After the Second Fall Pt. 03.1

"You think it's okay if he gets emotionally involved?"

Rachel smiled and patted as high up his arm as she could reach. "Yes, because I think he needs her as much as she needs him. Keep in mind that his upbringing was quite a bit different than yours with respect to how he was treated. Emotionally speaking, I suspect they are on roughly the same level."

"So that's it?"

"More or less. If she wasn't rendered sterile by her first delivery, I think she'll probably get pregnant at some point, and if that's the case, they'll be even more popular. Jealous?" she asked with a smirk.

"Not likely," he said, snatching her up into the air and earning himself a wonderful squeak of surprise. "I've got you and the other girls: there's absolutely no point."

"Thanks, Pip," she said, leaning down to kiss him. "And thank you for earlier. I did feel jealous, to be honest, and I'm glad you didn't listen when I told you to be... physical with her."

"I know," he replied.

Rachel laid her head on his shoulder as he started walking again. "I am pretty sore, though," she said with a chuckle, closing her eyes and letting the motion of Pip's steps lull her back toward sleep.

In the transport the following morning, Pip was dosing lightly since his part in the discussion was to 'look pretty and scary,' according to Lilith. As planned, Rachel and the Meister were also accompanying Lilith, just as they had been on the first visit to the Vale.

When they stepped out of the vehicle, Cassidy and Lilith seemed in awe of the Arena, having never seen it before. Rachel watched her compatriots and smiled at Pip, giving him a lighthearted shrug. Soon enough, an official in gray came around the building, stumbling when he saw Pip. As instructed, Pip was dressed all in black, including huge, heavy boots and heavily tinted sunglasses. With wide eyes, the official led them into the building and then the Arena itself, where the delegation from Marbelo was also arriving.

If Marbelo's Mayor was surprised to see an Adam walk into the Arena, he didn't show it, although one of the two women with him did gawp openly. "Meister Schultz, you're looking well."

"Thank you, Mayor Harryx," replied Cassidy, looking down at the man from a dozen paces away.

Behind each group the doors slid down, shutting them inside for the next bell.

"Let's begin then," Harryx said directly. "This is Judge Fonseca and Judge Roccoca."

The first Judge -- the gawker -- was a head taller than the Mayor, and heavy, though not overweight, with dark hair. The other was middle height with a dirty blonde cut that stopped before her shoulders, which exposed her unremarkable features; her eyes were active, darting around continually. Both were dressed in simple clothing with a gray sash bearing the red scorpion of Marbelo; in contrast, the Mayor was dressed in dark blue business attire with a signet with the city's mascot attached to his lapel.

Cassidy nodded and began speaking without breaking eye contact. "From your reactions, you obviously recognize Adam Piper. Also with me from Rieckenburg's Adam program are Executive Director Lilith Collins and Director Rachel Frazier."

"Thank you for coming," Harryx said with a slight bow. "Mr. Piper, may I say specifically that it is an honor to meet you in person."

Pip didn't respond other than turn his head slightly to stare more directly at the man, who didn't seem bothered at all, his smile remaining firmly fixed.

"I know you want to understand why we were willing to pay the ridiculous fee to host this meeting, so I will come immediately to the point. We would like to cease hostilities between our cities."

Cassidy made no reply and the two officials stared at one another.

They continued on, unmoving, until the quarter mark arrived and the ceiling turned from white to blue. Rolling his eyes, Pip sat down in the sand, assuming a relaxed mediation pose. Rachel grinned and was considering joining him when the Mayor spoke. "Alright, Cassidy, you win. We know you want Theiss, but it's out of the question. We're willing to cede Hammersfield, if you grant us access to at least ten thousand tons of steel each year at market price, which is about a quarter of their capacity. We'll also provide unlimited access to the literary archives in Prince Volk one day a week for up to three of your people."

"And in return?"

Harryx waved his hand like it was inconsequential. "No more challenges between us for the duration of the agreement."

"And when will the agreement end?"

"Well, when one of us challenges the other."

"Right," Cassidy said, bringing her hands together in a clap that echoed through the Arena. "First, we don't want Theiss, we want their miniprocessors. It will mean that you need to restructure your protection agreement with them, but this is non-negotiable. Should we continue or are we done?"

For the first time, Marbelo's Mayor looked flustered as he spun to talk with the two Judges. Despite their whispering, the room's domed ceiling carried snippets of conversation to the Rieckenburg delegation so that Cassidy knew they had won the point before the man even turned back around.

"Agreed, but the limit will be five percent of their total capacity, and you will pay a thirty percent tariff to Marbelo."

"Ten percent of production, and you're a greedy bastard," replied Cassidy swiftly.

Harryx narrowed his eyes. "Fine: ten and ten."

"Agreed," Cassidy said easily. "We have adequate iron deposits, and transportation costs from Marbelo would significantly exceed our current arrangement, so your offer with respect to Hammersfield is unnecessary, but appreciated. Your proposal for access to the libraries in Prince Volk is acceptable with one addition, which is that your computer archives will be included."

"Absolutely not: access is severely restricted," the Mayor replied defensively.

Cassidy paused a moment. "Supervised access then, with no direct computer interaction by Rieckenburg personnel."

It was apparently a bitter pill, but Harryx nodded nonetheless, displeasure evident on his face. "We are in agreement?"

"Almost," Cassidy replied, still relaxed. "There is the matter of your most recent fighter."

Even as he tried to regain his smile, Harryx's jaw tightened. "That is a separate topic entirely. We would be happy to discuss it once we have an agreement in place."

"We don't see it that way," said Cassidy grimly. "We find the way you abuse your Mods, especially the women, appalling."

"What does that have to do with anything?" the tall Judge asked. "They're not real people."

"They damn well are," boomed Pip's voice as he stood, then stalked over to stand in front of the Marbelo representatives. Looming over the mayor, his anger was almost tangible, and his sun-darkened face took on a red shade.

Harryx was experienced at politics and managed to avoid stuttering as he spoke. "What, precisely, do you want?"

"We want you to stop treating them like slaves," replied Lilith coldly.

"That's a mischaracterization," Harryx retorted, "probably the result of discussions with the Mod you abducted."

Cassidy had carefully schooled the others during the trip in what to expect, and his accusation was the first one she had cautioned they might hear. "Don't react if he says something disparaging about Annora," she had said. "They asked for this meeting, so if he's resorting to pettiness on that level, it means we're winning. Just stare at him and don't say anything."

So they did, and the ceiling turned yellow: the meeting was half over.

Harryx finally lost his cool, and began rocking back and forth, repeatedly picking at a pants pocket with his right hand. "Up until a run of bad luck, we have been the preeminent world power for the last hundred years. You want us to change all that because you say so? Outrageous!"

Cassidy and her colleagues continued to look on silently and Harryx began to pace, muttering to himself.

"Do you have any idea how hard it will be to uproot our entire culture?" he almost shouted.

"Yes, actually, we do," replied Lilith calmly, "because we are attempting to do the same thing."

Harryx was caught off-guard again and checked his movement, his eyes snapping back and forth between Lilith and Cassidy.

"Director Collins, perhaps the two of us can have a sidebar," suggested the shorter Judge as she stepped forward.

Lilith inclined her head, then nodded, and the two women walked to the side of the Arena, where they bent their heads close to speak without being overheard. As the ceiling turned red, the women shook hands and approached the rest of the group.

"We have an agreement in principle," announced the Judge, Rococca. "Director?"

Lilith looked at Cassidy and then to the Mayor. "The primary terms, as already agreed upon, are unchanged. The agreement between Marbelo and Rieckenburg will be evergreen, renewing annually, with a three year cancellation notice, during which the primary terms will remain in place. This will protect both cities from any sort of underhandedness."

"And the Mods?" Harryx asked, barely breathing.

"We will enter into a biological development agreement," answered Rococca excitedly.

"You want to do joint development?" he stuttered; even Cassidy looked shocked.

"More like an exchange program," replied Lilith. "Our Adams will donate new genetic material to Marbelo's breeding pool, and in return, up to five of your female Mods will be given permission to emigrate to Rieckenburg each year, should they desire to do so."

"You want to take over our program," Harryx accused, almost admiringly, but Lilith shook her head.

"We want to incentivize Marbelo to improve."

"Sure, while getting our infants."

"Enough, Mayor," reprimanded Rococca sternly. "We will work out the fine points starting tomorrow, in Rieckenburg."

Harryx's head snapped around. "You gave away all of our leverage, and for nothing," he hissed.

"Look at him, Carlos," the judge said, nodding toward Pip. "Do you think any of our Mods stand a chance? Wouldn't you rather have them as partners now, and in twenty years have his offspring fighting for us?"

The Mayor paused, then stood up straight, rolled his shoulders once, and turned back to Cassidy. "We have an accord."

"One moment," interjected Rachel. "We won't guarantee that Piper, or any other specific Adam, will take part in this arrangement. The choice to participate, or not, will stay with them."

Harryx looked like he was ready to argue, but Rococca answered first, saying simply, "Of course, please excuse me -- I only intended to use Mr. Piper as an example."

Rachel bowed her head in acknowledgement and the framework was in place, lightening the mood considerably. The two city leaders stepped off to one side, bantering back and forth like old friends. The taller judge, Fonseca, apologized for her words, promising to work on her attitude, while Lilith and Rococca chatted amiably.

As the bell elapsed and the doors slid open to reveal an official in gray, Cassidy called for attention. "A quick demonstration, before we get back into our vehicles. Piper, if you please?"

Pip nodded and walked over to stand next to Cassidy. He paused half a dozen beats, squeezed down on time, then jumped up and over the Meister, who was significantly taller than anyone else in the room; as always, Pip landed soundlessly with just a small puff from the sand. Like intended, the simple feat astonished the audience, including the official, whose eyes and mouth were once again open wide.

"Carlos, Judges," Cassidy said seriously, "there isn't a fighter in the world that can beat Piper. When you think about this meeting later, you might feel in some way cheated by the outcome, but I hope you understand that coming together in partnership is much better than the alternative." After looking to each of the three, Cassidy smiled and spun, walking back toward the transport, flanked by Lilith and Rachel. Pip lingered for a dozen beats, also looking from one of the Marbelo representatives to the next before turning to follow.

As soon as the transport's doors closed, Cassidy's professional demeanor cracked and she let out a very uncharacteristic whoop, which she followed up by pulling Lilith to her for an equally unexpected celebratory kiss. The smaller woman was quite flustered by the entire thing, while Rachel smiled and Pip smirked.

"We got everything we wanted and more," enthused the Meister. "Lilith, what did you say to that Judge?"

"I just told her the truth: we're interested in collaboration, not conquest."

"That easy?"

"Our pact with Northumberland went a long way toward convincing her, and this way Marbelo doesn't have to give up their Adam program, which means if they do want to expand, it's still an option. Plus, with only Gracia left as a major threat, they can be a lot more aggressive."

"You didn't have to threaten them at all?"

"Well," Lilith hedged, "threat is too strong a word. I did tell her I planned on publicizing Annora's presence in the Complex, as well as the circumstances of her arrival; we agreed that I would hold off on that for now."

Cassidy clapped lightly while smiling broadly. "Well done, Executive Director. I think you were right about not pushing for more, even though I think we could have; it shows we were negotiating in good faith."

"I hope so. There's still work to be done, but I'm optimistic. By the way, did you know the Judges were the real power in the city?"

"It's not quite so simple as that, but I can see how it looked that way. Harryx is essentially a mouthpiece for the Judges, but he also has legitimate authority himself, which balances them out to some extent. If they're united, he can't stop them, but he can slow things down and generally make it harder to push measures forward. If he was really opposed to the terms, he would have walked away."

"So his whole performance was an act?"

"Except for when Pip yelled," answered Rachel. "His breathing hitched and he started sweating, but the rest seemed affected."

Lilith thought about it, then nodded. "I'll admit that he had me fooled at times, which is why I asked you to join us."

Rachel tilted her head, accepting the compliment, then leaned back into Pip, closing her eyes.

"Tell me, Pip," Cassidy said with a teasing tone, "what do you think about turning stud for Marbelo?"

Smirking, Pip shook his head. "Not likely, but I guess anything is possible. Do you think Stash will volunteer?"

Cassidy's smile dropped and her eyes hardened. "He better not." Pip laughed softly at the transition, which caused Cassidy's frown to falter and then disappear altogether. "Point taken, Pip."

Chapter 3

"So now what?" Geo asked, leaning back and lacing his hands behind his head.

"Now we have time to take care of our own business," Lilith replied.

"Like the Eve project," suggested Baker.

"Sure, as well as education, and culture changes, and expanding the Vale," answered Lilith.

"And Gracia..." Geo said, then trailed off.

"But we don't want to expand further right now," Lilith inserted, so Geo held up a finger, leaning forward.

"They don't know that. Collusion with another city is sanctionable by the Arena council, but everyone knows it happens, so once they learn about our truce with Marbelo, Gracia will expect coordinated challenges at seemingly random intervals to wear them down. When will the treaty be filed?"

"Tomorrow."

"Then I expect we'll hear from Gracia no later than a week from now. We should discuss what concessions we want beforehand."

"Really, after all the effort we went through with Northumberland and Marbelo, you think Gracia will just... roll over?" asked a surprised Lilith.

"When it comes down to it, yes, I do, because what other choice do they have? We have the best fighter in the world and, as far as they know, the deepest pool. Marbelo is down at the moment, but without us occupying their resources, in two years or less they'll be a serious threat again. So the only real question for me is whether or not they're going to be proactive, and the intelligence I've heard in the past leads me to believe Gracia is a forward-looking bunch."

"Why is that?" asked Rachel.

"Resources. Of the four biggest cities, they have the fewest by far. The city was built next to a sea, which provides food, but they lack significant amounts of iron for steel, limestone for concrete, and wood. They have plenty of clay, but that only goes so far when you're talking about infrastructure. They rely heavily on smaller cities for what they don't have, but haven't made reciprocal agreements, probably because of what we just did to Marbelo. Put it all together and I think there's a good case that they will look to manage their risk aggressively."

Rachel nodded her thanks for the explanation.

"So what would we want?" Baker asked.

"That's a good question for the Meister," responded Lilith, "but maybe we can give her some ideas. What is Gracia known for, Director Humbolt?"

"Sea-related products and materials, of course, but shipping seafood from so far away isn't practical, and we can get salt on the commodity market. We believe their gene-tech is good, but not substantially better than ours. I've heard rumors about a new desalination technology, but salt isn't behind our water limitations, so I don't see a strong upside to pursuing it."

"What about --" Baker started, then stopped abruptly. "Do you know how their desalination plants work?"

Geo shook his head while looking back curiously.

Baker started again. "Maybe the same technology could be used to purify our aquifers. I'm not an expert on the subject, but if they've come up with a way to do, for example, reverse osmosis on a large scale, we could potentially apply it to a different purpose."

"That's really possible?" Lilith asked.

Baker hesitated before responding. "I would say that it's conceivable. It sounds like we don't know what they're doing, but desalination is widely known to be hugely energy intensive -- prohibitively so -- which means they must have come up with some breakthrough. Even if the desalination portion of their technology follows a conventional approach and is consequently not applicable to our situation, there is value from the ancillary technology, meaning the energy production. I would say it's definitely worth finding out."

"Thank you, Director Baker. I agree with you and will discuss the matter with the Meister. She is often able to obtain information quickly and I will suggest she does so in this case.

"Other comments?" When none came, Lilith nodded and looked down at her notes. "Alright then, one last topic for today's Council meeting: it's time to name Director Frazier's replacement."

Rachel let out an exaggerated sigh of relief, receiving a smile from Lilith in return.

"You still think Martina Rausch is the right fit to take over the departments you are leading."

"I do," Rachel replied. "She's capable and steady, and I think her voice on the Council will be valuable. I will add that she's data driven and often introspective, so asking her to make quick decisions isn't going to work well. She already knows Purchasing, of course, and Logistics should be a natural fit. With the Meister continuing to handle Procurement, I don't think it will be too much for her."

Lilith nodded. "Understood. Gentlemen, what do you think?"

Geo looked to Baker, then responded, "I don't know her other than to wave 'Hello.' If both you and Director Frazier think she's the right fit, then I would defer to your opinions."

Lilith looked to Baker, who nodded in agreement.

"Right. I will talk with her and see how receptive she is to the idea, and will report back at our next Council meeting.

"What about Research and Development, Director Baker? Do you think that Ronald Wilkens from Northumberland is still the right fit?"