I was open to any and all ideas and suggestions and, as I suspected, Semi was focused on convincing us that our best interest could be served by aligning ourselves with the Coridian Dynasty.
I had jokingly made a comment that they should be careful; there were a number of people on Earth that they might not want as part of their family…
“Major, permit me to outline your options as I see them,” Semi said and then paused.
After I nodded assent she continued. “You could of course agree to become a Noridian Protectorate but I think you’ve seen how ruthless they can be. Earth would lose its independence and you would not be in control of your own destiny as far as galactic society goes. The worst part though would be suffering from the Noridian arrogance and disrespect. Although I am sure they would give you technology that would seem like riches I suspect that Earthers would always be impoverished by galactic standards.
“A second option would be to choose to become a protectorate of the Coridian Dynasty. Different dynasties are by definition differing cultures and I think you’re realizing that the Coridian Dynasty has a much different temperament than Noridia. Earth would feel like a partner with us rather than a conquered people.”
“But we’d still lose our independence, wouldn’t we?” I suggested.
“As a dynasty protectorate, yes, any achievements Earth attains would be attributed to the Coridian Dynasty but the better that Coridia does the better Earth will do also—something that wouldn’t be true if you were aligned with the Noridians.”
Despite the nature of the discussion I was very appreciative of Semi. Dealing with Jaki had an oily feel to it whereas I felt that Semi was making a genuine effort to lay out the facts as she saw them, but that was the rub; should I accept her point of view as our point of view? I wasn’t ready to do that yet.
“Semi, something’s been bothering me,” I said. “I’ve asked this question a couple of times now and I’m not satisfied with the answer. I understand that Earth is a dynamic technological culture that is growing at a faster rate than anything you’ve experienced before but I feel there’s more to it.”
Semi lightly brushed her lips with her napkin and said, “Major, that deserves a straightforward answer but I’m in the habit of having a local tea after dinner. Might we return to the observation dome and continue the conversation there? Oh, and Dr. Spelini I would be honored if you could join us. Perhaps between the three of us we can come to an understanding…”
The tea was really very good but I would’ve preferred coffee. The view was still as incredible as ever but this time it had been set to music. I recognized it as an Earth composer but it was Anzio that named the score; The Planets by Gustav Holst.
After we had again admired the view and the music for a few moments Semi broke the reverie by saying, “The answer to your question is that if Earth becomes a protectorate of Noridia they will forever bury any question of their genetic wrongdoing. Only Earth’s protector could raise an issue like that and they’ll hardly raise it against themselves. That is certainly the foremost reason they want control over Earth.
“On the other hand if you were aligned with Coridia we could raise the issue for you. We could take it to The Accord and if nothing else assure that the Noridian Dynasty never becomes a Lower House. I think that would bring some justice for the murders of your space platform personnel. In addition, of course, the Coridian Dynasty would be spared the threat that a Noridian Lower House would entail. In other words major we both win.”
After a moment I said, “Ok, you’ve given us two options, now give us a third.”
She paused with the teacup halfway to her mouth and cavalierly said, “I don’t think there is a third option; at least not a practical one.”
“There’s always another option,” I said. “We could accept the protection of no dynasty and go it on our own. How else could we make sure that Earth remains independent?”
“Major…” Semi stopped when Anzio quietly interrupted, “Semi, you need to understand that Major Reagan he is very serious. We Earthers, as you call us, are a very stubborn people. We value our freedom and independence and it would not do Coridia well to underestimate that.
“I think perhaps that you see us through your eyes, yes? And you think we will think the same way you do. What needs to be is for you to have a paradigm different. To see things from our viewpoint—and that view it no includes us giving up our sovereignty, capisce Semi?”
She was silent for a long time. Finally she said, “I guess I have gotten used to most people accepting my opinions in general even if they don’t always follow the details. You’re trying to tell me that I’ve got the big picture wrong; and it’s been a long time since I’ve had to admit to something like that.”
“Gentlemen,” she continued. “I’m going to have to put some serious thought into what you want to achieve before I can possibly spell out any options in that direction but I want to give you from the top of my head an idea of what you’re up against.
“First of all the Noridian Dynasty is going to come after you. I don’t think they would risk exterminating an entire planet so if your people are willing to pay the price you might outlast them long enough for us to get the attention of The Accord but it would take a couple of centuries and I’m still not sure you understand how incredibly monumental this opportunity is for Noridia—there might not be much left of Earth even if you prevail.”
I’m no diplomat and this is the type of gamesmanship that just burns me up but I thought it was about time for some straight talk. Doing the best to keep the anger from my voice I said, “It seems to me Semi that you’re playing what we call hardball. If we gave in and became your protectorate you’d defend us militarily but if we just want to be friends and allies you’ll just stand back and watch us destroyed. Do I have that figured about right?”
Semi quickly looked up at me with a shocked expression on her face. “No major, I’m afraid you don’t understand. We have no military. Your protection from Noridia is inherent as our protectorate—this is as dictated by The Accord. No matter how desperate the Noridian Dynasty might get they would never go against that. Without an official protectorate designation however we have no way to protect you—no matter how much we might want to.”
“Why can’t we appeal directly to The Accord?” I asked somewhat frustrated.
“Without standing Major, The Accord is not going to respond to you. I’m sorry.”
I got the sinking feeling she was telling us the absolute truth but I wasn’t ready to give up.
“How do we get standing? We need to be a dynasty? How do we do that?”
I know Semi by this point must have felt as if she was humoring a child but to her credit she didn’t act that way. She responded, “A spacefaring culture from Earth could feasibly become a dynasty, name Earth as its protectorate, and petition The Accord against Noridia for its genetic crimes but it could still take centuries.”
“How do we shorten that time frame Semi?”
“You can’t. One of the Lower Houses would have to intervene and make you a dynasty by proclamation—and that hasn’t happened for several hundred thousand years, but major even if you could get the attention of a Lower House you’d have to have a space presence and something of extreme value to offer to galactic society. I suppose you could argue that you had a space presence until the Noridians took it away but as to a valuable contribution, do you have something like that?”