Extraction [07] - Nemo
"Please stay away from the windows, sir. It's unsafe."
"Oh, come on, Jen." I tried not to whine. "It's not like I'm going to get shot."
"It's not the risk of a sniper. It's someone with a telephoto lens and photo-editing software, sir."
"That's... a very good point." And yet still I did not close the drapes.
"What's so interesting about that view anyway?" she asked. "It's all so… fake."
Beyond the veranda was a metropolitan landscape. While other colonies sensibly occupied multiple levels in their central arcologies, Morgan cities had blocks, overlapping roads and neighborhoods, buildings connected by catwalks, and raised parks, with cleverly constructed pylons for the walls that evoked a horizon filled with more buildings extending just out of sight.
High vaulted ceilings painted blue would dim at night with the glimmer of artificial stars. When colonies needed to grow, they added new streets, new parks, new districts, branching off the main structure like new wings for a museum. The corners were disguised as overhanging structures and mass transit depots.
It did not quite work. "That's what's so impressive about it. They tried to fake it, but it doesn't quite reach that point, that they have to pretend that they're convinced."
I could pretend I was in San Francisco or Disneyland something. That's what every Morgan city looked like. Less Metropolis in need of a Superman or Clark Kent, but Gotham white-washed. It was a glamorous place to live in, because glamour was inherently unreal.
"I don't like it, putting so much effort into a lie. Isn't delusion unhealthy?" she replied, turning away from the sight as if it was personally offensive.
"It's perfect. I'm amazed just how much each faction's bases represent their dominant philosophy. Morgans need to believe in something the same way you do – and this… this glorious shared delusion, is like the concept of a fair free market economy itself. There are pillars, regulations, conventions, morals… that allow it to exist, but all must pretend that the Invisible Hand is truly invisible."
It was like the Truman Show on a massive scale. Or a society-wide Live-Action-Roleplay of the heydays of the twenty-first century. It was all so achingly familiar, and yet those few things that betrayed the conventions of the 2100s made it all so disturbingly alien as well.
"Morgan is a Naked King-"
"Ew."
I coughed. "I mean, the Emperor With No Clothes. But don't you see? The people aren't pointing it out not because they're too embarrassed or too fearful to say it, but that he's going around with a placard saying 'It's OK to be Naked' and 'We were born naked, we might as well die naked. It's not like we'll be using clothes where we're going.'"
"You sound like… you admire him, sir."
"Oh, I do. Of course, I also admire Deirde, Lal, Miriam, even Yang and Santiago – all of them who came from the Unity are the Faction Leaders not just by force of personality, but because they are the best of humanity. Every faction needs that complete, unshaking faith in the rightness of their purpose, or they will not survive the trials that lie ahead."
"So you say…" she whispered. After a few some time, she asked "Then what about us? Do you think we live under a delusion too?"
"Eh? Well…" I sighed. "Of course you do."
Jennefer met my eyes, then looked away. "W-what delusion do you think we have?"
"Umm. Two things. The first: that you will have a meaningful impact in curtailing environmental damage even as all the other factions continue to wantonly exploit all the lands under their control. The second: that Planet actually needs protecting."
For a moment, Jennefer looked furious, then she shrank back. "If t-that is what you believe, then why do you want to come with us? Why do you say you're defecting to the Gaians, of all people?"
"Just because it is a delusion now, doesn't mean it can't be true. What's the difference between a delusion, a dream, and a desire, anyway?" I waved at the vista outside. "The Morgans live in a world within a world, while the Gaians live on something more than just a ball of rock spinning in space."
"… world within world… live on more than just a ball of rock…" Jenny repeated softly. "... I should write this down."
I shrugged. "Eh. Crib whatever you want from whatever I say. I know how tedious it is to write speeches and articles. "
"Speeches and articles? Oh. Yes, of course. Because I'm a marine biologist."
I grinned. "Imagine how much of a pain in the ass it would be if you lived at University. Publish or perish, Jen. Publish or perish!"
"Oh my god, don't." she giggled. She swatted me in the arm. Then a look of horror crossed her face. "I'm sorry, sir. That was very inappropriate of me."
"It's fine. You can hit me anytime."
"I… would rather not, thank you."
"Morgan Bank representatives Alesa deVorcelk and Joachim Hasbruck here to see you, sir." Jenny announced.
I took a deep breath. Despite my words yesterday, all I had about either the Gaians or the Morgans or anyone else on this Planet were nothing but assumptions. Whatever insight I had merely sounded convincing, not born of any factual study. In a word: prejudice.
I was actually a very prejudiced bastard. I breathed out. I could only behave according to my expectations of them, that they would react according to my mental model. This is a monstrously bad idea, but it was not like I had any better solution.
Science was as much about poking random things with a stick as it was about theory. The more I provoke them, the more information I'd receive about their true character.
I had changed to a hotel-provided suit. Although it was not a perfect fit, what mattered most in a suit is how one wears it. The frivolity that let me enjoy this new life was put aside, and behind my eyes I replaced the mindset that fought and burned a million worlds, the one that said: I am literally too far beyond caring for any of your bullshit.
I turned around, emotionally prepared, and promptly lost it. "Good day to yo- hellooo, Alice."
The man was as dumpy and nondescript as any banker could be. Accompanying him was a lady in a red dress. Her features were strongly Nordic, with short faintly auburn locks in a windswept hairstyle. Her eyes were the bluest I've ever seen, and her lips, her wide deep red lips, twitched up impishly.
My heart went ba-thump.
"Alesa, not Alice." She moved closer and held out her hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Commander Nemo."
I took her hand gently and raised it to my lips. "Charmed, my dear." From her I looked to her companion. "Mister Hasbruck, good day." We shook hands and then I bid them both to have a seat.
Goddamit. What the fuck, fate. Are you fucking with me?
Alesa deVorcelk was a dead ringer for Mila Jovovich as "Alice" in Resident Evil, even down to the red dress and the high black leather pump 'fuck me' boots. I mean, what are the odds? What are the goddamn odds?!
Or… did someone somehow predict I'd recognize this? In retrospect, why was I even so sure there could only be one unicorn in the garden? What the hell.
I felt a tug at the back of my jacket. "Sir, may I speak to you privately for a moment?"
I shivered as I was jarred back into sensibility. "Um, yes, sure." I raised a finger. "Excuse me for a moment."
Jennefer pulled me to the kitchen area, where our heads would be hidden by the hanging cupboards and pantries. "Sir, with all respect, what are you doing?" she hissed out.
I began slapping my cheeks. "Sorry, looks like I drifted off there."
"I saw what you did…" Jenny accused. "That was dumb, sir."
"Um. What in specific? Are you mad that I didn't clear this with your captain first? You know, we're allies… but I'm not under his command. I can do whatever I want with my own money, or talk to whoever I want to talk to. The Morgans aren't my enemy."
Jenny waved aside. "This isn't about that. I was talking about how you were being such a Neanderthal out there, I was surprised you weren't drooling."
"… I did what now?"
"I know she's beautiful, sir. Heck, even I'm affected. But isn't it obvious this is a plot to distract you? You need to keep focused."
Oh, so that's what she meant. "Uh. Okay. I'm insulted, Jen. Do you really think I'm that shallow?" I'm a clone. Oh god I'm a four-thousand-year-old virgin. I'm the most pathetic thing. She's right to worry about me. I staggered against the counter.
"No! Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything of the sort!"
Click. The ARM Commander has no time for this hormone-driven bullshit. "Of course I know. She can't be any more obvious about it. In fact, isn't it too obvious? They have to know that we know that they know this is distracting. Acting like everything's perfectly normal is how they expect us to react. We'd be so focused on pretending that we don't know that they know that we know that -"
"Stop."
"Okay."
Jennefer took a deep breath, puffed out her chest, and declared "Captain Nobel left me strict instructions… remind him that it's always best to keep his fool mouth shut. Whatever he wants to do, do not let him fuck it up."
I nodded. "That's… sensible." We already spoke about my own… tricks… to disable listening devices. Only someone born on old Earth could be properly paranoid like that. It did not hurt to have a minder, because while I had the broad strokes of their leaders' goals, I knew next to nothing about their actual history. Their people. Their present and evolving culture.
Jennefer deflated. "Just please try not to make your fetishes so apparent next time, please?"
Wait, what? Is that what this is about? "… Jen, kissing a woman's hand is a perfectly normal greeting." I rubbed at my eyebrows. "Right. Right. I keep forgetting. It's 2126 and you were raised in a communal environment."
Jennefer opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it. She shook her head. "Sir, the Morgans will keep their deals to the letter, and nothing more. They will offer you anything you may desire. You could live a better life here than anything we may have at Gaia's Landing, and if you take them up on it, we would understand. But they are not worthy of your trust. Whatever they may tempt you with-"
"Check the Datalinks! It's not just a romantic gesture… this was the proper way for gentlemen to greet ladies for centuries! It's a mark of subservience and respect, especially in religious contexts or as mark of fealty and hooboy okay I can see where you may have a problem with that."
Jennefer just stared at me with a very deadpan expression. The facepalm was very heavily implied.
"I already said I don't derive any sexual- ghick!"
Jennefer poked me in the side, just around the kidneys. Hard. I recoiled, bending nearly in half. Ow. I was ticklish there.
"Oh hell no. What's with this tsundere-like development?"
Yet it was not anger or jealousy I saw in her face. She was on the verge of tears, her cheeks puffed up as she fought to control herself.
"My friends died. My… my brother died. That was just two days ago, you know? It's good to be happy to be alive, but I don't want to have fun at all..."
Oh.
Ohh. I've been having fun lounging around steeped in luxury, I lost sight of the reason why we were in this situation in the first place. Shit.
I forgot that no matter how much one might gain, sometimes it can never really replace what was lost. Things, wealth, reputation, power… they can be lost and regained. People… family… once gone are lost forever.
"I'm sorry…"
"You make it too easy to forget. And that… that's not bad, you know." Jenny stared down and fidgeted.
There was nothing I could say. I stood there feeling like a heel, unable to offer her any comfort, because I was not half as smart as I pretended to be and oh crap oh crap what do I do? (But this was hardly the ARM Commander's realm of expertise either.)
She reached out and grabbed the sleeves of my jacket. "… it's not that I blame you for anything. Thank you for saving us. Really, thank you so much. Thank you. You've done so much for us, we can't ask for any more. Thank you. I'm so happy. And I'm scared… I'm scared of disappointing you… I'm scared of what you'll do to me if I anger you…"
"I would never-!"
She looked up, and her eyes were wet, and they were aflame all the same. "But I will obey my captain. If you fuck this up, I will slap the shit out of you."
I grinned. Now that's more like it!
Wait. There was that pitying look again. Whaat. What do you really think about me, Jen?
"Ahem. All right then. Let's start." Three couches were arranged in a half-circle in the living room of the penthouse. A wide oblong jade-and-gold enameled desk was the center, and the distance between the couches facing each other was far enough to make any sudden fatal lunge out of reach. "Quick introductions again, just so we're all on the same page.
Miss deVorcelk, Mister Hasbruck. Hello. I am, as you know, Nemo – captain de facto of the Hulk-class Transport Ship Matilda, and commander of the Lurker-class submarine squadrons out there. Pleased to meet you. And this is… wait. Jen, would I even be able to call you my secretary? You don't do anything secretarial for me. You're more like a warden." Or a nanny.
She sighed. "Commander, please." She made a zipping motion over her mouth.
Oh. Right. Babbling again. The words just keep pouring out whenever I'm nervous. "Uhm. Well. Jennefer Marsh, everybody. Y'all: the Executive Officer late of the Gaian Laser Foil, Dawn Greeter."
Jennefer put her hands together over her chest and bowed deeply.
Rather than sit beside me, Jennefer stood behind the couch at my back and a little off to one side. I knew very little about how social mores have changed in a hundred years, but whatever this implied, Alesa deVorcelk seemed to get it. A very slight smirk graced her features.
It was also the perfect distance to slap me upside the head. I sighed. Memento mori.
I carefully considered the two bankers. The dichotomy between their appearances was so severe, that I couldn't tell which of them acted as a camouflage and distraction for the other. Ideally, of course, they would both be very competent with similar skill levels. The possibility that they might be assassins could not be discounted, even if there was little profit in it.
"First, please tell me about Morgan Bank. You operate as both the Central Bank and a Commercial Bank. That sounds sustainable now, with probably only less than a hundred thousand people on Planet in total, but where do you go from here?"
Alesa looked very pleased at my question, like a teacher delighted in a student that shows initiative. "To explain this, first I must say something about how Morgan Industries and its colonies are organized. Ours is a corporate state; that is, each colony is a 'business unit' with a primary focus on one aspect of industry. Every colonist owns a stake in the enterprise, unlike a conventional mode of government in which the average citizen only has a say during election years. These shares increase in value over time and can be freely traded."
"That's horrible." Jennefer gasped. "That's just an oligarchy, concentrating power in the hands of a few!"
"How old are you, dear? You were born here on Planet, were you not?"
"I am. I'm twenty-two" Jenny replied, the 'so there!' heavily implied "but I did my research. A free and democratic government is best for the people."
"And so Morgan Industries is a democracy. It is, in fact, a much more equitable form of democracy than one that relies on mob consensus. Citizens have a direct say in the affairs of their company, in board meetings, instead of having to elect representatives who have to balance other power interests."
"And yet individuals may own thousands of shares more than others, isn't that right?" I asked.
"Of course. This is also fair. Wealth is the universe's way of rewarding those who are clever and efficient. Those who live in colonies like this one have a vested interest in performing greater than its contemporaries – and when directors own greater shares, they are also much more driven to empower improvements in efficiency and happiness for all those who live in the colony, because all are participants in wealth-generation. Those who own shares in more than one colony have it in their interest to assist the growth of all the 'business units' in their portfolio.
In the old, disorganized model of democracy followed on failed Earth, each governing district competed against each other for limited scraps from the national government. It is competition, but an unhealthy sort of competition. It emphasizes the minimum of effort necessary, encourages resource drain and underachievement, instead of giving citizens clear incentive to be responsible for their own affairs."
"This is a fine-sounding theory, but how do you know it will work?"
"It has been twenty-six years, Commander, and difficulties in adopting this socio-economic system has so far been minimal. It is also not contrary to other democratic forms of government - you see that ours is a very free society, so I predict that in time it will evolve and through intense internal natural selection it shall assume as its defining traits only those measures that assist in stability and improved quality of life for its adherents."
"That really doesn't sound like it will work…" Jennefer mumbled.
"As opposed to the cottage-industry based communes of the Gaians? You know you get the bulk of your finished goods from us. We can make them affordable because our industrial processes are just that much more efficient."
"And wasteful! And destructive! And horrid!"
"And by our efforts we are bankrolling your entire faction. Where do you think Lal's faction gets the Energy Credits to buy your agricultural shipments? From trade with us, for their cultural and media products, and radioactives and advanced electronics from their trade from the University. The economy is as much a living system worthy of its own existence as any sessile ecology."
"How dare you!"
"Okay. Stop. Everybody, just stop." I let out a loud aggrieved sigh and held my palms out. "We're getting way off topic. This is not the place for this. You two can just send angry emails to each other later."
"Oh no… I'm very sorry, commander." Jenny moaned.
"I also apologize. I mean no disrespect, Miss Marsh."
"Okay! Great! That's settled. Let's move on!" I clapped my hands, then pointed at Alesa deVorcelk. Then at Joachim Hosbruck. Back to Alesa. Then to Joachim. "Tell me just how much luck Morgan Bank had in being a lender to colonies by other factions. Can you incorporate and establish companies in their territories, fully compliant and protected by the laws of these other factions?"
"Morgan Bank has branches in Gaia's Landing, UN Authority, University Base, and until recently – Sparta Command. It would be no problem to establish any form of business or holding company. We can file the appropriate forms, attend hearings, and pay the appropriate fees on your behalf from our integral association with Morgan Accounts and Morgan Advocates."
And this was the other reason I was not content to stay in Morganite Territory. I probably would not be able to take hearing about MorganEverything every MorganDay.
"Excellent. This brings me to the third issue. Liquidation. I was emailed my statement of account last night. My money's secured by rare metals, but I need readily accessible funds that's valid across all settlements."
"Morgan Bank can very easily float you that cash, Commander." Alesa said.
"I want half of my assets liquidated at present market rates."
"Pardon me a moment, please." Alesa cut in. "My companion seems to be having a heart attack."
####
MEMSTOR from DATALINKS "The Merchant Exchange"
- n received:
In the earliest days, "trade" was a foreign idea to the surviving colonists. Equipment was effectively held in common, and given to whoever was best suited to use it in the fight for survival. Once the immediate struggle was over, the colonists began to reassert concepts of ownership and formal resource allocation. Most of the early bases did this by using plain barter for all exchanges.
Once the colonists had built an Industrial Base, it became possible to go beyond this simple arrangement. One faction's home base was within reasonable travel distance of several others. A few would-be entrepreneurs took advantage of this face by trading needed items with the nearby communities. Soon, a formal commodities market appeared, dealing in salvaged equipment, newly manufactured equipment, and even a few small luxuries.
This Merchant Exchange was a popular place to do business from the very first years on Planet. Over the following centuries, it grew to become Planet's primary financial center, bringing its sponsoring faction considerable wealth. (credit:GURPS Alpha Centauri)
Nwabudike Morgan planned Morgan Industries to be the nerve center of several nearby specialist colonies. Energy from Morgan Interstellar to the West, Minerals from Morgan Mines to the South, and finished goods from Morgan Robotics to the North-east. Opening up the Straits of Prometheus to the Gulf of Phylira gave Morganites full access to the markets of the Peacekeepers.
Due to their centralized location, for some time it seemed as if UN Headquarters would be the preferred site for a Merchant Exchange, but Morgan Industries benefited greatly from the sheer efficiency of its industrial and commercial and trading networks; able to produce vast amounts of quality goods for trade at very affordable prices. Morgan products quickly became the items of choice for any emerging middle-class household.
AN:
I make no claims for the sustainability of the Morgan econo-political model. It's all fiction. [edit] Switched around the MEMSTOR data.
