Chapter 146
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General Gardner's alliance with Chase Graves had proved valuable to both men. Chase and his allies, whoever those allies might be, their goal was for Gardner to stop immigration from his kingdom to Antarctica, he was doing that. And Gardner, for his efforts, was getting more power for himself. His kingdom had become an efficiantly run military dictatorship. People were put to work, it was not voluntary. But they were not treated cruelly like they might have been in other kingdoms. They typically worked for eight hours a day, five days a week. And for their work people were given enough food, a somewhat comfortable home, and little comforts. It was not ideal, but for many it was the best they could hope for. The laws were strict, punishments severe. Theft was punished with amputations. Drug addiction was punished with whippings. Rape and murder was punished with executions. In the old worlds those crimes were often punished with death, but those executed had the hope of being at peace. Now, they knew they'd be sent to a place much worse than where they currently were. Gardner tolerated no public dissent, but he was willing to listen to criticism, in private, from his most trusted officers. None of these officers wanted this kingdom to fall, they were willing to offer different strategies to their boss and he seemed willing to listen. But those who criticized Gardner's regime in public had a habit of dissapearing. It was true that some tried to escape to Antarctica, but most had probably been executed.
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Amongst the judges who enforced these laws was judge Gray. In Gardner's own world, even before the asteroid crisis, judge Gray had been a strong advocate for abortion and euthanasia rights. During the asteroid crisis, Gray had presided over a case in which a 13 year old girl sued for her right to die. She approved and the girl was euthanized. As a result Gray rose to prominence as someone willing to get her hands dirty, willing to help reduce the human population before impact. Most of her cases ended with the defendant being executed, but she released a woman who helped parents murder their own children before impact. Gray and this woman became lovers, they joined a death cult together. The cult asked Gray to murder her lover, in exchange for putting her on what remained of the Supreme Court. The day before impact, Gray signed the order for her own execution. Now, she had risen to prominence as one of Gardner's top judges. Once again willing to sentance others to death to hold onto her own power.
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Gardner's secretary of state and chief negotiator was Haj Amin al-Husseini. In life he had been the grand mufti of Jerusalem during the british occupation. During the second world war he was an ally because they had common enemies, the british and the jews. Al-Husseini was a nazi agent, from Berlin he gave a speech encouraging palestinians to fight the british and the jews. After the war, and the state of Israel was founded, he helped form a coalition of palestinians, former nazies, and former british soldiers, all united in their hatred of the jews. It was fairly impressive, considering that arabs were not high on the nazies racial heirarchy, and getting germans and british to fight together when they had been fighting each other not long ago. Gardner had no illusions about who al-Husseini and most of his cabinet were, but his choices for allies were somewhat limited in Hell. Al-Husseini did help negotiate truces with other kingdoms. He could also stir up people in other kingdoms, get them to come here willingly, get them to fight his enemies.
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Gardner was interested mainly in power, but he was aware of his own limitations. He had to be careful about expanding his kingdom, might have to give up territory at times. His plan to improve his people's lot was less about their welfare, but he was willing to do it if it helped him. Robert Ley had never achieved many of his goals with "Strength through Joy" in nazi Germany, but they were making progress here in Hell. And for many people in Hell, an orderly society with a few creature comforts was probably more than they deserved.