One unexpected result of having to use the smartpad as a ship interface was to realize that the ship had no name.
Coridians didn’t need to name the ships because they didn’t have to call out to them. They just mentally started thinking to it and perfect communication ensued. I did however need to address the ship and I had no idea what to call him (or her?).
I settled on the name Judy and she responded with a female voice so that was that.
There were only the four of us onboard which made the ship feel relatively large. There were six suites and even though we were really only using two of them it was nice to have someplace private to occasionally retreat to.
We were sitting at a rectangular table in the galley eating breakfast. Semi and Anzio were on one side of the table and Ashima was sitting next to me on the other side. Her bare leg had slid across and entwined with mine.
One of the most pleasant and unexpected surprises was how unbashful both ladies were when it came to clothing. They were never nude except in the privacy of their partner’s embrace but they had both mastered the art of wearing as little as possible and displaying their perfect physiques in as sexy a way as possible. Short-shorts, boyfriend shorts, thongs, lingerie, shortened midriff-exposing tank tops; the girls seemed fascinated with high heels. Semi came to dinner one evening in a long black backless gown that was split to her waistline. Anzio’s tux was the perfect complement and with their long-legged elegance I thought they must be the sexiest couple within ten parsecs (or light-years, or whatever).
I forced Ashima to admit one night that she and Semi had conspired to study-up on what Earthers deemed sexy. I won’t divulge my method of torture but I got a full confession of their plot to keep us menfolk constantly aroused. Did I mention that she was fun?
I don’t want to give the impression that I’d lost sight of our mission; if anything it was just the opposite. Anzio and I both felt as if we had the weight of the world on our shoulders and if you mix that metaphor with holding the fate of the planet in the palm of your hand you kinda-sorta understand how much pressure we were under. We needed all the distraction we could get and… Judy just informed me there would be a disco dance contest tonight on the observation deck immediately following dinner.
The four of us were sitting around a cocktail table in the observation lounge that four nights earlier had grown a dance floor and sprouted a mirrored disco ball. Memories of our leisure suits and line-dancing attempts still cracked me up. With the galactic vista serving as our ceiling, I was sitting back either drinking a non-alcoholic vodka tonic or my medical nano was keeping me sober. The only thing I was missing was a bowel of peanuts. It was the perfect opportunity to sit back and think out loud. At least that’s what I called it when a group of people are free to throw out ideas and together explore solutions to a challenge. You might call it masterminding or thought experiments or a bull session; the point was to get multiple perspectives on the issue.
“What would happen,” I asked. “If a Kiko society independently discovered faster than light travel?”
Semi responded first, “If you are asking whether that would qualify Earthers to become a dynasty the answer is ‘probably’ but you need to remember that it would be one group or culture that became the dynasty and they would need to then make Earth its protectorate.”
“I didn’t think that Earth was even close to that?” she concluded with a raised eyebrow.
“Well” I mused, “many times throughout history the greatest breakthroughs come out of nowhere. For example, if a certain physicist after being exposed to the wonders of the universe suddenly had a mental epiphany and was able to complete previously unsolvable equations…”
“It would not work Mark,” Semi said softly as Ashima placed her hand on my arm. “The math you would need has not yet been invented on your planet and our dynasty would be severely censored for giving you restricted technology. The Accord would immediately know we had helped you.”
“How would they know?” I stubbornly said.
“You have to trust us Mark,” interjected Ashima. “They would know.”
So much for different perspectives.
I didn’t for a moment sense that Semi or Ashima were trying to discourage or sabotage us. I felt they would truly help if they could. On the same token though I knew that deep down they believed Earth’s only option would be to accept Coridia’s offer of protection. They had several times tried to broach the subject of how to unify Earth so it could accept that Protectorship but Anzio and I had been of like mind not to discuss it.
Maybe it was time to change that.
“Look,” I said. “I am not in any way giving up on the idea of talking a Lower House into interceding on our behalf but I do think it would be prudent to have a backup plan. If it comes down to accepting a Protectorship or watching our cities destroyed we may have to pretend to go along—even if it’s just to buy some time.
“Ashima, if I understand what Semi’s been telling me then Earth would have to unite before we could officially accept—is that correct?”
“Yes Mark, Earth would have to speak with one voice.”
“One voice,” I repeated. “But that’s not the same thing as unanimous?”
“No of course not,” Semi replied. “We realize there will always be individual dissent—especially with what we know of Earthers. A dynasty however must have a reason to believe that the planet wants to cooperate—after all the dynasty is on the hook for the planet’s successful transition and will answer to The Accord if they fail.”
“But is it the dynasty’s decision that the planet must be united or is it a rule of The Accord?” I persisted.
Semi and Ashima looked at each other and were obviously accessing some database when Semi looked back to me and said, “Both.”
“So,” I continued. “If Noridia wants us to except their Protectorship they would have to give us some time to unite, right?”
“Yes,” Ashima responded. “But if it took too long you might not like their methods to speed up the process. Mark, if they were that close to success I could see them throwing strictures out the window and arming one nation well above all others. They might even get directly involved and simply assassinate all the world leaders except their chosen one. There is no underestimating how far they’d be willing to go to achieve this.”
“But it would still buy us some time,” I said. “And if the Noridians already thought we were making progress to a one-world government they might be inclined to let it progress naturally.”
I don’t think I’d ever seen Ashima close to tears and it startled me, but before I could say anything she said in a shaky voice, “Mark, forget for a moment what that would do to Coridia. Think about the fate of your people under Noridian rule, and for you personally, Mark. They could never let you live.”
I started to respond but Anzio raised his left hand in a signal for everyone to hold on—he would have raised both hands but Semi was holding tightly to his other.
“Ashima, Semi,” Anzio started. “Please understand that Mark is only trying to buy time for us. He is not suggesting that Earth truly become protectorate of Noridia, are you Mark?”
“No”, I said. “That is the furthest thing from my mind, but I’m not beyond letting them think we’re going to accept it. Especially if it would buy us a few months or years to figure out a better solution.”
“That would be a very dangerous game Mark,” said Ashima; “a game that Earth might not survive.”