Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) (69 page)

It was the administrator from Liclis that took her place.
Instead of walking up to the podium, she stood up from her seat. This was to be
an open discussion, not a presentation, and so there was no need for one person
to stand at the center. Once she had everyone’s attention, she began to speak.

“As no one here is asked to justify their way of life, we
in Liclis will not apologize for ours. The citizens of Liclis are hard-working
and law-abiding people who have made an investment to improve their condition
in life. We cannot simply order them to give up their legal property in
exchange for something that does not justly compensate them. As this discussion
continues, we hope that our ‘friends’ in Dnnac Ledo will be sensitive to this
fact.”

Ponix stood.

“We in Dnnac Ledo are aware of the economic situation in
Liclis; we regularly explain it to the Elven Preservation Society. We believe
that the technology we are willing to share will go far in reducing expenses by
the good citizens of Liclis: medical expenses, funeral expenses, disruption in
business due to mutation and monster attacks, and so on and so forth.”

“Latrot already provides those benefits to us and does not
ask that we give up our property,” the Liclis administrator replied.

“No, but it does ask you to give up your
sovereignty.
”

Everyone turned to stare at Annala, who was now standing.

“Subjugation Slaves comprise the bulk of your labor
force/working class. They’re in every industry from farming to retail and from
domestic servant to bottom level corporate. You receive ordercraft, both in
equipment and personnel, from Latrot, and they remain loyal to their king. You
haven’t homegrown your own ordercrafters since the Great Implosion of 1953.
Thus, he controls your labor, controls your economy, and is your de-facto
ruler.”

“If that were true,
young lady
, then you understand
why we cannot easily part with our slaves. Without them, we will not have
enough laborers to run our economy.”

Ponix snapped his fingers and the four-way screen turned back
on. It displayed crowds of humans, demons, beastfolk, meta breeds, and other
creatures standing outside government buildings in protest. Together, they
chanted, “Elves out now! Jobs for mortals! Elves out now! Jobs for mortals!”

Instead of addressing the film’s concerns, the administrator
said, “It is illegal to remove digital content taken in Liclis from Liclis,
either by external memory or broadcasting.”

“It
is
still in Liclis and I did not broadcast it,”
Ponix replied. “Rather, there’s a cable cord extending underground from a
device
inside
your borders to a device
outside
your borders, and
it’s broadcasted from
there
.”

The administrator paused for as long as deemed permissible
and said, “Our unemployment rate is unfortunate, but this video is a distortion
of the truth. Elves are simply better suited for heavy and/or hazardous labor
than humans because of their immortality. In a competitive job market, the
situation would remain the same, but incur greater overhead for small businesses
and thus greater costs for middle class families.”

The four-way switched a second time. It showed slaves of
many species working in the same dangerous conditions and wearing the same
collars as elves but in much greater numbers. Ponix himself, disguised as a
small business owner, talked with the real deal. They grumbled about the
expense involved with elven slaves and how so many were reserved as paid
escorts and assistants for business executives and government officials.

Again, the administrator paused to consider the proper
approach.

 “We are prepared to grant citizenship to a number of
elves in our holding in exchange for mana mutation treatment technology.”

“Are we talking full citizenship or the second class sort
given to your other minorities?”

“All citizens have equal standing in the court of law.”

 “But nowhere else, such as the job market, the
residential area, grocery store, etc.”

“Such claims are groundless, slanderous, and offensive.”

The four-way screen switched a third time. It showed
non-human races forbidden from applying to certain jobs, turned away from
certain houses, and restricted from certain areas of a grocery store, and thus
living with starvation and in squalid conditions.

“I will discuss full citizenship with my fellow
administrators.”

“Good! I hope full citizenship includes ‘passports.’”

“Then we have agreement in principle,” said the Liclis administrator.

“Yes, we do,” Ponix said. “We can haggle over the numbers
and details later.”

The both of them sat down.

Anich’s Chief Scholar Official stood up. “Headman Jade, if
I understand you correctly, Anich can establish ‘friendship’ with Dnnac Ledo by
curbing elven slavery?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“If we passed legislation that no one could purchase
new
elven slaves but retain any they already possess, could we be ‘friends’?”

“It would be a step in the right direction,” Headman Jade
said, “but we would need an impartial observer to ensure that the law is
enforced properly. Is a Noitearc priest acceptable?”

 “Yes, of course. We will contact the local monastery and
petition for their service.”

Najica’s dragon lord stood up and addressed the delegation
at large. Thanks to Dnnac Ledo's zerofinite technology, he was able to do so
without scraping his head on the ceiling.

“Most elven slaves in my country are owned by dragons such
as myself. We value their golden hair and the company of an immortal who won’t
steal our treasure. Thus, they are already well cared for. Do you agree,
Ambassador Enaz?”

“Yes, I’ve heard encouraging news from them,” Ponix said.
“I remember walking through your country one hundred years ago and the people I
met were polite and hospitable.”

“Thank you very much. I’m sure I can convince my fellow
dragons, with time, to adjust their relationship to something more…equal and
voluntary. In the meantime, it may be possible for the imperial treasurer to
simply purchase freedom for the few elves owned by non-dragons.”

The dragon sat back down but still towered over everyone.

Machican’s head of state stood up. “In mah country, it's
tradishunal t'brin' friends a gif' when yo' viset their homes on impo'tant
occashuns. Ambassado', Headman, aller me t'show yo' how much we value
friendship wif Dnnac Ledo.”

She snapped her fingers and the doors to the reception
hall opened wide. The clatter caught everyone’s attention. The elves gasped at
what they saw. Ten foreign elves stood in the doorway. The stark white skin
around their necks stood in sharp contrast with their tan bodies. They walked
straight to the Mahican delegate and said, “Thank you for freeing us.”

She shrugged modestly. “Whut in tarnation is friends fo'?”

The elves present were too stunned to speak. The delegates
grumbled about “political showboating” and “typical Mahican arrogance.” The head
of state herself turned her eyes and presence to the headman, who was quickly
crossing the gap between himself and the newcomers.

He welcomed them, assured them of their safety, and told
them that he would provide for anything they needed, from lodging to therapy to
transport home. He asked their names, their home villages, and shook their hands.
At last, he returned the Mahican head of state’s gaze.

“I’m sure Dnnac Ledo can arrange for a parting gift of
similar magnitude. Don’t you agree, Director Enaz?”

“Absolutely.”

“Ah hope Mahican will be fust in yer thunks when it comes
t'internashunal friendship an' gif' givin' in th' years t'come.”

“Indeed. We should exchange gifts frequently.”

The next several hours were not so exciting. The formal
rejection of Lunas’ Order Obelisk plan was sound. This was in part because he
was not present to argue for it and in part because no one wanted something
intrusive in their borders. Only Liclis voted for the measure and even she
voiced her concerns about it.

The spending cuts to the ICDMM passed unanimously. Every
nation present liked the sound of paying less to the organization and it was
especially appealing when its counterpart was offering more advanced technology.
Kallen wasn’t happy, because it ultimately meant a smaller paycheck and a
tighter belt for her, but she grinned and applauded like everyone else.

 Discussion became heated when the negotiations turned
back to the “friendship borrowing.” While it was easy to arrange broad and
vague agreements, when it came to details, arguments quickly brewed.

On one side, there was the technology. What to lease, how
much to lease, how long to lease, and the conditions for return were all
extensively debated but nothing was a bigger controversy than reverse
engineering and mass production. The elves refused to allow it for fear that it
would undermine their bargaining position and the non-elves demanded it because
one or two machines for an entire country was impractical.

On the other side was elven-slavery. First, there was “What
constitutes a slave”? Everyone pointed to Liclis as the only true slaver while
they themselves had “permanent servants” or “living treasure” or “pets.” One
even tried to claim that they were as good as family members. The point of this
was to prove that they didn’t need to
release
their slaves but rather
ensure humane treatment and rights that excluded self-determination. Then there
were arguments about the number to be released, the timing of the release, where
they would come from, compensation, etc.
Then
there were arguments about
the trade itself: whether to stop, how to stop, how to enforce, how to replace
its function in their economy, etc.

Just like in class so long ago, Annala paid close
attention and Eric struggled to keep up. Tiza nodded off.

To prevent tempers from flaring too hotly, the Supreme
Council arranged for interludes; breaks to relax and soak up elven culture. At
these times, dancers, singers, and poets took the stage. While the delegates
watched, they were served chocolate produced by the Chocolatier Stone and local
specialties teleported to their seat. Then the discussions continued.

Zaticana’s blessing enabled all of them to comprehend each
other’s language as their own, but despite this, they still didn’t understand
each other. They talked in circles and repeated offers rejected in earlier
sections of the talk. For this reason, Annala and Quando were essential to the
progress made.

 Both of them had lived in human cities and so they could
better understand mortals, both on an emotional and practical level. Even
Ponix, whose job was to relate to humans, didn’t have the same experience as
living with them and like them for months and months and months. Elves knew
that mortals required daily food to live, but they didn’t understand how preoccupied
mortals could be with it; “I have to eat or I will die” was an alien thought to
elves because food was not so necessary. They could translate this to their
chaotic brethren and then back again.

Annala’s widespread knowledge gave her insight into each
culture. She quoted their philosophers, recited their laws, and used their
metaphors
correctly
. Once she grabbed someone’s attention, his or her
eyes repeatedly drifted to the double chokers. When it became blatant, she
would smile and assure them that her mother didn’t know how to remove the
ordercraft one.
“Yet
” was left unspoken.  

 Quando had traveled to each culture in the past and this
gave him a different insight. Unlike Annala, he was an adult, but at the same
time, he was not so old that he thought of adult mortals as children. He knew
what it meant to be a bureaucrat, work nine to five, and pay bills. He also
completed Rank A missions for all of them and the locals were still grateful
for his heroics. Equally important, he did not fight in the Conversion War, so
he did not possess the same kind of baggage as a famous warrior like Meza.

Thanks to Annala and Quando, misunderstandings were
avoided and poor communication prevented. Of the nations that didn’t make
deals, some were still working on details to finalize ones in the future.
Others refused outright.

 “My country shall wait and see what happens to the three
reformed monsters, I mean,
modern demons
,” said the
podesta
from
Yun-kee. “Once we are sure that the treatment has no serious side-effects, we
will be open to negotiations.”

“What sort of side-effects are you concerned about?” Nunnal
asked, smiling tightly.

“Nausea, cramps, rashes,
regression into the monster
mindset;
that sort of thing. I’d appreciate it if the review was conducted
by a third party.”

“Of course,” Nunnal said. It was so polite and restrained
that Eric shivered. “That’s the only way to be sure.”

Tension; cold tension filled the room. Everybody knew what
the Yun-Kee
podesta
referred to and why it was a sore point for Nunnal
but no one wanted to say it. Thus, they didn’t say anything and the talks
stalled.

“Butchin Tragedy!” Nolien blurted. “Nunnal worked with Harry
Butchin and caused a tragedy! Boo hoo!”

Everyone was startled by this strange outburst and his
family most of all. Once he had their attention, he clamped a hand over his
mouth. Seconds later, he removed it and said, “Sorry. I’m fresh off my recovery
and so I sometimes forget social etiquette. This means I blurt things out that
are inappropriate. Miss Selios, you’ve been a demon for the better part of a
decade, so can you tell me if this will keep happening to me?”

“It’s too early to know if our cases will be the same, but
I have been sane, sapient, and safe since the first month or so of my
recovery.”