Chapter 47: The Magic Question Part 3
Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, October 7th, 1998 (Earth Time)
They were facing the full assembly of the United Nations. So many countries were represented here. If Adora hadn't faced them before, and if she hadn't attended Princess Prom, she would feel nervous. Well, more nervous. This was, after all, an important meeting. For everyone. Fortunately, Adora didn't have to take the lead here.
"...and we welcome Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon, who will address the Assembly."
Adora watched as Glimmer, wearing her coronation outfit - or something like it - rose and walked up to the microphone.
"Thank you!" She smiled and put her up notes - Bow had installed a small projector on her pad so she could read her speech without glancing down all the time. "I'm happy to be here and talk about an important issue - two important issues, although they are related. First, I want to announce that the Princess Alliance will support the United Nations and enforce international law in the case of genocide. We, the people of Etheria, were the target of such crimes, and while we managed to defeat the criminal aiming to murder us all and destroy our planet, many other planets suffered this fate before us. We would dishonour the memory of those people if we would look away should someone else attempt a genocide. As we came to Earth to stop the Goa'uld from invading your planet and murdering your civilisation, we will protect you against such crimes committed by others on your planet. Just as your own laws stipulate, we will do what we can to stop any such crime." Glimmer nodded.
Adora didn't miss that not everyone in the audience seemed very enthusiastic. Actually, a lot of the ambassadors who applauded seemed to be doing so with polite smiles rather than honest or enthusiastic support. And a lot of the audience looked angry and were talking to their neighbours.
"Told you so," Catra whispered. "They care more about their sovereignty than their own laws. Or the lives of others."
Adora didn't frown - that would have been misunderstood, what with cameras covering everyone - but she whispered back: "Just because they are concerned about us trying to impose our will on them doesn't mean they would rather face a genocide."
"Someone listened once too often to Glimmer practising the speech." Catra had the last word before Glimmer started talking again.
"This does not mean that we will invade a country or impose our own laws or customs on anyone. All we will do, should a country or organisation attempt a genocide, is to stop them and capture the criminals." Glimmer nodded. "We are not planning to start a war, change a country's government or political system. We will absolutely not occupy a country. But if anyone is starting a genocide, we will stop them."
"And what is your definition of genocide?" one ambassador yelled. Adora checked the flag - it was Saudi Arabia.
They had prepared for that. "Acts with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group," Glimmer replied. "That's in your own Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which your country ratified decades ago."
"And what about the permanent members of the Security Council?" another ambassador - from Algeria - asked before she could continue.
Adora pressed her lips together. They had expected that question as well, but she had hoped they could address it after the speech.
Glimmer, though, raised her chin slightly. "I do not think any of those countries will attempt to support genocide in that manner. However, the Princess Alliance is of the opinion that, should a genocide be attempted, saving lives takes precedence over adhering to formalities."
That caused an uproar, and Adora clenched her teeth. Did they really expect the Alliance to let any country stop them from saving people?
"This is an attempt to take over the world!" someone yelled just as the noise started to die down - Adora didn't catch who said it.
"No," Glimmer replied, her amplified voice filling the assembly. "This is not an attempt to take over the world. This is just a warning - if you attempt genocide, we will stop you. Just as your own laws stipulate and expect of you. We will not let you murder people for the crime of being born, no matter who you are or who you are allied with."
The assembly erupted in shouting and yelling again.
"Looks like genocide is more popular than we thought," Catra commented with a sneer.
This time, Adora frowned at her.
It took a bit of time for the assembly to calm down - the Secretary-General had to step in and remind a few of the ambassadors that they were in public and had to behave with a certain decorum, though it wasn't as bad as the Princess Prom had been. No one attacked anyone, in any case. And there had been Alliance meetings that had been as loud and contested, though those were private.
But finally, Glimmer could continue her speech. "In addition to clarifying our stance towards genocide, we are also here to inform you about our decision with regards to Earth's magic."
"Here it comes!" Catra whispered - she sounded as if she were looking forward to this. She probably was, Adora realised.
"After considerable deliberation and consulting various trusted people, we have decided that we will honour the request to restore magic to Earth. We have…"
Glimmer's voice was drowned by shouting and yelling, even louder than before - it almost hurt Adora's ears, and she saw Catra clench her teeth and flatten her ears. Adora knew how sensitive her lover's ears were; this had to hurt her.
She reached out and patted Catra's thigh. As she tried to make out what the people were yelling.
"This is an outrage!"
"How dare you force magic on us!"
"Blasphemy!
"Finally!"
"We will not let you corrupt our people!"
"This wasn't your decision!"
"You have no right to do this!"
"No, you have no right to keep us from regaining our heritage!"
"This is an act of war!"
"You are changing our entire life on a whim!"
"Take your magic and leave!"
It took a few more minutes until people had calmed down - no, until people stopped screaming. Adora had no doubt that they hadn't really calmed down. Not the people who were glaring at her friends and herself.
Glimmer, who had weathered the storm without showing her annoyance, except for narrowing her eyes, continued: "As I explained, we decided to honour the request to return magic to your planet. We are aware that this is a controversial issue, but we do not think that anyone has the right to dictate to another that they cannot use magic; it's your heritage. It's part of your natural environment. Your planet had magic until a thousand years ago, and it will regain what was stolen from it."
"You're forcing this on us!"
"No one forces you to use magic," Glimmer went on without glancing at the ambassador of Kuwait, who had blurted that out. "But we will not let those who hate and fear magic for petty and bigoted reasons dictate how everyone else on the planet should live."
Adora nodded. Just as they wouldn't let the bigots oppress people like her and Catra.
"You can't just dismiss our concerns!" the ambassador of Saudi Arabia yelled. "This is against our religion. You are trying to change our way of life by force!"
"And we don't care!" Catra hissed through clenched teeth - fortunately, not into a microphone.
"Your concerns are unfounded," Glimmer replied. "You fear magic, yet you embrace technology. And you desire advanced technology that will change your life much more than magic - and is far more dangerous. And can be used by anyone."
"This is the core of the issue," said the ambassador of… Adora had to squint to read the sign. Of Nigeria. "Anyone can use technology. Only a few, as you explained, can use magic. We do not want to be ruled by witches and wizards."
Catra rolled her eyes.
"And you won't," Glimmer told them. "As we explained multiple times, it takes both talent and years of study to gain any significant skill at magic - and even with both, you won't be able to subjugate a country, much less the world."
"You are ruling your country," the ambassador retorted.
"Yes," Glimmer replied. "And several countries on Earth are ruled by monarchs as well." She looked at the ambassador of Saudi Arabia. "But I didn't conquer Bright Moon with magic."
Adora glanced at Catra, but her lover refrained from commenting that Angella had conquered it. Or might have - the records were a little vague.
"And in our war against the Horde, several kingdoms ruled by princesses fell to an enemy who didn't use magic, but technology." Glimmer shook her head. "The return of magic will not lead to monarchies being restored or imposed on you."
"But a few might get toppled," Catra whispered, baring her teeth.
Adora glared at her. That wasn't helping!
"This will cause a panic," the ambassador of Sudan said. "People will accuse each other of being evil witches! People will die!"
"People are already dying," Glimmer said. "You don't need magic to have witch hunts."
"But it'll be worse, now that people know it's real!"
"Yes." Glimmer nodded, her expression fixed. "It will get worse. But it'll also get better once you realise what magic can and can't do. If we don't restore magic, not only would we be helping those amongst you who wish to keep what was stolen from you out of ignorance and selfishness, but we would still see witch hunts." She narrowed her eyes. "And all the bigots would have realised that they can force their views on others if they threaten to hurt and kill enough people. And that would mean things would grow far, far worse." She shook her head. "If the threat of people being murdered would be enough to make us keep magic from being restored to Earth, we might as well surrender to the Goa'uld because they wouldn't hesitate to murder their slaves if they thought that would make us back down." She scoffed. "It won't."
Adora firmly nodded. As much as she hated how this decision would lead to people getting hurt and killed, the alternative would be worse. You could not give in to people who would hurt others to make you obey them. You wouldn't save anyone that way.
"You could delay this, though! Let us adapt slowly to it!" the ambassador of South Africa said.
"We have been delaying this." Glimmer shook her head. "We've explained what magic is, how it works, what you can expect. If people still think magic is evil after our explanations, then delaying further won't help either."
"Yeah," Catra muttered. "Let's get this over with so we can focus on the war instead of on idiots."
Adora frowned at her, but Catra had a point. This had already taken too long. Far too long. People were suffering under the rule of the Goa'uld. It was time to settle this.
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 8th, 1998
"So, they said I shouldn't build a reply-bot because we don't know enough about Earth customs regarding correspondence. And I said that if we don't know enough to build a reply-bot, we don't know enough to reply ourselves."
Samantha Carter nodded and tried to suppress the sudden and petty burst of annoyance she felt upon hearing that. She had been looking forward to working on probe bots, not explaining how you wrote form letters without offending the recipient. It wasn't a subject she was very experienced with, anyway. Well, if you counted the 'Dear John' letter she had to write at the academy, before her first deployment, but…
Entrapta shrugged. "So, they're going to talk to Julie and Mr Brown about that and then tell me if I can build a bot." She beamed. "I hope I can - I've never built a reply-bot. It would be an entirely new bot type. Very delicate manipulators, so it can write using Earth pens. And a new control matrix since it would need a completely different set of parameters to handle is task compared to a usual bot. I mean, I built lots of different bots, from combat bots to servant bots, but I haven't really focused on language expression - so far, their sound emitters using a set of signals was good enough, as long as they understood me." She blinked. "In hindsight, that was a little unfair, wasn't it? They could understand my language but not speak it. None of them complained, ever - well, not even when they went all murderous after getting infected with a First One virus - but maybe others would have been nicer to them if they could talk?"
Sam nodded. "People do treat you differently if you can speak their language." Whether it also went for bots… she didn't know. Would a bot be seen like C-3PO or Data? A sapient being? Or like Ed-209? Emily talking, perhaps with a British accent, would likely be off-putting. Then again, humans had a tendency for anthropomorphism. People attributed human traits and emotions to their pets and computers - not that Sam would ever do that! - and so doing that to bots would only be logical.
"Then we should work on that!" Entrapta nodded. "It'll make all bots better, too - probe bots will be able to report what they saw and answer questions!"
"That would also introduce bias with regards to their data, though," Sam pointed out. "Since they would have to interpret the data to report it. Unless they just repeat the numbers." But that would be a waste of a language module.
"Right. Even with self-learning matrices, we couldn't be sure about the results of their interpretation. But wouldn't it still be helpful? As a second opinion? As long as we treat the data without being biased, which any scientist should, anyway. Right?"
Sam nodded. It was time to do science.
"I think we should take a break," Samantha Carter said a few hours later, resisting the urge to run her hands through her hair before she got them cleaned - Etherian bots used lubricants as well, after all, though how exactly they had arrived at prototyping new manipulators from mapping out language matrices was a little unclear in hindsight.
"Aw…" Entrapta pouted, her hair still holding a small scouting bot's parts in the air. Then she blinked. "Although now that you mention it, Hordak said I should eat more regularly when working."
"Where is Hordak, anyway?" Sam asked before she could help herself. While the former warlord didn't come along with Entrapta every time she came to the mountain, Sam hadn't seen him for some time.
"He's checking with Priest about planetary drop tactics," Entrapta replied while rooting through the fridge in Sam's lab. "Do you have some of those tiny snickers I saw on TV?"
"No, sorry. You're the first person I met who prefers the small bars to the full-size bars," Sam replied. "I'll order some for your next visit."
"Thank you!"
Sam made a note, then frowned. "Planetary drops?"
"Yes. In case the fleet needs to intervene on Earth. They're worried about that, you know?"
Sam had known about the announcement to the United Nations regarding genocide - she was sure almost everyone on Earth had heard about it, the way the news had spread. Some pundits were claiming this was the first step to invading Earth. "Do you expect to intervene?"
Entrapta shrugged. "It seems illogical, but if everyone acted logically, people wouldn't fear magic. Catra thinks someone - some country - will be stupid enough to attempt genocide out of spite. Bow thinks they won't since genocide is illegal on Earth. Glimmer agreed with Catra, but she was mad when she did that. Adora said she hopes that we won't have to intervene."
That was a very detailed report. "Well, many people are afraid of magic," Sam carefully said. "And they tend to lash out against what they fear. It's irrational but common."
"It's stupid," Entrapta said, nibbling on a Snickers. "We've explained how magic works several times. Even a restricted bot would have understood by now."
That was pretty harsh for Entrapta. She didn't seem very concerned about the potential deaths that the Etherians' decision might cause, though. "Do you think you will be able to stop any genocides?" Sam asked.
"I guess so? Once we hear about it, in any case. We're moving more ships into orbit so we have more ground troops. Mostly bots, but they should work for this kind of mission." Entrapta shrugged again.
"Many people could be killed before anyone notices," Sam commented. That had been the case with Rwanda a few years ago.
"Yeah, but we're keeping an eye on the countries that were the worst about it so far."
She couldn't help it - she had to ask. "You don't seem to be worried."
"Worried?" Entratpa tilted her head to the side in an almost comical fashion.
"About the deaths," Sam explained. "You won't be able to stop all killings since you need to detect them first before you can intervene."
"Oh!" Entrapta nodded. "Yes, but that can't be helped. I thought about improving our scanner so we can spot lives ending, but that is tricky - lots of humans die every minute - and Catra told me that it would be depressing if we just watched people die without being able to help. I think she meant Adora would find it depressing - Catra's usually not really bothered about that."
"Seeing people die is not something everyone can handle," Sam pointed out.
"I know." Entrapta nodded. "We can just do our best and go on."
That sounded like something someone told Entrapta, and she took it to heart. "Who said that?" Sam asked.
"Perfuma. She's very good about that stuff. I wish we had taken her with us," Entrapta said.
Sam didn't know the other princess well enough - or at all - to agree. But things could have gotten better with the Etherians, that was certain.
On the other hand, Sam was only too aware of how much worse things could have gone. If Perfuma thought the Etherians should intervene more on Earth, to do their best… "Let's get back to work," she said.
Earth Orbit, Solar System, October 8th, 1998
"...and the riots in India have spread to most northern states. The military, already mobilising to protect the border, has been ordered to reinforce security forces. The number of deaths hasn't been determined yet as reports are still coming in from more remote parts of the country where protests and counter-protests clash violently, often fueled by ethnic and religious tension as well, and…"
"...the group of anti-magic protesters holding a vigil in front of the Reichstag has required police protection from counter-protestors accusing them of being bigots, and…"
"...in response to the riots that killed dozens of migrant workers from India in the Gulf States, the Indian Prime Minister accused the UAE of deliberately neglecting their duty to protect the residents in their countries and called for 'all sons and daughters of India to return home', threatening that any attempts to prevent them from leaving the UAE would be seen as a hostile act against India, and…"
"...Egypt, where the situation had barely calmed down since the riots following the catastrophic explosion, the military has moved against the protestors with brutal force as reports of people getting lynched as 'witches' and 'blasphemers' mount, and…"
"...Israel Defense Forces have been put on full alert again, and reservists have been called up as the country prepares for an upswing in violence following the fighting between factions in the Westbank, and…"
"...French troops have secured the airport to organise an evacuation as law and order in the capital of Mali are breaking down, and mobs started witch hunts…"
"...in Kabul released a statement declaring their intent to fight 'blasphemers and witches to the death', although, so far, it remains unclear who exactly the Taliban consider as such and how they plan to fight them. Experts commented that…"
"... of the European Union denounced the anti-magic violence and called for swift and decisive action to prevent further loss of life…"
"...the Arab League denounced both the Princess Alliance as well as India and Japan for causing this 'avoidable tragedy with their blatant attempt to oppress Islam and force magic on our people' and once again called on the United Nations to pass a resolution banning magic from Earth, which…"
"...Japanese government released a statement that Japan did not feel responsible for the violent actions of people trying to prevent Japan from recovering its cultural and religious heritage, and offered India their full diplomatic support in…"
"...the president has released a statement that all US citizens in countries affected by the sudden surge of anti-magic violence should evacuate…"
"...the stock exchanges are reeling as several major oil exporters in the Middle East announced an oil embargo against 'any country supporting the imperialist actions of the Etherians'. The United States is expected to release the strategic reserve any day, and several members of the Senate have been calling to secure the oil supply even though the United States has not been put on an embargo so far, and…"
"...protests in several European cities have been demanding the release of advanced technology to compensate the effects of the oil embargo even as Russia announced stepping up production…"
"...a group of Wiccan celebrating the imminent return of magic were attacked in Los Angeles, leaving two seriously wounded. The LAPD originally judged it to be a gang-related shooting but was forced to widen the investigation to cover a possible hate crime, and is expected…"
"...der Bundeskanzler wiederholte, dass Deutschlands strategische Ölreserven freigegeben werden würden und dass die Regierung alle nötigen Massnahmen treffen werde, um die Versorgung des Landes zu gewährleisten. Genauere Angaben zu den Massnahmen machte er nicht, aber…"
"...Indonesian government has declared a state of emergency and ordered a curfew in response to growing unrest…"
"...Swedish authorities stated that the apparent suicide of a family of five in Stockholm was being investigated and that reports of the family being very religious and concerned about magic 'corrupting their souls' could not be confirmed at the moment…"
"...have announced to fight the 'blasphemous forces of the devil to the last bullet and barricaded themselves in their church when police officers arrived on the premises. So far, it's unclear what prompted the police intervention, but locals are already voicing their concern that this might lead to another Waco-style massacre if not handled carefully and…"
"...the Pope has released a statement calling on all Catholics to remain calm and assuring them that the return of magic was no threat to their immortal souls provided they wouldn't…"
"...leader of the protesters in front of the White House stated that they wouldn't go home until the government banned magic in the United States, claiming that the United States was a Christian country and…"
"...the Met intervened and broke up a so-called 'exorcism'. A child of eight years was moved to a hospital for treatment, and…"
Catra flicked the screen off and shook her head. "They've gone crazy." At least the rioting and worse was limited to countries in the Middle East and Africa, for the most part.
"This is awful!" Adora blurted out. "We have to do something!"
"And what can we do?" Glimmer asked. She pointed at the bridge's window, where Earth was floating beneath them. "Start conquering Earth?"
"No, but…" Adora shook her head. "This is our fault."
Catra hissed. "It's not our fault!"
"If we hadn't announced our decision to return magic, this wouldn't have happened."
Well, she wasn't wrong, Not technically. But…
"Should we have bowed to pressure and kept magic from those who wanted it back?" Glimmer asked with a frown.
"No, but…" Adora pressed her lips together. "We shouldn't have done it like that."
"We knew that there would be violence," Glimmer retorted. "Like when we revealed ourselves."
"But we didn't think it would be that bad," Adora shot back. "It wasn't that bad back then."
"It's not your fault," Catra said. "Nor our fault. As Glimmer said - if we bow to violence, we might as well surrender to the Goa'uld."
"But those aren't the Goa'uld down there! They aren't brainwashed soldiers or slaves fooled by evil fake gods!" Adora protested.
"Doesn't look like much of a difference to me," Catra scoffed. "Attacking people over magic sounds pretty evil to me."
Glimmer nodded but she looked grim. "Yes. We can't bow to the threat of violence. Not from anyone."
Bow, thought, shook his head. "We should have handled this better. We could have… avoided this."
Catra snorted, even though she didn't feel amused. "Really? Sat down with the witch hunters and politely explained that they're wrong? Showed them the light? Explained how magic works?"
"Yes!" Adora blurted out as Bow nodded.
"We did that at the United Nations, and we couldn't even convince their ambassadors," Glimmer pointed out. "Why do you think this would have worked better with the people in their countries?"
"And how long would that have taken?" Catra added. She sneered. "Should we have told India and Japan, and everyone else who isn't an idiot, that they can't get magic back because it might offend the same people who were offended by our relationship and provoke them into rioting?"
Adora bit her lower lip. "Well, no, but…"
"We could have made more of an effort to convince people that magic isn't going to ruin their lives," Bow said.
Glimmer glared at him, which was a bit of a surprise. "Yes, we could have done it. And it would have been a waste of time. They don't listen! We keep telling them how magic works, and they do not listen!"
"Some are concerned about magic causing more problems," Bow retorted.
"Yes. And those people aren't down here rioting and murdering others!" Glimmer yelled as she jumped to her feet. "The fanatics are! The people who hate everyone who isn't like them and want to kill them!" She bared her teeth. "I am sick and tired of trying to talk to them, trying to reach them, trying to make nice with them when they DO. NOT. WANT. TO. LISTEN!"
She screamed the last words and stalked out of the door.
Catra looked at Adora, who looked shocked, and then at Bow, who looked like Scorpia had hit him with a tank. "I think Glimmer needs a break from diplomacy," she said.
Adora slowly nodded.
Bow shook his head. "She needs…" He trailed off.
"Go talk to her," Catra told him. After a moment, she nodded at Adora. "Both of you." For all her words, Glimmer wasn't taking this well.
Bow was already moving, but Adora looked at him, then at Catra.
"Go! She needs you," Catra told her. "I'll keep watch here."
And, she added to herself as Adora left the bridge, I'll try to ignore the insanity down there.
It's not our fault, she repeated to herself.
Yet she still felt guilty.
Dulles International Airport, Washington DC, October 10th, 1998
Jack O'Neill watched the truck - the second truck - leave the hangar. He half-expected a few letters to fall off it, to be blown across the tarmac by the soft breeze he could feel, but whoever had done the loading had done a good job with the Etherians' fan mail. "I pity whoever has to deal with all that mail," he commented as he started walking towards the hangar.
"That would be Brown, Wallander and Co. and Julie Callaghan, I believe," Carter said. "Entrapta mentioned that they decided to let 'experts in communication' handle it."
"Dumped the whole thing on PR weenies?" Jack chuckled. Not exactly a surprise - he couldn't see any of the Etherians spending all their time answering mail. Although he wasn't sure if it was a good decision, with all the violence about magic shaking the world, the mail was bound to reflect that, and Jack wouldn't trust PR firms to handle that. In more sense than one. "Have they been told about the threat of mail bombs?"
"Entrapta said she built a bomb-detecting-function into her reply-bot."
Jack blinked. "She built a paperwork bot? And I wasn't told as soon you heard about it?" He narrowed his eyes at Carter.
She tilted her head slightly as if she didn't know what he was talking about. "It was in my report about robotics, sir. And it wasn't a paperwork-bot. Merely a bot physically able to write letters. It still needs to learn how to write and, more importantly, what to write. Its neural network is in its infancy and won't be able to handle even basic letters for a while."
"You make it sound like a baby," Jack told her.
Carter blinked. "That's actually an apt description, sir. The bots are learning like children, though often from a set of base skills."
"So…" Jack grinned. "You basically made a baby with Entrapta?"
Daniel gasped, but Carter merely narrowed her eyes. "We constructed a bot, sir. And it cannot help you do your paperwork."
"Pity." Jack would have added another joke, but they reached the hangar's entrance - where that combat bot of Entrapta's, Emily, was standing.
"Hi, Emily!" Carter greeted it, and the oversized R2-D2 with a tank cannon beeped back. "Yes, we're fine. No, it's safe. There are no violent protests in the city."
Jack privately wondered if Carter wasn't spending a bit too much time with Entrapta. "I didn't know you spoke robot."
"I am familiar with the general signals of Entrapta's bots since I worked on communication modules with her, sir."
"Ah."
"Sam!" And there was the magical mad scientist, coming straight at them - walking on hair and waving. "Did you get my message about the random phrases generator?"
"Yes. Although I am not sure if that is a good teaching tool. It seems…"
Jack tried to tune out the tech talk and focused on the shuttle waiting inside the hangar.
"It doesn't look like it could carry so many letters," Daniel said.
"They made multiple trips," Jack explained. The brass hadn't wanted to see a Horde frigate land in Washington. Apparently, the optics would have been bad - as if having a few dozens of the things in orbit was any better. The retired generals making the talk-show circuits were already commenting on how vulnerable the United States were now and how much they needed an alliance with the Etherians to replace those shiny white ships with grey hulls of their own. Which led to this meeting, not that Jack thought anything would come of it. Not until Washington finally managed to legalise gay marriage and all that stuff.
"Ah."
And there was the rest of the Etherians, walking down the ramp - together with a man and a woman. Mr Brown and Miss Callaghan - Jack had seen their files. They didn't look happy. Jack wouldn't be happy in their place, either, having to deal with this.
"...and we'll get back to you once we have a better overview of the trends," Callaghan was saying. "We should have vetted more people by then as well."
"Hi, Jack." Adora looked… not as perfect as she usually did. Tired.
Most of the group looked tired, actually, Jack noticed as they exchanged greetings, and SG-1 was introduced to the PR weenies. "So, you're going to handle the mail?" he asked. "Like working for Santa at Sears?"
"We're handling it as part of public relations." Mr Brown sounded slightly prissy. No comment about Jack's joke even though he should be old enough to understand it. Definitely prissy.
So Jack waited until the two had left in a limousine and a sports car, respectively, before addressing the Etherians. "So… How are you doing?"
"Not going to say 'I told you so'?" Catra narrowed her eyes at him. Prickly, there. More than usual.
Jack shrugged. "I guess you've been beating yourself up enough already." They certainly looked the part.
"The loss of life is a tragedy," Glimmer said. She looked pissed, actually. "But the blame is to be placed at the feet of those who use ignorance and fanaticism to try and impose their narrow views on others through violence."
"Did you run that by your public relations consultants?" Jack asked before he could help himself.
Glimmer's glare intensified. "No. That's not their expertise."
So, did that mean they would listen to experts?
"Well, if you need experts on the Middle East and Africa, I know several people in the field," Daniel offered with his 'I only want to help you' smile.
Glimmer scoffed. "You want to tell me that you have experts that know how to make religious fanatics accept magic?"
Daniel blinked. "Well… not exactly. But they know the cultures of those regions and how to interact with people there without offending them."
Catra snorted. "We know that as well - we would just have to ban magic and stop loving each other. And probably convert to whatever religion those people follow. Or die for our sins."
Jack couldn't help chuckling, which made Daniel pout at him. "It's not quite that bad," his friend insisted.
"Really?" Glimmer openly sneered at Daniel. "Do you think if we just used the right words, they'd be fine with magic?"
"No, no, but… a more diplomatic approach might have avoided some of the riots." Daniel smiled rather weakly. "Maybe."
Glimmer bared her teeth - for a moment, she reminded Jack of a furless angry Catra. "We tried that. We talked to their ambassadors for hours and hours! The only thing that would have prevented this would have been to agree not to return magic."
Daniel winced. "Well, yes, but… wouldn't it have been worth to delay restoring magic to Earth to avoid all this loss of life?"
"Delay for how long?" Glimmer asked, stepping up to glare at him from up close - or down close since she was smaller than Daniel. "Until those fanatics suddenly accept magic?"
"We'd be dead before that happens," Catra added. "From old age. And what about the United States?" She looked at Jack. "Would your country agree to, I dunno, stop eating meat if enough vegetarians threaten to riot? Wouldn't it be worth to ban meat if it prevents such a loss of life?"
Jack could almost physically feel the sarcasm aimed at Daniel.
"It's not the same," his friend argued. "Magic affects everyone:"
"So does meat production," Adora said. "Many countries grow feed for animals instead of food, and export it." Jack blinked, and she shrugged. "I was curious about Earth farming after you visited a farm in Bright Moon."
Ah. Jack nodded. He should have expected that.
"It's still not the same," Daniel argued.
"The principle is the same. How many deaths does it take to make your country stop doing something?" Glimmer asked.
"I think the United States of America don't negotiate with terrorists," Catra added. "At least not officially."
"We are talking about countries, not terrorists," Daniel retorted.
"Same thing," Catra shot back. "They threaten violence against other people to make us do what they want us to do."
"And speaking of terrorists," Jack said, raising his voice a little. "We're here to talk about coordinating responses with the fleet and security concerns, not politics, right?"
Everyone looked at him as if they were surprised at his words.
Jack frowned. He could be diplomatic if he needed to. He just usually didn't want to. "Anyway, the new ships in orbit are a concern for some people," he said. "Like the Pentagon."
"A concern?" Adora asked.
"Yes." Jack nodded.
"Oh."
"And that has nothing to do with our announcement that we won't let people commit genocide?" Catra asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Well, I don't think the people who asked me to talk to you are bothered by that," Jack replied. "America doesn't do genocide."
"Not any more," Daniel just had to add.
Fortunately, the Etherians just nodded. They were really forgiving with all the second chances they gave everyone. "Yes, we're aware of your country's past," Bow said. "But as you said, you've changed."
"Yeah. Anyway, I was told to pass along that having spaceships with big honking space guns flying in the sky could make people nervous and afraid, and that can trigger bad responses to surprises - or rumours." Jack wasn't going to mention 'bad optics', or anything like that. That would make the United States look bad.
"Ah." Adora nodded. "We don't want people to panic."
Jack almost bit his tongue to avoid pointing out that they had done a very good job at making people panic. "Sometimes, things happen that you didn't intend."
Catra snorted but didn't comment.
"We've got Mr Brown and Julie working on explaining things better," Bow said. "So people won't write us to ask things we can't do - we don't want them to get their hopes up."
Jack blinked. "You really got letters asking you to blow up a school?"
"Some ask us to go to heaven and bring back their parents," Glimmer said with a scowl.
Jack winced. He had stepped into that one. "Yeah. That's a toughie." He suppressed the sudden urge to ask if they actually could do that. If they could, they would certainly have mentioned it by now - people would do anything to get their loved ones back. Hell, Jack would do anything to get Charlie back. No! He shook his head. Dead was dead. People didn't come back from death.
Glimmer nodded. "So, we'll ask them to also explain that we're not going to invade Earth." She sighed. "They'll ask us to give another interview."
"Well…" Jack shrugged. "It makes you look approachable if you appear on TV."
"We really don't have the time to give lots of interviews," Glimmer retorted. "We've got diplomatic meetings every day."
Judging by the way the others reacted, those meetings sounded as bad as Jack thought. He didn't envy them.
"Well, your public relations people did a good job," Daniel said. "The majority of Americans support an alliance with Etheria."
And the massive and often questionable efforts of the government and the NID, of course, Jack thought. It was easier to change public opinion if your most vocal opponents happened to have all their dirty laundry exposed at the most inconvenient moment.
"Before or after we announced that we'd stop genocides no matter what country did it - or tried to use their veto in support of it?" Catra asked with a scoff.
"Actually, that stance received a lot of support from those who feel that the veto power in the United Nations Security Council should be abolished - which includes a lot of people in smaller countries," Daniel said. "Although I've only seen statistics for countries with a free press."
"You can bet that every Chinese and Russian is shocked by the implications of your new policy," Jack added with a chuckle. "Just ask their propaganda ministers."
"Russia isn't the USSR, Jack!" Daniel complained.
"Close enough," Jack shot back. They certainly weren't a free country yet. Not with so many former communists and even KGB members now in positions of power.
"Anyway, we can't cover every country - and if we only grant interviews to American journalists, we'll be accused of being biased," Glimmer said.
"It's hard enough just meeting with the diplomats and governments," Adora added. "And we need to prepare for every meeting by reading up on the country's history."
"Ah, paperwork!" Jack nodded sagely. "I feel with you. And speaking of feelings…"
Glimmer rolled her eyes. "We'll tell Priest to keep the ships out of low orbit."
That was probably the best Jack would get. Well, it was no skin off his butt, anyway. His ego wasn't so fragile that seeing ships in orbit would threaten it. Certainly not when he was already aware that far more ships were in the system. "Thank you," he said. "So… with that out of the way, and your public relations guys already gone, is there anything else official-like we need to talk about?"
"Yes." Adora sighed. "We could use some help with security for public appearances. India has invited us to restore magic on their soil next week."
"Oh." Jack blinked. He hadn't heard about that. No one had, as far as he knew.
And he had a bad feeling about this.
Indira Gandhi International Airport, National Capital Region, India, October 17th, 1998
Adora couldn't help looking around reflexively as she stepped on the ramp of the shuttle. Entrapta's scanner hadn't detected anything like a trap or an ambush, but she couldn't help worrying. There were so many people cheering and yelling, kept at bay by soldiers. So many opportunities to hide an attacker. Even after a week, Jack's lecture on sabotage and assassination was at the forefront of her mind.
Even Jack's team - with the exception of Teal'c, who had added some advice of his own, based on his experiences as First Prime - had seemed to have been taken aback a little by his obvious personal experience with all that stuff.
"Relax. The tarmac is clear," Catra said as she joined her on the ramp, walking slowly down behind Glimmer and Bow. "No bombs in range."
Her lover had been taking notes and nodding a lot during the lecture, Adora remembered. And she wasn't sure if Catra had just been concerned about defending against such attacks. Or limiting such attacks to Goa'uld.
But it had helped with the security for today's visit. Thanks to the scanner, the Indian police had already arrested three groups of people planning to attack the ceremony with bombs. And a few more had been 'dealt with' according to the Indian government when searched for weapons by the police before being allowed on the field reserved for the ceremony. Jack would be happy about the security here - the Indians had tightly locked up the entire area.
But this wasn't the time to talk about that. She nodded, forced herself to smile and kept walking toward the delegation from the Indian government. Unlike visits to other countries, the Prime Minister himself was waiting there, a big smile on his face.
"Keep an eye on his bodyguards," Catra whispered into her communicator.
Right. One Indian Prime Minister had been assassinated by her own bodyguards.
"Emily's on the job!" Entrapta replied over the channel. The two were following Adora and Catra - and Adora noticed a number of the soldiers standing guard looked a little nervous when they saw Emily. "Her force field is ready to be deployed. But she does miss her cannon."
"Poor baby," Catra muttered - sarcastically.
Adora was tempted to elbow her, but they had just reached the Indian delegation.
"Welcome to India! We are honoured and proud that you have chosen our country for this historic moment!" The man looked jovial and honestly happy. Well, he had campaigned hard for this - of all the countries, India had been the most vocal about restoring magic.
"Thank you," Glimmer replied. "We're honoured to be here."
"Yes," Adora added with a nod. "We're happy to finally return what was stolen from you." By her ancestors and in an attempt to build a super-weapon that would have devastated an entire sector. But this wasn't the time to discuss this particular subject, either. Still, it felt good to right this wrong. She might not be responsible for the actions of the First Ones, but she still felt guilty.
They exchanged handshakes and greetings with the rest of the delegation - Emily, encouraged by Entrapta, waved one of her legs, balancing on the others, which prompted some laughs from the audience and even from the Prime Minister himself.
And from some of the soldiers. Well, the ones standing guard. The ones standing at attention in the 'honour formation' didn't laugh or move at all while Adora and her friends walked past them. Adora still didn't know why practically every country on Earth had soldiers do that for state visits, but it made adapting to such visits easier.
"...and you picked a good time to visit; the monsoon has ended, and the weather is quite nice."
It was actually still quite hot and humid, but Adora nodded. And even Catra didn't complain about the effects on her fur. Her smile looked a bit more toothy, though, as they climbed into the waiting cars that would take them to the field chosen for the ceremony.
Not that an actual ceremony was necessary. Adora could have restored the magic to Earth anywhere on Earth. All it took was using She-Ra's power to remove the last remains of the First Ones 'magic shunt', as Entrapta called it. The enchantment that had siphoned off the planet's magic and still kept it from returning to Earth. They didn't know exactly where the magic was going, actually - part of it at least was used to keep the shunt in place, but the rest seemed to be vanishing into another dimension, according to Entrapta's latest theory.
It didn't matter. Soon, this would stop, and Earth's magic would be restored.
Adora smiled, both at the thought and at the people lining the street, cheering at them. After all the bloodshed on the news, it felt so good to be welcomed. To see people wanting their stolen heritage returned.
"I wonder where they put their protesters," Catra whispered while she waved herself.
Right. Not all Indians were happy with magic returning. But most were. India's Minister of External Affairs had assured them that they wouldn't be bothered by 'fanatics trying to disturb the ceremony', but he hadn't gone into details. Just that they were banned from entering the area of the visit.
"Ah, looks like they missed some," Catra said.
Adora tensed as she saw the scuffle in the distance - lots of soldiers were there, beating some people and dragging them away. Lots of other people were joining in, trying to beat them up. She winced at the sight, but they were quickly driven past the spot.
"At least the cars are armoured," Catra said.
Adora nodded. Anyone taking a shot at them would have to use a heavier weapon to threaten them - and those would show up on the scanner Hordak was currently watching from Darla. And they would have force fields at the ceremony.
Still, Adora felt a little on edge. So many people - most of the world - would be watching her. What if she botched it? If she tried to restore magic, and it didn't work… No. She had done this before. She knew how to do it. Everything would be fine.
Everything… that was a lot of people. Adora blinked.
Catra whistled. "Somehow, it looked smaller from orbit."
Adora nodded. It was like looking at a sea of people. "There must be millions of them."
"Yes."
"Well, it would look smaller from a longer distance and from a different viewing angle," Entrapta said. "But I know what you mean."
"Indeed," the Prime Minister cut in. "Every true Indian wishes to be present when our divine heritage will be returned to us."
"Except for those who think magic is evil," Catra commented.
The man frowned for a moment. "Yes. But rest assured that none of them will be present to mar this occasion. We've purged them from the guards assigned to this ceremony as well."
Oh. "Purged?" Adora asked. She had read about such purges…
"Reassigned to duties that take them away from the region," the Prime Minister explained with a slightly forced smile. "We're not barbarians."
Ah. That was reassuring. Somewhat, at least. But not overly much. As far as Adora knew, most of the people in India who didn't want magic returned were members of a religious minority. To persecute every one of them for the views of some of them…
But they had arrived now, the car slowing down as it passed a checkpoint, then drove through a narrow lane kept open by double-rows of soldiers holding back a cheering crowd. Flowers were thrown at them, and Adora flinched for a moment before she reminded herself that they were in an armoured car and would have detected any explosives in the crowd.
And there was the huge stage, where the delegations from other countries, members of the Indian government and other honourables were waiting.
More greetings followed. Many more. Adora shook hands with the Japanese Prime Minister, with familiar faces from the United Kingdom - they had sent the Crown Prince - and France, Germany and the United States, and many other people she hadn't met yet. By the time they were finally done with the greetings, the sun was high in the sky, and Catra was cursing under her breath about the heat.
And now the Indian Prime Minister was starting his speech. He was a poet of sorts, Adora had read, and well-liked - the people were cheering at almost every word - but…
"I'm growing hungry," Catra complained in a whisper.
"There's going to be food afterwards," Adora whispered back.
"I know. I can smell it in the tents behind us," Catra replied.
"And I can hear you," Gimmer hissed. "Shh!"
Adora blushed a little. She should have known better than to respond to Catra in a situation like this. She couldn't be rude to their hosts - everyone, the entire world, was looking at them!
She took a deep breath. Besides, it wouldn't be much longer - how long could the Prime Minister talk, anyway? Any minute now, he would finish, and…
Hordak's voice coming through their communicators interrupted them. "The scanners show a disturbance in a military base to the east."
"Disturbance?" Catra sat straighter, tensing up.
"Fighting. Between soldiers - they're wearing the same uniform."
"Traitors or infiltrators," Catra spat. "What's their goal?"
"The artillery park, it seems."
Adora gasped. Artillery? What was the range of the guns? Emily's force field would stop an artillery shell, even a barrage, but she couldn't cover the entire area, and if a shell struck the tightly-packed crowd…
One of the soldiers on stage was listening to his radio as well, she noticed. And looking pale.
"Who's winning?" Glimmer asked, leaning over. No need any more to care about how it looked - more soldiers were moving now, as well as bodyguards.
"It looks like the attackers are winning," Hordak said.
Adora blinked. How long would it take them to aim a cannon at the field here? A few minutes, probably, if they had ammunition and a trained gun crew. That had been Horde standard.
"They're attacking the magazines as well," Hordak reported.
That was… Adora clenched her teeth.
"Are we in range of their guns?" Glimmer asked.
"According to our data, yes," Entrapta said, staring at her tool. "Emily can stop the shells from hitting us, but she can't protect everyone here."
Like Adora had thought. This was…
"Hordak, stop them!" Glimmer snapped.
"Fire!"
A moment later, Adora saw a beam strike the ground in the distance, followed by explosions. And then an entire volley of beams struck. And more explosions followed, dust forming columns of smoke that billowed up.
Orbital support, she realised - they had trained for that. But secondary explosions? In the Indian Army base?
"The attackers are dead," Hordak reported. "There was some collateral damage as the magazines were neutralised."
Adora wasn't listening any more. She was staring at the crowd in front of her. The people were panicking. Screaming. Pushing against each other and the soldiers as they tried to run away from the explosions. She saw a soldier being overrun, people trampling over him, heard more screams, saw a little girl stumble and fall, and a man step on her…
She gasped. The crowd, the sea of people, was going crazy. And soldiers were moving in front of the stage, brandishing weapons. Trying to protect the Prime Minister and his guests with lethal force.
"No!" she yelled, standing up. Raising her arm. Summoning her sword.
"For the Honour of Grayskull!"
A familiar rush filled her. Her armour formed. She was She-Ra, Princess of Power!
The people around her - those who didn't know her - stopped and stared. But that wasn't enough. The crowd was still panicking. People were being hurt. People were dying.
She stabbed her sword upwards and focused. On her power. On her magic. Reaching out to that familiar pattern. Connecting.
For a moment, everything turned white as the magic of the planet ran through her. She almost screamed. There was so much, it was so hard, so…
And flicked her sword. Cutting the pattern. It was like popping a balloon. One moment, she felt like she was about to burst from the power filling her. The next, the pressure was gone.
Mostly. She was still glowing brightly with power. With magic. Blazing.
She turned, looking at the crowd. The hurt and the dying. The panicking and the crying.
Adora raised her sword, then brought it down.
And a wave of magic burst from her blade, sweeping over the crowd. A wave large enough to cover the entire area as she turned.
Healing.
Soothing.
Earth's magic. Used for the first time in a thousand years.