Start chapter 2
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Queen Elsa stands up and walks around the throne. The color of the ice of the tower flickers between yellow and red during her answer. "One of the things about modern news reporting that I dislike is the emphasis on sex and personal sexual behavior. When I was growing up, people asking those questions would have been punished, even killed, for poking their noses into personal lives." She smiles and an icy sword forms in her hand, she waves it around, with some skill: she clearly took the time to master the basics. "Back in the 1830's I dreamed of challenging some of my enemies to duels over how that they were lying about me. But that was against custom. I do know that Kristoff was in many fights over what people were saying about Anna and him, as people tried to claim that he wasn't a man, due to the rumors about us. Most were street brawls, but a couple...were formal duels." She sighs, and the sword vanishes. "Things were simpler then..."
A pause and then she begins to speak again. "When I began to plan this interview, I knew that questions like this would occur. I knew that people would investigate my past and would find things that I might like to stay private."
She says in a whimsical voice. "The various pornographic pamphlets that my enemies printed in 1830's, the newspaper reports of Paris in 1890, some of the fights that occurred at various port calls while I captained the Anna, Kristen's college life….all are available. I would have to deal with them, sooner or later."
"What is personal privacy?" She asks herself, then shakes her head. "When is that news? When do private issues become public ones?"
Liam starts to speak, but, Elsa speaks before he can.
She looks at the camera. "Questions for another time. In my case, during this interview, I could not mention personal things, like my sex life, or I could talk about them. If I did not talk about them, I would be accused of hiding things, covering up problems." She smiles. "Or I could speak about them, and have whatever I said twisted in ways that I will dislike. A no win scenario, so I choose honesty and talking, rather than be accused of hiding."
"Another reason for your emphasis on truth and honesty throughout this interview." Liam remarks in a low tone, just loud enough for the mike to pick up.
"My relationship with my sister Anna…" Elsa repeats as the colors of the ice flash again.
She looks at the ceiling. "When I was a teenager, I had dreams of marrying a prince. He would come into the castle, and convince my father that hiding me was wrong and we would live happily ever after." She sighs, heavily. "One of the so-so benefits of having my parents dying so early in my life was that instead of my father choosing who I would marry, I would get to choose that. He never accepted any of the betrothal offers that he received, so when I became Queen of Arendelle, I could pick and choose."
She laughs lightly, "Only to find out that all the men that I might have considered were already taken. Or, and this was far more likely, they were not marriageable, for one reason or another."
She shakes her head. "The number of young men that tried to sweep me off my feet... Some came close to it. During the dancing, even a group waltz's there are times… Several young men had the animal magnetism that my body responded to. It's just...I was cautious enough that I did not make the mistake of waking up in the morning next to someone who I just barely knew. After investigating them... too, too many were scum like Hans, or had some other problem. Like the time one prince was already engaged, but he forgot to tell me that, until after I confronted him."
"So you are not a natural lesbian?" Richard asks, confused. "Your bios."
"Were written by others, Richard." Elsa interrupts. "I can see what if's in which I would have lived a happy life with a husband." She laughs, "Most of them, though, also have me not being a Queen and not having powers. As a Queen, I expected a normal marriage. Happiness in that marriage was not. I direct you to the life of Christian VII of Denmark: he was a contemporary of my Grandfather and Father." She sighs, "In my case my lesbianism is definitely a learned behavior pattern. As to the theory of genetic predisposition… I firmly believe that nurture beats nature. That is, to me, the mark of Intelligence. I can use my intelligence to override the impulses of my genes, or body."
After waiting for him to nod, she then chuckles, lightly, "I am disappointed in the number of failed marriages in today's society. The experience that young people gain during dating is something I feel that is good. I wished I had something like that when I was a teenager or in my twenties, Liam. Instead, I was thrown into the breeding pool, head first, in the deep end and without a coach. If…" Her voice fades away.
'The what if's of life. What if I had responded to Hans attempt to seduce me, instead of ignoring him. He later made sure that he bumped into Anna. What if I had met Kristoff, first? Or had taken advantage of their fights to seduce him? What if Count Johann had been unmarried? My life would have been much different.' She thinks.
She looks at the camera, "With my parents dead and no other family to depend on, Anna became my emotional support. Our closeness… emotional, not physical was well-known. My enemies began to use it, claiming that we were physically involved." A twitch of her lips, "Reading one of their pamphlets was the first time I realized how it looked from the outside. Anna and I even talked about moving apart, but, I was not going to let them control my behavior." She states in a hard tone.
'Now, looking back… I was too afraid to let go. My fear of losing control of my powers, of becoming an emotionless Ice Queen were too great. I had to be emotionally close to Anna, no matter what that physically meant in order to save my soul and prevent something worse from happening.' She thinks. 'I had lost my sister for 13 years, I was not going to let that happen again. Especially after we had the time to catch up and rebond with each other.'
Liam and Richard nod, that is something that they remember Anna Winter saying similar things during other press conferences.
"Still, nothing physical happened for years. It was not until the first trip to Jotunheim in 1842 that things changed. That trip… Changed many things." Elsa says in a soft tone, the light from the ice flashes faster. She shakes herself and continues, "Toward the end of that trip there was a fierce fight with several giants. When it was over... Anna was almost raped and almost died. I was injured. In relief we hugged and comforted each other. Sadly, between our torn clothing and the hugs, Kristoff got the wrong idea when he interrupted us." Her mouth twists, "Too damn many lies about us...and for a second he believed them over all the time he spent with us."
Liam grimaces as he remembers a friend's messy divorce that had a similar event as its cause.
She smiles thinly, "It was embarrassing. And, yes, it made my body react to that physical closeness. But, nothing happened, then. Later, though, Kristoff celebrated our survival by getting drunk. He, then… A bar maid seduced him. That enraged Anna and she looked to get revenge."
She shakes her head. "She was smart enough not to go out and seduce a man, which would have destroyed them. But, when I tried to calm her down, things...happened." She waves her hand, "I am not going to go into detail about that night. Just that it was a very emotionally charged night."
'It was just similar enough, that in Paris in 1890... That I slipped up and treated her in the same way that I treated Anna.' Elsa thinks.
Queen Elsa gives out a huge sigh, "On the other hand, my relationship with Anna, even that night, was and is the center of my emotional stability. My decision, that night, when considering it, dispassionately, as a Queen, was not the best decision. My emotions, though… I shudder to think what would have happened to me if Anna and I had split up." She says in a soft voice, "Anybody can make bad decisions…It is what happens afterwards that tells the real story."
Another shake of her head. "The looks on the maids the next morning as they changed the sheets. The arguments between us." A small, quick smile appears. "One good thing did come out of those arguments, Kristoff finally stopped deferring to me and started to argue back. But." She looks at the camera, "if you expect a tale of Anna and me, or even a threesome with Kristoff, in bed, well no. That never did happen."
"Now, the talks...no, the arguments, even the yelling, did make us stronger. We knew each other better after that, than before."
'The look on Anna's face when I told her of all the times, I wished that I had met Kristoff first, so I could seduce him. And I told her how many times I day-dreamed about him in my bed.' Elsa thinks. 'That was the fight that almost broke us apart...' A mental snort, 'After the 1960's I wondered about that three-way. Anna, Kristoff, and I could have made it work. But...we were products of the early 1800's and stuck in a mindset that did not allow us to think along those lines.'
Another small smile. "I do not recommend it, but it revealed a lot about myself that I was not then, or am now, proud of. My feelings of envy and jealousy...I did not realize that they were that powerful." She says in a small voice.
Liam asks, "Most of the time when I hear stories like this, it is in a divorce case, and normally a pretty nasty one. What was different?"
Elsa looks startled, she was deep in her memories, and not expecting a question. "Oh. Hmm. Some of it was cultural. Divorce was not considered normal and anyone that was not married a failure. None of the three of us ever considered ourselves a failure, so even at the roughest, splitting was always a very last resort. Very unlike today, where divorce is the first resort, in some cases."
She taps her chin, "Otherwise… First, Anna was always positive about everything. Anytime I or Kristoff was getting depressed, she would do something, even if it was stupid to brighten the day. Kristoff, who had at least the excuse that he was drunk, controlled his temper, at least with Anna and I. He could have easily lost it, he had, by the standards of the time, a very good reason. And me? I had Olaf to help me. He advised me to be brutally honest with them and myself about my feelings. That lead to everyone being honest." A glance at the camera. "It's a policy that, at times over the years, I have not always followed, but. I am embracing it, again."
"Given, as I understand them, the standards of the time, I am surprised that Kristoff accepted any solution." Liam remarks.
Elsa nods, "Oh, I am not going into detail, but he did argue and complain. That he had to accept anything we did, since he was a commoner. That neither of Anna nor I were being rational. In the end, though, Love was stronger. We were a team, the three of us and we had been for years. None of us, in the end, really wanted to break that up, and we made compromises. In my opinion, I made the most. But, being honest, they might have felt, differently."
'Later, we were all grateful that Anna's did not have her children until after this. Explaining it to them would have been difficult. All of the emotional distress and conflict between us really affected Eric. It did not help Magnus, Asa or Ragnhild, either.' Elsa remembers, 'They tried to help us, but, unlike Olaf, their attempts did not help. Luckily, in the end, everything worked out. But there was a month there when it was really similar to a bad soap opera, with serious scenes and comedic scenes. One thing that it did do to my children was given them a jaundiced eye toward human sex.'
"Anna and I did have other sexual encounters, most, in fact, all but a very few, were during the three-year period in the 1840's when I was trying to have a child. My husband, Michael, was not a male that I wanted in my bed." A snort. "The closest acceptable male was Kristoff, but we were all smart enough to avoid the mistake of making him a contest between us. But, she was willing to help me in other ways."
"She'd bring his sperm and," Liam begins to ask. Elsa waves his remarks off.
Elsa walks around the throne again before she answers. "Yes. In the course of that, more sexual encounters occurred, primarily on the advice of others when I did not conceive at first. They advised that pleasure was part of the process, so... Which was the opposite of what my doctor kept recommending..." She shakes her head, saying in a wondering tone, "What we have learned during my lifetime… He was one of the best doctors I could find, and today...he would be thrown into prison for life over how he, to the best of his knowledge and ability, treated people."
'Paula and Rakel were the girls trying to help me, mainly.' She thinks, 'Both were former prostitutes and I declined their help because I was not going to start something like that with servants, I could see the problems that it would cause in the future. One does not need magic to see something that obvious. They then started to push Anna and me together. Anna and I made the decision to act freely and knowingly, though.'
"So, things happened." Richard says.
"Yes. But even then, there were a very limited number of encounters." She sighs, "After the miscarriage, the habits we developed then… We did have additional encounters, mainly when I was depressed and she tried to help me."
She looks at the camera, "Not that I expect some people to believe me." A laugh, "I wonder how long before the fake sex video appears?" She tries to joke.
Joan and Herman smile thinly, as does Liam and Richard.
"While today, lesbianism isn't viewed as a sin, at least by some, it was then. How did you handle that?" Liam asks.
"Hmmm…When my powers first appeared, religious extremists appeared and caused massive problems, remember?" Elsa asks, after she considers things.
Liam and Richard nod, yes.
"The Bishop of Arendelle… well, he did not really help them, but he did not really help me. He knew that most of the citizens were behind me, but he feared the reaction from among the other bishops if he really helped me. So, he was basically neutral, to my personal disgust. As Queen Elsa, I could be more understanding, but..." Her mouth twists. "And then… there were all the problems with my desire to improve the lot of women. Many of my enemies used various biblical passages to block those efforts."
She takes a deep breath, "So, I must admit to… a rebellion against my Lutheran upbringing. My lesbianism is definitely part of that. Anna...that was..." She shakes her head. "I loved her and still love her. Love, not lust. Emotional not physical." She waves to the camera, "Others will not believe that, no matter what I say. Too many people believe that strong love is only physical, but it is not."
She looks at ceiling. "Love… Of all the emotions, that is one that you can not place limits on. Love...can do anything. Which occasionally is a problem, since love will break the limits humans place on it." She finishes in a soft tone.
"Some will say, that I am trying to lead people away from standard morality." She shrugs, "I will state, that this was my solution to my problem. Do not apply it to you and your problems." A small laugh escapes her, "Was it the best solution? In my opinion, yes. Was it the worst solution? No. I am still sane. A break up between Anna and I at that time..." She shakes her head. "Without her, I would have easily become the Ice Queen."
"This will cause people to reject you." Liam begins with, "I understand that you felt that you had to speak about it, but...I am sure that were different ways to reveal this information about your relationship with your sister."
Queen Elsa replies, "Yes. There are… and," She waves her hand toward Herman and Joan, "We practiced them. But… They would be cheating. I want people to help me, warts 'n all." She pauses, "And if you feel that you must stand on a principle and reject me." She nods her head. "I understand and in principle approve of that. You are standing on a principle, which is so much better than so many people who I have meet that with who will not stand on a principle. Ha. They will not acknowledge that a principle even exists! Hopefully, you will understand that I am standing on the principle of honesty, even to the point of being brutally, painfully, honest and we can...work together."
"What if I asked a question about marriage?" Liam asks in a tentative voice.
Elsa replies, "In a simple reply: I believe that it is a matter for the people involved to determine the details of how they wish to live together, Liam. Rules or guidelines from religion and secular organizations are very helpful, as they reflect the cumulative wisdom of the ages of the culture you are living in. Different cultures exist, but they would not have survived if their rules did not work. There are legal details over common property and heirs that are good and necessary for a stable society. Following them will greatly simplify your life. So, I would strongly recommend that people follow them." She smiles, "I, of course, do allow that sometimes that these general rules are not the best solution. General rules, by definition, have some exceptions. But for most of the people, most of the time, traditional marriage, however you wish to define it, works for most of the people, most of the time. However you wish to define 'what works."
Queen Elsa sits down in her throne and states, "Let us move to something else, Mr Black. I feel that I have exhausted this subject, at this time. I am planning on mentioning marriage in the future. I love my sister. It is as simple as that."
"And when you free her?" Liam asks. She glares at him. "It will be asked."
She sighs, "I am not planning on ravaging her." Her mouth twists. "Exactly what will happen depends on too many variables. Physical sex is not high on the list, though."
"You started off heterosexual and became a lesbian because of your sister. You stayed a lesbian all those years up until that encounter with Hel." Liam states, "After which, you're effectively asexual. What happened?"
Elsa sighed, "I have never pretended, Liam, that I had a rational or well-reasoned sex life all those years. I am now who I am, because I realized, after finding out that Anna's soul is still in reach, that all those women I bedded were not Anna, and could never be."
Elsa leans back and gazes at the ceiling, "Our lives, our souls, are shaped by the character and passion of those who love us. I had let too many strange, uncaring, and untalented hands touch and mold what a master artist had shaped. Call my present...celibacy...a form of attempting restoration, where I hope I can recover what Anna had helped make me into."
'Anna… One day I have much to answer for. I have tried to live up to the standard we wished for. We both made mistakes when you were alive, but you were there to help me, as I was there to help you. Without you...My children help me now, but how I wish it was you.' Elsa thinks, blinking away tears, 'I fear your reaction...much, much more than I fear God's.'
Joan places her hand on Elsa's shoulder and via a contact telepathic spell, developed from the mind-to-mind learning spells, tells her, "And our lives were shaped by you, Mother. Over the years, you have guided us. I know, we all know, that at times you have been very concerned about the amount of violence in our lives and afraid that it will cause us to be callous about violence. We have not fallen into that trap."
She breaks contact before the inevitable response comes, lest they both break down on camera.
"Thank you, Queen Elsa." Liam states, formally.
Queen Elsa replies, formally, "Thank you, Mr. Black."
A pause, during which time Elsa pats Joan's hand on her shoulder.
"Now, back to the early history of Fractal." Queen Elsa says, "Njord warned me that I was stepping into a hornet's nest, still… I applied for the proper patents, like one should. Since I was just after the money with Frigga's algorithms, and the money was in amounts close to what I planned on, I did not make a fuss over the patents there."
Frigga appears and states, "And I did not, either. Those programs were already obsolete and Fractal needed the money." She grins, "I did make sure that those companies spent many years and much money untangling the patents for those programs. If they had cooperated between each other...they would have made a lot more money, just in cost savings on lawyers." Then she vanishes.
"Why did you fight for some patents, like with your nanotech but did not fight for the computer patents? I would have thought that if you were fighting for a principle over patents rights, which is what I remember those lawsuits to be, you would have fought for all patents, not just selectively?" Liam asks.
She smiles, "Trying to find a way to ask if I was a hypocrite to fight for only some patents, while accepting huge amounts of money for the others... Hmm?"
He shrugs, but grins.
"There was a lot of interest in the computer program. Enough interest that I could find a buyer, that was only after the program and nothing else. So, they did not add in any Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement with that contract. Although, they were planning to use that patent as basis for their own legal patent misuse. They planned to sue me if I ever produced an improved revision, so they were willing to pay up front, thinking that in future they would have a basis to own every other program that I made." She laughs. "That is one of the reasons that all future computer programs and hardware I handled them under different names."
Frigga appears, again. "Given all those Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreements (PIIA), I rarely tried to release new material. Mother's experience, with all those stupid lawsuits lead me to be very cautious about selling any new material. With one exception, everything else was done as a separate private company using secret proprietary programs and hardware."
'One of the best of the other non-Fractal companies is Trolltech. The software aps that it sells are major money makers. The normal humans that it employs take hints from me or Christina and run with them. Sometimes in ways that we never thought of. One of the reasons that it is also a Fortune 500 company is that I do not force people into PIIA's. Yes, occasionally someone will abuse my trust, but I gain so much more with the honest people who do not.' Frigga thinks.
(note: based on idea/info from a reviewer: PascalDragon)
"That exception?" He asks.
"Is for Queen Elsa to speak about, Mr. Black." Her eyes flick to Elsa, who nods. "All I will say is that our quantum computers were developed in the 2020's. We wished to sell them to the public, at that time, but were prevented from doing so."
Richard slaps his forehead. "Mimir Computers! Of course, I should have connected the two earlier." He says excitedly.
Liam frowns, not recognizing the company.
"A start-up in, what 2029?" He glances around at Elsa and her children, but they do not react. "They hinted about quantum based computers. There was something, some problem, I do not remember the details and then they vanished."
"2030. Your knowledge of obscure computer history is impressive." Frigga allows a small smile as she replies, nodding to Richard in appreciation. "And the details are Queen Elsa's to tell."
'I would have liked to have been more enthusiastic about Mimir. But it ended in failure. My Quantum Computers would not be made.' Frigga thinks. 'To us, though, that marked a major change. Before that, Mother's plans as Anna Winter were working, maybe slower and weaker than she preferred, but working. The combined obstruction of all the worlds major computer companies stopped Mimir before it could get started.'
"In time, I will Richard." Elsa leans forward, "My problem with the nanotech patents… There were out of court settlements offered. If I accepted, my inventions would have been placed in production in the early 2020's. Those inventions, and the pro-environment benefits from them would have started years earlier than it did."
She glares at the camera, "The reason that I declined those settlements was that the various companies that were suing me had made a secret agreement between themselves. All of them were going to force me to sign a very broad Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement. ANYTHING that I ever invented would become their property. They refused to remove or alter that clause. I refused to sign away all of my inventions to wasteful parasites." She rubs her chin. "Leeches? no. Tapeworms? no. Something. Ahh. Crab lice. Yes. that will do." She holds up a hand. "I may go into more detail later, Liam. But, that discussion is a large digression, and I prefer to do that later."
After a pause, "You did not use your secret accounts to help Fractal in those early years?" Liam asks.
Queen Elsa shakes her head. "I wanted, no, needed to make sure that Fractal was always above-board." She deeply sighs, "Not that I succeeded there. As time pressure built, in the 2040's, I started doing things that I despised, but… "She shakes her head. "For a time I allowed the end to justify the means, which is always a mistake. So,Tyr and other projects received the benefits of those accounts."
"Tyr?" Liam grins. "I'd ask you about them, but you are concentrating on Fractal, so, I will decline."
"Thank you, Liam."
"However, several companies with similar patents sued, claiming infringement. Patent wars patent thickets, submarine patents, patent ambushes, patent misuse lawsuits." She growls out as she returns to the discussion about patents.
"Njord, once he saw that I was not going to follow his advice, made sure that Fractal's legal team had a couple of young legal geniuses that were willing to take on the system."
"Ty Lewin and Warren Cairo." Liam remarks.
'Nowadays, the dream team of lawyers. I have not covered them in detail, but I can not remember them losing a case. But they are very picky about cases that they will accept… Most of their cases are cases that Anna Winter was involved in, or she approved of.' Liam recalls.
"Great guys." She looks at the camera. "And, as I said in my message I sent to you just before this began, I am sorry for the mess and disruption that this will cause in your lives." She grimaces as she looks into the distance, "So...many messages to friends begging forgiveness. To all of you, again, my apologies. But, I must change the world."
Joan squeezes her hand, hard. Elsa squeezes back. She looks at the camera, as well. "And I wish to add my apologies to my friends." She grins. "Luckily, my primary human identity died years ago, but there will be various organizations that will try to most likely succeed in locating that id."
Silence.
Elsa says, "They kept thinking that I was using the same legal trick that other companies used. Change a minor, inconsequential item and patent the same thing again." She shakes her head. "I did not, I had a new process for the creation of the needed nanotech. Most of the lawsuits were just proving, over and over again, that I did have a new process. It was the time and resources it took to resolve all those lawsuits that was the problem. And the fact that until those lawsuits ended, I could not begin production."
"And as more and more companies saw the potential of your nanotech." Richard says, "They added to those lawsuits. They did what you just mentioned. They changed your patent and tried to use it without your consent."
Elsa nods. "Which just added to the mess of lawsuits and increased the time that I wasted." She laughs, hollowly, "And the mess afterward…"
"That was when some of the companies that were suing you realized that if they won, they'd be shooting themselves in the foot?" Richard adds.
"Yes, if they won...then anybody could do unto them as they tried to do unto me." She shakes her head. "Sadly, they were so sure of themselves that they ignored that lesson. They were sure that they had the lawyers and the money and if anyone tried that they would sue them into bankruptcy and acquire those patents cheaply." She smiles. "On the other hand, for me those early lawsuits were good publicity. A small privately owned start-up standing up against large corporations."
"A theme throughout your life." Liam remarks.
Elsa nods and continues, "I was more than willing to let others use my nanotech, as long as they were willing to use it in ways that to help people." She waves her hand at the camera, "I am not and never have been against a company making a profit. I do feel that the profit must be spread, fairly, up and down the company and that there are moral limits to the amount of profit. Greed is a terrible sin and must be avoided. I will mention that again."
Liam and Richard grimace. Anna Winter's rants about greed and 'too big to fail' companies are well-known. 'Hopefully, she will add something new as Queen Elsa.' Liam thinks.
After a pause, Elsa grins, "This is the planned rant on Patents," A pause, "Patents...were created to help spread ideas. Now… patent laws prevent the spread of ideas. If you could make money off an idea, you would use it, or allow others to use it. The problem is that, over the years, like with anything involving money, you get people who are willing to cheat and twist the system for their personal benefit, not for the benefit of others."
She looks at the camera, "Then... you add in the legal system, in general, you get the liars and cheats of that system which increases the problem. I remember a couple of quotes: 'When there are too many policemen, there can be no individual liberty, when there are too many lawyers, there can be no justice, and when there are too many soldiers, there can be no peace.' by Lin Yutang and: 'If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.' From the great wisdom of Winston Churchill."
Liam and Richard nod. "You have supported efforts to reform legal systems through the world. Complaining about overspecialization, uneven enforcement, corruption and just plain bad laws." Liam remarks.
Elsa nods, waiting for the question.
"As Queen Elsa are you planning on doing something about that?" Liam asks, cautiously.
Queen Elsa smiles, "What a nice easy way to slide in the question: Are you planning to conquer the world?"
He grins. "Are you?"
"It is not a primary goal." She rubs her forehead, "Although, yes, the possibility of a partial or total collapse is there and I might have to step in order to save people, so there are plans. But…" She shakes her head. "If I planned to conquer the world, it would be much easier to do it covertly. Some violent intimidation, bribery, blackmail and mind control would do it."
"But you are not going to do that." Liam states.
Queen Elsa nods, "I want to change the world. But, I do not have the resources or personnel to do it myself. The people of the world must help me. Besides, I would have renewed the Antarctic treaty, if I really was the covert Queen of the World.""
She holds up her hand. "But, before I get into my future plans, Liam, I would like to talk about my life as Anna Winter and her attempt to change the world." She sighs, and a sad look appears in her eyes, "It did not work, but…. People need to know how I tried and how I was prevented from changing the world. So, when I get to my future plans, the people of world can make an informed decision. To help change the world, or not."
end chapter 2
My apologies to the people who ARE doing their best in very trying circumstances.
July 8, 1978 Luanda, Angola.
An ancient DC-3 lands at the airport. A 5' 5" tall woman steps out. She is arabic/european looking beautiful woman in her mid-20's. She shows her French passport to the customs agent at the plane. Her name is Nura Ryanya, was born in Palmyra, Syria, but now living in Paris, France. She is a member of the International Red Cross. "I've got a couple of tons of medical supplies here." She looks around, "Where's my support team?"
A quarter-mile away is a group of official looking vehicles and security. Somebody important is either arriving or leaving Angola.
The customs agent shrugs. "Not my concern. There will be a fee for bringing medical supplies into the country."
Nura frowns, "Medicine? That is not normal."
"We are having a civil war. Be grateful that I'm not having them," He points to a group of badly dressed soldiers standing in the shade. "Confiscate it for the military's use."
'Well. The shoe is on the other foot, now. I remember doing that a couple of times myself. Sometimes there just isn't enough to go around and choices have to be made.' She thinks. 'Although, I wonder in this case. The chances that any of this actually reaching frontline soldiers is pretty slim.'
She sighs, "How much? Remember I'm with the Red Cross and I don't have a lot of free cash." After a quick negation, she pays him off. As he turns around, she asks, "I need to unload the plane, what's the procedure?"
He points to a group of men, lounging the shade, "They are the teamsters. They will unload the plane. Do not try to unload without them. It is against the law." His thumb points to a couple of well-dressed policemen, who are watching Nura.
She sighs, again. "And a trip to the police station will not end well."
The customs agent shrugs. "Not my concern." He pats his pocket. "I only gave you that advice because you paid too much."
"Good man." She hisses at his back. He shrugs: by the standard here, he is a good man. She walks to the 'teamsters'. After another negation, they begin to slowly unload the plane. More negations occur with the police officers, the customs agents boss, the 'teamsters' boss and others.
Finally, after the plane is unloaded, a couple of rickety ancient trucks, with Red Cross flags tied to the hoods, driven by a couple of young men, teenagers, show up. "Sorry, that we're late. Had to change a tire." One of the them says. "We need to replace it, ma'am." He holds out his hand.
Another sigh.
"Some of this is delicate. Any chance of using a helo?" She points to a couple of old Russian helo's.
"No ma'am. Military use only. Well...If you've got enough money, maybe." A policeman says, after pocketing more money.
She looks at the pile of boxes on the tarmac, she looks at the helo's in the distance, she looks at the 'teamsters' and the trucks. "What are the odds, that when I return from walking to the helo, the medicine will be gone?" She asks the air. The air does not reply. Although, a whisper is heard, "It will be."
"Load the trucks." She orders.
Cough. She sees a teamster's open hand.
Cough. "We need gas, ma'am."
Sigh.
Later on the way to the Red Cross hospital.
"Just to be sure, things went really smoothly, because I timed things so the French Ambassador was at the airport at the same time?"
The driver nods and smiles, as the trucks bounce on a game trail pretending it's a road.
'I don't really mind paying the bribes. At this level, the government or company that these people are officially working for, either doesn't pay enough, or pays well but months late. Most screw their workers both ways, not enough money and late. These guys need these small bribes to live. It's paying off the ministers and major business owners to do their job that really ticks me off.' She thinks. 'At least with the CIA or the KGB, we're good enough that they'd look the other way when we would have a little friendly fire problem.' Sigh. 'Something has to change.'
Miles north of the city, as the two trucks are passing through a section of the road carved through jungle. "I have to stop, ma'am. The engine is sounding funny." The driver of the second truck tells Nura.
She raises an eyebrow, "It doesn't sound any different to me. Keep going."
The driver shakes his head. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
A few hundred yards later, a couple of young men with AK-47's step out of the jungle and they fire off a magazine into the air. Both trucks stop.
Nura shakes her head. "How much do you cost?"
The driver laughs. "Out! Woman! The medicine and you are very valuable!" He pulls out a knife and waves it in her face.
Nura steps out of the truck and scans the area. "Ballsy. There are only six of you." A glance to the two drivers, "Well, eight."
One of the men with the AK's blink. "How do you know?" The other is looking at the jungle. He knows where the other men are, but he can not see them.
Nura smiles at the driver, standing next to her. "I can see them."
She reaches out, grabs the knife, breaking his arm and shoving the driver against the truck. He falls to the ground unconscious. She throws the knife into the jungle. Since the knife is an unbalanced chunk of metal, it only breaks a couple of ribs when it hits. The hit is still hard enough that the man will be out of the combat, though.
She charges at the two men in the road. They have forgotten that they had just wasted their rounds by shooting into the air. As they try to change magazines, she slams their heads together, breaking skulls. She grabs an AK and a magazine before they hit the ground.
The magazine is in the AK as she hits the ground. The three other men charge out of the jungle, firing their guns. Bullets from the other men pass over her, and since they are holding down the trigger in the traditional spray and pray firing habit, they waste their bullets.
Nura, on the other hand, fires controlled three round bursts. All three men die before they can finish the magazines in their weapons.
She points the AK at the last driver. The only man still standing. "I can drive. Tell me why you should?" She smiles.
Urine stains grows on his tattered trousers as he tries to speak.
'Pitiful. Children with guns.' She thinks. 'Child soldiers. Yes. Germany and Russia turned to them at the end of WWII. But. That war ended before it became standard recruiting. Now. You give a teenager an AK, some alcohol and drugs. Then turn them loose to destroy and rape. Since you don't give a damn about them, when they die, you recruit more children. Something has to change.'
"Take the money? No. Then it looks like a gang on gang fight and I did it to rob them. I will destroy the guns, though." She says to her as she looks at the driver. He was bending down to start looting "Nobody is going to believe your story, asshole. And If you rob them, You're putting a target on your ass. So...if you want to live, don't."
"IF I have enough money I can buy off their families." The driver replies.
"Do you really think that these guys have enough money to do that?" She waves around.
His shoulders slump.
"Your best chance of survival will be to pretend that you ran away when the bullets started flying. You'll look like a coward, but, you should live. And none of these idiots' families are smart enough to pick holes in your story, especially if I back you up."
He cries… as he drives away.
Later at the Hospital.
The administrator Fernando says, "Great job, Nura. You got all the drugs here! Any problems?" He asks as he looks at dirt stains on her clothes.
Nura shrugs. "About what I expected, sir. What do you want me to do now?"
He rubs his jaw, "Well, why don't you introduce yourself to everyone while I see about storing the medicine."
Later. The personal quarters of the doctors.
"Lamont Eddie." The American doctor shakes her hand as he introduces himself.
"Nura Ryanya." She replies. She sniffs at the odor of whiskey on his breath.
"What did you screw up?" He asks as he sits down. He picks up his drink.
"Hmmm?" She asks as she sits down.
"To get posted here, you had to have screwed up something?"
"First assignment." Nura smiles, "My family has a long history of working with the Red Cross. It's my turn, now."
"OH...Did you get screwed." He smiles, as his eyes undress her. "And I mean that. In all senses of the word."
"Really?"
"Yeah." A look at his bed. "You're going to need a protector. Or..." He shrugs.
"I see." She says calmly. "And you're volunteering?"
"Hell, Yes. Being an ugly American has its benefits. The idiots here might or might not want the French ambassador on their asses, but the US?" He moves to his bed and pats it. "We've got time. Lamont will need a couple of hours to switch labels and change out bottles."
"What?" She frowns. "Why?"
He shrugs. "He'll sell some. The extra money is needed to pay all the bribes, at least that is his excuse. Personally, he's saving for his retirement." A shrug. "The other drugs will vanish, if they're labelled correctly. So, relabel expensive drugs as aspirin, label the aspirin as expensive ones and sell that."
"That will cause problems."
He shrugs. "Nobody is going to raise a fuss. We're here to show the flag. No one expects us to do anything, really."
"Why are you here then?"
"AHh.. The knife slipped, you know. My lawyer said that if I spend a month or two in hell, he can use it to impress the judge and court. It looks real good on the record, not that I'm doing too much, anyway. Why should I? Nothing will change. I'll be back in the states in a couple of weeks, and free and clear of the charges a few weeks later." He knocks back the drink. "Shall we?" He pats the bed.
Nura shakes her head, no, as she leaves. "You'll be sorry!" He cries at her back.
The ward room.
Nura is walking down the length of beds, checking how things look, asking the nurses questions. Poking her nose into everything.
"Why should I answer you?" One nurse asks.
Nura shows the nurse her Red Cross id and paperwork, it shows that she is straight from Geneva. "I'm just asking around, seeing what changes I can recommend. Do you have anything that you think needs to be addressed?" A smile.
A sputter.
"Don't make waves." Another nurse whispers, "We are doing our best. If you keep asking questions… Things will get worse and we'll not be able to help anyone."
Nura frowns, but nods, accepting that as information.
And...every so often, especially the patients with simple injuries, broken bones, cuts, injuries that are common in combat, she pauses. As she asks questions, she touches the patient. Afterward the patient feels better and sooner or later, they are released early. Their wounds healed faster than normal.
An aide runs up to her. "Fernando needs to see you, fast. What did you do? There are soldiers asking for you!" He hisses. "IF you caused problems, you'd better not sleep soundly."
Nura smiles, "And if I think that I need to cause problems?"
Another hiss.
Fernando's office. A couple of reasonably well-dressed soldiers are standing guard outside it. Inside the office is Fernando and an army Colonel named Neto, according to his name tag.
"Yes, sir. You wanted to see me?"
Fernando points to the Colonel. "He did."
"Yes, sir?"
"There was problems when you landed and unloaded medical supplies." He says in a harsh tone. "You will allow us to escort you back, so you can answer questions."
A glance at Fernando. He blushes and whispers, "I'm sorry. I don't have a choice."
Her mouth twitches, "Selling me to save yourself, huh?"
"And the drugs." He whispers.
The Colonel grabs her arm. "Now. Woman." He slaps her face. "No fucking back talk."
Nura rubs her jaw. "I suppose this is best. I do have friends, Colonel Neto."
He pats his pistol. "And Angola is full of bandits."
"There is that." She sighs. "Very well." As they leave she turns to Fernando and asks, "I wonder what a conscience costs? Do you know?"
He blushes and sputters.
Colonel Neto laughs. "Not fucking much. A few american dollars at most."
A raised eyebrow. 'Sad. Things must change.'
In a truck a few minutes away from the hospital Nura points to a clearing near the road. "Stop there, please. Let's get it over with." There is only the driver, the Colonel's two bodyguards, the Colonel and Nura in the truck.
The Colonel laughs and nods to the driver, who stops the truck.
Nura gets out of the truck and begins to undress. "That willing, hmmm. Then what will happen isn't rape. Shall I ask if you want to be my mistress?" The Colonel asks as he unzips. "I know that I'm more man than any pussy from Europe." The two guards and the driver, also unzip.
As the last piece of clothing drops, Nura says, "No. I just didn't want them to get bloody."
She smiles.
The Colonel's last memory: His two bodyguards and the driver are dead, their heads twisted off. He is tied down on the ground, spread eagle. His jaw is broken, among other broken bones. A woman made of ice is standing over him. "You know, Neto. I've studied how humans have killed each other for decades, now." She shakes her head. "Some of them are clearly torture for the pleasure of it. Others though, are to warn others. So, hopefully, they will not do the same thing and get killed that way. The first world has chosen to believe that they are too civilized for that."
She kneels down. "But, this is the third world. You pride yourself on being primitive. So. Die like your ancestors." She smiles, "If you're lucky some of those bandits you were afraid of will find you and kill you quickly."
She walks off.
The animals in the jungle smell the blood….
A wordless scream.
Luanda Airport.
Nura is on a phone, "Yes." She says loudly over the static and the crude taps on the line. "Joan, I'm afraid that my first assignment is a failure. I will be returning to Geneva to talk to you in person."
In the DC-3 flying over Angola.
'My memories will be spread among all the family. Seeing this and other hellholes around the world will sooner or later change Mother. I will force her to act.' Zenobia, the knights pawn of Joan, thinks.
Geneva, Switzerland a couple of weeks later.
"Don't hand in this report." The Red Cross Treasurer says as he places a folder on the desk of the Assistant Treasurer in charge of Internal Audits. "There is nothing in here that applies to your department. Your agent in her unauthorized surprise inspection did not provide any valid support for her accusations."
"Sir." Joan Bjorgman, the new Assistant Treasurer says. "I protest! Nura may not have had time to get all the paperwork correct, but, the report..."
He shakes his head. "And do what, Joan? You received your post due to tradition, the Bjorgman family has always had people working for the Red Cross. But, if you make waves, you'll find yourself transferred to somewhere worse than Angola."
"Which is another problem!" Joan states. "We assign our worst people to the worst problems. We need to assign our best to the worst."
He shakes his head. "We assign our best people to solvable problems. If we assigned them to unsolvable problems, we waste their talents and they will quit. This way we are doing something positive."
"But, we're here to help people." Joan tries to change her boss's mind. "Right now, all we are doing is applying bandages, we are not trying to stop things. If we change things."
He holds up his hand, stopping Joan. "And if the Red Cross, or any of the other similar NGO's start to get involved in politics, which your report recommends, then there will be massive problems. Governments will start to prevent us from helping anyone. That can not happen."
"So. The corruption, the waste, the problems will continue." Joan says in a sad tone.
"We will do what we can, but there are limits."
Luanda, Angola. july 8, 2049
Zenobia thinks as she flies over the city. 'Over Seventy years and the rich have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer. Nothing has changed. Soon, now, soon. My promise to change things will happen.'
end scene
Note: I had a guest review that, in part, wrote: Please don't write about forced marriage happening in Iran because it doesn't!
sigh. a simple Google search comes up with over 1,000,000 hits on the subject. It does occur in Iran. I will state that it is worse in many other countries. And, given the western bias against Iran, some of those Google hits are from sites that specialize in making mountains out of molehills where Iran is concerned, so the data on a case by case basis may not be accurate. I chose Iran, instead of many other nations, due to future storylines.
thank you for reading
jeff