Dark Fate, Chapter 202

Chapter 202 – Moving Fast

After my ‘working lunch’, I had to return to actual work. Being king was great, but if I was going to be anything other than a figurehead, I needed to actually do the work required to run a country. And I had no desire to be a figurehead. Which was why I was now in a meeting with some of my advisors.

“So, what do we have?”

Slave-Commissioner Sun Zhihao, the head of my civil administration bureaucracy, bowed his head respectfully, and said, “My King, we currently have a permanent population on Ceres of 3.2 million people. Projected to grow to four million within the year. However, we are quickly reaching the ‘normal’ population cap for Ceres as a whole. I know that there are systems in place to allow us to temporarily house up to twelve million on Ceres, but it would be best if we did not reach that point.”

He took a breath, and said, “Fortunately, Stage 1 construction on the Ganymede colony is set to begin shortly. In six months, we believe we can start sending the first colonists there, eventually building the moon up into a larger population center, before we start reaching the maximum population limits of Ceres.”

“Very good,” I nodded. “Any ‘problem children’ I should be aware of?”

“No major problems. Some people needing time for adjustment, of course. However, the contracts to enter Ceres are still effective at curtailing the worst sorts of trouble before they begin, and the Black Zones are proving quite effective in reducing crime in the other zones. Meanwhile, Judicial Duel rates are down from the initial spike, but there haven’t been any complaints heard by the administrators.”

“Working as intended, then,” I grinned. “Too many countries make the mistake of trying to stamp down on the worst impulses of their people. All that does is bottle it up, and eventually, things explode. The Black Zones let people live on the edge, if they like, or enjoy their pleasures, no matter how sick and depraved they might be, with the knowledge that others might turn and take similar pleasures at their expense, if they go too far, or lose themselves.

“At the same time, the Judicial Duels allow people who might normally be powerless seek redress against those who wrong them. Those who think that, because someone is in a ‘service’ position means they are inferior and can be bullied, quickly discover that those workers, even the slaves, are not as powerless as they might seem. It encourages people to seek other outlets to satisfy their need to feel superior to people.

“Of course, all of this is possible because there are plenty of opportunities for those in difficult situations to advance. Even if they don’t have the strength to join the military or become an adventurer, there are paths out of poverty for those who choose to take them, which means those who remain in the Black Zones and other such areas are there because they choose to be, on some level. Which means there aren’t the same types of desperation as you might see in slums on Earth, where people can be trapped in a cycle of poverty, with little hope of getting out.”

“Indeed, your Majesty. I will admit that I was skeptical, at first, but the results speak for themselves. Even on Earth, there have been changes, according to reports I have seen from my homeland. The new job of ‘adventurer’ has eliminated many social and economic pressures, despite the large loss of life since the Initialization.”

“Actually, your Majesty,” cut in another advisor, Luisa Morillo, who was my Venezuelan-born Minister of Foreign Affairs, “the rise of ‘adventurers’ as a profession is causing motion on some of the other concerns you asked me to monitor. We just had a formal request from Luz Cortés, the Foreign Minister for Panama. He wishes to talk about formally joining the Kingdom of Ceres.”

That brought me up short, and I focused all my attention on the woman. “Really? It is a bit soon for any of the nations who spoke with me during the UN assembly to have made that kind of decision. And I would have thought the first would be one of the central African nations. You say this had something to do with adventurers?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “Panama is in a troubled position. They lost just over a million people during the Initialization, and since much of the country is mountainous, there are a lot of high-level monsters in the area, while making travel to dungeons difficult. And, because of the sea routes and the canal, they have to worry about high-level aquatic monsters, as well. Making matters worse, much of their economy was practically destroyed by the initialization.”

“Because of the canal? I didn’t think the disruption to trade was that severe, after the first few months.”

“No, though that didn’t help matters. The real issue is the way the tourism industry was affected. Tourism accounted for over 80% of Panama’s GDP before the Initialization. They’ve done what they can to try and recover, but they are bleeding money year on year. The only reason they haven’t failed completely, yet, is because tourist areas suffered the most deaths, and trade through the canal is managing to keep the government limping along. However, if Panama becomes a failed state…”

I nodded, not needing to have the consequences of that spelled out. “Then the best-case scenario is one of their neighbors, either Costa Rica or Colombia, taking over. But I doubt either of them are particularly enthused with the expenses that would entail, or the administrative costs.”

“Precisely. And more than one person is concerned that, if something happens, countries like the United States or China would use it as a pretext to invade, and take over the country in order to secure the canal, and ensure that trade keeps flowing. Likely resulting in Panama either being a puppet state, or a colony, instead of an independent nation.”

“So, where do the adventurers come in?”

“The only ones who can reliably move around the country right now are Adventurers, given the state of things. The transports the Panamanian government wanted to buy would help things, but only so much. Because of this, Adventurers are in de facto control of the in-country economy and security. There is concern that if the government doesn’t listen to what the adventurers are saying, then some key provinces may split, with the adventurers becoming effectively feudal lords. If that happened in, say, Veraguas province, it would completely split the country in two.”

“And, let me guess, the adventurers suggested joining Ceres?”

“Well, it was more of a compromise. The Adventurers were adamant that change needed to happen, and the government was looking for a way to do that which didn’t involve civil war, financial ruin, or becoming a colony of one of the major powers.”

“So, they decided on becoming, what, a colony of Ceres?”

Morillo chuckled. “Ceres is a new player, your Majesty. Even if all of us were part of older countries before, there isn’t the same kind of baggage there. Especially when you consider the US or European powers, and their colonial reign in South America. And getting absorbed by one of the other major players, like China or Russia, would simply have them be used in proxy fights with those other powers, and they know it.”

“Plus,” Sun added, “if they get in ‘on the ground floor’, as some call it, then they can, perhaps, ensure that they get a better deal than they would if they were the fourth or fifth to the table.”

“That, too,” Morillo nodded.

I took a moment to consider this. Going straight for annexation would probably cause all sorts of trouble. I wasn’t kidding when I said that I expected one of the other ‘third world’ countries to be the ones to ask to join Ceres, first. But, if Panama went my way, then there was a good chance that much of Central and South America would go the same, especially if I didn’t act like a dick about things.

“Options?”

Morillo shrugged her shoulders. “Really, there’s only a few choices. The first, and worst, is to reject them. Not only will that spoil relations in the area, and make it look as though we are either unreliable or weak, but it will encourage one of those other powers to make a move, and potentially destabilize things on the global stage. The only win for Ceres, in that case, is that there’s no blood on our hands, when that inevitably leads to fighting.”

“Yes, we can safely rule that out, I think.”

She nodded, and continued, “The second option would be to take them on as a colony or managed territory. The problem is that, regardless of how things go, animosity will eventually spread. Anything good will shine upon local leaders, and anything bad will, in the end, be evidence of Ceres failing to live up to their end of the bargain, especially if they have little control over their own affairs. It would not take long before we are as ‘well regarded’ as the Americans in the region, I fear.”

“The third option would be to take them on as a full part of the Kingdom of Ceres, though they would, rightfully, expect more of a say in Kingdom affairs, if that was the case, since they would, as a block, comprise roughly half of our population. We would have to create some sort of parliament, in the long run, to manage such things, unless we want to give more local control to the governors.

“This option is the one I personally support. We can more easily adjust the structure of the kingdom now, while it is young, and also firmly set precedence for things moving forward. And, treating them as equals, even when they’re coming to you as they are, would win a respectable amount of good will from people, making you appear different to other colonizers.”

I considered it for a moment, before speaking. This was going to change things moving forward, after all. Not a time for snap judgements. “This would mean changing the Kingdom of Ceres into the Ceresan Empire. However, I wish to avoid making any of the mistakes that the empires on Earth made. I will not become a figurehead, ruling in name only.”

I paused again, thinking hard about what I was going to do. I even stopped to look up a few facts on a tablet, to properly frame what I wanted. “Minister Morillo, speak with Minister Cortés once more. Tell him that We will agree to the country of Panama joining with the Kingdom of Ceres to become the unified sovereign state of the Ceresan Empire. The Kingdom of Ceres shall be the personal fief of the King of Ceres, and as both King and Emperor, I will be the head of state for both the Kingdom and Empire. Ceresan Law shall be the supreme law of the land, but local matters shall be dealt with by the Governor appointed by the Emperor, and the Assembly, chosen by the people. The Panamanian Public Forces shall remain responsible for internal security, however elements of the Ceres Royal Navy and Ceres Royal Army will have bases in the area, to provide more support in case of military needs.

“Upon agreement, Ceres shall send technicians to help create shuttles which will improve communication and travel through the country, as well as working to upgrade the weapons, armor, and vehicles of the military so that they are in line with the rest of their comrades in arms. As for helping to stabilize the economy, Ceres will aid Panama by helping to retrain those who are no longer able to earn a living in the tourism or service industry, allowing people to learn crafting professions or take up new classes, to help with adventuring. The military will be recruiting, as well, since there will be need for more hands to effectively tame corridors of wilderness between cities.”

Morillo bowed her head. “I understand, your Majesty. What of the Adventurers who effectively run much of the country?”

“The smart ones will understand that with Ceres coming into the picture, their ability to carve out fiefdoms from isolated areas has vanished. The idiots will do as idiots always do, and then be made examples of. It is my personal wish that the adventurers will, instead, channel their energies into getting stronger, helping to clear new routes to connect places, and in delving dungeons, to see what riches and resources might be found.”

“Appealing to their greed, Majesty?” Sun asked.

“In part,” I nodded. “The sort of people who become adventurers roughly fall into two camps. Either they seek wealth and power, whether for greed, desperation, or simply because they have no better options, or they are seeking challenges, because they have an urge to prove themselves, and to grow stronger. Most are somewhere between those two, obviously, but those are the basic motivations of an adventurer. Appeal to those motivations, and then give them the possibility of traveling to other areas, seeing other dungeons? That is the best way to gain their support, in the long run. Just have to watch to make sure there aren’t any snakes with delusions of grandeur in the mix, or ensure that they are ‘corrected’ early on, if not removed from the equation altogether.”

“I understand, my King.”