13-02-2004, 16:51
"The Lords are connected and waiting, Lord Gcta," the secretary said before meekly retreating from his office.
He sat down before the videophone and smiled briefly at four blank screens before pressing the power contact. The screens flared to life, briefly turning a serene white with the double-stranded plasmid seal of the Allied States of the Intron Lords in the foreground before yielding to the faces of his four pre-eminent "masters". Lord A was his usual calm and composed self, finger resting on pursed lips hidden beneath a wild beard as he waited for Gcta's report. Lady T, also as usual, seemed annoyed at having been kept waiting any longer than the second she came on-line herself. Lord C was uncharacteristically off-screen, but the sensitive videophone mike could hear the sound of coffee pouring into a mug. Lady G, on the other hand, was plainly in sight, oozing matronly old biddy with every affected inch of her body.
"Report, Governor," Lady T barked with all the haughtiness of a first-order Intron Lord as she leaned back in her leather chair. Gcta usually laughed silently when she did this, as leaning away from the camera made her appear to stretch like a reflection in a carnival mirror, but today he laughed aloud, much to the surprise of the ranking lords.
"The colonization has occurred successfully," Gcta stated in clipped tones. "Our undersea domes are effectively allowing us to both sustain life and conduct industry. Expansion has been efficient and we have colonized extensively along the fault line boundary of the African and Indo-Australian Plates. Accordingly, geothermal generators are generating sufficient power for our needs and we are currently prospecting for subseafloor energy reserves."
Lord C plopped down into his chair, his deceptively youthful countenance suddenly appearing on camera. He waved his hand dismissively as he hooked his leg over an armrest and says, "What about your operational objectives?"
Gcta sneered a bit, before replying, "Our surface fishing trawlers are equipped with sonic lures and we have arranged their trawling patterns to allow them to draw dolphins and whales into the collecting areas so that they may easily be picked up for experimentation without disrupting fishing production. When we have obtained an experimental set of sufficient size, we will begin to conduct the remote control experiments. We have already started sequencing several species to assess compatibility and aptitude for modification." Noting Lady G's condemning Victorian frown, he pressed on, "We have also begun cursory undersea piracy activity. Our small force delivery submarines appear to be effective for conducting ship seizures while our transponder decoy tubs appear to be affective in convincing shipping lines their cargo is still on course."
"And?" said the saturnine Lord A.
"And nothing," Lord Gcta snapped. "That is a remarkable amount of progress for the time elapsed. I would advise you to remember that."
All four Intron Lords froze in shock for a moment, before each began to show rage in his or her own way. Lady G pulled herself into her best royal air and said in sharp, Eton schoolmistress tones, "How dare a mere fourth-order lord such as yourself dare to speak to a first-order lord that way? How dare you address your betters so?"
"Because, my lady," Gcta sneered, "thanks to initial migration and our policy of selective forced family expansion creches, I control in my undersea domes more than six times the population than in any one of your individual states." As Lady G's jaw dropped, he added, "And I control all of the seas around the Allied States as well."
Lord A spoke silently, saying, "Are you a breakaway, then?"
Gcta could see the tactical wheels turning in the head of the so-called "Silent Lord", and so he spoke carefully when he said, "No, the Colonies of the Deep Sea Vents are still part of the commonwealth, but you are the ones who set up the Allied States as a loose coalition of what a single man could hold, not me. And I hold a great deal."
Lord C smiled at the discomfiture of his fellow first-order Intron Lords, having fought his way up from third-order himself, and said in cryptically light tones, "Well, then, Governor. We will be delighted to discuss terms with you in person when next we meet."
As the screens suddenly went blank, Gcta turned to a white phone on his desk and ordered the defensive submarine fleet to high alert. Just in case. In the meantime, he had cetaceans to capture and shipping to divert.
He sat down before the videophone and smiled briefly at four blank screens before pressing the power contact. The screens flared to life, briefly turning a serene white with the double-stranded plasmid seal of the Allied States of the Intron Lords in the foreground before yielding to the faces of his four pre-eminent "masters". Lord A was his usual calm and composed self, finger resting on pursed lips hidden beneath a wild beard as he waited for Gcta's report. Lady T, also as usual, seemed annoyed at having been kept waiting any longer than the second she came on-line herself. Lord C was uncharacteristically off-screen, but the sensitive videophone mike could hear the sound of coffee pouring into a mug. Lady G, on the other hand, was plainly in sight, oozing matronly old biddy with every affected inch of her body.
"Report, Governor," Lady T barked with all the haughtiness of a first-order Intron Lord as she leaned back in her leather chair. Gcta usually laughed silently when she did this, as leaning away from the camera made her appear to stretch like a reflection in a carnival mirror, but today he laughed aloud, much to the surprise of the ranking lords.
"The colonization has occurred successfully," Gcta stated in clipped tones. "Our undersea domes are effectively allowing us to both sustain life and conduct industry. Expansion has been efficient and we have colonized extensively along the fault line boundary of the African and Indo-Australian Plates. Accordingly, geothermal generators are generating sufficient power for our needs and we are currently prospecting for subseafloor energy reserves."
Lord C plopped down into his chair, his deceptively youthful countenance suddenly appearing on camera. He waved his hand dismissively as he hooked his leg over an armrest and says, "What about your operational objectives?"
Gcta sneered a bit, before replying, "Our surface fishing trawlers are equipped with sonic lures and we have arranged their trawling patterns to allow them to draw dolphins and whales into the collecting areas so that they may easily be picked up for experimentation without disrupting fishing production. When we have obtained an experimental set of sufficient size, we will begin to conduct the remote control experiments. We have already started sequencing several species to assess compatibility and aptitude for modification." Noting Lady G's condemning Victorian frown, he pressed on, "We have also begun cursory undersea piracy activity. Our small force delivery submarines appear to be effective for conducting ship seizures while our transponder decoy tubs appear to be affective in convincing shipping lines their cargo is still on course."
"And?" said the saturnine Lord A.
"And nothing," Lord Gcta snapped. "That is a remarkable amount of progress for the time elapsed. I would advise you to remember that."
All four Intron Lords froze in shock for a moment, before each began to show rage in his or her own way. Lady G pulled herself into her best royal air and said in sharp, Eton schoolmistress tones, "How dare a mere fourth-order lord such as yourself dare to speak to a first-order lord that way? How dare you address your betters so?"
"Because, my lady," Gcta sneered, "thanks to initial migration and our policy of selective forced family expansion creches, I control in my undersea domes more than six times the population than in any one of your individual states." As Lady G's jaw dropped, he added, "And I control all of the seas around the Allied States as well."
Lord A spoke silently, saying, "Are you a breakaway, then?"
Gcta could see the tactical wheels turning in the head of the so-called "Silent Lord", and so he spoke carefully when he said, "No, the Colonies of the Deep Sea Vents are still part of the commonwealth, but you are the ones who set up the Allied States as a loose coalition of what a single man could hold, not me. And I hold a great deal."
Lord C smiled at the discomfiture of his fellow first-order Intron Lords, having fought his way up from third-order himself, and said in cryptically light tones, "Well, then, Governor. We will be delighted to discuss terms with you in person when next we meet."
As the screens suddenly went blank, Gcta turned to a white phone on his desk and ordered the defensive submarine fleet to high alert. Just in case. In the meantime, he had cetaceans to capture and shipping to divert.