Part 5: Man-Made Miracle
Faust sat in a comfortable chair in one of the few rooms in the palace that wasn't done in the color scheme 'black on black with a side of black.' He'd chosen the comfortable, wood-paneled room specifically because it didn't look like something people from other countries would expect to see when they were dealing with Gartlant. With the call that he was expecting, with this electronic meeting, he knew how vital it was to show that he was not the Faust that the world was used to, and that Gartlant had indeed changed for the better.
This would be the first real contact with Japoness since Faust IX had died, and with Shogun Ieyasu himself making contact, Faust knew how important it was.
He glanced over to the purple-haired marionette standing beside him, clad in a simple formal dress, standing with her head bowed, her power turned off. Faust frowned. He would have liked to have this meeting with Tiger, Luchs, and Panther at his side - he was always more comfortable with them around - but Hess was working with them. The success of the Maiden Chip Project was greater than Faust could have hoped for so far, so he did his best not to begrudge Hess the time he needed.
All the same, Faust thought, Hess's timing left a lot to be desired.
The blank screen in front of Faust flickered and lit up in a dim shade of blue. Faust rose to his feet and smoothed out his jacket, ensuring he looked as presentable as possible. He had a feeling that some of the other leaders of Terra II still thought of him as a kid, as someone just learning the ropes and making mistakes. He would show them, he thought with a proud smile. He would show them that he knew what he was doing. Gartlant was going to achieve the greatness it deserved, and the Maiden Chip Project was just the beginning.
A countdown began in the upper left corner of the screen, and when it reached zero, the connection was complete. Faust stood proudly, then bowed to Japoness Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa.
The other man looked much as Faust sort-of remembered him, stoutly built with a thick mustache and hair bound up in the traditional Japoness style. He was starting to go bald, and had a very serious look on his face - he didn't seem at all happy to see Faust. Ieyasu was sitting down in what looked to be some kind of formal room, and was clad in a dark blue robe.
"Fuhrer Faust," Ieyasu said formally.
"Shogun Tokugawa," Faust said, trying to sound both respectful and a little more casual. "Thank you for agreeing to this meeting, I've been hoping to establish relations with Japoness for a while."
"I know," Ieyasu said with a nod. "I'm sure that, in light of your predecessor's actions, you understand our reluctance to open our borders to anyone from Gartlant."
"I do understand," Faust said, grumbling on the inside. How long, he thought, would he have the ghost of the old man hanging over his shoulder? "But those days are past, long past, and I'm hoping that we can get something started that can benefit both Gartlant and Japoness."
"So you say," Ieyasu said. His expression hadn't changed. "I've seen this kind of thing from you before, Faust. Terra II's history clearly shows that your good intentions only benefit you in the end, they always have. I'm not sure what you're trying, but Japoness will not be fooled again."
Faust sighed. "Do you mind if I sit?" he asked, then took the surprised blink from Ieyasu as an answer. "I was hoping that you'd be able to see that I'm telling the truth, Shogun," he said. "We've ended all plans for war, I've disbanded most of the army, and there hasn't been a single tank produced in six months." He couldn't help smiling at that. "If you want, I'll bring in some of my advisors. I have people from Romana and New Texas on my council, and trade agreements with all countries except yours." He leaned forward in his chair, looking Ieyasu in the eye. "Things have changed, Shogun. I'd hoped that you'd have seen that by now."
"I'm sure you've heard the saying 'the leopard does not change its spots,' Faust," Ieyasu said. He still looked very serious, and Faust couldn't help wondering if the Shogun's face would crack if he tried to smile. "I may not have the memories of my ancestors as you do, but I know my history."
"As do I," Faust said. He sat back in the chair, and started counting off on his fingers. "Faust the Third, the Fifth, and the Eighth all brought war to Terra II. None of them ended up with much for it, because there's enough space between all the countries that's empty for a reason and wasn't worth expanding into." He shrugged. "But I'm sure you knew that."
"I do," Ieyasu said, hesitantly. "I'd ask what your point is in bringing up all this, Faust."
"My point is that I've learned from the past," Faust said, trying not to sound impatient. He knew that Japoness diplomacy involved a lot of talking before one actually got to the point, and a great deal of it was insufferably polite. He was momentarily glad that Panther wasn't here, as she likely would have said something uncouth by now. He chuckled at the thought.
"I admit," Ieyasu said after a long pause, "I'm surprised to hear that from you. I've seen recorded conversations and speeches from your predecessors, and they were of a very different tone."
"I can imagine," Faust said with a small smile. "Let me guess. I'm sure they went on and on about Gartlant's superiority, saying that Terra II should have only one leader and that Faust was the one best fit for the job. . . ." He trailed off, well-aware of how bored and annoyed he sounded. "I'm sure you've heard that all before."
Ieyasu nodded slowly. "That is what I've heard," he said, then shifted a bit. "I must admit, Faust, you don't sound like your predecessors."
"Trust me, Shogun Tokugawa," Faust said with half a smile, "I'm not at all like them." He paused, then gave Ieyasu what he hoped was an honest, open look. "I grew up reading almost nothing but histories and war theory. Most of it was from Gartlant, of course, but some of the books were from other nations. Never once, in all that I read, did I see anything about what good Gartlant had done in any book that was from another country." He leaned forward and folded his hands in front of himself. "It made me think, Ieyasu, if I may call you that. I knew that I'd have the entire country to run once Faust the Ninth died. I wanted Gartlant to live up to its claims of greatness, to be worthy of them. And I wanted to do it in a way that would make other countries recognize it."
Ieyasu shook his head. "You should listen to your own words. What you're saying, that could be just another justification for war. You're not making much of a case for yourself."
Faust frowned. If that was how it was going to be, he thought, then there was nothing else he could do. He'd hoped to start an agreement of some kind before bringing out the big guns, as it were, but now. . . . He might have no other choice.
"If that's the case, Ieyasu," Faust said, "then I'll just have to prove it to you. What do you know about the maiden circuit?"
The surprise on Ieyasu's face was clear. He started to say something, then stopped, frowned, and said, "Why do you ask? It's been decades since anyone did work with that. The last records I saw of it were from New Texas, and they abandoned their work last century."
"Really?" Faust asked, not bothering to hide his interest. "I wish I'd known, I could have asked Murphy about that." He shrugged, then stood and stepped over to the marionette next to his chair. "There's something I want you to see, Ieyasu. I'd like to think it will prove my intentions."
Faust pushed aside the marionette's purple hair and opened the panel at the back of her neck, then switched her on. Her eyes lit up for a moment, then started to focus. Faust returned to his chair as she booted up.
"Good morning," the marionette said cheerfully, and smiled.
Faust watched Ieyasu's face carefully. The other man was trying to hide his surprise, he could tell, but that couldn't last long. It was time to play his trump card.
"Nadine," Faust said, "this is Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa of Japoness. Please, greet him."
"Good morning, Shogun Tokugawa," Nadine said, then bowed at the screen. When she stood again, she was still smiling. "How are you?"
Ieyasu stared at the marionette, and said nothing.
"Nadine's only a first-generation model," Faust said, feeling rather proud of himself, "but she's the result of nearly a month of work by our men here. Her emotions are fairly limited, mostly to being happy and smiling, but considering most marionettes can't even do that, I think it's very promising." He looked to Ieyasu, who hadn't taken his eyes off of Nadine, and started to grin.
"You see, Ieyasu," Faust continued, "I know what it's like to have marionettes who can smile, who can laugh, who can have a conversation. Nothing else can match that. I'd like for all the men of Terra II to have something similar." He paused, and Ieyasu finally looked back to him. "Do you really think I'd be taking up resources with this if I was trying to take over Terra II?"
"Faust, you're a fool," Ieyasu said quietly.
Faust's lip started to curl, and he had to force himself to hold his tongue.
"The maiden circuit isn't a toy," the Shogun said, "and it wasn't made to be copied and turned into something for your men to play with." He glared at Faust, who could see the anger in the other man's eyes. "You have no idea what you're doing."
"Oh, really?" Faust asked, trying to keep himself from sounding too harsh. Being questioned was one thing, he was fine with that, but being insulted for doing something great was quite another. "You might think differently, Ieyasu, if you had marionettes with maiden circuits of your own."
Ieyasu was silent for a long moment, and when he spoke again, he sounded almost sad. "It takes a special person," he said quietly, "to make the maiden circuits grow. It takes someone willing to look at marionettes differently." He gave Faust a hard look. "If I knew of anyone like that, I would see to it that they came to know the three Japoness marionettes with maiden circuits. But until that happens, they will remain asleep."
Faust's mouth dropped open. Japoness had marionettes with maiden circuits, like his own? And they didn't belong to anyone? A dozen questions came to mind at once, but he didn't get a chance to ask any of them.
"You're risking everything the circuits are intended for with your pet projects, Faust," Ieyasu said firmly. "If you continue with this, Japoness has no reason to pursue relations with Gartlant. Thank you, and goodbye."
The screen went dark, leaving Faust sitting there staring. How could this be, he thought. He had no idea what Ieyasu was thinking. The man seemed to know what it took to make the maiden circuits grow, and didn't think of himself as the one to do it, so why wasn't he searching for that person? Something about all of it didn't make sense.
"Is there a problem?" Nadine asked, still smiling.
"There's always a problem," Faust grumbled, then sighed. Of course, this wouldn't change anything for Gartlant's plans. Ieyasu was welcome to keep the new marionettes out of Japoness; it would be a loss to that country's men but there was nothing Faust could do about it. He asked Nadine to follow, and headed for Hess's lab.
"I swear, Faust-sama, if one of those things gives me that huge smile again I'm going to take her apart and turn her into a can opener."
Faust gave Panther a curious look, then grinned at her. "Why, Panther," he said, laughter in his voice, "I thought you'd like knowing you helped make it so they could smile."
Panther almost glared at him. Faust had a feeling that, had he been anyone else, she would have thrown him down the hallway. She huffed a bit, and looked away from him. "They're just weird," she said quietly.
Faust and the three marionettes were heading toward the palace's main entry hall, having just finished the final meeting about production of marionettes with the maiden chip. Hess and the other scientists had gotten enough out of the maiden circuits to produce a basic personality complete with a fairly wide range of emotions, so Faust had given the order to start putting the chips into marionettes. That had been two weeks ago, a full month after his conversation with Ieyasu.
Faust shook his head. There hadn't been any more communication with Japoness since that discussion, even when Gartlant's news went public with the specifications of the maiden chip and gave a date for their production. News had traveled fast across Terra II, and the pre-orders for 'chipped' marionettes - he would have to see about getting someone to come up with a different name, Faust thought, one less ridiculous - were more than he'd expected. Of course, there were none from Japoness.
"Faust-sama?"
Faust blinked, and only then realized that Tiger had asked him a question as they were walking. "Sorry, Tiger, I was . . . trying to think. What did you say?"
"She said you've been working too hard, and need a good meal and a bath," Luchs said with a snicker.
"I did not," Tiger said, sounding somewhat irate.
"Well, you do, Faust-sama," Luchs said. "And maybe afterward--"
"Tiger?" Faust asked, managing to slip his arm away before Luchs latched onto it. "You were saying?"
"Are you sure that you shouldn't be the one giving the speech?" she asked. "This was your idea, after all. You're the one who let us help Hess and the others make the chips."
He paused for a second, then chuckled loudly. Tiger gave him a curious look, as did Luchs. Panther just raised an eyebrow. "If that's the case, maybe you three should be speaking," Faust said. "You're the ones with the circuits, or did you forget?"
"I don't think we could forget," Tiger said quietly.
"Very true," Luchs said.
Panther just nodded, then threw Faust a grin. "Maybe we should give the speeches, Faust-sama. We could tell them, 'This is what Faust-sama does for you. Appreciate it, or what's left of the army will use you as target practice. Anyone who survives will be fed Luchs's cooking.'"
"Panther!" Luchs snapped as the other marionette laughed loudly. "You know that my cooking's fine, since Faust-sama brought in that chef from Romana!" She glared at Panther - or at least seemed to, Faust thought, he still hardly ever saw her eyes - and her face started turning red. "You said that it was good yourself!"
"Really?" Panther shrugged. "I must have been drinking."
"Enough, you two," Faust said, though he was trying to hide his smile. After spending a fair amount of time with the 'chipped' marionettes while his three were in Hess's lab, he'd come to appreciate just how human they were even more.
"Come on," he said, raising a hand to stop the argument he knew was coming. "Murphy's giving the address about the new marionettes, and he won't start without us."
Panther grumbled and Luchs smirked, but they fell into step beside him, and the four of them headed out the front doors of the palace and to the raised platform that was set up for public announcements. Faust had to admit, they'd done this quite a few times since he'd come into his rule, but there were some things that he never got tired of.
He loved to see the city, his city, looking bright and clean instead of wallowing under dark clouds and a grey sky. He loved to see his people looking as though they actually wanted to be where they were, rather than looking like they were stuck here and just waiting to die. He loved to see a crowd that was here because they wanted to be. And most of all, no matter how many times he heard it, he loved hearing them chant his name.
"Faust! Faust! Faust! Faust! Faust! Faust! Faust!"
The people who were chanting were the ones who mattered, Faust thought, the people who made Gartlant great. Where else on Terra II could someone find such hard workers, people who had become newly dedicated to their home country?
Faust raised his hand in salute to the people, and watched as a sea of hands rose to salute him back. He held it for a moment, then took the seat that had been prepared for him. Tiger, Luchs, and Panther stood beside him. They still refused to sit during meetings, saying that they could better keep an eye out for potential threats if they were standing. It was their choice, so Faust didn't protest.
Murphy, the young advisor from New Texas and the man who'd shared Faust's idea of using the maiden circuits to design new technology, was the one making the first speech today. He went into some detail about the capabilities of the maiden chip, and talked about the different basic personality sets that they had come up with - Faust still wasn't thrilled that two of them were 'Happy Maid' and 'Tender Caregiver,' but he supposed he'd have to take what he could get. It would take some time, he knew, before people started to see marionettes as something other than tools. But this would be the first step.
If he had learned nothing else during his time as the ruler of Gartlant, he knew that nothing happened all at once. Small steps, as frustrating as they were at times, might be the only way to make progress.
The crowd responded well to Murphy's speech, Faust noted - he knew how to talk to them, how to keep them entertained during what might otherwise be a boring lecture, and how to make sure they knew how this was going to make their lives better. And then, just when he thought that the other man was nearly done, Murphy did something completely unexpected.
"So, I'm sure that you're all tired of having to listen to me jabber on and on," Murphy said, and there was a general chuckle from the crowd. "How'd you like to see the girls?"
The crowd started to cheer, louder and longer than they'd chanted Faust's name. He blinked, then laughed to himself. He should have seen this coming, he really should have.
"Maybe we should have been the ones making the speeches, if they like the idea of smiling marionettes so much," Luchs said.
"Maybe," Faust said with a smile. "Maybe."
Murphy waved toward the palace doors, which swung open. Faust watched and couldn't help laughing as the rest of his advisors paraded down the palace steps and toward the platform, each with one of the new marionettes on their arm. Some of the marionettes shied back at seeing so many people, and a few of them started yelling and waving at the crowd.
By their actions, Faust recognized each of the basic types - women of simple but different personalities, put together from data from the maiden circuits and the oldest of the history texts. They were dressed in something almost but not exactly like the traditional outfits of the different countries of Terra II - the outfits had been adapted for women, and some looked a bit odd, but Faust supposed they would work. He glanced over to the crowd, and from what he could see of their faces, he knew his men had done a more than adequate job.
And it was all for the greater glory of Gartlant, he thought as his advisors posed with the marionettes and people snapped pictures, perhaps even for the greater glory of all of Terra II. . . . And he had to admit, it was also just plain fun to watch.
"Chip-Ms?"
"No."
"Chipettes?"
"No."
"Chippies?"
Faust glowered, and shook his head. "Definitely not." This, he thought, was getting monotonous.
Orders for the marionettes with maiden chips were still amazingly high two weeks after their introduction, and Gartlant's factories had been pushed to their limits trying to produce enough to keep up with the demand. With no small amount of pride, Faust and the marionettes had broken the first ground at the site of a new marionette factory earlier that day; he considered the fact that a new one was necessary a very positive sign, to say the least.
However, coming up with a good name for the new marionettes was proving to be quite a task. In an effort to be egalitarian, Faust had invited the men of Gartlant to come up with ideas, with the person who suggested the winning name getting a 'chipped' marionette of his own. After the first hour of listening to the suggested names, though, Faust was starting to question the wisdom of this.
"Chobits?"
Faust paused, and blinked a few times at Murphy, who was reading down the list. "What?"
Murphy shrugged. "Someone from Hess's lab suggested it, fuhrer." He glanced at the list again. "Calls himself Clamp."
Faust put a hand to his forehead and shook his head. This just wasn't working out. "That's enough for today," he said. "Maybe we can form a focus group to--"
"Fuhrer!" A monitor on the side wall blinked to life, showing one of the palace guards looking rather flustered.
"Faust-sama is not to be disturbed during meetings!" Tiger snapped at the guard. Faust wondered if she meant it or if it was a reflex, as she'd looked very bored throughout the entire listing of names, as had the others.
Faust held up his hand. "Let him speak."
"Fuhrer, there's a man with a sword out here. He says he wants to speak to you."
He turned, slowly, and frowned at the guard on the monitor. "A man with a sword," he said quietly. "And he wants to see me. Why is he in the palace in the first place, if he's armed?"
The three marionettes moved closer to Faust, gathering around the throne. He had to smile at that; while he doubted that one man with a sword would be any threat to him with Tiger, Luchs, and Panther around, there was something oddly comforting about having them protect him.
"He's made no threatening moves, Fuhrer," the guard said, "but he seems very mad about something. I think he's from Japoness, by the way he's dressed."
Faust paused. Someone from Japoness. . . . He didn't think that Ieyasu would send someone to assassinate him; that wasn't the Shogun's style and no assassin would show up at the front door. Perhaps it was someone seeking a 'chipped' marionette, as there still hadn't been any ordered from Japoness. Regardless of the reasons, this could be interesting, he thought.
"Give him two guards as an escort," Faust said to the surprised looks of the marionettes and his advisors, "and send him in."
"Are you sure about this, Faust-sama?" Luchs asked quietly as Faust leaned back in the throne. "If he was sent by Japoness--"
"Then I know you'll keep him from harming me," Faust said with a smile. "But trust me. I don't think he's going to be any threat."
"It's not nice to give us reason to worry about you, Faust-sama," Tiger said, sounding rather put out. Faust just grinned back at her.
The throne room doors swung open, and Faust took a look at the man who was already causing tension throughout the room. He was tall, taller than most men from Japoness that Faust had seen. His hair was black, and worn long, his eyes held half-closed, and he carried himself with an easy, assured kind of grace. His garb was simple and traditional, and he carried a katana at his side. A fairly pack was slung over his shoulder. If he was at all bothered by the guard escort, he did not show it; Faust wondered if he even realized they were there.
The man approached the throne, stood at a respectful distance, then bowed and said nothing.
"Good evening," Faust said after a long moment. The last thing they needed was a tense silence, he thought. "You've come a long way, I can see. What's your name?"
"My name is Soemon Obiichi, fuhrer Faust," he said. His voice was tight and restrained; Faust thought it seemed like he was holding back some great grief. "I have come for the miracle you call the maiden chip."