Chapter 9: Actual Negotiations

[Ray of Meep]

"Fantastic." The Governor nodded. With a wave of her hand, the drones with soulless eyes scattered, crawling down the walls and funneled out of a door that led deeper into the building. Upon the media's surveillance leaving, Professor Li Shi Cheng sighed and stood up. He glared at Governor Lv, and growled. "Lv Wen you bastard (Hun dan)."

The Governor smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't meant to be." The professor kept glaring the her.

She ignored him, looking back the the sole Aos Si. "Lady Yvresse, Amisra, whichever you prefer to be called, would you like this food to be sent to your home? We'll pack it up as if it never left this table."

 

[CadetNewb]

"I believe that will be an impossibility," Amisra began, rising herself. "Nothing is allowed to return, including ourselves, given the circumstances of our genocide," she laid down the chopsticks. "We had discovered very quickly that even food could be made into a trap to kill or track," the Aos Si elaborated, just a little bit. "Of course, I am certain you had already known that," she politely smiled. Their lifeless technology was everywhere in a crude mimicry of magic, and her own people needed to seize mastery of it at the start of the scouring, if not hundreds or thousands of years sooner. "More importantly, if I understand correctly, it has been eight years since the founding of your current nation?" the redheaded woman began to question. "And your house is not yet in order, so to say?" she gracefully raised an eyebrow.

 

[Ray of Meep]

"Ahh, straight to the heart of the matter." The Governor feigned pain. With a wave of her hand, the waiters stepped up to take the much left over food from the table. Within a short trade of words, the platform was wiped clean. "Professor Li, are you interested in witnessing this discussion?"

"As much as I'd like to," The professor crossed his arms, unamused, "I have two other Aos Si I have to consul."

"Go then." The Governor didn't finish before the professor left the room, leaving her, Amisra, the governor's female partner and a couple of guards in the room. "Now then, to put it plainly," Her smile waivered somewhat. "Yes. As the de facto leader of the Unity (统一, tong yi) Party, I barely have control over this system's governance. The Inward Conservationist (内养, nei yang) and the Independence (独立, du li) parties combined technically have more power than I do, but they're too busy fighting each other to contest my rule, for now. I'm looking at long term solutions to ensure the Unity Party has control for at least the next two decades."

 

[CadetNewb]

"There are many worse situations, but this is a perfectly tenable situation," Amisra commented, pleased with the first step. "Not only is this much more viable than a two party system, but the others are currently occupied. It's a simple matter of getting our house, the Unity Party, in order before sweeping away the others," she casually pointed out. Politics were once a favorite past-time of the Aos Si, and even should one not be participating in it, speculation and predictions were all fair game. And of course, so were the wagers. Seating herself upon the table itself, the redheaded Aos Si crossed her legs. "What are the main ideologies of each party? Even if we cannot play to our own party's strength very easily, which I doubt, we can easily take the others apart," the woman matter-of-factly pointed out.

 

[Ray of Meep]

The Governor looked at Amisra with a slight inquisitive look, then smiled amusedly. "Sure. Listening to the insights of an alien will certainly bring new perspective to the situation, at minimum. Have you checked our online encyclopedia yet? It will explain matters in far more detail than I can. In summary, the Unity party supports cooperation with our fellow confederate states. We want a united HFR front against international threats, the AU and the Daqin... diplomatically, through technological superiority and economics."

"The Inward Conservationists would rather us stay out of international politics and simply grow technologically and economically. In that regard, the Unitists and Inward Conservationists are not all that different, except that they strongly oppose any engagement internationally, while we believe it is core to our survival."

"Finally, the Independence party wishes that we leave the HFR entirely and form our own nation, unchained from HFR confederate policies. A noble thought, perhaps, and one shared by the majority party of our fellow confederate state, Shen Zhou (Mythical land), but..." The Governor asked rhetorically, "Why only dominate the politics of one state when you can use the system to one's advantage and dominate all three? Form a powerful republican that can compete with the AU on equal footing."

 

[CadetNewb]

"Of course," the redhead casually replied, reaching within a pocket woven into her dress. "But hearing it from you is worthwhile," she pointed out, the screen coming to life to display her previous searches. Colorful text and images burst to live as Amisra casually scrolled through the contents. "On the way here, I captured a glimpse of your 'news' and 'media' as well," she offhandedly remarked, eyes fixated on the screen as she flicked through what might as well have been loud gossip. "Out of context, I would have to say that there is very little subtlety to it all, but I suppose time will tell." Like a glint, Amisra's eyes almost seemed to shine as they turned back onto Lv. "Now, what is preventing you from actually declaring yourself as the leader of the Unity Party? Technicalities like your current position, though useful, still lack the formal title," she pointed out. "If there will be Dominance over the other parties, that formality is key."

 

[Ray of Meep]

"Taking the formal leadership position is not the problem." The Governor shook her head. "The issue is how I handle your kind." She pointed at Amisra. "Us humans are hardwired to pattern recognition. Even if you're an alien, we draw parallels to our equivalents, especially since you are very human-like." She looked down at Amisra's chest, then back into her eyes.

"Too human-like, in some ways." The Governor commented off hand, then continued more formally. "Regardless, even implying the existence of internal divisions in front of a foreigner like you is bad to my and my party's reputation. That criticism you're seeing on our media right now? To be expected, the opposite parties are going to speak ill of me regardless of what I said in front of you today. I'm quite constrained in how I speak of your people publicly."

 

[CadetNewb]

"I suppose it is to your great fortune that we are not extraterrestrial pandas," Amisra chuckled, her brief mirth ticklish to their ears. Having traveled through the city, she had quickly caught sight of the obese, black and white creatures these people seemed so fond of, and with just a few questions to the good professor, put things in context. "Though, I do point out that your appearance being so much like our own is not necessarily a bad thing either," she playfully turned the proverbial tables. "Though some may think we would be associated with typical immigration politics, the truth cannot be any further from reality," she pointed out, skirting the issue of title and leadership. If the Governor didn't understand that her inability to openly hold all her fitting titles indicated her own lack of dominion and power, then that was her folly. One to use later. "Immigration is typically a tragedy that is inverse to population size. If it is a large immigrant population, then apathy and even disdain will be at its height." Amisra then gestured to herself, a hand upon the bosom that the Governor had only glanced at moments before. "From your own perspective, we are few, and with a drastically different and largely unknown culture."

"Play to the strength that is the mystery, intrigue, and tragedy of a lost culture. The masses will eagerly consume it," she smiled all too knowingly.

 

[Ray of Meep]

The governor paused to examine the Aos Si before her. Whatever Amisra's background was, she certainly knew her politics. Perhaps she'll become a great asset, even a friend, should the governor play her cards correctly and act nicely towards the Aos Si. History time and time again showed the cost of cruelty, especially in democratic countries, that backfired in the oppressors within decades. The governor needed more than a decade. She needed an entire century. If the Aos Si lived as long as the professor claimed, a strong bond now could ensure that length of control.

A smile crept up the governor's face. "Sound advice. I'll handle the public relations." She agreed with the Aos Si, then asked, "But this leads to the heart of the matter. What do you want from us, specifically? I couldn't ask in detail in front of the cameras. Now is the time to name your wishes."

 

[CadetNewb]

"Oh, I'm certain there isn't even much you can do," the redheaded dismissively replied, an expression of disinterest on her face as she swiped through the contents of her datapad. "That, of course, will be to your political advantage," Green glinted to Lv and fixed on her for a single tense moment, unnaturally still as she spoke. "The majority of our population consists of either adults in their prime, or a handful of children that were born before the invasion. Those born after are even fewer in number and are as rare as an information slate with something useful on its face." Her eyes drifted back to the datapad as she sifted through the news.

"They will be unassailable. This means that besides keeping the gates open for the occasional sightseer, things such as subsidies or discounts to housing and the necessities to keep them operational are likely the best you can do for the time being, simply because the gesture will be noticed." Clapping the handheld screen closed for a moment, Amisra walked to the window and peered across the city. There would be no 'refugee crisis' or anything of that sort. "I also point out that this 'humanitarian aid' concept I keep reading about will be considered extremely insulting, and be rejected outright."

She kept her expression plain as she thought of Sai for a moment, the well meaning but unknowing young woman. Even so, her long, pointed ears twitched as a small, wry smile found its way to her lips. "And I would advise against attempting to grant us small parcels of land as well. That too, would be...most offensive." Standing there before the window, one could see why as the city loomed behind Amisra as though it was hers.

This world belonged to the Aos Si.

"As for myself and my companions, assistance in integrating into city life will be ideal, as would entry into your education system," Amisra requested, her hair trailing behind her as she neared again. "If you are particularly fortunate, a small handful of others may wish to join, but I doubt that. You will have to ensure our image is cultivated well," she continued to smile.

 

[Ray of Meep]

"Certainly." The governor smiled politely and nodded. "You will be treated as if you were one of our own. Same benefits, financial aid, opportunity. Professor Li will see to your smooth integration into Yun Wang's city life." She drew her own datapad out and sent a package over to Amisra's. "I just sent you my comm number and those of my assistants, along with enough money to take care of your and your companions for a Zhu Que (HFR name for this planet) month. So..." She then offered her hand. "Do we have an agreement, Lady Yvresse?"

 

[CadetNewb]

"Of course," Amisra smiled.

Though she inwardly loathed the invasive gesture, she returned it nonetheless and took Lv's hand.