Chapter Ten: Meeting with the Ambassador
Kiyone Makibi was busy chronicling the results of her interrogation of Seiryo Tannan.
Typing into the console, her rear raised behind her; she heard the door slide open. Hoping Mark or Mihoshi enjoyed the view, she turned around and saw it was Mark. Standing up fast enough to send her breasts bouncing, she smiled. "Oh, Mark, you're back."
"Yes, yes I am," said Mark. "I've taken all the files from Seiryo Tannan's desk, and my conclusion is that he ought to be fired. Multiple squads of GP personnel have been dispatched down to the surface of Earth. No reports have been forthcoming. All of them are female, oddly enough. So are their replacements.
"The justification was something about locals being more cooperative. I doubt Seiryo paid attention to any of them, though. There are documents months old he has never even looked at.
"Just look at some of these."
Drawing out a cube, he turned it, and onto the floor appeared numerous sheets of paper. Kiyone kneeled by them, in awe of the scale, and sorted through. "This must be years of paperwork!"
"What?" said Mark in surprise. "No, this is last week."
"Last week?" asked Kiyone. How much paperwork did they do on Earth?
"Yes," said Mark. "Officials on Earth get bombarded with files and reports and have to put their seal of approval on them. Work hours are pretty long."
"Well then..." Kiyone stood up, brushing a strand aside. "What now?"
"Where is Seiryo Tannan?" asked Mark.
"We questioned him fairly extensively," said Kiyone. "He told us a lot, and it turns out most of his decisions are being made by a Michael Target. He reroutes all his decisions down to Target in a house in California. A place called L.A."
"L.A?" asked Mark. "I wasn't aware anyone went there anymore."
"Do you know what it is?" asked Kiyone in surprise.
"Well, Los Angeles used to be the place where all the brainless, beautiful elites," said Mark. "They starred in movies and TV shows, usually by sleeping their way to the top.
"Once there, they'd use their platform to lecture the mere peasants on how they had to 'be better.' It used to be the center for media."
"So what happened?" asked Kiyone. Mark had expressed a distaste for entertainment.
"Well... the hottest celebrity pales in comparison to you or Mihoshi," said Mark. "And you're a normal person from Outer Space. "Celebrities got hit worse than anyone else, actually.
"Here, you have the most shallow, superficial people in the universe. Their only skill is looking pretty and maybe playing pretend. A people so vapid that the only thing that lets them sleep at night is lecturing the ignorant religious. They were usually talking about how pollution is bad from their private jets.
"And then Jurai shows up, an entire empire of people prettier than them. They solve every problem those nitwits complain about. Then they put them out of a job as people from Outer Space are recruited for movies. And to add insult to injury, nobody cares they are gone.
"There are few things done by Jurai which didn't have some negative consequences. The obliteration of Hollywood is not one of them."
"That seems a little heartless," said Kiyone. "I mean, their entire industry went under. They all lost their careers."
"Yes, what will we do without their enlightened political commentary," said Mark. Evidently, he had no sympathy for them." Anyway, down to business.
"Kiyone, I'm going to give you a series of orders right now. And it's very important that you obey every single one of them."
Kiyone blinked. "What, why?"
"It's an experiment. I need to see how you react, and it has to be natural," said Mark.
"Okay," said Kiyone.
And then he began. Mark took on a new look, standing up tall, and Kiyone thought he looked very handsome. "Stand on one leg."
Kiyone did it in an instant.
"Raise that leg up to your nose," said Mark.
Okay, that was weird, but Kiyone obeyed without question. She was plenty flexible, and she hoped he enjoyed the view.
"Bend your remaining knee," said Mark.
Kiyone obeyed a little.
"More," said Mark.
She did so more.
"Do a handstand," said Mark.
"Is this-" began Kiyone.
"Do it," said Mark.
Kiyone flipped herself around and caught herself on her hands. Now she was standing on her hands there before him. She felt her skirt fall down around here. What was going on here?
"Stand on your head," said Mark.
"R-right," said Kiyone, arms moving of their own accord.
"Spin around repeatedly," said Mark.
"But-" began Kiyone, having trouble balancing.
"Do it," said Mark, voice hard.
Kiyone tried to obey and managed to do so several times before falling over onto the floor. As she stood, she saw Mark looked at her. What was the point of this? And why was she obeying so readily?
"Get on the ground and do pushups," said Mark.
"Why-" began Kiyone.
"You aren't allowed to question my orders, Kiyone. Do it and say nothing," said Mark.
Kiyone obeyed without thinking.
"Now, keep doing it until I tell you to do otherwise," said Mark.
"Um, Mark-" began Kiyone.
"No questioning my orders, understand," said Mark.
Kiyone began to do pushups, moving faster and faster while trying to please him. She stayed where she was, focusing on her task without question. Her hair touched the ground, and her bosom bounced. Mark appreciated the sight as Mihoshi came through the door, clad only in her underwear.
"Oh, what's this? Is Kiyone doing some training?" asked Mihoshi.
Mark admired Kiyone working and saw Mihoshi was holding a can. "Something like that. Mihoshi, I want you to take this sugared drink and drink it inside the cockpit."
Mihoshi blinked in surprise. "But Kiyone said-"
"I am altering Kiyone's orders. You can drink sugared soda inside the cockpit now," said Mark.
"But I don't think I can-" began Mihoshi.
"Do it," said Mark, voice authoritative.
Mihoshi opened the drink without question and drank some. Then she walked in. "Right, sure."
"What is going on here?" asked Kiyone flatly, having stopped.
"I didn't tell you to stop," noted Mark.
"Well, I did anyway," said Kiyone, standing up. "Now tell me, what is going on?"
Mark sighed and opened the door. "Thank god.
"Mihoshi, you can stop. Come back in." And Mihoshi did, and Kiyone stretched.
"So what's this all about, Mark?" asked Mihoshi.
"I think that people from Outer Space are impressionable and easily manipulated. At least by a strong enough will," said Mark.
"So that was a test? Of what?" asked Kiyone.
"To see how long I could jerk you around before you got angry and said no," admitted Mark. "I'm very glad you decided to stand up when you did. I was afraid that you were a complete doormat beneath the surface. That you would obey commands indefinitely."
"What brought this up?" asked Kiyone, not holding much of a grudge.
"I... noticed something," said Mark. "When I finally began to assert myself, everything turned around for me. I got into that meeting; Lady Funaho gave me a promotion. I got this mission, and all of a sudden, you two were acting as my subordinates. It seemed to happen.
"And then when we got here, Seiryo Tannan turned out to have had his entire garrison subverted. And none of them ever saw anything wrong with it.
"I didn't see how that was even possible. To have subverted so many, so quickly without anyone even knowing?"
"So, what do you think happened?" asked Mihoshi.
"People in Outer Space are trusting, subservient to authority, and want to please," said Mark. "It makes sense; all of you live in a utopia without a lot of hardship. You have natural authority figures who have your best interests at heart. Aside from some minor flaws, they are perfectly reasonable.
"On top of that, the stakes for failure are much lower. Nobody starves to death.
"Earth isn't like that at all. Earthlings had to learn to be very creative and very ruthless from the very beginning. When we tried to create a hierarchical structure similar to Jurai, it had good results for a bit. Then it self-destructed.
"Red tape doesn't exist in Jurai because there is no need to restrict the leader's ability to make changes.
"But on Earth, there are entire sagas about rebellion against corrupt authority figures. Earthlings have to question authority to survive, to the point where it is even a romantic notion."
"Okay, but what does this have to do with Earthlings?" asked Kiyone.
Mark considered how to answer the question. "Kiyone, are their people you've met in Outer Space who you... can't say no to? People, who you sort of naturally submit to, even not knowing their rank?"
"Well, everyone over a hundred, obviously. And most people who are older than me," said Kiyone. "But that's just standard stuff. People who are older are smarter, have more experience, and have a much stronger presence."
"Unless they cloak themselves, of course," said Mihoshi.
"Cloak?" asked Mark. "I've heard that word once or twice, usually when referring to powerful entities."
"Well, some people who are much older and more powerful have to cloak themselves, Mark," said Kiyone. "I mean, if Lady Funaho were to show her true self to us, we'd all be unable to think of anything but pleasing her. We'd... well, we'd basically all become her pets, at least as long as she was uncloaked.
"So people sort of naturally come down to the level of those younger than them. It's a reflex.
"It's actually a crime to uncloak around younger people, and it takes a lot of mental effort to do it."
"Yeah, I remember that when Prince Kagato got back from Earth a century ago. He couldn't keep his cloak up at all," said Mihoshi. "Everyone who looked at him was terrified and obedient, and he had to shut himself up for others' safety."
"And why haven't I haven't heard of this?" asked Mark.
"Nobody really talks about it, to be honest," said Kiyone. "It's not pleasant to think about, and there is nothing we can do. I didn't even remember it until now."
Mark nodded. "...Well, that may explain things then.
"I have a theory as to why this is happening. Earthlings tend to endure a lot more hardship, and so they have evolved differently. We had to be very creative with the limited tools we have. And we are good at finding non-conventional solutions.
"The smartest Earthlings are constantly turning thoughts over in our minds. And because we have shorter lives, we tend to rush things."
Kiyone thought about this and realized she'd enjoyed following his orders. It hadn't been until he'd ordered Mihoshi that she'd snapped out of it. "So, what do you think happened?"
"Earthlings might have more intense personalities than people from Outer Space," said Mark. "Either way, we're about to do some investigation." And he paused. "...So, about arresting people on Earth, Kiyone. What's the protocol? Do we need a warrant for this?"
Kiyone blinked in surprise, not comprehending. "What's a warrant?"
"Answer enough," said Mark. "I'm going to get one anyway. Follow me."
"Where are we going?" asked Mihoshi.
"To meet with the US Ambassador on the station," said Mark. "His name is Joseph Calahan; apparently he's from the South."
"Right, I'll get ready-" began Mihoshi.
"Mihoshi, I need you here. Guard the ship," said Mark. "This is a very important job.
"Don't let anyone other than Kiyone or me on board. You are a Galaxy Police Officer acting with the authority of the Jurai Emperor. And no fun and games, keep an eye out at all times, no snacking, nothing.
"Seiryo Tannan is to remain in stasis on this ship until I give a different order."
"Right, yes," asked Mihoshi. "What um... what if someone tries to rescue him with pirate thugs or something?"
"Incapacitate them with as little harm as possible," said Mark. "No snacks or drinks or sleeping until the mission is done. This is serious. If we mess this up, people could get hurt.
"Do you understand?"
Mihoshi nodded, looking a little worried. "R-right, I'll do my best. And I won't snack or anything."
"Now, let's go," said Mark.
They made their way out of the spaceship and through the halls. As they did, Kiyone thought about just what this kind of dominance meant. The idea kind of appealed to her, though she didn't say anything. Still...
"How'd you get Mihoshi to act serious like that?" asked Kiyone.
"I told her the stakes and made it clear I expected her to perform her duties," said Mark. "Sometimes, a little respect can make all the difference."
"I respect Mihoshi," said Kiyone.
"And yet you have to remind her not to bring sugared drinks," said Mark. "She needs discipline and higher expectations. It worked for me."
That was hot.
Eventually, they came to the US embassy. Mark came forward and saw the receptionist, a woman with a scarred face. "Welcome to the US Embassy. Can I help you?"
"I am William Mark, an Officer of the Galaxy Police. With me is Kiyone Makibi," said Mark. "I need to speak to the US Ambassador on a matter concerning relations between Earth and Jurai. It is urgent."
"Right, yes, I remember you from before," said the woman. Had Mark been here before? "One moment." A pause. "He'll see you."
Mark and Kiyone went through into the office and saw a stern-looking bearded man sitting down. "William, I see you've gone from janitor to a much higher rank."
"De Facto leader would be the best word," said Mark. "Jurai makes use of a loose ranking system, based more on personal connections. But, my position would not have been possible without your help."
"So, I'm told the Galaxy Police inspection is well underway. You've arrested your top officer," said the ambassador. "No one expected this kind of move from Jurai, so you've caught us off guard."
"It was my assessment that he was grossly negligent in his duties," said Mark. "And, apparently, he has been coordinating with a man named Michael Target. I think a lot of paperwork that Tannan was supposed to be signing got mislaid.
"I'd like to track him down."
"That's the best news I've heard in a year," said Calahan.
"Wait, so, you're not in on it?" asked Kiyone in surprise.
"Of course, I'm not in on it," said Calahan. "Though you shouldn't take my word for that.
"This isn't the kind of conspiracy that operates through trenchcoats and Tommy guns. I was supposed to talk with Seiryo Tanna to coordinate on this kind of thing, but I hit a stone wall. He was late for meetings, sometimes didn't arrive at all, and more than a little condescending.
"When we did discuss matters of import, he understood nothing of what I mentioned. And I do not think he wanted to understand. Eventually started bringing in lawyers, hired from Earth, to communicate on his behalf."
"Why didn't you tell Jurai about this?" asked Mark.
"I did," said Calahan. "But Jurai doesn't understand why what he was doing was wrong. Juraians are immortal; they are in no hurry to achieve their dreams. So they take their time and are social about things, even when being blunt could fix them faster.
"Their society lacks the stakes to force an efficient process.
"Of course, they know that Earth operates on a faster timescale. But they have no apparatus for rapid reform. And all of the administrators, who have done a good job until now, have no experience.
"From their perspective, my reports are some bitter administrator—one who is amusingly paranoid and who takes things too seriously.
"Eventually, Tannan stopped showing up for meetings entirely. Instead, representatives picked by Michael Target showed up. So I'm in the position of talking to Jurai through someone who is acting against their own interests.
"The US government has been in limbo for years."
"But Michael Target is a US citizen," said Kiyone. "Surely you could have taken him down by yourself."
"Perhaps I could have," admitted Calahan. "If this matter were limited to Earth, Target would have been sent to prison a long time ago. He hasn't exactly been careful in his operations.
"Unfortunately, the world has changed greatly since Jurai came in. We live in a post-scarcity paradise where the main enemy is our obselete instincts. In the ancients days of Earth, everyone had to work, and the upper classes lived lives of ease and luxury.
"Now, however, everyone can live in ease and luxury. The only means of distinguishing ourselves is work. The destruction of the jobs market had massive consequences for our mental health. Especially with how the Juraians are apparently just better than us at everything.
"So, we have to keep our industries on life support.
"As long as we continue to fund space projects and such, it gives an outlet for our creative energies. It will pay off on a long enough timescale, and when that happens, things will work out. But, that gives a lot of power to the corporations.
"There are no small businesses anymore. Just distribution centers for the wealth of goods we don't really need."
"You aren't seriously telling me that a couple of billionaires can keep the US in check?" asked Kiyone.
"They can if they've got lots of friends in Jurai," said Calahan, a note of accusation in his tone. He looked out a window on Earth below, and Kiyone thought it was beautiful. But somehow menacing. "A few bad words from a few influential people, and Target could get himself installed as King of Earth for life. And he knows a lot of influential people."
"We'd never do anything like that!" said Kiyone.
"Oh really?" asked Calahan. "So suppose a friend of the Jurai Emperor came to Emperor Azusa. He reports that a country on Earth was imprisoning good people. He then cites that this nation almost exterminated the natives in the land they dwell. They then cite a period of imperial domination. One where they proclaimed it their destiny to spread their form of government to the world.
"He then asks that the Emperor arrange for a change of leadership. We'll simply swap out some people already involved in the running of the government. And we'll put them in place to fix things, which they will do because they are good people.
"The Emperor has known these people for centuries. And he knows that there are many nations on Earth that were very tyrannical, even by our own standards. They had to be overthrown for the betterment of those who lived there.
"What do you think Azusa would do?"
"...Um, he might decide to okay it without checking it out further," said Kiyone.
"Right," said Calahan. "The country I was describing is the United States of America. We have made a great deal of progress since our founding. But that's an instant to you people.
"All of sudden, the US government is officially working for Michael Target or someone else in his club. Public opinion is outraged at Juraian interference. Even as Target uses Jurai's resources to backstab it."
That... sounded perfectly possible. That kind of thing happened all the time, usually to cheering crowds. It had never backfired before now. "I see your point."
"This is why you need to do your research before taking action," said Calahan. "Unintended consequences are the worst kind. Jurai would be a paradise if they learned this." Wait, he didn't consider Jurai a paradise?
"So, what do you want me to do?" asked Mark.
Calahan considered this. "Well, now that you've arrested Tannan, our situation is a bit better. But, we have to act or risk serious reprisals." And he drew out a flash drive. "I'd like you to send these reports I've compiled. This is a detailed analysis of comings and goings on the station. I've done my best to keep them impartial.
"That said, I recommend that once you send these, we arrest Michael Target. By the authority of the Jurai Empire, of course."
"Won't that anger the public?" asked Kiyone.
"I highly doubt it will," admitted Calahan. "We've kept him under 24/7 surveillance and have arranged all the proper paperwork. We can give you the green light at any time. The important thing is that Galaxy Police officials do the arresting. That means we don't get the blame if Target's friends start whining.
"Azusa is not going to supplant the Galaxy Police without a proper investigation. And a proper investigation would reveal them for what they are."
"Wait, if Target can be arrested at any time, why is he so confident?" asked Mark.
"Because he assumes he is the smartest in the universe. The US government is dancing to his strings," said Calahan. "There is a certain kind of person who mistakes tolerance for weakness. And corruption for power.
"But there's a difference between being a puppet and playing along. On his own, Target would be an easy mark.
"The real problem is Noike Kamiki Jurai."
Kiyone remembered that. "Right, I went to the academy with her.
"Why is she supporting this?"
Calahan shrugged. "Animal magnetism? True love? Bribery? It hardly matters.
"The problem is that Noike is a daughter of Lady Seto, who is extremely important. Worse still, her brother is Kagato, a potential Heir to Jurai. As long as Target has her as a bodyguard, he is invulnerable.
"No arrest by a Galaxy Police Officer would stand against the support of a Princess of Jurai. Even the authorization of Lady Funaho might not be enough. Put him in a cell, and he'd walk out with a slap on the wrist. No amount of evidence is going to help with that."
"So what do we do?" asked Mark.
"We need to sever Noike from Target," said Calahan. "Once she is gone, the Galaxy Police can grab him and throw him in jail. Noike could be an invaluable witness to shut his operations down. And if an Earthling does the arresting, well, that shows that 'good' Earthlings beat the 'bad' ones.
"It would be a serious political win for all of us."
"And how are we going to do that?" asked Kiyone.
"Well, I imagine both of you should go to a party. I'm told Michael is holding one a few hours from now. He holds a lot of them," said Calahan. "Members of the Galaxy Police often show up there.
"Meet Noike Kamiki Jurai, and convince her to back off."
"And what makes you think we can do that?" asked Mark.
"Well, you're a male with a strong personality, so it should be relatively easy," said Calahan.
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Kiyone, not sure she should reveal as much.
"Juraians Civilization originated in a world without any serious predators. They had no need for manual labor," said Calahan. "Because of this, the male's role is completely different.
"Earthlings tended to emphasize males as hunters, warriors, and protectors. None of those roles existed on Jurai, though. Anyone easily did them because of psychic power. In addition, societies in Outer Space have a lot of women.
"Instead of being the head and protector of the household, they are sort of passive center. They are meant to act as a mediator to keep the internal conflicts between their many wives in check. Men in your culture have been trained from infancy to obey. To be pushed into whatever role society has in mind for them.
"They have no positive role models to speak. Granted, Emperor Azusa is held up as an icon, but what is there to aspire to? The man was made Emperor purely because he happened to be of the Jurai bloodline. He was then easily manipulated by one person after enough. But because the people doing the manipulating were reasonably well-intentioned, things worked out.
"And can a person actually be the Jurai Emperor? If you train hard enough, will you attain even a fraction of his power? Can you conduct yourself in a manner similar to him? The great achievements of his reign are not his own. They come from being positioned by all-knowing moral busybodies.
"And all three of the actual Gods in your culture are women. I haven't read about any shrines to male deities."
"How is that our fault?" asked Kiyone, a bit offended. He was dismissing the Jurai Emperor as some sort of spoiled puppet.
"It isn't," said Calahan. "And since your society is by all accounts a great deal nicer than ours, I'm disinclined to pass judgment.
"My point is that your females do not usually encounter males with a force of personality. Earthlings tend to have a greater force of personality. So that renders them easily manipulated."
Mark looked a bit disturbed at this. And Kiyone saw why; he'd been hesitant to dominate her and Mihoshi. "Are you suggesting I... manipulate Noike."
"No," said Calahan. "I'm not suggesting anything.
"Appeal to her conscience. Blackmail her. Trick her into taking a trip to Antarctica. For all we know, Noike might be a prisoner or even a slave. It might be as simple as rescuing her.
"I genuinely do not care what you do as long as we put this fiasco behind us. If Azusa had listened to us a few years ago, thousands of people would still be alive." Then he drew out three tickets. "Here's some tickets to the party. Michael keeps sending them to me as a means to gloat.
"I'll send some men to guard the outside of the Yagami."
"Thank you," said Mark.
"One more thing," said Calahan. "Your partner Mihoshi, I think she might be of use here."
Okay, Kiyone had to know what he had in mind. This was getting interesting.
