NationStates Jolt Archive

[OOC: Just to be clear, this doesn't involve any claiming of territory.]

IC:

The message went out rather rapidly, in the end - or, rather, it was due to go out rather rapidly, just moments from the figurative 'now'. The debate had been brief, following the six-month planning phase which had recently drawn to conclusion; IsnCo would go ahead.

Venus awaited - but so did the funding phase. With several securements of funds from inside the Commonality, IsnCo needed not a great deal more - the entire project would cost around ninety billion, which was not quite as steep as originally expected.

After all, the main cost was in materials. The rings themselves - their composition, quite obviously, was thoroughly classified and the blueprints only available to a hundred or more scientists that Project Manager Ilish Vendiri-Rihad was aware of - were the most complex and expensive part of construction; they would be built by IsnCo and Rivette, of course. Ilish smiled faintly; they could not even outsource to foreign factories.

That, too, bumped up the cost.

Minus labour costs, Ilish had already determined the true cost: just ten billion Relhames. A pittance. But labour was expensive in the Commonality, and nobody else could be trusted with Iluvauromen's most closely-guarded secret - magnetic impetus.

The key to Iluvauromeni air power, in essence. No wonder the military was paranoid.

Even Ilish was watched. He knew it. They were standing only ten feet away right now. "It's done," he informed the officers. One, the nearest, a brown-haired Human fellow, nodded slightly.

"I'll inform Headquarters," he observed. He was tremendously soft-spoken, which was almost as surprising as his colleague - a Tharash. One rarely saw them in the military, after all.

The catlike Tharash bobbed her head most pleasantly. "Yes," she agreed with her inferior. "You will." That was a mild rebuke, but not a major one. "And from out there, please, Commander."

"Aye," was the quiet response. And off he went.

Ilish settled back in his chair. "And why are you still here, friend?"

The Tharash smiled. It wasn't as scary as it had been the first time he'd seen it; this particular Tharash had an exceedingly fearsome aspect to her - two nasty scars, looked like fencing wounds, decorated her right cheek. And her fur was matted, where it had apparently been ripped out in the past, damaging the follicles. Even her eye - the left one - was slightly closed, perhaps indicating another injury. She was most certainly a veteran...

And a predator. He could see it in those eyes. She would kill him...

If it became required. Of course, it wouldn't, because there were very few valid reasons. But he hoped to Eru none of them became... valid.

"I am here," the tigerish female responded archly, "to observe your transmission."

"Sarah could do that," he countered with, reasonably.

"Yes," the Tharash officer answered, smile widening, "but you're not terrified of her. You know as well as I, Noble, that state secrets are a matter of honour. Betraying the honour of the state is to stab at the heart of the People."

It was ancient doctrine - not even really 'proper' to speak of, in modern times. That didn't mean it wasn't true, however. He agreed. Beyond all normal agreement. That was why he was here, and not out in a backstreet bar telling some foreign intel op all about the Project. He grinned.

"But that's where you're wrong. Sarah is far more terrifying." It was a lie, but it gave the other some pause for thought.

He prodded the control, and word was sent.

[OOC: Rather than do an IC message for every potentially interested party, just presume that a message arrived for one of your characters in high-up business/any rich character you wish to involve. Obviously the message is a basic request for fund contributions/discussions related to possible contributions and the terms of those contributions.

This rather more applies to nations with whom I've had onscreen contact with in the past, but I think it's usually safe to assume there's plenty of 'offscreen' interaction which isn't roleplayed anyway.

So this is pretty open to anyone (not just currently FT nations) who has a powerful enough economy to have (a) compan(y/ies), an(d/or) individual(s) (and/)or the state willing to contribute funds to a venture as costly as this one. :)]

Incense drifted slowly up through the dim room, never quite able to mask the smells of the machines. The Dead Man sat motionless in his autoseat. Long autoprosthesis rose behind him, manipulating machineries that kept the wheels of Skand turning, kept the Skycities flying, kept the Mountain Hives atop their precarious peaks.

The man kneeling before the robed Lord waited patiently, in silence. One did not rush so esteemed a Lord as the Dead Man. The Nine were unstinting in their duty, gifted with lifespans beyond the dreams of even those nobles with unrestricted access to the death-defeating Anti-Agathic drugs.

The green fires of the Dead Man's eyes surveyed the dataplate brought to him, cerebrarchive analysing loss/gain ratios, mind thinking through economic potentials, applications within the Republic, and military significance. After a short while, his monotonic voice spoke, the sounds of the machine reverberating through his Hall.

"Insufficient data. Signal interest, and small investment. Further information offers significant increase in funding potential. We will be willing to discuss the conditions of aid with the project leaders or organisations involved. Send that. Now leave us to our tasks."

The Adept murmured words of agreement before rising and leaving the chambers of the Lord Technologist of Skand to send a message that would convey an interest in the project based upon the information recevied by the Lord Technologist, and the offer of very significant funding contributions upon the release of more information. Alongside this, the offer of several million based upon current information, a significant contribution on most situations, but for a project of this scale certainly not close to what the Tech-Citadel might be willing to spend.

It took some time before anything like 'adequate' information was gathered by IsnCo to enter into the discussions proper. Initially, the Ventuus potential funder - funders? - were responded to cautiously.

After all, not just anyone could be involved.

Next came the all-important message.

The message that only one person was really qualified to send.

Bao sighed as she stretched her legs out beneath the table. Rialla had been quite clear. The messenger drone had stipulated that the plans were to be stuck to absolutely - without question. No changes. If the whole damn thing needed to be funded internally, then it would be.

Bao could see the sense of it. The plan was stupendously long-sighted - almost ignorant of the near, in many cases, which was why until now it had been stupendously expensive. IsnCo had gotten the hang of packaging the equipment, now, however, and losses on the Mars-Vilya Elenosto section of the Sol Network had been significantly lower.

Now that specialized ships were being designed, costs in the short-term would rise slightly but fall overall. Apparently Semir's idea. Rialla was astonishingly capable of missing the obvious sometimes, whereas Semir tended to think mostly of the obvious. Then again, when you were Semir's age, most everything was obvious. At least so it had often seemed...

Bao recalled when she had left both Si, her husband, and Semir, back at Barad Aelin, in those dark days after the Empire of the Eternal Flame had died it's trembling, violent death; she had accused Semir of...

Untoward inclinations. In fact, it had been Si. Naturally.

But her time at the university - and her ideas born there - had created much of her homeland's power today.

It was not a fact of pride for her. It had been. But slowly, she learned differently.

The message itself was very simple. Ilish had protested at certain parts, but he wasn't and had never been an... economist.

Our requirements are relatively simple. Funding, not more than five percent per provider and not more than twenty percent externally provided, is being sought for the construction of a further section of the proposed IsnCo Stellar Mass Transit Network for Sol.

Currently already in operation are two sections of the Network, built largely by Iluvauromeni funds but with some external provision. All providers of funding are granted eternal price cuts or other negotiated benefits. As the highly successful Mars-Earth/Earth-Mars Highway proves the effectiveness of this method of transport - the details of which are thoroughly classified under Commonality Law (we do not provide technology to those who do not already possess it, and none possess magnetic impetus but we*) - as well as it's efficiency, there really is little else to say.

It is noteworthy that the majority of traffic goes in the Mars-Earth direction, of course.

IsnCo also operates the highly reputable superheavy mass transport/luxury liner CSS Valiant.

IsnCo is responsible for the maintainence and construction of almost all Iluvauromeni civilian orbital assets.

All IsnCo projects of large scale must be approved by it's parent organisation, the Imperial Trade Conglomerate. The ITC might be loosely termed as a megacorp, with a GIP equivalent to the GNP of some whole nations*.

The Earth-Venus/Venus-Earth Highway would represent a link not only directly between Venus and Earth, but also between Venus, Earth, and Mars via the Earth-Mars Highway. The project, from construction's beginning onwards, is likely to take around nine months.

Further information can be provided.

I trust this information is helpful,

Signed,

Her Royal Higness
Bao Ling

Former High Queen of Nenya; Imperial Mother to Empress the Supreme Commander Rialla ux-Rihad I; Member of the IsnCo Committee for Funding Acquisition and Approval; Member of the Imperial Trade Conglomerate Board of Control

[OOC: *1. Magnetic impetus (a sophisticated high-energy electromagnetic propulsion system), or MI, is mine and mine alone. This is basically because it's useless to anyone else anyway, since the Iluvauromeni have had it a while and know how to counteract it very thoroughly. Nobody else, to my knowledge, is attempting to gain it, beyond one. And that's worked out between he and I. I was the first on NS to use electromagnetic propulsion, I note.

*2. The ITC is the parent company for the entire Iluvauromeni economy. If you're confused as to why I'm saying 'Iluvauromeni' rather than 'Ma-tekian' or whatever, then that's because it IS confusing. Yay, then, for NSWiki. See here (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Category:Iluvauromeni_Commonality_of_Everlasting_Light) for all kinds of info on my nation. Ma-tek is simply the posting nation, and the nation the stats are kinda-mostly-based-on. See the factbook entry findable from the above link for deeper info than the NS game engine can ever provide.]