eetish smoke was
rising out of the silver corollas of the braziers. The gold peacocks, cast
during Empress Cassia's rule, stood on the both sides of the forbidden door
and gawked at the Earthman with bewilderment and condemnation. The Emperor,
confused and pale, sat in an armchair. Dressed up Shavash faced the Emperor
expressionlessly and the first minister Yanik stood to the right. He was
devouring Shavash with his eyes.
"How do you do, Mr. Bemish?" the Emperor said.
Bemish felt himself blushing as if he were a boy caught in a
supermarket while stealing a chocolate bar and not the man responsible for
the largest military scandal of the century.
The sovereign paused and added, "It's not my place to judge but,
really, should the Emperor of the Country of Great Light find what you do to
my country out of newspapers?"
Precisely at that moment, the doors of the golden peacocks moved apart
and another character - Giles - walked in.
Bemish turned to him and said vengefully, "Well, what have I told you?
We got it."
"I am very upset, Mr. Bemish," sovereign Varnazd continued, "I
considered you to be an honest man. I am always wrong about people."
"Bemish has nothing to do with it," Giles said, "Our company was
supposed to get the license. It took us a while to persuade Mr. Bemish so
that he agreed to build it our way."
"And how much has it cost you for Mr. Bemish to agree?" the Emperor
smiled.
Bemish became as red as the apples on the tapestry behind the Emperor
and said, "It cost them nothing. I thought that if I had to screw around, I
would at least do it for free."
"Just a moment," Giles was astonished, "What do you mean, "for free?"
You received..."
Bemish turned and started walking towards Giles.
"Son of a bitch," he hissed. At that point, Shavash spoke in calm
voice, "This is my fault, Mr. Giles. I took some money from you to give to
Mr. Bemish but I spoke to him and he refused the money. So, I took it upon
myself to keep it."
Absurdly, Giles and Bemish burst out laughing.
"I swear by god's goiter," Yanik spoke through his clenched teeth
looking at the small official. But the Emperor didn't pay much attention to
Shavash's confession; he was probably used to these things. The first
minister started pompously, "They used to boil criminals in oil for selling
the country and to crucify them on gates! How can you justify yourself, Mr.
Shavash?"
"I," Shavash said, "don't see what I should justify. I signed a treaty
that transformed Weia from a pebble in the Galaxy's backyard into an ally of
the Federation of Nineteen and its potential member. The way the agreement
is defined makes it most profitable for the Weian people. Accordingly to the
treaty, three months ago we obtained a seven billion dinar credit that the
first minister had conducted unsuccessful negotiations for. I made the most
profitable deal for Weia in the last seven years and I made the Earthmen pay
for it with a seven billion credit!"
"Well," the Emperor hesitated, "if it is indeed the case..."
"But how will this man justify his actions?" Shavash continued, "He
lost his way among his bribes and he is completely incapable of performing
his duties. He is ready to destroy the Empire just to destroy me with it.
How will this man justify his actions when he delivered the information
concerning a classified agreement to the newspapers of the heretics? How
will you justify it, first minister?"
Yanik went gray in the face.
"It's not true," he muttered.
"Nonsense! I will prove that it's true and I will demonstrate how you,
instead of notifying the Emperor, preferred to let the heretics know about
everything!"
"Come here, Mr. Yanik," the Emperor said.
The old minister made one hesitating step forward, than another one.
"Is it correct? Who gave the information to Blue Sun?"
The official paled and his hands started shaking.
"Tell me the truth..."
"I... I...," the old man muttered, "It's the military consul of Gera...
I didn't take any actions against it, but... Unfortunately, I don't know
what to do..."
"Resign," the Emperor said. The old official desperately threw up his
hands. Shavash banged his fist on a brazier.
"Who cares about Gera?" he cried out, "We are now Earth's ally. We
should admit that Bemish's company will obtain a military commission from
us! We should admit that the Empire has finally drawn a lucky number after
seven years of suffering!"
The Emperor faced Shavash with a sick smile.
"Should we appoint you to the first minister position?"
"Yes," Shavash said, "it will confirm that we made a military agreement
with Earth and that we will not turn away."
"If Mr. Shavash becomes the first minister," Giles reached out, "Earth
will consider it to be a... favorable omen. It would mean that the
government's position is firm. We are ready to consider a new loan."
"Sovereign," Shavash said," I haven't taken a single bribe that was not
beneficial for our people but you can't have a first minister who betrays
his country and his Emperor in order to get even with his personal enemy!"
The Emperor was quiet. Everybody stood motionless. The golden peacocks
stretched their necks listening to the silence. The brazier smoke quietly
danced atop a sun ray. When the Emperor spoke, it seemed to Bemish that gods
on the skies and demons in the underground went still listening to him.
"You are right, Mr. Shavash. It would make sense to appoint you as a
first minister. Unfortunately, I can't do it."
"Why?" Shavash asked.
The Emperor raised his grey eyes at the official.
"I can't do it because you are a scoundrel, Shavash."
The official was taken aback. In another place, he would probably make
a standard repartee that he had never heard that scoundrels couldn't be
first ministers and he would generally comment in detail about this most
childish argument. Here, he suddenly closed his mouth and blinked like a
gosling.
"I will not appoint you as a first minister, Shavash, while I am
alive," the Emperor continued quietly. "You are a scoundrel. When you
appoint a scoundrel to such a position, in the end he always causes more
harm that good for the country."
He paused and raised his eyes at Bemish.
"Great Wei, what should I do? What would you, Terence, do at my place?"
"I had an honor to present my opinion to you," Bemish answered, "And my
opinion was that first ministers should not be appointed by a sovereign, but
rather be appointed by the people via their duly elected representatives."
The sovereign laughed nervously. Then he guffawed out loud.
"You are right, Terence," he spoke, "You are right! I will gather
your... representatives. Let them decide themselves who is gonna be the
minister! And let Mr. Shavash prove them that he acted for the people's
good, let's see if my people are as stupid as I am!"
The Emperor rose and rushed into the inner halls. Giles and Shavash
hurried after him but the guards didn't let them through. Bemish turned
around, tripped over a golden peacock and bolted downstairs. Halfway down,
he almost collided with Kissur who was ascending quickly.
"Kissur," Bemish said desperately, "You know that they forced me to do
it."
Kissur just waved his hand.
"How is the sovereign?" he asked.
"He fired Yanik."
"Great Wei! Who is the first minister?! Shavash?!"
"Nobody," Bemish said, "The sovereign promised to announce elections to
the Parliament."
Kissur's face contorted.
"You suggested this to him, didn't you?"
"You know my views."
"I know your views. You don't give a damn about this country. You think
that democracy will raise the stock quotes of your blasted companies!"
"Time spent with me was beneficial for you, Kissur. How long ago was it
when your understanding of stocks equaled my understanding of horses?"
Kissur threw himself down on a stair and squashed Bemish's foot. He sat
there for a while and then he stood up.
"It's not a problem. I've hanged one fully assembled parliament already
and I will hang another one. Take this into account when you plan your
investments."
And he ran up jumping over three stairs at a time - however, they were
quite low.
Still airborne on his way to Assalah, Bemish spent an hour giving
orders to buy the stocks of Weian companies, to buy as many of them as
possible and to keep low profile while doing it.
In an hour, having finished all his calls, Bemish extracted a sheet of
paper and started drawing a diagram illustrating his company's refinancing
scheme. High yield Assalah bonds currently paid off at fourteen percent a
month. Parliament elections and the subsequent rise of the country's rating
would increase the bonds' value. Accordingly to Bemish's calculations, they
should cost a hundred and three to a hundred and four cents for a dinar in
two to three months. Even now they reached a hundred and one point one cents
for a dinar - under these conditions even a bond bought at the price above
its face value still brought thirteen percent. Accordingly to the IPO's
conditions, rise (and fall) of the bonds' value caused the interest rates to
adjust so that the bonds would cost hundred cents per dinar. New Assalah
bonds, Bemish calculated, should make eleven to twelve percent.
A phone call interrupted his calculations.
"I have news about Inis," over the receiver he heard Giles' cold voice.
"Finally. Where is she?"
"You should better come to the villa."
In half an hour Bemish stood in a far corner of his luxurious garden,
next to a carved gazebo entwined with ivy. He stood near an ornamental well
that was a necessary feature - together with a hermit's hut and tame deer -
of a country manor. Nobody used it for the original purpose since running
water available was available. But tame beasts started behaving strange next
to the well and three hours ago a meticulous gardener had taken a look into
it in case something was wrong.
Bemish stood and watched two security service guys, clad in tight
rubber and leather, pulling a white swollen body over the well's edge. Far
away in the sky among the stars, danced blue and yellow lights of the rising
ships and a bold nightingale in a neighboring bush was singing a song
accompanied by a chorus of night cicadas.
"Do you know what Blue Sun will publish tomorrow?" Giles moved nearby.
"It will write that a foreign vampire killed his lover and hid her body in
an abandoned well.
Bemish turned and Giles saw with horror that the businessman's grey
eyes were as empty as a safe that robbers had broken into. Then, the general
director of Assalah Company swayed and, unconscious, slowly collapsed in
Giles's hands.
The Thirteenth Chapter
Where the nation expresses its will with unpredictable results.
Two months passed by. Preparations for the elections were at their
peak. Throughout the whole country, the officials had their precinct gates
wide open and fed their future electorate with, square like Weia, rice pies
and with, round like the sky, wheat pies. Throughout the whole country,
zealots performed shows about iron people. Throughout the whole country,
entrepreneurs and traders made donations to the officials' election
campaigns instead of bribing them.
Bemish spent this time flying around the Galaxy. The people closest to
him knew that he was horribly upset about Inis' death. The Earthman hadn't
stepped out of his bedroom for the first two days and, then, he threw
himself into his business like a fish dives into the ocean with an evident
and almost hysterical desire to drive the recent events out of his mind.
Various suggestions were made about the murderer's identity, including
the ex-first minister Yanik and the Following the Way; a number of people
suspected them to be connected. Mr. Yanik, alike the zealots, didn't approve
of the Empire being bought by the people from the stars. He wholeheartedly
wanted his friends to buy the Empire but, unfortunately, the people from the
stars had more money.
Shavash was also mentioned quite often; people said that the vengeful
official had killed Ashinik in retaliation for the old assassination attempt
and that he had killed the woman because once Bemish hadn't shared her with
him and also to mislead the investigation. They said that the Earthman
grieved so much because he knew who the man behind the murder was but he
could avenge it only by destroying his business in the process. Frankly, the
comments hit reasonably close to the truth.
Another rumor was also popular - the Earthman had knifed the woman to
demonstrate his grief and to alleviate the suspicions about his love for
another woman - they mentioned Idari quite loudly.
They searched for Ashinik very thoroughly, sometimes suspecting him of
his wife's murder and sometimes thinking that he had been killed together
with his wife as a traitor. But Ashinik disappeared without a trace. They,
however, found the man who had handed the papers about the spaceport's
military future to the zealots. It was the marxist technician who had
arrived with Ashidan at Kissur's villa and spied on the spaceport later.
Bemish went to see what was what left of this man. The next day, during
negotiations in Los Angeles Bemish would catch himself thinking occasionally
about possible reactions of his polite colleague in tortoise glasses if this
colleague knew that six hours ago the respectable director of Assalah
Company had cold-bloodedly observed how an alive man had his flesh cut off
him bit after bit and how this man screamed at the top of his lungs that he
knew nothing, absolutely nothing about Inis.
X X X
Having traveled for a month, Bemish returned to Weia. He had
practically finished the negotiations concerning BOAR. At the spaceport, he
ran into a flock of journalists who arrived to monitor the fairness of the
election preparations. One of the journalists asked him, "What do you
estimate Yadan's chances to win the elections are?"
Three hours before Bemish's arrival, the leader of the White Sect, a
mortal foe of the Earthmen and, therefore a mortal foe of all their
inventions such as democracy, credit cards and pizza, had declared that he
would participate in the elections.
"What are Yadan's chances?" Bemish was astonished.
"He is a madman who believes that Earthmen are demons. He looks at my
spaceport and says that I built a hole to hell. He says that he climbs a
ladder to the sky every morning and there are no Earthmen here. It means
that all our ships and equipment are phantoms and our spaceports are holes
leading underground. He also says that he was born out of a golden egg."
The journalist grinned and asked, "Why, in this case, does Ashinik
follow Yadan in the party's hierarchy? He was a vice-president in your
company and he seems to have worked under the billionaire Ronald Trevis.
Does he also think that the spaceport is a hole leading underground?"
Bemish froze. Ashinik is alive! The journalist pursed his lips and
said, "Aren't you ashamed to repeat the rumors spread by corrupted officials
to discredit the people's leaders?"
The next day, Bemish read an article about Weia in an influential and,
therefore, liberal newspaper Standard Times. The article was written by the
abovementioned journalist. The article presented the election company on
Weia as the fight between the corrupted officials and the true democratic
representatives of the people. Yadan was the true democratic representative
of the people. The corrupted officials and certain Earthmen who had reaped
off a lot of money robbing Weia tried all they could to smear the people's
leader.
An interview with Yadan followed the article. The journalist asked
Yadan, "Is it true that you consider Earthmen to be demons?"
"I don't know where this crazy rumor came from. You see, Mr. Bemish
doesn't speak Weian very well. You sometimes say "Go to hell" and we say
"You are a demon, go home." It could be that one of my friends swore at
Bemish and he, not really understanding our culture, took this expression
literally. I can give you another example. Some Earthmen started a rumor
that Following the Way claimed that their leader had been born out of a
golden egg. But it's just a metaphorical expression. "To be born out of a
golden egg" is equivalent to your expression "to be born with a silver spoon
in your mouth."
Having finished the article, Bemish ordered Ashinik to be delivered to
him. It appeared to be a difficult task. Even though Ashinik was no longer
in hiding, he appeared everywhere accompanied by a triple layer of
bodyguards. Bemish had to limit himself to the zealot's satellite phone
number which was known only to a dozen people. He called him and screamed at
him in perfect Weian, "I don't really speak Weian, do I? Was it your
invention, Ashinik, to use Earth media to strengthen the sect's position?
Was it your idea to persuade a passerby pen pusher that he knew the
subtleties of local culture better than the Assalah Company director?"
"Ai-tana khari (Demon, go home)," Ashinik replied sarcastically and he
dropped the receiver.
Bemish was pissed off to such a degree that he gave an order to fire
Ashinik. The latter had still been formally a member of the Board of
Directors.
Together with the majority of the Earthmen living and working in the
Empire Bemish found himself facing a strange problem. On one hand, the local
Earthmen understood perfectly well - better than the local officials - what
exactly the so-called party of the people's freedom, led by co-chairmen
Yadan and Ashinik, was about. It would not be difficult to start a large
scale media campaign against these people. But such a campaign would crash
the Weian stock market because nothing is as easy to scare away as money. At
the same time, this campaign would not hurt the zealots since they didn't
give a damn about demons' newspapers anyway.
The local Earthmen took a counsel and came to the conclusion that there
was no chance these halfwits would win the election. So, let the liberal
newspapers idolize the new heroes. Why should they bother exposing them? It
would only be bad publicity for the new IPOs.
As the elections were approaching, the fund index grew like bamboo,
since fund indexes in developing countries always grow before the elections.
To scream about the party of the people's freedom under these conditions
meant killing your own profit. A considerable part of the paper and
speculation profits, obtained by the Earthmen financiers and manufacturers,
was donated to Shavash's election campaign. They and their wallets just
loved this future country's leader. Their enthusiasm for donations was based
on the solid and persuading results of the sociological studies predicting
Shavash's victory.
What the financiers didn't know was that these studies were paid for by
Shavash. It is much easier to buy two hundred sociologists than to buy fifty
million of voters.
The elections caused certain problems, however, to Assalah Company.
Ashinik occasionally appeared on the pages of the Galaxy newspapers. While
his general comments towards Earthmen were restrained, he used Terence
Bemish as an example to explain the peculiarities of the corruption in the
Empire. Mostly, he commented on the abuses of Assalah customs and unabashed
insider trading in Bemish's funds.
It wasn't particularly beneficial for the company's quotes and their
growth lagged noticeably behind the general fund index.
But the worst for Bemish was that, due to the elections, Kissur and
Shavash - two people that meant a lot for the planet and quite a bit for
Bemish personally - quarreled. Their breach started almost unnoticeably, at
the moment when Kissur declared openly that he was against all the
elections. Shavash had opposite views. When the sovereign declared in
Shavash's face that he would never appoint him as a first minister, Shavash
realized that he would be able to become a first minister only by people's
volition.
Practically immediately, in a great hurry, Shavash channeled all his
power and money into a huge political campaign and into the creation of his
own party. Shavash's methods were as primordial as they were effective. The
doors to the vice-prefect's manor stood wide open for the poor - they could
get there free soup and pies day and night.
The minimal wage law was under consideration at that time. The first
minister Yanik insisted on a fifty isheviks minimal wage while Shavash
suggested eighty. Yanik won. Then, the vice-prefect Shavash declared that he
would pay the difference to the workers in the capital drawing a salary of
less than eighty isheviks.
Two assassination attempts were made at Shavash's life. It's hard to
say whether or not they were real but Shavash clearly gained from them. He
became the only man opposing the zealots for both foreign investors and
well-intentioned people.
While Kissur and Shavash could live in peace at the Emperor's court,
the fallout between became inevitable once the latter emerged as the head of
Weian Democratic Alliance party since the former considered democracy to be
an ultimate stupidity that Weia needed just as much as somebody would need a
fur hat amidst a hot summer.
The final quarrel happened at a party in one of Shavash's country
houses. Bemish attended it - he needed to meet some officials from Chakhar
and hand a check for the election campaign to Shavash.
They were all drunk; Kissur was somewhat more sober while Shavash was
boozed up completely. Shavash reclined on a sofa with one of his slaves
sitting on his knees. The slave was a cute fourteen-year-old boy and nobody
had any doubts about the precise nature of his relationship with Shavash.
The boy was kissing his master's fingers and picking bits off his plate and
finally the time arrived when the future prime minister, the light and hope
of the people, the enemy of inflation and the paragon of virtue started
walking towards an exit pushing the boy in front of him and looking horny.
Two or three supplicants had been circling around Shavash hoping to discuss
some important matters; they jumped out of his way not willing to distract
the vice minister away from his modest boy. At that point, Kissur appeared
in front of Shavash.
"Shavash," an Empire's ex-first minister said, "are you really going to
Lannakh tomorrow?"
A meeting of three provinces was taking place in Lannakh with feasts
for the chosen and pies for everybody.
"Yes."
"I beseech you not to go there."
Shavash smiled confounded.
"I can't, Kissur. The people are waiting for me there."
"I beseech you, Shavash, don't do it. I ask you in the name of our
friendship. It's not befitting for a Weian official to ape these stupid
Earthmen and to take part in the elections."
Shavash giggled drunkenly.
"Is it your personal request?"
"No, I speak on the other's behalf."
Kissur didn't say "other person's". He never called the Emperor Varnazd
a man. The Emperor was always a god in his eyes.
"Is he, in whose name you speak, afraid of me winning the elections?"
"You are not worthy of heading the country."
Everybody was listening to this dialog breathlessly; soon afterwards,
it was to acquire the most fantastic details added to it. Both Kissur and
Shavash were boozed up to the hilt and what a sober man has on his mind, a
drunkard has on his tongue...
Shavash laughed.
"What would you offer me instead, Kissur?"
"Anything you wish. You wanted Iman. (The sovereign gave to Kissur a
lot of land in the oil-rich areas of Iman). Would you like me to cut Yadan
down?"
Shavash giggled louder. He swayed and grabbed Kissur's shoulder to
avoid falling. Then, he missed a step and dropped on his knees. His lips
touched Kissur's hand.
"Kissur... Give me Idari and I won't participate in the elections."
Everybody froze not comprehending yet what was happening. Kissur was
the first one to react. His hands were next to Shavash's face, they suddenly
locked together on their own and Kissur hit Shavash with his locked hands in
the chin.
The vice minister sailed in a long arch through the air and landed with
his back on the banquet table. Sauces and appetizers flew to the sides and
priceless fifth dynasty china plates were smashed.
Kissur grabbed the object that was closest to him and it was a tall
five candle chandelier in the shape of a burning rose on a bronze rod and
rushed at Shavash roaring wildly. At this point, Bemish and Shavash's guards
tackled him and if it had not been for them, Kissur would have certainly
slaughtered the welcoming host. As it was, he had to limit himself to
killing one guard and leaving another one disabled.
X X X
The next day Bemish came to Kissur's manor to beg forgiveness. Green
with hangover, Kissur lay in a wide bed with a broken hand in a sling.
Bemish had broken this hand yesterday.
Kissur's brother, Ashidan, and Khanadar the Dried Date sat at Kissur's
feet and they weren't particularly welcoming towards Bemish.
"Son of a bitch," Kissur said out of his pillows. "I'll kill him
anyway."
He meant Shavash.
"You were drunk," Bemish objected, "You will still make peace."
Kissur laughed hoarsely.
"Don't be an idiot, Kissur! Shavash is just a horny goat. He almost
took Inis away from me! He sleeps with the wives of all his employees!"
"Exactly. He sleeps with everything that has a hole between its legs
whether this hole is in the front or in the back, he never leaves the pubs,
he drags his brat even to the negotiations with Galactic Bank and he dares
to ask me to give him my wife!"
X X X
The elections for the first Weian parliament took place on the fifth of
Shuyun, July, 17th by the interplanetary calendar. The
overwhelming majority of the electorate - 67.5% - voted for the party of the
people's freedom, the ex-sect Following the Way.
The same day, the sovereign declared the results invalid and issued
arrest warrants for Yadan and Ashinik, two best known leaders of the sect.
Yadan disappeared. Ashinik escaped to Earth. His arrival caused a huge
sensation in the liberal media. He was a charming twenty two year old young
man with perfect English, a year's working experience as a vice president in
a large trans galactic company and a one year college experience in an elite
business school. He totally didn't look like somebody accused by Weian
authorities of terrorism, manipulation of people's minds, mass hypnosis and
the literal understanding of the electoral campaign slogan "Earthmen are
demons."
Two days after his escape, Ashinik gave a long interview on the seventh
intergalactic TV channel. He explained all of the rumors attacking the party
of the people's freedom in a very simple way. The officials had decided to
run the elections hoping to obtain more power than they had before. When the
people's party won the elections, the results were declared invalid and a
huge incomparable libel campaign started against the party.
They asked Ashinik if his party was going to nationalize the foreign
companies' property if it came to power.
"No," Ashinik answered, "but we were going to make businessmen and
financiers of the Federation of Nineteen follow the Federation's laws."
As an example, Ashinik referred to Terence Bemish. Mr. Bemish had
created one of the largest industrial companies on Weia and Ashinik had
worked for him for a year. Terence Bemish bought eighteen million dollars
worth of Ichar non-ferrous metals facility stocks in an hour after his
friend Shavash had cleared this facility's sale to MetalUranium Company and
a day before the deal went public. Terence Bemish made thirty million.
Terence Bemish bought twenty million worth of gold loan bonds after
Shavash's close friend Oshin had announced that the payments on this loan's
interest would possibly be postponed; this announcement dropped the bonds'
prices by forty percent. Oshin was fired in a week, the bonds' value grew
back to the same level and Terence Bemish made sixteen millions. In a week,
Bemish hired Oshin as a manager of one of his funds.
"These actions resemble insider trading too much; they would cause
legal proceedings to happen anywhere else in the world," Ashinik claimed.
"Clearly, Terence Bemish has bought securities knowing that their value
would increase sharply. Persecution of these criminal activities doesn't
threaten the market. On the opposite, it would guarantee equal opportunity
for everyone. As for Assalah Company," Ashinik explained, "it hasn't only
provided ships with landing opportunities; it also has allowed the ship
owners to avoid paying import tariffs. A conveyor belt of export-import
companies was created at the spaceport with every company's life time being
two months. Accordingly to Weian regulations, a company should issue tax
reports every two months and, if it exists less than that, it just doesn't
pay any taxes. Of course, the local officials knew everything about it but
they were browbeaten or bought off. The companies were used for two
purposes. Mostly a successor company would fulfill its predecessor's
obligations in full but sometimes, if Bemish or Shavash needed to punish
somebody, the successor would not pay for the goods or, inversely, wouldn't
deliver prepaid merchandise. It was not difficult since most freight didn't
have accompanying documentation issued. That's why Assalah imports were
thirty percent cheaper than imports via any other spaceport."
"Does it mean," a journalist inquired, "that having gained power you
will collect all the tariffs in full?"
"No," the clever Havishem graduate answered, "quite the opposite, we
will lower tariffs. We are against protectionism and limiting foreign trade.
But I would like to stress that Yanik's government charged some companies
and didn't charge the others. This is not protectionism of domestic
industry. They favor some importers at the price paid by the others and this
is even worse than protectionism."
The journalist inquired how conscientiously Assalah paid its taxes and
Ashinik said that the year before last, Bemish had paid the taxes with the
bonds of bankrupted Weian National Bank. The trick was that Bemish had
bought the securities on Exchange at 7% of their face value while the state
budget accepted them at 100% of their face value.
The last year they started experimenting issuing tax promissory notes
on Weia. These promissory notes were securities based a company's debts to
the treasury. Everybody knew that Bemish wouldn't pay anything on these
promissory notes and they cost 3-4% of their face value. Bemish bought them
at this price via dummy fronts and he didn't have to pay the taxes this year
anymore. Bemish also acquired a lot of promissory notes of the companies
that he had some designs for and the state helped him to exchange the notes
into the stocks of these companies.
The Assalah securities didn't take this interview well - their price
plummeted by thirty points.
Bemish ordered his employees to compile and send to Earth a small
ethnographic report about the activities of Following the Way, so that the
TV audience could clearly understand that the political goals of the sect
were not limited to the removal of protectionism and insider trading in
stock market.
The next day, Ashinik made an official announcement that nuclear
weapons were stored in Assalah spaceport including Cassiopeia nuclear
missiles equipped with S-field that had been delivered there accordingly to
a secret treaty between the Empire and the Federation governments. The
proliferation of these missiles had been banned accordingly to the
S-armament non-proliferation treaty signed by the UN countries.
Bemish called this statement a horrible lie.
Ashinik demanded the spaceport to be inspected by the people.
Bemish announced that he would not allow a people's inspection because
a Weian peasant would not see any difference between a nuclear missile and a
landing stabilizer support and he, Bemish, didn't want somebody to throw an
explosive device in a landing chute during such an "inspection." All this
"people's inspection" was demagoguery anyway, why didn't experts just come
in and inspect whatever they want to?
Ashinik claimed that Earth experts would be bought by Bemish and the
Federation counter-intelligence.
Bemish announced that he didn't understand what a people's inspection
was.
Ashinik promised to explain to Bemish what a people's inspection was.
X X X
Two days later, the spaceport security service informed Bemish that a
crowd was moving towards the spaceport. Almost synchronously, two dozen
zealots, that had infiltrated the lounge before, descended to the storage
area to reclaim their luggage containing rocket launchers and other assorted
killing utensils.
The luggage had been X-rayed earlier and the zealots were arrested in
flagrant delicti. Bemish announced that it was an organized terrorist
activity and, if the people's inspection was going to happen along the same
lines, he wouldn't allow it. The zealots were taken to the capital and all
the confessions were beaten out of them quite quickly.
Bemish issued to order to guard the whole spaceport's perimeter closely
and to allow only ticket holders inside the port due to the emergency
situation. The next day, he showed to the journalists two bombs extracted
from an unknown man's luggage; the man arrived at the spaceport with a
ticket to the planet of Gera and left the spaceport in an unknown direction.
Ashinik claimed that Bemish had engineered the whole thing himself just
as he had with the zealots and rocket launchers. As for their "confession"
to the Weian police, Ashinik noted that Mr. Shavash could make an elephant
confess that it was a mouse in disguise. Ashinik claimed that the protests
were perfectly peaceful.
A huge crowd of zealots blocked the spaceport. The journalists from all
over the Galaxy flew to Assalah in search of prize news.
New people arrived at the roadblocks every day. They introduced
themselves to the journalists as "simple peasants that didn't like their
motherland being traded away for a jar of sour cream." Bemish, on the other
hand, claimed that they were not peasants but staunch zealots.
The traffic on the highway connecting Assalah to the capital was
completely paralyzed. Two monorails, Assalah - Sky City and Assalah -
I-Chakhar, were used for cargo transport. The blocked-off area in the
vicinity of the monorails was controlled by the satellites launched
specifically for this purpose; the satellites called alarm three times a day
and the trains had to be stopped; the cargo transportation schedule went to
hell.
Trucks traveled in groups accompanied by sharpshooters. Bemish
announced that the spaceport's administration would not take any
responsibility for the people's safety if they used passenger cars to get to
the capital. The car rental agencies went hysterical. The helicopter drivers
lived in the state of bliss. Three hundred taxi drivers that had been
temporarily hired by the spaceport security were ready to tear the zealots
apart.
The media approach shocked Bemish somewhat. They would interview an
ardent zealot - a professional agitator who had been bumming around fairs
since the age of five and who was lost in his own lies to such an extant
that he no longer knew whether or not Earthmen were demons. They would call
him a "Weian peasant who came to Assalah to fight for the freedom of the
elections and his country's freedom." On the other hand, a Weian taxi driver
whose car had been burned out two days ago by a zealot crowd was called "a
secret agent of security service bought by Bemish."
The spaceport sustained huge losses due to cargo being delayed and
frightened passengers hurriedly picking other travel routes. Twenty thousand
tons of gourmet Iniss peaches turned into peach chowder after spending five
hours in crazy summer heat in a monorail train with a disabled cooling
system. Ashinik called a bomb found on the monorail "a spaceport special
services' instigation."
Continuous magnetrone inspection of cargo damaged a Crudge-14A with
superconductive circuits traveling to the Iniss branch of Mountain TDL and
the corporation raised a horrible fuss about it.
The security service employees had all of their vacations cancelled.
They worked fourteen hours a day without holidays and slept right there,
crowding in the spaceport hotel rooms. Three hundred enraged taxi drivers
and long distance truck drivers joined the security service. Three hundred
highly professional colleagues of Giles' arrived quietly at the spaceport
and the journalists learned about their incognito arrival five minutes after
the space liner had landed.
Assalah stocks dropped five points a day on the average. Assalah
high-margin bonds were being sold twenty cents a dinar by the end of this
week.
However, Bemish's personal finances were in much better state than that
of the company. Bemish had realized that the zealots were sure to win before
the election's results were declared invalid and he ordered to sell quickly
practically everything that they traded with on Weian Exchange. Going short
brought at least forty million dinars to Weian Special and Second Investment
Fund but it was the first time in Terence Bemish's life when he was not
particularly happy to short.
Bemish requested governmental assistance with the protesters. The
government dallied and wavered and finally told him that while it was
sympathetic towards the Assalah issues but it was not willing to utilize
Weian police against Weian peasants to protect a foreign company that,
additionally, employed a right of "tax and trial" inside its territory.
Confidentially the government hinted that it was afraid to be kicked out of
power if tried to do anything along these lines.
X X X
Ronald Trevis arrived at Assalah on the third day. Three hours after
his arrival, a twenty person Ajax landed in the spaceport and suntanned
Kissur climbed out of it. Kissur hurried to Bemish's office where a
management meeting was taking place and he started shouting right at the
doorstep.
"What's this mess? Why don't you just shoot this muck? What are all
these rubber sticks doing here instead of rocket launchers?"
"If I shoot all this muck," Bemish said, "I will do what Ashinik dreams
about. It will bury the relationship between Weia and the Federation.
Ashinik will start screaming that foreigners at his planet shoot at
absolutely peaceful protestors. He will be somewhat correct about that. The
foreigners should not have a right to make such decisions."
"Why the hell did you ask for the right of "trial and taxes?"
"It was my mistake."
"I swear by the god's balls!" Kissur cursed. "Why don't you ask the
police minister for assistance?"
"I've asked him already. The government doesn't want to shoot its own
citizens for a foreign company's profit. If it does it, it will have to
shoot its own citizens to save its own ass tomorrow. Also, everybody knows
that an off