? What promotion would force us out of the Imperial Palace?”
Claire couldn’t understand why her husband seemed so happy.
“You misunderstand, Dear. His Majesty called me in after lunch and made me his Co-Consul.”
Claire sat heavily on the sofa.
“You’re kidding.”
“No. We’re moving upstairs to the Co-Consul’s residence.”
“But how– I mean, why–“
Diener just waited and smiled while Claire got her mental feet under her.
“Well, congratulations to you, too, then. My word. How did the Emperor ever pull you from so deep in the bureaucracy to be Co-Consul? That’s what I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either, but I’ll take it. I didn’t even have a choice, really. He just said, ‘This is your new assignment,’ and that was that.”
Claire got up and came over to him, took him in her arms.
“Second most powerful man in the Empire, huh? Well, given that His Majesty is ninety years old, I guess I’ll just have to be happy with second.”
Diener laughed, then the door signal sounded.
“That’ll be Housekeeping. To move us.”
“Right now? But we’re not packed or anything.”
“Doesn’t matter. They’ll take care of it. What say we go over to Imperial Park East and get coffee while they move us?”
“All right.”
Diener opened the door and it was, indeed, Housekeeping.
“Mr. Diener, we’re here to pack you up and move you, sir.”
“Yes, come in. We’re going to go out while you work. Just send me a message when you’re done.”
“Yes, sir.”
Diener stood aside and no fewer than six people came into the apartment, looking around as they came.
“Doesn’t look too bad,” one woman said.
“Nah. This’ll be an easy one,” another answered.
“Come along, Dear. Let’s get out of their way.”
Paul and Claire Diener took the elevator down to the Imperial Palace people mover station in the Palace’s second basement. They took the people mover to the Imperial Park East entrance, and exited out into the arcade. Imperial Park East was the high-end section of town, between Imperial Park and downtown Imperial City.
They walked the arcade, lined with pricey shops and expensive eateries. Claire stopped and looked at a glass sculpture in one store window.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Do you want it, Dear? The Co-Consul’s salary is probably double or more what I’m getting now.”
“You don’t even know the salary?”
“No. I didn’t care and I don’t think His Majesty did, either. But I can certainly afford a present. Do you want it, Dear?”
“No, Honey. It’s beautiful, but I don’t need another dust catcher. I just like to look. Thank you, though.”
They walked hand in hand until they found a coffee shop. They took a table on the arcade in front of the store. They ordered coffee and a couple of pieces of crumbly coffee cake.
“So how does this work, Honey? We live on the top floor?”
“Yes. We have one side and the Emperor has the other. We share the elevator lobby with His Majesty.”
“Oh, my. So if I come out, and he’s there, I say what? Good morning, Your Majesty?”
“Yes. That’s correct,” Diener said.
“Heavens. And where do we eat?”
“Anywhere we want, really. No reason you can’t eat with your friends in the staff cafeteria for breakfast or lunch or whatever. But the Co-Consul’s residence has its own dining room. The staff caters it, and it’s probably the same thing His Majesty is having.”
“Which is probably the same thing as the staff cafeteria,” Claire said. “The food is exceptional.”
“Probably so. As I recall, there’s a dining room, a formal living room, a private living room, a master bedroom, and a bunch of family apartments.”
“So when the kids come to visit...?”
“They just stay in a family apartment, and we all eat in the dining room together,” Diener said. “Same thing with our folks or any other guests we might have.”
“Well, that’s nice.”
“The other thing is you have access to all the services of the Imperial Residence. They’re on the floor below the top floor.”
“Like what?” Claire asked.
“Did you check your permissions lately?”
Claire got a bit of a distracted look as she checked VR.
“Well, I have elevator access to the top floors now. That’s new.”
“Check for Imperial Residence Services,” Diener said.
“Oh, yes, here it is. Oh my God. Have you seen this list? You never have to leave the residence for anything.”
“That’s the general idea, Dear. They don’t want the Emperor banging around in Imperial Park East, for instance. And it’s all the best people Housekeeping can hire.”
“Well, this all sounds wonderful from my selfish point of view,” Claire said. “What about you, Honey? It’s more stress, isn’t it?”
“It’s a bigger job, there’s no doubt about that. But it’s probably actually less stress.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Two reasons,” Diener said. “Because if something is screwed up, I’m actually in a position to change it, and because I only have one boss to please.”
“His Majesty.”
“Yes.”
“Heavens,” Claire said. “So you’ll actually see him on a regular basis.”
“Yes. Maybe as much as several times a week.”
“I can’t even imagine that. But you sound excited about it, and I’m happy for you.”
The coffee and cake gone, they got up to stroll again. It wasn’t long before Diener got a message from Housekeeping.
“Well, Dear, we’re all moved. Shall we go look at our new home?”
“Oh, yes. Now I’m excited, t
oo.”
They walked down the arcade to the Imperial Park East entrance to the Palace, took the people mover to the Imperial Palace itself, and got on the elevator.
“Go ahead, Dear. Push the button for the Imperial Residence top floor.”
That was automatically an express, and they rode up without other stops, stepping out into the elevator lobby. Two Imperial Guardsmen stood watch on the double doors to the right. Diener opened the primary door of the double doors on the left and waved Claire through.
“My God, it’s a bowling alley.”
“No,” Diener said. “It’s actually bigger than a bowling alley.”
They walked down the hallway to the private living room. Walking inside, the drapes, sheers, and glass were open, airing out the room. Claire looked around the room as she crossed to the balcony.
“It’s very nice, Dear.”
Her breath caught when she stepped out onto the balcony. The statue of Ilithyia II stood proud and alone in the center of Palace Mall, a two-mile-long, half-mile-wide expanse extending out from the front of the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Research Building and Imperial Administration Building that flanked it.
“It really is much nicer since His Majesty tore down all those other statues, Dear.”
“Yes, it is.”
Claire walked back through the living room, through the communicating door into the bedroom. All their things were placed as she had had them downstairs. She continued on into the bathroom.
“Hey, Honey? There’s a swimming pool in here, too.”
Diener looked in. The bathtub was pretty big. You couldn’t do laps in it, but it was big. Claire moved on to the closets, Diener following along.
“They gave me the bigger closet,” Claire said.
“That’s the one with the sink and the makeup table, so it only makes sense. Don’t forget this master bedroom suite is copied from the Emperor’s suite – I think it’s the mirror image – and the rulers of Sintar when the Palace was built were all Empresses.”
“OK, that makes sense.”
Claire came out to where he was standing in the master bedroom.
“Well, I guess it’s OK. You can keep the job.”
Diener laughed.
Diener sat in the living room and started in on Ardmore’s book while Claire happily puttered about. It was a fascinating read. He had no idea the Empire had changed so much in the last hundred years, and not for the better. The teaching of the great period of Imperial rule had actually been suppressed by the later Emperors, both less competent and less assured.
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