25-01-2003 21:31									#31
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2208

Dear Cha Dawn and the people of the Cult of Planet,

The Council and I congratulate you on your achievement in mindworm husbandry! We have not even tried, much less succeeded, in the gestation of a mindworm. The intricacies in such a project are immense, and it must take great intuitive skill on the part of your people to overcome such hurdles. I look forward to any updates you might have for us in this matter.

We Gaians have been truly fortunate in finding and persuading so many isles to our cause. Two have been lost to combat, but we have at least five patrolling the waters around our shores. Our foils have been busy, and one was lost a number of years ago; life is hard on the foil crews, even if they are empath equipped. Soon we will have to form new foils, and I have to admit that our foils are not equipped for combat, only for searching for worms. They could be upgraded, but they are perfectly suited for their tasks, so the decision was made that this type of investment would not be made at this time.

I have attached our world map, and I think you will find we have explored a considerable part of the lands around us. This will increase as we put more foils into operation, and our existing foils and isles continue their relentless search of the seas – pushing back the veil, as it were. There is much unspoiled territory on Planet, and it heartens me that, as of yet, we humans have had relatively little impact on Planet. This was not the case on Earth, where we expanded to fill every void. Our populations here remain relatively small, a mere fraction of the population of one small berg of one of the megalopolises of long lost Earth.

Our agreement to exchange technology still stands. We will not utilize the technology you might provide to us to develop a Project associated with the technology Centauri Meditation. We will also furnish you with technology in exchange. At this time we have two technologies you do not have: High Energy Chemistry and Field Modulation. Both are armor related, with Field Modulation giving and extra defense against psychic attack by native life. By the time you make your breakthrough we will also have the technology Industrial Economics completed, which allows the building of energy storage banks, which enhance a society’s economy.
I also congratulate you on your foothold on the nearby islands and continents that surround your island. I am sure your settlements will grow in a Planet-friendly way, and that with these settlements you will learn more of Planet and its nature.

I, too, have had almost constant pleas for intervention of a military sort against almost all the factions. The only exceptions are yours and the Spartans; all the others have tried to cajole or threaten us into a war with another faction. This is most unseemly, and I will have no party to it. I am glad your faction is peaceably inclined, and this brings us closer together. The attitude of the Spartans is most odd, though. I would have thought that Santiago would have led the drumbeat for war, but she hasn’t. Her cities are spread apart over her territory, and she has developed a not insignificant infrastructure in the bases she has. Her military arsenal is relatively limited, and it is smaller than the Gaians, and we are pacifists! I can only hope that she maintains this attitude.

That said, we have friendship treaties with all the factions except the Hive, which has spurned all diplomatic and economic overtures. Chairman Yang keeps to himself, and has been very difficult to contact and negotiate with. He has also been the target of numerous wars, and it is not clear exactly who declared war on who since both sides claims the other started the war, and neither will lay down their arms unless the other does so first. It is all very irrational. The Hive has rather modest holdings, and even if Yang’s political and economic theories are repellent he does not seem to be a threat to anyone.

As always, I enjoy any conversations I might have with you, and I look forward to more discussions in the future.

Walk with Planet,
Dee

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2208

To the most generous Lady Skye, the august body of the Gaian Parliament and the Planet loving Gaian peoples I send you my most warmest greeting!

Lady Skye, once again you demonstrate your far seeing understanding and appreciation of the Planet. Your map file was very illuminating and it also shows that we can all live in harmony and peace with one another. There is land for us all and land that can be set aside for the preservation of Planets natural eco-system. We in fact will soon complete our first set of two terra-formers that have an exclusive mandate to RESTORE the fungus fields that the forests have overrun. This small act will help our planet for many years to come. It will be a labor of love and of trust between Planet and our people. It will do little to enhance our growth or prosperity but that is the sacrifice we make to preserve Planet. This does bring up a point have to make. Your lands are very developed and in many areas, for many sectors of land, not one fungus field can be found. I encourage you to restore some of this land for not just your sake but for us all!

I have consulted with my advisors and administrators and we seem to be at odds over which technology we would trade with you. Many of my advisors argue that the energy storage systems would aid our cause in conservation techniques, a natural boon for Planet. My scientists tell me that the resonance technology is vital to our continued research into the native life forms of this planet. A dilemma to be sure. So after meditating for days on this I offer this proposal. Transfer to us both technologies! In turn, our scientists will move forward into more "in depth" research into this resonance technology and we in turn will trade that future breakthrough to you when we complete it! Please think on this and I am sure that you will see the benefits of this. Essentially you will get a much more advanced technology for one that is a more basic one. In fact, in looking at our recent agreements you will receive the greater benefit from these trades. Within two turns we will make our breakthrough into Centauri Meditation and then in a short will after that bio-adaptive resonance! Both of these technologies are twice as complicated and advanced as anything we will ask in return! So consider this in the balance of your discussion. Remember,
by working together we can expand the envelope of knowledge!

It does not surprise me too much about the Spartans! I found Corazon to bea frank and open person who does not believe in the intricacies of diplomacy and intrigue! She is plain spoken and wishes to prosper in peace. We have tried to work with the Spartans as much as we can since they seem to the be only other sane faction, other than you Gaians, on Planet. The other faction leaders care little for anything else except for power. I do have to admit I do grow more worried each day about some of the other factions. Their constant warring might cause us to defend our borders! This is something we are preparing to do, just as you have done.

Lastly, I wish to thank you and your Gaian people once again for your efforts in helping Planet!

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn

First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.


+ + + + + + + + +

Cha hit the send button and eased himself back on to the cushions.

"Master Seeker Evans I think it is time we put some of our assets that are in place in the Gaian council and society to work. Please try to coordinate the following. One, have the higher level operatives support our request for the proposed technology trade. It is crucial that we get both of these technologies! Second, direct those operatives that have access to gather information about the most southern Hive base. All we need to know is what forces garrison that city and the composition of those forces. Do they have trance protection? That is the most important thing to discover." Cha picked up the small cup of fungal tea and took a sip.

"Agreed my Prophet, I will try and coordinate both as best I can. I take it that the technology trade has the most importance right now for our operatives. The military intelligence will be a little harder since only a few of our operatives have direct access to that information. However,
since we only need information about one city and only the military forces there we reduce our operatives exposure. Anyone asking questions will have a hard time putting two and two together. Also, since we do plan on invading in ten turns or so we put some distance between one event and the other. I doubt from all of the reports I have now that the Hive could change that much in ten turns or less." The Master Seeker slowly stood up. He was slightly burdened by the small boy he had in his arms that had fallen asleep.

"Agreed. Make the arrangements as quickly as possible. For some of our operatives this will be our first "request" of them so they might be a little timid so you are authorized to put whatever pressure you feel you need to make. However, we can not let anything they do risk our overall
relationship with the Gaians. If one of the operatives becomes a liability instruct and agent to dispose of that liability, understood?" Cha looked up at his Master Spy and waited for a response.

"Agreed, and now I need to put this one to bed. Adam does not seem to have the stamina the Eve did. She could stay awake for hours during these discussions." The black robed spy master walked between the pillows into the small boys room.

Cha sat there for several minutes thinking. What Adam lacked in some areas he had more than made up in others. He was a higher level empath for sure and Adam also showed that he had a streak of determination that had no bounds. Adam would do whatever would be needed to get the task done, no matter the costs....

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2209

Dear Cha Dawn and the people of Cult of Planet,

The Council is delighted that our world map was useful for you. Our mindworms and isles have done a good job exploring the seas and land around us, and everywhere we look there are marvels to behold. The biomes of this Planet are so different from those of Earth that there is little, beside the basic chemistry of life, that is common, and in many ways it is amazing that we can co-exist at all. Perhaps it is fortunate that this world is a series of small continents and islands, and that humanity is scattered among these landmasses. In fact, the only two factions that share a common land mass are the University and us. All the rest are scattered, and on relatively small islands, which limits our populations and, more importantly, isolates native areas from inappropriate development.

Another benefit of humanity’s separation is that it makes wars of aggression much less likely due to separation. The University and Gaians had a long cold war for about several decades, but that is now long past. Even the war between the Hive and the Cyborgs and Peacekeepers won’t likely amount to much due to the separation involved. It is my hope that this separation can limit bloodshed, and temper the more irrational policies of the more blunt naked aggression. After all, with the distances involved it is likely easier to expand and enhance what a faction has than to take from another.

As to the technology trade, we will gladly trade you both Field Modulation and Industrial Economics for Centauri Mediation. We look forward to the insights this technology can give us, and you are most welcome to the defensive and economic benefits of the technologies we will give you in exchange.

I also have some news for you. The Council has proposed to the Gaian Parliament that we freely give any technology that does not have an offensive military potential to any faction that asks us for it. We will, of course, ask that a technology trade be involved where the faction has something to trade as a gesture of goodwill, but I must note that some of the factions on Planet are rather impoverished when it comes to technology. In particular, the Hive and Spartans seem to be falling behind and, governmental differences aside, we hope that this will create some good will and foster humanitarian improvements. It is my fervent hope that such exchanges, even if they are one sided, will help the other factions prosper and come to understand each other, and that they will come to better understand that the Gaians do not represent a threat to their interests. We have been very fortunate, and have made what turned out to be some good decisions in the past, and it is only right that we let others share in our good fortune.

You noted that the Gaian mainland has been rather extensively terraformed, and you are correct. We have concentrated on forests, which have spread far and wide, and have built an interlocking network of roads. In areas where it is appropriate we have built a limited number of mines and an even more limited number of condensers, which are targeted in areas where farms and solar panels have been placed. The seas around our territories have rather large numbers of kelp farms and tidal generators. On the whole our terraforming is Planet friendly and does not significantly damage the biosphere. We have, on occasion, removed some fungus, but forests have integrated most fungus as the forests expand. At this point we have no plans to re-introduce fungus near our lands. Our research indicates that the introduction of forests do not harm Planet, even if it does largely displace the native fungal ecosystems. Mitigating this even more is the wide expanse of fungus on the other continents and islands, almost all of which are effectively inaccessible and untouched by humanity. Perhaps one day we will replace our forests and farms, but at this point it is the Gaian belief that the ecosystems of Earth and Planet can, if properly managed, exist side by side, and that we can benefit from the best of both of these treasures. The value of what Earth and Planet have to offer us is priceless, and it is up to us to preserve what we can of both.

Walk with Planet,
Dee

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2209

To Governor Lady Skye, the right honorable members of the Gaian Council and Parliament and the Planet loving Gaian people my most warm greetings to you all!

Lady Skye, I do not presume to lecture you or your people but for us there is only ONE eco-system! Our goal is to eventually return ALL of Planet to its original state not to create a new one. Someday the technology will be available for us to unlock the secrets of Planet and reap the bountiful harvest it creates! Our scientists tell me that the people who left that alien artifact and the other mysterious items on Planet never once "tapped" the mineral or nutrient resources, just the fungus! Imagine all us sustained on the natural growth of this planet. I also have to remind you that every sector of fungus destroyed deprives the natural life forms of this planet of their native environment. We have extensive knowledge on mind worms and though they can live and exist outside of the fungus that is NOT their preferred environment. I hope that in time we can persuade you to curtail your expansion and turn your terra-formers into fungus formers, like we are doing. I do not wish to state we require that you do this but every fungus sector lost is another blow to Planet. Please re-consider this and review some of the data I will include with this message. Planet was not meant to be another Earth but its OWN world we are merely visitors on it and as such we should look towards protecting it at all costs!

I find the position your government has taken on technology very commendable! We in turn will follow suit as well. When plan on "gifting" to the Spartans on our next meeting any of the technology they wish to have! I will also commit to you that when we complete our resonance studies we will transmit that as well to you! Prosperity seems to turn up when ever or
where ever you look! We are only a turn away from completing the work on Centauri Empathy and we will transmit it pre-approved to you!!!

Lastly, reports have been reaching my desk of massive eco-system deprivations by the Hive. Just last turn a massive waste slick of debris, waste products and flotsam floated up on our shores to the north. It made me sick!! I find it harder and harder to look away from such actions, Planet must be defended! Yang does not wish to communicate with me or even begin to listen to my arguments on saving Planet. If you do have the chance please talk with him. Perhaps these waste products are the reason we do not have better luck contacting isles of the deep. We did recently bond another isle making our count two, that was a blessing to us all!

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn

First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.

	25-01-2003 21:34									#32
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Spy Master Evans looked at the latest reports from the Gaian mainland. His spy network agents reported that all Gaian operatives asked to support Cha's request were very effective. However, there were still no accurate reports of troop strength at the southern Hive city! The spy master began to worry that perhaps his agents had overplayed their hands in asking their operatives for support. Since the field of information requested was so focused Cha hoped that the operatives would not put two and two together or Gaian intelligence. Evans had little respect for Gaian security. However, they were handcuffed by having an open society and as such it allowed for more penetration by spy networks. Luckily for the Cult of the Planet Cha was the sole ruler and information was sorted and controlled and those moving that information were always observed and were only selected due to their intense loyalty to Cha. The Cult had a few spy networks operating in the Peacekeeper lands but they were hamstrung by the Peacekeepers massive bureaucracy, even if you penetrated one layer it gained you little since each department protect their secrets like crown jewels.

No, he thought he would have to trust that the men and women he trained would get the job done or die in the attempt!

*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2210

Dear Cha Dawn and the people of the Cult of Planet,

I think we will have to agree to disagree on the Earth and Planet ecosystems. We Gaians prefer to think of them in a holistic manner, and strive to find ways to ensure that both are preserved and the best of each are enhanced. Perhaps one day we can find ways to hybridize the two, but for now we will concentrate on Earth type ecosystems were we humans live, and will continue to delve into attempts to understand Planet.

I am pleased to report that Gaia’s Landing has finished the first research hospital on Planet, and this advancement will significantly increase our ability to provide quality medical care to our people and better understand our selves and Planet. We were also fortunate to persuade another isle and mindworm to join our cause this last year, and with these new allied denizens of Planet we will be better able to explore and understand the world around us.

I looked into your reports on Yang’s deprivations and abuses of Planet and I wasn’t able to find any corroborating evidence of your claims. His cities seem to be producing no extraordinary amount of pollution, and in fact his industry levels are rather low. Moreover, he hasn’t even done much terraforming and has left his land largely undeveloped. There seems to be no overt population pressure since his cities are large but not unmanageably so. I did have a chance to mention this subject to the Chairman in a recent call and he confirmed my empath’s observations that there were no extraordinary impacts to Planet. He was also pleased to receive Doctrine: Flexibility, Gene Splicing and Resonance Armor, which he asked for when I told him about our new technology ‘trading’ program. I looked into Santiago and she seems to have gotten quite a bit of technology recently, as have the other factions. Aki, Zak, and Lal seem to be doing well, too. The only odd man out appears to be the good Chairman, and this is almost certainly due to his isolation. Still, after these gifts he was magnanimous but wasn’t interested in a treaty of friendship. Maybe he will learn that it is to his advantage to have friends on Planet, especially since so many bear him ill will.

You might also be interested that Aki is near a breakthrough in Superstring Theory, which will allow her to develop weapons twice as powerful as current Impact technology. I find this to be distressing, but not too out of character since the Cyborgs are at war with Yang. True to form, Zak is researching development-related technology, as is Parvin. Santiago is researching polymorphic software for some reason. We are researching Industrial Automation and expect a breakthrough in less than a decade, and maybe as little as five years. We will keep you posted.

Dee

*~*~*

Cult, MY 2210

To the most serene Lady Skye, the noble Gaian Legislators and the Planet loving Gaian people I greet you all with a love and friendship as great as the Planet!!

Lady Skye, I do not accept the statement, "lets agree to disagree"! The situation is simple and clear to understand. You can not have two eco-systems in harmony with each other. One system will always become the dominant system and eventually win over the other. My greatest concern is even though you claim you are "balancing" your system I see no indication of that! Your forests spread like a cancer and your mines bore into the very heart of Planet! For the sake of this argument perhaps you can "control" your system but what of the others!? Do they have the same planet sense and expertise as we do? NO! So those of us who do must be all the more careful with Planet! I am not asking you to destroy all that you have worked for but you should understand that some restoration must be performed even if it means sacrificing the benefits of more resources! If you will take the time to read the most cherished book I wrote on the workings of Planet and the advancement of mankind, in particular chapter 23 verse 12, you will see that if we are not helping Planet then you are against Planet! I would hope that you and your Gaian legislature work towards returning some of the land you have taken and return it to its most natural state, just like we are now doing. With this in mind I have instructed my ambassador to make a direct petition to your Gaian legislature on behalf of the Planet. I hope you do not take offense at this but the need of the Planet transcends all! I hope in no way this has will hurt our relationship but I feel that I must take a stand on behalf of Planet.

As for the Hive. I suspect that you have been beguiled by the evil Chairman Yang. The pollution must come from some source close to our lands and they are the most likely of candidates! Much of their industry and production is housed underground so perhaps they have shielded this fact from your Planetary administrators! We will not stand by and watch Planet become polluted by that evil man and his twisted society!

Next turn we will complete our research and pre-approve the transfer of the technology to you. If you could respond in-kind that would be most gracious of you! We suspect that our next research goal will give us a weapon of near equal power to the weapon the Cyborgs are building. I warn you again, "beware the machine!"

Lastly, we have become more fortunate of late and we have now three isles of the deep under our care!! These isles were encountered far from our shores so once again I suspect the pollution is the direct effect of this.

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn

First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cha sat across the table from a man dressed in the garb of a master guide. At the other end of the table was Victor Ramos and the other was John Evans, Cha's master spy.

"Master Guide Fookosh, do you believe you are ready to lead this attack on the Hive?" Cha asked leaning slighting forward at the end of his question as if ready to pounce on the man if he did not answer correctly.

"My Prophet, I assure you I am ready. Governess Eve has five worms ready for transport and in less than four turns the intelligence unit will be ready as well. Master Seeker Evans has hand picked the leader of the seeker team and I know each of the guides and support team of each worm! My Prophet, we will land in two waves in the fungal fields to the north and south of Fecundity Tower. Each team will assault the base from opposing vectors. I suspect that they will not last beyond the first wave. However, I still lack any real intelligence on the make-up of that base, in particular the garrison units. Once we do take the base our worms can rest in the fungal fields and regain their strength. I plan on leaving a garrison and once we repulse their counter-attack we will move the worms back on to the isles and have them perform another amphibious assault on the main Hive base. We need to strike at the heart of the Hive as quickly as possible." Master Guide Anton Fookosh finished his plan and pushed a more detailed plan across the table to the Prophet.

"I agree with your plan. Also, not once did you say "if". That shows you are confident!" Cha turned slowly to his Master Seeker and said, " Master Seeker, why has your spy's not reported the troop strength of the base yet! We need that information! I will not give up the advantage of surprise by moving the isles close by the base to take a peak and give up our element of
surprise!"

"My prophet, I am working on it but it seems the only operative who has access to the data is also our most highly placed one. I worry that if we put too much pressure on him he might not come through for us. I suspect he will since we have more than enough incriminating data on him to blackmail him but then we end up with a tool rather than an operative. I am still working on it but before the worms get near the base I will have the data." The Master Seeker finished his response and continued to stare back at Cha.

"My Prophet, I have also a full cadre of Rangers ready to board the ships and once we are in control of the city we will quickly re-organize the population under Cult ways." Victor remarked with a wolfish grin on his face.

"Excellent. The quicker we can get the bases turned around the better. The two isles of the deep are three turns from reaching the embarkation point. All worms are moving to that point as well. It is only a short trip across the channel and once there it should be a quick campaign. My only concern is reserves. The isles of the deep can help support the ground forces but that is all. We will not have the means to reinforce if we commit the isles to battle. I have thought about this as well, but, I doubt anyone will come to the Hives rescue either. I know of three factions that only want to destroy the Hive so that is four out of six. The Gaians are the wild card. Master Seeker if you can not get the agent to transfer the data then we will have to go in blind and trust to the Planet to protect us, but, I want that agent to warn us if the Gaians try to help. Also, he should work against any measure to censure us or help support the Hive. Make sure he understands that we are only doing this to protect the Planet!" Cha finished and quickly stood up and put his hands out over the group.

"In the name of the Planet we ask your blessing to preserve and to protect our forces in battle, in your name we pray and fight!" Cha finished and left the room.

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2211

“I have to say I’m impressed,” Colin said. “You managed to get both Zak and Aki to call off their wars with Chairman Yang. Didn’t Aki say before that Yang started it?”

“Yes, she did. She must have found out she was mistaken,” Dee said. Her voice displayed none of its accustomed warmth. “Her war is off, and she called it a personal favor to me. The last I heard they have a truce.”

“What happened with Zak?” Terry asked.

“He called us and wanted us to be rid of the Hive nuisance. I declined, of course. Then I asked that he call off his vendetta against the Hive, and Zak said he’d be happy to, again as a personal favor.”

Colin interjected, “Didn’t we ask him to call off a war with Yang a decade or two ago?”

“Yes, we did,” Dee replied. “It seems he decided that Hive was a threat again. Zak wasn’t shy about accepting High Energy Chemistry from us, though. He did say he’d consider trading technology when his Planetary Datalinks are complete.”

“When will that be?” Ling asked.

“Several decades,” Dee said. Ling snorted.

“Seems to me they’re just picking on he little guys.

“Good,” Colin said. “So, it turns out that Yang is the one being persecuted by both Zak and Aki. What about Lal?”

“I got a polite message from one of his aids that he was indisposed and to try again later. I have asked him before and have gotten the same answer. When I do get a chance to talk to him next I’ll be sure to bring it up.”

“In summary, your peace efforts were successful, and the other factions are accepting the technology we’ve been offering. Is that a fair summary?” Terry asked.

“Yes,” Dee said. “That’s fair. Anything else I can do?”

“That’s all we have on our docket for political endeavors,” Terry said. “We do have on item forwarded to us by the Parliament – Cha Dawn’s fungus terraforming proposal.”

“I saw an early draft. What does this one say?” Colin asked.

“It sets an objective of returning lands that have terraforming improvements back to near their original fungus. No hard dates or numbers of sectors mentioned,” Terry said.

“Well then, I see no reason not to put our stamp on it and pass it on to the Parliament for discussion,” Colin stated.

“Not so fast,” Ling said. “That’s just stupid. Razing our forests and farms will mean we can starve in the dark. What will replace our energy and minerals, and how will we prevent our people from starving? The fungus is much less productive than forests or farms. Our economy will collapse. Is that Cha’s objective? To get us to commit economic suicide?”

“We can always amend it later. This proclamation does not have the force of lay, so there will be no precedent as stated. It will be a guidance document,” Colin said.

Ling softened a little. “If its only guidance then OK, I don’t have a problem with it.”

“I’ll take that as a second,” Terry said. “Motion called and seconded. Votes?” I was close with 4 for and 3 against. Terry dutifully recorded the approval of the motion and note that this will be sent back to Parliament.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2211

To the most admired Lady Skye, The far-seeing Gaian Parliament and the Planet loving Gaian people I greet you all with open arms and admiration!

Lady Skye, as promised the technology for centauri mediation has been sent to you pre-approved. I hope that your agents will be as prompt as well and return the afore mentioned technologies in exchange. We have also taken the liberty to send you our map files as a sign of our good faith.

I think you will find the technology of centauri meditation very valuable. In fact, I have decided to make it available to ALL who ask since it begins to unlock the vast treasure of resources that is the fungus. Your colonies will now be able to extract energy from the fungus along with nutrients. This alone should help support my efforts to guide your Parliament to accepting the need to restore "some" amount of appropriate land to its original state. There are also plans included that will allow you to set-up areas of land that will help preserve the natural state of Planet! These are all major boons for every faction on Planet, a wonder for us all! I am also including a new study by our scientists at the large crater sight, bowl of the heavens, that indicate the fungus is vital to the life blood of Planet. Soil samples show that fungus was present before the impact and after! In earth history after each major impact by a meteor the eco-systems of earth changed dramatically. However, on Planet they stayed virtually unchanged! The implications of this are staggering to say the least. So once again I encourage you and your Parliament to re-visit the discussion which I am once again asking my Ambassador to make another petition.

I look forward to what I feel will be the wise decision, the only real decision that can be made!

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn

First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.

	25-01-2003 21:36									#33
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Gaia’s Landing, MY 2212

Dear Cha Dawn and the People of Cult of Planet,

I have attached the file on Field Modulation and Industrial Economics, as well as the Gaian world map, for your inspection. I hope you will find them to be useful, since I’m sure we will find Centauri Meditation to be extraordinarily enlightening. I have always wondered if it would be truly possible to preserve Planet’s life forms, isolate them, if you will, from contamination, and it appears that the Centauri Preserves you mention will allow us to do exactly that. It may eventually come to pass that even though humanity has not spread to all corners of Planet, one day we may do so. Most of the Gaian exploration has been via mindworm vectors of isles, mindworms, and spoor launchers, so in this case the contamination will be minimal. When we garner the resources that will surely be a worthy project for our greater cities!

It seems our good fortune continues. Every year we seem to capture one or two mindworms, and this year one of our spoor launchers was surprised while exploring the huge continent to our east. At the end of his run he encountered a huge spoor launcher. Its handler knew that the spoor launchers are the most aggressive of the native life forms, and that they alone will attack another native form. Then, as he moved to attack, with little hope of success, he told his handler: “resonance: positive”. The handler was confused since that made no sense, then he understood when the second launcher started to communicate in a primitive way.

In other news, Zak is only 5 years away from completing his Planetary Datalinks and, in doing so he will guarantee that he is never left behind in technology. Aki’s attempts at this Project are barely off the ground and Zak will finish way ahead of her. It is somehow fitting that Zak will finish a Project that will ensure he is at least technological parity with everyone else.

Walk with Planet,
Dee

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2212

Lady Skye the inspirational leader of our planet, the august body of the Gaian government and the Planet loving Gaian people I greet you all with my most warm heart!

Lady Skye, you generosity was most wonderful! The technology you transferred allowed my scientists to begin research on changing the forests we have planted long ago and to introduce more "planet friendly" variants that will increase production and resources for our people without having to ADD more forest land. I will gift this most precious technology to you when we complete it as a sign our unending trust with the Gaian people. I can only hope that now you will begin to help support my work in teaching your legislators the need to reduce the ecological damage done by some of your terra-forming. I think in time we can un-lock more secrets of planet and with those secrets available to us we can forever live in harmony with Planet.

I have to depart soon to visit our northern realm and inspect the holdings there. Continued pollution by the Hive disrupts much of work there and I wish to visit it first hand. I find it hard to understand why the Hive hate us so to use such vile tactics as pollution to damage our lands. My only guess is that since they now posses sea technology they will try to use it land colony pods on our lands, a mistake I assure you. Such transgressions will be met with force!

Our xeno-empathy project is going along wonderfully! It will take time to complete but we hope that we can help push things along and finish it quickly. We continue to expand and have established a second base in the bowl of the heaven. We will send out two more colony pods again within the decade to help expand our holdings in the north and south. It is most fortunate that we seem to be blessed with new prosperity at this time.

I doubt I will be able to contact you for some time but if you wish to respond to this communiqué I will still be on our main islands until the end of the following turn.

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn

First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.

++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cha walked over to the master spy and slapped him across the face with all of his strength. The black robed figure took a half of a step backwards but the force of the blow was slight. Cha was not a strong man but the blow itself was not the force that crumpled the spy master.

"FOOL, WHERE IS THE DATE ON THE HIVE BASE!! Why has your operative failed at every task set before him!! If we do not get results soon you will pay for this failure Evans!" Cha was livid, his whole body was shaking. On the wall monitor a much shaken General Fookosh stared at the scene in front of him.

"I am sorry my Prophet. I will do all that I can to obtain the information or the results you wished in the Gaian government." Evans stated in hushed tones of obedience.

"IT DOES NOT MATTER NOW! I have already ordered an isles to make a close inspection of the Hive base and then make for the embarkation point. Our forces are almost ready. Four mind worms, a spore launcher and a intel. unit will make the crossing. However, I have no idea if when they land it will end up a fiasco or a victory. Should our forces fail and are repulsed we will leave ourselves wide open. If they are victorious then we will have a chance to claim a prize and insure that the other factions will treat us with respect!" Cha turned quickly and returned to the chair he had been sitting in.

"My Prophet, I assure I will be victorious." General Fookosh confidently said. "We can not loose this battle and I will not let us loose the war for in doing so we will have failed Planet. The Hive probably has gotten used to seeing isles of the deep pass by and as long as the isle does not have
any troops aboard on the first pass they Hive should not expect any attack. When they return the event might play into our hands since the Hive base commander might expect that it is just another worm passing by. Hopefully, we can land our forces before they know what will hit them."

"General, I hope you are right for all your sakes. I must return to the service and conduct the blessing of the water now. See that I am informed at once when the data comes in on the recon mission. I am moving my command to Eden with General Fookosh to help supervise the upcoming campaign. Once it starts I want to make sure we win!" Cha waved his hand and the screen turned off and the spy master left the room.

Master Seeker Evans walked down the hall and rubbed his cheek. He needed to put pressure on this Colin’s to get the information. He had been working on an idea for some time and he thought he had to put it into operation. A Spartan spy was known to him operating in the Gaian capital. He would feed the information to the Gaian intelligence police and have the spy outed and all the while making sure that this Colins knew it was he that had done it. Perhaps this stark and overt reminder would shake the man back to his senses and thus force him to get the information. He would even promise him that it was the last time he would ever be contacted again for aid or at least by Evans!

*~*~*~*

Virgin Soil, MY 2213

Colin entered the restaurant, bustling in a breathless way. He looked around the secluded booths and darkened tables for a moment, then saw who he was looking for and walked over and seated himself. It took him a few more moments to orient his expanding girth behind the slightly too narrow space between the soft bench and the hand wrought table.

“I just got your message,” he said as he wedged himself in. “I hope nothing’s wrong. We usually have lunch on Wednesdays. Not that I have anything against extra lunch, mind you.”

“I’m glad you could come,” Colin’s friend said. “I’m going to be taking a vacation soon on relatively short notice and I wanted to have a chat before I left.”

“A vacation? Where are you going?” Colin asked.

His friend smiled ever so slightly. “Let’s just say I got an offer I couldn’t refuse. A free trip to see some Spartan holdings, and maybe the Hive, too.”

Colin snorted. “At the Hive? Not bloody likely. He is a true sociopath, and paranoid to boot. He will barely let any formal diplomatic discourse occur, much less something as routine as trade or technology exchange. Anyway, why would you want to go there, or to Sparta for that matter? All those sweaty people in Sparta, in their rather barren bases separated by even more barren lands, hardly sounds like a garden spot. Ghastly! And the Hive! I’d pay money to be allowed to leave!”

“I don’t know,” his friend continued, “I hear that the Hive does have something like a true egalitarian society, with everyone having equal responsibility – from each according to their measure, to each according to their need. Marxism fulfilled. It is different from our society, but maybe we have something to learn from them.”

Colin was silent, a rare thing for him. “Egalitarian. Hmmm. It seems to me that they are all equally impoverished to me. Dee has shown me some of the empath’s reports. They have a total of 4 terraquads of research each year. Four! We have over 170 now. There are almost no improvements in any of his warrens except maybe a recycling tank, and those are used to recycle bodies! Revolting! I always wondered how he kept order, but that became clear when Dee had the empaths poke around a bit more and found he was a police state. His people aren’t kept happy with amenities, but the barrel of a gun! He has military units everywhere. Hmph. Some people’s utopia. Like I said, I’d pay money to be allowed to leave, and even more money to leave right away.”

His friend let him ramble, as Colin was want to do, and as Colin expounded on the horrors of the Hive his friends eyes glittered. He was close, so close.

“You mean police?” he asked. “With stun sticks?”

“I should say not! They have impact weapons with the best armor, and they are very well trained in their arts, if our empaths are to be believed! Imagine having to live each day, and night, with the knowledge that some thuggish brute was likely to burst into your hovel and drag you off to some dank prison, all for not fulfilling your planned work quota? No wonder his people are so compliant, but dispirited might be a better word. I remember an old saying: The floggings will continue until the morale improves! That fits Yang to a tee!”

“A police state?” his friend said tentatively. “Does he have lots of troops in his cities? Do his people have any freedom?”

“Yes, a nasty police state, the opposite of us – no freedom at all. We can’t even imagine, and we thought the simple government we had after landing was a trial. He does have troops everywhere, more in his bigger cities I suppose.”

“How many?” his friend asked. He leaned forward ever so slightly.

“How should I know?! Dee is the main contact with the empaths. They trust her and Terry, and I have to admit I’ve never really had the occasion or felt the need to go talk to them. Dee does a fine job. My job is that of Council Liaison to the people, you know. Very important. We have to keep the lines of communication open or we’ll be cut off, isolated. I don’t want to be a navel gazer. Dee has her empaths and diplomacy, Ling her military interests, Terry works with the Parliament, Mohamed with infrastructure and engineering, and that leaves the most important job to me. They’d be lost without me, Dee says so herself when we have tea.”

Colin’s friend let Colin babble some more, and he did some thinking. Was this enough? Well, it would have to be. Colin clearly had almost no interest in military matters and would have no more additional specific information. Could he try someone else? No. Ling was completely unapproachable, as was Lady Skye.

A comely waitress came by and Colin got her attention and ordered his favorite, and one for his friend, too. The waitress knew him all too well, and also knew he was a great tipper, so she bustled off and in less than 15 minutes each of them had a steaming bowl of hot and spicy Planet Surprise Soup, crusty Chironwheat bread with pats of real butter, a nice slab of very stinky cheese, and a fine red wine – a ‘06 by the bouquet, Colin knew. Knowing Colin she left him the bottle.

Colin dug in, and was making a real noisy dent in the generous portions he had in front of him. His friend went through the motions of eating, but mainly moved his food around. Impending death had a way of removing one’s appetite. He was not sure if he would disappoint The Voice, but maybe, just maybe, this would be enough.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2213

The double doors opened automatically as the electronic eye was triggered in the hall and the Prophet of the Planet walked into the main command center of Eden. All of the people in the room quickly dropped to one knew and recited the now customary greeting, " Greetings and welcome to the first disciple of the Planet, beloved of the Planet!"

Cha walked to the chair at the head of the table and slowly sat down and as soon as he had the others in the room quickly got up and sat in their chairs.

"I have been told there is great news for me, report please!" Cha commanded.

"My Prophet," Eve began first," The overall situation is very good indeed. We have now three isles of the deep in the channel separating our forces and all ready to begin transport and assault duties if needed. We will have five boil class worms and one spore launcher ready for the embarkation in two turns. The intelligence unit is already marching to embarkation site as well. If Planet shines upon our great struggle to free her from Hive taint we might even have one more worm ready as well." Eve smiled slightly as her father nodded his head.

"My Prophet, I have good news as well!" General Fookosh added, "The isle of the deep we sent to "scan" the Hive base only reports ONE garrison unit! It is very well armed and has good armor, but, no trance protection! This should allow our forces to hit them hard and gain an early victory if we can attack first. I still plan on landing in the fungus fields first and having one if not two of the isles "soften" up the garrison first. This should make our attacks even easier. If the Hive try to attack us through the fungus they will be quickly surprised."

"Excellent, and I have been told that the Master Seeker has news as well?" Cha turned slowly to face Evans.

"Yes my Prophet. It seems our operative confirmed our assumptions. The Hive does have a lot of troops, but, from all the information I have gathered the People of the Planet now have the most powerful military on Planet. The Hive does have a good supply of infantry but they will be slow to respond to our attacks. Our forces can quickly move through the fungus, like a highway and catch their forces unprepared. As long as we obtain the initiative in this campaign and move quickly we should be winners. I caution against defensive strategy, that only helps our enemy not us. Once we take the southern Hive city we should press on and take his capital as well. No rest, if it is not absolutely required. The worms can gather much of their strength in the fungus in a turn or so. Also, the faster we take the Hive out of play in the greater game the sooner we can end any debate among the other factions about our actions. Once it is done, it is done."

"Excellent news. I knew you would not fail me my old friend. Send a suitable reward to your agent in Gaia's Landing. I assume our operative still does not know his role?"

"Yes, the operative was at last persuaded to give us the information without "overt" pressure. I am sure though that Colonel Santiago is none to pleased by the loss of her agent." Evans responded.

"Corazon is a fool. She has the best trained army on Planet and fails to use them for anything. Spartan soldiers are like toy models. They are beautiful to look at but do not work. I assume that we can not be traced back to the information?" Cha asked.

"Correct my Prophet. There is no clue that points back to us."

"I have other more mundane reports to go over and I need to check in with the Master Caretaker back at Dawn of the Planet. Overall, the people of the Planet are expanding quicker each day. Our research rate continues to climb and our energy supplies and production grow as well." Cha stood up and the others bowed their heads.

Cha said a silent prayer for victory and then left the room very quietly...

	25-01-2003 21:39									#34
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Gaia’s Landing, MY 2214

Terry asked, “Any progress on your diplomatic efforts, Dee?”

“I’m afraid not,” she said. “Aki refuses to trade technology, saying that we’re too powerful. Zak is friendly but a bit distant, putting off any technology trade until after his Planetary Datalinks are done. Lal is cool to outright hostile, and Santiago is noncommittal. Over the last 10 years I’ve offered to explore forming a Pact with Zak, Aki and even Santiago, but they all refuse. Yang even refused a simple friendship treat after we gave him three technologies.”

Colin shook his head. “And he still doesn’t have any trust for us? Amazing.”

“The only one who seems to want to deal with us on an ongoing basis is Cha Dawn. His abilities have grown, by the way. He has over 10 mindworms, 4 isles, and a good number of spoor launchers,” she said.

“Dee,” Ling said, “I thought you promised not to snoop.” Ling had a sly smile on her face.

“I don’t snoop,” Dee said. “It’s just every once in a while an empath goes astray, and they relay that information to me.”

“Sound like snooping,” Ling said.

Dee didn’t respond. Colin jumped in, “We know about as much about this Cha character as we do Yang. Have any of you read his “Articles of Faith”? Or watched one of his “One With Planet” holos? He comes off as a very articulate old time preacher from back on Earth, with just enough scientific techno babble to give him some credibility. Some of the early 21st Century post-fundamentalists used to do that, too.”

“We’re navel gazing again, and we’ve been over this a thousand tmes. So, what do we do?” Ling asked.

Mohammad said, “It seems to me we have done all we can do. We have brokered a dozen peace deals, given out technology, proffered loans, and tried to give information where we can. After that, we give advice to Parliament, and ensure the well being of our people. Isn’t that enough?”

Ling said, “Right, we need to ensure the well being of our people. Now, we need to beef up our defenses. We still haven’t upgraded our garrisons, although all of them have trance. And we need a core reaction force stationed strategically within three sectors of every base. What we have simply isn’t enough.”

“I agree with Ling,” Mohammad said, “We have the mineral resources, and a few bases with Command Centers. Plus, our energy surplus is almost gone. We can’t afford any more improvements, not without digging into our trade surplus, and that would be a critically bad idea.”

Terry said, “We could reduce our allocation to our laboratories from 70% to 60%. That would solve the problem.”

“No,” Ling said, “With the other factions nipping at our heels technologically, and with us giving them non-military tech, that seems foolhardy. We can’t allow ourselves to fall behind. I’d rather scrap facilities, or build more energy banks.”

“Building energy banks would work,” Mohammad said. “We have several building now. Perhaps bases that aren’t upgrading their military should build energy banks next.”

Terry nodded in agreement, as did Ling. Dee and Colin didn’t respond one way or the other.

“I’ll speak to the Parliament. The Progressives will be for it, and even the Greens will like it,” Terry said. “Then they can ask us, formally, for our opinion. We’re priming the pump, so to speak. Giving them a little pre-advice advice.”

“Now,” he continued, “everyone should note that The Pines was established in the Jungle last year. It is our 21st base, and our 22nd base in the Jungle will be established in a year or two. These pods were in production shortly before our edit to limit base expansion, and these will be the last until there is good reason to expand again. The Progressives are very happy since both of the new bases not only are in the Jungle but also are on an energy lode – very productive, and a nice boost to our energy reserves and lab out put. Mohammad, do you have an update?”

“Yes,” he said in his formal speaking voice, “we will have three more network nodes on line in the next few years, and a few crčches. When these are done we will likely have no more energy and will have to expand our resource base or stop production of facilities. Our growth has been slower now that our bases are bigger. Most are at least size three, and many are up to size 6. We haven’t ‘population boomed’, although we could. The Council has rejected every proposal by the Progressives and they have kind of lost heart. Any chance of changing direction?”

Colin set his lips, and Dee was stone faced. Ling looked hopeful, and Terry neutral.

“I see that there is not,” he said. “That concludes my report.”

“Very well. Thank you Mohammad. That is the last idem on the agenda. Meeting dismissed,” Terry said, and the Gaian Council members left their new, spacious office that had been grown in the new tower at Landing.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2214

Cha and his daughter stood on the observatory platform on the eastern crater lip and watched with pride as the army of the planet glided through the fungus to the waiting isles of the deep along the coast.

"My Prophet, Pravin Lal has called for a vote for the Planet Governorship, how shall we vote?" Asked the Master Seeker who had stood a few feet behind the two and had taken the message over his pad.

"How goes the vote so far?" Cha asked.

"My Prophet, if we side with Lal, he will have enough votes to defeat Skye. If we abstain or vote for Lady Skye then she will retain her authority."

Cha stood for along while and contemplated the next move.

"Father, if I may?" Eve interrupted. " The Gaians have done nothing to rebuild the natural environment of Planet. The continue to expand and expand with no restraint it seems though they claim they are trying to cut back. Our upcoming war will surely strain our relationship with the Gaians as it is but I doubt it will break it. Perhaps, for this one time we should let the Gaians feel the rope around their throats, just a little. It might make them think twice about how valuable we are?" Eve stated as she turned to her father.

"The Master Seeker has taught you well. I agree with your assessment. Master Seeker, inform Pravin Lal of our abstention and do not take any calls from the Gaians for the next five turns or until I order an open link. Once we complete our business with the Hive and the Chairman has been turned over the Planet Council for crimes against humanity and the Planet then we can re-open more friendly relations. Events will soon spin very quickly for Lady Skye and we will see how she rides the whirlwind. Our forces must make fast progress and complete this war as fast as possible. A fiat a comple' is what I need. Once the Hive is eliminated any punitive action against us becomes a non-issue. Lal and Aki can put Yang on trial and we collect the bases as payment. Skye thought she brokered a masterful peace plan but all she did was fall into our plan and "lulled" Yang into a sense of security. Let us see now what the whirlwind brings. In two turns our forces will depart and within four we shall be setting up new temples to the Planet in a
Hive base. Come my daughter let us give words of praise and victory to our troops." Cha turned to his daughter and took her hand and walked down from the observatory platform.

The Master Seeker stood there for sometime reviewing all the other data that had been collected this turn. The discovery of this "fossil field" was amazing and Cult scientists were demanding to be transported to the spot to take samples of the area for study but nothing really mattered right now except the war.

*~*~*~*

Virtual Planetary Council, MY 2215

The hologram of Cha Dawn stood up. He was dressed head to toe in a red and deep pink robe and his characteristic Mandarin-style cap. It was not apparent until his stood that he was smaller than standard at 1.6 meters, which was not apparent until he was out of his virtual chair. As always his visage was calm, yet intense. To Dee he did not have the controlled, enforced calm of Chairman Yang. Rather, he had an inner peace, one of self-assurance.

“Council members,” he said, as he looked each member in the eye. “I have called this meeting to discuss a matter of some importance: the leadership of this Council. Lady Skye has acted as our Governor for over 20 years, and she has worked tirelessly at her job. All of us have come to understand the Gaian view and vision for Planet.

A great deal of time has passed since we last considered the leadership of this Council. We all have grown, and come to learn more of each other. Our own visions, and those of our peoples, have matured, and with that maturity it is possible that our collective decision over 20 years ago might need to be amended.

Therefore, I call for a vote for an election for the Planetary Governor.”

Dee felt a sinking sense of dread. She watched in silence as Cha Dawn’s image turned around and paced a few steps to his chair, turned again, and gracefully sat down. Dee found, much to her discomfort, that as soon as he was seated she found herself staring right into Cha’s slightly pink irises. Dee pulled her gaze away. He seemed to be looking right into her, trying to peer into her soul; she felt suddenly chilled, and more than a little disturbed.

Pravin Lal stood up. In many ways he was the opposite of Cha Dawn. He was tall where Cha was short, and almost gaunt to Cha’s taught fitness. He was swathed in layers of traditional Indian clothing, complete with a wrap that covered most of his head. His raiment was mostly a light gray.

“A most commendable speech, Cha Dawn. I most whole-heartedly agree - it is long past time for a change. As you have said, we have all grown to better understand Lady Skye and her management style, and her proclivity to use the power of the office for her own goals.”

Dee discerned a subtle hostility in his choice of words, and an overt hostility in his tone – that of someone with a long, simmering grievance.

“The Governorship is more than the vision of a single person,” he continued, giving Dee a sharp glance. “It must be a shared vision, a vision of how to approach the future, and how to use that vision to attain all of our goals, not just the goals of one person. I believe, with all my heart, that I can better unify our peoples, and form a collective understanding of how to lead our sometimes disparate peoples. The United Nations, and the Charter that is its law that binds us all even after all this years, was meant to unify, and find common ground. That is what the Unity mission was about. Sadly, some do not see this vision as clearly as others.” Pravin glanced meaningfully at Dee as he paused.

“I invite all of you to consider your options. You can decide to support Lady Skye, and her idea of governance, or you can trust in the Charter and the ideals of the U.N., a trust and a set of ideals that I hold to with every sinew of my being.”

Lal smiled beneficently, and his brown eyes were smiling, too. Then he turned and sat down. All eyes turned to Deirdre.

She stood near her chair. “This is rather unexpected,” she said. “Although I never greatly desired the Governorship, it came to me and I have tried to work toward enhancing peace and understanding between us. As governor I have helped broker solutions to your disagreements, acting as an honest broke to help various sides see that peace is a better goal. I have also tried to foster trade, since with trade come understanding, and a true trading of ideas through commerce, which is yet another way to bind our societies, that are so different, together. I have also, in the name of peace, gifted technology to most of you, and traded with the rest of you, all in an effort to make us all more prosperous.”

Dee took a breath. “Does this mean I deserve to be Governor again? I don’t think it does. But it does mean that I have done a good job as governor, and that I will continue to do this job if you see fit to elect me again. If I can offer you anything it is my dedication to peace.”

Looking over the other six faction leaders Dee saw only hard or neutral faced. It was clear that Cha and Lal had chosen their words carefully, and Dee was a little bitter that her words had just fallen out, spoken from the heart, but lacking in polish.

Cha Dawn stood up again. “I now call for a vote. Pravin Lal, how do you vote?”

“I cast my votes for the Peacekeepers, and the Charter that we represent,” he said. Cha nodded.

“Prohkor Zakharov?”

He shot a quick glance at Dee, hesitated, and then said, “Abstain.”

“Coronal Santiago?”

“Abstain,” she said. Her voice was flat, as if board with this exercise.

“Chairman Yang?”

“Abstain,” he said. There was not a flicker of any movement on his face.

“Prime Function Aki Zeta-Five?”

“I cast my support to Pravin Lal,” she said.

A smile broke out on Lal’s face.

Cha said, “The Cult of Planet cannot support either of the current candidates. We abstain.”

Lal’s smile vanished.

Cha looked over at Deirdre. “Lady Skye?”

“I vote for myself,” she said.

Cha looked over at Zakharov. He was the only one who understood the complex formula for voting in most Council matters, which was a function of influence from population, technological advancement, and raw economic and military power. It was arcane, but it was the only ‘fair’ form of decision-making the early Council could come up with.

“One moment please,” he said as his image turned away to examine something out of range of the holographic imager. “I am feeding the data and conclusions to each of you now.”

Zak looked up from his off-holo view screen and looked at Dee. “Congratulations, Lady Skye. You have been retained as Governor.” There was no hint of jubilation or disappointment in his voice, only the satisfaction of the simple recitations of a solution.

The same could not be said for Pravin, whose tight lips and tight face said more than any set of words could. His image abruptly winked out.

A moment later so did Yang and Santiago. Aki to a moment to look at Dee and nod to her to acknowledge her victory, then she too winked out.

“Again, congratulations,” Zak said and his image disappeared.

Dee looked over at Cha, and found him staring at her again. Then he disappeared.

Deirdre was left alone, someone stunned. What had just happened here? Why would Cha call an election for Governor, and then fail to vote? If he had voted for Lal he would have won the election. Lal was clearly enraged at having lost, again.

Was this some not so subtle warning? Or was this a part of some other, more elaborate game?

Dee didn’t know. She knew she’d have to call an emergency Gaian Council meeting right away to discuss this.

	25-01-2003 21:42									#35
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Cult, MY 2215

Master Guide Shari Moon sat back slowly in her chair and continued to cry. Her children, her precious children were about to kill humans. Cha had assumed operational control of the all of the worms on the northern continent and they were in turn under the direct field control of General Fookosh. Fookosh! The cruel and ambitious man had been one of the new more zealous converts to the new faith and after bonding a worm he had quickly moved up in the guild of the Guides and now stood, in theory, only second to Shari. However, since Fookosh had the Prophet's ear right now Shari had little control or influence over the Prophet. The buzzer to her door rang and she quickly wiped her tears away and touched the unlock switch at her desk that allowed the door to open.

"Mother, you have been crying again!" Mikhal walked through the door and immediately saw the state his mother was in.

"Son, I am fine. I assure you." Shari responded.

"No, you are not. You cry for us all since about half of us can not. Mother, have you tried to contact the Prophet again?" Mikhal asked as he sat across from her.

"Yes, and he will not listen. The Planet has spoken to him and he plans on using our native forces to conquer the Hive. They will most likely not even know what hits them. All of the worms Cha is using are boil class or above, some should or could grow even larger. Imagine if you can small children, women looking across a plain as an army of worms storm across the fungal fields lashing at their minds with all the power they can. Many of the non-combatants minds will end up like jelly. At least human weapons are more controlled, more precise. A mind worms psychic blasts can effect hundreds." Shari dabbed at her eyes with her tissue and then quickly threw it into the recycle chute.

"Mother, I know Cha is my father but you are my mentor and my Guide and I have learned more from you about Planet and the workings of this world than anyone, including him and I doubt that Planet would want this!" Mikhal slammed his fist down on the side arms in anger.

"Cha has an empathy with Planet that we will never understand. I know this to be a fact. The question has always been is Cha capable of separating Planets wishes from his own. Early on I would say yes, but now. The years have taken their toil. The longevity treatments do something to us. They seem to dull certain emotions and sharpen others over time. I suspect that in some ways Cha is even more in touch with Planet and feels things that we can not even begin to fathom but I think now he uses those feelings to feed other emotions." Shari looked down at her desk and sighed deeply. " I think, in time once this war is over that he might change, become less stressed. But, not now. Reports from Fookosh tell me that the first isles will depart from the coast loaded with worms and they will land to the south. The second wave will land to the north. The third wave will conduct offshore bombardment by spore launchers to weaken the defenses along with direct attacks by isles of the deep. Tactically speaking I can not see how they can fail. The base should fall and once Cha has a toe hold the other bases should fall quickly. Fookosh is praying that the Hive army will storm across the fungal fields in a vain attempt to recapture the city and as the troops trudge through the fungus they will be destroyed piecemeal."

"Mother, is there nothing we can do?" Mikhal asked in a pleading tone.

"No, the dye is cast. The Hive have no friends and Lal and Aki's power block will do nothing to save Yang. Perhaps this is all for the best. The conditions those people live in are terrible. We may not have political freedom but we have economic and social freedom for the most part and as
such I would venture to say they will be better off under us than Yang. I am sure the Gaians are still reeling from the backhanded slap Cha gave them over the vote. Cha plays a dangerous game with the Gaians I think. Her people and government might be fools but she is not. The Gaians have expanded and grown at a terrible rate, their population equals any two or three of the other factions. They drill into the heart of Planet with their mine shafts and they wonder why we are upset. Perhaps this might wake them up, perhaps not. Who knows. But, the Gaians have a native force nearly equal to ours, maybe even greater. I pray that we never go to war against each other. Trained worms attacking humans is terrible enough but worms attacking worms under the command of humans that is beyond the pale of reason!"

"Mother, perhaps if we contacted Lady Skye she could do something as Planetary Governor?" Mikhal said hopefully.

"There is nothing she can do or should do. This is a problem we need to solve ourselves. If the war goes badly for Fookosh and Cha that might set things to rights. If they go as planned then it will be decades if not longer before we could act again since we will most likely be working on
absorbing the ex-Hive colonies. Only a total defeat, a humiliating defeat by the hands of a lesser power, that would force Cha to step back and re-focus on the more important things. No my son for now we must wait and see."

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2216

“I can understand why you’re upset, Dee, but you can’t expect everyone to be your friend,” Colin said.

“I’m not upset, and I don’t expect everyone to be my friend. But, for Planet’s sake, Colin, no one voted for me! Not even Cha, who called the Council and the election. He seemed to be the only semi-rational leader on Planet, and now he does this.”

Colin looked over at Dee. She looked tired, and more than a little strung out. “There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s over, and you were able to remain Governor using your own resources.”

“So I elected myself Governor. It hardly seems meaningful when none of the other factions voted for me, and a good fraction voted against. What does that say about my leadership? Or my ability as a politician?”

“You never claimed to be a politician, and I’d be disappointed in you if you did,” Colin said. “None of the ungrateful curs can say anything about your leadership, not even that hypocrite Pravin.”

Colin let that sink in for a moment. “Now, I do have some good news. While you were stewing about the Planetary Council our field teams caught two more worms and another isle. And recently our isles and foils found and had to dispatch four isles and a spoor launcher, netting us the largest windfall of energy we’ve had for a long time. We finished up a network node, a perimeter defense, and a command center. We’re still likely to have energy problems soon, but I hope we’ll grow out of it.”

Dee was still too quiet, so Colin got up. “I’ve got something to show you, too. Look at this,” he said as he activated a holo emitter. A representation of Planet appeared, showing the blue globe with a scattering of pink-dominated small continents and islands, and a large fractal continent that spanned the globe from the north to south pole. The Gaians and Unvieristy populated one of the medium sized continents along the equator, while some of the small islands were populated by the Cult, Hive, and Cyborgs. Santiago held a medium sized continent, but as of yet it was sparsely settled. Cha Dawn had begun to colonies the medium and large islands around him, and Lal was scattered all over the map, having expanded via transport early in his history.

The most dramatic feature, though, was the fact that for the first time since the landing almost the entire surface had been scanned, and the shapes of the seas, continents, and human settlements was now clear. Dee got up and walked toward globe, looking it over in detail.

“I didn’t know we’d explored that much,” she said with a slight smile, and she used her index finger to spin the globe around so she could see more of the surface. “Did we do this?”

“Well, no,” Colin said. “We got some large maps from Lal and the Cult, and an early map from Aki. But, beyond their immediate areas, we have done almost all the exploring. Our isles were critical, of course. They explored the sea quickly, and let the worms off to explore the continents.”

Both were silent for a while. “It is beautiful. Just as beautiful as Earth,” Dee said.

Colin nodded. Dee’s demeanor hardened. “I won’t let them destroy this planet, too, Colin.”

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2216

Cha sat in the command center of Eden and listened to the reports carefully.

"My Prophet, General Fookosh reports that 2/3 of his forces are in position and ready to disembark next turn on Hive soil. The last isle is still rounding the southern coast and will be in position next turn and it should be able to land the remaining worms as well. The attack will begin the following turn. Initial reports indicate only a lone infantry unit hiding in the fungus fields to the south of Hive city along with two colony pods are the only other forces in the area now. The general suggests that we remain with the plan for now and "mop up" these units after we have the base." Eve reported as she shuffled papers quickly. "Also, we have completed construction on another colony pod here at Eden and it will move northwards to the site just northeast of Eden, the new base will be called " New Paradise".

"Excellent." Cha replied in a very monotone voice.

"My Prophet, I do have some disturbing news. The Cyborgs have switchedprojects and they are now working on the xenoempathy dome. I can not tellyou how far advanced they are at this time. From very sketchy reports I would guess they are near the same level as we are in production but that is only a guess. I would hate to loose this project." Master Seeker Evans reported as he shifted in weight in the chair. The man was now getting old and soon he would either have to seek rejuvenation or pass on to the long night.

"This complicates things. We will now work to accumulate as much energy as possible to push the project ahead as fast as possible. I will also try to contact Lady Skye and see if she will give us any information on the Cyborgs progress." Cha looked down at the desk and became very quiet.

"My Prophet, why would the Gaians help us?" Eve asked.

Cha was silent for a few minutes and then spoke.

"Skye will be looking to mend fences with us. I will contact her before I had planned but before the attack begins so that issue will not complicate our talk. From what the Master Seeker says they believe that I called the Planet Council session when it was really Lal. That I can clear up. Also, the Gaians still owe us some information I do believe from our earlier dealings. They can now bring their account current. Remember our vote was meant to send a signal to the Gaians that we would not stand for their continued "lip service" to our requests on the environment. They claim that since they produce no pollution they can continue to terra-form lanet until it looks like earth. While we have just completed our first restoration project and have re-planted fungus to the north of Dawn of the Planet. We will soon have two more bases up and running, "New Paradise" and "Temple of Acre". Also plans are in place to transport a colony pod to the west and begin settlement of the large continent there. That colonization effort will complete the master plan of building "buffer cities" around the core cities to protect us from invasion."

The Prophet slowly stood up and turned and left the room, his elite Ranger bodyguards quickly followed. Eve knew her father was angry at the complication, the distraction of the xenoempathy dome issue. The dome project was to be his masterpiece, a tribute to Planet. The cyborgs had demanded the technology as part of the secret alliance against the Hive and now it had been turned against them. Cha did not take treachery well and the Cyborgs would pay for this if Cha did not get the dome built first.

+++++ ++++ +++ + + ++


To the most honored Lady Skye, Governor of the Alpha Centauri system, the esteemed Gaian Parliament and the Planet Loving Gaian people, my most warm greetings to you all!

Lady Skye, reports have filtered back to me stating that it was "I" that called for the election of a new Planetary Governor, that is incorrect! Pravin Lal called that meeting. As to our vote I am sure you have guessed as to the motives behind our abstention. We still wish to be strong allies with the Gaians but your continued dismissal of our requests to help restore Planet to its original state, or at least restrict your expansion have fallen on deaf ears. We seek only to preserve the natural order of Planet. We do not seek to hobble your society but I am sure your vast team of scientists and eco-engineers can find some land to restore to compensate for the land you have changed! This is not such a terrible request. We people of the Planet just completed our first restoration project just north of our capital. Our alliance is strong and I as long as you and your people follow the way of the Planet I see no reason to discontinue our support of your leadership.

Perhaps in order to "shine up" our relationship and perhaps get it back on the proper track we could start with a small request on our part. The cyborgs have informed us that they now seek to complete the xeno-empathy dome before us. This is not an acceptable situation to us. We would like to know how soon are they to completing the project? In exchange we will issue a Planet wide proclamation of our support for you and the Gaian people to all of the factions on Planet. I think this will serve us both. I feel somewhat betrayed by the Cyborgs since they also promised as well to not to pursue the dome project in exchange for the technology, they lied. This alone should give me the right to swear an oath of destruction on them but I will withhold my hand. The technology was meant to be a gift to anyone who asked to help preserve planet and allow the others on Planet to live in harmony with Planet. So you see I am caught in a dilemma. So your support on this issue, a small piece of intelligence will go a long way to
rebuilding our mutual vision.

Lastly, I wish to bring up a small matter that has come to my attention. It seems that the University has built a sea colony just off of your coastline. I wish to inquire as to your stance on the building of such a base so near to your people that denies you access to the fruits of the sea. I myself would like to request a Planet wide edict or injunction on such actions by other factions in the future. These provocative actions could become a flash points for future hostilities and as such you, as Governor, need to create a policy on this.

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that
transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn
First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2217

Dear Cha Dawn and the peoples of Cult of Planet,

Your repudiation of Gaian leadership was a message not lost on the Council. This was an issue that we discussed at some length, and the Council and I were disappointed. Based on the final vote I could only conclude that we stood alone in trying to bring peace and a just protection of Planet and its native denizens. Further, it is clear that in your mind that it is not possible to ‘agree to disagree’, and that we view events through different lenses of interpretation. While I agree that we must preserve and protect Planet, I do not see how this can be done by terraforming the lands that surround our cities back to xenofungus. This would mean starvation and privation for our people. Moreover, it is my personal belief and the current conclusion of the majority of Gaian scientists that, when wisely used, ecosystems from Earth can exist on Planet without significantly degrading the ecosystems that exist here. Humans inhabit a rather small portion of Planet, and our populations are small. At this point the Gaian population is 78,000 – a mere pittance, to be sure, and we are the largest faction on planet by a factor of two or more. In the future I am sure we will be able to unlock the true potential of the xenofungus, and with it all objections to reverting back to a Planet ecosystem will be moot. You must understand that our foothold on Planet is tenuous, despite our inhabitation for over 100 years. That is a mere blink of an eye for Planet, which has been here for billions of years.

You also accused us of unfettered expansion. That is wholly untrue. We have stopped expansion on our main continent, and the Council gave guidance to the Parliament that no further expansion be allowed except for limited areas, such as the Monsoon Jungle. This resolution was passed by the Parliament a number of years ago. Our last base will be established there next year in the Jungle, and you should know that those colony pods were in production before the Parliament passed its edict. Since that time we have expanded upward, and that expansion has been under Green economy. Our largest city is 6000 people, and that is not the largest on Planet. That claim, I believe, goes to Zakharov and University Base.

I had our empaths look into the Cyborg situation, and two Cyborg bases are working on the Xenoempathy Dome. These bases will finish the project in 16 and 30 years, respectively. I took the liberty of having the empaths look into your progress, and based on current resource allocation the Cult of Planet will finish in more than 30 years. Much can happen over a decade, and I am sure you can marshal the resources to finish this vaunted Project. If you need an update I will be happy to have our empaths look into it, and just to be clear, the same information is being given to Aki, who also has a treaty of friendship with us.

Your statement that Aki’s building of the Xenoempathy zone “should give me the right to swear an oath of destruction” upon the Cyborgs is disturbing. I hope this is a misstatement, since I find it reprehensible if that any faction on Planet were to resort to force to attain their aims. The Gaian position is that there are very few justifications for war, and having someone marshals the resources of their society to build a Project or some other advance is not one of them. The Gaian Council formally requests that you clarify your position so that we can avoid future misunderstandings.

Lastly, the University did build a sea colony off our southwestern coast. After its building a Gaian kelp farm and tidal generator did fall under the sphere of influence of this new base. Since this base is between University and Gaian land bases the Council felt that we had no reason to complain, and we have not filed a grievance against the University. We would certainly have been more distressed if another faction has placed a sea base along our coast if the sea territory were not contested, as would be the case along most of our coast. If this were to occur we would have to work on some other resolution, and I will hope this will not come to pass. There is enough welcoming territory in Planet that there is no reason to ‘poach’ from another faction.

Deirdre Skye and the Gaian Council

	25-01-2003 21:45									#36
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Cult, MY 2217

Lady Skye,
I am sending you this communication coded for your eyes only. I regret deeply this misunderstanding between your peoples and mine. "Agree to disagree" that is an interesting term you use. What does it mean? Might I offer one definition: stubbornness. Each city territory for the most part encompasses nearly twenty sectors of land and all I ask is that you restore to its natural state less than a quarter of that total area and you claim that I am being unreasonable! At best even a city with over 7,000 inhabitants can not utilize even half of the land available so how is my request so damaging to your people. The answer is, its not. You Gaians have the means to rapidly build and terra-form and yet you use this power to do nothing more than build a new earth. Say what you will about our science, it might not be as advanced as yours but we can count and a paltry four sectors of land is hardly a terrible burden for you or your people to carry. I hope that in time you will re-look at this issue with open eyes and see the folly of your endeavors. Just because you can terra-form does not mean you should! You are friends of the planet and as such you, like us, should take the lead and show the other factions that constant
terra-forming is not the answer!

As to your question about our statement about the Cyborgs. Yes, we are mad, I am mad that a technology we meant for them to use in harmony with the Planet is now used against us. Will we attack them, no. Planet commands me to do otherwise. Will we do all that we can to beat the cyborgs to completion, yes, we will.

Lastly, an urgent situation has come up and I will be indisposed for some time. I regret deeply that I can not continue this discussion with you. I hope you take this time until our next meeting of minds to re-think your position.

Lady Skye I wish you and your people the best fortunes in life. You could be great friends of the Planet if you tried.

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn

First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.

++++++++++++++++

General Fookosh looked threw the mag-glasses and scanned the area to his front and smiled. To the north he could just barely make out at maximum magnification the host of mind worms arrayed there. To his front his own elite attack force of worms and support teams. The Hive base commander had sent constant requests for the reasons for their appearance on Hive soil, he had not responded. His response would come soon. Some of the colony pods and the lone infantry unit raced to re-enter the base or escape to the north as the Cult forces had landed and moved into position. There would be a fight, a very tough one Fookosh thought.

"General, the Prophet wishes to speak with you!" a young Cult guide apprentice walked up to him and handed him the comm-unit. Fookosh took it and looked down at the screen.

"General, is all well?" The Prophet asked.

"Yes, my Prophet, all is well! Your forces are in position and we will assault the base in a matter of days. The spore launcher will begin the attack first followed by a rolling wave of worms starting in the north and moving to the south. I will lead the final assault! The base has been augmented by a lone infantry unit but it should not be a problem for us." Fookosh reported crisply.

"Excellent Fookosh, mind that you stick to the plan. I need the base up and running as quickly as possible. Ranger One Ramos has a team ready to document all of the atrocities the Hive rulers have done to their people. Make sure that they get good access to all areas. It is critical to the plan that we air this immediately so that we can use it to support our cause." Cha ordered and turned off the transmission, the comm-unit went dead.

Fookosh reached down and picked up the mag-glasses and continued his observations. The Hive must fall this turn!

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2218

Ling read over Cha Dawn’s last transmission to Dee. “Condescending little twit. Who is he to lecture us about protecting Planet? He asks us to restore xenofungus, at great cost and effort, and the only reason he gives us is some half-baked ‘Planet Told Me So” b*llsh*t.” She threw the hardcopy on the Council table, where it impacted with a dull thud and slid over toward Colin, who took it to read. Ling continued, “Now I know why they call themselves Cult of Planet – they’re a bunch of loonies. And he chastised us for stubbornness, when all he gives us is assertions? His ‘advice’ isn’t even worth a response, and probably not even worth our time.”

Colin bit his lip as he finished Cha Dawn’s missive.

Terry looked up at Ling. “Are you moving to table Cha Dawn’s communication?”

“H*ll yes,” Ling said. “First he spites us at Council, not he insults us and makes completely unreasonable demands.”

Terry continued to look at her. Then she got it – protocol. “Fine. I move we table, without comment, the communication from faction leader Cha Dawn. Is that good enough?”

“Yes, it is. Thank you,” Terry said. “Do I hear a second?”

Mohammad and Colin both seconded.

“Motion made and seconded. I call for a vote,” Terry said. Everyone said ‘aye’, including Dee.

“Motion carried. Cha Dawn’s communication will be tabled, without comment.” Terry looked over at Dee. “Dee, it is your prerogative to comment on your own. For the record, will you do so?”

“No,” she said.

“Our next item, it seems that Zak and Aki have again declined our offers to trade technology. Is that right, Dee?”

“Yes, it is,” Deirdre said. “Zak was very polite, but said he wasn’t interested. He did express an interest in Centauri Mediation, though. That isn’t on the approved list for free distribution, so I declined his request. Aki wasn’t so polite, and she demanded technology and then, when I suggested we trade, said she’d never trade technology with someone that was called ‘nature’s loony’.”

“That term would apply to Cha Dawn,” Ling said.

“That’s too bad,” Terry said. “Mohammad, how is our laboratory status?”

“We are doing quite well,” he said. “Our scientists are producing well over three times the research of any other faction, and we should have a breakthrough soon. Our science rate will increase as more network nodes come on line, and most of our core bases have all minimum infrastructure to nodes. On a related issue, we are keeping a slight positive energy balance, and that is good. We are getting energy banks on line at the same rate that we have increased energy needs for infrastructure, but it would be nice to find a way to increase our overall energy production. I recommend we accept the Progressive’s petition to consider a switch to a Planned economy so we can experience increased growth.”

“That again?” Colin almost yelled. “Now look, we get this at every other meeting. Can’t you just tell them that we are not interested in switching our economy?”

Terry looked around the table and noted that Dee and Colin were empathically against this. “Let the record show that an informal pole resulted in declining to approve a motion to consider an economic switch. Anything else, Mohammad?”

“Except for the large accumulation of minerals for the unspecified Project, no.”

“Ling, any report?” Terry asked.

“We have four probe teams, both infantry and rover based, in production, and a few trained impact rover teams. Two additional command centers are in production, but it will be a while before they are on line. At this time we have four command centers, I believe. Almost all are busy with defensive troops and other material. Also, I checked Zak’s military disposition. He has six impact infantry at Climactic Research, which is three sectors away from Velvetgrass Point. He also has 5 emapth rovers at Gagarin Memorial, which is about 5 sectors away from both Silverbird Park and Autumn Grove. That said, he has made no hostile troop movements, and his territory is so small that even if the troops weren’t at these bases it is likely that get to ours very quickly, if he wanted to. As of yet he has no probe teams, not even defensive probes. That is very lax of him, and it is a good thing we are nice, steady pacifists, isn’t it?”

“Nice, steady pacifists with the largest military on Planet,” Colin muttered with a slight edge to his voice.

Ling just smiled.

“Oh, one more thing,” Ling said. “I got a report that we captured another worm and spoor launcher this last year. That brings our total worms to 12, isles to 8 and spoor launchers to 4. That is quite impressive, even if it doesn’t mean much militarily since they are spread all over Planet, literally. But, the other factions don’t know that, now do they?”

“You can stop being pleased with yourself any time now, Ling,” Colin said.

“Thank you, Ling. Now to a delicate matter. It seems several Parliament members were caught with their pants down, and the Parliament is considering censure and they want us to give them a recommendation…”

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2218

Planet wide vid-channel #1 ( Live footage of the liberation of the Hive city Fecundity Towers )

The orange clad rangers seemed to be everywhere as they helped children and women to reach the surface. Almost all of the Hive citizens were pale and filthy with rags for clothes. They were scrawny and bony and some of the older men and women could barely stand. The cult reporter slowly walks up to a small group of women and children that were being feed by Cult Rangers.

"Please tell the people of the planet the conditions that you were living in?" One of the young women looked up at the camera, her face filthy and streaked with tears. She was spooning into her child's mouth some protein soup.

"It was a nightmare! We worked endless hours and we never were allowed to go to the surface. Our children were taken from us as soon as they could walk and were parceled out to the military or worker class. We were beaten and starved into serving our masters. May the Planet bless you for coming and saving us!" The women went back to feeding her child and sobbing.

The reporter then moved to the main entrance of the Hive base and moved down into the base.

"As you can see the upper levels of this city are almost livable. We found many of the rulers of this base lived in these upper compartments and had every luxury you could ask for." The camera crew poked their cameras into what must have been the city administrators private quarters. It was filled with rich furnishings and had every convenience one could ask for. The crew slipped into the kitchen area and opened the door which reveled a treasure trove of food and delicacies. Just then a Ranger moved in and began to gather the food in the area making a comment about re-distributing the food to the children.

"I am now moving to the main elevator and we will be descending into the lower levels of this base. I caution some of the viewers if they have small children they should remove them. The stench is becoming terrible and we are putting on our breather masks. It seems this base did not have any recycling facilities so they just deposited their filth at the bottom of this pit."

The crew continued to pan around as they descended and showed how terrible and bleak the conditions were this far down.

"We have reached the bottom and the main mining levels of this base. Many of the people you saw on the surface were found down here. The base operated more like a slave colony than anything else."

The video feed showed crude rooms fashioned from torn cloth and bent pipes. Skeletal remains, hands, arms and heads could be seen every few feet along with mining carts and rail lines. As the crew rounded a bend in the tunnel a group of orange clad rangers stood around a small man cradling a child in his arms. It was the Prophet himself. A dead women lay beside him, the mother of the infant. Cha as trying to comfort the small child and force a few drops of water into his mouth. Tears flowed from Cha's eyes as he tried to hold the child and clean the filth from it.

"My Prophet, all praise and glor- " The reporter began to say the proper greeting when anyone meets the Prophet but Cha cut her off.

"No! No praise today. We have much work to do in helping these people. This women died only a few hours before our forces stormed the base and liberated it from the evil that nested here. We found the sewer lines that had been fouling our seas and we have turned them off. We will comfort these people and make them part of a new community. I have issued orders to complete the rescue operations here and as soon as we are done we will fill in this hole, this abomination to Planet and these people will learn to live under the sun and stars! I will liberate ALL Hive cities and bring this Yang to justice."

"My Prophet, what is to become of this orphan" The reporter asked.

"He is to become my son and live with me and learn the ways of the Planet!" Cha slowly rose. "Guards, pick up this most noble women and bring her to the surface so she might have a burial with dignity!"

The camera followed Cha as he slowly walked towards the lift holding the crying child. The guards picked up the dead women's body and slowly carried her off as well.

"We will continue our reports in just a moment."

+____________________________-

Later that day...

General Fookosh stood on the observatory platform and looked through the mag-glasses. To the north he could barely see the approaching Hive infantry. A smile crept across his face. Just like we had hoped. The fool! The worms had hardly been scratched in the conflict and they were ready for more. Now the idiot was sending out his infantry, unsupported by either rovers or artillery right into the waiting arms of Cult mind worms.

"General, report!"

Fookosh turned and looked down at the approaching Prophet. Cha quickly scampered up the ladder in a matter of minutes.

"My Prophet! All enemy forces have been destroyed along with two fleeing colony pods. There are no enemy forces within three sectors of this city. However, as expected the Hive are sending out a counter attack just to our north from their capital. We have two worms in the fungal fields to the north along with our spore launcher. The launcher will begin long range bombardment of the infantry in a matter of days as they come into range. We still have one undamaged worm ready to destroy their counter-attack giving our other worms time to rest for a turn or so. Then we will launch our counter attack! I see no reason why we can not be in Hive Central in four turns!" Fookosh finished beaming with pride.

"Excellent my general, excellent. Now I must get ready for the other counter-attacks as well. Our around the clock un-altered video feed of this base will help our cause. It is hard to believe things are this bad. We had preparations ready to "embellish" the story but none was needed. This truly is the first circle of hell. I can only imagine the other bases are just as bad if not worse."

"My Prophet! My Prophet! Chairman Yang wishes to talk with you!" One of Cha's Ranger body guards yelled up to him, "Comm. channel # 32."

Cha quickly keyed in the frequency and the livid face of Chairman Yang popped up.

"Cha! I order you to return my base and pay retribution in the amount of 100 energy solaris! If you fail to do this I will crush you!" Yang yelled.

"Yang, your days are done. I will not return your base and in fact I will soon come and pay you a visit, Cha out!" Cha hit the off button and chuckled. Suddenly the PAD beeped again, it was the cyborg leader and Lal. Cha hit the split screen option and both of their faces popped up.

"Greetings Prophet Cha Dawn!" Aki of the Cyborgs said in a very cold voice. "How goes the war? Will you be able to carry out the plan?"

"Greetings to you both. I recommend that we keep this short, for obvious reasons. I see no reason at this point that why the plan can not go forward. I should have all of the bases under my control within a decade and Yang is then yours to do with as you please." Cha replied.

"Cha, I want to make this clear that if you fail to turn him over to the United Nations tribunal instead of Skye I will have your head!" Lal barked at Cha with obvious disdain.

"Lal, as agreed your courts will hold the trial not Skye. Now I must go." Cha hit the off button again.

"You see general, the counter attack has already begun!"

	03-04-2003 04:34									#37
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Dreams of Green, MY 2219

“Emergency Council meeting called to order,” Ling said as she sat down, as did Dee and Mohammad, who were the only other Council members that could be located on short notice. “I’m sure you saw the vainglorious feeds coming out of Fecundity Towers. To summarize, it seems the Cult has launched a surprise attack on The Hive and has taken The Hive’s southernmost city. Of course, the Cult is trotting out all manner of examples to show how horrible the Hive is, and how they liberated them.”

“Our reports are not much different. Life in the Hive is harsh,” Mohammad said.

“Be that as it may, it was an unprovoked attack,” Ling said. “Although Yang’s people’s utopia is an anti-utopia to most of us, the fact remains that it is his society. And, keep in mind that in almost every case he has been the victim of a war, since he as been the target of the University, Cyborgs, Peacekeepers,” she said, and she almost spat out the last, “and now the Cult. It seems to me this is not so much about ideology, but the strong praying on the weak.”

“Yes, that is how many aggressors rationalize their wars,” Mohammad stated. “They do not initiate wars with those stronger then they are, only those that are weaker. The Hive is much weaker than any other faction on Planet. Except for one thing – they have developed Missile weapons.”

“What!?” Ling was nonplussed. “How did he do that with only four terraquads of research per year? The Hive has 2% of the research we do. How is that possible?”

“I do not know. However, he is prototyping missile infantry at this very moment. It will not, however, do much good against the Cult’s native units. I fear The Hive will fall.”

“Can we do anything about that?” Dee asked. She had been uncharacteristically quiet before now.

“You mean lodge a diplomatic protest with the Cult?” Ling asked. “You think that would do some good?”

Dee ignored her sarcasm. “No. Something more concrete. Like a gift? Perhaps some energy? Or technology?”

“That might stave off the inevitable,” Mohammad said. “We can certainly afford it. Would he take a gift?”

Dee thought for a moment. “Probably not. We’ll phrase it as a loan, even if we will assume we will not be paid back. His energy production is so little that he has little prospect of paying back the loan anyway. Can we gift him some military units?”

“Yes, we could,” Ling said. “They’d have to be in position to help fend him off.”

“Or maybe just block the Cult’s advance until we can broker a peace,” Dee said.

“Miss Pollyanna, what a nice thought” Ling said. “The Cult was hinting that they wanted Yang’s head on a plate, but we just missed those hints. I really doubt that he is interested in peace. What makes you think a few more infantry will help?”

“I think it would. A few trance scouts could make a big difference since Yang saw fit to outfit none of his defenders with trance. And maybe if we kept some troops in the area, and made Cha attack us, we could blunt his attack, slow him down, and give Yang some time to regroup.”

“Hmmm. We could try. But, would Yang let us?” Ling asked.

“He has refused all treaties, so we have no obligation to stay out of his territory. We could also make it part of the terms of our ‘loan’,” Dee said, talking out loud. “See what you can do, Ling.”

“Right,” Ling said as she started jotting down notes in her datapad. “Now, considering the Cult is on the warpath, I move we accelerate our military buildup. What happened to Yang could happen to us, although any aggressor would be likely to be crushed shortly after their first advance, even if they took one of our bases. We need multiple reaction forces, and more probe teams. And our perimeter defenders all must be upgraded to plasma armor. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Dee said. She almost couldn’t believe she was saying that. It felt like it was someone else.

“Agreed,” Mohammad said. “All our bases with Command Centers will be ordered to finish their current projects and then switch to war material. Is that in keeping with your thinking?”

“Absolutely!” Ling said, with the first smile she had had all day. “That means that any expeditionary force we send to Hive territory is expendable, if worse comes to worse. I’ll see if I can scare up an isle or transport, too.”

Ling’s datapad trilled, and she looked down. “Good. That was Terry and Colin. They’ll be in within a day and a half. I’ll squirt them, and maybe they can join virtually if we can get a secure channel. Meeting adjourned. Let us know how your meeting with Yang goes, Dee.”

Dee nodded.

*~*~*~*~*~*

“Chairman Yang,” Dee said as the holo image resolved itself.

Yang said. “We have been the victim of an unprovoked attack. I ask that, as Planetary Governor, you declare war on the Peacekeepers and Cult.”

“I understand your situation, Chairman,” Dee said. “However, my post as Governor has no military function except what is represented by my faction. As a member of the Gaian Council I am willing to offer assistance, however.”

Chairman Yang looked distracted, but focused on her last statement. “I’m listening.”

“The Council is willing to loan you 80 megacredits to aid your defense against the Cult. Moreover, we are willing to gift to your people our files on Ecological Engineering, if you are interested.”

“I accept,” he said.

“I also would like to know if you’d be willing to trade technology? I noticed you have Synthetic Fossil Fuels, and would be willing to offer some other technology in exchange.”

“For now, the secret of this technology will remain our own,” Yang said.

“I understand,” Dee replied. “Considering your situation, the Gaians offer our hand to you in friendship, which might be the start of…”

“I am not interested in your friendship, or your democratic ideals, Lady Skye,” Yang said. “At the moment I am interested in defending my people from being ravaged by Cha Dawn’s mindworm minions. If you can do something about them then we have something to talk about.”

“I will relay that to the Council. Good luck, Chairman,” she said.

Yang cut the line without saying goodbye.

Dee thought that had been one of the best conversations she had had with Yang, which wasn’t saying much considering past dialogues. Still, Yang had accepted the technology and the ‘loan’. It remained to be seen if it would help.

All Dee knew is that she was tired all the time now, and her biologic age was over 70. She had skipped her rejuvenation treatments for 15 years and now she was paying the price. But why now, when there was the first real crisis? Dee fumed, and mentally prepared herself for the inevitable.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2219

The command center at Worm Federation was one of the best they had ever seen. The facilities were extraordinary and as such had become invaluable to the Cult military staff and the council. In the center of the command room was a raised platform with a table that sat up to eight people, currently only five seats were filled: the Prophet, Master Seeker, Eve, Ranger One, General Fookosh. Each person had a series of screens by which they could manipulate data and of course they could just look around the room at all of the larger screens that displayed military reports, maps and troops status.

"My Prophet, the counter attack was repulsed and as expected the Hive lost both infantry units. Our surveillance isle of the deep off shore reports that the Hive is now "holding up" waiting for our next assault. Our worms should be ready for the next attack in a turn or two. What I would suggest now is a holding action here which will pin there forces down. I will order three worms to embark on an isle of the deep and make for the most northern Hive city and attack there. This will cause Yang to once again shift his forces which will expose them to our attack." General Fookosh hit a button on his desk control and very detailed graphic popped up on the main screen and the smaller desk units showing the plan.

"General, at this time I think not. Let us regroup our forces for now. I have ordered reinforcements to be sent to us from across the channel and they will arrive soon. That will bring our force up to six mind worms! What I am most concerned about is striking at the Hive central base. Once we have it secured it will be just a matter of time. We should be able to launch the attack in three turns?" Cha asked.

"Yes my Prophet!" Fookosh confidently responded back.

"My Prophet. I have reports that the Gaians are actually sending economic aid to the Hive now to repulse our invasion. Also my agents inform me that the Gaians might actually try to land military forces to stop our advance." The master seeker did not trust the new technology found here and instead shifted some papers across the table to each of the members.

"My Prophet, do you think the Gaians would actually attack us?" Eve asked. "Why in Planet's name would they risk one soldier to protect that madman Yang. Its not like he was Lal or Santiago, this is YANG! The Gaians truly amaze me if they are willing to send their sons and daughters into a conflict that does not concern them. Perhaps we should try to tie up their forces on the home front for a while. Our ambassador could make a petition directly to the Gaian Parliament. If Lady Skye wishes to play umpire and involve herself in matters that do not concern her perhaps the Gaian people might feel differently? I honestly do not believe the Gaian people, whom we have befriended for decades would turn their backs on us for this, to actually support an attack on a fellow friend of the Planet?"

"A good point." Cha turned slightly to Ranger One Ramos. " Order our ambassador to make the petition as quickly as possible. I will not communicate with the Gaians at this time. It serves no purpose. If the Gaians wish to place themselves in harms way they do so at their own peril. I have no wish to kill Gaians. They are still our allies. We have a treaty. This issue does not concern them in this regard. We will push our claim until we die trying. IS THAT CLEAR!" Cha slammed his fist down hard on the table.

"My Prophet. The University has just completed a treaty of friendship with us. They had no concern about our actions, in fact, they welcomed them." Ramos added.

"Yes, that is true. We still have allies. I still find it strange that the Gaians would go out of their way to defend this monster. I expected and had planned for Skye to be mad about this but still it is out of character to be sure. Perhaps more radical elements of her council have taken over. This Ling person who heads up their defense forces seems to think we are actually going after them next? What evidence does she have to support her claims, none. However, she is shrewd enough to use this to her cause and increase her military budget." Cha mused aloud.

"My Prophet, whatever the situation is over there they are not acting rationally. So time is of the essence now. Fookosh must rest the worms and as soon as they are able advance them against Hive central and occupy it before it can be reinforced even more better. Time is both with us and against us." The spy master added.

"My Prophet, one last issue. The Peacekeeper transport north of Dawn of the Planet. Our isle of the deep did report it was loaded with troops. Why would Lal push us this way and what should our response be?" Eve asked.

"If the transport approaches within three sectors of Dawn of the Planet order the isle to destroy it." Cha quickly stood up and left the room.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


The Cult ambassador to the Gaian Parliament sat across the table from the leaders of both parties. They had been meeting for hours and Zakatuk felt he might be making headway with them. The video feed he had brought was most convincing to them and he had spent much of the time pleading the case that this was not un-justified but rather the opposite.

"Good members of Parliament, let me conclude that the Prophet himself, Cha Dawn, does not wish any hostilities with you or your people. We are only securing our borders and aiding an oppressed society by throwing off the yoke of oppression. I ask you why send your sons and daughters to help defend a mad man bent on turning those same sons and daughters into their slaves. Lady Skye is a venerated leader and our Planet Governor but she is not a king and I would remind you that you are the leaders of the Gaian people, not the police dogs of Lady Skye." Zakatuk finished and waited for a response.

"Ambassador." Delegate Rash Mohanane responded first, "I understand your point of view and your evidence is powerful. We have to discuss this among the leadership and then with Lady Skye and her council."

"Excellent, I am sure that we can work all of this out, in time..."

Last edited by Hydro on 03-04-2003 at 04:45

	03-04-2003 18:37									#38
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2220

Terry stood up. “Let me introduce Mr. Mercer Vend, former senior member of Parliament, ambassador to the University, one of our closest allies, and minister without portfolio to the Unified Parliament Steering Committee.”

All the Council members knew the vaunted Mr. Vend, and they all nodded to acknowledge him. All except Deirdre, who wasn’t present.

“I wanted to tell you personally that, due to the fact that Lady Skye is currently undergoing longevity treatment, that the Parliament has passed a super-majority resolution that her position be filled until she returns. Let me be clear: Lady Skye is not being replaced, and the new member will be officially called ‘Acting Council Member’ in all proceedings. The Parliament deemed this necessary due to surprise attack by the Cult against the Hive, and to ensure continuity in our Council-led diplomacy and valued guidance to the Parliament itself. The appointment is effective immediately.”

Colin piped up. “Who is it?”

Mercer said, “It is me. Killed two birds with one stone, eh?” He smiled in broad way, and his face lit up as if exposing some hidden jest.

Colin was not amused. “This is highly inappropriate. You are a prominent member of the Progressive party, and Dee would have never approved. This issue should have been resolved before she went in to treatment.”

Mercer’s gaze swiveled over to Colin, and he maintained his smile, which was a bit forced now. “That may be true. Unfortunately, the bill was introduced and passed after Dee went into rejuvenation. It was clear to many that, while understandable due to the emergency, her absence is ill timed and that the Council needs to maintain its function with a complete voting block. I’m sure you can put up with me for these next few months.”

Colin crossed his arms on his chest. “I want to lodge an official protest. This sounds like back room maneuvering. You all knew Dee was going into treatment for a week, and now this is done after she is in for a whole day? Irregular. Highly irregular.”

“You are free to lodge your protest, Colin. But, keep in mind that no matter how august a body this is, and how much the Parliament values and needs its guidance, it is up to the Parliament to determine replacements to the Council in circumstances such as this. You are free to recommend changing our constitution with a Writ from the Council, if you like. The Parliament will give it all due consideration.”

Colin kept his arms crossed, but didn’t say anything. He knew he was boxed.

Terry made a few notes in his datapad. “Per Council rules, I’ve just logged the proclamation from Parliament of Acting Council Member Mercer Vend, who is replacing Lady Deirdre Skye while she is on medical leave. Welcome, Acting Council Member Vend.” Terry got up to shake his hand, and the handshake was firm. Ling and Mohammad got up to shake his hand, and of these Ling was more than enthusiastic.

Mercer exchanged a few more pleasantries and then sat down, as did the rest of the Council.

“Our first order of business is a reply to the Ambassador from the Cult of Planet. Ambassador’s long speech wandered a bit, and I have taken the liberty of summarizing what I thing are his main points:

1) The Hive is a threat to the Cult of Planet, and that the actions of the Cult are in self defense;
2) The people of The Hive are oppressed, and the actions of the Cult of Planet will liberate his people from the repressive rule of Chairman Yang; and
3) Lady Deirdre Skye, as Planetary Governor, does not have the authority to use the resources of the Gaians as ‘her police dogs’ to expedite her wishes as Planetary Governor.”

Ling said, “Sounds like the rationalization of any conqueror through history to me. Oh yes, the Hive as the smallest faction is a dire threat to the Cult. I am sure Cha Dawn is quaking in his boots, and wetting his robes, at the mere thought of a Hive juggernaught rolling through his territory. And, of course, he is ‘liberating’ them. From what I hear his rule isn’t much better than Yang’s, with worm pits and people disappearing every now and then. He has seen fit to specifically deny his people the benefits of democracy. Lord knows what his fevered mind inflicts on them. And, after he has made these two persuasive arguments, he tries to tell us we shouldn’t act. I particularly like the way he tells us we are ‘leaders of the Gaian people, not the police dogs of Lady Skye.’ Nice image. I’m sure Dee, when she gets out of the tanks, will appreciate the symbolism.”

“Was the Cult Ambassador trying to insult Dee,” Colin asked.

“What else,” Ling said in deadpan. “First he calls the Planetary Council, which he later denied. But, we have the comm. frequencies and our records show it was Cha, not that simpering idiot Pravin…”

“Council Member Ling,” Mercer said. “Let me remind you that everything said in Council is available to the members of Parliament, and that all records except those sealed by express order of the Council or Parliament are public record.”

Ling turned to him. “I know that. I speak my mind, and sometimes the truth hurts. As I was saying, then he specifically votes to abstain, leaving Dee all alone and having to go to the humiliating lengths of voting herself as Governor with no other support at all. Now, this ‘police dog’ insult. Seems pretty obvious to me.”

Terry, normally quiet, broke in, “Maybe not. He could have misspoken, and they could have had other reasons for denying support to Dee in the Planetary Council.”

“Yes, but not good ones. Cha goes on and on about protecting Planet, and then denies us his support. That hardly seems like a friendly move to me. Now these apparent insults to Dee as Planetary Governor. Even if he didn’t mean it, the message is out.”

Mercer finished dictating to his datapad and looked up. “We have to craft a response to the Ambassador. How about this as a first draft?” He shot his text to the other members.

1) The Gaian Council does not recognize that The Hive is a significant threat to the Cult of Planet due to the limited resources of The Hive and their lack of ability to project that force. It is our opinion that their abilities were defensive in nature..
2) The Gaian Council understands that the people of The Hive live a hard life, and that many disagree with the political and economic views of Chairman Yang. This does not, however, provide justification for outright warfare.
3) Any actions taken by the Gaian Council or Parliament will not be as representatives of the Planetary Governor. The Gaian Council rejects the suggestion that we are ‘police dogs’ for Lady Skye.
4) Based on the evidence presented by the Cult of Planet Ambassador and evidence gathered through the resources of the Council, the Gaian Council recognizes that the war by the Cult of Planet is a war of aggression and that it has not been justified by either claims of self defense or liberation of an oppressed people. Further, the Council recommends that a formal diplomatic protest be lodged by the Gaian Parliament to the Cult of Planet, and that all non-diplomatic ties be held in abeyance until the Cult satisfactorily address the concerns of this Council.

The Council members finished. Colin smiled. “I like it. Wouldn’t change a word. I move we approve and send this to Parliament. They’ll undoubtedly modify it a little, but that’s fine unless they change the content.”

Ling said, “Second.” The tallied vote was unanimous to approve.

“Chair, I have a proposal,” Mercer said. Terry recognized him. “Due to the current circumstances it is clear that this crisis will not end any time soon. It is also clear that the Gaian people need more resources to defend ourselves, and perhaps others from aggression. I propose that the Gaian Council consider a switch to a Planned economy for a limited period of time so that we can better grow, and take advantage of our infrastructure. This growth will be vertical, in keeping with previous Council guidance. And the switch will be terminated at the end of a few years.”

Ling said, “Second.” She was clearly happy about his, and had been waiting for this for many years.

So had Colin. “Now the truth comes out. The Progressives packed the Council, and waited for Dee to be out. Now you’re going to push your economic agenda through. When Dee gets out of treatment she’s going to be furious.”

“I can assure you that was not the intent,” Mercer said. His voice and mannerisms were smooth, those of a master politician.”

“Motion made, and seconded. Due to the nature of this proposal, and the fact it has been debated frequently, I will call for a vote.”

It was four for, and one against. Colin was the lone dissenter.

“These proposals will be sent to Parliament for consideration,” Terry said, referring to the response to the Cult and the economic switch. “Any other business?”

There was no response.

“Then this meeting is adjourned.”

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2220

The worms were a little restless as the isles of the deep continued to plow northwards along the Hive coast. The strike commander had been ordered to land in the fungus fields to the north of Hive command and then strike south while the southern forces hit from the opposite direction. The plan was to complete the attack in two turns, if all went well.

"Strike commander Marsh, did you hear the news?" Marsh turned and looked at his aide who had bounced over to him, the surface of the isles sometimes was like a trampoline.

"What?"

"The Gaians have become industrialists! It seems a large section of the population wants more "creature comforts" so they are going to abandon their green policy and become industrialists. I knew we could not trust those Gaians!"

"Yes, it seems you were correct. They remind me of late 20th century farmers. They use all of their technology to squeeze more and more production out to the earth without realizing the long term effects they had. I bet if you asked each farmer now and told him what his farming methods did to the land he would most likely have done it different."

"But what about the Gaians. It seems they are turning their backs on everything?"

The strike commander turned and looked at his aide.

"Yes, they are. That is why we have the Prophet. His vision is pure. His motives are true and our cause is just. We will live and die protecting Planet and if those damn Gaians want to help a monster like Yang than I have no problem ordering Omicron to tear their minds from them..."

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2221

“There has been no reaction from Cult of Planet on our response. It seems we may have annoyed the Cult,” Ling said.

“Maybe,” Colin replied as he slurped some minestrone soup. The he reached for some crusty French bread. Now that Dee was in the tanks Colin sought out a new lunch partner and was surprised when his old nemesis, Ling The Merciless, as he called her privately, sought him out. Even more surprising is that both seemed to enjoy it, after they cut through the jargon and other word-walls they put around themselves. “More likely our migration to Wealth has irritated them. My contacts suggest that, to them, that is a bigger sin than our recent ill considered migration to a Planned economy.”

“Hmm.” Ling took a bite from her watercress and mustard sandwich. “Could be. I hadn’t considered that. But, do we care?”

Colin put down his spoon. “Of course we care! Even if the Cult seems more like all the other fanatical factions here on Planet we don’t want to needlessly antagonize them!”

“Our current emphasis on Wealth does no harm to Planet, Colin. Their views are distinctly irrational, like those of many of Earth’s old religions – faith above reason. And that sort of faith can be twisted to justify almost anything. At least our views are generally founded on science.”

“To some they are,” Colin said. “The Cyborgs call us ‘nature’s loonies’, so the view that we are rational is far from universal. And if the other factions agreed that we are rational I would suggest we’d have more support in Council.”

“You could be right there. Of all of them I’m most surprised by Aki, who is supposed ot be so logical. Colin, Aki has declared war on the Hive at least three times,” Ling said, “and each time we have brokered a peace. For all her logic she is decidedly irrigational. After all, what has the Hive ever done to her? Now, I can understand some of Pravin’s stance.”

“Hypocrite. Peacekeeper, indeed!” Colin said.

“Give me a chance. He values personal freedom, and that is the antithesis of what Yang stands for. His society is a police state, after all. What do you think of Cha’s claim that Yang was polluting Planet?” she asked as she took another bite.

“There is no evidence for that whatsoever. He accused the same of us, and even said that our more innocuous terraforming like forests were wounding Planet. You’ve seen his communiqués. You’ll note he didn’t bother to put that in his rationalization of his aggression against Yang. I’d guess that’s because he knows it won’t hold water, particularly for the other factions,” Colin said.

“I’m inclined to agree with you. Say, any word on Dee?”

Colin put down his spoon. “There was more work to be done than expected. It turns out she had been skipping her periodic treatments for over a decade. Who knows why, but it finally caught up with her. She should be out in three or four months.”

“Poor thing. She will hurt all over, and the physical therapy will tear her apart. I was in the tanks for three weeks during my last reconstruct and it was h*ll.”

“We’ll all have to be there for her,” Colin said. Ling and Dee frequently had significant disagreements, and Colin was pleased that Ling was genuinely sympathetic. Maybe going through treatments created a certain empathetic bond.

“I wonder which faction leaders will send their good wishes?” Ling asked.

Colin wondered. “Yes, I wonder.”

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2221

( 2 kilometers offshore of the northern island of the Cult of the Planet )

The isle of the deep's guide watched through his mag-glasses as Peacekeeper troops began unloading on the beaches just north of Light of the Planet. One infantry unit and a rover attack squad by the looks of it. Quickly he reached for the comm-unit and keyed in the priority one command line.

"Command, this is Guide Chevel. I am reporting a landing just north of Light of the Planet by Peacekeeper troops. One infantry company and a rover attack squad. Estimate a week before they are fully unloaded and ready to proceed. Requests orders?"

+++++++++++++++

( Worm Federation - Command Center )

"WHAT!" Cha screamed. All of the senior commanders were present with the exception of Fookosh who was now in the forward command center. " Peacekeepers on our soil! What is that idiot Lal thinking. Just two units! We will crush them the instant they do something, anything! I want to talk wit--"

"My Prophet, a report is coming in right now, it seems that the Hive have counter-attacked just north of Hive command and have destroyed a worm and it support team. Fookosh reports that the Hive infantry will be destroyed in turn but there was nothing he could do and the worm did put up a very good fight indeed. Once the infantry unit is destroyed the worm will hide on in the fungus and restore itself." Eve laid the report in front of Cha who was quickly trying to control himself by use of a meditation technique. " Fookosh does report as well the destruction of a terra-former just east of Hive command. It seems that it was trying to build something but he worms quickly finished it off."

"Issue a general state of alert of the home islands. Order all mind worms to begin movement towards the Peacekeepers. Perhaps we can force them off of the island. I do not like this one bit, not at all. I am beginning to suspect a double-cross by our allies, the Cyborgs and Peacekeepers. We dispatched nearly all of our free forces to crush the Hive and now they think they can attack us. Well, they will not find it so easy, I assure them of that." Cha had calmed himself and seemed more centered.

"My Prophet, Perhaps we should delay our attack on Hive command and consolidate our gains so far. I would th--" Cha quickly interpreted Ramos.

"NO! We will not set back and wait. If need by I will commit more to the battle. We have to expect that the war would not go perfectly for us and this is the result. I doubt the Gaians will send us aid as they did the Hive but I wonder if they will take the same stance with the Peacekeepers as they did with us. I doubt it. They are all hypocrites and liars. I will order a text only message to be delivered by our ambassador to the greedy industrialist Gaians about the Peacekeeper situation and we will see what their response is. They have turned there back on us and the Planet by their new love of wealth and industry, I no longer trust them or wish to talk with them." Cha seemed to almost spit the last part out.

Eve continued to listen but she was making plans in her head. She would return soon to her own base at Eden to begin "shoring" up the defenses there. If the Peacekeepers were bold enough to attack the home islands then they were bold enough to hit her continent.

++++++++++++++++++++++
( Gaia's Landing - The Embassy of the People of the Planet )

"Mr. Vend I have been instructed to turn this text message over to you by order of the Prophet." Zakatuk reached into his orange robes and pulled out the message and allowed him to read it. "You see the situation we are in. If the Gaians are willing to "interfere" in our dispute with the Hive then they should also intercede against the Peacekeepers in turn. We are not asking for your assistance or aid in any way. We are dedicated to freeing the Hive people and bringing them into the light of day. When the last Hive slave is freed then we can begin new talks to explore a restoration of our relationship. However, the decision by your government to begin down the path of wealth and industrialization will create an even greater block to progress."

"Ambassador, I understand your situation and I will report back to the council." Vend stood up and shook his hand and left the room. Almost immediately a man entered the room and Zakatuk turned to him. " I think you need to make a lunch date with your friend as soon as possible."

The man smiled and nodded and left the room.

	03-04-2003 18:38									#39
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2222

“Welcome back, Dee,” Terry said.

Deirdre was able to mutter, “Thanks.” Her voice was soft, and its tone limp. Even though she looked like a person in her late 20s again her voice betrayed her age, at least until she had an appropriate amount of time to recover.

“We received an interesting text communiqué from the Cult,” Terry began. “It seems some Peacekeeper troops have landed near one of their bases, and it is clear that Cha Dawn does not trust his allies since he implies there is an attack imminent.”

“Have the Peacekeepers attacked?” Colin asked.

Dee said, “Not to our knowledge. I’m sure Cha Dawn would have informed us if an actual attack had occurred.”

“Has Lal declared war, then?” Colin continued.

“Cha didn’t say they had, and Lal refuses to answer my requests for an audience. We can’t verify one way or the other,” Dee said.

“Well then, there doesn’t seem for there to be much for us to discuss,” Colin said as he pushed back his chair. “Just suspicion and allegation. Still he could be right. I do find it ironic that an aggressor may be the victim of aggression. Bad karma begets bad karma.”

“The Cult diplomat will want a response. What would we tell him?” Terry said as he pulled out his datapad.”

Dee cleared her throat and paused to gather strength. “Tell him that we need confirmation of the initiation of hostilities, since then we may be able to call the initiating party to declare a truce. If hostilities are confirmed then we will take the same stance with the Peacekeepers as with the Cult. However, considering the fact that they are asking for no aid I suggest no aid be proffered if hostilities are confirmed. Aiding the Cult would be morally wrong while they are trying to conquer the Hive.” Dee was spent. Colin offered her a glass of ice water, which she gladly accepted.

“Now,” she said, “I would like to propose that our economy switch back to a Green model. Colin informed me of the back room dealings that apparently went on, and I am disappointed. We need to switch right away to avoid explosive population growth, and the social unrest that comes with it. We also need to keep a better eye on ecological damage as our bases. Our little experiment with a Planned economy needs to end, soon.”

“Second,” Colin said. The vote was called, and it passed with two abstentions – Ling and Terry.

“I’ll get this to Parliament immediately,” Terry said.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2222

Cha sat at the conference table in the vast command center at Worm Federation practically alone. He had dispatched his daughter, Eve, to return to Eden to bolster the defenses there and to push her people to expand their holdings and to capture more worms. Ranger One Ramos had been ordered to return to the home islands and assume help Guild Master Guide Shari Moon and the Guild Master Caretaker Thompson in the administration and defense. Only the Master Seeker stayed behind with Cha. General Fookosh was still in the field directing the assault on Hive central. Around the room the large display monitors had been programmed to display each of the non-present members so that a general war council could take place.

"Before you start I want to update everyone on the diplomatic situation. Lal and Aki refuse to return my calls for answers as to the reason for the incursion on our soil. The Gaian leader, Lady Skye, has returned from the rejuvenation tanks and has ordered changes back to a "green model". It seems the rapid expansion has taken its toll on the Gaians and several of their cities are up in flames due to riots and our agents report a definite increase in pollution and waste generation. I truly pity the Gaians because they have always struck me as a people lost. They praise their science and pay homage to it and yet they let it control their lives and fail to look beyond the testable, the measurable and see that Planet has a life-force and that proper respect should be their first priority! Aside from that we have little else to add except that I have instructed our ambassador to ask for a formal hearing by their council in order to find a solution to their concerns over our liberation of the Hive. I have give the ambassador strict guidelines to listen to their case and then report back. He has been told that we would be willing to entertain any ideas they might have but ultimately any solutions must be coupled with their pledge not to revert back to a industrial economic model again. Also, since our isles of the deep have begun encountering Gaian isles I am demanding that they withdrawal them from our territorial sphere of influence or risk damaging our alliance even further!" Cha completed his report and then hit the audio feed for General Fookosh.

" My Prophet, the campaign against the Hive goes well. Our spore launcher is reeking havoc on Hive Central and is weakening their forces considerably. In two turns we will mount our assault on the base and capture it. I see no reason as of right now why we can not make this happen. Our forces are rejuvenating in the fungus and should be ready to make the assault as planned. I have only one reservation in that I wish we did have more worms but that can not be helped." Fookosh nodded and Cha hit the feed for his daughter Eve.

" My Prophet, I greet you. I have little to report as of now. We are make improvements to the area known as the bowl of Heaven and we hope to start expanding again soon. No reports of any Peacekeeper of Cyborg activity."
Eve finished and give her father a big smile which Cha returned. He then turned to the Master Seeker and waved his hand to begin his report.

" My Prophet, our spys report little to nothing at this point. We are still trying all sources to gain some insight as to workings of the major factions. Little else I can add at this point other than it seems we will not be able to complete the xenoempathy dome as planned. Even though we have accumulated a great store of energy it will still leave us very short in completing the project. I did have a thought. The xeno-dome project is crucial to us, perhaps more so than our war with the Hive. Might I suggest this. We approach the Gaians and ask for reparations. We will hold off taking the remaining two Hive cities in exchange for a 300 credit payment in energy. With 600 energy solaris we might be able to complete the project before the Cyborgs. With only two bases left we accomplish the same results and it also sends a clear message back to Lal and Aki that betrayal by them comes at a cost. If Lal lands troops on our island then he will pay for it!" The master seeker finished and Cha was silent for some time.

"A good point my old friend. I will instruct our ambassador to the Gaians to "float" this idea through the back channels in the Gaian government and he can also bring it up during his meeting with them." Cha then hit three buttons that opened the link to Ramos, Moon and Thompson.

"My Prophet, Shari Moon and Lance Thompson have authorized me to make the report. Guild Master Guide Moon has begun preparations for the worms and spore launchers of the home islands to begin war preparations. The Peacekeeper forces are as was reported. They are unarmored but do have empathic attack abilities. They have taken no provocative action this turn, just maneuvering. We continue to monitor the situation closely at Dawn of the Planet and Shari Moon will be leaving soon to direct the defenses in the field." Ramos smiled and then bowed deeply to the Prophet.

"Excellent. Make sure I am kept up to date as to the actions of those forces. Should they do anything hostile I will enter into an alliance with the University and the Spartans to destroy both Peacekeepers and Cyborgs. Perhaps our dear Governor can be made aware of this possibility, indirectly of course. The Cult holds the key to unlocking a total planet wide war with all of the factions lining up against each other. The Cyborgs and Lal against the Spartans, University and the Cult leaving the Gaians in-between. Let us see what our dear governor is truly made of now..."

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2223



“Greetings. I’m just giving you an informal message relayed through Ambassador Zakatuk,” Minister Vend said. “This is verbal only, so bear with me. First, they want to discuss a resolution to the hostilities with the Hive, but only after a pledge that we will not adopt a Planned economy in the future.”

There were howls of protest from the Council.

“Second, they wasn’t us to withdraw our isles of the deep from their territorial waters. Third, the Cult would like compensation in exchange for sparing the last two Hive bases in exchange for 600 megacredits.”

The howls and groans came from the entire Council this time, especially from a now very animated Ling.

Mercer put up his hands to quiet the howls. “Now, don’t stone the messenger, and let me finish. Lastly, the Cult Ambassador hinted that Peacekeeper forces are still in their territory, and that if they start hostilities he may have to approach the University and Spartans about ‘other permanent options on the status of the Cyborgs and the Peacekeepers.’”

“At least he keeps our lives interesting,” Colin said.

Mohammad added, “He can’t be serious – 600 energy credits? At our current energy surplus it would take us 18 years to accumulate that amount, although with our trade surplus the time is considerably less.”

“Oh, yes,” Ling said. “This way he gets to fund his war, and gets a huge windfall at no risk to himself. I think our answer should be no, and H*LL NO!”

“I have to agree with you on that one, but not the language,” Colin said. “But, what about his other issues? I’d agree to deferring a future migration to a Planned economy if we can broker a peace.”

“You would,” Ling retorted. “Agreeing would just set us up, and put us in a straightjacket. Our three year population boom, while debilitation socially, was an unqualified success. Our science rate is now 300 lab equivalents! Giving up such an ability, especially when it is used judiciously, is ridiculous. I have a counter proposal. We agree to broker a truce between the Cult and the Hive, with no bribe and a commitment from the Hive not to EVER engage in a surprise attack on any other faction ever again. That sounds more equitable.” Ling seemed very pleased with herself.

“He would never agree to that,” Dee said. She sounded much stronger. “And for the same reason we would have a hard time agreeing to limit our social and economic abilities: it would limit his options, with little to gain by way of compromise. The idea of brokering a truce is a good one though, although Cha would have to agree to the truce first since he is the aggressor.”

“I agree with Dee,” Colin said. “Give him a way to save face, and if he wants to blame it on us, saying we’re throwing our weight around, then fine. Now, what’s this about our isles? Are we really lurking around his territory?”

“Of course not,” Ling said. “We have a few isles exploring, and one about 15 sectors away from his southern coast. One is carrying a Unity rover, for heaven’s sake: hardly an invasion force. Tell him we don’t have any isles in his territorial waters, which is true, so we can’t withdraw them.”

“I’m a bit concerned about his last comment though,” Dee said. “What he is proposing is a world war.”

“Fine. Let him,” Ling said. “Any idiot that starts a multi front war is doomed, especially if we massively help the other side. That will insure a stalemate, and it will drain the life force out of the Cult. We can always broker a peace deal behind his back, so that way he will fight alone. If he wants to do a little bloodletting then he might find out how it feels to bleed.”

Colin grimaced at her choice of words.

Terry turned to Mercer. “Do you have what you need?”

“I believe I do. We are offering to broker a peace deal between the Cult and the Hive, but won’t limit our economic choices to do so. We are telling him we have no isles in or near his territorial waters so, therefore, we can’t comply with his request. The 600 megacredit bribe is rejected out of hand. And we won’t respond to his innuendo about a global war. Close enough?”

Terry looked around the Council members, all of whom were nodding. “Yes. Thank you, and give our best to the Parliament.” Mercer nodded and left.

“Now,” Terry said, “to an issue we’ve had to put on a back burner for a long time. A worm discovered some ancient ruins that seem to be operational. The humans have given it the name Manifold Nexus…”

	03-04-2003 18:40									#40
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Cult, MY 2223

To Governor Skye,

I am contacting you since I have been informed of the terrible calamity that has befallen your people. Reports that I have seen indicate that some ecological virus has destroyed vast amounts of your forest and other improvements. First, let me say that Cult scientists stand ready to assist you in your hour of need. We can help your scientists in researching this virus and perhaps come up with an counter agent. Also, our caretakers ( or as you would call them terra-formers ) stand ready to assist you in guiding your efforts in rebuilding these areas. I encourage you to listen to them and heed their advice since it might help against any future outbreaks. We Cultists have recently developed a special preserve that will protect forever the pristine nature of Planet for future generations to come. We offer access to the area for your scientists so that they can learn about Planet as a "baseline" for all future research.

I wish to say that we do grieve for your people and the obvious stress it has put your people under. I am authorizing our Rangers at the Planet Temples in the cities effected to provide food and shelter to any of your unfortunate citizens. If you need economic assistance as well we can
address that in future talks.

Lastly, I wish to remind you that this was avoidable. I think you realize it as well. Planet will not tolerate your continued actions to increase your prosperity for short term benefits. I find it sad that our science is discounted by your scientists simply because we embrace a spirit, a life force as a fact that can not be measured by our current science. I think someday you will live to regret the damage you have done to Planet and to your own people. Growth in moderation will achieve the same long term goals and at a lower cost to everyone, including you. Imagine for an instant if the third world nations of Earth's 20th century had used restraint on their populations and reduced the explosive growth they allowed. Imagine what Earth might be now. What is most surprising is that they used the same old tired arguments your advisors use today. We will not "handcuff" ourselves unilaterally and allow others to prosper while we do not. The old United States took the same stance and failed to sign a treaty to reduce pollution on Earth for the same reasons you argue now. Shame on you all. I ask now for you to make a commitment to this planet and to the other people on Planet to promise never again to embark on such a fool hardy path. Reject the promise and false hope that wealth brings and bring your people back to the green fields of long ago. You and only you can do this for you and this Planet.

I wish also to correct an "error" made by our Ambassador. The sum of energy credits in question was 300, not 600. In fact, I now waive that requirement as part of any final settlement due to the tragedy that has befallen you and your people. I must be blunt with you and tell you that I can not stand the Hive in any form. They are an abomination to all that I hold dear and true. There society holds no hope or promise of hope for a better tomorrow. My forces are very close to completing the assault on Hive central. It will fall and soon. I will try and minimize the deaths as much as possible but Yang is the key to this not us. We do not wage war on civilians, we are liberating them! I see no reason at this point in stopping our efforts to save these people. Sometimes the burden of history and humanity falls on the shoulders of a select few and history then determines if those shoulders were up to the task! I am still willing to negotiate concerning the Hive but I see no incentive greater than freeing those poor souls from the yoke that has been put on them. I understand that your advisors discount our reports of pollution and the terrible crimes against humanity! Well, I suggest you go yourself and tour a Hive base as I have done and I think you will find nothing redeeming about it.

Lastly, I wish to clarify a point my ambassador made about alliances. Let me be clear and to the point. I have been contacted by both Santiago and Zakharov to launch an assault on the Peacekeepers as part of a new "triple Alliance” , a pact. This alliance would, in turn, result in a state of general war between the University, Spartans and Cult against the Cyborgs and Peacekeepers. Currently we reject this "triple alliance" but should any Peacekeeper attack us we would proceed with it as a means to defend ourselves since any counter-attack by us would trigger the Cyborgs to wage war on us, a two against one situation. This we can not stand for. Speaking bluntly, I will pursue an alliance that would give me the edge over my enemy. The end result would be an all out general war. I do not welcome this at all. The devastation it would bring on the Planet would bring us back to the old days of earth. So, I offer the following proposal. I will refuse such an alliance in any form if you will stand with the Cult in our efforts to free the Hive citizens. You have my sworn word that we will not entertain any alliance from anyone else, and in fact, will only court an alliance with you. The price, is of course, the Hive. The end result is we avoid a general war and the Hive people are liberated. This is much more preferable to having a world war the will destroy the Planet. I have been told through sources I can not mention that your "bravado" is such that you think that you can diffuse any war that might breakout, you are wrong. The language of these treaties are very clear and they offer no room for a reversal. They remind me of the early 20th century pacts made by the European powers. Once an ally is attacked it is as if you were attacked and as such there can be no retreat, only victory or death. I am forwarding to you a sample of a treaty I have been asked to sign, read it carefully and you will understand the implications it brings.

Lastly, on this subject I wish only peace. Peace for the Planet. Your advisors do you a great
disservice if they argue otherwise. War destroys, plain and simple and Planet will be caught in any cross-fire so I implore you and your Parliament to review my proposal. I even offer the following incentive. Should you agree to my proposal I will begin the process of democratization of my government. This will be a hard and long process but it can be done. If you agree to my proposal the end result would leave not power block with a clear advantage and as such no incentive to proceed with an all out war.

In conclusion, I think you will see that if you do not act quickly events could spin out of your control and the dye will be cast. We do not wish to see you as enemies anymore than I think you want to see us in that light. I know your hearts are in the right place, you do love Planet, however your love for progress and material things crowd out your more pure emotions and needs. It is time for you to return to the green and orange gardens of Planet and become one with the Planet.

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn
First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.

_______________________


Cha sat brooding for some time and then hit the send button and the message was off. He had left Worm Federation since he could no longer stand the city anymore and had so desperately wanted to see the new Centauri preserve that had been built. He had ordered a special room to be built so that he could have access 24 hours to the place so he walk in the beauty of Planet. Cha was becoming upset about a great many things. The war, the constant tensions between the factions and the continued demands in ruling a people. Cha knew he had done everything he could to distribute the workload and also set up conflicting power centers so that no one group could gain power and as such Cha could control things. When needed he did take action to keep his advisors from getting out of hand like the poor soul Ivan Ivanovich but sometimes you had to do things to keep order.

Cha stood up slowly and looked out the window onto the beautiful terrain below. He missed the old days of traveling the wilderness as it had been called back then. Now, even with their anti-terraforming efforts the wilderness was gone. Cha hoped that they would be able to rebuild portions of it but not soon enough. Cha chuckled to himself about the thought that he was just as bad as the Gaians, how dare he lecture them about terra-forming when he himself had done the same thing. No, they were worse. The Gaians were masters of terra-forming for decades and they used that power as much as possible. Only recently had the Cult found the means to restore fungus and in time they would restore every sector they had destroyed.

Cha knew that just to the northwest were the Peacekeeper forces. From all reports they were still just sitting there, waiting. Cha knew if he acted events would start that he could only flow with, not stop. The only thing he controlled right now was his refusal to take the bait and start the
whirlwind that was to come....

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2224

The panic was only just letting up, at least a little. All around Gaia’s Landing the forest, the beautiful forests, had withered and died, a great browning as the virulent Prometheus virus swept away all earth vegetation in its path. Then the farm administrators started calling, reporting that their farms had started to die in waves. Relative calm had persisted until two weeks ago when the virus swept within eyeshot of Gaia’s Landing. Dee could almost hear the moan of the people, who were observing in horrified wonder from the balconies of the towers, as the browning swept toward the city. It was a like a slow tidal wave of death, and when it got within a kilometer of the city the panic started. The fact that the virus only affected plant life made no difference; the psychological shock of the rolling terror made them impervious to reason.

That was over now. The hills were a dull brown, as was the silt choked river. It was much like the terrain had been when they had first arrived. Dee had forgotten how alien, how stark, the landscape looked without the tracts of wild and managed trees.

The virus had taken something away. It would be replaced, and five terraformers were on the way; even more could be called up, if needed..

Moreover, as the brown wave had approached the key to the virus had been unlocked, and it was not clear that only advanced biological research centers could prevent future outbreaks. Biology labs, which had been dismissed as rather expensive, now looked like a much better investment.

In the meantime there was no starvation. In fact, there was still a 28% food surplus. Industrial production had taken a hit since so much of it was based on renewable wood fiber, and energy production was down somewhat. It would take a while but Gaia’s Landing would recover.

Now, to responding to Cha Dawns generous and discourteous letter.

*~*~*~*

Dear Cha Dawn,

It has been a long time since I have heard from you, and I thank you for your concern for the Gaian people and the inhabitance of Gaia’s Landing. The Prometheus Virus was a terrible shock to us; it struck quickly, eradicating all early plant life over 25 sectors. We watched in horror as it advanced, knowing we were helpless.

The terror has passed, and although we are reduced there is no deprivation. Although your Rangers are welcome they will find no starvation, and they will discover no chaos. After a few days the people of Gaia’s Landing understood, and now we are going to labor to rebuild what was lost. As the plague advanced we did find one critical bit of information: the Prometheus Virus cold have been swiftly eliminated if we had better biological research facilities. To date we have not invested in biology labs, and that will now change.

I did find your theories to be interesting, but I am afraid I do not see this episode as a divine judgment by Planet, as you seem to imply. Frankly, I am surprised this has not happened before. Two alien ecosystems are bound to have strange interactions, and these interactions may not always be favorable to either Chiron or Earth life forms. Far from being a result of expansion, or of widespread pollution, it now seem preventable through scientific investment; placating an angry Planet will do no good, unless it gives you the resources to build biology labs.

Our peoples have a very different set of ideals when it comes to war, and this is more evident each day. As a rule Gaians deplore wars and violence, while it seems your people do not. Your war against the Hive, which is, I admit, a repellant society, offends the part of us that is pacifistic. In the opinion of the Council the operative rule should be live and let live, and since Yang wasn’t threatening anyone we fail to see how your war can be justifiable. It is clear that nothing we say will dissuade you from you course of actions, but those actions make it clear how different our peoples are, and for that I am very sad.

As such, the Council rejects your offers relating to The Hive. We will not offer Yang up as a sacrifice, no matter how repressive his society might be. To make such a deal would make us complicit in that very war we can’t justify. I seem to remember other 20th Century leaders offering up other countries to aggressive nations as the price of peace. Such deals always worked to the appeaser’s disadvantage, and history remembers them as a betrayal of their own basic values.

It is also clear that the Cult seems to be at the epicenter of the events that seem to be sweeping out of control. We Gaians can only try to limit the spin, and repair some of the damage, but to us your actions only exacerbate events. I look to you to see into your own heart and examine your motives. It might be you will not like what you see.

Walk with Planet,
Dee

	03-04-2003 18:42									#41
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Cult, MY 2224

Lady Skye and Gaian Council,

I rejoice and the glad tidings you tell of your peoples' survival. I wish no harm or injury to the good Gaian people. We people of the Planet have invested deeply in biology labs to aid us in understanding the relationships between Earth and Planet life forms. I am attaching several of our more interesting papers on the subject which you should find illuminating. However, you fail once again to understand the true "meaning" of what happened to you and for that we are sad. You fail to confront the root causes of the virus and that is the conflict between earth ecological systems and the indigenous system of Planet. Yes, biological labs would have helped slow or even halt the outbreak but you must be truthful to yourself and see this even for what it is, a sign! A true sign that the sentient being spirit of Planet is reacting in the same way our own bodies treat a virus by sending out anti-bodies to destroy the infection!! When will you and your scientists learn that just because we can do a thing does not means we should do a thing!! A Hundred years from now we will look back and say, why did we not listen, why didn't we just restrain ourselves, even a little bit and we could have avoided the calamity before us. I am afraid
that you will learn nothing from this and as you stated in your last transmission, more terra-forming is your response. I agree that you should re-terra-form some of the land but to its natural state!! Do not make the same mistake again learn from the mistake you have made in the belief that just a little bit can not harm Planet. IT CAN!

I wept openly at your characterization of the people of the Planet. How sad for us all. War-mongers, I think not. It is very easy for you Gaians to claim a desire for peace and non-interference when the sad truth of the matter is that Yang has turned thousands of people into beasts of burden! We claim no special right of interference and attack every society that displeases us. If that were the case we would have launched many campaigns already. No, the Hive is a special case. They have sinned against the Planet and against the very code of humanity. I will see this bizarre experiment put out of business once and for all. I will insure that the children of tomorrow are not born with the expectation of being nothing more than a workhorse, a beast of burden. I suggest that the next time you are sipping fungus wine in your luxurious apartments you upload the files we have offered to everyone, un-altered files, of the living conditions, of the torture done to the small children and then you can call me and tell us that we have no right. Your statement that "Yang wasn't threatening anyone we fail to see how your war is justifiable" is so repugnant to me it made me vomit! Ask the millions that died in every genocide if they would agree with your statement! I am sure the mothers and children who were gassed in Nazi concentration camps held to your high standards and would have supported them then and happily breathed in zyclon B gas. Or perhaps all the others, the billions that died as a result of a greater power not acting to preserve life. Sometimes action is demanded! Yang's defeat is a forgone conclusion unless you intend to actively support his defense by attacking our troops. Perhaps Chairman Yang will feed and house your troops while his own people are starved to death in the dank caverns below them. I am sure that such an environment will only help the morale of your soldiers. Lastly, I find it regrettable, most regrettable that your people will spend vast sums of energy credits to support a monster like Yang but not one credit to bury the thousands of skeletons we found at Fecundity Towers or to feed the starving children there, once again they thank you as well for holding to your ideals. You must sleep very well at night.

I wish to address this issue of being the "epicenter" of events and that somehow we have set in motion actions that could lead to war. Explain this to us? Did we land troops on your continent and then order them to march around in a provocative manner in hopes of igniting a war, no. That was done by the Peacekeepers. Have we resisted all efforts to pull us into an alliance system of "pacts" that would plunge this planet into a world war, YES! Have we reported these things to you as Planetary Governor asking for guidance and even offering a way out, YES! So exactly how are we to blame? Do you have some secret document showing our complicity to these events? How is our liberation of the Hive in anyway connected to the hatred by the University and Spartans toward the Peacekeepers and Cyborgs, the answer there is none. You look to demonize us to make things easier for you to understand world events, a scapegoat, rather than dealing with the reality of the times we live in. Perhaps in a few turns I will land worms and
troops on your soil and parade them around, threatening your people, and then you will understand how we feel. Of course if you act to rid yourself of these interlopers you will be branded a warmonger and censured by the Planetary Governor. I doubt you would let us do it to you so why should I allow Lal to do it to me? I am allowing it because to do otherwise would plunge us into a state of war, a world war.

Lastly, I have been told by my ambassador that you claim no Gaian isles of the deep are near Cult territory. In fact, that is a lie. You have an isle of the deep at sector 72,86. I have two isles of the deep and an empath war foil converging on that sector. You are requested to turn your isle about
and head northwards out of Cult territory. If the isle continues south it will be destroyed. Or we could make a deak in which you grant me and my army and people free access to all of your land and seas and as such I would be free to travel anywhere I so please on Gaian soil. Is that acceptable to you? I would think not. We have provided you our maps many times to help prevent such events, there is no reason to explore in an area that we have already mapped, be GONE! We can only interrupt such actions as an act of war if they persist.

Cha Dawn

+++++++++++++++++++

Fookosh looked through the mag-glasses one last time and smiled. Reports from Hive central were only getting better. All of the garrison forces were at half strength from the constant bombardment by the spore launcher. Fookosh knew he would have to act soon or else. Two more turns of bombardment. On the second turn the Cult forces would move forward and close the ring even tighter around the base and then the following turn storm the gates and take the city. Cha had ordered that no sector would be occupied if would deny the Hive people a source of food. Fookosh had not expected that so it had complicated matters forcing him to only keep worms and other forces in non-productive areas until ready. So far it had not been a problem.

"General Fookosh, a few more refugees have been caught fleeing from the Hive base. Shall we send them on to Worm Federation?" An aide asked.

Fookosh nodded and then picked up the mag-glasses. Soon, oh so very soon it would be all over and then it was just a matter of time. Here was the linchpin, the keystone and once it fell it would be all over.

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2225

Cha Dawn,

I have very little time, so I will make this brief. There is little more we can say about both the Hive, your war, and the Prometheus Virus, and I don’t want to spend more time telling you the same line of reasoning, and then have you give me your line of reasoning again. This serves little purpose.

Our isle that you mention is many sectors away from your land, and nowhere near your territorial boundary. It is mapping the seas in that area – they are black to us. You will note it is not lingering, either, and is maintaining a regular search grid to explore the maximum area. Moreover, it has no units whatsoever on it (unlike your isles, I might add). So, take a deep breath. Relax. There – don’t you feel better?

Dee

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2225

Lady Skye and the esteemed members of the Gaian advisory council,

I am attaching our map files so your scouting isles may return to your own territorial waters and explore them to their hearts content. This issue does bring up an "interesting" subject, one that we have put aside due to our strained relationship however it seems events have pushed it to the
forefront. Territorial waters, what does that mean? For us the people of the planet it means a great deal. We see no reason why any other faction should build a sea base within 6 sectors of any coast line we claim. On our next transmission we will send you a list of map sectors that will map out our sphere of influence which will encompass our territorial waters. We feel this is crucial to our understanding of Planet due to the Hive's pollution effects on us. By keeping a large buffer zone of untainted, and undeveloped lands we can therefore preserve and maintain a Planet ecosystem free of infection by terrain life forms. Once we complete our survey and send you the data please feel free to copy the other planet leaders so that they too can respect our rights and beliefs.

Lastly, I feel that I have failed in some great way in reaching an understanding with you Lady Skye. I blame myself entirely for this and for that I am truly sorry. In some respects I do see your side of the argument and I can sympathize. You were attacked brutally in the first years upon landing on Planet and it has forever scarred you and your people into believing that by prosperity and the accumulation of power that these are the keys for your survival. I regret that you had to undergo so perilous and anguishing times but they are behind you and we people of the Planet will still stand with you in your hours of need. I regret that some of your people and advisors reject my teachings in favor of the science they so dearly love. I think they could learn a great deal from us.

Perhaps when our conflict is resolved with the Hive we can re-open negotiations to rejuvenate our friendship.

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that
transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn

First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++

General Fookosh stood at the command table and completed inputting the clearance code to bring up the holo-display of his assault plans. One last bombardment by the spore launcher then all worms would advance forward in one last surge in preparation of the attack. Then the following turn Cult worms would begin the attack. Fookosh coded the plan and sent it to the Prophet for approval. He waited only minutes and when he opened and un-encrypted the message he saw what he hoped to see, approval.

"All right everyone, lets get things in motion. Issue orders at once to begin the final assault on Hive central." Fookosh roared and within seconds the moderately busy command center was now a whirlwind of activity. The bombardment had worked, all Hive forces were at half strength which would make them venerable to attack. Even if the Hive were to initiate an attack their forces were so weak that they would lack the means to stay toe to toe with full strength mind worms. No, the end was near...

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2226

Cha Dawn,

I am informing all of the faction leaders personally that Pravin Lal, of the Peacekeepers, has declared war on the Gaians. Remember that isle of the deep you were concerned about that was traveling north or your territory? Pravin’s foil saw fit to eliminate the isle, although his foil was severely damaged. Luckily there was another isle nearby and his foil, who perpetuated this grievous act, will not be going home. The crew that survived will be interred at an undisclosed location until Pravin sees reason to end his impetuous and very unfortunate act.

You might ask what the Council is going to do about this situation. That is a very good question. Our military buildup is proceeding at a decent pace, although some on the Council would argue it is not going nearly quickly enough. There are enough Gaian bases that it will take a while before they are properly defended, and at this point there are no plans for any significant overseas adventure. I have always thought that the Peacekeepers and Gaians have much in common and have been dismayed at Pravin’s unceasing hostility. I hope force will not be needed, and at this date I see no need to press the issue since our lands are not significantly threatened.

I forwarded your proposed territorial boundary to the Council and, in general, they have no problem with it. The only provision we ask is that the seas surrounding a territory be navigable – in other words, that the six sector border not cut off the sea lanes. It will be no problem to maneuver outside of territorial waters were this is possible.

Lastly, the Gaians were not brutally attacked in our first years, at least no more so than anyone else. We had our times of want and for a long time our position was tenuous, but that has not overtly colored our perceptions of where and how to live. As we learned more of our environment we have prospered, and I consider myself very fortunate to have such a wonderfully resilient and flexible people, and that they allow me to be one of their leaders. As to learning, I believe we all can learn from each other. Everyone has something to give, and to contribute to a greater whole. Even a faction like the Hive can contribute, if they are given the chance.

Dee

	03-04-2003 18:42									#42
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Cult, MY 2226

Cha Dawn had returned to Dawn of the Planet just recently and he was both happy and sad. His son Adam had grown much in the time he was gone and it was a little difficult at first since they had only talked via secure vid-channel. However, tonight was special. Eve had returned to the Dawn of the Planet and had joined them for dinner. She had been aware that she had a brother but they had never met, until tonight.

"Father, what news of the outside world?" Adam asked as he munched away on a crusty piece of bread. Adam was now in his late teens and he was very handsome young man, in fact, he was nearly beautiful. Muscular build with sharp blue eyes and blond hair. Cha had sometimes though of Adam as the perfect boy and now he was the perfect man. Cha had used the most state of the art gene altering technology the Cult had to "clean up" the boys DNA. No defects. Someday they might have the technology to go beyond simply eliminating the defective genes and actually "enhance" the DNA to make a superior human, someday.

"Adam, the world is a dangerous place. Our forces have at last began the final assault on Hive central. We should conquer it by next turn if all goes well. A mind worm and its guide made a surgical strike on the city and destroyed the only infantry unit that was equipped with resonance
technology. The remaining garrison forces are badly damaged and should fall easily to General Fookosh's assault. Then after resting on to the last remaining two bases. Once Hive central is gone the other bases are too small to mount any effective defense, its a matter of time now." Cha
finished while pouring more fungus wine.

"Father," Eve interjected. "Prior to coming to dinner I was contacted by the Master Seeker and he informed me that the Cyborgs will most likely complete the xeno-dome before us. When last I looked we were still 300 energy credits short of building the project. If we can not finish it before them can we not use some of our accumulated wealth to help complete some need projects on all four continents."

"Yes, as much as it tears me up to think about have such a precious project fall into those devils hands at least we will still have a good amount of resources here Dawn of the Planet to work on the next project."

"Father," Adam asked while holding out his glass for some more wine, " is it true we signed a friendship treaty with the Peacekeepers?"

"Yes we did. I at first was disposed against it but a friendship treaty is a non-binding agreement of interest, nothing more. Even though Pravin wanted to end our treaty with the Gaians we told him no. What we must avoid is these binding "pacts" the other leaders are demanding we sign all the time. Now, that the Gaians are at war with the Peacekeepers they are essentially at war with the Cyborgs because of the pact. The major advantage is that by signing the friendship treaty Pravin removed his scouts from our lands and thus the trigger for war."

"Yes, but," Adam continued, " the Gaians are in theory Planet loving people even though they pursue wealth and industry. Why should we not end our treaty with them and form a more powerful alliance with the Peacekeepers and Cyborgs to offset the Gaians?"

"Because, in the Gaians heart of hearts they do believe in the way of the Planet. I know this, Planet has shown me through my dreams that Lady Skye is a friend of the Planet but she does not listen to the spirit of the Planet. Someday her spiritual ears will be opened and she will know what we know. The Gaians are a people with no spiritual center. They work to protect the Planet not because it is a living being but rather their science tells them that protecting nature is a way to make a better life. They have yet to link the spiritual Planet, the sentient Planet to their need to
preserve Planet. We care for Planet is if it were an infant child that needs our protection, our warmth. The Gaians motivation is the result of their scientific understanding of Planet. For example we have drastic limitations on mining because it hurts planet. We only mine those area
where Planet freely gives up its bountiful resources for all. The Gaians limit mining only to the extent that their science tells them that if they dig one more mine that it will cause too much pollution. However, up to that point they will build as many mines as possible. Their science guides them in their understanding of Planet while we use our hearts." Cha finished and took a long sip of wine.

"What Father says is very true Adam. In the Bowl of Heavens we could build mines that would out produce any mine on planet but we refuse to do so. We now are re-planting fungus instead of building more farms or other projects because the fungus is the living heart of Planet."

"Children, I must leave for awhile. Eve, I had other reasons to ask you to come to my city. I am going into rejuvenation treatment tomorrow and I need for you to guide the People of the Planet. The Master Seeker and the others will be there to help. Adam, before I go to sleep in the morning I want you to make an expedition. The new base established on the far south-western
lands is in need of someone to help find worms. I want you to go. Your mind is as powerful as Eve's when it comes to empathy with the worms and it is time you learn more of the world." Cha stood up slowly and smiled at them both and turned and left the room. Adam sat their for a while smiling looking at Eve.

"I am so glad that father has at last allowed me to leave as you had done my sister. I did not expect father to do something like this." Adam smiled as he took another deep drink of the fungus wine.

Eve smiled and stood up and walked around the table and to stand next to Adam.

"Adam I want you to father me a child." Eve stated very quietly as she dropped her robe around her feet. " Say nothing, come to me."

Adam at first was amazed but a young man was full of energy and Eve was the perfect women. He quickly stood up and took her into his arms and guided her into his rooms.

"Why my sister?" Adam asked as he closed the door and removed his robes.

"That is my concern you need not let anyone else know of this even our father. This is our secret just like you and I are Fathers secret to the world." Eve sank to the floor and held her arms open for her brother...

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2227

Colin read over the report of the science minister and the latest Gaian breakthrough. “Finally,” he remarked. “Environmental Economics! Now we have the basis for a truly sustainable economy, and a better understanding of Planet!”

“Don’t get carried away, Colin,” Ling said. “This will allow us to better integrate our economy with what is sustainable, but it is hardly ‘truly sustainable’, as you say. We don’t understand a lot.”

“I suppose,” he said as he twirled some more linguini in a penne sauce on his fork. “I still think we should research Planetary Economics. I don’t even like the term Neural Grafting. It gives me the shivers!”

Ling sopped up some of her vegetarian broth with some new herbal bread, fresh out of the oven. “Don’t be so quick to judge. You read the preliminary reports, and the Project Neural Amplifier promises to greatly enhance the abilities of our native units. Not to mention the Bioenhancement ability to our conventional unit.”

Colin’s brows furrowed. “Are you trying to aggravate me? There is only one use for a Bioenhancement Center, and that is war! It should be enough that you convinced over half the base governors to build command centers, a prelude to an arms race!”

Ling wasn’t swayed by Colin’s theatrics. “In case you haven’t notice, the Warkeepers declared war on us, and one of our isles already paid the price. Our northern coast bases are all vulnerable, and they are acting according. There is also the prospect that the Cyborgs will follow their Warkeeper pactmates into war. And, to add insult to injury, the University is pacted with the Cyborgs. If Dee can’t hold things together by her silver tongue then we’ll be at war with more half the planet.”

“Zak has no stomach for war,” Colin said, resuming this attention to the generous plate of linguini. “He knows better, and he’s been a good friend for a long time, and very friendly, according to Dee.”

Ling smiled slightly. “That can change. He doesn’t like our emphasis on Wealth, and pactmates do strange things. Remember the first wars in the 20th Century? All the pacts dragged in so many with promises of quick, profitable wars. As usual it didn’t work out that way. And,” she continued, “Zak has been prototyping chaos infantry, as has Aki. That is a material increase over our abilities, so don’t count him out. He may see that, and not the bulk of our numeric superiority. He has a lot of unarmored impact infantry, which are impressive until they have to do anything. Our rovers will take them out, if needed. If we call in our reserves we’ll have 6 impact rovers there in no time. Even better, Zak only has one armored defenders.”

Colin’s eyes widened, and he stopped shoveling his linguini for a moment.

“I couldn’t believe it either, so he better not do anything too untoward.” Ling was matter-of-fact, and that chilled Colin a bit.

Colin wanted to change the subject before he lost his appetite. “So, when is our next breakthrough?”

“Seven years,” Ling said, smiling.

“Are we going to trade with anyone?” Colin asked.

“Dee’s considering it. Zak and Aki have told use, politely and rudely, respectively, that they aren’t interested. Well, that’s their loss. Yang won’t talk to us. Cha might be a possibility, even if he hasn’t been exactly friendly recently.”

“We should consider it, Ling. Has anyone contacted Cha about it?”

“No, it is still under advisement. We’ll see."

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2227

Cha sat astride a giant mind worm mass as Yang was brought before him. To Cha's left and right stood more mind worms and Ranger support guards. The final assault on the base, Hive Central, had been swift and precise. General Fookosh had used all of the native levees to destroy the remaining garrison leaving it wide open for assault. Since the assault had been a pincer movement and an isle of the deep had remained offshore Yang could not flee his feeble command center and as such was quickly captured by Ranger units. Yang had been cleaned up and had been allowed three of his aides to accompany him to the meeting. General Fookosh had already given Yang the text of the agreement he was about to sign so there was little to this ceremony but for the show. Yang slowly approached the conclave of worms and as he did the worm mass that Cha had sat upon slowly deposited him to the ground.

"Prophet Cha Dawn, on behalf of my people I accept your most generous offer of peace and understanding and we most humbly agree to all of your terms and conditions for the brotherhood of the Planet pact." Yang slowly stepped forward, his eyes constantly darting to the massive mind worms that flanked Cha and handed him the document.

"Excellent, pact brother Yang. Your people will now prosper within our new family of nations. We accept your reparations for the damage you did to the environment. We accept your gift of technology which will allow our peoples the protection that they deserve." Yang smiled and raised his hands in a blessing. " Let all who know that Chairman Yang has allowed each of cities to establish temples of the Planet in them and Ranger priests will begin instructing his people on the proper respect for Planet. Also, Chairman Yang, at my request, has ended his feud with the Peacekeepers and will sign shortly a treaty of friendship with them."

Yang seemed to shrink after each sentence spoken by Cha as if he were physically striking him.

"Also, our new planet brother has agreed to support Lady Deirdre as Planetary Governor as a token of respect and a willingness to rebuild bridges between the Gaians and the Hive. We wish to state for all the factions on Planet to hear that the small mis-understanding between the People of the Planet and the Gaians is now behind us. We support Lady Skye in all her efforts to bring a new peace to planet." That was the que for Yang to drop to one knee and for Cha to lay hands on him and give the final blessing. Cha closed the distance between them and Yang dropped to his
knee.

Cha put his hands on Yang's head and said aloud in as loud a voice as possible. " Let Planet welcome her new son, Chairman Yang and his people into the new life ahead of them."

Yang slowly looked up and said very quietly. " Cha, I hate you."

Very quietly so that only Yang could hear his reply, " Chairman, you are nothing now. Hate from nothing is nothing."

Cha then reached down and pulled Yang to his feet and give him a very awkward hug and then Yang turned and left. The video feed slowly began to fade as Cha once again mounted the massive mind worm accepted the cheers of the people.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lady Deirdre Sky and the Gaian Parliamentary advisory council, my most warm greetings to you all,

I hope you have seen the latest footage of our peace treaty with the Hive and I hope that this can bring an end to the distrust and ill will between our two people. We have secured a new peace with the Hive and their promise to never again pollute the seas. Also our advisors are hard at work with Hive administrators to restore some humanity to their society and thus bring a new human condition to the future of the Hive.

As you have seen in the footage you have our full support in your role as Planetary Governor. With the votes of the Hive and Cult I suspect you could withstand any vote of no confidence. It might also make your neighbor, the University, to think twice before any military adventure against you since he would be facing foes from both directions. I hope this will give your poor people some peace of mind.

Also, I hope that with our new understanding I might propose the following:

1) The Hive have given us technology that will allow us to build missile weapons. These could be of great use to you in your defense against the bloodthirsty Peacekeepers. In exchange we could transmit this technology for the sum of 200 energy credits. We are still trying to complete the xeno-dome before the Cyborgs and such funds would prove most useful to us.

2) You have completed before us the secrets to tree farms and unlocking more energy from Planet. We ourselves are four turns from completing this technology. If you would gift us environmental economics we in turn will plow our efforts into another technology which we will complete quickly and in turn gift it back to you.

3) I would be willing to share our current map files and also provide your people with any information of Peacekeeper troop movements to give your forces time to prepare. Currently we are tracking several transports loaded with troops that might be of interest to you.

I hope that you will be able to digest all of our unique and worthwhile proposals and accept them. I hope that you will see that it would be more beneficial to you to see the Cult of the Planet complete the xeno-dome project first rather than the Cyborgs. Once again I am sure we can rebuild our bridge of friendship.

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that
transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn
First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cha sat quietly in the command center at Spirit of the Planet and stared at the plaque above a chair at the end of the table which read, " Chairman Yang Savior of Humanity ". Cha had become somewhat fascinated with the chair and plaque. He had ordered that this room to be left untouched and a new control room to be built. The reason he gave was that the cost of refitting
this one would be too high but in truth he wanted to keep it as a reminder. The war had achieved more than he had hoped. Yang was his servant now, constantly accompanied by Rangers that would keep tabs on his actions and report them to Cha. They had two new bases, more energy and more technology to show for it to. All in all Cha could not have asked for better. Fookosh had been ordered to shift some of the army to the north central continent so they could search the fungus for more worms and rebuild the army. Preparations were underway to rebuild the ex-Hive cities and make them prosper. But even with all of this Cha was worried. He wanted the xeno-dome project more than ever. He wanted more bases to the east and west to establish a perimeter around his core bases. The Gaians were flailing about to secure the bases and prepare for the Cyborg, University and Peacekeeper assault. They should be now more than ever willing to help him and in turn help themselves. Cha stared at the plaque again and doubt crept in again. Yang must have thought much the same way as well but his reality was now a myth. Cha would not have that happen to him.

	03-04-2003 18:44									#43
	Support Apolyton

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2228

“I’m sure Yang enjoyed that little love fest,” Ling said as she watched the holo of Yang kneeling before a magnanimous Cha Dawn. “I’m sure he meant every word when he said he’d swear a pact to Cha. After all, the Hive and the Cult have so much in common.”

“Pithy comments aside,” Mohammad said, “now that the ugly little war the Cha Dawn started is finished, what do we do? Cha Dawn obviously wishes to repair some damage he has done to our relationship due to his aggressive actions. Do we accept his offers?”

“Of course we do,” Ling said. “At least the ones that benefit us. We should agree to ‘gift’ the Cult 200 energy in exchange for missile technology. I’ve been lead to believe that we will be able to install fungicidal additions to our terraformers, even if Cha and his Planet Cultists haven’t quite figured that one out yet. I’ll bet it hasn’t even occurred to him. I’m not sure about gifting him Environmental Economics, though. He might make an advance soon that we might want.”

“We’ll just have to discuss that with him,” Dee said. “Environmental Economics is not a dangerous technology, and we should be willing to trade where we can. He may even decide to direct his research toward a Planetary Economics, which we nearly decided on before Ling convinced most of us that the defensive benefits of Neural Amplifier were more important.”

“I agree,” Colin said. “We should buy missile technology from him, and gift him Environmental Economics for whatever he will discover in a few years. It only makes sense.”

“As long as you conveniently forget that lovely little staged incident with Yang,” Ling said, pointing at the holo, which was still playing the rather long surrender ceremony. “This Cha Dawn is ruthless to those his little voices say harm Planet, mark my words. Don’t be blinded by what you want; look at what he does.”

Mohammad shifted in his seat and looked at the holo again.

“All the more reason to get the Neural Amplifier on line ASAP,” Ling continued. “I’d hate to have Cha’s little voices tell him we have profaned against some obscure part of his Planet Manifesto. Imagine his swarms of boils, spoor launchers, and isles overwhelming the Uranium Flats, or the Jungle. Or even Zak. Not a pretty sight.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Colin said.

Ling raised an eyebrow as she looked over at him, but she didn’t say a word. The holo said it all.

Terry said, “It looks like we all agree to buying Synthetic Fossil Fuels from him, and we have 200 energy in our treasury to spare. We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether you feel its prudent to gift him Environmental Economics, and our world map.”

Dee nodded and got up to leave. She had a call to make.

+++++++

Dear Cha Dawn and the People of the Cult of Planet,

I can’t say I was happy at your resolution of the war you started with the Hive, but that is now done. It was strange to see the proud Chairman Yang kneel at anyone’s feet, and even stranger to hear him utter words that his subtle mind would never form in other circumstances. I’ve known Sheng-Ji Yang for a long time now, since long before the start of the Unity mission, and I would never have guessed his fate would be to be your vassal, since that is what he apparently is.

The Council has agreed to exchange 200 energy for Synthetic Fossil Fuels. This technology will assist us in defending against any deprecations brought to us by the Peacekeepers, although I should mention that at this point we have a friendship treaty with both the Cyborgs and the University. I would hope that we can maintain these treaties, if for no other reason than to show Lal the folly of his war.

We are potentially willing to gift you Environmental Economics for a future technology you might discover. However, the Council would like to know what that technology might be to ensure it does not duplicate our research, and to ensure there is not going to be an insolvent conflict between our goals. Please forward your thoughts on this matter to me at your convenience.

At this time we are going to decline to share our world maps. The Council is still at little numb at the war you started with the Hive and its gruesome conclusion. Perhaps in the future we can learn that your people can regain the full trust of the Gaian people.

Walk with Planet,
Dee

*!*!*!*

Cult, MY 2228

To my most honorable and deepest friend Lady Skye,

I understand your reluctance and hesitation in re-building the bridges of friendship and harmony between our two peoples. I hope that in time we can do so. I feel I have taken the first step to rebuilding our friendship and I believe you have done so as well. I have pre-approved the transfer of the chemical formulas and as a sign of our good faith our map files as well. I hope that on your next transmission you will supply the energy credits and the technology on energy enhancement and tree farms. We are only four more turns away from completing the work on tree farms so I feel you must send the technology next turn or we might miss our window of opportunity here. Once we get the energy credits we can complete the xeno-dome immediately and complete a valuable project for the betterment of my people. It will also deny a very powerful technology to fall into the hands of your enemies. Remember my warning, beware the machine since it has no soul!

To be honest I have not done much consulting with my scientists on which technology would be of greater use to us. We still need to bolster our industrial capacity. I am loathe to do so since it has such harmful effects on the Planet but without greater insight to production techniques other
factions soon will out distance us in our technology and we will be left behind. So I suppose I will have to plow our accumulated technology into industrial automation techniques. My generals are all demanding we use our research data and build fighter planes our even large warships. However, since I am a seeker of peace always I suspect I will order our data to be
used to uncover the secrets of adaptive economics which will allow us to unlock more secrets of the planet and build upon our strong knowledge of the planet. It will also lead us to the next technology of planetary economics which will have a profound impact on our society. I have been informed that your parliament seems determined to explore military technologies to help defend your people. I support such research as long as you only use such knowledge for defense. But of course, that is a given, is it not!

Lastly, I will send to you next turn some map coordinates for your review. Since your forces are making deep in-roads on the large continent between our two peoples I think it is fitting at this time that we establish some "spheres' of influence" so that we do not cause any diplomatic or military mishaps.

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that
transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn

First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Cha had been in closed door meetings around the clock with his advisors and scientists. He had been trying to decide on which course of action would put his people on the better path. Cha had ordered all of the advisors and scientist to leave him while he mediated in quiet and thought about the issues.

Slightly to Cha's front a secret panel opened and a black robed figure stepped through. Cha knew the moment the door opened that someone had walked in since he felt a small gust of air on his face.

"My Prophet, my name is Antonio Markese and I am the new Guild Master of the Seekers." The man quietly approached Cha and he was able to see his face. Antonio was a man in his middle thirties by his look with a very strong build, muscular with strong brown eyes.

"Where is Evans?" Cha asked.

"Guild Master Evans has died. He could no longer endure due to illness and as our guild requires, we can not take rejuvenation since our secrets might be taken from us during the process. So I have been elected to pick up his role." Antonio quietly sat down from across Cha and waited.

"I determine who heads a Guild and who does not! I am the pow--" Cha began to speak louder but Antonio cut him off, something of a rarity for Cha.

"My Prophet, you can not elect a spy master. I have been chosen because the elders in my craft have determined I am the most qualified. Your other guild masters can be selected by you since you can weigh their achievements and advancements. For us you can not. We operate on the shadow of night. Our secrets are ours alone! We are the seekers! We serve you! That is how it must be. For you to know more, to become more involved would undermine your ability to govern. If you need information, ask me. If you need a something done that you can not ask the other guild masters to do, ask me. If you need for me to eliminate an enemy or even a friend, ask me." Antonio replied.

Cha sat in silence for a while and then replied. "What if I want you dead?"

The new seeker smiled a bit and then said," All you have to do is ask."....

*!*!*!*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2229

Dee thought for a moment, then gave her final authorization to release the 200 energy to the Cult, and to release Environmental Economics for their use. The Council had entrusted this decision to her, and Cha’s answer to her question was appropriate. She knew she was worried they might pursue Doctrine: Air Power, and then use that to ill effect. :Pursuing a development-based research program, or research focused on a greater understanding of Planet, was a worthy goal, and there was no real reason to deny the Cult a like research, especially when they promised a like technology in turn.

The spheres of influence query was more problematic, and Dee wasn’t quite sure how to reply. It would take some thought. One thing she did know is that she was reluctant to parse up Planet, much like the 19th Century European powers had parsed up the world. It seemed somehow wrong, and maybe a bit greedy. Yes, this one would have to be an item of discussion for the Council.

It was clear Cha was looking to make amends, and this made Dee deeply ambivalent. Perhaps his actions would redeem his apparent militant tendencies – time would tell.

*!*!*!*

Cult, MY 2229

To our good friend of the Planet Lady Skye,

I have been informed by most able administrators that no technology files were pre-approved for transmittal. We are only three turns away from completion of our research so if you do plan on agreeing to our exchange of data the sooner the better. Once again I am still at an impasse as to what level of research to proceed to next. It seems that you have also made great inroads in industrial automation, which, is one of the technologies my scientists and engineers are asking me to pursue. This of course would be a huge waste of resources since you already have achieved this breakthrough! So I am in need of your good will and friendship. Certainly you would not agree to trade us the advanced energy systems and tree farm technology for industrial automation, a technology you already have. So, perhaps I can offer this incentive to help guide your choice. There have been reports that I have received that your council still has reservations about rebuilding our friendship. What is done is done. The Hive are now under our care and guidance and their people are much better off than they were before. We have been able to open up Yang's society and he has received a great benefit in technology from us to help his people. Yang is now willing to support you and your position as Governor. Someone might argue the ends do not justify the means but in this case it is hard to argue that a child that was starving is now fed is not a worthwhile end. So, I will make this promise to you. We will use our accumulate research towards more peaceful research only. I can only hope that it will calm the nerves of the war-mongers on your council.

We do have good news to report! The xeno-dome was completed and it will be in operation next turn!! I am ordering a whole week of festivities to honor the event and I will issue a planet wide proclamation of Peace! This is a glorious day for us all. The machine has been thwarted! Your enemy will not have an advantage of you!

Lastly, my staff is still working on the sphere of influence information but I assure you it will be a complete document that will lay out a clear understanding of our intents.

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that
transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn

First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.

*!*!*!*

Gaia’s Landing, MY2230

Dear Cha Dawn,

I did attach the files for Environmental Economics, but neglected to pre-approve the data transfer. Hopefully I have not made this oversight twice! I have likewise pre-approved the transfer of our files on Industrial Automation. We have enjoyed the benefit of this technology for a long while, and have gifted this technology to both the Cyborgs and the University. Both Aki and Zak asked if the Council and Parliament would be willing to offer this as a gift of good will, and due to its useful but non-threatening nature there was little misgiving in approving this gesture of goodwill. We, therefore, are willing to give this technology to you. It is our wish that you will find benefit for your people. The Council will be most interested in the target of your research and your goals.

Congratulations on completing the Xenoempathy Dome! This will be a terrific boon for your understanding of Planet and I would hope that you will consider informing the Council of your findings.

One vigilant member of the Council noted recently that the Cult has expanded considerably in the recent past. I can only assume this means you’ve had a change of heart on the value and efficacy of base expansion since I seem to recall that you were upset with the level of Gaian expansion as of 50 years ago. It is also interesting that your new bases are on rather large continents with considerable room for expansion. I can only wonder if you intend on significant colonization of these land masses. Do you have a philosophy for your expansion? At this point the Gaian’s have agreed that further base expansion is not needed except for research purposes.

You might also be interested in the fact that most of the other faction leaders are pursing a Free Market economy. This has disturbed me personally and the Council in general. At this point there are no plans to take any action but friendly persuasion, and I hope you will do the same. I have proposed that we lead by example, and that our actions will demonstrate by themselves our intent. Your recent actions demonstrate, in my opinion, a negative example and it is my hope that your future actions will diminish this unfortunate instance.

Dee

	03-04-2003 18:45									#44
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

Cult, MY 2230

To our most cherished friend and supporter of Planet Lady Skye,

I am once again hurt by your terse words of misunderstanding and resentment towards us. The past is now the past for good or for evil what is done is done. In the eyes of some of your more militant council members I am a monster. To they eyes of the children we saved from starvation, torture and endless toil, I am a savior. Who is right? I will let history judge my actions. Suffice it to say I think we are moving forward to repair the bridge between our two people. I have noticed that your people lack technology on artillery systems. This could be of great use to your people in the defense of your homelands. If you agree I will transfer this technology to you, as a token of my generosity and support of your cause. I understand you Gaians have withheld some military technology from other factions, perhaps us included, but I will not sit by and see our friends of the Planet hurt without my help. Think of it as means to repay some of your kind generosity or as a further indication of our good will towards your people. We have begun work on the expanding and improving our tidal/wave energy collection systems which should greatly enhance energy collection systems. Also, my scientists all agree that such information will expand our understanding of energy collection facilities and the linking of them into a great network. Of course, we would reserve the right to exploit any special projects that might come of such research. I do hope you agree to this minor stipulation. I am sure you Gaians will want to work on some more important military technology or project first.

Also, the information we have harvested by the xeno-dome is staggering. I am sending you the raw data for your scientists to review. I am sure you will be shocked by the data. I, of course, have known for some time what the data is now telling us that each fungus stalk generates a neural connection of energy and when taken as a collective the network is beyond the scope of understanding. As of now I have no hard data to suggest what I, once again, have already know and that is Planet is alive! A thinking sentient being which has a mind, a soul, of incomprehensible power! The information has brought great joy to my people and the Planet temples are over-flowing with new and renewed believers in the new faith! What joy this has brought to thousands of my people and now to you and yours!!! What a wonderful age we live in! We have now glimpsed into the very workings of the mind of a God and it is wonderful to behold!! We are trying to work on some device to "link" with the neural net but our technology is not sufficient to support our hopes, but someday it will! Rejoice with us, with me in the what has become a new beginning for us all!

Lastly, here are the coordinates I have promised that mark out our sphere of influence. I think you will find them very interesting and also very generous. If you start at sector 37,127 and then move to 46,117; 46,111; 47,107; 47,97; 46,96; 50,92; 50,90; 55,85; 57,85; 60,82; 60,80; 61,70;
61,79; 65,79; 87,57 these coordinates will draw a line marking the farthest area we claim as under our territorial sphere of influence. I think we have been most careful in our plan so that it still leaves a navigable sea lane between our two factions. In fact, the channel that separates the two large landmasses serves as a major indicator between the two masses. On the area east of the line we have marked we claim this as our sphere of influence. You mentioned our expansion into the larger continents and our strategy. Our goal is to preserve the land east of the line of influence in its natural environment. We might build one or two off-shore sea farms or even a land farm or two but no forests or other man made environments will be introduced into this area. It will remain pure, pristine for all to come and rejoice in the land of this great being, our loving Planet, our guide! I think it is more imperative than ever to protect as much as possible the fungus since this is the mind of Planet. I hope you will see the light of reason and work with us and protecting this land from further destruction. You argue that we are still few in numbers, yes that is correct. But Planet is a giant being of pure love and energy. Each sector of fungus is now vital to the health and well-being of Planet. I hope you will come to see this to be as true as I do.

I wish you well in your work and the Peace of the Planet!

May Planet shine on your good people and give them the peace of mind that
transcends all worldly desires!

May you live in Peace and serve the Planet.

Prophet Cha Dawn

First Disciple of the Planet. He who walks in the soul of the Planet.


+++++++

The guild master of the seekers sat in a dark room with a team of covert specialists trained by the seekers guild. Each of the twenty seekers in the room had undergone intensive espionage tactics and training in the past five turns. The guild master stood up and looked at each of the men and women in the room and then said,

"I have no words to give you to bolster your courage or put steel into your resolve, it is not needed. You are the elite of the seekers guild. You all volunteered for this mission and as such you all know the risks you are about to take. Your target has been kept from you until now. You will proceed east and embark on an isle of the deep and move eastwardly and disembark on University soil, at a site that will offer you access to their transit system. Then you will proceed with your mission to infiltrate the University data banks and insert the worm virus that will allow our guild to monitor the entire University network. The second stage of the mission is to plant evidence that will lead the University to believe it was another faction that penetrated their systems and have compromised them. The name of that faction will be given to the team leaders only. The Prophet has not decided as of yet who he will want the blame to fall upon. However, prior to landing on University soil you will be given the name of the faction and the needed materials to frame them. I can not stress how important this mission is. Once we breech their security and plant the worm virus in their systems it will be all the easier to steal any further information we need. I should warn you right now that if you are successful that your next target will be the Peacekeepers so do not think that one mission is all their is. You are in this for life!" The guild master bowed slightly and left the room.

*!*!*!*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2231

“He’s asking for half of Planet!” Ling said as she pointed to the strategic map, which highlighted the territory claimed by the Cult of Planet. “If we agree to this we will be ceding huge tracts of land, and we will be limiting our own options. I suggest we demure.”

“There’s one more thing that you neglected to mention,” Colin said. “The Manifold Nexus. If we agree it will fall into Cult hands by default. We’ve planned for far too long, over a decade, in fact, to establish a base or two there. The Cult has the Xeno Dome, and they’ve learned a great deal from that. I don’t think we can agree to this, even though I’d like to.”

Ling snorted and gave Colin a look that said: Stupid child; you just don’t understand. Colin ignored her, as usual.

“I must agree with both Ling and Colin,” Mohammed stated. “It would not be fair to the other factions to give this territory to the Cult. If such a thing were to be agreed to at the Planetary Council I’d be more sanguine. I can’t imagine the other members of the Council agreeing to give the Cult so much land, regardless of their stated intentions. I also think that the scientific value of the Manifold can not be underestimated. We have seen very little of the alien civilization that existed here. The Peacekeepers control the borehole cluster, and an obelisk. We have nothing, except for the alien artifact we linked many decades ago.”

Terry cleared his throat. “In view of these opinions I will record a motion to not respond to the Cult’s territorial proposal by Ling, and a second by Colin. Is that acceptable?”

Ling and Colin nodded. Both were a little surprised since neither could remember the last time they had proposed anything together.

“Then motion proposed, and seconded. I call for a vote.” Terry noted that everyone, including himself and Dee agreed. “Motion carried unanimously. Is there any other guidance from the Council to Dee in her response to Cha Dawn’s latest transmission?”

“Yes,” Ling said, “I think we should agree to accept his technology on artillery. This could be useful, and we have given him technology gratis on several occasions. Frankly I’m surprised he is doing this, but am not going deny his generosity. We should also agree not to pursue any technology he grants to us. Fair is fair.”

“I have noted your informal proposal to Dee. Anything else?” Terry asked. There was nothing. “The next item on the agenda is the proposal from the Parliament on another few years of growth by the use of a Planned economy.”

Colin groaned, “Not again.”

“We are obligated to respond to the needs of the Parliament,” Terry said, remonstrating Colin yet again. “This issue is summarized in Exhibit Three, which I know you’ve all reviewed. To expedite the agenda I call for a vote…”

*!*!*!*!*

Dear Cha Dawn and the People of the Cult of Planet,

I think I need to clear up some apparent misunderstanding that lie between the Gaians and the Cult of Planet. First, we don’t resent you, your people, or your achievements, which are many. The Gaians are happy when any faction, even those with which we are currently at odds, experiences prosperity. As a people we try to be tolerant, and we understand the need for diversity in human society, just as it is necessary for any ecology; in the end they are the same – diversity is healthy, and mono-culture breeds weakness. This, in part, is why we view some of the actions of the Cult with concern. Your aggressive actions act against the diversity of the cultures on Planet, especially since the Hive never directly threatened the Cult in any serious way. In short, we do not understand why your aggressive actions were necessary and, as a result, reject them.

We will accept your generous gift of Polymorphic Software, and acknowedge this gesture of good will. Such exchanges may, in time, bring us closer together since they build trust, which is easily damaged and hard to rebuild. Our previous research has been largely defensive and focused on development. This has not changed. That said, we will not be adverse to advances in our military potential. We have invested significant capital to our defenses, and this will be a welcome addition. The Council and I will have no problem in your reserving a Project that might be possible, but keep in mind that we may do the same thing in the future.

Your information from the Xeno Dome is truly extraordinary, and it has changed a few minds in our scientific circles, particularly those who had a more conventional understanding of Planet. I must tell you, however, that some of your statements that Planet is sentient are little more than assertions, even if they are philosophically persuasive.

The Council and I have decided to demure on your proposed territorial boundary. The general consensus of the Council is that your proposed boundaries were rather… extreme. Moreover, it would be inappropriate for the Gaians and Cult to parse out Planet without the agreement of the other faction leaders, which I hardly think will be forthcoming. If you have further ideas on this subject please forward them to me and the Gaian Council.

Walk with Planet,
Dee

*!*!*!*

Cult, MY 2231

Cha looked out the windows of his private apartments and began to cry again. Planet had been communicating to him each night during his dreams and still he could not understand what Planet wanted of him. The dreams were more of a nightmare each night it seemed since he had been unable to get any sleep in three days. He had at last figured out one of the things he needed to do in his dream and it both scarred him and gave him great joy.

"Father, you asked to see me?" Eve had quietly entered his rooms. She was dressed in the a beautiful dress of orange silk and that left little to the imagination.

"Eve, I called you hear for a very important reason. I am leaving for a long time and you will be in charge. I am formally announcing this later today at the command council and I have prepared a message for our people. I am going on a pilgrimage to the large continent to the west. The Gaians have yet to respond to our "sphere of influence" proposal and I doubt they ever will. I am troubled that they would begrudge us that land since they already a much large area of land. While we might have more territory it is mostly islands, no large land mass to speak of except the one to the west." Cha turned and took his daughters hands.

"Father, why must you leave?" Eve asked quietly.

"Because a great voice is calling me, to go there. It is Planet. I will take an isle of the deep to the new continent and a mind worm and its guide team will be my only companions. I will be gone for some time I think, perhaps decades." Cha looked down at his daughters hands and held them to his face. " Father, what plans for me?" Eve looked at her father with tears in her eyes.

"Eve, In my message today I will announce that you will be the representative. I will inform them all that you are my daughter and as such my chosen heir to represent my concerns at council. The guilds control much of the day to day bureaucracy and administration for our people. Your role is to guide the leaders of the guilds and to set policy, nothing more. I will have a secure channel set for you to contact me when you need to. I have also prepared to a file for your review of all the important issues that are pending before us, before you. My instructions will only cover the next turn or so use what I have given you as a guide. The guild master of the seekers will be your most able advisor lean on him when you need more help or guidance. At first I was not trusting of him but I have come to respect him as much as he predecessor." Cha walked across the room and sat down. Eve notice that he must have just completed a rejuvenation treatment since he looked so young and strong. But once out there in the wilderness, time and the environment will take its toll.

"Father, why must you go now?"

"Eve, all I know is that I must go and I must go west. Nothing else. The great voice that is calling to me will let me know then." Cha reached down and picked up the disk that had the file on it and gave it to Eve. "Once you load it you will have only one chance to read it since it will destroy itself afterwards. Now, let us go and tape the announcement." Cha stood up again and took his daughters hands and left the room.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"And so my children of the Planet I am leaving you and I am not sure when I will return. When I do expect great things for us and for Planet. I will be going on a great pilgrimage and I will be gone for some time. Your welfare has been put into the able hands of my daughter, Eve. I know you will come to love her as you love me. May Planet shine on you and give you peace and everlasting understanding." Cha slowly backed away from the podium and put his arm around Eve and guided her to the microphone.

"I have promised my father that I will care for his gardens with me life and I will serve Planet with all my heart. I hope you all wish him a good journey and a quick return to us!"

The video feed ended fading to black.

*!*!*!*

Gaia’s Landing, MY2231

Ling was annoyed, as usual. “Just how did the Cult get a significant technological advance. Answer me that.”

“I assume that is a rhetorical question, Ling. I’ll answer it anyway,” Terry said as he steepled his fingers. “First, we have given away several technologies to factions who have asked. No one else has done that, or at least no one has until we receive the files on Polymorphic Software from the Cult. Second, Cha Dawn has been much more successful than we have been in technology trading. Most of the other factions have been threatened by our advances, and they have told us so.”

“Then we need to stop being such idiots and stop giving our secrets away!” Ling said, raising her voice almost to a shout. “The sweat and toil of our scientists, and the fact that we have three times the scientific output than any other faction, comes to nothing! We give, and we don’t receive.”

“Not quite,” Colin said. “The Cult has promised to give us their next technology breakthrough in exchange for Environmental Economics, and since they recently made a breakthrough they should forward Adaptive Economics to us in the next year. Also, we gave technology to the University and Cyborgs and gained some good will as a result. Also, we need to consider asking other factions, such as the Cult, to act as intermediaries for us. In this deal we give them technology and they trade it to others who are less threatened by their presence, and then they gift the fruits of their efforts to us.”

“Why? The only one that benefits is the Cult, or whoever supposedly agrees to this. And there is no guarantee they will comply,” Ling said.

“Yes there is,” Colin said. “We have the Empath Guild, and we can snoop. If the Cult or any other faction agrees and then gains technology, and then reneges, then we can conclude that they are not trustworthy.”

Ling didn’t reply.

“I think we should ask the other factions, discretely, if they are interested,” Dee said. “We really don’t have anything to lose, and we can generate some good will.”

“Fine. As long as we don’t get played as suckers,” Ming commented. “I’m tired of the other factions playing us for victims, and taking advantage of our good nature. We need to be more proactive.”

Terry looked over at Dee. “Do as you see fit on this one. This is your prerogative, and there is not dissent. Now, the next item: The Hive has declared war on us. Personally, I think that Chairman Yang is seriously deluded, and I think we should ask the Cult to ‘request’ that they offer us a truce, which I’m sure we will accept. Any comments?”

“No. Makes sense to me,” Colin said. “Maybe Cha was right about Yang. And if so his guidance hasn’t increased his wisdom, has it. I hope he can come through on this.”

“OK, Dee?” Terry asked. She nodded. Terry said, “Anything else?”

“Yes, there is. I have been receiving reports from my sources that some of our cities are generating significant amount of ecological damage due to excessive extraction of resources. We need to look into this before something dire happens.”

Dee perked up. “Who are your sources, Colin. Are they reliable?”

“Of course they are!” Colin said. “I can’t tell you since I was told in confidence, and they all wanted us to conduct an inquiry to verify this critical information.”

“I hope this isn’t true since it violates everything we stand for,” Dee said. “Even if it isn’t true we need to look into this. I move we informally look into this issue ourselves, and then forward these preliminary results to the Parliament for a formal investigation.”

“Second!” Colin said.

Terry called for a vote. There were four for and one abstention – Ling. She looked indifferent, but Colin thought he saw her eyes dart around a bit too much. Suspicion? Deception? Maybe.

	03-04-2003 18:46									#45
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

Cult, MY 2232

Eve had traveled for a great long time to reach the meeting point that she had ordered Yang to. Reports from her master spy indicated that some war had broken out between the Gaians and the Hive and she needed to find out what had happened. Her isle of the deep was quickly approaching the shoreline where she could make out Yang and his staff accompanied by Cult advisors or more accurately Cult spies. The isle of the deep glided up the sandy beach and stopped allowing Eve and her advisors to off load which they quickly did. Eve walked slowly up the Yang who was smiling at her approach and as she reached him she spun about and her boot took Yang full in the face sending him reeling to the ground. Eve quickly jumped on the old man, ( Cult scientists had withheld some the longevity treatments forcing Yang to age more and more each year ).

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING YOU OLD FOOL!!!" Eve screamed at the man. She quickly reached down and pulled the limp Yang to her and along the ground all the time he desperately tried to crawl on his knees.

"Mistress Eve, I assure you that we are not the culprits here! I beg you to review the information I have before taking action!" Yang pleaded with her as he fumbled for a computer pad in his pocket. Eve took and scanned the information and from it seemed that Yang was telling the truth. Eve looked back at the Cult/Hive advisors and nodded to them.

"Is this correct?" Eve's head shot up and bored into the group of Hive/Cult advisors.

"Mistress Eve, as far as we can tell yes. We have seen, nor heard of any actions on behalf of the Hive that could create a state of vendetta between them and the Gaians." Replied the senior advisor.

"Then what on Planet is Skye playing at?" Eve turned and stamped down to the beach but stopped halfway and then turned.

"Yang, if I have been tricked you will soon learn how the Cult deals with treachery!" Eve's eyes bored into Yang who was still on his knees.

"Mistress, I pledge again our assurance to you that we are your loyal allies. In fact, I have some new technology for you as a gift, cyber ethics. With it your science rate should increase significantly!" Yang waved his hands as an aid rushed forward with some data crystals wrapped in the velvet bag. Eve took the crystals and turned and remounted the isle along with her staff and the isle quickly departed leaving Yang alone with his puppet masters and his aides. He quickly stood up and dusted himself off. Yang starred at the isle as it departed out to sea and wondered where was Cha Dawn and thanked fate that he did not come because he knew if he had he would have been dead.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

To the Gaian advisory council and Lady Skye,

I have been informed that some unpleasantness has occurred between the Hive and the Gaians. I have ordered Yang to accept any peace settlement you offer him but from all indications I have seen it is YOU who are the aggressors here. Yang would not go against our advice to make peace and so the failure must be you. I request that you offer terms of peace to Yang so that we can end this slight disagreement between you two. Yang is a loyal supporter of your governorship Lady Skye so I hope you will see it is in your best interest to act here.

As my father agreed the promised gift of technology and the completion of our technology exchange is attached to this transmission. I hope you use these new technologies wisely. We will soon be working on new areas of research and discovery due to some advances we have made in scientific research and techniques. Also, next turn we will begin working on a new project I have authorized, the planetary energy network. It will link all of our cities into a vast energy grid which should increase our energy resources. I do believe my father has an agreement with you that you will not proceed with any competitive stance on this project.

Lastly, it was my fathers wish that we would work together more closely in the future so that on his return he would find that our factions would be as one. Unfortunately, the immediate possibility of such a reunion is not possible since I have been informed your cities are producing more pollution than ever. My father has gone to search for the great voice of Planet, a pilgrimage of the highest order, what I would hope that upon his return he would not find the Gaians polluting the ground, air and sea with their waste! Please looked towards cleaning up your society in all aspects! May the light of Cha Dawn keep you safe and light your way into the heart of love and understanding!

Mistress Eve
Daughter of the Great Prophet of the Planet, Cha Dawn

*!*!*!*

Gaia’s Landing, MY2233

Dear Eve,

I am at a complete loss at how we might have initiated hostilities with the Hive. The Hive has no sea units so they could not have been attacked at sea. Any attack on land would have been immediately noticed and documented by The Hive, and likely by the Cult overseers that are present in the two remaining Hive cities. I have personally tried to contact Yang since I became aware of the start of hostilities and he has refused my calls. He has also refused the calls of others who have tried. The Gaians have no reason to attack the Hive, and doing so would violate our basic principles. Considering how your father impugned Yang’s character I would submit that the error is on the side of the Hive.

Let me personally thank you for the technology you have transferred to us. Polymorphic Software and Adaptive Economics will be most useful, and they will eventually aid us in our efforts to understand our environment and the more mundane human condition. We are close to making a breakthrough in Neural Grafting, which is a technology that offers great promise but does have some frightening potential. Our agreement to not pursue technologies associated with Adaptive Economics stands, and the Gaian Council will be most interested in anything this Project will tech your people.

The topic of pollution came up at our last Gaian Council meeting, and we have formed an informal board of inquiry to examine the allegations. It is inimical to our nature to harm the environment and anyone who would do such a thing will be brought to justice.

Lastly, you should know that most of the other factions are running a Free Market economy, and by doing so they show a flagrant disregard for Planet. This has lead to no small amount of social unrest; for instance, half of Zak’s cities are in revolt, and several Cyborg cities have had similar problems. I have not received any information that the Spartans, Hive or Peacekeepers have been so foolish as to sate their greed with an active program to despoil Planet.

Walk with Planet,
Dee

*!*!*!*

Cult, MY 2233

To our Planet sister, Lady Skye,

It seems that Chairman Yang prior to making a commitment to the Cult pledged support to Pravin Lal as a " pact mate ". For some reason Yang felt "obliged" to support Lal in his vain attempt to usurp your authority. Suffice it to say that this "pact" that Yang is in with Lal is irrelevant now. Our current alliance with Yang overrides all other concerns the Chairman might have so do not worry on that regard. In fact, as I have said before, Yang will support your governorship should Lal try to force the issue again. Yang is now our most worthy friend and as such looks to my
fathers wisdom for direction.

I to grow more worried each day at the rampant explosion of pollution on Planet. Many of the other leaders feel the same way you do that their populations are small and the impact on the environment is miniscule. My father has reported many wondrous things while on his vision quest and I should not doubt that upon his return many changes will take place.

I have decided to take this opportunity to forward the following exchange. We people of the planet are in possession of a technology called cyber ethics. We will soon move our society to a more knowledge seeking status. Of course, this will in turn will offer us greater scientific output and the resulting discoveries will make us all the more efficient. I will transfer this technology to you if your government will sign a treaty that they will never pass or approve legislation that seeks to guide your society towards the pursuit of money or industry. The benefits of the expected improvement in efficiency will help offset any reduction in your treasury I would think.
Please consider this proposal.

Lastly, I have been told that you have yet to respond to my fathers request to establish zones of influence so that we remove any chance of a "flash point" between our two factions. I wish to inform you that we are moving forward with our plans to scout the great continent that lays between our two factions and we have plans to set-up research colonies within the fungus fields to study Planet. Any introduction of forests or other non-native eco-systems within our sphere, that can not be contained, would be looked upon as a direct threat to our religious and scientific exploration of Planet. Should you wish to plant forests on your area, as you have done in the monsoon jungle, that is your concern but we wish to keep our area pristine. In fact, we have laid out plans to even plant more fungus in this area. Your thoughts on this issue would be most welcome. There is a great amount of land for us all so I hardly think the request from my father constitutes a general alarm. If any faction on Planet has a right to claim more land for future expansion it is certainly the Cult. If there is some pressing reason you feel the need to place cities in the area we claim as our sphere of influence please notify us and we can then discuss them. Otherwise the placement of a base so far from your core territory could only mean that you plan on massive expansion that threatens Planet peace and the Cult way of life.

I hope my comments do not alarm your war dogs but please understand we will fight, if need be, to protect the area we now claim to keep it pristine and as close as possible to the natural environment of Planet. We see no reason as to why you think we are "land grabbing" since we have only claimed a mere 1/3 of the area leaving 2/3 for other factions, including yourself to colonize. Which in fact you have with your colonization of the monsoon jungle area. So I hardly think that the area my father marked out hardly indicates any threat to you and your people.

May the light of Cha Dawn keep you safe and light your way into the heart of
love and understanding!

Mistress Eve

Daughter of the Great Prophet of the Planet, Cha Dawn

*!*!*!*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2234

Dear Eve and the people of the Cult of Planet,

The vendetta by Yang continues to puzzle me. I find the idea of Yang being pacted with Pravin to be unbelievable. Note that I do not deny that is what you have been told, but it is clear that Pravin and Yang are diametrically opposed in their philosophy of governance. In fact, I brokered at least two rather fruitless truces between the two, and in both cases it was Pravin who declared war on Yang. You should also know that Yang finally deigned to talk to me in an official capacity. He was belligerent, and demanded a large energy payment for peace. I agreed, and he rejected it and said,” I will enjoy seeing you executed.” Needless to say I was not amused, nor was the Council. Even Pravin, in his pique and his baseless vendetta, has not been so personally insulting. This is even more outrageous since Yang has no way of pursuing his war since he surrendered to your father. The Council has advised the Gaian parliament that there is no reason to actively pursue the war that Yang has initiated. We will not even take the unlikely landing of Hive troops on our land as a provocation, although they will be summarily destroyed. The Council has determined that Yang is not a threat, and we will act as such until there is reason to reassess this position.

There has been something of a crisis in Gaian lands in the last month. A small pollution-induced fungal bloom erupted at Dreams of Green, which has been our primary producer of military material for the last 50 years. The Governor and his advisors have been arraigned and their trial is now underway. In addition, a full scale inquiry has been enacted by Parliament, and even the most ‘minor’ amount of environmental pollution will not be tolerated, and those found guilty will be subject to rather lengthy prison sentences. Some even suggested rescinding the Gaian ban on capitol punishment in these cases, but cooler heads prevailed. Suffice to say that any prisoner convicted of these environmental crimes will probably wish they were dead - their lives in prison will not be pleasant (although their safety and general well being will be assured). I hope this allays some of your and your father’s fears. It has certainly refocused our efforts on this issue and it is highly unlikely that it will happen again.

To make amends for this unhappy occurrence we have completed tree farms at Gaia’s Landing and Lily of the Valley. These fine facilities will allow us to gather more renewable resources, which are gifts from Planet. More such facilities will be constructed in short order, both to demonstrate the Gaian commitment to expansion of our existing bases and to the peaceful development of our ability to understand and protect Planet. I can only hope the Cult of Planet will agree to this philosophy and walk with us in this path.

Your offer to exchange Cyberethics is generous but the Council has decided that we must decline. We do not agree that the judicious, and very rare, use of Planned industry and growth related economic mechanisms should be banned. It should be understood that, as a rule, I will not support this, and will insist that we support a Green economy. At times I am overruled, or elements in our democratic parliament will not adopt the guidance of the Council. Moreover, I see no problem with the utilization of Wealth. This offers no harm to the environment, and it helps the appropriate development of our society. I am surprised that you made no mention of a Planet-unfriendly economic model – Free Market. This model leads to wanton destruction, as opposed to inadvertent damage, to the environment. This economic model is a conscious choice to put the wants of the few over the need of the land in which we live. Many of our neighbors have chosen this model, and we Gaians disapprove. I would hope that your people will not choose this path.

The Gaian Council has considered your territorial claims and has decided to neither agree or disagree with them. There are a few points we do wish to respond to, however. It is our belief that no faction has the right to claim 1/3 of the undeveloped lands of Planet, even if they claim it is to be placed in “trust”. Moreover, I told you father that it is not appropriate for the two most powerful factions on Planet to simply divide up unclaimed territory like the great powers of Earth’s past. This might be an issue to bring to the Planetary Council, but I would hardly think the other factions would agree that your proposal is justified.

That said, it is fair to limit potential friction by being more open on future plans. So, while we neither agree nor disagree with your territorial proposal we will let you know our general plans as they develop. At this point in time our exploration has identified a few areas we will settle to conduct scientific research of alien ruins. These areas are near these coordinates: 62, 40 and 49, 115. Neither of these areas is anywhere near your current colonies and neither will threaten your expansion plans. Moreover, these areas will have one to a maximum of three colonies – which is hardly a massive expansion. That said, we will agree to your father’s desire to keep these areas ‘pristine’, and by pristine I mean that we will not planet forests nor will we remove fungus in areas of your concern. The Council was closely divided on this point, and I had to be rather forceful to get them to agree to this, and I hope you will see that we are acknowledging the foresight of your father’s vision.

Our hawks, such as they are, are focusing on upgrading our defensive abilities, a select group of offensive response units, and a large cadre of anti-espionage elements. Your isle of the deep that is patrolling our territory is welcome to inspect our ports, and they will find our claims are true.

Walk with Planet,
Dee

	03-04-2003 18:47									#46
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

Cult, MY 2234

Planet Sister Lady Skye and the Gaian Parliament,

I must be blunt and to the point so that there can be no mistaking my words. First, as I understand your last message you have targeted several sites that contain alien artifacts of a previous culture that existed on Planet and you plan on "claiming" these sites for scientific study. Correct? One
of the "sites" you have claimed is at coordinates 62,40 and as this site is well beyond any colony or area we could claim you are most welcome to it. However, the site you mentioned, 49,115 is out of the question! Let me restate this clearly, there can be no GAIAN colonization expansion at that spot. Let us examine the reasons why:

1) From a strict military perspective our nearest base, which has been in operation for over a decade is only 10 sectors away from the spot. While your base is nearly 40 sectors away!! By placing a colony or several colonies on that site you effectively claim a territory that is DOUBLE the area that we asked to claim in our "sphere of influence"!!! Exactly what right do the Gaians have to claim such a large area of territory? The answer is, NONE! Also, you place us in a very difficult situation in that we either accept your advance bases, that could be used to stage military
actions while we ourselves have none. Your claim to sector 49,115 is in no way justified by the expansion in the areas you have already claimed. They are not linked in any fashion and they can only be seen as proactive and threatening!

2) If you Gaians really wish to "explore" these ruins then I offer a counter proposal that suits your peaceful nature. First, we agree that NO faction can establish more than ONE base within a 8 sector area of the ruins or artifact. Each faction can establish one and only one research base within that 8 sector area and the base is limited to only 2 defenders and it can not have any military infra-structure, ie.. command centers, defensive walls etc.. etc... Also, these bases can never be allowed to expand beyond seven thousand citizens. This will allow other factions to establish bases and build modest infrastructure to support their modest bases. Imagine if the
Gaians, Cult and University all shared these sites and cooperated in the exploration and discovery of these areas. Of course, prior to any base site construction a review of that bases location would be analyzed so that the base does not unduly effect another base/faction. Also, each base must
severely limit any terraforming so that any expansion does not destroy the natural environment. This point you have already agreed to!

I can not make this clearer than I am now when I say if you attempt to build multiple bases in an area that would deny other factions from participating or exploring the site than you make our request for a modest buffer zone seem like a spec of sand on the beach! Your new base clusters would, in effect, allow you to claim nearly 1/2 of the Planet under Gaian influence while our area of influence would only constitute less than 12% of the Planet. FOR SHAME!! Do you take us for FOOLS!!! Do you think we can not read a map!! My father would have me executed on his return if I allowed Gaians to become masters of 1/2 of Planet!! Especially a faction that claims to be planet loving but in reality treats it like a garbage can!

I think I have stated not only the Cult of the Planets case but for all the other factions on Planet. I warn you that you should consider what I have said carefully. I wish no bloodshed but I have ordered three boil class isles of the deep to patrol the area west of the coordinates 49,115. Should
any Gaian isles or transport come within range of the coast and it should have a colony pod I have issued orders to sink/destroy the transport or isle. I do not want this to come about but I will do what I have to do to preserve our rights to explore Planet. As I have said I could live with a
single Gaian base as long as that base does not claim ALL of the site for itself. If you agree to our second proposal, as shown above, than please notify me.

I hope that your empaths will guide your deliberations since they will aid you in understanding our point of view. I doubt you would be as friendly and as receptive to your plan if the roles were reversed? Is that not so!! What we have here is a simple problem of geography and of cooperation. You Gaians can not expect the factions of Planet to allow you to claim sole ownership of these sites especially when one of them is practically on our front door step!! Would you allow us to do the same to YOU!! I would say NOT!! As we have stated earlier the site at 62,40 is yours and yours alone since its well beyond our borders but for you to claim a site not even 10 sectors away from our nearest colony, well that is a different story indeed. No, we need to find common ground on this and quickly so that your unilateral actions do not trigger a war between us. Make no mistake, I will act to protect my fathers' interest and of my peoples. We will not allow Gaians to claim an area of land over 40 sectors away which will create an area greater than any three factions combined!!

I regret having to right this but I think if you work quickly and with us we can come up with a solution to this problem rather than facing bloodshed. Once again I urge you to proceed with caution!!

May the light of Cha Dawn keep you safe and light your way into the heart of love and understanding!

Mistress Eve

Daughter of the Great Prophet of the Planet, Cha Dawn

*!*!*!*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2335

Dear Eve,

I noticed you didn’t bother to consider the other issues I raised in my last transmission and I have to say I am disappointed that you are so myopic.. Or perhaps I can conclude you agree with the Gaian position? Until you or your father say otherwise I will let these issues lie.

You did spend a rather long time expounding our your territorial claims, and making some rather outrageous claims of Gaian intentions. The Council and I feel that we should, in the interests of clarity, respond to your assertions and accusations on a point-per-point basis.

First, the placement of additional bases will in no way increase the Gaian sphere of influence in the way you assert. The sphere of influence agreed to by the Planetary Council is approximately seven sectors from any existing base, or the middle point between two competing bases, whichever is less. The sphere of influence at sea is considerably less and is generally two sectors or less. Any new base, in previously unclaimed territory, will have a sphere of influence of seven sectors in radius, which is rather tiny fraction of the landmass of Planet. This sphere is much less where there are competing bases that belong to other factions. These facts fly in the face of your claims, and I invite you to support your assertions.

You also are concerned about the ‘right’ of any faction to settle (as opposed to simply claim, as you and your father have done) territory. It is the Gaian view that land outside a Council-approved faction territory is fair game, although we are sensitive to reasonable territorial concerns of other factions. You will note that any lone or small cluster of bases is more vulnerable than a threat since they posses few resources and it is difficult to have them form significant military threat. The bottom line is that they have minimal defense and offensive capability. I think this turns your argument on its head; any new, isolated base or small group of bases are hardly threatening.

To show that we are not being hypocrites the Cult, or any other faction, is invited to colonize the islands north of our lands, or the large continent to our east. Each would put that faction within easy striking distance of the Gaian mainland. These unsettled lands are extensive and you are welcome to them. Apparently the Cult is not so magnanimous, or trusting.

Your second point is more reasonable and I think we that, based on this proposal, we can come to a mutually agreeable solution. The Gaians will agree to one base within eight sectors of the Manifold Nexus, and that this base will have two military defenders. We will not agree to forfeit a perimeter defense, but see no need for a command center or other military enhancement centers. I don’t think that it should be too hard to keep the population to seven or less, but you must agree to some latitude since we can hardly execute or forcibly remove these people, so it will take a few years to humanely remove the excess population. We also agree to not plant any forests or remove any fungus near the Nexus. Any other base, should that ever come to pass, would be eight sectors or more from the boundaries of the Manifold Nexus. This should satisfy your claims.

Lastly, I view your assertion that a few more bases would effectively claim ˝ of Planet for the Gaians as ludicrous. First, they are patently false based on the territorial limits agreed to by the Planetary Council – the numbers simply don’t add up. Second, your assertion implies a certain greed by the Gaians that is insulting since it is false, which is proven by the fact we have ceased any meaningful base expansion in the last 50 year. I also was offended that you would assert that we ‘treat Planet like a garbage can’, and I request that you clarify the intent of your slander. Your open threat of using isles to destroy Gaian civilians is likewise threatening and alarming, and the Gaian Council is at this moment trying to parse your meaning. Keep in mind that the Cult of Planet is seen by the Council as an aggressive and war-mongering faction based on your unprovoked attack and subjugation of The Hive. Your recent statements have done nothing to allay these concerns. For the time being we will view the more aggressive comments as miss-statements, and I would suggest that future messages to me and the Council be worded more carefully.

Deirdre Skye

*!*!*!*

Cult, MY 2235

Mistress Eve had called the emergency council session to assess the planetary situation. The solar flares had cut all communication with the other faction leaders and with all of the informants and vid-channels. Essentially for this first time in over a 100 years the Cult of the Planet was cut off from all everyone else on Planet. She looked around the room at all of the guild masters and silently hoped that there would be no surprises.

"Thank you all for coming so soon. First, as everyone knows the massive solar flares have all cut off all radio/microwave communications both within the our society and without. Our overseas colonies are linked to us via the undersea cables which allows for secure communications and between them and command central. However, communications between the various factions and their societies is essentially zero. The only means we have to communicate with them is by person to person. The problem with that is the distance issue. Even if I dispatch a messenger today via an isle of the deep the nearest faction is the Hive and it will take nearly four turns, the others even longer. My father did plan for such a contingency since we were aware of this possibility and our ambassadors at large, at each faction, have instructions to negotiate on our behalf up to a certain level. Our vassal state, the Hive, has plenty of Ranger guides to keep them in order so there is no worry there. So, what do you have to add?" Eve turned to the other council members and then waved her hand towards Ranger One Ramos.

"Mistress Eve, the new faith is in good order. We have expanded many temples into other factions that are open to our cause, the Peacekeepers, Hive and the Gaians. Our Ranger garrisons do need upgrading but with our current energy situation that will be difficult since a full 80% of our energy production goes into our scientific process. So upgrading our forces will take a long time. Hopefully, the Guides can add to our garrisons with more worms or through raising them in the worm chambers. We did complete the prototypes for both missile technology and resonance armor so future upgrades will now be possible with the latest technology we have. However, according to reports from the Seekers Guild several of the other factions might already have more powerful weapons or even armor. I..."

"It does not matter what weapons they have or armor. Our worms have shown that they are the equal to any force on Planet. We can sustain them in the field for a greater length of time and they are highly mobile. Also, many of our enemies lack the sophisticated equipment to protect them from mind attacks. No, what we need to concentrate on is even more worms, spore launchers and isles of the deep!" General Fookosh interrupted Ramos who finished his speech by banging his fist on the table.

"Mistress Eve, " Shari Moon quickly jumped into the conversation. " I agree with General Fookosh. However, I would like to add that our ultimate protection is in the good relations with the other factions. Our military might serves only one purpose and that is to convince other factions that attacking us would be more costly than profitable. Our "liberation" of the Hive would not have been so easy if the Hive had completed more missile, trance or resonance troops to counter our native forces. A strong native army/navy is important to our protection but it will not secure our peace in the long term."

"I agree with you Guild Mistress Moon but in the here and now our forces led by the able General Fookosh will secure our borders better than a piece of paper. Especially now since we can not even contact another factions to lodge a protest or negotiate a settlement. Look at the current situation with the Gaians. We still have not resolved the situations with the ruins and expansion. Should the Gaians move into those areas prior to us reaching an agreement there will be trouble. In essence based on the reply from the Gaians we have the bases for an agreement but until we can talk with them the issue is tabled, unless they act first. I have sent a communication to our base on the western continent informing them that they will now have priority to all our resources to dispatch a colony pod as quickly as possible to build a colony next to the alien ruins. Once we have a base there then we can negotiate with the Gaians from a sense of strength. We will allow them to set-up a single colony and we will adhere to our proposal as I stated but I still want to be first." Eve stated

"But Mistress Eve," Fookosh asked, " What are the orders to the boil class isles of the deep in that area?"

"Until we get a base up they are to block any Gaian ships or isles. If they can not block them then they will try to warn them off and if not then, then sink them. I am confident that our blockade of the narrow passage into that area will be enough to keep them out. With three isles blocking the passage I doubt they will get through. Also, the last report I have is the Spartans have no interest either of having another Gaian colony in what they claim as their territorial waters. If they Gaians want to take the land route to get there we also have a scout in the area who will work to keep the area clean." Eve then nodded to the master caretaker.

"Mistress Eve, I have little to add at this point. Our terra-forming operations are going well. We will also begin the process, again, of replanting fungus on the home islands. There is little fungus left and so we need to quickly replant what we can. Between the crews we have it should not take too long. We have two sea-formers working there way south and west to the western continent to build kelp farms to bolster production there so that they can build a new colony pod." The master caretaker finished his report by handing out more detailed copies.

Even then pointed to her spy master.

"Mistress, I have nothing to add. The solar flares have cut off our spy network so I have nothing to report. We do have one operation that should be ready in a turn or two and it might yield us some more information but as of now I have nothing, I am sorry." The black robed seeker sat quietly waiting for Eve's response.

"Master spy I do not hold you responsible for the suns activity. Just make sure the operation in question is completed this time. University agents detained your last team and returned them to our base unharmed. If they are caught a second time I doubt they will get the same treatment!" Eve replied.

"All right, I see that for the most part we are in a good position. The worst effect of this flare is that I can not contact my father for guidance. Let us all pray for his safe return." Eve then stood up and the others quickly stood up as well.

	03-04-2003 18:49									#47
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Gaia’s Landing, MY 2236

“Colin, put down that torte. This is serious,” Ling said.

He put down his fork and looked longingly at his multi-layered chocolate cake with elaborate cream and strawberry filling between the dark cake. Then he pushed it away a centimeter of two, indicating he was done but not finished.

“As I was saying,” she continued, “the sunspots have completely disrupted the communication channels between the factions, even the University which is so close. There are some serious problems with this breakdown. First, diplomacy will either stop or grind nearly to a stop. During this hiatus we will not be able to broker peace between antagonistic factions, or even try to gain a peace for ourselves with the Hive and Peacekeepers. This means that these conflicts will fester and possibly grow in scope, perhaps sweeping others into the maelstrom. Second, the communications with our current friends will stop, and this will potentially lead to a slow atrophy in the level of understanding, or current flash points will start to spiral out of control.”

“Like the recent demands and proposals from the Cult,” Mohammed added.

“Yes, exactly,” Ling said.

“We don’t even know if the Cult got my message,” Deirdre said, “much less responded to it in a meaningful way. Although some of their accusations and assertions are ludicrous there may be a way to approach their primary sore points. But, now we will have a colony in place at the Manifold Nexus within four or five years. I’d bet they won’t care that we sent the isle with defenders and a former out almost a decade ago. Who knows how they will respond?”

“I’d bet that their response won’t be calm and collected,” Ling said.

Colin snorted in agreement.

“We can’t do anything about the sunspots, so I suggest we move on. We do have an agenda, and we are behind schedule,” Terry said. He looked around and saw no obvious dissention. “First, strategic base development. Mohammed?”

“Thank you,” he said. “Our primary core of bases have completed all basic infrastructure and are starting secondary infrastructure, including energy grids and biologic laboratories. Gaia’s Landing is working on a habitation complex, which should be ready in a few years. This will prepare us for growth past size seven, and will be copied by other bases in the future. Our secondary ring of bases are starting or near completion of basic infrastructure, and are finishing network nodes and research hospitals. Our third ring of bases, those at the periphery or in the Jungle, have rather basic amenities, although almost all have recycling tanks, rec commons, and a children’s crčches.

“Most importantly we will be completing the Neural Amplifier, and we are accumulating resources for a future project. This will be a great help in protecting our isles and seagoing vessels, and our worms and spoor launchers that are scattered all over the lands around us. Supply crawlers are augmenting their completion, so we should be able to have a significant advantage in future efforts to gain Projects.

“Lastly, I have come to verify to you that all bases have reported in and none are producing ecological damage. This has been independently verified by our auditors. It is interesting to note that as we complete the ecologically friendly improvements such as tree farms that our cities ability been able to increase their industrial output. I will update you on this topic as it develops. At this point our industrial output is maximized by they use of crawlers – future crawlers will harvest energy instead of minerals. That is an interesting point.”

“Thank you, Mohammed,” Terry said. “Ling?”

“Our static defense is mostly complete,” Ling said, “and we are still working on our mobile reaction forces, and will be completing more missile rovers as we can. More work is needed in our northern holdings which are potentially vulnerable to Peacekeeper attack, although they will have a significant sea fungus field to get through. I am looking forward to the completion of the Neural Amplifier, which will augment our trance and resonance defenses.”

“Good,” Terry said. “Dee?”

“Obviously there’s been no communication recently. I’ve had no progress with either Yang or Lal. Zak has been very friendly, and at least Aki has been civil recently. We gifted Santiago a few technologies and she was civil, but we haven’t been in contact for a long time – I regret that I didn’t call before the sunspots. I have some hope for our current disagreements with the Cult, and you all know from our long discussions how we are trying to proceed. I have nothing else, and doubt I will in the near future.”

“Thank you, Dee,” Terry said. “Any other issues?” There was no response. “Then our Council meeting is complete.”

*!*!*!*

Cult, MY 2236

The scout team leader had pushed his men hard for weeks but they had reached the alien ruins, objective one complete. Captain Manx was a veteran commander of many campaigns and had been in the militant arm of the Rangers almost all of his adult life. He was not accustomed to shocks but what he was looking at shook him to the very center of his being.

"Captain, I have ordered sergeant Smith to begin taking recon pictures of the area. Hopefully we will get a good laser uplink today with the base and then they can relay them over the hard line back to DPC ( Dawn of the Planet- Command ) this stuff is going to blow their socks off!" Lieutenant Mack turned to his captain waiting for his response, silently predicting what he would say.

"Lieutenant, I am trying not to think about this place. We have achieved the first objective by command by getting here. Our second objective is to keep anyone else away. The last link that got through from DPC was that three boil class sea worms were out over there in that western sea
patrolling to keep any transports from coming in. Our mission to secure this sight for our future research colony. Once we have one up and running then we can worry about anything else then. I want you to go over training data with the men. We have been promised two new missile sleds to help beef up our offensive capabilities. However, no firm date was set but I was told soon. Once you complete setting up another laser comm. relay station we will move out and head to the north side of these ruins. Once inside the fungus we will be able to move three times as fast and can hit anything that might come this way. I just hope it wont come to it, that's all." The captain pulled out his pad and began punching in coordinates for the company to follow.

"Sir, if I may, one of the men thinks he saw the Prophet last night while on guard duty. He was standing on a ridge line dancing? Private Jackson only said he was there for a few minutes but do you think it could be true, especially with what his daughter said?"

Captain Manx turned to his young lieutenant and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Son, the last report we got is that the Prophets team had lost contact just prior to the flares. That's it. Those guides are a different guild all together. I have no idea how long they can last out here without backup. From what I know from my briefing is that the Prophet and his support team landed just north of our current position, about 6 sectors, so it might be true." Manx leaned in closer, "However, lets try and keep this under wraps and make sure that the private understands it might have been anything. The last thing I need, or we need, is half of our men wandering off to save the Prophet."

"Yes sir, understood. One more thing, do you really think the Gaians will come?"

"I really hope not, I really do. If they come packing and ready for battle they will have us out gunned for sure. On the other hand if its just a colony pod and a single defender and we get the drop on them then its another story. I can tell you one thing, my orders are to destroy the colony
pod and supplies first! We hit that and mission accomplished. If our team is taken out from the counter-attack then, well, that's irrelevant. All we need to do is hit the colony construction pod!"

"I suppose that we should keep that little fact from the men, that, well, that they are expandable?"

"Yes, just like you and me!"

*!*!*!*

Near the Manifold Nexus, MY 2237

“This is rather a bleak place,” Maridith said. “Nothing like Last Rose of Summer with all its beautiful forests and rolling hills. All we have here is a barren land, expanses of haunting fungus, a huge fungal tower, and the Ruins.”

“Isn’t that enough? The scans of the Ruins are amazing and have been studied for decades,” Jonathan stated. “We’ve got all we need here, and more than the first colonists. Our former is here and ready to go and will start working next year as we move on, and our worm and spoor launcher will be able to scout the fungus and territory. They are a strange bunch, but I have to admire their dedication.”

“Now,” she said, ‘what about these edicts from Landing? No forests? That’s what I liked best from home, and they we can find a forest that is suited to almost any environment from arid to tropical and wet.”

“Something to do with the Cult, that’s all I’ve heard. Still, this won’t have much effect for a long time since we’ll establish a farm first anyway. Gotta feed the colonists!”

“I hope they get a move on,” Maridith said. “We have over 3000 people with us. It will be a lot of work to get the city up an running, and I hope the resources in the area can support all of us. We are so far away and we can’t just call Landing and ask for resupply.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll make due. All we’ve got to do for a while do the best we can. The rest will come in time. Now, help me assemble this conduit.”

*!*!*!*

Cult, MY 2237

The team leader of the seeker probe team felt the tingle of his ear-microphone alert him to an incoming call, a safety precaution in case he did not want any noise to disturb is operation, this time it was not an issue. He reached up and touched the ear microphone with his middle finger
which had a key sensor in the tip of the glove coded to the microphone and thus allowing the transmission to be heard.

"Team leader this is recon two, over?"

"Recon two, this is team leader, report?"

"Team leader, target one is a no go. I repeat, NO GO. Just minutes ago I confirmed that a full infantry company has deployed from the city and is now encamped one sector away. At this time I see no access route that is available for us to enter the city. Also, a real shame though, but the city seems to be having some type of civil unrest which would have made our jobs easier getting into it. Over?"

"Understood recon two, return to ops. and rejoin team!" The team leader said a silent curse to himself and reached down on his thigh pad and keyed in the frequency for recon team one. The laser communicators were much more secure than radio transmitters but relied heavily for their operation on the simple fact that person A had to know exactly where person B's laser
receiver was.

"Recon one, this is team leader, report?"

"Team leader this is recon one. Target two is quiet, no sign of activity as far as we can see. Unable to confirm type of garrison or if anti-espionage units are standing guard. Over?"

"Team one, return to ops. and rejoin team!, team leader out."

Team leader Bickford quickly keyed in the penetration plans on target two and beamed them to the other team members that were in the field ops. center. Once the recon teams were back in they would check in with their team leaders and get the new plan. Once each member reviewed it their PADs would beam back the acknowledgement. Next turn would tell the tale...

__ ___ ___ ___ ___ ____


The scout team walked through the ruins of the manifold and were amazed at the massive ruins. For the most part they could make out details on the supporting structures such as writings or numbers or whatever it was. Several of the flankers had even reported in they had found access portals leading down, beneath ground, but could not get the doors to open. The captain had even tried to fire his weapon into some debris from one part of the structure only to find that even after hitting it at point blank range it was neither hot or marked.

"Sir, still no reports from any activity from the scouts or flankers do we proceed on?" His second in commands questions sounded more flat than usual over his receiver. Ever since entering the ruins all of their equipment had acted, funny. Nothing would work as designed, every time. Many of the me reported having nightmares or much to vivid dreams. They were becoming more
tired as each day wore on. However, by next turn they would be clear of the ruins and on the northern side.

"Yes, press them on, get'em moving! The sooner we clear, well... this, the better, out."

Still now word on the missile sleds but reports did indicate a relief/support team was due any day but as to what they carried it was a mystery due to operational security for the mission.

*!*!*!*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2238

Ling put down her tea cup and let its warmth seep into her fingers, and she looked up at Deirdre. “What do you think about the Cult probe team we saw in University territory?”

Dee concentrated up from her vegetable soup. “I’m worried. They can mean no good. It’s obvious they came from the isle near Velvetgrass Point.”

“Maybe they’re going to only infiltrate Zak’s datalinks. Then the Cult would have the same information we have with our empaths. Fair is fair,” Ling said.

“True,” Dee said as she sipped her soup. “If they do more Zak will likely be furious. He’s very protective of his technology, he always has been. There’s no telling what he might do if his security were breached.”

Ling considered this. “Maybe that what Cha wants - to start a fight. He gets some technology, and Zak, in his fury, declares war. He took out the Hive in less than a decade. Perhaps he wants to add the spires of University Base to his list of prizes, along with The Hive.”

Dee sipped some more soup. “How good was his team? Did our sensor get that much information?”

“They are disciplined, reasonably well trained – nothing more,” Ling said.

“Are they a threat to us?” Dee asked.

“No. We have defensive probes at 2/3 of our bases now, and our bases on the south side of our mainland are well defended. It would take multiple teams to do some serious damage, or breach our security.”

Dee tore off a bit of the whole wheat herb bread on a plate in front of her and chewed it absently. “How many probe teams does Cha have?”

“I don’t know. We agreed not to snoop, and we haven’t. Not much, anyway. Should I look into this?”

Dee paused. “Yes. Considering the circumstances. Any other Cult activity?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Ling said. “Our spoor launcher found a Cult synthmetal garrison in the Manifold Nexus. Our launcher handler tried to contact them but they refused any communication except to state that the ruins belong to the Cult. Then they trained their weapons on the launcher, who backed into the fungus.”

“Where is the colony pod?” Dee asked. Her voice lowered a half octave and she set the fragment of uneaten bread on the table.

“Safe,” Ling said. “Unless the Cult garrison heads south and then west they can’t get to them. The launcher will stay in the fungus, healing as it does. We have a number of boils on the way in case things get out of hand. One nice bonus is that our isle in the area encountered a rogue isle in the sea fungus. It turned out to be a friendly, so now our on-site navy is twice as big.”

“We don’t want to provoke the Cult, Ling,” Dee said.

“How are we provoking them? We told them what we were doing after they made their outrageous accusations and demands. We’ll settle there regardless. We even agreed to the Cults odd demands on the number of bases, and what they can do there. What else could Cha want?”

“I don’t know,” Dee said. “Although I think his intentions will become clear soon.”

	03-04-2003 18:50									#48
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Cult, MY 2238

The young lieutenant was running back to the command post he was moving as fast as he could and he quickly covered the distance between the command post and the large Gaian spore launcher. As he reached the C.P. he jumped over the rock walls that had been built to provide cover.

"Sir I gave the ultimatum to the Gaian spore handlers and they accepted it. They did not say much other than they would pass it back to their command. I told them that if they did not move their sporey out of the area we would attack next turn and once again they seemed very calm about it. What's the plan now sir?" The lieutenant sat down at the field table and looked at the map.

"Things are getting very hot here. I got a laser uplink from the coast and it seems our isles of the deep have some Gaian Isles bottled up in a cove to the west of here. They also issued the same ultimatum as well. It seems that the "tacit" agreement between the big boys was to only have two infantry garrisons in this area and from the intel we are getting the Gaians have not followed through, in fact, it looks like they are trying to flood this area with reinforcements. My orders are very clear now. If the sporey does not move out we attack it next turn and try to find the colony pod as quickly as possible. Our isles will destroy the Gaian isles if they do not pull back. This area was supposed to be shared by everyone and now it looks like the Gaians want to gobble it all up." The captain slowly eased himself back in his chair and looked out over the plain to the spore launcher sitting there. " Lieutenant, these Gaians would gobble up the entire planet if we let'em. The Prophet is right about one thing. You can not have two masters, either you support Planet our you support your pocket book. Them Gaians all they care about is more, more more! More wealth, more material more anything. When you worship wealth then it begins to effect you."

"Captain, we still do not know where the colony pod is?"

"I know, I know. But if we pull out of here with the sporey sitting out there we all but give this area over to them. No, I will not let it happen and my orders support me. Tell them men to get ready and dig in!"

__________________________________________________
___

Antionio Markese glided into the conference room of the Mistress Eve who was working away on some paperwork. He paused but only a second but it was enough to alert her senses to his approach.

"Spy master you are too good to make such a dumb mistake I can only assume you were trying to alert me to your presence." Eve slowly turned and faced the man.

"Mistress Eve, my predecessor trained you all to well. I see you are reviewing the latest communiqué from the western base. Do you think the Gaians will withdrawal?"

"Skye has no consideration for anyone else on Planet. Her people follow her lead and she intends to lead them all over Planet. She could not wait till this damn sunspot activity was done could she? No, the great Lady Skye and her Gaians will do what they want when they want regardless of the other factions. She knew what was there before we did and that is why she did not respond to my fathers proposal concerning our sphere of influence. If she had been open and stated that they had found something in our backyard we could have worked it out, but now, without guidance from my father I can only act on how I think he would want us to do." Eve stood up and let her robe fall open revealing her gorgeous body to the master spy.

"Really Eve, do you think I would allow myself such pleasure. That is such a crude attempt on your part." The master spy chuckled to himself as she pulled her robe close about herself.

"No, it was not trick, I am just lonely right now." She sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Eve, to do what you ask would, what you desire, would end my effectiveness to you and your father. No, your loneliness will have to end with someone else. Now, back to the issue at hand. I saw the orders you drafted, do you really plan on carrying them out?"

"I have to do!!" Eve's face turned red and she slammed her fist to the table allowing her robe to open again. " This is where we draw the line in the sand. I wish I had more forces in the area, I wish a lot of things but at this moment I can not blink. Either the Gains begin a general troop withdrawal or we are at war. The Gaians can not continue to think they can push us around! We have rights as well. If they want peace then they will have to work at it just like they work for their gold each day the money grubbing swine!"

"Eve, I suspect your father would have taken the same course of action. The situation looks terrible so we will have to make the best of it. I do have some good news though so I wanted you to know first. Our team did get through and it planted the infiltration virus so we now have full access to the University computer net. It is truly amazing!" the master spy reached beneath his robes and pulled out a PAD and handed it to Eve who quickly grabbed it and devoured the information. Minutes ticked by and after a while she began to laugh and then put the PAD down.

"They are pathetic!" Eve turned to the master map on the wall and then picked up the PAD again and beamed the data over so it could be updated. " To imagine that the Gaians were actually afraid of these people for all these years. If the University was any closer I suspect my father would have found a way to attack them. For all of their science we are well ahead of them and our economy is a juggernaught compared to them even with their precious free market systems that pollute the planet. If my father were here I know he would attack them and end their blight on Planet." Eve walked over to the map and continued her review absently she asked, " Did the team survive?"

"No, they planted the virus and where caught and eliminated but no one can trace them or the bodies back to us. We are clean. In fact, they were not able to plant the evidence as you requested. I am sure if it had worked the University would have been very upset at the Gaians. A noble plan, one worthy of another attempt, if it had succeeded it would have hopeful distracted the Gaians from their efforts at expansion again. Your father has played the factions against the Gaians for decades keeping them off balance."

"Yes, once they turn their backs at last to the pursuit of wealth and concentrate on becoming one with Planet then we can become real allies but for now they are no worse than the rest." Eve turned and left the room leaving the master spy sitting at the table wondering again when would the Prophet return?

*!*!*!*

Manifold Nexus, MY 2239

“What do you mean, they say they will attack if we don’t leave. Are they insane? What did we ever do to them?” Jonathan almost shouted.

The worm empath didn’t respond. She had not been in contact with the worms so long that she had forgotten a rhetorical question when he heard one.

Jonathan had been ranting for almost an hour now and had gotten much of his bile out of his system. He was beginning to think rationally again.

“Anything from the empaths at Landing?” he asked.

The empath shook her head. He had asked the same question just before he went off on his tare, and the answer she had given him then was this: Message received and understood. Danger significant. Orders stand – remain in place. If hostilities commence defend yourselves as best you can. Although they are not nearby, reinforcements will be available for defense shortly. Ming/Gaian Council.

Jonathan signed. “Well, there’s nothing for it. Issue a general alert, something that lets them understand the gravity of the situation but doesn’t instill outright panic. We have 3000 colonists to protect and I can’t having them flying off or doing something stupid. I hate to say this, but order is key. Understood?”

The empath nodded, and then closed her eyes. Then the call went out, and it was heard by all of the colonists either at a subconscious level or as an outright message: Warning – imminent attack. Prepare for the possible hostilities based on the ultimatum from the Cult.

Jonathan understood the message, too. His stomach promptly tied itself up in knots.

*!*!*!*

Ming was in her element – the Command Center at Dreams of Green. This command center was no longer the newest or most advanced, but it was the first military structure the Gaians had built. They now had eight command centers scattered strategically over their territory, and, depending on the result of the sudden and shocking Cult ultimatum, they would start producing either more military hardware or maybe a bioenhancement center. She liked to refer this structure as the Arsenal of Democracy, and for many years it had been.

Now data were flooding in from all over. Even through Ling was not part of the Gaian miltiary command staff she had access to almost everything due to her role on the Council, who were interested in a general way and who also thought it prudent to keep a close eye on any military apparatus. By all accounts the Gaians now possessed the largest military machine on Planet, and this was likely to grow quickly.

It was clear to Ling what the Council should propose to the Parliament – another military buildup, particularly in potentially exposed coastal bases, the creation of a few more mobile reaction forces, a real conventional emapth navy, and more defensive probes. The Cult probe had been seen entering Climatic Research but not coming out again. That boded ill for other nearby factions, including the Gaians. If they penetrated their datalinks the Cult now knew how weak the University was, despite its vaunted technology. What the Cult didn’t know is that the other factions were in similar shape, with a poor infrastructure and too few bases to achieve ‘critical mass’.

The Cult also didn’t know how weak they were in comparison to the Gaians. At this point the Gaians had three times more of almost everything than the Cult, be it research, population, or military. Even in worms the Gaians were ahead, since Ling knew that they controlled 27 native vectors at this point in time, most of which were mindworms. Moreover, it was clear that the Cult was way behind in terms of infrastructure since most of their bases were still finishing rec commons and recycling tanks, which almost all Gaian cities had. The Gaians were working on the second or third tier of infrastructure while the Cult was just finishing their first.

Ling thought to herself: Let them come! They’ll soon regret it!

She knew they would regret it much more if they declared war. The Parliament was on a knife’s edge and had only just rejected the last few proposals to switch to a Planned economy and population boom. As usual the Progressives were behind the proposal, but a few minor parliamentary factions that generally sided with the Greens were teetering, and it wouldn’t take much to push them over.

Ling could hardly wait! In a few years a population boom would seep Gaian lands, pumping the resource base for food, minerals, energy, and with it the economy.

All she needed now was for the Cult to declare war.

*!*!*!*

Cult, MY 2239

Captain Manx looked through the mag-glasses again at the spore launcher and it still had not moved, DAMN! What the hell were the Gaians playing at! He cold knot in his stomach kept getting worse as time seemed to fly by. The relay message from D.P.C. had been clear, it was signed by mistress Eve herself. Attack if the Gaians did not withdrawal! The message had to be kept short due to the distance and the laser communication system was not always reliable so the message read:

Attack the Gaians if they do not withdrawal. Colony pod is being built to support operations in your area but will not be ready and in place for at least 10 turns. Hold eastern side of ruins for future colony site. Full authority is given to you to do what is needed to preserve Cult's right equal share to site. Control of isles of deep in western sea in your hands. If you feel attack is only option to protect area for cult, you are required to do so. Your unit is expandable if need be to preserve our rights! Mistress Eve.

Thanks! That was about as helpful as a rifle butt to the head. To make matters worse a Cult Isle of the deep had reported that a Gaian isle had landed a mind worm to the north. So if he did not attack this turn to force the spore off he would have to do so next turn! Damn! Why me!!! These damn Gaians seemed to think that they had some God given right to slap a colony here and claim the whole area! Damn!!

"Sir, I have to report something to you." Captain Manx turned to face his lieutenant.

"What is it son?"

"Sir, its the men. I have to say that many of them are not to happy at all about our pending attack. I mean, well,, sir, its like this. The men are all good members of the new faith. All of them have grown up learning to honor and love our native friends the mind worms and sporeys and now we have to attack one? It might be a problem." The young lieutenant looked down almost embarrassed to have to report this. All of the men were devoted to the captain but to ask them now to kill a spore launcher, well, he might as well ask them to kill their own families.

The captain had had enough. He grabbed his rifle and vaunted over the wall of the command post and trudged across the field toward the Gaian spore launcher and the keepers. As he approached them he pulled a small white cloth from a thigh pocket and tied it to his rifle. He stopped a few meters from the spore launcher and the Gaian team. He looked around the area and realized that these Gaians were not very good soldiers. They had no listening post or any other basic military preparations had been done. In fact, they looked like they had just stopped and set up to make a camp for some cookout or something. Perhaps the Guild of Guides had the same lack standards as the Gaians.

"HELLO!! Look I got a proposition for you? Who can I talk to?" Yelled the captain.

A young man who barely looked like he could shave walked over to the him and stopped a meter away.

"What can I do for you?" Asked the Gaian.

"Look, here it is in a nutshell. I, and my team are going to come across this field very soon with our shredder rifles and turn the lot of you into swiss cheese. It looks like your spore launcher is already beat up but its healing so perhaps it will put up a fight after all. I also know that when we win we will loose. Because I know that a Gaian mind worm is racing south to help you and they will kill us. And then our isle of the deep kills yours and then you kill ours and we then kill it back and on and on." The captain paused for a second waiting for the young man to respond. At first he looked mad as hell about the part when he said he was going to kill him but then he softened a bit by the end.

"So you see, there it is.... Look I got my orders, you got your orders. I have no idea why the big gals up at the top can not figure a way out of this mess. I suppose it has to be the flares and stuff that make all the negotiating hard. So, here is what I got to say. One, I am staying put. Me and my men are not moving. We got a colony pod coming and it is going to set-up just east of here at the end of the ruins. One pod, that's it. I am sure it will also come with more troops as well. Big surprise. So, here is my idea we all just freeze till it gets here. Then you can set-up your colony and we set-up ours and then everything is okay. That's all my boss wants to see happens, Okay? Otherwise, well I got my orders, plain and simple. If I die carrying them out, well that's what soldiers do. I don't' look forward to it but that's the plain fact of it. So you can take a little initiative yourself and help me find a way out of this and stop what's about to happen or well, you can just die here in a few more days, just like me." The captain finished and waited for the young man to close his jaw in disbelief. After a few more seconds he said.

"Let me get back to you, hold on..." and the man trotted back to this base.

	03-04-2003 18:51									#49
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Manifold Nexus, MY 2240

“Just got a message from the Cult. Get me Landing, NOW!!” Jonathan said to the startled empath, who was desperately trying to shake off the effects of a much needed nap. She didn’t do much more than blink when a calm look crossed her face.

“Just got a message from the Cult garrison that gave us the ultimatum. It seems they’ve changed their mind. If I understand them correctly they want us to freeze until they get their colony pod here in a decade or so. They were a bit vague about the timeline. Otherwise they said they will carry out their orders and attack. Send that. Got is?”

The empath closed her eyes and a look of intense concentration washed over her face. Jonathan looked on with barely suppressed excitement – he knew better than to interrupt.

*!*!**

“Emergency Council, called to order. Glad you could all make it,” Terry asked.

“Like we would be anywhere else,” Ling said.

“Your datapads have the squirt we just got from the Nexus. I trust you’ve all reviewed it?” Terry asked. Everyone nodded. “Now, the Parliament has sent us a directive to decide this for them, advise them of the decision for approval or disapproval, but no debate.”

Colin perked up. “Really? No debate?”

“Really. They understand, for once, we don’t have the time. Ling, any thoughts?”

“We’d be stupid to agree. We’ve planned to send a colony pod there for over 15, almost 20 years. The Cult didn’t bother to do anything about it, and then made their silly unilateral proclaimation claiming the area. When we objected they sent an almost equally silly proposal which we largely agreed to. Now they are threatening to kill anyone there, breaking the agreement. It is very lucky we had a bunch of worms exploring the continent and the lands near the Cult’s new city east of the Manifold – otherwise we’d be up sh*t creek. Now, they want us to hold tight while they spend a decade or so to catch up. Meanwhile, a lot can change in a decade or more and we’re ready to go. I see no reason not to settle, and if the Cult wants to come later then they are welcome to do so.”

“The garrison said we have to freeze or they’ll attack,” Colin reminded Ling. “They could interpret the advance of the colony as violating the impromptu truce.”

“So what,” Ling said. “We’re not saying they can’t settle the land near the Nexus, and our actions won’t preclude them from doing so. We’re not doing anything to violate the intent of the agreement Dee sent to the Cult before the sunspot activity cut off communications. The Cult violated the intent by threatening an attack. We showed up with two military units as we agreed, and they took advantage of that. We were damn lucky that the other worms were in the area.”

“So are you saying we should move the colony forward?” Mohammed asked. “Won’t they be vulnerable to attack?”

“Yes, they would, if they went alone. We should send two worms with them, just in case. The launcher will stay put.”

“That violates the agreement I sent, Ling – two military units,” Dee said.

“They abrogated it by threatening to attack,” Ling said. “It also shows their intent – keep any base weak and vulnerable so that they could take it out when they want to. I call that disingenuous. Downright sneaky. Now we are in a position of having to defend ourselves, and make sure that any attack will be fatal to them.”

“Thank you Ling,” Terry said before Ling monopolized the debate again. “Colin?”

“I don’t like the whole situation,” he said. “I can’t believe the Cult would do this, but they have. We agreed to almost everything they wanted and they threw it in our face. Why? I just don’t understand.”

Terry paused to see if Colin wanted to add anything else. He didn’t. “Mohammed?”

“Even if we build the base it will be very difficult to defend,” he said. “We’ll have to spend a great deal of energy to rush build basic facilities, and non-military units. If we decide to press forward we need to understand the financial consequences. It will cost hundreds and hundreds of energy megacredits. Also, we should be aware that it will take the Cult much longer than 10 years to get a colony in place. It will be more like 20 or 25 years unless technology changes significantly since they have to finish the colony pod and then transport it across huge tracts of sea and land.”

“Good points. Dee?” Terry said.

Dee didn’t respond at once since she was aware that everyone was watching her. The silence grew. “We need to do our best to understand Planet, and be sensative to the needs of other factions. Our best option is to establish the base, and do our best to defend it. But we need to make sure the Cult understands that we are not shutting them out. They are more than welcome to settle the area. If they decide to tear up the draft agreement then we can’t do anything about it. We can settle the land, let the Cult do the same, and even share data with them. We need to adhere to the draft agreement, assuming the Cult pulls away and stops threatening the new base. We can’t do anything else.”

The Council was nodding, Ling enthusiastically and Colin unhappily.

“I think we are in agreement, Dee. We’ll send the pod forward with defenders, and establish the base next year. At the same time we’ll let the Cult garrison know of our counter-proposal, which is to establish the base and that they are free to do the same whenever they get there, and that they will get full access to our data. And that we will pull back our extra military units, primarily worms, eight sectors away when the Cult no longer threatens our base. Agreed?”

More nods.

“Dee, craft a response for our anxious colonists. And all of us need to hope for the best.”

*!*!*!*

Cult, MY 2240

The young Gaian walked across the field waving a white flag over his head somewhat nervously. Manx watched him approach till he got within 15 meters of the command post and then he vaulted over the wall and trotted out to meet the man. As he approached the Gaian reached down and unzipped his side thigh pocket of his environment suit and pulled out some sort of data device. Manx walked up to the man and stopped within a couple of meters of him.

"Captain, I have the following response for you. First the Gaian council wishes to inform you that they intend to proceed with colonization in this area. In fact, in about three hours you will detect the approach of a colony pod with two Gaian mind worms as escort. The council rejects your offer of "freezing" the current situation until further negotiations can be completed. The council still wishes to observe some of the recommendations that your leadership asked for such as no forests. However, due to your aggressive behavior and threats we deem it necessary to protect ourselves against your threats." The Gaian handed the pad over to Manx who read the letter completely and then a second time.

"Well, we already knew that you had a colony pod coming this way and we also knew that you had more forces as well escorting it. I was told that our leadership asked for "limited" military presence in this area so I suppose two mind worms and a spore launcher is the Gaian term for limited." The young Gaian was about to protest the insult but Manx cut him off. "Look, I know you Gaians have a hard time of it looking at things from someone else's perspective so here it is. You Gaians knew about this place for some time and you knew it was closer to our territory than yours. You kept it a secret for a long time and when it became clear that we planned on colonizing this area you then and only then told us of your plan and this site. You wanted to claim this entire area, along with the other alien site, for your own. Of course, you would share with us what information you deemed we could handle but you would enjoy the first fruits of such knowledge. Nice. Look, I am just a soldier but I know greed when I see it and I see it in your people. So now that you have reinforcements I can either attack you and possible kill you and then get myself and my men killed and on and on and on and for what. So, here is what we are going to do. I am moving east about two sectors where our people plan on building a colony there in 10 turns. We will set-up a small command post there and wait for them to arrive. When the colony pod arrives we will set it up and we should be able to claim a part of these ruins for study as well. Of course, by that time your city will have already claimed a large chunk of this area so I have been told that will break our treaty with you. I have been told to inform you that if you wish to re-activate the treaty at that time you are free to contact us and re-open negotiations, we will be receptive. So unless you plan on killing us to clear us off in about 10 turns you will have us neighbors." Manx pulled a PAD out of his pocket and handed it to the young man so he could read the small message that was able to get through from D.P.C. it read as follows;

"Gaians, we no longer trust you. I am sorry to have to say that but that is how we feel. Your continued devotion to the accumulation of wealth and things has blinded you and made you arrogant. I think you no longer understand how your actions are see by others or respect the concerns of others. We People of the Planet have never given you offense to you or taken any action to harm you and this is how we are repaid by your clandestine actions. We plan on building a colony at the site just east of the ruins. We will build a colony pod there and observe the stipulations we first asked for everyone to abide by. It seems that from the evidence at hand that you knew a long time ago about the location of these ruins and failed to inform any of the faction leaders of the location. Such a wonderful discovery to keep secret was a terrible mistake. Upon finding the ruins you should have convened a council meeting to decide how to share the information and research the sites. You did not do so. Lastly, as the disposition of the northern ruins, we will not build a colony there since it is far beyond the scope of our territory and might cause tension between the Peacekeepers and yourself. We will leave that area to you and Lal to explore. However, we will establish a colony near the site in question now and begin our studies. Once again your actions expose your true nature for all to see!

Mistress Eve"

The young Gaian linked his PAD to Manx's and copied the message and then handed the PAD back.

"Look, I want to thank you for not attacking earlier. I know, well, that things got bad back there but,,, I really didn't want to die, not here, not even for this." The Gaian waved his hand around pointing to the enormous alien structure.

"I didn't either and I sure as hell did not want to kill a native life form of Planet if I did not have to. Look kid, I like you, you had spunk holding out against us when your sporey was half alive from whatever it tangled with. Now you got reinforcements so the shoe is on the other foot." Manx shifted his weight look back at the Gaian campsite. The spore launcher did look better than before.

"Yes, I suppose so." The Gaian replied.

"Bye and good luck Gaian!" Manx turned and walked back to the command post and then yelled, "BREAK CAMP WE ARE MOVING OUT!!"

The Gaian saw the captain vault over the walls and observed the flurry of activity and then turned and walked back. He had dodged a bullet, it had been close...

	03-04-2003 18:52									#50
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2241

“If we won why do I feel so sad,” Colin said. He hadn’t touched his lemon soufflé, which was an exquisite yellowy brown and heady and delicate aroma that hinted of jasmine.

“Come on. Eat up! I made it for you to cheer you up,” Ling said. She had been in a buoyant mood for the last few days since the establishment of the newest Gaian colony Children of Earth in the Manifold Nexus. The Cult garrison had pulled back after issuing a stern rebuke, and a personal note of displeasure from the leader-pro-tem Mistress Eve. Gaian colony leaders had immediately deployed the prefab colony elements and a base with three thousand people was up and running.

“It’d cheer me up if we weren’t causing others so much distress. We came this close,” he said as he held up his pointer finger and thumb, separated by a millimeter, “to war with the Cult. Was the Nexus worth it? We may have permanently damaged our relations with them, just when we were starting to come together. This has only highlighted our differences.”

“Come on, eat your soufflé. I’ll be sad if you don’t,” she said, putting on a ‘sad’ face for show, and her normally stern and hard face seemed to melt into sorrow with a crumpled brow and creased frown lines.

Colin started, completely taken aback at the change. Then he picked up his fork and dug in.

“That’s better!” she said. “It’s a good thing they didn’t, too. Our Neural Amplifier would have made our worms very hard to kill, if they had the temerity to do so. And then, by dumb luck, we had more worms and isles in the area to support our colony and convince the Cult that we were serious.”

Colin considered this as he dished a rather large helping of soufflé onto his white china plate.

“We learned that the Cult understands strength from their attack on the Hive. Remember how we couldn’t why the Cult was attacking, but I think now it is clear: they were attacking because they could. In other words, they attack those that they feel are weak. Mark my words, they’ll pick a fight with someone else that can’t defend themselves, maybe the University since they are small and close.”

“They wouldn’t do that,” Colin said with his mouth half full.

“I hope you’re right, Colin, but the Cult is an aggressive society. We need to keep that in mind,” she said.

Colin put down his fork.

Ling said, “Now, don’t get mad. I’m not saying that the Cult are megalomaniacs or psychopaths, only that they are aggressive in defending their beliefs.”

“And our problem is that we don’t understand their beliefs,” Colin said.

Ling’s eyebrows arched upward a bit. “Right The problem is that we don’t understand their beliefs even if we have similar values. Our approaches are completely different, and this is bound to create conflict. Other factions have different values but similar approaches, like the Gaians and the University, so we are likely to get along better.”

“Then why did Lal declare war on us,” Colin asked. “We have similar values and beliefs, so by your theory they should be our friends and allies. Answer me that.”

“Good point. All I can say is that Lal has been erratic since he landed on Planet.”

“So is Zak,” Colin said. “So, why doesn’t Santiago, who is very aggressive, take on the other factions? She hasn’t.”

“Oh, eat your soufflé,” Ling said in frustration. That is why she enjoyed Colin so much. He seemed so soft and pliable until he started asking questions.

“Do you think we can do anything to help the Cult understand us a bit better?” Colin asked.

“Maybe,” Ling said. “They won’t be able to place a base where they like due to the Planetary Council faction boundary limitations, and they will be very annoyed at that. Maybe we can set up a base in the area and gift it to them?”

“Hmmm. That would be a good guesture. Mind if I mention it in Council?”

“Not at all. Dee trusts you, and links me with the evil Progressives. I do think it will help.”

“You are linked with the Progressives!” Colin said, his color rising. “And they rammed through that blasted proposal to shift our economy to an inefficient Planned model! Dee was livid, and was furious that her views were shoved aside. This just proves everything the Cult was saying about us – growth without reason, or forethought, greedy and grasping. The social chaos alone will be catastrophic, and you Progressives have no plan to deal with it. Lunacy!”

“Stop being so sensitive. You know it is only for a few years, then we go back to a Green model. We wouldn’t have been able to get enough votes without a limited life span, a sunset clause, if you will. So stop bellyaching. You’ll get your Green back, and likely keep it for a long, long time.”

Colin wasn’t hungry anymore. “I feel like I’m consorting with the enemy when I lunch with you,” he said.

“No you don’t. You like exchanging views as much as I do, and if the Cult were even half as interested in understanding us as we are in understanding them then we wouldn’t be in this predicament. They could learn a little from us, especially reasoned pragmatism.”

“Hmmph,” Colin said as he pulled the soufflé toward himself again.

“Now, would you like some coffee?” Ling asked.

*!*!*!*

Cult, MY 2241

Mistress Eve had called an emergency council session of her closest advisors. They were meeting late at night due to the extreme importance of the information. Eve had reduced the command council to herself, the master seeker, Ranger One and General Fookosh. The Caretakers Guild was important still but nearly everything they did or controlled was non-critical and could be dealt with as needed at scheduled meetings. Shari Moon the Guild Master of the Guides had been forced into a more advisory role, primarily administrative. Eve hardly interfered, or bothered with the internal workings of the Guilds but from all accounts Fookosh’s victories had gained him great power and prestige within the guild. Even though he was no the guild master for all intents and purposes, he was.

Eve began the meeting by saying, “ I am glad you could make it at this hour. We have much to cover so let us get to it. First, I have not heard from my father. Still no contact. Until the solar flares end I doubt we will be able to contact him or he us. So I know some of you have some important things to discuss.”

“Mistress Eve, I have been informed that the Gaians are once again “booming”. They have shifted their economy from a Planet friendly one to a planned industrial. Their population is surging from the sketchy reports that have I have been able to pull together. As of now I would say that even if all of the other factions voted against the Gaians they would still have more than enough proxy votes to win any council vote, in their favor.!” The master spy reported while at the same time he had punched up the details on the holo-viewer on the center council so that everyone else can see.

“That despicable *****! Do the Gaians have any principals what’s so ever! Do money and power drive them alone! This is unacceptable! Every time we protest her factions actions when they turn from the green path all she says is that “the other factions are worse, you should like the fact we only pollute just a little bit” So when the great Prophet does take action against the Hive for their abominations against Planet she labels us as conquerors and claims we are enemies of Peace. WELL WHAT ABOUT BEING ENEMIES OF THE PLANET!” Eve slammed her fist down hard, so hard it shook the holo-viewer and scrambled the data shown.

“Mistress Eve, there is nothing we can do at this time.” General Fookosh replied very calmly.

Eve turned on the general and stared at him, “What do you mean by that?” she barked.

“Simply put Mistress the great army we amassed to defeat the Hive is now dispersed through out our cities to provide garrisons for the cities. If we were to recall of these worms and spore launchers it would, no it will create chaos in the cities. No, our army is gone.” Fookosh then reached across the table and punched up his data on the status of the army. Eve had known this information earlier but to see it laid out has Fookosh had done made the Cult seem insignificant. “Mistress, we need to build up our military forces both native and human. Some of our cities still have only scout units while others have a mis-match of arms and armor. We need a wholesale upgrade in weapons and armor at all bases. We need to increase our overall human garrisons to have at least two units at each base and a native unit.”

“Fookosh, what you ask is not possible. Until we get more tree farms and the planetary energy grid on line our resources will be limited. However, we could take the same path as the Gaians, the industrial path. If we could even add 25% more population we could increase our resources greatly. Perhaps if we...”

“NO! We will never the abandon our principals and our faith. The Gaians are souless beasts! They are even worse than the other factions. At least the other factions do not pretend to be friends of the Planet. They are not hypocrites like the Gaians. What we will do is this. First, we will build more spies units like the ones that infiltrated the University. We will steal technology and energy and continue our efforts to de-stabilized the Gaians influence and align a anti-Gaian powerblock.”

“Mistress Eve, what you propose will be difficult to say the least. It will take to build and deploy espionage teams. At best we are talking about 10 turns at best before the first team can deploy. I would suggest our first target would be the University. They have developed a high-energy weapon called a chaos gun. With that we will have equal conventional weapons with any of the other factions. We can also work on planting false evidence to frame the Gaians. This would help achieve the second part of your desire to destabilize the Gaians and it would force the other factions to seek allies, namely us.” The master seeker turned slightly to Eve and nodded briefly.

“Mistress Eve, I can add little to what has been said so far. Our core bases are becoming very advanced but due to the late start in colonization our outer bases are still lacking in most areas. Our key and I do mean this, our KEY, is the planetary energy grid. With that on-line we should see a vast increase in our energy production which, in turn, will give us the resources we need to expand our research and upgrade our forces. I tend to look at this situation as a race. We need only to keep pace with the Gaians for now. Once we make more improvements and expand even more we can then make a dash to the finish.” Ramos interjected.

“Yes, you are correct. We can not let ourselves become too focused on the Gaians. We can still “chip” away at the others and build our base. We have three more colonies almost ready for deployment. We will continue with my fathers’ great plan to build many, many small bases but keep the populations small. Our biggest problem is that our cities are spread out over a vast area. It is hard for us to concentrate our forces since our people and forces are spread out over four continents.” Eve replied.

For a few minutes they were all quiet and then Eve slowly got up and left the room. The others said nothing until she left and the door closed.

“I think we need to brainstorm for awhile and devise a plan that will show that we are a powerful faction and that w should be taken very seriously.” The master’s spy said as he turned to the others.

“Let us hear again about this espionage team idea. Also, I could possibly put together a small strike force that we can use to pick away for now at our enemies rather than the might blow.” Fookosh added.

Ramos smiled as the other two began to plan. He added a comment here and there but he knew what was really needed to spark his people, a holy Jihad! He would order all ranger priests to begin a new program of indoctrination and study to focus the will power of the entire Cult into one mighty force that the great Prophet could wield. One the Prophet returns that will be the signal to declare the jihad and embark on the Planet wide cleansing of unbelievers. Yes, that is what he must do!

*!*!*!*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2242

“It looks like the Neural Amplifier has already paid off,” Ling said. “An isle exploring the seas near the Peacekeepers survived an attack by a sea foil, and it is only minimally damaged. Before it would have been, at best, even due to the vagaries of psi combat. The only other attacks were four encounters with hostile native units, all of which were dispatched.”

“You mean killed,” Dee said.

Ling looked at Dee and bit back a caustic response as she thought better of it. “Killed, then. This yielded planet pearl energy that exceeded our current surplus of 90 megajoules per year. Our military buildup has been scaled back massively due to the current population boom and the need for population calming structures.”

“What you mean is that the uncontrolled population boom growth is causing massive civil unrest, with six cities in full riot,” Colin said. “And that we are desperately trying to keep a lid on it before it gets completely out of control.”

“I’m not sure I would characterize the unrest as massive, and our control measures seem to be working just fine. There are no longer any riots,’ Ling started.

“Until the next year when the riots start again,” Dee said.

‘I think you’re miss-characterizing the situation. Most of our cities have a maximum population already and are quite stable. Only our younger second tier cities are experiencing high growth rates, and only a few of these are having stability problems. Moreover, I think Mohammed can tell us that our infrastructure is four times as massive as that of our nearest rival, the Cult. In other words, our second tier and developing cities are have a better infrastructure than the best of the other faction’s cities. This means that they are comparatively and absolutely more stable.”

Mohammed didn’t contradict Ling since he had just presented the Council with a development report summary three weeks ago, and the gulf between the Gaians and the other factions were stark and wide.

“But how much growth is justified, or good? The Cult has called us to the table on this for the last 50 years,” Colin said.

“Yes, and then they violated it,” Ling said with some heat. “They called us wanton expansionists for having so many bases, saying that we were despoiling Planet. Then, a few decades later, they have just as many bases as we had then. Either they have critically short memories, or they are hypocrites. I think they just want us to limit ourselves in their efforts to equal and then surpass us, which I think is a fatal idea. They have used the power they have to conquer, and have projected aggressively. I shudder to think what will happen as they grow, and grow they have, and get more abilities to project power. We will be sorely pressed to respond, much less prevent, any actions by them. We may not even be able to adequately defend ourselves, at least not completely. The only defense we might have is to diversify, and to do that we need a wide resource base. That is what the Progressive are doing, and what you oppose.”

“I think I will have to disagree with you,” Dee said. “Our defenses are sound with almost all bases having two defenders, many of them rovers. Almost two thirds of our bases have anti-espionage teams, and these can be inter-defensive depending on the location. And we have a few squads of fast-response rovers. Our current resource base is more than adequate to support these and more, and our only possible deficiency is the lack of a foreign response force, not that it is not much of a loss. Our existing forces are many times more powerful than any other faction. The question of ‘How Much Is Enough’ is a valid one.”

Colin nodded enthusiastically.

“Then we’ll have to agree to disagree. I’ll just hate to have a catastrophic event occur and then be unable to respond in short order while the damage is manageable, or at least not apocalyptic. You’d better hope you’re right,” Ling said. Her voice was calmer now, and her tone penetrating. Mohammed and Terry were listening with attention, and Colin and Dee in opposition – the typical divisions.

Terry stood up and hoped to diffuse some of the tension. “The parliament has told us to approve the continued use of Planned economics for the next year, and we have until tomorrow morning to give them our recommendation. We are out of time, and as Chair I call for a vote: All in favor of the continued use of Planned economics say ‘aye’.”

Terry, Ling and Mohammed said aye.

“Opposed,” Terry said as a formality.

Dee and Colin dissented, Colin in a very loud voice.

“I count three for, two against. The measure passes for another year. Due to the time this Council meeting is dismissed,” Terry said, and the members got up to leave. As Dee stood she placed a light hand on Colin’s shoulder and he looked up at her. He put his hand on hers, drawing strength for fighting the ‘good fight’, even if there was no end in sight.

	03-04-2003 18:52									#51
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

Cult, MY 2242

The young man had been sitting in the audience chamber of the Prophet for nearly an hour. Joshua had been trained for waiting and other duties since he had entered the seekers guild. Officially he was still a member of the Caretakers Guild but all seekers who were not active had cover identities to protect them. Suddenly the large portal and the back of the chamber opened and the daughter of the Prophet walked in followed by none other than the leader of his "true" guild.

"Joshua Malister, welcome and peace be unto you in the name of the Prophet!" Eve walked over to the young man and greeted him. Joshua quickly bowed and gave the customary reply, " Many blessings by yours great lady of the true garden, the beloved Mistress Eve, daughter to the one true Prophet of the planet!"

"I thank you. Now, Joshua I have a task for you. There are many things that are ccurring throughout our world but the flares make things difficult to communicate. So, I have a task for you. I am sending you to the Gaians. I have already sent emissaries to the University, Hive, Peacekeepers and Spartans and you are the last to go. There is a reason for this. First, all of the other emissaries will be carrying standard greetings and general
information about us. Many of them will take a decade or more to arrive. Also they are just "normal" people, so to speak, asked to do standard things. You, on the other hand are special. Take this and read it." Eve handed him a PAD and began to read. Joshua had a perfect photographic memory so anything he read was consumed and stored to the exact detail, the reading took some time but after 30 minutes he had finished and then handed back the PAD which was then passed to the spy master.

"Now, for the next several days we will be very close, you and I. I want you to digest the material you read and then ask me questions from it. Record my answers and observations since I would suspect they will be asked again." Eve took the mans hand and began to guide him back to the large portal, the master guide fell into step behind.

"I think I can correctly say that I am to go to Gaian territory and discuss these issues with... whom?" Joshua asked.

"Lady Skye and her only. I will give you a special PAD that will inform our ambassador that your our my special envoy. The ambassador will be at YOUR disposal. He will get you an audience with Skye herself, no one else and discuss what I have written on the PAD. It will take you four turns to get there and then another turn to travel to her headquarters. I doubt little will change in the meantime." Eve continued to guide the young man down the hall into the private sitting area of the Prophet and then pointed for him to sit.

"My ultimate mission objective is???" Joshua asked.

"First, you have seen our plan and what we intend to do. It is accurate and truthful. Present it to the Lady Skye and get here response and return to us." Eve replied.

"Joshua, I choose you because you are the best diplomat in training we have. Your mind is the best we have seen in a long time and your training the best we can give. More sketchy information continues to "dribble" in from the Gaians and we need to confirm some of it. Also, it seems that our position has been and is grossly distorted by certain elements within the Gaian council. You will do all that you can to secure a more open and trusting relationship between our two peoples." The master spy flashed several hand signals that only he could understand. Present the Cult position of intents. Help our ambassador secure a better relationship with sympathetic elements in the Gaian council, eliminate if need be any Gaian group or persons who promote anti-cult sentiment. Return to base when mission complete.

"Understood Mistress Eve." Joshua responded but he did turn ever so slightly and flashed the acknowledgement sign to his guild master.

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2243

Dee pulled the fine white lace curtains from the high balcony entrance of her apartment to let in the light of a new day. It was brisk and the open portal let in a crisp and gusty breeze and Dee drank it in – it was bracing, and invigorating. She could feel her skin rise in small goose pimples in response to the vigorous air, and a slight involuntary shiver coursed up her arms to her shoulders. Her chest expanded as she breathed in the pine-scented revitalizing air. As she looked out the sky was changing from a deep purple to a pink, diffuse with cirrus clouds on the horizon. Alpha Centauri A was rising and the sky now turned from pink to gold as the fiery orb burst from the confinement of the rolling trees of the horizon and the enveloping clouds.

There was movement behind her, a soft padding that approached her just out of vision from the darkened recesses hidden from the growing light. A hand reached out. It closed on Dee’s left arm.

“You’re cold,” he said.

Dee smiled. The she took a small step backward, colliding gently with a solid form that stood behind her.

“Hey!” he said, surprised. His arms almost reflexively closed around her, enveloping Dee in warmth. She snuggled closer, placing her cascade of raven hair to the left of his face and resting the back of her head on his shoulder, and drawing his arms closer around her torso. Googlie followed her liquid movements and gave her a slow embrace, rocking back and forth slightly and molding his body to hers. His shoulders flexed as he accepted her into his full embrace.

“I’m not cold anymore,” Dee said in a soft voice. She shut her eyes and drank in the sensations of bracing coolness from the breeze and the enveloping and reassuring warmth behind her. Googlie made a barely audible rumbling hum the emanated from deep in his chest, caressing Dee’s arms with his hands and stroking her right ear with his chin.

Dee felt that he sun had fully risen and opened her eyes. The sky was filled with gold. She pulled away ever so slightly, turning as his arms gave up some of their eager grip. In a moment she was face to face with Googlie. Her arms rose up over his broad back, and his arms closed over her shoulders. Their eyes met for an instant, the she playfully bit his lower lip, then pulled herself even closer for a long kiss. Their caresses pressed and intertwined, merging.

One of Googlie’s hands broke free and clasped the curtain, drawing it across the balcony portal, closing out the rising sun but not the rising warmth.

//Discontinuity//

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ACT NOW!

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2243

Joshua had found a quiet place on the isle of the deep, away from the prying eyes of the crew, to do his research. Minutes before embarking a special envoy had arrived with data PADs for him. The envoy was a special representative from the master seeker and the information on the PADs contained more background information on the Gaian society and the leaders. Shortly after the isle departed for Gaian territory Joshua had begun to read them and memorize them after he finished each one he through the PAD overboard so that the data would be destroyed. Now he was done to his last PAD, which contained all the data known about the leadership of the Gaian people.

The first part of the document dealt with the Gaian form of government and how it operated. For Joshua and most other People of the Planet the Gaian form of government was as alien as this planet. The Gaian government was grossly inefficient and seemed to be plagued with constant power struggles for the direction of the Gaian nation. What seemed more odd was that this advisory council that advised their parliament had on the surface very little power but in reality had a great deal. What became very clear to Joshua is that even though the parliament had the power all of the leadership of the government rested in the advisory council, so as the council voted so did the parliament. If any change could or needed to be made he had best focus his efforts there. So the next part dealt with the actual council members themselves. What was interesting to note that the Cult had for decades now had a sympathetic ear on the council, Colin. He was also a spy for the Cult as well, though he probably did not know it, this Colin could prove to be a useful tool. Joshua continued to read the biographies of each person and it soon became clear who were the dominant people on the council, Ling and Deirdre. Deirdre represented the greens and Ling represented the progressives. It was the progressive party that had lead the way to increase military spending and the size of their army and build up their military infrastructure. It was also the progressives that were behind the efforts to focus their economy away from a green economic model to a more industrial path. What also had become more apparent was that this Ling used every external event to bolster her case for increased military might and industrialization and the fools that they were blindly followed her arguments even though in reality there was little truth to them. When the Peacekeepers declared war she had used that event to argue for a major increase, across the board, in military spending while all the time she knew that any military action by the Peacekeepers would be minor to non-existent. It became clear that this woman looked for enemies everywhere to justify continued military and industrial expansion. He doubted that he would have any luck in reasoning with Ling to persuade her that the Cult’s actions were justified and limited in scope. Ling believed that the Gaians had a destiny to fulfill and she was going to make sure they were ready both militarily and industrially to create that destiny.

Joshua touched the PAD and advanced it to the next screen of information, Lady Deirdre Skye. There was a lot of information here but when you boiled it down to the basic parts it became clear that she was a friend of the Planet. However, she had lost control of her society by turning it over to a democracy. She abrogated her vision to others and now her society was lost and without a soul. On several occasions her people had polluted the planet to bolster their military and industrial might. She was a voice of reason but was frequently drowned out by the progressives on the council. Thank the Prophet for his wisdom to keep the reins of power in the hands of a few capable people. The people of the Planet did not suffer the angst and turmoil that democracy brought. The guild system allowed participation by the citizens/guild members and the guild masters then debated and decided at the command council policy. The guilds were responsible for the daily administration and operations of the government and society but all the most important decisions were handled at the top, free of the whims and turmoil of the masses. Of course, the final decision, the ultimate authority was the Prophet himself whose vote was final. He had able advisors to help him reach those hard decisions but it was always his word that counted in the end.

Joshua finished the last screen and threw the PAD overboard and began to really digest the material. He could reason with the Lady Skye and perhaps win her over to the Cult’s point of view but Ling would never budge. There were few options when it came to Ling. Death or dishonor. He could assassinate her and thus create a power vacuum allowing the “greens” the chance to take control of the council. Another progressive would most likely fill her position but from the reports he had read the replacement would not be as forceful or as strong as a leader as Ling had been. He could also implicate her in some dishonorable action that could weaken her position on council. Some of the data he had on a special PAD had several documents that Gaian sympathizers, believers in the new faith, had sneaked out before they were destroyed that clearly showed that Ling had known and had ordered the wanton pollution at several cities but the documents had never come to light at the show trial they put on. Right now he did not have to decide on a course of action, there was still time. He could try to dishonor her first, perhaps use Colin to bring the documents to the council’s attention, better him then Joshua it would seem more genuine. If Ling still continued to hold power then he could still eliminate her.

Joshua stood up and looked out over the ocean and took a deep breath. He looked back at the guides that helped the isle of the deep. All except the captain seemed to be very annoyed that they had to transport a single individual halfway across the world when they could be doing more important things. If they only knew how important this mission was they might be more receptive.

“Captain, how soon before we make landfall?” Joshua yelled back at the area where one could call the helm of the isle.

“Sir, we will be there in three more turns, perhaps two if we can keep this current!” the captain yelled back.

Joshua walked over the area where he had a bedroll and pulled back the fleshy membrane that covered the pocket where he slept. He walked in to lay down and rest something that he doubted he would get when they arrived and had to begin his work.

	03-04-2003 18:54									#52
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

Gaia’s Landing, MY2244

“By my count, the vote to continue with a Planned economy is three for and two against. The motion is carried, and will be presented to the parliament,” Terry said by rote, as he had for the last few years. Positions were clear, and the result was foreordained. Ling turned to Mohammed for a quiet sidebar discussion, and Terry gathered his datapad to record the results of the vote as part of his preparations to depart.

Colin looked over at Dee, his face questioning. Dee stared straight ahead and didn’t return is gaze.

“We have one more item of business,” she said. Ling and Mohammed continued their discussion, but she got Terry’s attention.

“It isn’t on the agenda,” he said in his customary flat tone. He didn’t bother to review the agenda since he had prepared it himself.

“Then I move that I be allowed to make a statement,” Dee said. Colin gave her a quick second.

Terry stopped his departure organization, and Mohammed looked up. Ling stopped talking when she noticed she no longer had his attention.

“Very well,” Terry said. “We don’t need a vote to extent the Council for a few minutes.”

“Thank you, Chair,” Deirdre said. Her posture was stiff.

Now Ling looked up at Dee, thinking, Chair? Why the title? She’s never done that, not in 100 years. What’s going on? She gave Dee her full attention.

“Please put this in the record, Chair,” she started. Then she took out her datapad and called up a screen and started reading. “The Council has had its disagreements in the past, but we’ve always done what we think is best for the Gaians. Our vision has been to protect our ideals even if we’ve had different ideas on how achieve our goals. However, the events of the last four years have shown me that our shared vision has diverged, critically so. Fully half of our cities have been in riots during the population boom demanded by the Progressive party in Parliament and supported by this Council, and recently even Gaia’s Landing rioted. I saw this mayhem personally, and the chaos was heartbreaking. It reminded me of the last days of Earth, where starvation, war, and disorder were tearing apart the fabric of our societies, and that of the Earth itself. Additionally, for a year there was even a small amount of pollution at Gaia’s Landing, and although it was repaired immediately I was shocked that the uncontrolled growth the Council recommended would lead us to such a path – one that we all swore we would never allow, ever again. It is my belief that allowing such social disorder is irresponsible, and antithetical to my personal vision of how a Gaian society should be managed. The degradation of Planet can not be allowed to occur, much less continue.

The death of Earth was our testament, and I cannot in clear conscience stay a part of a Council that fosters such actions. Due to past events and the intransigence of this advisory body I hereby resign, effective immediately, from the Gaian Council.”

Dee looked up and her composure broke a little. Her eyes silvered with moisture as she reached out to give the datapad to Terry, who reflexively took it. Mohammed looked like he had been slapped full across the face, and Ling’s face was drawn and her gaze was fixed on Dee, almost as if she didn’t believe what had just happened. Terry was immobile, his outstretched hand clutching the datapad. Colin just looked sad, but not surprised. Of course, he had known.

There was complete silence, except for Dee’s chair which scraped as she pushed it aside.

She walked out of the Council room alone.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2244

The master caretaker, leader of the Guild of Caretakers, Lance Thompson was not a happy man. For decades he had for many years worked endless hours for the great Prophet but his daughter had, in essence, demoted him. The value of his services it seemed to her was only administrative. Eve only listened to the Ranger Master, General Fookosh and the Master Seeker. The Guild Mistress of the Guides hardly every showed up anymore at these meetings since Fookosh was the true force in the Guild of Guides. He looked down at his watch again and realized that Mistress Eve was now 20 minutes late for the meeting. Suddenly the doors to the private chambers of the Prophet opened and in came Eve, Fookosh, Ramos and the master spy.

Thompson quickly got to his feet and led the ritual greeting, “ All praise and honor to the Daughter of the great and only Prophet, Cha Dawn, first disciple of Planet!”

“Blessings and honor to you all, and thank you for waiting. Certain matters of a utmost secrecy came up and I had to review that information with the my team of advisors.” Eve replied.

Lance sat sullenly for some time as the other “lesser” advisors gave their reports about the status of the Cult of the Planet. He had little to add at this time. He worked very hard with each city council to coordinate the development of the surrounding areas so that the cities would prosper. Lance for the most part was a happy man but he missed the intimacy he had with the Prophet.

“Master Caretaker, your report please?” Eve interrupted his thought.

“Mistress Eve, all goes well. There is little to report at this time. Our sea-formers are now operating in the west and will help our base out there grown. Once the formers complete a couple of sea sectors of development they will move on to the new site next to the nexus and work there until all sea sectors are developed.” Lance replied in a very monotone voice.

Eve glanced at him again and then to her master seeker who only looked back. For any of the others in the room this exchange was barley noticeable at all. However, for the two of them it meant a great deal.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++=

Lance had just fallen asleep when a pillow was suddenly put over his face. He fought bravely but the attacker was too powerful. Within minutes his strength began to fade and his ears began to ring and then blackness.

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2245

“You couldn’t have done more damage if you’d dropped a bomb in parliament,” Colin said. “Once your resignation, and your signed repudiation of the Council and the parliament, became known there was a general feeling of shock. All the news holos reported it, with bylines like, ‘Lady Skye to Council – I Quit!’, ‘Skye Resigns in Protest,’ and ‘Lady Dee Accuses Government’, and the like. Quite a firestorm.”

Colin looked over at Dee to see if it was having an effect. It wasn’t. She still looked sullen and withdrawn, and the soup that Colin had brought her was untouched.

“Within days the Greens called for a no confidence vote. Most of the Progressives either changed their mind or were found that they were tied up elsewhere. The vote was a landslide, and the Government dissolved. Isn’t that great, Dee?” he asked. Still no response.

“From what my little birds tell me there is open revolt among the Progressives. One smallish faction will probably break away, and my sources think they’ll call themselves the Green Progressives, which will advocate a Green economy and an emphasis on wealth. A number of the Greens will likely break away and join this faction. The old Progressives are even abandoning their name and will probably call themselves the Social Progressives. Complicating matters even more are the Planet Protectors, a radicalized faction of the Green party that declared themselves yesterday. Their rhetoric sounds a lot like what comes out of those Seekers, and Cha Dawn and his daughter.

“And if you think the parliament is in chaos you don’t know the half of it. There are spontaneous protests all over, the largest here at Gaia’s Landing – over 2000 people! That is almost 20 percent of the entire population! Dee, just think of it!”

Colin paused again and waited for Dee to respond.

“They’re calling for elections in two weeks. Everyone wants you to make a statement, Dee. Do you understand?” he said. Dee finally looked at him and she seemed to focus on him. “The Gaian people want to hear what you have to say, and I think you should do so.”

“Ok, Colin. This is what we wanted to happen,” she said. “It will take me a day or so to put together a statement. Will that do?”

“Of course, of course!” he said, glad to finally have a response. “Just let me know how I can help. Oh, and you should know that the Council wants you back. They have all tendered their resignations, and I have too. We won’t go back to work unless you do – that’s the deal.”

Dee focused a bit more. “Even Ling?”

“Especially Ling,” Colin said. “We had a little chat after you left and you should know she was pretty upset. You, in essence, called her a wanton industrialist and after thinking about it I don’t think she liked what she saw. Now, don’t think she is going all soft on us, she wouldn’t do that. I don’t think she will be as ready to support a Planned economy anymore, that’s all.”

She took a deep breath.

“What can I tell them?” Colin asked.

“Tell them that I’ll make up my mind after I see the results of the parliamentary elections,” Dee said. “That will put a little pressure on, I think, and that’s what we need. Tell them that.”

Colin reached over and patted her hand. “Now, I want you to eat a little. I made this soup especially for you – bean and broccoli with garlic roasted tofu, just like you like it. I expect you to eat every last drop, and if you need more just let me know.”

He patted her hand again and decided to give her a bit of time, but not much. Her funk had lasted for too long and events were passing quickly. A few reminders were in order, and maybe some cookies.

“Eat you soup,” he said as he stood up and turned for the door. He had left orders with the guards to keep the well wishers, hangers-on, sycophants, press, and publicity seekers strictly away. That should help a little. Toggling the door he glance back and was gratified to notice that Dee was eating the now tepid soup. She was spooning it in rather mechanically but, considering the circumstances, that was just fine. There was more where that came from.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2245

Joshua walked off the isle of the deep and thanked the captain once again for a very swift passage. They had been able to reduce the transit time by nearly a turn and half and now he was here on Gaian soil. This was Joshua’s first visit to any city other than a Cult city and he was impressed. The city showed a high degree of sophistication and symmetry. The city also seemed very prosperous as well but that would be a given considering the emphasis these people place on wealth. It seems that his arrival caused quite a stir since as soon as he walked off the isle several Gaian security men stopped him.

“What are your intentions here?” They lead security guard asked.

“I am on a diplomatic mission from the People of the Planet, here are my credentials.” Joshua reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter and data crystal. The lead security guard took the crystal and the other guard looked at the letter. The guards quickly scanned the crystal and letter returned them to him.

“I hope that you understand, we have to be careful, especially with you people. We have standing orders to intercept any Cult people and examine them. It says you are traveling to Gaia’s Landing. You can take a transport shuttle to there at the central hub, in the center of the city.” The lead guard turned and began to leave but for some reason the second guard stayed for a few more seconds.

“I greet you my brother of the Planet?” The guard said very quietly.

“I greet you in the name of the Prophet, may Planet grant you peace of mind and long life.” Joshua responded, “ How is it possible for a planet friend to be in Gaian security forces?”

“I don’t advertise it much and well, it’s against the law here to discriminate against anyone for any reason, even if they are a Planet friend. May I ask you a question, has the Prophet returned?” The guard asked with a pleading look in his eye.

“No, the great Prophet is still on a pilgrimage when I left in the great waste lands. His daughter is still the caretaker for now.” Joshua looked at the man again and then asked, “May I ask a question, since the blackout information has been sketchy but could you tell me how many Planet friends are counted among the Gaians?”

“From the last thing I heard we were a full 5% of the population, certified from the last census. Now that was the official count of course, but, I suspect many people do not openly declare their true faith so the number might even be double that!” The man said proudly. “I myself am a regular worshiper at the local temple of the Planet and I am taking Ranger classes.”

“Most wonderful,” Joshua responded. “Now can you please help me get to the transport hub and I need to contact our ambassador.”



Joshua had made a quick trip to Gaia’s Landing and he was now housed in the Cult of the Planet’s ambassadorial residence. He had met with the ambassador and had been quickly brought up to speed with the current events. It seemed that part of his mission might be solved for him. Since the government was in turmoil now he was not going to get an audience anytime soon so he might as well get started with the one of his plans. Joshua left the residence and quickly traveled to a restaurant making sure he lost any trackers that might be following him. Once he arrived he quickly sat a table and within minutes another man sat next to him.

“Greetings, I am glad you are punctual, it tells me a lot about the man I am working with.” The cult spy whispered across the table.

“Here are the documents you need to get to your “friend”. Review them before you give them to him and make sure he understands how important that his mission is.” Joshua stated.

“Understood.” The man quickly left the table and went out of the room.

Joshua ordered a handsome meal, much better than any Cult restaurant he had every dined at. He could see why the allure of wealth and things could be such a narcotic for these people. Once you have such trappings they are hard to give up. Joshua had given the spy all of the documents he had on Ling. He hoped that this Colin would put them to good use. At best, this plot would pour even more fuel on the fire and continue to weaken the Gaian political system.

	03-04-2003 18:55									#53
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Autumn Grove in the Uranium Flats, MY 2246

“Here, here! Have a seat!” Colin said to his friend. “How was your trip?”

“Very good, thank you,” he said. “I’m glad you took the time to see me. I imagine you’ve been quite busy.”

Colin waved his comments aside. “No, I’m never too busy for my friends, and I have a lot of friends! Now, put that away,” he said as his friend started to pull out a datapad. “I’ll have none of that. First, let’s order. I’m starved!”

His friend smiled in a good natured, if slightly forced, way and nodded. Colin made a big production of pulling out the old fashioned paper fiber menu and talking through all the items, giving a running commentary: this dish was exquisite, and this one was best with a mature red wine; the pasta was a bit too al dente for taste, but not bad with the garlic white sauce. He went on for at least 20 minutes and his friend knew better than to interrupt since this was part of the ritual, and eventually he would labor over which of the delectable items to order and finally come to a decision. His friend’s choice was easy – he’d let Colin decide. It worked better that way, and Colin took great delight in questioning him on his preferences and what he might like from the huge and expensive selections.

In the end he decided on a veal with raspberry sauce, herb-roasted new potatoes, fresh Earth corn with real butter, a garden salad and a spicy hot house dressing, and a bottle of their best 2210 red wine from the vineyards of New Napa Valley. He ordered the same for his friend – there was no way to improve on today’s selection, of course.

The salads came in short order, and Colin dug in. In between bites he asked,” So, how have you been? I haven’t seen you for too many months. My busy schedule, you know, and Dee’s kept things a bit stirred up recently with the government shake up and all.”

“I’ve been fine, and busy, too,” his friend said. “My travels have taken me to the new Hive, which is much less oppressive than when I was there before the Cult liberated them.”

“Liberated?” Colin asked. “Conquered, you mean.”

“Well, I’m not sure the citizens think that way. Yang is now a better leader since he has been taking the guidance of a more enlightened culture.”

“Really,” Colin said. He didn’t sound convinced.

“That’s how I see it, at least,” his friend said, and realizing he was losing Colin he changed the subject. “Then I went to the University as part of a trade delegation. Did you know they’re running a Free Market.”

Colin put down his fork. “Yes, we did. So are the Cyborgs, Spartans, University and Peacekeepers – everyone except for Yang and the Cult. It really is quite depressing, the wanton disregard for he environment these leaders show, all for short term gain.” He picked up his fork again, having made his point.

“Is that so,” his friend said. He didn’t know these other factions were running free market economics, and the Cult would surely be interested. Another useful tidbit from loose lips.

“Yes, it is. The Cyborgs even have huge amounts of pollution at their capital, like we had for a short while before Dee made her point.”

“Is Dee back on the Council, then?” his friend asked.

“Of course,” Colin said. “After the parliamentary elections a coalition of the Greens and the Green Progressives took power, and implemented a proper Green economy. The Progressives lost over 30 percent of their seats between the fracturing off of the Green Progressives and losses to the Greens. Frankly, they did better than they I thought they would, but that is to be expected since they changed their tune. They can still block legislation, but they don’t control the agenda. That’s fine with me since I don’t want any political faction to have a lock on power, not even the Greens.

“Didn’t some of the others resign? I thought they all resigned after the collapse,” his friend said.

“They did, but Dee asked them to rescind their resignations. Dee made her point, and the point was taken and there were no hard feelings. If anything the other members of the Council didn’t realize how much they had wounded Dee and are trying to make amends.”

“Even this Ling you mentioned? Dee must not like her after all she did after all she did,” his dark friend said between bites of salad.

“I wouldn’t say that. They are friends and understand each other better now,” Colin said. “Ah, the main course!” he continued as the waiter brought steaming plates to them, heaped generously as Colin expected. He was a very generous tipper, so he was well remembered and accommodated.

Conversation lapsed during the change in the meal as the salads were whisked away and the platters placed in front of the two men. Colin eyed the browned veal with delight and, brandishing his knife and fork, dug in.

“I thought you might like to know that while I was at the University a friend in their industrial ministry and I had a chat,” his friend said has he went through the motions of eating, which consisted more of moving the food around than eating. “He gathered some interesting data you might be interested in reviewing. I have it here if you are interested.”

“Of course I’m interested,” Colin said after he cleansed his palate with a sip of the delectable red wine.

“Here you go then,” his friend said as he handed him a data crystal, which Colin took and pocketed.

“So, how was your trip to the University? Isn’t University Base grand? I love the rounded architecture and the glorious white and gold spires – lofty is the word I’d use. They have 8000 people there now, which is smaller than Landing with 10,000 people. Did you know that Landing is by far the largest city on Planet now? Not that it came easily, oh no. We suffered through years of chaos during the last boom, and that’s what finally set Dee off. I don’t think we’ll be going in that direction for a good long time; the memories are too fresh and painful. Still, our ecologically sensitive production is now at its highest level and stable as augmented by 20 or more supply crawlers, and our science output is over 450 terraquads of data per year! Isn’t that amazing? Oh, and did I mention that we finished the Maritime Control Center this last year? That should boost the movement of all our sea units, even the isles, due to all the training. I think we’ll even beat the Cult to the Planetary Economics, which is quite a big deal since they have been working on it for well over a decade. I am a bit worried about the Cyborgs and University. Their research is going in a completely different direction and we are far behind them. Who knows what they’ll uncover, and we won’t be able to catch up. We’ll just have to live with our choices, I guess…”

His friend let him prattle on, mentally indexing all the bits of information that flowed. Mistress Eve would be quite interested, he was sure. It would be even more interesting to see Colin’s reaction when he reviewed the incriminating data on Ling.

	03-04-2003 18:56									#54
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Cult, MY 2246

Joshua had at last secured a private interview with Lady Skye. He really doubted that it would be “private” since he was sure the room was laced with recording devices. It had taken months to get to this staged but he was here at last. For some strange reasons the Gaians could not quite get their minds around the idea of an official/unofficial representative of the Cult of the Planet. The official ambassador of the Cult had to make several direct requests to get him to this level of a meeting with Lady Skye herself.

The door to Lady Skye’s chamber opened a middle-aged man walked through the doors and went right up to where he sat. Joshua quickly stood up.

“I am Lady Skye’s director of security and before you go I need to check you one last time.” The man did not hesitate to begin his search and he did take his time about it and once he finished the only thing he had a question about is a holo-emitter.

“It’s been checked twice before I reached this point and I am not sure you could detect anything at this point with the naked eye.” Joshua looked at the man’s palm where he was holding the emitter and he suddenly felt as if his brain was being “squeezed” be some force. The holo-emitter was a common thing among the people of the Planet since it had been their scientists who had unlocked the true depths of holo-technology. Then all of sudden the pressure was gone and Joshua looked up into the aide's eyes and realized that he had just been scanned by a Gaian empath.

“You Cult people might have an edge on holo-technology but when it comes to the mind I do believe we are the leaders. I needed for you to think about the device so that I could scan you mind.” The man replied.

“Well, I hope you are pleased with your findings?” Joshua asked.

“Yes, you may proceed.”

Joshua took the emitter from the man’s hand and began walking through the door but then stopped and turned around.

“In the future you might want to be more “subtle” about your scan. By alerting me to what you were doing I could block you?”

“No one is that good!” The man growled back.

“You might want to consider the possibility that someone IS better and then look at the next step in your security measures.” Joshua turned on his heels and walked in to the rooms.

Lady Skye’s formal receiving rooms were part of the Parliamentary complex, and to him they were grand and opulent, filled with plants of every type of plant and flower and the occasional precious treasures of Planet. The rooms and their furnishings lead Joshua to understand many things about these Gaians. He would never find such extravagance in any Cult room, and the mere thought of such concentration on wealth and “things” would repulse many Cultists. These people were truly slaves to the material world.

Joshua turned slightly to his left and there was Lady Deirdre sitting in a large chair. She was dressed in simple pale green dress that appeared to be made of the finest silk. It fit her perfectly and was flattering, to say the least. She effortlessly got to her feet and walked over to where he stood.

“Lady Skye, truly your image on the holo-net does not do you justice. I greet you and wish you long life and prosperity, may the light of the great Prophet Cha Dawn, first disciple of Planet shine his radiance upon you and give you the peace of eternal understanding!” Joshua used the most formal greeting the Cult had to address the Gaian leader whose face seemed to ‘crinkle’ at the greeting as if she had just eaten a sour lemon.

“You don’t need all the formalities, Mr. Malister. Call me Dee. I welcome you on behalf of the Gaian people.” Her reply was rather curt by comparison. “Please have a seat so we can talk.” She turned and walked back to the same chair she had been sitting in and sat down and then waved her hand at the chair opposite her. Joshua walked over to the chair but before he sat down he put the emitter on the floor between them. Skye looked down at the device with a slight look of apprehension and then looked up at Joshua with a faint smile.

“Lady Skye, I am sure you must be asking - why I am here?” Joshua silently crossed his legs.

“Yes, I am. In fact I am very curious. I find it very interesting that you were sent instead of your ambassador since you have no official capacity, and I don’t know what we could discuss in this interview that I could not discuss with the Cult ambassador. I am also interested in why you insist on recording this interview.” Deirdre turned her head slightly letting her dark hair fall around her face.

“The truth for one.” Joshua replied quickly. “Second, I hope to seduce you.”

Deirdre Skye was one of the few founders that still lived. In her long life she had been subjected to many kinds of verbal and even physical assaults, such as the recent Lady Deirdre’s Lover holo adventure that had been sold all over Chiron. She had also had heard every kind of proposition and come on imaginable. Still, this one was creative, if a bit blunt.

“You are welcome to try both, Mr. Malister. I hope you succeed in the former, and you are on your own in the latter,” she said.

“Please excuse my informal attitude but I am under orders to from Mistress Eve herself to answer any question you place in front of me with utter honesty. I am also under orders to seduce you. I can not make it more plain than that.” Joshua smiled as he answered noticing that she was becoming somewhat detached and distant.

“Okay, then here is my first question: why seduce me?”

“Easy. It is Mistress Eve’s hope that by seducing you I can gain your trust and in time work with you to ease tensions between our two factions. It is Mistress Eve’s hope that by gaining your confidence I can secure technology, energy credits and any other assistance we might need at very generous terms.” Joshua continued to smile.

For a minute Deirdre Skye toyed with the idea of calling for her security chief and then thought better of it. This young man had some gall to proposition her on holo, and then claim it was part of a diplomatic effort to create understanding between the Cult and the Gaians. She was genuinely intrigued with this young man so perhaps she should continue.

Deirdre decided to be polite. “I understand. That is an interesting proposition. Now, to my questions. First, where is Cha Dawn? Our last report indicated that he left for the unexplored reaches to the west, our east and has not been heard of since then.”

“Yes, your reports are correct. The great Prophet was ‘called’ by Planet to return to the wilderness to commune with the Planet. He took a small band of guides and a mind worm and has not been heard of in many turns. I suspect if we do hear from him it will not be until the blackout is over which would make it over 20 turns. However, if anyone can survive for that long with no aid then it would be Cha Dawn.”

Lady Skye gave no visual indication to her emotions or thoughts. She sat there quietly for a few more minutes and then asked another question.

“Please explain Mistress Eve’s threats and accusations concerning Nexus area. The Cult’s actions seemed very provocative to say the least.”

“We felt betrayed for starters. If you don’t mind, this might help.” Joshua leaned down and touched the holo-emitter and then disconnected the remote and flipped through several images until he landed on a map of the Planet. “As you can see our nearest base is only 10 sectors away from the nexus site. Your closest base is 40 sectors. From this alone we felt that the site, by right of proximity should be ours to develop, not yours. Also, we from our intelligence service we learned that you had knowledge of this site for some time before you informed anyone else of the discovery. Instead of calling a planet-wide conference on how to develop these sites and learn from them you kept the location secret and clandestinely planned to build a colony pod to claim the area. This action alone indicated that your greed for more land and more power overwhelmed the concerns of others, in particular, us. So now we have a colony pod in transport via an isle of the deep which will arrive in two more turns and then another three to get into position and set up the colony at the site I do believe our scout captain is positioned currently. The bottom line is that these sites transcend the concerns of one factions desires and as such you should, as planetary governor, been more open and proposed a plan for development.”

Once again Lady Skye sat quietly, deep in thought. Then she asked another question.

“Why did you attack the Hive?”

“Once again, look at the map. We have no concentration of colonies, as do you and several others. Our security rests on having “space” around us so that we can detect incoming isles of the deep or transports and prepare a defense. That is why it is crucial for the Cult to maintain as much space as possible until we can set up more outposts. The Hive was just too close to our borders. I really cannot say too much about the “official” reasons for our attack other than the fact that by subjugating the Hive we insured our borders for centuries to come. Has the Hive become a better place for our actions? The answer is yes. Do we plan on attacking other factions? Yes, IF they continue to encroach on our territory. Planet is a large place. We see no reason whatsoever for other factions to build any bases closer to us except to use them to stage an attack on us.” Joshua replied.

Once again Lady Skye showed no emotion to his response. Then she quietly asked another question.

“We hear rumors about terrible things that take place under the rule of Cha Dawn and now his daughter. Your society has no advanced form of democracy. In Gaian society the rights and prosperity of the individual are guaranteed by our society. Since the Cult does not seem to have these values how can we ever trust you?”

“Well, I really think that it is the Cult that should ask this question, not you. Your society seems adrift, lost, unfocused. Your people are split over the direction they want the future to bring and we see little action on your behalf to offer them that direction, that future. Your constant focus on wealth and the accumulation of ‘things’ demonstrates that your people lack a vision; you seek only to maximize your accumulation of objects. One year you follow the path, in harmony with Planet and the next year you dump toxic waste in the rivers as you switch back to an industrial focus. You have been threatened so you build up the largest military force on Planet and for what purpose? No standing army like you have can stay in the barracks forever. From our perspective we assume you plan on using your forces any day. Now, as to what happens in our society. Yes, we are backward and have only a limited from of democracy, our guild system. However, the guild system has been in place for a long time and it would be very hard indeed to take it apart, just as it would be for your society to undo your democratic system. Do ‘bad’ things happen? Yes. Have political rivals or renegades been killed? Yes. Cha Dawn has a true vision of what Planet has in store for us and he intends for the People of the Planet to be in the vanguard and nothing or no one will keep him from that.”

“Doesn’t that frighten you?”

”Yes, in fact, my own family is held as hostages to prevent me from doing anything unspeakable. Do I like the idea that my sister, father and mother are being watched by seekers every hour and should I make just one wrong move they will be eliminated? The answer is no. However, this is our society. It is stable and people prosper in it. We have rules and informal regulations on how to live in it. Yours might seem a bit more civilized than ours but in essence they are the same. If you found that one of your advisors were a traitor would you not put him to death?”

“No. There is no Gaian death penalty,” Skye fired back.

“Fine, that is your law, your justice. However, in our society we hold the entire family responsible for the actions of the individual. This makes for a tighter family unit that depends on each other for security. I will do nothing to jeopardize their lives and they will do the same for me. You have loyalty to the state and we have loyalty to the family. How is that so different?"

“Well, this has been very illuminating to say the least. How long will you be here for?” Deirdre asked as she stood up and hit the button on the chair that summoned her aide, who quickly walked in.

Joshua leaned down and picked up his emitter and put it in his pocket. While doing so he looked up and down Deirdre’s bare leg that had been exposed as she stood up. “I am here until the blackout clears and I can make contact with Mistress Eve. Until then I am at your service. If you wish to have me return I will do so and we can chat again. My the eternal light of Cha Dawn shine on you and give you the peace of mind that transcends all time and space.” Joshua leaned down and performed a deep bow and then quickly turned and left the room.

Joshua walked down the hall and smiled to himself. He would be back, oh yes, he would be back.

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2247

“I had the most unusual interview with a Cult ambassador-without-portfolio a week ago,” Deirdre said. “I hope you’ve all been able to review the holo?”

Everyone around the Council table nodded. Ling had a smirk on her face, and Colin looked a little flummoxed, as if he was having a hard time absorbing the meaning. Terry was dead serious, as was Mohammed.

“I’m not sure what to make of it,” she continued. “Any ideas?”

Ling jumped right in. “If it’s an attempt at rapprochement then they’d better try again. All this Mr. Marister did was confirm that the Cult is basically aggressive, and that they see aggressive actions in almost anything any other factions might do. They also use this ‘lebensraum’ argument to justify their actions against the Hive. Also, I thought the explanation they gave of their political system was just plain frightening. And they were complaining about the Hive! Yang was a saint by comparison to these people. Taking family hostages, and political executions – that’s pure police state fascism right out of the 20th Century.”

Ling paused for a brief moment, but not long enough for anyone else to jump in. She was on a roll. “It was interesting that the Cult must view sex as a political weapon, and that their political figures have to seduce each other to gain political favor. I wonder if their Prophet does this, too? I seem to remember a 20th Century Chinese leader, Mao something, that used his position to secure his very particular sexual favors and I can’t help wondering if the Cult is like that. Kind of twisted, if you ask me. Or, maybe he confused the mass market Lover holo and had a hard time differentiating fiction with reality. Sorry Dee, but maybe he thought you were really like what they portrayed in the holo.”

“I didn’t like that part,” Colin said. “I couldn’t believe that any ambassador would just state he was ordered to seduce a senior member of another government. That doesn’t make sense. Are we sure this man is a legitimate representative? Have we been duped?”

“As far as we can tell his paperwork was all in order,” Terry said. “I had the exact same reaction and checked on it personally. I even called the Cult ambassador to confirm.”

“He hinted that he would like another interview,” Dee said. “Should I give it to him?”

“Only if the official Cult ambassador requests one through proper diplomatic channels,” Terry said. “There are a lot of people who would like personal interviews, but we have to prioritize them. You are a very popular person, Dee. More popular than even me.”

Colin did a double take. Did Terry just try to tell a joke? Looking over at Terry’s straight face it was hard to tell, but there was a hint of a smile.

“The next order of business is a projected energy shortfall. Mohammed?” Terry said.

“Please activate holo index 23 trough 30. As you can see, we are currently breaking even in our energy budget and have a good surplus in trade. This will change in the next five years as more tree farms and expensive research facilities come on line. We have a few options. First, we could scale back our energy allocated to research from 70 percent to 60 percent. Second, we could order some bases to stop producing low priority facilities, such as Command Centers and biology labs, and focus on basic infrastructure. We should also consider stopping the construction of habitation areas since our populations will not be expanding to fill them for a while. Third, we could have a few cities stop production entirely and devote their faculties to energy production, which while inefficient would solve the problem.”

“I think we should be more careful about the construction of Command Centers,” Ling said. “Every base manager wants one, but they are only really needed in a few strategic areas. At this point we have over 10, and that is plenty. I suggest we scrap those in production and have their production shifted to other items.”

“Ling,” Colin said. “Did I just hear you right? You want fewer Command Centers?”

“Yes,” she said. “I don’t like to waste resources, and endangering our energy reserve is serious business. Efficiency, Colin.”

Colin nodded. What could he say to that?

“We could also order all bases to start building energy banks if they don’t already have them,” Terry said. “That has, to this point, been a second tier improvement. I recommend we bring it up to a first tier and encourage the base commanders to act accordingly.”

“Good point,” Mohammed said as he started taking some notes on his datapad. “Until directed otherwise I will recommend that we prioritize energy banks, scrap command centers in production, scale back hab structures and shift second tier base improvements to supply crawlers, defensive espionage teams, and strategically placed offensive and defensive military units. Comments?”

There were none.

“That is the last item on the agenda. Move for dismissal?” Terry asked.

There were a flurry of ‘motion’ and ‘seconds’, and everyone got up to leave.

Colin tapped Ling on the shoulder. “Could I have a moment?” he said.

Ling nodded. Colin pressed a data crystal into her hand. “I got this from a friend. I thought you should be able to review it before I bring it to the rest of the Council. If you want to talk, let me know.”

Colin hurried off, leaving Ling in the Council room all alone. She looked at the crystal wondering what it might contain.

	03-04-2003 18:57									#55
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Gaia’s Landing, MY 2247

The reception at the Gaian parliament building was packed with all the dignitaries and officials of the Gaian government and other faction representatives. Lady Sky had given a brief speech at the opening of the event and met with the key legislators and leaders of Parliament and had planned on leaving early when she turned and was face to face with Joshua Malister. A Gaian security agent who had been keeping a discreet distance quickly closed the range and was next to Deirdre.

“Greetings Dee, may the light of the Prophet bathe you with the wisdom of understanding that will grant you peace of mind and oneness with Planet.” Joshua bowed deeply.

“Mister Malister, it is pleasant to see you again.” She deftly extended her hand to shake his but he swept it up and gave it a light kiss.

“Really Mr. Malister, do you honestly believe such a thing as that will make me swoon?” she said with rather flatly.

“I am just being polite. Is that a crime in Gaian territory?” Joshua replied with a slight smirk.

“No, it is not, but perhaps in Cult territory from what you told me it might?” She quickly fired back at him.

“No, it is not a crime to be polite. In fact, politeness is encouraged as a civil necessity amongst our people. One of the fortunate features of our society is that we do not overstress our resources, our environment, our families or our society we live within our means. Unlike you Gaians that seem to revolt and have numerous civil disturbances due to the lack of resources allocated. At our last meeting you seemed somewhat “repulsed” as to how our society operated. Perhaps you thought that we were no better than perhaps the Hive? However, the last time I looked the death toll during your last bout of riots was in the hundreds! I have been told you are fond of saying, “lets agree to disagree” so perhaps on this point we can.” Joshua continued to look at Deirdre as if he were waiting for a response, ready to pounce on her next move.

“Your observations are not accurate but as you suggest, for now, lets agree to disagree. One last question, if I may; why should I or any of our advisors believe what you say? Some think this is all an elaborate ruse on behalf of your leader.” Deirdre walked slowly to the doorway she was already behind schedule for her next appointment.

“There is nothing I can say I suppose to convince you of my honesty other than what I have already said. I have been ordered to be honest with you and to give you any information that I might have correctly and truthfully. Now, if there was some information I was not given then I can not comment on it. Also, I am forbidden to freely divulge information I can only respond to questions.” Joshua continued to walk beside her as they worked their way through the crowds to the door.

“All right, then I have a question for you. What is the cult planning?” Dierdre asked.

“To general, make it a bit more specific unless you plan on inviting me back to your quarters.” Joshua replied with a slight inflection in his voice.

“No, that is not my plan. Okay, what is the next military action the Cult plans to make?” Deirdre asked as she reached the door.

“To infiltrate your information network and the Peacekeepers. When I left two probe teams were being trained and readied in the bowl of heavens area. Once complete both teams will work to infiltrate the Peacekeepers and then you. In fact, the isle of the deep that dropped me of on you western shore is now scouting your coastal cities for the best target to hit. Now, that is the last data I have on this subject. Events could change the target or targets since I left but that is what I know.” Joshua reply caused Deirdre to stop short and turn quickly on Joshua.

“We will not willingly allow you to penetrate our networks.”

“We need information and the more we know of each other the less chance we have of a misunderstanding that might result in one. Remember what I told you earlier. It was your secrecy about the alien ruins that caused much of the resentment my people feel.” Joshua replied calmly.

“Do you hate us? Does Mistress Eve have such anger and hatred towards us?” Deirdre mentally forced herself to end this conversation on this question, no more.

“No, hate is not an emotion I think my people feel towards you or your Gaian people. Does Mistress Eve hate you I would say the answer is yes. She feels that your support of the Hive during our dispute was done out of spite towards us. If you had really cared about preserving the Hive in all their terrible glory then you would have sent troops to stop us rather than energy credits. You have great convictions but lack the will to back them up. You are a proud people who relish in the accomplishments of your science and industry but you lack moral and spiritual convictions.” Joshua paused for a second. “Sorry I did not mean to over indulge your answer so much. Suffice it to say that we feel betrayed by your people. Our entire society is devoted to preserving Planet and learning to live in total harmony with Planet. We seek to cast away, if possible, all manner of earthly ways, such as terra forming, so that we can sustain ourselves totally within the natural environment of Planet. Imagine if you can a man who cares for a garden that he tends with his whole being. Then each day someone walks through the garden trampling his work, then another person , then another person. However, one person takes the time to walk around it to preserve our works. But, when your people want more food, more power, more of everything you walk through the garden just like the others to reach your goals quicker regardless of the damage you do. So from our perspective we could almost excuse the others since they at least make no pretension to preserve our garden but for you, well you are hypocrites. So yes, I think you could say that in some sense we are angry at your people but I would like to believe that we are more disappointed.” Joshua ended his reply and bowed his head.

Deirdre looked at Joshua for a few more minutes, not saying a word and then turned and left.

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2248

Terry put the data crystal in the center of the Council table, then he looked over at a defiant Ling.

“I believe you have some explaining to do,” he said as he sat down, giving the stage to Ling.

She began without preamble. “The data on the crystal are a basically true, but strung together in such a way to tell a story, one that is not very flattering to me. For instance, the crystal documents my early and continuing links with Dreams of Green, and the military establishment I created there. It also goes on to insinuate that the fungal bloom at Green, likely triggered by pollution from excessive mineral production, was the result of my irresponsible management. The sad fact is that I had not been governor of Green for almost 50 years when the bloom occurred, and although I still have my links there I have no more power than any Council member. It is obviously constructed in such a way to discredit me, and lay the blame for the tragic bloom at my feet.

“The presentation builds upon this, suggesting that I am at least culpable in the varying amounts of pollution present all over Gaian lands. This is not true for a number of reasons. First, the pollution occurred during a growth boom, and we all know that the social and economic effects of a boom are hard to manage. Sometimes things just happen, despite the best planning. Second, you will find that, if you review the records, that I am just as busy as any of you and would have little time to delve into the sundry details of the industrial production of any one, much less a dozen, bases. It staggers the imagination that I could be directly irresponsible for the base’s decisions. Such a position also suggests that the base governors are either ineffectual and easily dominated, or that they are in my pocket. I think that is an insult to our base governors, who are a competent to brilliant lot.

“But, there are some grains of truth in it,” Ling said. This got everyone’s attention.

“I was not as sensitive as I should have been to the ecological impacts of planetary pollution. I would not have, in my wildest dreams, have imagined that a fungal bloom could be directly attributed to our actions. After that tragic event I think we all saw that our we need to take more care in our management, and it showed me that we are aliens on an alien planet, and this ecology is stranger than we can possibly imagine.

“Think what you will,” Ling said. “I can’t deny the details, but I contest the construct. If the Council wants me to resign I will since the Council needs to have mutual respect, even if there are starkly differing points of view.”

Terry let a pause grow, then said, “Thank you Ling. If you would kindly leave the room for a moment so the rest of us can discuss this.’

“Of course,” she said as she stood up, then turned and left.

After she had left Terry turned to the remaining Council members, who had serious looks on their faces. “No Council member has been removed due to malfeasance. This is a serious matter and we need to discuss this completely. Are there any opening comments?”

The next few hours saw heated discussions rage, subside, turn, and rise again. Each issue was wrung dry, and eventually everyone was satisfied and a consensus reached. Terry got up and went to the door, palming it open.

“Council person Ling?” he said.

Ling turned, smiling. His honorific said it all.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2248

Eve walked down the private hallway that lead to the chambers of Ranger Ramos. From the hallway you could look down into the main part of the temple area where people were offering up gifts and prayers to the Planet. A Ranger priest was chanting from the book of Cha Dawn. Over the past few turns attendance had been climbing at all of the planet temples and certain changes in the Rangers Guild that had been brought to Eve’s attention that had caused her great concern. She continued to watch as she walked down the hallway and then turned the corner only to find two Ranger Paladins ( one of the new changes Ramos had implemented last turn ) baring her way.

“Move aside!” She commanded. For just an instant they hesitated but then moved. They said nothing to her as she passed by them, no ritual greeting, which began to make her angry but then she noticed the badges on their sashes indicating that they had taken a vow of silence. She thought for a second that if you were going to have your own bodyguards that would swear to a lifetime of silence you had a very dedicated force. She reached the door and stopped. The door should open automatically but it did not. Then she moved her hand to the door keypad and hit the open button and a warble sound came from it indicating that the door was sealed but an alarm would sound inside. She waited for perhaps a minute then the door opened. She stepped inside and looked around the room. Victor Ramos was rising from the floor along the far side of the wall. In front of him was his private vestibule, which housed a marble like stature of her father holding a small child in one hand and in his other a small but very detailed version of Planet.

“I am sorry for not opening the door sooner but I was deep in prayer and I do not like to be disturbed.” Ramose stood up and smoothed out his robes. He was a big man nearly 6 feet 6 inches and very muscular in even in middle age. Ramos had not partaken of the rejuvenation treatment process but if he was going to he would have to do so soon or the process would be not as effective and more painful. He quickly crossed the room and reached to take her hand.

“Please set down over here. I have some nice fungal tea steeping and some very good cakes as well.” He guided her over to the sitting area and then began preparing the tea and cakes. “ If I remember from our days at Hive Central you like your tea with only a small twist of lemon?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent. Here, please let it cool for a minute or so.” He handed her the cup and saucer and then moved the plate of treats in front of her. She raised the tea to closer to her face so he could breath in the aroma and it also allowed her to look around the room more closely. Ramos like all other Cult citizens had a very spartan lifestyle and even more so for a Ranger. The only exception he took was the abandonment of the traditional pillows, rugs and low tables in favor of a normal sized table with six very comfortable leather covered sitting chairs. Everything else in the room was very plain and simple.

“Great Mistress what brings you to the temple today?” Ramos asked as he sat down.

“Like my father I do not normally become involved with the internal policies or operations but over the past several turns the changes you have made within the guild of the Rangers have other ramifications. For instance, the changes you made in the rankings within the guild: priests, monks and paladins. Also, it has come to my attention your priests are telling the citizens that when the Prophet returns there will be a great cleansing of the Planet. I looked last night in my father’s book and found no mention of, how do they put it, the “ohn’-vohn” or holy war?” Eve asked between sips of tea.

“Mistress Eve the changes we have made within the guild are purely for organizational purposes. By specializing each ranger we can improve the effectiveness of each person. For instance, the two men guarding my door are hardly fit for “clerical” duties, wouldn’t you agree. So they are now in the order of paladins. While we have monks to handle the administrative work in each city and those who are truly blessed by the spirit of Planet are taken into the order of Priests. Now, as to the ohn’-vohn or holy war I think if you study the meanings of your father’s words it is clear what he intends.” Ramos sipped his tea during his reply but he never took his eyes off of her.

Eve sat quietly for a few minutes holding the cup in her hand. Before she had come to visit Ramos she had consulted with her master spy and it was clear that should the meeting become strained that any actions she wanted to happen would be difficult. The changes Ramos had made and the loyal and completely devoted following he had ringed himself with made elimination both difficult and risky. The elimination of Ivan Ivanovich had been seen as a welcome event but since then Ramos had learned from his predecessor’s mistakes and is elimination would be very difficult. She had thought about this for some time and clearly realized that her father had left her a snake in the grass to deal with and she had not dealt with him. Now, it was clear that only her father would have the authority to remove Ramos without serious repercussions to the Cult society. The death of an administrator like Lance Thompson was one thing but the First Ranger of the Guild of Rangers was something all together different. She was not at anyone’s mercy yet. She still had the loyalty of the seekers or rather to her father. The caretakers guild was now firmly under her control with the election of Ralph Wunder as the new master caretaker. Ralph was a pure administrator who would run an efficient and effective operation but he also knew his place and had no illusions about climbing into the inner policy circle. The last card she checked on was General Fookosh. Fookosh made it very clear that he would always support Eve in her “temporary” role as leader of the Cult so long as the Guides were the predominant military arms of the Cult. This was how the Prophet had wanted it and as long as she continued his policy his support was hers.

Eve stood up and placed the cup on the table. “Thank you again for this chat Ranger Ramos.” Eve turned and walked out of the room.

Ramos sat there for some time thinking about this “visit” from Eve. She was only a caretaker for the great Prophet. When he returns Ramos would be there waiting for his return, the obedient servant who had prepared for the great holy jihad to come. And, if the Prophet should not return then who better to lead the people of the Planet to the glorious vision they were destined to than him!

	03-04-2003 18:58									#56
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Gaia’s Landing, MY 2249

“Council members, we are in a race. Although we have the highest research rates on Planet we are only just ahead of the other factions, most notably the Cult, University and Cyborgs. It seems these other factions have been exchanging technology, to our detriment since they have generally not been willing to exchange technologies with us. Both Zakharov and Aki-Data Five have declined our recent advances, and the Cult has put significant strings on any technology trades.

“It looks like the Cult beat us to Planetary Economics after all,” Mohammed said, “but only by a year. The question now arises – where do we direct or researchers to expend their effort? Both Aki and Zak have been developing a completely different line of research, one based on more discovery instead of understanding, as we have done. Aki is now three levels of technology farther than we are in these areas and is currently working on Advance Military Algorithms, a technology we can only try to fathom.

“Based on the actions of both Zakharov and Aki, I recommend we put our efforts into Optical Computers, which we should finish in approximately seven years at our current research rates. We still have a long way to go to catch up to Aki and Zak, but we can do it. The Cult has an advantage due to their acquisition of Cyberethics from their vassel Yang. Even so, we should still be able to generate the needed research to achieve technologic superiority.”

Terry asked, “Are any additional research-enhancing infrastructure coming on line?”

“I am afraid not,” Mohammed said. “Almost all bases have finished their network nodes, and research hospitals are now in the second tier of priority due to their costs. We are running an energy budget deficit now, and we can escape only by growing, maximizing energy production, or reducing our laboratory budget. The other factions might like to be in our position, but we are building infrastructure faster than we can generate the energy to maintain it.”

“Thank you Mohammed,” Terry said. “Anything else?”

“Our trade is easily covering our energy production deficit, but this is a long term issue.”

Terry looked over at Dee, who was dressed in a soft looking set of sweat pants and sweatshirt. Her doctor proscribe exercise period was just before the Council meeting and she hadn’t had time to change. “Anything Dee?”

“Not really, except for one interesting note: Lal is now pacted with Yang. At first I didn’t believe it, and I asked the empaths to double check. It was true, though. They went from mortal enemies, working the Cha Dawn to tear down his society, and then he turns around and swears common cause. The situation sounds too Machiavellian to me; enemy of my enemy. I can understand why Yang might do such a thing, especially after they were on the receiving end of a Cult attack and need all the friends they can get, but Lal?

“There is still not break in the sunspots, and I haven’t been able to actually talk with any faction leader, even if the empath guild members can see what is going on in their bases, which are still running Free Market.”

Terry nodded. “Ling?”

“The Cult will find it hard to find a Gaian base unprotected by an anti-espionage team. We currently have 20 probe and infantry probe teams stationed around our territory. Some areas, like those in the Jungle, are more lightly protected, but that will be fixed shortly. Within a few years all of our bases will have at least one probe defender, and a few offensive rover-based espionage teams in reserve at likely hot spots. Our defender upgrades are largely done, with every base having at least a plasma steel defender. The fast-response missile rover squads are more challenging due to their cost. Defenders are being augmented by native units, particularly along the coast. Of course, our perimeters are more heavily fortified than the interiors, but we aren’t neglectful of those by any means. Some good news came in this last years – we killed four worms, netting over 120 megacredits of energy. This should help offset our energy problems,” she said, looking at Mohammed.

“Good,” Terry said. “Colin? Do you have a social update?”

“Indeed I do! I am happy to report that there have been no disturbances in the last years. Almost all of our bases are currently at maximum habitation limits of 7000 per city, although there are a handful of cities that have grown, like Gaia’s Landing’s 11000 citizens, or can grow due to the hab dome completion. My only regret is that we haven’t finished more research hospitals, but I can understand why they would be deferred due to budgetary constraints.

“We also started on the Project Aesthetic Virtues, which promises to use our space more efficiently and change national consciousness to do more with less. Basically, this is a training area for our people that will impact our society significantly, and possibly ease crowding in our cities, too. Two cities are constructing crawlers to add these minerals to this Project and, at the current construction rate, we will finish it decades before the Cult, who started the Project last year.”

“Thank you Colin,” Terry said. “I have noting significant to report on from the parliament. The Green and Progressive Greens are still working together, but the Progressives have been gaining legislative strength. Due to the events of a few years ago they’ve been keeping it non-confrontational and low key. The Planet Party just gained the requisite 5% representation to be part of the decision making and coalition process. We should all note that this is a Planet worshiping religious party, with nominal allegiance to Planet and veneration for the Voice of Planet.”

“Cha Dawn, in other words,” Ling said.

“Yes,” Terry responded, “Cha Dawn, and his representative Mistress Eve. They haven’t done anything but lecture and throw legal hand grenades to stir things up a bit, but they are slowly gaining in strength. Dee, you may want to have a talk with them sometime.”

Dee nodded,” I’ll do that.”

“One more thing that Ling left out of her report,” Terry said. “It turns out a isle captain attacked the garrison of a Peacekeeper sea city. Their garrison was destroyed, and immediately replaced. Since this attack was not authorized by this Council or the Military Chiefs this commander has been censured and been told to pull back to a safe distance.”

Ling started scribbling in her datapad, scrabbling out what Terry had said. Terry wondered if she had known, and it wasn’t unreasonable to think she was fully informed. Had she given tacit authorization? Unknown – pure speculation.

Terry let the matter drop. “If there no other issues then this Council is dismissed.”

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2249

Eve sat at the conference table in her father’s quarters and listened to the reports from her advisors. She looked around the room at all of belongings of her father, some she played with as a child and deep down she wished he were here now.

“Mistress Eve, the report is not good from the western continent. A gaian spore launcher blocked the southern access to the fungus field, which would have allowed our colony pod quick access to the nexus site. When the colony pod commander asked the Gaians to move the simply looked at them in dumb silence. So rather than just sitting there they moved northwards with hopes of entering the field more to the west. Also, we have reports that the Gaian isle of the deep is still blocking passage through the narrow channel. The isle commanders have retreated somewhat in hopes that the Gaians will as well but their actions are clearly provocative. They themselves agreed with the idea of “free passage” but they themselves now refuse access.” General Fookosh completed his report and waited for Eve’s reply.

“General, commend the isle captains for pulling back in hopes of triggering the Gaians to do the same. Tell them to wait one more turn and then try the channel again. If the Gaians are still there and will not move, order the Gaian isle destroyed. Also, inform the colony pod commander to continue as best he can to the nexus site and make best speed possible. If the Gains continue to block his access then find another route or signal for a isle to pick them up and try an amphibious landing.” Eve replied.

“Mistress Eve, from the sketchy reports I have the Gaians might have started the ascetic virtue project as well. With their superior industrial capacity they will surely complete it before us. What do you think?” Ramos asked as he picked up a stylus to write down her response.

“We shall switch resources. Make the arrangements as needed. We have the Gaian treaty that they promised not to develop the planetary energy network so we shall see if they will keep their promise to us.” Eve responded and then turned to her spymaster, “ If you get any report of the Gaians beginning the planetary energy network then inform me at once. That will be a clear sign of how low and untrustworthy they have become. It is becoming clear to me that the Gaians are now so enthralled with their wealth and need for more material things that they will do anything to maintain their superiority. I see no reason to believe that they are more willing now than before to listen to some reason and begin to see events from our perspective. It seems our agent might have failed in his task and for that I am truly sorry to hear. Joshua could have been a very important bridge between the Gaians and the Cult but their current actions lead me to think otherwise. The blocking of our access to the nexus site and the narrow sea route to the west is just the beginning I think. We will see how the switch from in projects plays out. If the Gaians go back on their word to us then we will know how deep their souls have been corrupted by the lure of wealth and power.”

Eve slowly bowed her head and that was a sign for them to all leave her. It had been a long day indeed and the meeting had been full of details and problems she had thought they had solved before. Now this issue with the Gaians! Eve no longer believed that Lady Skye had any true influence over her people or nation. One of the reports indicated that the Gaians had actually attacked a Peacekeeper base, and for what? No reports of military landings by them or anything. Certainly they could not be still nursing old wounds, such as the attack nearly 20 turns ago on their isle of the deep. You would think they would have the sense to wait till the blackout was over to begin any military operations so they would have clear picture of the situation. She stood up and walked to the window and looked out into her father’s private garden. It was very late at night and the garden was so peaceful she wondered if her father was safe and at peace now.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++

Joshua had gotten a garbled message from the D.P.C several hours ago but he had been able to figure out, for the most part, what the message had said. He smiled at the memory of his visit to the Cult embassy and getting escorted into the communications area. The message was coded with a cipher he only could understand, how the ambassador and communications techs had stared at him when he wrote down the message and then quickly left without a word. Now he was standing in front of Lady Skye’s official residence and was writing a quick note to her. The chief guard was still puzzled by the request but had promised to forward it to Lady Skye.

The note read:

Dee,
I hope you are well and I do hope that you will ask me to visit you someday so that we can continue our conversations. I am going to break a rule that I was sworn to keep about divulging information but on this case I have been allowed to do so. First, your isle of the deep is blocking free passage through the channel route near the nexus site. Is this intentional? Do you plan on denying free access in this area? If so this constitutes a grave infraction that you have agreed to which was free passage on planet. Second, your native troops are blocking our scientific colony pod team access to the nexus site? Do you plan on attacking the pod if it proceeds further?

These are important matters to my people and yours. I hope that I can pass on a reply to my leader soon.

Your most cordial friend,

Joshua Malister

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2250

“What do you know about this, Ling?” Dee asked. “Why would we block a corridor for sea travel against the Cult, and what purpose would be served in preventing their colony pod near the Nexus from moving?”

“I learned about this when you did Dee,” she responded. “We have many native denizens patrolling near the Nexus. It is important, you know. The spoor launcher reported that it saw the Cult pod but not that they were blocked, so I can’t verify that. The isle was between orders, and it did report that it sighted a Cult isle which disappeared shortly thereafter.”

“I want them moved,” Dee said. Her voice was flat and firm. “Now. Our relations with the Cult are bad enough without these small incidents building on a perception of mistrust.”

“Of course, Dee,” Ling said. Her voice was earnest and eager-to-please. “I have nothing but respect for our Cult friends and wouldn’t do anything, purposefully anyway, to nettle them.”

Dee nodded, accepting this statement.

Colin, by contrast, knew Ling much better and perceived a note of veiled sarcasm. She was known for her caustic whit, and it wouldn’t surprise him one bit if she was using a tiny fraction of it on Dee at the moment – an intellectual test of a sort.

Dee continued. “I do have other news. The sunspot activity has subsided enough that we can contact the other factions, and I have done so. We’ve been out of communication for far too long and I wanted to touch base with key faction leaders.

“First, Zak called me and I received his call. His attitude has cooled in the last years of relative isolation, and all he wanted was for us to ‘share’ technology. I was about to give it to him, but then remembered that we’ve gifted him two technologies in the recent past and he has not reciprocated. If the University were technologically impoverished I would have done so anyway, but they have several advances that we do not have. Therefore, I made the decision to withhold the technology unless he wanted to proffer an exchange, which he refused to do. For me that closed the issue and, after a few curt pleasantries, I signed off.

“I also called on Aki, and she was in no mood to talk but I persuaded her to give me a few minutes. The subject of technology came up, and she flatly refused an exchange, even though she expressed and interest in Doctrine: Initiative. When I offered to trade she surprised me by telling me she would sell Cyberethics for 325 megacredits of energy. I said yes before she could change her mind.”

Ling almost jumped out of her seat. “325 megacredits! That’s outrageous! And you agreed to pay it?”

Dee turned to her. “Yes, I did. This Council has given me discretion in our diplomatic dealings that to not involve the declaration of war and I used it to demonstrate that we Gaians are flexible in our positions, and that we will not turn down an offer that has value. We have all been complaining for decades that the other faction leaders are not interested in trading technology, and I have told that to Zak and Aki, so I could hardly refuse when they finally come around.”

“We’re not questioning your judgment, Dee,” Terry said. “We’re just surprised since that is a lot of energy. I think it was energy well spent, and it will help Aki’s people. It’s too bad the Cult didn’t see fit to offer to sell or trade. That amount of energy could have helped their lagging Project efforts.”

“I tried to contact Lal, but I got a lower functionary that told me that Commissioner Lal was busy and could not be troubled to talk to a lowly Gaian functionary,” Dee said.

Mohammed’s face pinched, and Ling was fuming. Colin just looked sad.

“After that, I tried Chairman Yang, who did take my call right away. He wasn’t as hostile as in the past, and I asked if he would consider a truce. He said he would, if we would help defray the cost to stand down his ‘massive army’ for a mere 50 megacredits. I gladly said yes and we hammered out a peace treaty, which he just happened to have on hand. That was most fortunate.”

“Good. Worth every joule,” Colin said.

“Paying extortion to someone as weak as Yang,” Ling said under her breath. “Massive army? Pea shooters and pop guns, more likely.”

“I did not contact Santiago or the Cult, but I will do so now that the native units near the Nexus will be moved. I want to tell Mistress Eve via Mr. Marister that these units have been moved. I don’t quite understand why they want to move the colony pod since they won’t be able to establish a base in what is our territory by Planetary Council rules, but they are welcome to try.”

“Thank you, Dee. Seeing that our military, social, and infrastructure reports have been made this meeting is adjourned.”

*~*~*~*

Dear Joshua and Mistress Eve, Cult of Planet,

Please accept my apologies for the actions of our native units. I’ve asked the military liaison to the Council and she stated that the spoor launcher in question was not aware that he was blocking your movement, and our isle was between orders and also not aware that your isle wanted to travel up the passageway through the continent to your seas. These units have now been moved and I don’ think they should block your operations. If you or Mistress Eve have any other concerns please route them to me for quick resolution.

I do have a concern for your colony pod, which I assume is traveling west toward your synthmetal garrison. According to Planetary Council edict the territory around Children of Earth is in the care of the Gaians and, as such, I don’t think you will be able to establish your base. That said, you are free to try – we have no other claims on the Nexus area, and will abide by our agreement. I would hate to have your colony pod spend so much time traveling to your intended spot only to find that international rules of law prevent them from doing their duty. My only suggestion is to establish a base in Cult or unclaimed territory, which will push the Cult lands toward Children of Earth. Then you can set up another colony closer to your intended target. This is not a elegant solution by any means, and I am offering it to you for consideration. I want to make sure your research colony is established in all due speed.

Attached to this communication is our data collected to date on the Manifold Nexus. This data is not encrypted and is intended for free distribution, but I wanted to make sure the Cult had access to this information before other faction leaders. Unless I hear otherwise I will have this re-classified for general distribution in one Chiron year.

Walk with Planet,
Dee

	03-04-2003 18:58									#57
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Cult, MY 2250

Lady Skye and the Gaian advisory council,

I it is fortunate that communications have been at last restored and we can now communicate freely. I have several issues that I would like to bring to your attention.

First, we wish to inform you that our colony pod will arrive in a turn at the site next to the nexus manifold. Our establishment of that base will result in ending of our long-standing treaty. I am assuming that we still have a tacit agreement to study the nexus manifold jointly and that once our colony is up and running we can once again negotiate a new peace treaty.

Second, I have been advised by my aides that the establishment of more formal trade negotiations will help all of our societies prosper with no impact on Planet’s fragile ecosystem. I hope that you can see the wisdom in supporting such a treaty that will set-up standards and regulations for commerce which in turn will help protect Planet from undue exploitation and increase all of our prosperity.

Third, I wish to broach a subject of vital interest to us, the planetary energy grid. Since the end of the blackout several factions seeking this technology have approached us. We hope that you will not trade this technology until we have completed the energy grid ourselves. With this in mind we will forgo any reasonable hope of completing the aesthetic virtues project in exchange for your promise to withhold that technology from the others. I hope that by working together on this we can help ourselves and eventually the other factions.

Fourth, our good friends at the university traded with us technology, military technology on superstring weapons. I am not sure if you have already mastered this technology but we would be willing to trade this to you for your technology on neural grafting. I would suspect that this would aid you in maintaining parity with your neighbor and thus preserve the balance of power.

I hope that we can work together more closely and thus reduce the tensions that have erupted in the past. We see that your people are now more sensitive to the will of the Planet and we hope that with even closer bonds we can one day merge our two societies for the betterment of the Planet.

Mistress Eve

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++


Eve sat in the command center at Dawn of the Planet and waited for any word from her father. For days now since the blackout had eased the communications team had been trying the Prophets communication frequency trying to raise him with no luck. Eve looked at the screens again and realized that for nearly 84 hours they had been waiting for a sign but nothing. She stood up and turned to the lead ranger-paladin that was in command today in the command center.

“Inform me at once if you here anything!” She demanded and then left the room.

The paladin waited till the double secure doors closed and then picked up a comm.-link and keyed in a new number.

“Ranger one this is Commander Anderson in the command center.”

“Commander Anderson, any word yet?” Ranger Ramos responded.

“No sir, but I will inform you immediately if we hear from him. I assume that my orders stand. You’re first and then contact Mistress Eve?” The commander asked.

“Yes commander your orders stand, Ranger One out!”

*~*~*~*

Last Rose of Summer, MY 2251

Dear Mistress Eve,

I am aware that your colony pod near the Nexus will be arriving soon, and I hope my previous message made it to you. I am concerned that you may be disappointed when your colony pod arrives since I do not think they will be able to establish base since it is technically in Gaian territory. My previous message made a few suggestions, which I recommend you review, and if you have any comments I am willing to entertain them.

Your proposal to increase the value of trade has passed overwhelmingly, with only Yang and Santiago declining. This should help all factions on Planet prosper, and I hope see that there is more to be gained by peaceful interaction than more forceful means.

I understand your concern about the proliferation of Adaptive Economic Systems, and in deference to your request I will ensure that this technology is not released to any other faction until your Energy Grid project is completed. Your faction has worked on accumulating the resources for this valuable project for some time, and it would be a shame if someone else literally stole it out from under you. As per our previous agreement we will not work to complete this project – it is yours to complete, as you see fit.

You will note that, attached to this message, are our files on neural grafting and our world map. Your offer to trade neural grafting for superstring theory is a generous one and I do appreciate your concern. Zak and Aki have had this technology for quite a while now, and neither wanted we Gaians to have access to it. This was puzzling to us since we were offering technology in exchange that was just as useful, maybe more so, but both turned it down. In the end the Cult will profit instead of them since you will get another technology out of the trade – a good deal for the Cult and Gaians.

Take care, Mistress Eve, and Walk with Planet,

Dee

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2251

Lady Skye and the Gaian advisory council,

I am pleased that everyone did accept my proposal for the global trade agreement. The regulations and guidelines governing commerce and trade will serve to protect Planet from undo exploitation and damage. I admit that I was concerned that the other leaders would not support such a strong trade agreement but the benefits achieved seemed to outweigh their petty concerns.

We will attempt to build the colony at the site we have chosen. I appreciate your concern but will move forward as best we can. If for some reason we cannot then we do have a fall back plan. My advisors tell me that the main obstacle to this the fact that our current treaty prohibits such actions so in building the base it will result in a cancellation of the treaty. Of course this will have an inverse effect on our trade agreement but I hope my ambassador can quickly re-negotiate a new treaty with you.

We have accepted the proposed agreement for the exchange of maps and technology. I suspect that in the future we can work even closer on such exchanges that will benefit both our people. It does seem that the other faction leaders have great animosity towards you and your people. I suspect it comes from the lack of cultural, social and diplomatic exchanges between your people and them. I myself have not understood why you have such poor relations given the fact that you all worship the accumulation of wealth and the treasures. I would have believed that since the Cult put such things behind us decades ago that the others would be more suspicious of us. However, your recent attacks on the Peacekeepers seem to reinforce the others suspicions of you. I did try and contact Pravin Lal to persuade him to end his war with you but unfortunately those “pact” agreements he has entered into prohibit him from seeking a peace with you now. So I suppose I have to be the bringer of bad news and inform you that you and your people will never be able to find accommodation with the Peacekeepers.

I am also pleased to see that your isle of the deep has ended its 5-turn blockade of the narrow passage. I would also suggest that as part of any future negotiation that we prohibit any of our forces from “stopping” along that channel so that other factions might have free access. The blockade of that narrow channel would force any faction to travel great distances around the unspoiled continent.

Lastly, I wish to re-address the issue of the manifold nexus continent. I am willing to entertain any suggestions that you have to the development of that area to maintain its pristine condition.

I wish to close this message with a personal request. Since the blackout has ended we have not been able to raise my father or his team that set out before the beginning of the blackout on his pilgrimage. I have attached his frequency so that if any of your outposts might get a message from him to relay that to us. There are many plausible reasons for his not getting the message and none of them include his death. That is our hope. Please inform us of any contact with the Prophet of the Planet and you will have our enduring pledge of friendship!

May the light of Cha Dawn keep you safe and light your way into the heart of love and understanding!

Mistress Eve

Daughter of the Great Prophet of the Planet, Cha Dawn

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2252

Mistress Eve,

I am happy to report that Pravin Lal finally came to his senses a year ago or so. He called me up personally and asked that we set aside our differences. Frankly, I was shocked in the change in his demeanor. He was almost friendly, the first time I can remember that he had a kind word. We hammered out a truce agreement, which he said would be a building block for things to come, hinting that he was working on his own advisors. Maybe we’ll be friends in the future? I choose to remain hopeful. This means that there are now no vendettas that I am aware of on Planet – the first time that has been the case in a long time, and I welcome it. Maybe the other faction leaders are beginning to see wisdom, and that peaceful interaction is more profitable than dirty wars.

It was a busy year diplomatically. Both Aki and Santiago called, and after they did some of the glow from Pravin’s call faded. Santiago, as usual, was blunt and wanted me to join her in a vendetta against Pravin and his precious Charter. I couldn’t say no fast enough, and Santiago was more than a tad put off and her mood was dark. I ended up gifting her Cyberethics as a gesture of good will, which she accepted and terminated the link. I had a similar conversation with Aki except she wanted the Gaians to declare vendetta with her against the Spartans. In the end she went away disappointed, but I did give her a technology as a gesture of good will, too. I noticed a disturbing trend here, and I can’t say I liked it one bit.

Your question of why so many of the other factions seem to bear us ill will is well taken, and has been discussed ad nausium in our Council. The only conclusion we can find is that the other factions are jealous of what we have achieved by a bit of good luck, decent planning, and peace. When other factions were wasting their resources on a soon-to-be-obsolete military machine we were building colonies, and then developing them. You may be right that our society’s emphasis on wealth may be part of the problem, but the issue is that no matter what we chose someone will be annoyed. If we chose Power then Santiago will like us, but Zak and Aki will think (correctly) that we are war mongers. If we choose Knowledge the Zak will love us, Aki will like us more, and Santiago goes on the war path. I know Wealth is not your preferred social priority, but I just cannot understand why this is so. You seem to tolerate Free Market, which is wholesale plundering of Planet. Most of the factions on Planet are running Free Market economics, but do you see us berating them, or brandishing a sword to bring them to heel (as you did recently in your unprovoked war on the Hive). I will take a lot to dislodge our pacifistic tendencies, and I shudder to think what such an event might be or our response when fully roused.

Do what you think best for your base near the Nexus. I just hope it won’t be extreme, or any damage irreparable. You will note that we have terraformed the land near Children of Earth, but per our agreement we have planted no forests – only farms, roads, and a sensor. A request was placed by the base commander to build a condenser, and that request was conditionally approved. The land in the area is rather barren as far as human life goes. Your former crews and base leaders have been given strict instructions not to removed or disturb any fungus in the area, so that the natural ecosystems can remain pristine.

Lastly, I had one of our technicians try your father’s frequency and I regret to inform you that, to date, we have gotten no reply. I have asked that they keep trying, and will continue to do so until I hear from you.

Walk with Planet,
Dee

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2252

Lady Skye and the Gaian advisory council,

I am glad that you at last were able to solve your dispute with the Peacekeepers. I have never understood their “issues” with you since from our perspective you nearly the same!

I have been told that Joshua Malister was unable to spend any time with you to help you understand our issues with your society so perhaps I can quickly illuminate our differences.

In our society we do not prize the accumulation of currency/wealth and material objects as a respectable attribute. Wealth is the path to greed and greed is the root of all evil in our view. What destroyed Earth? The answer is wealth or more precise the pursuit of wealth. There is a finite amount of resources or capital and by pursuing a social policy that encourages the accumulation of wealth you have to “take away” from those who do not have it, both within your society and without. Wealth corrupts the spirit and the spirit is what is needed to communicate with Planet. I hope that I have made it clear. It was our hope that your society would someday reject this primitive social agenda and work towards a nobler one, the accumulation of knowledge!

As to the free market system you mentioned. We have no great love of that or a planned economic system either! Both in our estimation lead to the same destructive social and ecological tendencies, as does the accumulation of wealth. Both a planned and a free market system tend to take but give little in return. Our green economic system offers both a social and economic reward to everyone who decides that today I will not buy that extra item, I will save and recycle I will work to preserve what I have and live within my means. I will not take so no one goes without!

I hope I have been able to shed some light on our society and why we still find yours to be backward economically and socially. I doubt you will understand much of what I have said since from what I have been told your apartments alone could finance a multitude of more worthwhile projects. Do not ask us to accept that your way is the best way for your people. Sometimes by asking others to take the harder road you become stronger for it!

May the light of Cha Dawn keep you safe and light your way into the heart of love and understanding!

Mistress Eve

Daughter of the Great Prophet of the Planet, Cha Dawn


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++



Eve walked along the hallway deep in thought. Time seemed to have healed some of the animosity between the Cult and the Gaians. It almost seemed comical that they had been at odds for so long. In essence they the two factions were nearly identical in many ways except for one. The Gaians seemed by nature a very peaceful people if left alone they would set by and work and build in peace and try, but may not succeed, to live in harmony with Planet. While the Cult had shown and believed that by expanding their influence through military means that they could have greater control over their environment and thus preserve Planet. Eve continued to muse of many things but suddenly stopped near her quarters. She looked all around and realized her bodyguards were not posted at the door to the family quarters of the Prophet. Since the creation of the guilds the Prophet had used Cult guides to be his bodyguards and now they were gone.

“Mistress Eve?” A very quiet voice seemed to come from all behind her and suddenly a hand was on her shoulders, it was her spymaster.

“We must leave now!” He whispered to her but with command in his voice.

They turned and quickly left the area. Eve moved through the corridors and walked for some time until she reached what she thought was their destination. The spymaster turned to her and said.

“Mistress Eve, my operatives just reported minutes before I found you that your guards were dead and that several assassins were waiting for you, inside.”

“How would you know this?” She asked looking slightly frightened.

“One of the men sent to kill you is a seeker guild member, but the guild he is in does not know his true origins. He has a secret transmitter, he can use, which he did, and we were alerted even as he was killing your guards in order to maintain his “mole” like status. For now you need not know more but suffice it to say that unless things change one way or the other we will soon have a civil war on our hands.”

Eve starred at the black robed seeker and knew what she must do!

	03-04-2003 19:00									#58
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2253

A holo displayed Mohammed’s visual aids. An icon representing each faction were hovering above the conference table, and below them were tallies of numbers that assessed each faction’s number of bases, population, scientific output, and total maintenance budget. The last Mohammed insisted on including since it was a general assessment of the level of development of a given faction.

The summaries were:

* Gaians – 24 bases, 183,000 population, 541 terraquads of data per year, and a maintenance budget of 211 megacredits
* Cult – 18 bases, 65,000 population, 271 terraquads of data per year, and a maintenance budget of 50 megacredits
* Cyborgs – 11 bases, 39,000 population, 164 terraquads of data per year, and a maintenance budget of 22 megacredits
* University – 8 bases, 32,000 population, 141 terraquads of data per year, and a maintenance budget of 16 megacredits
* Spartans – 10 bases, 29,000 population, 31 terraquads of data per year, and a maintenance budget of 20 megacredits
* Hive – 2 bases, 10,000 population, 3 terraquads of data per year, and no maintenance
* Peacekeepers – 13 bases, 51,000 population, 83 terraquads of data per year, and 17 megacredits maintenance budget

After everyone had a chance to peruse the display, and make a few cross checks, Mohammed stood up.

“As you can see, the differences between the factions are stark. We have a commanding lead in resource utilization since our population allows us to harvest more from the lands around us. What is not shown is that almost every Gaian base has one or more supply crawlers supplying minerals for its industry, which further boosts industrial potential. None of the other factions are utilizing this valuable strategy to any great degree.

“This and other early investments have resulted in a huge infrastructure, which is fully four times that of our largest competitor, the Cult. The infrastructure is possible because of our boosted industry, and some of our bases now produce over 24 mineral equivalents every year without ecological damage – we are getting better at harvesting resources without disrupting our environment, a lesson we should have learned back on Earth.

“Another curious fact is that while our research is twice that of any other faction, the Cult, Cyborgs and University are at least making an effort to keep up. I am amazed that the Cult, with its smaller infrastructure, is able to produce half the scientific output we are. I suspect they are running a Knowledge to get this return. We may want to consider a committee to look into the option. At this point we are the scientific leader on Chiron, but there are Discovery areas where we are behind the University and Cyborgs. At this time we are working to correct that oversight.

“Lastly, I’m happy to report that our maintenance budget deficit has disappeared since a few more energy banks have come on line. More are being constructed. Moreover, our trade income is over 170 megacredits per year, so we now have a healthy surplus again.”

Mohammed looked over at Terry to indicate he was finished. Terry nodded in return and Mohammed took his seat.

“My, what an eye opener,” Colin said. “I knew we were ahead, but not that much.”

He turned to Ling. ‘Now, why do we need a few more bases in the Jungle? Don’t we have enough?”

“The proposed bases would be established such that a canal to traverse between seas could be created,” Ling said. “Each would be founded on an finger of land that connects the landmasses, and since base straddled the divide ships can pass through between the seas. This will also, conveniently, take advantage of the remaining Jungle terrain. These bases are for ease of commerce, and also for military operations, if the need arises.”

“Are the colony pods in production?” Dee asked.

“No. At this point the lands are being prepared. In both cases the terrain is completely covered by fungus, which is being removed. Basic terraforming improvements are being made, and then roads will be put in. These bases will have built in sensors, unlike most other bases. Formers are being carted in from the mainland, where they don’t have much to do anymore – a superior use of existing resources.”

“That’s all well and good,” Colin said. “But we don’t have a navy to speak up.”

“I beg to differ,” Ling said. “We have isle of the deep patrolling all over the seas, and although our conventional navy is small it still is the largest on Planet. We haven’t prototyped a cruiser hull yet, but that is a matter of time. Having these canal-bases will be critical in the future, and if we are to use them we need to prepare now.”

“As Chair I’m ending debate and calling for a vote on recommending the establishment of these two bases,” Terry a said. The vote came in 5-0.

“Any other items?” he asked.

“Yes,” Mohammed said. “I have been asked to bring a motion to convert to a Planned economy.”

“Not again!” Colin said. “Every single meeting it’s the same. What’s the argument this time?”

“Now we have five habitation domes completed so we can take advantage of the fast growth at our bases. The industry boost will allow us to finish more hab areas, and other infrastructure too.”

“That’s not much different from last year,” Colin said. “I call for a vote to get this out of the way.”

The vote came in 3-2 against, with Terry casting the deciding vote. Terry looked over at Colin and Dee. “The only thing holding me in the Green camp is that the Progressives don’t have their act together. Their plan would require us to be in a Planned economy for at least ten years, which is too long.”

He turned back to a disappointed Ling and Mohammed. “I’ll consider voting for a measure like this when our infrastructure is set up for growth, but not before.”

Dee and Colin looked satisfied. Strangely, Ling didn’t look disappointed, only more determined.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2253

The entire command staff of the People of the Planet sat in the large control/conference center. This was one of the rare times that Mistress Eve had called a meeting of the entire staff. Around the room holo-projections had updates on every aspect of the Cult’s economic, social, military status along with maps showing all of the Cult’s holdings and the other factions. It was still not a true command center but until one could be built, it served its purpose. The doors at the far end of the room opened and Eve walked in and as she did the entire command council and staff stood up and offered the customary greeting.

“May the Prophet bath you all in his light of reason and spiritual radiance so that you all achieve a perfect understanding of Planet!” Eve walked to her chair and sat down followed by the rest of the command staff.

“First, I still have no report of the Prophet. No other faction leader has heard from the great one either. I still have no reason to doubt that he is still “out there” somewhere but for now he still wants to be alone. The Prophet left in the year 2232, over 22 turns ago. Just prior to his leaving he did take a rejuvenation treatment but with the hardships of the wilderness those 22 turns would be very hard turns to endure. If he does not return soon then his next treatment will not be able to restore as much as his vigor and youth as it had in the past.” Eve reported and then turned to her spymaster.

“Mistress Eve, with the establishment of Virgin Planet next to the nexus site we now have direct access to the area. However, as expected, it also canceled our treaty with the Gaians and as a result all trade and diplomatic avenues are closed. At your request Mistress we have tendered the new truce agreement to the Gaians and we await their response. They cannot be surprised at this event since we have warned them for many turns of our actions so we can only assume at this point they will accept our truce pledge. Once we have the truce in place we can negotiate a new treaty between our two peoples. Our new treaty will include our requirement that the Gaians observe our sphere of influence and not place any future colony pods within this area. I suspect that this should be acceptable since they are already planning expansion on the northern portion of the continent and we are doing so in the south. Also, our espionage teams are now in route to the Peacekeeper base. Our first priority will be to plant another virus into their system so that we can gain access. If the second team can gain access as well they are to steal any “new” technology files they find and plant evidence to suggest it was another faction. That “other” faction is yet to be determined.” The master spy finished his report and sank back into his chairs and the folds of his robes. Eve turned slightly to Ranger One Ramos.

“Mistress Eve, development at all of our cities, as you can see around the room, is proceeding at a fair pace. We should be able to complete the planetary energy network in less than 8 turns. Also, we have now 4 sea colony pods in production that will serve as our outposts and forward support centers for our isles of the deep. With the sea colonies in place they will serve two purposes, one, to provide forward support and surveillance and two, to mark the extent of our territory. We have also begun to slowly in, in small stages; to improve all garrison units at each city with the latest technology. We will do this over a long period of time, due to lack of resources.” Ramos gave a scowl at this point and looked around the room, “ With that said, I have been working with the Master Seeker to improve our security measures and to begin building more seeker teams to protect our bases from infiltration.” Ramos finished his report and looked at Eve with steely eyes. Eve returned the stare for a brief moment and then waved her hand towards General Fookosh.

“Mistress Eve, our native forces have not encountered any rogue or wild worms in some time. Our isles scour the seas but to no avail. I cannot understand why the sudden drop off in the natural native life forms of Planet. However, with your support we will begin raising our own worms soon to provide a rapid reaction/scouting force on each continent. Currently, many of our worms our helping as garrison units at the cities. While this makes the worms and guides happy it does not build a strong and highly trained force. Our worms need to be bigger and I think we have yet to see the ultimate size at which our native soldiers can grow!” Fookosh ended his report with a slight cough.

“Master caretaker, your report please.” She turned towards Ralph Wunder.

“Mistress Eve, our terra-formers are working around the clock, non-stop!” Ralph reported with great enthusiasm. “However, we still lack sea-formers and the need for more kelp farms and tidal energy collectors are pressing. We are still fortunate in that our terra-formers are keeping up with demands for more resources yet we are still preserving a great amount of the native environment. Our un-terraforming efforts are just as impressive! We have restored 7 sectors of fungus with more to come. When the Prophet returns to the home islands he should me very pleased with our restoration efforts. It is a constant struggle to keep the forests at bay but we will win that struggle. We have also made sure that we do not use any of the prohibited technology such as boreholes or condensers but we have made good use of the echelon mirrors in enhancing our energy collection, an extremely low environmental impact project!” Ralph completed his first report to the complete council and he was very pleased with himself.

“You should be proud of your work, as should you all.” Eve responded. “We are the second most powerful faction on Planet! We have achieved this status through our dedication to our beliefs and have stuck to our principals! Unlike some of the other factions whose development has resulted in pollution, riots, wholesale destruction of the Planets natural environment. All of our achievements have been completed but we have protected Planet and never once polluted the Planet. The Gaians have achieved their success by allowing over population. Now they seek even more bases while even building larger cities. We on the other hand will build more cities but keep them small and spread them out over greater distances. This will make us vulnerable to attack but through the master seekers efforts we will have ample early warning.” Eve finished and then stood and gave a brief blessing and left the room. The others quickly gathered the documents and began to file out. The master seeker watched as the others left keeping and eye out for any indication of shifting alliances within the guilds but for now it looked as if things were stable.

*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, Parliament, MY 2254

Be it proclaimed that,

* Whereas the Gaian Council has recommended that the Parliament consider all reasonable measures to ensure ecologically sound growth, and;
* Whereas the Parliament Commission on Infrastructure has determined that Gaian base facilities are capable of handling the potential social strains of base growth, and;
* Whereas the Parliament Commission on Ecological Preservation has determined that any growth can be monitored to ensure no disruption to the environment, and that current Gaian measures to enhance industrial output are well within limits to ensure no environmental pollution;
* It is hereby resolved that the Parliament, duly elected in MY 2252, to direct the Ministry of Economic Administration to enact a Planned Economy not more than one Chiron month after the promulgation of this Act, and;
* It is hereby resolved that Parliament will appoint a Special Commission on Growth to fully monitor city growth to ensure social stability and that no environmental pollution occurs, and that any infractions will be immediately reported to the civil authorities and the Gaian Council, and;
* It is hereby resolved that the Parliament has budgeted not more than 10 percent of the yearly Gaian budget to social programs to enhance social stability until the end of the growth cycle, and;
* It is hereby resolved that this Act will be reviewed yearly by the Gaian Council, and that the Planned Economy will be terminated if the Gaian Council does not approve its continuance with a supermajority of 80 percent of its legally standing members.

Notary – this Act was voted and approved by a majority of Parliament, with a Gaian Council sunset provision to be reviewed yearly

*~*~*~*

Colin and Dee read the Act, which had been provided to them prior to the official announcement to the media as a courtesy. Neither were happy about it, but once it was clear the Council and the Parliament had determined that a switch was prudent both had worked hard to wring concessions out of the New Progressive Party. It was a near thing, but the Progressive Green party had switched sides in the last week of political maneuvering. This left no choice – go along, or be run over.

Colin was particularly proud of his built-in sunset provision, and the supermajority measure. This meant that if Dee and he kept together they could kill it on any given year during renewal. The had both assured the Council they would not do so if social conditions were stable, and that there was no ecological pollution, and provisions for these were in the Act, too.

Dee was concerned since she knew the Cult would probably be apoplectic, as they were wont to do on occasion. To her this was troublesome, but as a school of hard knocks politician she knew you couldn’t please everyone, and it was foolish to try. Keep as many people happy as possible – that was the key. And, although she had misgivings, she also thought this was by far the best template for expansion the Council had ever considered. She was willing to go along with it as long as growth didn’t get out of hand, and she knew that Colin would support her in pulling the plug as soon as there was any hint that anything was getting out of hand.

“I need a drink,” Colin said. “Care to joint me?”

Dee put the datapad down. “Yes. I know just the place. They have terrific Fungal Gin Fanny Bangers, complete with mint.”

Colin’s eyebrows rose a notch. “That bad?”

“Maybe I’ll have two,” Dee said.

Colin laughed, and they left the room together.

	03-04-2003 19:01									#59
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Cult, MY 2254

Lady Skye and the Gaian advisor council,

My ambassador has informed me that once again you have turned your back on the Planet. I find this decision must regrettable. I have read the “new law” with all of the stipulations and amendments and though on the surface you seemed to have addressed the concerns you have about pollution and civil disobedience you still do not answer the fundamental question as to why? Why embark on this path when you do not need to do so? I can tell you why we think you do so. Your peoples driving need for more wealth and material things blind them to the needs of the Planet! I realize that anything I say here will have little to no effect on your opinion or those of your people but at least you can understand our position on this matter so that there is no confusion. You continue to put pressure on the resources of Planet with no thought to the long term, and let’s be clear here, long term effects it will have Planet. By consuming more resources and putting more sectors of land into production you forever change the face of Planet. With that being said here is our current position with your faction:

One, we will not seek to expand our current diplomatic status with you until you return to a green economic model and turn away from the pursuit of wealth. All of your policies eat at both the heart of humanity and Planets.

Two, we will not seek any further technological trades with your people. Any technology we would exchange would only add more fuel to your burning desire for more wealth. Perhaps this will hurt us more than it will hurt you but that is what true conviction is built upon not the whims of the masses and the need for more wealth.

Three, we will honor all current and past agreements with you but will not seek any further negotiations with you until you have recovered from you state of insanity. We will pursue our goal of establishing a “perimeter” of cities at the border of the area we claim as our sphere of influence. As such we will not tolerate any expansion into that area. Any expansion into our area will be seen as an attempt by your people to provoke a state of war with us.

Let me be clear we have equal problems with all of the other factions on Planet with their use of free market economics and the damage they do the Planet. However, since your people now outnumber every other faction on Planet and you are second only to us in territory even the slightest stress you put on Planet is magnified more than any other faction. The Spartans, Peacekeepers and all of the others are polluters but when your great cities began to dump waste and tear at the ground for more minerals it is on a much greater scale and has an even greater impact. We can only see that your continued expansion will lead to the complete destruction of the previous environmental system of Planet. For that we curse you for all time for you, unlike the others, have at least some understanding of your actions yet you care not.

From this point on any communication you wish to address to our government will only be accepted through verbal communications with either our ambassador or Mr. Malister. Seek not to try and send us any further communication until you have amended you ways. We will pray for your souls and the soul of the Planet that you are about to destroy!

May the light of Cha Dawn keep you safe and light your way into the heart of love and understanding!

Mistress Eve

Daughter of the Great Prophet of the Planet, Cha Dawn


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++

Eve turned to her spymaster who watched as she sent the reply to the Gaians.

“Inform your teams that the target faction is the Gaians. All evidence should put to them at any incursion you make, is that clear!” Eve commanded.

“Yes great mistress it is.” He replied and turned and left.

Eve thought for some time about her decision for good or for bad but it had been made. If the Gaians desire for power and riches was so great that it blinded them to all other concerns perhaps by forcing them to concentrate on their security it would force them to pursue a less expansionistic policy. This was her hope and perhaps fools dream she thought.

*~*~*~*

[p]Lily of the Valley, MY 2255[/b]

“Mohammed, is your status report ready?” Terry asked.

“Yes, it is,” he said as he stood up. “The population boom is proceeding without incident, as planned and our population increased by 11 percent in one year. You will also note,” he said as he toggled a holo projection, “that there are no instances of social disturbance, and no outbreak of planetary pollution. All of our bases have experienced a marked increase in population, and attendant resources. The completion of the Aesthetic Virtues Project last year helped in this regard since our people now can make better use of the space that is available, effectively meaning that our existing infrastructure can accommodate 28 percent more people.

“Next year we will have similar growth, but after that it will be limited to those bases that have hab complexes. Now six are on line, and four more will be completed in a year or two. More can be rush built, at considerable cost to the treasury, if authorized by the Parliament. I have it on good authority that the Parliament will allow such expenditures if the cost isn’t too exorbitant.” He looked as a skeptical Dee and Colin, who were poring over the holo data, obviously looking for flaws or convenient omissions. “Our objective is to ensure stability, and no pollution, of course.”

Mohammed lapsed into silence to allow the Council to examine the data, calling up drill-down details for aspects that were of interest. He knew there was nothing to hide, and was waiting for questions or comments.

There were none.

After the active examination had tapered off a bit Terry said, “Anyone who wants a copy is welcome to it. There is nothing secret here. Are there any objections to a vote?” He looked over at Dee and Colin, who shook their heads.

“Very well, please vote to recommend the continuance of a Planned economy by saying ‘aye’,” he said. There were a three ‘aye’s. “Abstentions?” Both Dee and Colin abstained.

“Motion passed. I’ll forward it to Parliament,” he said. “The last issue on our agenda is the rather terse missive from Eve of the Cult. Dee, any comments?” Terry asked.

“Not really,” she said. “They are effectively suspending all diplomatic relations until we change our economic focus back to Green, and change from a Wealth society focus. We will likely back out of a Planned economy soon enough, certainly within years, but all of us agree that there is nothing Planet unfriendly about Wealth. Unless they change their minds it is likely that we’ll not have any relations with them for a long time.”

“Any need to contact Mr. Marister?” Colin asked.

“I’m not sure I have anything to say,” she said. “I’ll forward a general holo to his office in the Cult embassy to let them know we’ve received Mistress Eve’s declaration, and that while we are sorry they’ve chosen this path we can understand it.”

“But it’s irrational,” Ling said. “All this harping on polluting Planet, and damage to Planet – there is absolutely no evidence of this! They’re simply asserting it, and making vague metaphysical claims that we’re supposed to accept at face value. It’s their extreme religion talking, not a rational person. I don’t know how we can deal with such sophistry. How do you have a meaningful conversation with someone who doesn’t believe in cause and effect, evidence, or the scientific method? It’s like talking to a wall.”

“It’s the polite thing to do, Ling,” Dee said. “I generally agree with you, but disagreeing with them won’t help matters. We know we can’t accommodate them, so our only choice is to acknowledge their opinion and move on.”

“And if they take their displeasure one step further? What then? What if they decide that we need to be exterminated, or humbled, like Yang? Or if Mistress Eve convinces herself that the University needs to be brought to heel, like Yang? Face it, Dee. The Cult is aggressive and have all the worst qualities of the extremist religions of old Earth. Remember those? They were only too happy to throw fuel on the fires of war, and were willfully blind to their role since they were all convinced that it was God’s will. Only, in this case it’s some banal ‘Will of Planet’, or some other revealed wisdom that, of course, can’t be proven, much less verified.”

“I know that, Ling. We’ll have to cross those roads when the time comes.”

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2255

The latest report from the spy network was very alarming. For the first
time the Gaians seemed to have at last been able to manage one of their "pop
booms" as they now called them without the massive social turmoil they usually incurred. The spy chief scanned the data for hours and it soon became clear that the Gaians for better or worse had achieved their materialistic breakthrough. They could have massive expansion without immediate impacts on the environment. What was troubling was that over all of this time neither Cha or his Daughter had been able to convince the Gaians to slow down their expansion. The Gaians would continue to grow and grow and that growth would forever change the face of Planet. The Gaians never seemed to look at the long term effects of their works. 200 hundred years from now the Gaians will have forever changed the face of Planet and it will look more like earth then Planet. The question is will the generations to come thank the Gaians for their efforts or damn them for all eternity. They never seemed to think in the long term as did the Cult. The Cult took every smashed fungal stalk as a sign, an omen that to destroy one single item could result in the wholesale changes in the future. He wondered if the people who lived in the early 21st century appreciated the rapid, unchecked growth of their forefathers. If some restraint had been used perhaps some of the evil that had been done might have been avoided on earth. The spy master gave a deep sigh and pushed any further thoughts of this issue from his mind. He needed to concentrate on the here and now. The simple fact was that the Cult had to keep the Gaians unbalanced and more importantly, uncommitted. As long as the Cult could continue to expand in their area, infiltrate data networks and steal data and if need be conquer their neighbors without rousing the Gaians to war he would earn his pay. The data was clear and uncontrovertibly, the Gaians were a sleeping giant that if roused to war would be nearly unbeatable. They could if need be fight a war through proxy by funneling vast sums of energy credits without missing a heartbeat. The trick would be is if the Cult did attack another enemy was to make sure that they hated the Gaians as much as they hated the Cult and would not accept any resources from the Gaians.

The spymaster switched screens and reviewed the data on the espionage teams. They would land next turn, if the current was with them and then the attack would begin. He began to compile a summary of his findings for Mistress Eve and give her the bad news.

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2256

“At least Landing isn’t rioting,” Colin said. His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Dee took up where he left off, and she wasn’t going to give Mohammed any slack, except maybe to hang himself with. “How many bases are rioting?”

“At this point it isn’t….” he started.

“The answer is six. Six cities are in full riot due to uncontrolled growth. Your countermeasures were effective for one year, and that’s it. Can you give me a valid reason, as opposed to some doubletalk, why Colin and I shouldn’t stop this chaotic adventure right here and now?”

‘Well, ah…” he started again.

Ling saw Mohammed was flummoxed by the vitriolic attack by Dee and Colin. Both of them had been in rare form, and had been grilling Mohammed for 20 minutes. If she didn’t know better Ling would swear that they were enjoying this, a little too much, in fact.

“What we meant was that the bases wouldn’t stay in riot for a full year. We are taking countermeasures to control the situation,” she said.

“Not good enough,” Dee said. “My understanding is that no bases were to go into unrest, and that there would be no pollution. Luckily for you there is no evidence of pollution or I’d scuttle the Planned economy here and now. Tell you what,” she said as she leaned forward and looked straight at Ling. “I’ll forgo terminating this growth if during the coming year there are no bases that go into unrest. Otherwise this period of Planned economy is over. Do I make myself clear?”

“Eminently so,” Ling said. Here voice and mannerisms were tight, and a veiled hostility filled the normally affable Council room.

Terry decided to intervene. “I’m calling a recess. We reconvene in two hours.” He didn’t know if it would work, but anything would be better than this.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2256

Eve watched in horror as the video feed from the riots displayed every aspect of the evil of that was humanity. Right before her eyes a Gaian, most probably a worker from this clothes, was bashing in a window by throwing a security guard through it. He laughed with glee as the guard was cut perhaps a hundred times over by falling glass then the worker and many others rushed in to grab the precious stones and jewelry displayed in the window. Eve watched for hours as Gaian killed Gaian over food, consumer goods, luxury items just about anything they could get their hands on. The Planet temples in Gaian cities had taken in hundreds of people who had fled the violence, all seeking a sanctuary of peace and understanding. Eve had issued orders that every Gaian was to be given all assistance they could provide even if they wish to relocate to Cult areas if they wanted. Every person who wished to move would be given a job, housing and food credits. They had already had 400 people request, as they put it, economic asylum, and they had granted it. The spy master had been incorrect in his assessment last turn about the effectiveness of the Gaian system to curb the demands and riots. The bottom line was that each time the Gaians switched to a planned society the people resented the extra demands placed on them for more work, more service to meet the increased demands by the elite, the powerful, the greedy. No matter how they tried they would always fail and fail again. Only by re-educating their people could they hope to curb the excess built into their flawed beliefs in the power of money to solve all things. Eve stood up and opened a communication channel to her defector ambassador to the Gaians, Joshua Malister. Within seconds the comm-link beeped back and Joshua's face was on the screen. He looked haggard and pale.

"Are you well?" Eve asked.

"Yes, I was caught in a riot and had a break thrown at me and had to be sent to the hospital for treatment. Nothing too serious, a minor concussion and stitches. The Gaians do have first rate medical treatment unfortunately it is not universal and as such only those who have the money have access. The problem when you use credits as a means to allocate all services and material in your society. Many of the riots started up due to the fact that the decrease in wages brought about by the switch to an industrial society resulted in many going without basic healthcare." Joshua rubbed the bandage on his head and smiled.

"I want you to inform the Gaians of an offer. I want you to make contact with this Colin directly and perhaps the other advisor, Mohammed. Ask them to join you for a meeting and then make the following offer, non-official of course. Offer them the following: we will gift them when we complete our next breakthrough after optical computers access to "clean reactors" by gifting them this technology they will not despoil the environment and thus reduce their demand for resources." Eve finished waiting for Joshua's reply.

"Is that all great mistress."

"No, one last stipulation if we gift them the technology they can not exploit the advance we will make as well, an advance in the longevity treatments. It will increase the age limit considerable for all citizens who receive the vaccine. My fear is that if the Gaians get with their huge population they will increase the stress on their society even more!" Eve finished her reply.

"Understood great mistress. I will be attending a social function next week, if the riots do not cancel it, and many if not all of the advisory council will be there. I will make the offer then." Joshua smiled again and killed the link.

Eve sat for a while and almost called Joshua to cancel the offer but she decided to let Joshua try and see how things went.

_____________________________________________


A lone man walked to the top of hill and looked down at the cult city. He was bent with the trials and burdens he had faced but it was time to go. He slowly walked down the hill followed by very young worm mass, his companion for nearly 2 turns. It would take the better part of a month to reach the city but he would and then he had work to do...

	03-04-2003 19:02									#60
	Got spare money?

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2257

Dee sat down on the couch in her rather small but cozy apartment. She was facing Ling. “Ling, you had your chance. Two more cities were in full riot last year, so that’s it. Colin and I are moving to terminate the Planned economy and switch immediately to a Green economy,” Dee said.

Ling just nodded. She knew this was coming, and had warned her Progressive contacts of the likely economic change.

“I wanted to tell you personally so you can make any necessary contacts. But, that business aside, what do you think of the offer Mistress Eve made through Mr. Marister?”

“I don’t like how they’re always so indirect,” Ling stated as she poured some tea. “Why not just contact the Council in general? They should know by now that anything said to a Council representative will be discussed openly. It’s not like we have a closed society like the Cult, or maybe they don’t understand that?

“That’s their way, and it doesn’t do any harm except to delay discussion on any item of interest. What do you think of their proposal?”

“Very restrictive. They also need to define by ‘despoiling the environment’. That is rather vague, and since it is coming from the Cult we need to find out what they mean since. In the past they have stated that the Hive was polluting, when we knew it wasn’t true, not in the least. Yang had so little industry and terraforming that his lands were almost pristine. She also accused us of wanton pollution when we haven’t had any pollution since the first surprising outbreak many decades ago.

“After we get that cleared up it is worth considering, assuming we don’t get there first. Our research rate is double theirs, even with their likely emphasis on Knowledge.
We may not decide to pursue that line of research. We should bring it up at the next Council meeting,” Ling said.

“I agree,” she said as she sipped her chamomile tea. “Have a lemon twist,” she said, pushing a hand thrown potter plate toward Ling, who took one. “Colin made them for me, said I was too thin.”

Ling laughed. “Colin thinks everyone is too thin. If he fattens them up he’d have more company.”

“Colin’s not fat, just a bit portly,” Dee said.

“Or big boned,” Ling said. “He brought me some raspberry chocolate truffles two weeks ago. They were very good, although they were so rich I could only eat one. Colin polished off four before I brought him his coffee.”

“Did he leave any for you?” Dee asked.

“Oh, yes. He brought plenty. I invited some clients over and served them. They were a big hit, and Colin was thrilled when I told him that three people wanted he recipe.”

“Were they Progressives?” Dee asked.

“Progressive Greens,” Ling said, helping herself to another lemon twist.

That surprised Dee a little, but it was good that Ling was branching out. Maybe it wasn’t so hard since the Progressive Greens were likely old associates of hers.

“Have you met this Mr. Malister?” Dee asked.

“Only indirectly. He always seems to steer away from me when I approach. That’s fine with me. The Cult gives me the creeps with all their half-witted prophesy and ‘Planet this’ and ‘Planet that.’ If he’s read the Council transcripts he probably knows my views since they aren’t exactly a secret.”

“You’re suspicious of everyone,” Dee stated.

“Damn right,” Ling said with some heat. “Our experience here on Planet hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park. We have to keep our guard up or we’ll end up like Yang – at the end of a short leash. By the way, the next time the Progressives recommend we undertake a population boom we will have our duck in a row with proper infrastructure, like research hospitals and hybrid forests – that should do the trick, and make most of our social ills go away.”

“Good,” Dee said. “Enough business. It’s almost seven and our dates will be here in a moment. How do I look?”

“Ling looked over Dee. She was wearing a simple silk pants suit that looked like a dress – ever practical. It looked stunning on her, though, since the spring green brought out her eyes and contrasted with her raven hair. Her single piece of jewlry was a planet pearl pendent, which had a faint glow. It was one of the first ever found, and no one had objected when Dee kept it as a keepsake.

Ling reached over and primped an unruly curl over her left ear. “Now you’re prefect. How about me?”

Ling wore a severe black dress that looked like an evening gown, but wasn’t quite formal enough. It matched her jet black hair, and she wore an archaic set of pumps that were so out of fashion that they were a fashion statement – just like Ling liked it. She didn’t follow anyone and made her own rules.

“Wouldn’t change a thing,” Dee said, and she meant it. Even Ling’s makeup, what there was of it, was subtle.

“Let’s go to the lobby and meet them there,” Dee said as she walked toward the door. Ling followed and beat her there.

*~*~*~*

Cult, MY 2257

Colin sat in across the table from Joshua Malister and seemed to be enjoying the meal immensely. Joshua had kept the conversation general and had steered it away from politics as much as possible only answering, if pressed by Colin for some answer. The server brought out the final course and Colin did not wait a second to dive into the sea bass (or what was called a sea bass on Planet) steamed to perfection and served with fungal leeks and new potatoes. Colin wasted no time and after a few minutes seemed to devour the fish with a flourish then looked up at Joshua and smiled.

“Sorry, I did not mean to be so rude but Council business has kept me locked up all day and as such I had so little time to eat.”

“No offense was taken, I assure you Colin. I am just glad that we could arrange this impromptu meeting so quickly after I received your request. So what can I do for you?” Joshua asked but he already knew the answer.

“On this last offer of yours, the Council needs more information. On one hand we have a letter from your leader Mistress Eve stating no further exchanges will take place and yet here you are?” Colin reached for his wine glass and took a long drink from it.

“Colin you have to understand how much more complex our society is over yours.” Colin’s face contorted slightly and he was about to protest the statement since every Gaian felt their democracy was the most perfect system every devised by man.

“Please be at ease. Your system is all laid out in an elaborate constitution that guides your leaders and establishes all of the rules by which they govern. We on the other hand have nothing. Our guild system is primitive when compared to yours. The guilds offer limited political involvement by the people and the guild leaders help develop policy which is then approved or disapproved by our leader, mistress Eve. However, underneath that thin veneer of a system is a power system of shifting loyalties, agendas and ambitions that drive much of our policy. The letter that mistress Eve sent you was most likely a command council joint decision that was used to placate the more extreme power bases on the council.”

Colin quickly interrupted. “The more EXTREME elements?! You mean to say that there are people in the Cult council that take an even more extreme view of the Planet than Mistress Eve or even the Prophet?”

“Yes, very much so. You see we have the moderates, which I think Mistress Eve could be considered as. On the other hand we have Ranger One Ramos, the leader of the Rangers guild. The man is a zealot and would like nothing more to launch a planet wide cleansing of every faction and force every person on planet to worship Planet.”

“Then Ling was right about you and your people all the time!” Colin was getting upset, perhaps more so due to the amount of drink he had consumed.

“No, your Ling is wrong. There are other elements that wish to help guide other factions by example. For instance, your people could be just as prosperous as they are now, even by using a green economic model and a focus on something other than the love of money. Look at us, the Cult. We are orders of magnitude greater then any other faction on Planet and we have done this by sticking to our principals and beliefs.” Joshua waved his hand at the server for coffee and dessert.

“But what about this new offer!” Colin asked again.

“Simply put this is a back door attempt by Mistress Eve to keep negotiations open between our two peoples. The offer is simple. We will begin work on clean reactors a technology that offers great benefits to the Planet. Imagine if you can a power cell system that creates no toxic waste and does not require massive amounts of material support from a base. Your cities would not have to drill so many mines to support these troops and equipment. Less mines means less chance of pollution. The planet wide benefits outweigh the current political situation. In turn, all we ask is that you do not use this technology to advance any special projects that it might open up. These would be reserved to the Cult. This arrangement is very similar to our past arrangements. I really cannot see how this would be seen as a negative situation. You get a free technology and we ask nothing in return for it except your promise.” The server laid out the plates and cups and begins filling each.

“But why?” Colin asked again his frustration mounting.

“Colin, as I said mistress Eve wants to keep negotiations open. If she can bring this back to the council and present it as a victory for both the Cult people and the Planet then she could use this as a means of leverage against the more extreme elements. Once again this is all I can comment on since this is all I know. If Mistress Eve has “other” motives I would not know what they are.” Joshua reached down and picked up his coffee cup and took a drink waiting for Colin to take a break and finish of his torte.

“I will obviously bring this back to the Council and see what they have to say. Your documentary on the Gaians fleeing our society to seek a better, more spiritual society really upset some of them. The video tape of the slums, the riots and all the other unpleasant aspects of our society really made them mad.” Colin had finished his fungal torte and had begun to ask for another one.

“That was not done by me but by the Rangers who are lead by the extreme elements in our society. The sad fact is nothing of that documentary was doctored or falsified in any way. Certainly it could have been spun another way to make it seem less terrible than it was but he basic facts were there. Your society has a much greater potential than you realize and from our view you waste it on the desire to procure more things to accumulate more wealth. These are hardly worthwhile goals and I think you would agree with me.” Joshua replied.

“Yes, I do but the progressives keep beating us both on the Council and Parliament,” Colin replied after finishing his second torte.

“Well, we can help you somewhat in that area. I have arranged several substantial contributions to your party, which is legal under the current laws I do believe. However, the longer your people focus their society on the pursuit of wealth and industry the harder it will be for them to ever break away from the lure of those riches.” Joshua finished his coffee and put the cup down.

“Joshua this has been a very good dinner, in many ways, I thank you again.” Colin smiled and so did Joshua.



The elderly man had reached the city and had made his way to the transport central station. He booked passage on a freighter to the capital city and then waited for the ship to begin loading. He had released his friend just prior to entering the city since having a mind worm at his side would draw much too much attention. The intercom blared out that general boarding had begun and so he slowly stood up and walked to the docks. The ranger guard checked each border and their papers but as the old man walked up the Ranger stopped him.

“Where are your papers?” The ranger asked.

The old man looked at the ranger for a few minutes and examined him. The ranger wore a brown robe with an orange sash with a several pins attached to it.

”Of what order are you?” The old man asked.

“I am a monk of the Rangers, old man, now where are your papers!” The ranger stuck out his hand again.

The old man fished out from his pocket a tattered book and handed it over. The ranger scanned it and handed it back, “You may board, and may the Prophet shine on you and watch over your voyage.” The guard then began to turn to the next person.

“Oh he will young man, oh he will!” The old man chuckled to himself and walked up the plank and silently thought that perhaps he would spend some time poking around before he would make his final visit.

*~*~*~*

Gaia’s Landing, MY 2258

“No strings attached, besides not attempting any special projects associated with the technology?” Ling asked.

“As far as I can tell, that is what Mr. Malister says. He ‘suggested’ but didn’t demand that we switch from a wealth emphasis, either. All he said is that it would reduce our need for mines, and therefore reduce our chance of environmental pollution,” Colin said.

“I recommend we accept their offer, provisionally on the precept that we don’t get the technology first,” Terry said. “Our technology rate is still well over twice that of the Cult.”

“Yes, but it seems to be leading us in a different direction,” Dee interjected. “I don’t see any harm in telling Mr. Malister that we have considered the offer and, with a few minor provisions, can say yes. That would give Mistress Eve a ‘win’, and if he is right strengthen her against her more radical elements.”

Ling snorted. The Council knew her opinion on the Cult, and that was that they were are radical, and a bit cracked.

“They are correct that a ‘clean’ reactor technology would be a significant benefit to our industrial output,” Mohammed said. “Some of our cities currently have almost a fifth of their output tied up in support, even though we’ve tried to spread the costs around equitably. Incorporating this advance during our next set of military upgrades would let us build even more, faster. This would let us increase our city infrastructure, also. I see no harm in accepting.”

“Then let’s vote so we can move on,” Terry said. “All in favor of accepting the Cult proposal.” A series of ‘ayes’ followed. “Opposed?” Ling voiced a strong ‘nay’.

“Motion carried,” Terry said.

“The next order of business is the formation of three new chaos rover offensive and armored defensives to be stationed in the Jungle and the northern part of the our main continent. We have been asked to consider this by the splinter faction Defense Coalition. Tied to this is the construction of bio-enhancement centers at two or more cities before the military buildup starts. Please refer to holo attachments three and four in your datapacket…”