Steel and Fire
15-05-2007, 18:25
The CEO of Imperium Corporation looked up as the men entered the room. She'd been expecting them for some time; what surprised her, even if only slightly, was how late they were. It had been four weeks since the first reports -- in the absence of any war, the employees had started to demand self-rule; a general strike had crippled the Imperium military; ships deployed overseas returned; discipline, even in colonies such as Old Clandonia, completely broke down and rioting ensued. It got worse. The rebels were led by senior officials in the Imperium military; this was, in short, a military coup.
She wasn't entirely sure who her visitors were, although she had a vague idea: union leaders, populist demagogues, military commanders. She wasn't sure what had taken them four weeks; perhaps it took that long for the rioters to become organised. What she did know was why they were there: to ask her to step down, and request that Imperium Corporation give up its land holdings and allow the formation of a democratic government.
"Field Marshal," one of them said, using her official title, "you must know why we're here."
She did.
"We're not asking that Imperium Corporation sell out or dissolve. We simply want our own government, elected by our own people," the same man said in a particularly eloquent and emotionally fraught voice. Evidently he was the soap-box demagogue of the group.
Well, she had to keep up appearances. She couldn't surrender just yet. In an icy cold voice she said, "I see. Now tell me, why should I comply with your plans? Imperium may no longer control a private army, but we still have quite enough capital to render your 'government' flat broke."
"Not quite, Field Marshal," said another man. "You see, while you have the hundreds of trillions of dollars on your side, we have your three billion ex-employees, and they're out for blood. I doubt you have more than a few hundred thousand loyalists left."
She smiled and rose to her feet. She was a good deal taller than anyone else in the room (wearing five-inch heeled jackboots, but nobody had to know that). She said: "I see your point. Co-operation might be to my advantage."
"Ideally," the second man said -- the brains of the operation, evidently -- "you would invest your capital in building a new Steelian Republic. In return, your company would stay on as the private defence forces of Steel and Fire, and you'd get exclusive government contracts on a lot more than the military."
"Not to mention," a third man said, a little bit shakily, "Steel and Fire's been all about war for so long that it'll be an integral part of everyone's conscience. The six billion citizens we'll have once the nation is formally established will have grown up with guns and battle; serving in the military, even volunteer military, will be a source of pride to them."
She had to admit that was a good point. Due to the years of genetic conditioning, virtually every Steelian currently existing thought of war as honourable and right, and they'd pass that on to their children -- even unintentionally. Which meant more employees for Imperium.
The discussion went on for half an hour along these lines, but the conclusion was already drawn; the three men continued to propose appeasements to soften their blow of releasing Imperium's hold, and the Field Marshal continued to make remarks full of braggadocio and acid, but in the end only as a cover for what she knew to be right.
"Diversification," she said at last, "may be the key. You may be right, gentlemen; I'll fund your venture, because I want to see what this new government of yours looks like. Remember, of course, that if I don't like it...." she made a descriptive gesture drawing a finger across her throat. They seemed to understand.
"Don't worry, Field Marshal," assured the second man in a way that was not particularly reassuring.
And so....
A week later a brief message was dispatched to the International Community.
Official Message
Greetings from the newly formed Republic of Steel and Fire! Once a holding of megacorporation Imperium Corp., this Republic was created when the military forces of that megacorporation revolted against the corrupt leadership; through negotiation, however, all-out war between the loyalists and the rebels was averted, and Imperium's CEO and board of directors agreed to allow the creation of an independent nation upon Steelian soil.
Currently we are in the process of conducting our first free elections; we also welcome diplomatic relations, embassies, and trade from any nation. If there are any questions, please contact us. Thank you.
The Provisional Triumvirate of the Republic:
Signed, Chalabi Jones
Signed, Peter Aaronson
Signed, Bernard Rutherford
Oddly, virtually all of the candidates running for election to either the monocameral Parliament, the Presidency, or the Supreme Court had held managerial positions in the Imperium Corporation. It could be just a coincidence (the entire population of Steel and Fire had been employed by Imperium, after all; and those in managerial positions would have the most experience with command and be most qualified for a position in power). And much of the information was either buried under mounds of useless junk, or kept in confidential files that would take months for the most advanced computer to crack, and years for it to crack without detection. Still, managers and officers made up less than five per cent of Imperium Corporation's workforce, so there might be some -- if they had known -- who wondered.
ooc: yes, the uber megacorporation the previous poster started is turning into a corrupt, militaristic, populist sham of a democracy. Although you don't know about the corrupt, militaristic, populist sham part quite yet. ;-)
She wasn't entirely sure who her visitors were, although she had a vague idea: union leaders, populist demagogues, military commanders. She wasn't sure what had taken them four weeks; perhaps it took that long for the rioters to become organised. What she did know was why they were there: to ask her to step down, and request that Imperium Corporation give up its land holdings and allow the formation of a democratic government.
"Field Marshal," one of them said, using her official title, "you must know why we're here."
She did.
"We're not asking that Imperium Corporation sell out or dissolve. We simply want our own government, elected by our own people," the same man said in a particularly eloquent and emotionally fraught voice. Evidently he was the soap-box demagogue of the group.
Well, she had to keep up appearances. She couldn't surrender just yet. In an icy cold voice she said, "I see. Now tell me, why should I comply with your plans? Imperium may no longer control a private army, but we still have quite enough capital to render your 'government' flat broke."
"Not quite, Field Marshal," said another man. "You see, while you have the hundreds of trillions of dollars on your side, we have your three billion ex-employees, and they're out for blood. I doubt you have more than a few hundred thousand loyalists left."
She smiled and rose to her feet. She was a good deal taller than anyone else in the room (wearing five-inch heeled jackboots, but nobody had to know that). She said: "I see your point. Co-operation might be to my advantage."
"Ideally," the second man said -- the brains of the operation, evidently -- "you would invest your capital in building a new Steelian Republic. In return, your company would stay on as the private defence forces of Steel and Fire, and you'd get exclusive government contracts on a lot more than the military."
"Not to mention," a third man said, a little bit shakily, "Steel and Fire's been all about war for so long that it'll be an integral part of everyone's conscience. The six billion citizens we'll have once the nation is formally established will have grown up with guns and battle; serving in the military, even volunteer military, will be a source of pride to them."
She had to admit that was a good point. Due to the years of genetic conditioning, virtually every Steelian currently existing thought of war as honourable and right, and they'd pass that on to their children -- even unintentionally. Which meant more employees for Imperium.
The discussion went on for half an hour along these lines, but the conclusion was already drawn; the three men continued to propose appeasements to soften their blow of releasing Imperium's hold, and the Field Marshal continued to make remarks full of braggadocio and acid, but in the end only as a cover for what she knew to be right.
"Diversification," she said at last, "may be the key. You may be right, gentlemen; I'll fund your venture, because I want to see what this new government of yours looks like. Remember, of course, that if I don't like it...." she made a descriptive gesture drawing a finger across her throat. They seemed to understand.
"Don't worry, Field Marshal," assured the second man in a way that was not particularly reassuring.
And so....
A week later a brief message was dispatched to the International Community.
Official Message
Greetings from the newly formed Republic of Steel and Fire! Once a holding of megacorporation Imperium Corp., this Republic was created when the military forces of that megacorporation revolted against the corrupt leadership; through negotiation, however, all-out war between the loyalists and the rebels was averted, and Imperium's CEO and board of directors agreed to allow the creation of an independent nation upon Steelian soil.
Currently we are in the process of conducting our first free elections; we also welcome diplomatic relations, embassies, and trade from any nation. If there are any questions, please contact us. Thank you.
The Provisional Triumvirate of the Republic:
Signed, Chalabi Jones
Signed, Peter Aaronson
Signed, Bernard Rutherford
Oddly, virtually all of the candidates running for election to either the monocameral Parliament, the Presidency, or the Supreme Court had held managerial positions in the Imperium Corporation. It could be just a coincidence (the entire population of Steel and Fire had been employed by Imperium, after all; and those in managerial positions would have the most experience with command and be most qualified for a position in power). And much of the information was either buried under mounds of useless junk, or kept in confidential files that would take months for the most advanced computer to crack, and years for it to crack without detection. Still, managers and officers made up less than five per cent of Imperium Corporation's workforce, so there might be some -- if they had known -- who wondered.
ooc: yes, the uber megacorporation the previous poster started is turning into a corrupt, militaristic, populist sham of a democracy. Although you don't know about the corrupt, militaristic, populist sham part quite yet. ;-)