Dark Fate, Chapter 247

Chapter 247 – Gathering

It wouldn’t be inappropriate to call the gathering before me an international conference. After all, there were official representatives from sixteen countries here, not including the Ceresan Empire. All of them were from countries that, before the Initialization, were routinely looked down upon by the major powers of the world, and effectively spent their existence since the age of sail being bullied by one or the other.

In addition to the official representatives, another twenty countries sent observers. Those countries were either larger countries, like Brazil, Commonwealth countries like Jamaica or Belize, or representatives of dependent territories that were questioning their allegiances, like French Guyana and Puerto Rico. Nothing like a near apocalypse and the old order getting thrown on its head to make people rethink their priorities.

I’d allowed the observers, not because I was trying to woo them away from their current ties, but because I didn’t want anyone to say that I wasn’t being transparent in my dealings. I’d built my whole brand about being brutally honest about everything, after all. Well, that, and being able to punch well above my weight class in terms of violence, whether it was personal, or militarily. My being honest about things was a show of strength, because I did not need to make myself look strong by only showing the good things.

Every delegate had come with a political representative, a military representative, and a representative from their adventurers. Trade would flow, once people had more of a solid footing. Already, we were starting to see proceeds from the newly-integrated areas of the Empire, as people were able to move about, and start taking on dungeons or monsters without having to cross hazardous terrain.

People’s levels were rising, and not just the combatants. The average level of a combat-class in the region, before integration into the Empire, had been between levels 20 and 30 in Tier 1. Now, they were closer to Level 40, with some individuals pushing for Tier 2. Alongside them, the crafters and other ‘support’ types had leveled up dramatically, getting to an average level of 35 in Tier 1.

That kind of production and growth led to more money coming into the Empire in the form of taxes, naturally. The teleporter network in the three territories was almost paid off as it was, and the cost of the military buildup wouldn’t take much more after that. Within a year, I expected to break even on the whole investment into the three territories. And that was assuming we didn’t find a dungeon with some rare or valuable materials, like mithral or adamantine.

Looking at the gathered delegates I smiled warmly. “Welcome, friends, to this gathering. And also welcome to our observers. The Ceresan Empire is happy to show that we are fair and open in our dealings with other countries, whether they seek to join the Empire or not.”

I paused, and then said, “I’m sure that, by now, you’ve all seen or heard that my view of ‘diplomacy’ is at odds with the political gamesmanship that you’ve all witnessed other countries doing. Instead of doing passive-aggressive verbal jousts or smiling in someone’s face while looking where to stick the knife, and assuming they’ll do the same to you, I’d rather speak openly and honestly with you, like you’re all grown adults who don’t need someone to hide the fact that Santa Claus isn’t real from them. So, I’m going to be talking, and if you have a question, raise a hand.

“That said, I know most of you are here because your countries have seen what has been happening in the territories which recently joined the Empire. Costa Rica, Panama, and Columbia were all in dire straits, economically and militarily, but things have started turning around, now that they’re part of the Empire. So, I’m not going to try and act the salesman. You all have seen what Ceres has to offer. Especially since the first colonists will be heading up to Ganymede to officially begin settling the first of our Jovian colonies. We also have plans on establishing a base on Titan, as well, where we’ll be testing a terraforming device to try and make the moon a more valuable place to live.”

That sparked interested murmurs, so I gave them a second to cool down before continuing. “I know that you are all proud people, who rightly have concerns about the potential of a colonial power taking over your lands and putting you under their heel, just as has been done to you and yours so many times before. That is why I asked all of you to make sure you spoke with representatives from the states of Costa Rica, Panama, and Columbia before I would agree to this meeting. I wanted you all to see what the Empire had done, how, and why, and then make your own judgements before coming here.

“I will be the first to tell you that Ceres is not perfect. We are still a work in progress. We started from nothing, and have been adapting to the changing situation as we go. We have had to revise timelines or alter projections more than once. Even with multiple timelines under my belt, I’m not some kind of omniscient deity, and I won’t pretend otherwise.

“So, when it came to adding new lands and forming the Empire, I quickly decided that we would not try to fix things that weren’t broken. If people liked the general structure of their current government? Great, let them keep it. I have far too much to do without trying to micromanage every inch of the Empire.

“However, there are some changes that will be made, if you decide to join the Empire. The first, obviously, will be changing your justice system to Ceresan standards. Your laws will remain the same, save where they conflict with Imperial law, but there will be changes to the justice system as a whole, to reflect the new realities of this world, including the use of slave collars. I know that slavery has an especially bad reputation in your territories, and deservedly so. However, to use the example I’ve given to other representatives more than once, think about what it would take to keep a high Tier 2 prisoner in their cell if they decide they don’t want to be there, without bankrupting your country or going to utterly inhumane lengths? And what about when more people break into Tier 3?”

I paused a moment, so that they could think on that, before continuing. “The second big change to the justice system will be the creation of the so-called ‘Black Zones’. Intentionally lawless havens where anything goes, so long as it does not spill out past the zone’s borders. This may seem shocking, even insane, to most of you, but, when combined with Ceresan laws about allowing everyone to move freely through the Empire, and ensuring people have a basic standard of living, the Black Zones become an important ‘release valve’.

“There will always be those who, whether through mental illness, psychosis, or some other reason, cannot live in ‘civilized’ society. They are predators who see their fellow Man as prey. You can try to stamp out these kinds of behaviors, but that just makes them hide, and learn to be sneaky, while the common person has no idea they are there, until it is too late. Worse, having to repress themselves normally means that, when they do find a target, they are far more brutal than they otherwise might be.

“The Black Zones offer a ‘release’ for those types. Everyone who lives or enters a Black Zone is there because they choose to be. They accept the risks that come from being in a lawless area. And, in return, they are able to act as they please, without limits imposed by the government, and they take any consequences of those actions.

“The Black Zones also offer a refuge for those who do not wish to live under the Empire’s laws or benefit from its protections. People who, for whatever reason, be it political, religious, or otherwise, cannot abide the Empire’s nature? They are free to go to the Black Zones, or leave the country entirely. Instead of being a contentious ‘sovereign citizen’ causing trouble, they can go to the Black Zone, where no government will trouble them.”

The Argentinian political representative raised his hand. I nodded to him, grabbing his name with a quick [Appraise Value]. “Yes, Señor Varela? And if you might introduce yourself to the room?”

“Chavez Varela, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship. What about religion? What protections or restrictions does the Empire offer different religions?”

“An excellent question, Minister Varela. The simple answer is that the Ceresan Empire fully embraces freedom of religion. Anyone may worship who or what they please. However, there are some common-sense restrictions. Someone trying to force their religion on others is not allowed. ‘Situations’ involving those too young to legally consent, or free people of legal age who are forced or coerced into sexual or abusive situations are not allowed. And illegal acts are still illegal, no matter your religion, so if someone wanted to take part in some of the darker rites some religions hold, they would need to go to the Black Zones for that.”

I looked back at the representatives, and said, “As one might expect by the existence of aliens, there are plenty of other faiths out there, beyond just those developed on Earth. The Empire’s position is that a person’s personal belief is their own, and they’re entitled to them, so long as they don’t start interfering with other people’s rights. Eventually, more aliens will come to the Sol System, and they will bring their beliefs with them. They will be treated the same as any Earth-born religion will.”

I took a breath, and then said, “As far as protections or special status for different religions go, that is somewhat different. Religious organizations are not, by default, tax-exempt in the Empire. They may apply for tax-exempt nonprofit status, but they will need to abide by the same auditing standards as any other nonprofit. This is to prevent some of the historical issues that have come up in the past where some… more worldly individuals used religion to enrich themselves and those around them. The Empire fully supports a church using donations to maintain their facilities and help others in time of need. It does not, however, support a church using tax-free donations to ensure that their leaders live in luxury, which we all know has happened far too many times before.”

The military representative from Haiti raised a hand. When I nodded to him, he said, “Colonel Yonel Faustin, Hatian Aviation Corps. What about military integration with Ceresan forces?”

“Thank you, Colonel, for bringing that up. The countries that join the Empire will have their military forces folded into the Ceresan military. Individuals who choose to remain in uniform will keep their rank, but will be signing System contracts to prevent espionage or major corruption. They’ll also receive standardization training, ensuring proficiency with the new weapons, vehicles, and tactics we are bringing to the table.

“For ground forces, little will change, save for the fact that you have more resources for backup, if something happens. For naval forces, we will be upgrading any existing warships with kits we have developed for other allies, and building patrol craft like we’ve begun doing in Panama to patrol coastal waters for monsters or smugglers. As for the air? Well, that would become the Territory Defense Forces.

“The Territory Defense Forces are more of a regional military. We want to keep the ground forces as ‘local’ as possible, at least during the transition period, because I’m fully aware of what it would look like if a bunch of ‘outsiders’ started coming in and setting up garrisons. The Navy patrol craft will have home ports, once they’ve been decided, but their patrol routes will overlap and potentially cross current national maritime boarders. But each territory that the TDF covers will be based more on geographic area than national borders.

“Currently, we’ve marked Costa Rica, Panama, and Columbia all as one territory. Spread across that territory will be smaller air bases, where we’ll be stationing a total of fourteen combat squadrons. Eight of the Hunter ‘X-Wings’, three of the Interceptors people call ‘A-wings’, one squadron of Renegades, and two of the Thunderbolt bombers. The general idea is that if a territory is facing something that can’t be handled by that level of force, then they should have been calling for help long before then.

“Each territory will also have three squadrons of Outlaw-class craft, spread out across those bases to help support operations. One squadron each for the Transport, Military Shuttle, and Medevac options. This is in addition to whatever local logistics are in place.”

The adventurer representative from Chile raised a hand. “Ximena Elvira, Chilean Adventurers Guild. Can you tell us more about what these Medevac units can do?”

“Normally, they have all the life-saving functionality and capability of any medical emergency aircraft, combined with the flight capability and shields of a Renegade, though no weapons, obviously. On the ground, they can expand out to be the center of a rough field hospital or triage center, in case of mass casualty events or natural disasters. Combined with healing magic, there’s a good chance that anyone who lives long enough to make it to the Medevac will likely survive. Minus extreme cases like dealing with high-level poisons or curses which actively interfere with healing.”

I smiled as more hands raised. All these fish were on the hook, now I just needed to reel them in without scaring any of them off. And do it all while putting on the proper show for the observers, who just might become the third wave of additions to the Empire.