Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5Ds
The subsequent management of Domino City and our expansion plans had not been as easy as I had hoped. In fact, it was complete hell. It only took a week to drive me to the brink of insanity. I would gladly give my remaining arm to never have to deal with this crap again.
As much as I refuse to declare the Zephyrs as a political entity, I do not want Tokyo influence in anything I control. Therefore, I have a problem.
The Satellite had already adapted to a pseudo-functional self government, with some 'assistance' from Sector Security. Rex had managed Neo Domino long enough that government officials, while in Domino, remains under his control despite his absence. Misty became the interim Director while Lazar was sent to Tokyo to try and make her position permanent.
We could have made our lives in Domino very comfortable.
However, I wanted more. I've always wanted more.
I had bought a piece of land to the north of Neo Domino from Rex Goodwin right after the conclusion of the Fortune Cups, which cost me our entire winnings from the Fortune Cups and is just slightly smaller than Macedonia. The plan had always been to start by creating a city in my complete control along the north-east coast. That's where the energy from the Momentum had been directed back when we still had it, and will be directed again once we get it back online.
The Momentum will continue to extract energy from both the Netherworld Monster and the Crimson Dragon, using this energy to restore land and the subsequent agriculture.
It all sounds great on paper, and I even had a basic idea of what each person would handle. I just didn't expect everything else that we would also have to do.
Seeing as I don't want the project taken over by the national government (for a list of reasons at least five pages long, not the least of which is the control of the Momentum and a fear for our assassination), we now have to sort of... well, 'govern' this new place that we're building.
So what I really wanted to say is, there are so, so many government departments. So many.
I looked up the Japanese government online in hopes I could mimic their structure, and found out they had 14 ministries! 14*! Plus a bunch of other agencies and departments that I didn't think of but sounds really important, like the Atomic Energy Agency and the Bank of Japan. Both of which I should presumably have a version of.
Counting off my fingers, I have 15 people I know personally and can more or less count on to lead something. There's Chaos, Galen, the 3 (ex-) Magicians (minus Teddy who'll be turning 15 in four months), Ara, Blizzard, Greiger (already stretching it a little thin), Akiza, the 4 ex-Enforcers, and both Goodwins (really stretching it now).
Then I still need a Justice system and maybe a cabinet. I'm not entirely sure what a cabinet is other than a piece of furniture, but I'll need to find out soon.
This in on top of needing to recruit from a mostly-illiterate populace in the Satellite. The literate population from Neo Domino is still terrified of us and generally refuses to work for us at all costs. These recruits would then need to recruit even more people for agriculture and a real military and... other government stuff? Maybe?
"Hey, wake up!" Crow nudged me repeatedly until I finally gave up on sleep. I'm been napping a lot recently, I tend to do that when I have a lot of do. The doctor also told me to expect it from my recent injury and blood loss, but also the stress thing. I opened one eye and was faced with a large smile and a larger ball of orange hair. Grumbling, I sat up from the couch.
"What do you guys want?" I glared at the orange, yellow and black-haired teens in front of me respectively.
"Tell them what you told me," Crow requested, "I can't say it like you can."
"What are you talking about?" I asked again, grabbing a cup of water off the end table to rinse my mouth.
"Tell them what you said, remember?" Crow asked again, "About the bridge! And how it's not going to work!"
"Crow told us that building a bridge between Domino City and the Satellites wasn't going to help the people in the Satellite." Yusei knelt down beside the couch, "do you really think so?"
Oh, that. I did go off on a rant about that a while back. Well, Yusei's dream is to fix up the Satellite, and I owed him at least that much, seeing as him and Zigzix is my technical department (see, that's one department down!).
"A bridge isn't going to be enough." I began slowly, "you first need to remove the commercial and residential restrictions, then establish at least one profitable industry in the Satellite. I'm afraid recycling just won't pay very well, regardless of the Satellite's relations with New Domino."
"What do you mean?" Yusei asked, "If people can move to New Domino City, they can find better jobs there. Then when companies in the Satellite can't hire enough workers, they'll have to raise wages in the Satellite too.
Ahh, a blossoming idea of the free market. Impressive considering he never even finished grade school.
"Yeah!" Jack added, "as long as the Satellite gets a chance, those chumps at New Domino won't stand a chance!"
"That might work, if the populations were reversed," I corrected (it probably still wouldn't but I didn't mention that), "but as it stands, there're less than 200,000 people in New Domino, and nearly half a million in the Satellite. New Domino simply would not have this many opportunities in the short term."
"But in the long term it would?" Yusei immediately saw the catch.
"If we're lucky," I honestly didn't know, "or New Domino may be dragged down with the Satellite."
We're talking about expanding an economy to accommodate five times the population, that usually takes decades... Probably. I actually don't know. But that feels about right.
I do know that the anime version of 'they built a bridge and the Tale of Two Cities ended' was ridiculous. The tale of two cities does not actually require two cities, it's a wealth gap that, once established, wouldn't be closed without conscious effort, regulations and a tremendous amount of time. There would be more opportunities, relatively speaking, for those from the Satellite, but they still have to struggle against all the odds that comes with poverty, like malnutrition, lack of education, higher crime rates and generally limited prospects.
Of course, as Yusei and his gang moved up in the social ladder, they saw less of that side of the world, and naturally, Domino seemed like a better place. And changing the filter was a low move, it does not make a real difference to living standards in the Satellite.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Jack exclaimed in annoyance, "We can't just sit on our backsides and do nothing."
"Build the bridge," I replied. "Just because it's not going to be a miracle cure for the Satellite doesn't mean we don't need it."
Yusei grinned sheepishly, Jack smirked and Crow scratched the back of his poof of orange hair.
"You guys were just trying to get me to say that, weren't you?" I laughed.
"Well, we don't have the money or the workers," Crow admitted, "Misty wouldn't even give me a permit without your okay."
"Out of curiosity, how were you guys going to build the bridge if I said no?" I asked, having wondered the question since the watching the original anime.
"Then we'll ask Misty I guess." Yusei said reasonably, confused by my skeptical look. But it was Lazar in the anime who took over.. I guess that's a mystery for another day.
"Just don't forget your day jobs." I reminded. Yusei is basically our network security plus Momentum security manager and currently designing an assembly line for agricultural machinery. Crow is officially the vice principal of our (now multiple) schools. Even Jack has been invaluable in ensuring security in both old and new Domino.
"Of course not! We're more than capable of handling everything at once!" Jack announced proudly.
"You guys do that, tell Misty I said yes and she'll hopefully know what to do." I stood up and heard my bones creak, "I'm going to look for Chaos and Nervin to figure out more about this new city we're building."
"What's it called?" Yusei asked. The simplest questions were often the hardest.
"Netherdale!" I announced proudly. Truth was, I'm not fantastic at naming things. When I thought about the new city, the first name that came to mind was Pizza Hut. (You know, Dominos, Pizza Hut) "In honor of the Netherworld Monster who will be sacrificed for our new town!"
"So you're gonna be a big city director now," Jack was sarcastic as always.
"No, not me." I had rejected the idea a long time ago, "I wouldn't know what to do with a city."
"None of us would," Crow blurted out.
"I think you'd do a great job, Yuki," Yusei could always be counted on for a compliment.
"Nobody except Rex Goodwin," Jack muttered darkly.
"I agree, which is why I'm making Goodwin the second-in-command at this new place. Goodwin's experienced, well-connected, and actually knows what he's doing" The idea came to me when Roman approached me before the last game, and I have dwelt on it ever since. Rex being new and recently evil might ruffle a few feathers, but I really did need someone with any experience.
I finally understand why most employers wanted 3-5 years' experience and reference letters. I don't want to know what good they can do, I needed a bottom line of how badly they could fail. And aside from 'trying to destroy the world', Rex Goodwin did pretty well as the Director of New Domino City. Though I'll admit that's a pretty big flaw to overlook.
"But for the actual director," I ticked off my requirements, ignoring the stunned silence from the trio, "I need someone with a vision, someone driven, enthusiastic, smart, a leader, someone willing to take risks and most importantly, eager to change the world." And of course, somebody who trusts me unconditionally and will direct our creation towards my targets. By this point, it should be obvious who I had in mind, I guess now's as good a time as any to let him know.
I ditched the bridge-building team, now anxiously discussing the prospects of Goodwin running another city.
Kalin was in the kitchen where he was cooking his (in)famous stew.
"I'm a decent enough cook, how do you think we ate after leaving the orphanage?" He waved the large spoon and protested in vain as I dragged him out of the kitchen.
"Kalin Kessler," I looked him in the eye. He picked up the gravity of the situation and calmed down. "As you know, we're building a new city off the coast." He wanted to say something sarcastic, but bit it back at my look, I continued, "and I need a director. If you want it, the job is yours."
"What?" Kalin's spoon dropped, clattering on the ground, which seemed to bring him out of shock, "what do you mean? I thought you'd run it. It is your city."
"And it will be," I shrugged, "but I don't think I can run it as well as you can." Plus, I don't want to. It's too much work. I'd much rather be the one dictating the directions we take rather than handling the day-to-day business that comes up. That was probably not a good argument at this point.
"Why me?" Kalin asked earnestly, his usual casual indifference disappeared and replaced with a fire in his eyes, a Kalin I think only the Enforcers would recognize.
"You're ambitious," I began, I never thought of ambition was a flaw, as long as it was not achieved through unsavory means. "You got guts. You have a vision for this world, and you're motivated enough to work tirelessly towards it. I truly believe you can make this city into something worthwhile."
"Did you forget what happened the last time I tried to fix up a city?" Kalin asked with a trace of his usual sarcasm back.
"So you've got experience," I joked, then sobered up at the pained expression on his face. "Look, so you need somebody to steer you in the right direction once in a while, that's why you have me, and all of us."
"You're not afraid that I'd steal the city from you?" Kalin asked curiously.
I smiled sincerely at the question, "how about you let me worry about that."
No, I wasn't worried, because Kalin was a dreamer. The only reason he would go off the straight-and-narrow is after losing hope for the world he saw. Me? I know what this world could be, had been, what it could once again become. I was confident my plans encompassed all of his dreams and surpassed his wildest fantasies. And as long as he held on to his ideals, he would find following my vision the best way to achieve them. Except maybe the duel monsters part, but there was nothing I could do about that.
"Oh, and by the way," I added, "Goodwin would be working as your right-hand. I want you two to play nice."
"Which one?" Kalin winced, trying to figure out which one he disliked less.
"The one with management experience," I answered. No, I don't consider commanding magically-brainwashed people 'management experience'.
"Rex Goodwin?" Kalin questioned, "The one who just tried to destroy the world?"
"Or Roman, the other Goodwin who just tried to destroy the world," I finished the thought for him. "Nah, it's Rex. He's the only one we have who actually knows how to run a city, or anything with more than 1000 people in it. We need him."
"Fine, it's your city to mess up" Kalin grumbled, picking up the spoon off the floor and stuffing it into my hands, "you take care of the food, I'll tell Rexie the good news." I could hear him putting 'good' in quotations. "You go take care of my stew."
I wrinkled my nose in disgust but complied nonetheless. Rex is still busy embezzling money from Neo Domino and working the accounts, but he should have time to hopefully help out Kalin with this new city business. Most importantly, the more they do, the less I have to.
* LOL I looked this up on Wikipedia, Japan does indeed have 14 ministries
A/N: LMAO, 'recently evil', imagine that on a resume