NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/st_pierre_and_miquelon.jpg/ http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/knootoss.jpg

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Schiphol international airport
Dutch Democratic Republic of Knootoss
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The sun had just risen over Knootoss and the first rays of light were playing over the unruly waves of the North Sea when the guests from Taraldanorë arrived. Grand Duke Immanuel and Grand Duchess Corrina, the father and mother of the High Queen of the Danaan High Kingdom of the Resurgent Dream arrived for the first ever visit of a TRD representative to the Dutch Democratic Republic.

As they got off the plane they were welcomed by the traditional playing of the national anthems. The Prime Minister and a delegation of cabinet ministers were waiting for them on the red carpet. Government buildings along the route to the palace in The Hague flew both the Knootian and TRD flags to commemorate the occasion.

The Noordeinde Palace in the heart of the city had been prepared for the state-visit, sparkling once again in all of its old magnificence and splendour. By now it was evidently superior even to its original time of Golden Age mercantile glory.

http://homepage.residentie.net/~schram-12/paleis.jpg

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Noordeinde Palace
The Hague
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Corrina and Immanuel entered arm in arm. Both were sidhe and had the loveliness of that people. Corrina's jet black hair swept past her elegantly pointed ears while Immanuel wore his brown hair short, almost in the human style. The Knootian Prime Minister Lady Galadriël Táralóm nos Círdan was dressed in a fitted bodice with scooped neckline, and medium-sized puffed sleeves, as well as a full length skirt that still allowed for full mobility. For the occasion she wore her black hair up in a bun fairly high on the head, completed by small elvish ornaments. She led the couple into a main reception hall where the doors were opened by servants clad in formal attire while, at the same time, the guards in their parade uniforms presented their ceremonial sabres to the visitors.

"Welcome to my humble abode", the elf said. Corrina grinned brightly. "You have a lovely home, Lady." Galadriël nodded. "Thank you, Grand Duchess” she replied. "It is very unfortunate indeed that the privilege of living here only comes with the job, but I make the best of it while it lasts." Galadriël had always been a little jealous of hereditary leaders, something not in the least kindled by Mephet`rans whispers of making her a Queen.

Another door leading out of the reception hall was opened. "Could I offer you some refreshments?", she asked inquiringly. Corrina nodded. "I'll have an iced tea please." Immanuel smiled. "Cider, if it's not an imposition." The elf nodded in the direction of a servant standing next to a well-stocked wine closet in the next room while invitingly offering the couple two chairs at a very long table standing in the centre of a large room. The walls of this room were filled with huge Golden Age paintings, portraying scenes of epic fleet battles, wealthy patricians posing with their friends, as well as happy green Dominion landscapes. "Just a wine for me please", the elf said.

They three of them sank elegantly into their seats. Corrina crossed her legs gracefully beneath her flowing gossamer gown. The man poured a glass of Cider for the Grand Duke. He bowed a little as he put it on the table, and then went off to get an iced tea for the Grand Duchess. Immanuel took his glass, sipping delicately. "Thank you."

"I am very honoured to receive you here today", the elf began. "I understand this is the first Royal visitl to Knootoss from the Danaan High Kingdom in all of history. A milestone, to be sure" Corrina smiled. "It is. We are, however, very open to increased contact with the world at large, mostly my daughter's doing." Galadriël returned the smile. "Well, I for one am most happy to receive you. We have always had very warm relations with the nations of Tareldanorë and I am very pleased with an opportunity to extend those relations. I hope you'll find that Knootoss is a place where people of all kinds meet." Immanuel nodded. "I had noticed that. We are rather used to diversity at home as well."

"Yes, yes, truly astounding how your society is racially diverse while still managing to avoid the unpleasant side-effects this sometimes has", she said nodding.” Corrina frowned lightly. "There have been some...side effects." The elf tilted her head slightly, having been unaware of this and mildly embarrassed at this possible faux pass. Immanuel shook his head. "Not that we need dwell on such things." For a moment there was a silence before the elf replie: "True enough". The waiter then came to Galadriëls rescue, offering the Grand Duchess her glass of ice tea while putting down a glass of wine before the Knootian Prime Minister
Corrina took her glass, sipping. "Superb." The waiter bowed and left, leaving the three with some privacy.

Immanuel smiled lightly. "I'm given to understand much of your land is actually below sea level." This question on home territory was something Galadriël could handle better. "Yes, it is in fact", she replied. "Most of it has been reclaimed from the seas by building dykes and pumping out the water using windmills or electric mills. The Knootians have become quite adept at it, in fact, and in the few centuries that have been here the nation has more then doubled in size. The bottom of the sea has very arable land." Corrina looked off thoughtfully for a moment. "Queen Elizabeth has pondered doing something similar in Fireforge." The elf replied with genuine interest: "Fascinating. If we can be of service... Knootoss has its own land-winning 'industry' if you will. I'm sure they can give technical assistance to such projects." Immanuel nodded. "I'll make sure to put you in touch with Her Majesty of Fireforge. Though, we are, of course, interested in commerce on all levels."

"I understand. Well, perhaps we could agree to open formal relations. Exchange embassies, allow trade and such. If you wish to confirm commercial ties with us and other nations there is always the KIST treaty. Perhaps the ministry of Economic Affairs sent you some information regarding this?" Though she had no knowledge about what the ministry had sent, she was familiar with the way they always tried to sell the treaty like door-to-door salesmen. This meant there was a pretty good chance that they had, in fact, received something. Immanuel shifted slightly but smiled politely. "You will forgive us if we are not prepared to sign any treaties at this early stage, especially as we are already signatories to the TNA treaty. However, an exchange of embassies and the opening of trade would be quite amenable." "I see," she murmured trying to hide her dissapointment. "Well, the two are not at all mutually exclusive. In fact, several TNA signatories hold double membership. We ourselves have not yet positioned ourselves towards it but we are in the process of doing do. I understand your position though. So we can agree to that without any problem." She now took a sip from her own wine.

Immanuel inclined his head. "So you have other relations in Tareldanorë?” Galadriël put down her glass. "Many. In fact, I would consider it one of our key regions ever since we first got involved in the South Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Nowadays we are signatories to the VERITAS treaty, which also holds many of your regions members. Traditionally we have been allied with Menelmacar and Lavenrunz" - she politely let out the recent incident in Tanah Burung - "And have had superb relations with New York and Jersey. In fact, they give us extensive military aid in exchange for economic support. Our alliance with Etaros is an inheritance from our initial closeness with Lietuveska. Dealings with Aelosia and others have always been positive as well… so I guess one could say we are practically in your region if not for the location", she said with a smile. Then she realised it might be a bit impetuous. "Of course, I mean not to protrude myself.", she said blushing, "I mean only to say that our dealings were always most amicable."

Corrina laughed lightly. "I guess one could say so. We have historically been hesitant to enter multilateral alliances so we cannot give such an impressive list of memberships, though we are in the Pact of Uinen with Menelmacar and the Pact of Hera with Akaton."
"An understandable position, considering how tumultuous the ebb and flow of international relations can be", she said understanding. "It is a position Knootoss could never afford to have, given our dependency on foreign lands. So we took vulnerability and turned it into virtue." Immanuel tilted his head lightly. "Dependency?"
"Mostly economic", the elf assured. "Ever since the first Republic declared independence from Lavenrunz it has been a very open economy, dependent on foreign trade. Today this is still true. It gives Knootians a very high standard of living, obviously, as well as much expertise in the area of international trade. Having extensive ties is the only way to guarantee stable markets for ones goods." Immanuel nodded. "Markets are very important...or so I've been told."

"I do apologise if I am boring you with tedious economic discourse", Galadriël replied apologetically. Corrina waved her hand. "Non-sense. It's merely that nobles do not directly participate in trade in the Danaan High Kingdom traditionally." This caused the Lady/Prime Minister to break into a smile. "Well, I was in fact a businesswoman for over a century before taking this job", she said, "Obviously our traditions differ in that regard." She eyed the empty glasses of her guests. "But perhaps I could invite you for a tour of the palace? I may not be the official tour guide but there are some very interesting paintings that you might enjoy." They both grinned very brightly. Corrina answered for both. "That would be wonderful."

Galadriël led the way into a hallway which had a bright light shining from a high window on the left, casting a beam down on a large and elaborate painting which was dominated by various blue tints; the dark-blue water of the North Sea was dominant in the painting, breaking a contrast with the grey stormy air which had light shining through brightly at several spots – as if they had been stabbed from above with knives. "This work depicts the battle of Texel." Galadriël explained as she pointed more closely at a large 17th century ship with Knootian flags that took centre-stage, firing two broadsides at once at two opposing ships with more triangle-shaped sails. When Corrina looked closer she noticed that the large Knootian flag behind the golden-clad stern of the ship had a red lion on it instead of the Dutch word she had noticed on the modern flag. "It is one of the struggles of our golden age, a victory for the Republic. It was commissioned by the Knootian East India Company and later given over to the Stadtholders. Nowadays it is in public possession. You might notice how the way the light plays with the clouds is something picked up from Dominion painters", she stopped, turning around to look at her guests. As Corrina and Immanuel took in the paintings, they seemed to glow brightly for a long moment, grinning. This mildly surprised Galadriel, but her eyes could have been deceiving her. Corrina spoke first. "I think it is beyond lovely." Galadriel smiled appreciatively in response. "Well, this is a depiction of warfare. Such paintings are, in fact, quite rare. Most works of the time focussed instead on mercantile exploits, landscapes, portraits and still lives. A few examples are in the next room, if you'd care to follow me?" They both nodded and moved to follow the Elf.

They went past another painting depicting a land battle in more medieval style, two sides charging at each other with cavalry with oversized flags with lions on them on lances. Infantry was approaching one-another from the flanks on hillsides. Galadriël did not stop for this particular painting, however. Immanuel arched a brow slightly as she walked past it but said nothing. The next room was much larger and brighter, mostly because of carefully arranged artificial light. Combined with the wooden browns of the wall this light shone in a golden haze. The paintings on the right side were all portraits of men, either clad in black or in richly decorated armour -often on horses - while the other side displayed various landscapes and seascapes. Corrina and Immanuel continued to glow, looking at this paintings intently as well. The elf made a wide gesture to the right. "These are the Stadtholders of the United Provinces, beginning with Prince William of Knootcap (http://www.fredvogels.org/images/WilliamKnootcap.JPG) who led the revolt against Lavenrunz up to Prince Jan III of Knootcap who had to flee from the Angstian invasion in 1800. William, Maurice, Hugo, Gozewijn and Jan one two and three", she summed up." They both nodded at the many princes, taking them all in, noticing that the Stadtholders were generally getting fatter and more complacent-looking as they progressed in history. Immanuel frowned thoughtfully for just a moment. "The Stewards have their own chamber. Corrina inclined her head. "Of course."

"Now this is special", she said moving to the other side with the landscapes. Amidst paintings of evergreen lands with windmills and cities predominant, and broad seascapes with mighty ships sailing on and off was a very much oriental picture. A small hut in the jungle under a tropical sun with farmland gave the entire scene an idyllic glow. Very ‘Tempo Dulu’, as a Knootian would put it. "This is an East Indies picture. From the romantic period, obviously." Corrina nodded, grinning. "Very much so." The Knootian Prime Minister paused for a moment. "Yes. I'm afraid some in Tanah Burung are not as welcome anymore", she said with some regret. Both Corrina and Immanuel went awkwardly silent at the mention of Tanah Burung. Noting this painful silence, Galadriël continued "But still, it is an image we cherish in our hearts. Despite the current troubles with terrorist groups. My minister is in Pantocratoria at this very moment to try and find a solution and I can say that I have the utmost confidence in him. Shall we move on?", she suggested. Corrina nodded. "We shall."

They moved on into a smaller section of the palace, which had coffee tables standing in the middle with luxurious French-styled chairs around them. A servant stood there silently, waiting to attend to any of the needs of the guests. The room was an obvious antechamber to the previous section, being much smaller and cosier. “This is the Stewards chamber", Galadriël pointed out as both her guests looked around curiously. Indeed, the room was dominated by three paintings. "It is quite charming." Corrina commented. “Thank you", Galadiël replied. "This is Steward Marc-Alexander (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Marc-Alexander_of_Knootcap)" - she pointed to a figure of a bearded man in a colourful uniform, looking down benevolently upon them. "And this is Maurice (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Maurice_of_Knootcap)" - a younger man in a 19th century generals uniform - "and finally Amalia (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Amalia_of_Knootcap), last of the House.” This picture was especially striking, portraying a frail young woman in snow-white clothing in an almost angelic backdrop. Instead of looking down on the guests in the room she gazed dreamily in the distance. Immanuel smiled. "They seem great men."
"They were, in their own ways", Galadriël commented as she looked at Amalia warily for a moment. "I arrived here in Knootoss during their reign. The House of Knootcap was very diverse - but the stewards gave it new life - a new sense of purpose if you will, before it fell. Especially to Marc-Alexander we owe much."

She turned to Immanuel, taking advantage of the fact that they were in a coffee room: "There are many more paintings in the Noordeinde collection but I should not wish to tire the Grand Duchess and yourself. If you'd like something else to drink or if there is something else I can do?" her voice trailed.
Immanuel smiled lightly. "Not beyond your charming company, lady."
"And for you, Grand Duchess?"
"Iced tea, if you please."
Galadriël nodded in the direction of the servant, who went off to fetch another Iced Tea. "It is a lovely gallery." Immanuel said. "Thank you Sir," the Lady replied. "There is one thing though, and I beg you to forgive the importunity..." she paused for a moment. "but you both seemed to be... glowing.. just now." Corrina grinned. "It's the lovely art." Galadriel raised an eyebrow - evidently not understanding. Immanuel nodded. "Very nourishing."
"I...", she began, stopping short of letting her jaw drop. "Nourishing?" Corrina nodded. "Extremely. Beautiful paintings."
"But... how?", she asked herself - somewhat shocked at having spoken this question out loud in the presence of her guests. Immanuel smiled again. "The creative energy in all works of art." The elf nodded, something began to dawn on her. "Aaah. Is this some aspect of Sidhe physiology? I must admit to not being terribly familiar with your, uhm, species. I do beg forgiveness if the question is prying - I mean no harm with it." Corrina laughed a little. "No, no, it's fine."
"Well, please, do sit down", she invited. After her guests had taken their seats she, too, sat down and leant back hoping for an explanation. They sat easily, nestling comfortably back in their seats. They seemed to think they'd explained. "But... how does this process work?", she pressed tentatively.
"Magic." Corrina replied.
"I see", the Knootian said in turn. "I only know of the magic of my own people. It is generally more modest - except of course in a few cases such as the Lady Sirithil. Also, it is new to me that magic power could be drawn from human creations. Its fascinating"
"There are human mages, you know?" Corrina commented.
"I am aware of some of them existing in other lands", she said nodding. "However they are fairly rare here. In fact, I've never met a native Knootian practicing magic. It seems to be an art lost on them. And, I'm afraid to admit, an art I have been neglecting myself."
Corrina smiled a little. "We are...made of creation, so to speak, or of creative energies, at least."
"Your magic?", she wondered, "or your entire being?"
"My entire being."
"Fascinating", she whispered. Meanwhile the servant arrived to present the Grand Duchess her iced tea. Corrina took it with a smile, sipping daintily. "Is there more you would know?"
"I would not know where to begin..." she said. "So many possible questions arise."
Immanuel nodded. "Begin at the beginning."
"Creative energies would be natural energies I suppose. Yet you have taken physical form. I've never met a manifestation of creative energy who drinks Iced Tea", she said casting a smile to the Duchess. "Now you have." Corrina replied gently.
"But how did your people come into being then?", she asked eagerly.
Immanuel smiled slightly. "We are descended from the Tuatha de Danaan." Galadriel smiled, hoping for a little more. "Who ruled the world before it was broken. Lugh, Brigidh, Ceirdne, and many more,” Corrina added. Galadriël hummed, causing Immanuel to tilt his head and ask for a pardon. "Very interesting", Galadriël said. "I should read up on the history of your people." Corrina nodded. "We could arrange for you to have some books."
"That would be lovely", she replied. "I would be ever so grateful."

The second day of the state visit saw the Royal couple visiting some of the storm surge barriers that protected the south from the sea. The helicopter touched down on a helipad next to a huge wall separating the sea from a mouch calmer area behind it. A high-rising wall with various towers guarded the land like the Great Wall once guarded an ancient empire from marauding barbarians.The sea was unruly, and waves bashed against the barrier as if trying to break in. But it stood there, unmovable.Accompanying the couple this day was the Knootian minister of Economic Affairs Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst - an elderly member of the Social Liberal Party who, being in his late seventies, was one of the oldest human Knootians around. Gently he reached out to support Corrina as she got out of the helicopter. Corrina disembarked with a light smile to the man. "Why thank you." Immaneul hopped casually down after.

The wind blew fiercely in an easterly direction, carrying with it the salty taste of seawater that soon settled on everyones lips. Holding on to his Jacket Brinkhorst presented the view of the unruly North Sea and the huge dam guarding the land behind. "The Gamma works" He said simply.

"It is quite lovely." Corrina commented. "I'm sure Queen Elizabeth would love to see this."

The Knootian smiled. This was probably the first time anyone referred to the megalomane project as 'lovely'.

Corrina just grinned at him. "You are listening to a woman dealing with something of a land shortage."

"Heh, I'm sure she would love to gain a lot of land like this. But these are actually mostly for protection against storms. This storm surge barrier has moveable gates protecting the area from flooding. The landwinning practices are usually far more conventional, as you can see on the horizon." He pointed into the distance. They both turned, looking off into the distance. At what seemed like the very edge of the earth was a thin line of green that consistently drew itself across the horizon like a ruler that had been put there to measure the landscape, seemingly fading into the sea at the edges of their vision. In front of green line were hundreds of white poles that seemed thin like lucifers from this distance, only these came in great numbers, with spinning heads. A grand windmillpark at sea.

Immanuel tilted his head. "Those power the dikes?"

"No," the minister said with a laugh, "but they power the city that lies there in the North Sea - about seven metres below sea-level. The dyke you see in the distance protects one of the most modern projects we have, but it is still largely made of sands and klay."

Corrina smiled a little. "I'm no engineer but..."The minister looked attentively, ready to answer any question."It seems quite impressive."

Brinkhorst nodded in appreciation. "Thank you, Grand Duchess. It is one of the things my people take pride in."

She smiled a little. "Can we get a closer view?"

"Of course. We can take the helicopter or we could walk the storm barrier."

Immanuel grinned. "Let's walk."

The three strolled down the helipad and onto the small path next to the causeway that ran alongside the Storm surge barrier, soon passing the first tower. They were followed by various personnel seeing to it that the needs of the visitors were met as well as two Knootian water-engineers who had been drummed up to provide comment if needed. "Mind windswipes!" one of the engineers warned. "They can be sudden - and people have drowned in the past when they did not take good care"

Corrina looked at him curiously. "Windswipes?"

The engineer obviously was not as proficient in English as most Knootians were, and attempted to fix this problem by speaking more loudly and with many hand gestures: "Yes. The wind can blow very hard suddenly, at very high speeds. Enough to blow a person into the water." His hands gestured wildly as he acted out the person (left hand) being blown over the dyke (right hand, in a vertical position)

Corrina nodded. "Thank you. I wouldn't want to die again quite so soon."

"Again, Madam?" the rather plump and all together too jovial engineer said with a frown. The minister glared at the engineer for the wholly improper use of titles but the man did not seem to notice.

"Yes, again. I died only two years ago. I frankly don't know how I moved so quickly along the Silver Path."

"I see", he said jovially, "I didn't know we had visitors from another planet, madam. You sure don't look just two years young."

Brinkhorst facepalmed, if not physically then mentally, and interjected, "Perhaps you could tell our guests a little bit about the dyke project." Corrina opened her near perfect mouth, then shut it, speechless.The engineer began to blather about technical details and construction history, citing small anecdotes about composite materials and other trivialities. As he spoke Brinkhorst caught up with Corrina and smiled apologetically. Corrina shook her head a little, smiling. Brinkhorst made a note to apologize later, and was mostly concerned with his guests as he pretended to listen to the engineer talking about the future possibilities of adding translucent composite materials to existing dykes for added protection. Corrina and Immanuel nodded, despite having no idea what he was talking about. "Perhaps you could show us how one of the valves open and close", the minister suggested - finally tiring of the mindless babbling. The group had just reached one of the towers that were part of every valve, and with a jovial nod he went into them as the minister directed his guests near the railway above the valve. "I do apologize for just now", he said. "Mr. Dijkstra is a brilliant engineer... but..."

Corrina held up a hand as she walked. "It's quite alright, I assure you."

Inside the little tower the man was pushing some buttons and handles and below the group one of the valves started to open and the seawater - which was bashing against the impenetrable wall everywhere - started to gush into an opening below like drained bathwater. Corrina leaned forward, trying to see where it was going. On the opposite side of the causeway, water started to gush in as the result of the level there being lower at the time.Immanuel gestured his wife that way, suppressing a small laugh. "The water flow can be controlled in this way", the minister explained as he also turned in the opposite direction.

Immanuel pondered. "Could you just keep building these out indefinitely?"

"Unfortunately not", the minister explained, "first of all there is the problem with changing the water flow if there are huge changes. Existing rivers, gulf streams etcetera are all problems. There are also technical limitations with regards to the depth we can build in, obviously, and the capacity for pumping things dry. This requires huge mills and there are only so many that can be built - obviously - to keep things dry. All in all", he summarized, "We cannot pump dry oceans, but making land out of bays or more shallow water is no problem. We can also control the sea if it is done in small pieces - with the aid of the latest technology."

"How much of Knootian land comes from this process?" Immanuel asked.

"The majority", the minister replied. "I do not know exact numbers, but a great deal of land was originally water. Of course, Knootoss would be a salty swampland if not for human intervention."

Corrina nodded. "Amazing...truly..."The water level at the other side of the causeway was now beginning to rise, slowly, and the valve of the dyke was beginning to make sounds associated with the strain of metal. Brinkhort gestured to the tower to close the valve, which was reciprocated with a thumbs up and a wink from Dijkstra. Slowly the valve closed and the water stopped gushing. Corrina nodded, grinning still. "This might prove useful."

"Well, we are prepared to give more information, though it might be better if our engineers contact your engineers", he said with an understanding grin, "As I doubt your Grace would be selecting the translucent composite materials yourself."

Corrina laughed liltingly. "Hardly. That would be wise. Though...we are
empowered to set up an agreement of some sort on the matter."

"Perhaps we could discuss this further over a cup of hot chocolate or coffee?" the minister suggested. "It is getting a little bit chilly out here and I would love to discuss any ideas you might have."

Corrina inclined her head faintly. "That sounds quite lovely."

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Rotterdam Harbour
Knootoss
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As the guests were ferried back to The Hague in the helicopter they made a stop at the main industrial centre and the 'mainport' of Knootoss, Rotterdam (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Rotterdam). The helicopter landed atop a grand hotel near the inner-city harbour, overlooking the lively scenery of busy sidewalk cafés, shops, restaurants and pubs. On the other side of the hotel was the business district with grand architecture of shining glass and metal. Truly, Rotterdam is the most 'Westernised' city in the DDR and the most interchangeable with cities in New York and Jersey or Chimaea - perhaps with a hint of the sprawling urban megacities of Der Angst and Santa Barbara but on a much, much smaller scale. In the distance to the west - sixty kilometres away - loomed the sea. But instead of the salty see breeze of the dyke area the pair had visited that afternoon, the air smelled foul and of chemicals. A layer of smog rose slowly from the ground level, obscuring the grand harbour west of them, the light of the setting sun playing with the smog in a dazzling display of colours.

Corrina smiled delicately as they landed and Immanuel looked around for a long moment. "Quite...interesting," he commented. The Knootian minister of Economic Affairs, Brinkhorst, also got off of the helicopter and immediately began to explain the surroundings. "Quite. To the west of us is the industrial heartland, north of us the commercial district and directly below us the shopping centre. For any Economics minister, Rotterdam should be home", he said - sniffing the air with delight. Corrina laughed lightly. "You'll have to excuse my husband and I then. We know little of economic matters."

"Ah, but you I can almost feel the flow of money and products pulsing through the veins of this city", the old man said enthusiastically. “In this city, human behaviour is economic behaviour. I feel a... a deep thrumming of a common Rotterdam pulse. It spreads like a vapour... the industry and commerce here. Expanding to fill all available space, not to be contained by anything or anyone", he continued exhilarated. He smiled more calmly. "Of course, as a former resident I may not be entirely unbiased in my judgement." Immanuel nodded deeply. "We are all predisposed to love our homes. There are several great trading cities in the Resurgent Dream as well, though I have never been."
The Knootian approved. "I would not presume to compare them without having visited your cities myself. Yet for me this place will always be special, as a living lesson on the glory of entrepreneurship and the capabilities of Markets".

A door leading to a lift opened and the Knootian paused, realising this might not be a good conversational topic to pursue, and stretched out his hand towards the elevator door. "But here I am again, dragging the Prime Ministers guests from one chilly wind-swept place to another." Indeed, it was quite windy at this height and as the sun went down the temperature was dropping rapidly. "I have taken the liberty of reserving the top-floor of the hotel restaurant. I know from personal experience that the view of the city is just as good from the inside, but the restaurant has more creature comforts then this helipad." Corrina again smiled that soft, gently, womanly smile that must have melted dozens of hearts, especially Immanuel's. She started for the elevator without further comment. Immanuel, for his part, shrugged slightly. "We do, of course, appreciate and support free markets. It is merely not something the nobility personally involve themselves in for the most part." This was a thing that met with Brinkhorsts' personal disapproval, entrepreneurship being a core part of his ethic. However he was still too much the diplomat to have it show: "Of course, to each his place in society", he affirmed placidly upon which Immanuel nodded slightly. "Of course." The liftboy pressed a button and the party went downstairs.

The moment the lift doors opened a chamber orchestra started to play cheerful classical music, and an assembled line of restaurant personnel bowed in unison before the Noble guests. Corrina smiled politely to them, her face shining radiantly with preternatural beauty. A Mediterranean-looking fellow with a thin black moustache stood at the end of the line. "Good evening, Your Graces and Your Excellency", he began, "I am Immanuel and I will be your host for this evening."
"Good evening." husband and wife said in unison. Brinkhorst gave a simple nod, as if he knew Immanuel from previous meetings. He then showed the three to a table near the window (which overlooked the grandiose river slowly making its way to the sea behind the old harbour) and took orders from his three guests. All three ordered hot cocoa and the host ran off to get a delivery. Corrina smiled that astounding smile, looking out the window over the city. Immanuel watched his wife with a light smile, looking to Brinkhorst who himself smiled back at Corrina, secretly admiring her. He had not met such a charming woman in a long time, he considered. "Well," he began, "I hope you have found our trip this afternoon enjoyable?"
"I have indeed." she answered sweetly.

Brinkhorst smiled warmly. "I am glad..." his voice trailed. “I was also very interested by your earlier remarks about undertaking a similar scheme in Fireforge?" It was more a question then a statement. Immanuel nodded. "Queen Elizabeth is looking into making use of dykes."
"What then does she intend to make dry?" the minister wondered.
"Waters off the coast of Fireforge."
"Well, I'm sure we could help", he began tentatively. He grabbed one of the napkins on the table and lifted a pen from his pocket. "What purpose would the land have? And what kind of area are we talking about?" Corrina paused. "General development: residential, commercial, and industrial. And the area is shallow water but unfortunately open as well."
"I see, I see", he mumbled as he scribbled down some short notes in Dutch on the napkin. "Heavy build, so probably heavy structures will need to be reinforced with poles, and shelter... are there any rapid gulf streams?" Corrina looked to her husband who shrugged lightly. "I do not believe so, no." He didn't sound that sure. "Well, engineers will look into it at any rate with satellites and such," the minister reassured, "I'm just trying to get some preliminary information. I think we can do it. Only... how large would the suggested strip of land be? Or how many people is it supposed to house?"
“Eighty million." Immanuel answered simply. "At least." The minister gulped. "I... we can handle that"

At that moment Immanuel arrived with three cups of hot cocoa and menus. "Your Grace, Grand Duchess, Minister", he said as he planted the menus on the table. After being thanked he removed himself from himself from the scene inconspicuously as his guests picked up the menus and looked through them. Not familiar with Knootian food, Corrina finally ordered sweetbreads and scampi served with lobster sauce while Immanuel took, two slices tenderloin beef served with rosemary sauce while Brinkhorst selected the butterfishfillet served on bacon, with tomatoes and fresh herbs out of the oven. They handed the menus to the waiter who nodded and promptly went off to the kitchen.

Corrina and Immanuel turned back to Brinkhorst. "What else need be considered?" Immanuel asked. "Well, I think the rest is technical matters", the minister said. "Mr. Dijkstra, whom you met this afternoon, should really know the ins and outs of the whole situation. The only remaining concerns I would be able to say something about are political. But then, if the High Danaan Kingdom has no intention of starting embargo's or anything out of the ordinary then there is nothing that keeps us from working together on this issue." Immanuel furrowed his brow faintly and Corrina laid a hand on his. "We went over the embargo in the briefing, love." Brinkhorst leaned forward, naturally interested. "Unless... there are such plans?" he asked a bit bewildered. Corrina shook her head. "No, no, not from us."
"Is there something I should know then?", the minister pressed gently. Corrina shook her head again. "I was just reminding my husband of your...situation with Excalbia."

"Well", the minister began. "It is an unfortunate situation indeed." He sighed. "We feel the Excalbians have reacted with undue hostility to us signing a pact of friendship and cooperation with their neighbours in the Confederacy. I have spoken with their president Caine on the matter and it is a true shame. We would only like for these two neighbours to be friends... but the Excalbians seem to have a difficult time accepting the democratic results of their elections. If you ask me it is the result of unhealthy 'sphere of influence' thinking taking precedence over promoting good trade relations with all peoples." The minister paused to take a sip from his cocoa.

Immanuel nodded. "You talk economics even when you talk politics." Brinkhorst grinned widely, very much amused by this observation – even pleased as if he took it as a compliment. "You are absolutely right, Your Grace", he said. "I guess it is a deformity that comes with having been Economic Affairs minister now for...", he paused to count, "almost twenty-three years now." Corrina laughed again. "Quite understandable. While we support good trade relations between peoples, we support cultural and diplomatic relations as well." The minister nodded. "Quite right. And Knootoss would very much like to reach out to them diplomatically as well. They are not an unreasonable people, if somewhat... assertive when it comes to affairs dealing with their own continent." He smiled to Corrina. "I for one would very much like to see this issue resolved, and I think it easily could be resolved if not for Excalbian hostility." Corrina inclined her head slightly. "I'd rather not say anything that could be quoted on the matter."
"Well, I see this as informal talks, Your Grace", he said, "Of course I can only begin to understand the difficulty of your position. But I can assure you that we have no ill intent whatsoever towards Excalbia."
"That is good to hear," she replied.

The minister smiled innocently: "I can only reassure people and dispel some of the more outrageous fairy tales that have been going around lately about secret cults and such." Immanuel smirked faintly. "Fairytales, Minister? You forget to whom you speak." The Knootian blushed. "I am sorry for this wholly inappropriate human expression, but it is amusing to hear about the misunderstandings some countries have about the situation here. When it begins to affect the decisions of governments, however, it becomes a serious matter." Corrina pursed her lips thoughtfully. "So there is no such thing as Market-worship?"

"Well," the minister began slowly. "I would not call it Market-worship, personally. There are several groups which are dedicated to studying the free-market economic system and propagating its usefulness. These groups are very dedicated, but I would not say that they are worshipping anything. As you may know our nation has a long tradition in the human enlightenment process, reason and humanism - and again I beg forgiveness because in present company the term humanism sounds so very ethnocentric. Anyway, I happen to know some people who are involved in such an organisation and I know them to be dedicated, rational, kind and above all very normal individuals. They find the image of bloated pigs worshipping bags of money to be quite offensive." Immanuel frowned. "We do not consider reason and religion to be at odds." Brinkhorst was abruptly silenced for a moment while considering this. "These acquaintances of mine do not subscribe to any religion," he emphasised a bit thrown off. "They are rather insistent that it is not a religion...", he thought for a moment before taking another angle. "Perhaps you have heard of recent unrest in Santa Barbara?" Corrina arched a brow. "That's what he means, I think. And no, we haven't." Brinkhorst was puzzled at the misunderstanding. For a Knootian reason and religion were, after all, diametrically opposed things. "Well, there is a group called the Order of the Invisible Hand there that is trying to restore order and combat the local plague as the megacorporations flee. I think they do rather good work, good Samaritans, if anything. However, if you are unfamiliar with the example I shall not bother you with the details.” He shrugged it off. “Still, I must stress that these are just political-ideological groups just like they exist in any other country. There is nothing sinister about them, nor are there any conspiracies. I have no idea where these stories come from and I can only speculate as to their origins." He sighed and looked into his empty glass.

"Who do you read?" Corrina asked bluntly. "I... beg your pardon?” he asked.
"Philosophers."
"Me, personally, you mean?", he asked surprised. "I have not read philosophy in quite some time. As your husband so keenly observed earlier tonight, I am an economist." Corrina lowered her eyes, sipping her cocoa as it arrived. At that moment, the host came over with several plates carried by attractive ladies. Corrina and Immanuel bowed their heads briefly over the food before beginning to eat as the Knootian waited politely. Brinkhorst tentatively observed the pair to see if they had been offended as he took his first bite. They didn't seem offended, though Corrina looked somewhat confused.

Brinkhorst decided to take a few more bites instead of speaking, and the classical music in the background became more noticeable now that there was no talking going on. A violin played a romantic duet with a piano. Corrina began to glow ever so faintly with a soft, gentle smile. Brinkhorst observed this, but as Galadriël had shared her experiences on this interesting phenomenon the day before he was a little less surprised. He looked up and smiled kind-heartedly. It was a most wonderful sight - like an angel, he thought. The music went into a crescendo, and the Knootian quickly took another bite to avoid staring. "It is lovely..." she commented. The minister blushed. "You are truly a remarkable people", he said looking at Corrina who blushed, looking down demurely while mumbling thanks.

As the music faded into an ending, Knootian business instincts resurfaced. "But... if you will allow me to get back to what we discussed earlier", the minister began cautiously.” “Of course.", Corrina agreed. "Well, I was wondering if your involvement in the Excalbian situation could have any effects on the dyke-building deal", he asked. "I doubt it." Immanuel commented cheerfully. "Excellent", Brinkhorst replied visibly relieved. "If there is anything we can do to help this situation we are always open to suggestions." he continued. “I always try to run an open ministry." They both nodded their appreciation. Immanuel added "You know, we have much more commerce than simply dyke building." Brinkhorst nodded again, understanding. "Obviously", he says. "And I have high hopes for the benefits of such an agreement. It could be a rosy future indeed." Immanuel assented. "Very."

The story continues here... (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=8154506)