Usurper

by Richard F. Weyand

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Ms. Dunham, you will now take up your idea of expanding our internship program with Personnel, as well as figuring out how to so drastically expand the staff while maintaining an invitation-only policy. Mr. Perrin has quite enough on his plate already, and I want to make sure these issues get the attention they deserve. Does that work for both of you.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Good. Let’s not wait for Personnel to sort all the buttons, Ms. Dunham. Get some proposals together for the hiring effort as soon as you can.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Of course, the process of building the new office building went down before it went up. Excavation for the basements was made, as well as for the connections to the people-mover system, so that the new building would connect in with the existing transit system under Imperial Park.

  Then the piling machines moved in. Pilings would be drilled, not hammered, to keep from driving people in the neighboring Imperial Palace crazy with the pounding. With the pilings set, epoxy-crete would be used to back fill the holes.

  The Council

  The Imperial Council building was located just east of the Imperial Palace in Imperial Park. It was much newer than the palace, having been built well after the Kingdom of Sintar had become the Sintaran Empire. It had originally been built to the same standards as the rest of the buildings in Imperial Park, meeting among other things the requirement that it be at least seventy-five feet – five stories – shorter than the Imperial Palace.

  As the Council had gradually drawn off the power of the Throne, a penthouse floor had been added to the Imperial Council building in a petty act of defiance to the Empress. The Empress at the time had not asserted her authority against it, and all succeeding Empresses had let the violation go.

  Full meetings of the Council in the Chambers, including all the bit players, were rare. Everyone wore their Council robes, and there was a great deal of pomp about the whole thing, but that only happened a few times a year.

  The real meetings, the ones where decisions were made and power was wielded, included only the most powerful members of the Council, and were held in the Chairman’s conference room on the penthouse floor.

  “So what is this new Empress likely to do, Saaret?” Falmouth asked.

  “Like most, she is likely to continue the policies of her predecessors,” Saaret said.

  “That much is obvious from her choice of reign name alone,” Ralston said.

  “Indeed. I don’t expect any loosening of the rules in the Health or Education areas, that’s for sure. She benefitted directly from those policies – the Melsbach cure, the new education curriculum, the scholarship program – and so she knows the effects they had for real people.”

  “What else, though? Anything new?” Falmouth asked.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised to see her go after military procurement and promotions. Both of those affected her directly as well. And the prior Empress committed to the Court that she would reform weapons acquisition. That’s binding on this new Empress as well.”

  “She’d better not try,” Pomeroy said.

  “Or what, Pomeroy?” Saaret asked. “The Council is subservient to the Throne. It has to be, or we wouldn’t need an Empress at all. If procurement had not foisted defective weapons on the Imperial Marines, or if promotions hadn’t tried to solicit bribes for military decorations, you wouldn’t be in this mess. It’s one thing to accept bribes for selecting one bidder over another to build weapons to spec. It’s another thing to knowingly contract for inferior weapons not built to spec. The new Empress’s husband and brother were almost killed by those damned things, and twenty-four Marines in their unit were killed. Then when they got home, your promotions board tried to sell them medals for valor and honor. How do you expect to sidestep Imperial scrutiny over shit like that?”

  “She doesn’t need to reform the entire procurement process to meet the court order on weapons acquisition. Even that could be a token effort if she wanted it to be. And we’ve halted the selling of military decorations. She doesn’t need to do anything there.”

  Saaret sighed. Could Pomeroy not see the obvious?

  “Lord Pomeroy. I suspect this new Empress – and the last one as well, actually – wants to reform the procurement and promotions departments. Your people gave them the excuse they needed. Why would this Empress hold back? They’ve reformed just about everything else. Why stop now? Because you said so? That isn’t going to carry a lot of water with Her Majesty, I suspect.”

  “But she can’t.”

  “On the contrary, Pomeroy. She can and likely will. Look. Everybody. I am going to have my first meeting with Her Majesty in the next day or so. I will feel her out on how she intends to proceed. Then, and only then, will it make any sense to decide what we intend to do.”

  “Ask her about all these new hires that she and her predecessor have been making in the Empress’s personal staff. What are all these people for, anyway?” Falmouth asked. “I can’t believe any of it is good news for us.”

  “I can ask,” Saaret said, “but she’s unlikely to tell me. Empresses have traditionally been very closed about their staffing. And we have no visibility into her personal staff at all. The staff is always very loyal to the Empress. Only natural, I suppose, since the heir to the throne is always selected from among their number. By the time a new Empress ascends to the throne, they have all known her for years.”

  “Ask her what she’s building on the other side of the palace,” Austin asked. “Just based on the excavation, that’s a damn big building going up. As big as this one. What does she need all that space for?”

  “Again, I will ask, but she is unlikely to be very forthcoming. You have to understand, gentlemen, that we answer to her, she does not answer to us, a privilege the Empresses are careful to preserve. She will likely tell me exactly what she wants me to know, and no more.”

  “Well, find out what you can,” Galbraith said.

  “Be seated, Lord Saaret.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  They were in a small conference room on one of the Empress’s office floors in the Imperial Palace. Saaret assumed her office was somewhere on one of these floors, but neither he nor any other member of the Council had ever been in it. Only Her Majesty’s personal staff even knew where it was.

  The new Empress was young and beautiful, but what struck Saaret was how confident she appeared. It had been over a month since she had ascended to the throne, and only now had she granted his request for an initial meeting. She had clearly grown significantly into her new role. Her vivid blue eyes, always a bit unsettling, had only grown more so with the acquisition of Imperial power. Or was he reading that into them?

  Dee considered Saaret. Almost forty years her senior, he had headed the Imperial Council for over twenty years, through the entire reign of Ilithyia I and before. He was smart and wily, and had studied Imperial history, and particularly its politics, extensively.

  “You asked for this meeting, Lord Saaret. You may proceed.”

  Saaret had practiced his opening statement well in advance.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty. Your Imperial Council desires to know your plans – in particular, if there are to be changes to current policy or new initiatives – so that we can best carry out Your Majesty’s wishes.”

  Dee tipped her head and raised an eyebrow.

  “Is that a new direction for the Council, Lord Saaret? It seems, at times at least, that the Council’s primary goal has been to stymie the Throne’s policies.”

  Well, that was certainly direct. Saaret, who had his hands clasped on the table, spread them for a moment, and then re-clasped them.

  “I’m sure it sometimes seems that way, Your Majesty, but there is a natural tension between the Throne and the Council. The Throne enjoys the luxury of setting policy without the burden of carrying it out. The Council must carry out Imperial policy as best it can within the limits the real world i
mposes.”

  Dee had to admit the logic of that, but it did not excuse the reality.

  “I understand, Lord Saaret – and you would know better than anyone, given your extensive study of the subject – yet I find that the Council and the bureaucracy in general seem more intent on administering my Empire for the primary benefit of themselves rather than my subjects. Difficulty in the real-world implementation of what can be rather idealistic policies must not be an excuse for the abandonment of the higher goals of public service.”

  Dammit, he liked this new Empress, but what could Saaret do to redirect his own Council along the path she had set out?

  “I agree, Your Majesty. It is perhaps more a matter of timing and pace than anything. The Council and the bureaucracy are set in their ways, and it will take time to set any new course, to reform their thinking.”

  Delay, delay, delay. That’s what the Council wanted. But how much delay had there been already, and how much more could Dee tolerate?

  “Lord Saaret, the previous Empress spent sixteen years trying to push the Council in this direction, and, if anything, the Council has hardened in its truculence. Some of your new Councilors are particularly troublesome in this regard.”

  Saaret knew who she was talking about. Pomeroy, Galbraith, and Newsom. Defense, Justice, and Law Enforcement. For what it was worth, he agreed with her, but he was just as stuck with them as she was. The Empire’s method for elevating Councilors left much to be desired.

  “I understand, Your Majesty. Yet we must work with what we have. Perhaps if we could talk about specific policies, I could offer Your Majesty some advice in how we might best proceed.”

  Was this a real offer to work together? Dee couldn’t be sure. Saaret could be trusted to do what he thought was best for the Empire, according to her predecessor, but his views may or may not align with hers. Carefully, now.

  “First, Lord Saaret, policy changes that have been made and are now working their way through the bureaucracy will remain in place. Reforms in education and scholarships, approvals of medicines, the patent system, trade and transportation, these will not be modified. I am considering some other reforms as well. In particular, the Throne has committed to the courts to reform weapons acquisition, and that is yet to be done.”

  Straight at Pomeroy. Which is what Saaret expected, of course. The previous Empress had agreed to reforming weapons acquisition in the name of the Throne. This Empress could choose not to honor that agreement, but it reflected poorly on the Throne if commitments weren’t kept by subsequent rulers.

  “Once the Throne commits, Your Majesty, history shows that subsequent rulers follow through, to preserve respect for the Throne, so this is not unexpected. If I might make a suggestion, however. It might be best to restrict that reform to the weapons acquisition process for now, and not take on the whole defense procurement system at once. Use that first step as a testbed and prototype for potential later changes to the broader system.”

  That actually made sense to Dee. Taking on the whole procurement system at once was a daunting prospect, but if they could put in the changes just in weapons acquisition for now, they could see how it went. Make any tweaks necessary before going after the bigger system.

  “Point well taken, Lord Saaret. I will consider it. The other reform that has my attention right now is with the legal system.”

  Galbraith. Damn. She knew where the problems were, all right.

  “What did Your Majesty have in mind?”

  Dee wanted to give him something to think about. To take back to the Council.

  “I was considering for the moment a simple memo, reminding everyone in my Department of Justice of the existence of the anti-corruption laws. But follow-on measures would lean more toward enforcement, Lord Saaret.”

  So no enforcement right away. And in any case, no enforcement reaching back over what had gone before. Saaret thought he could make that work, at least for now.

  “That sounds reasonable, Your Majesty. I will advise the Council. On other matters, we note that Your Majesty’s staff is doing a lot of hiring, and wondered if there were anything we could help with.”

  Dee didn’t have to tell them anything about her hiring, but this might be a good time to issue a little warning.

  “I have found that when the prior Empress met with her Councilors, Lord Saaret, their responses to her questions seemed to be overly shaded by their own interests. I am assembling a research staff to ensure I am fully informed on matters from a more neutral point of view.”

  Ouch. She was going to be showing up at meetings better prepared than her predecessor, clearly, and was less likely to be moved by a judicious shading of the facts. Saaret would have to warn the Councilors. And the building?

  “We also noted the construction project Your Majesty has underway. Based on the excavation, it seems to be a very large building.”

  Dee also didn’t need to tell him anything about the building, but they were likely to notice its design soon. To emphasize her previous point, she applied a spontaneous name change to the Palace Annex under construction.

  “We were already crowded, Lord Saaret. Assembling my research staff will exacerbate that problem. Even so, the new Imperial Research building is larger than it needs to be, because there is sensitivity to an aesthetic issue. The Imperial Palace is bilaterally symmetric. Adding a building on the empty side gives us the chance to make the adjacent buildings bilaterally symmetric as well. So the Imperial Research building will be a copy of the Imperial Council building. Larger than we need, but we will likely grow into it over time.”

  A copy of the Imperial Council building. That’s interesting. Of course, the aesthetic issue was one thing, but Saaret thought there was a more subtle point there as well.

  “I see, Your Majesty. That is all the questions I have at this time.”

  Clearly a closing line. Saaret must have what he wanted, at least for now. It had actually been a productive meeting, at least from Dee’s point of view. She had communicated what she wanted to get across.

  “Very well, Lord Saaret. Thank you for asking for this meeting.”

  That was gracious. The Empress didn’t often thank anyone for a meeting. But it had gone well, from Saaret’s point of view. He had found out what she would likely be up to. Galbraith and Pomeroy wouldn’t be pleased, but it could have been much worse.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  “What did she say?” Austin asked.

  “Well, the reforms that have already been implemented, and the ones that are rolling out, are all going to continue unchanged. No changes there.”

  “We sort of figured that. What else?” Ralston asked.

  “She is going to overhaul the weapons acquisition process. She noted the Throne’s commitment to the court, and the Throne has an interest is protecting its own credibility there, so that’s as expected. I think I convinced her to hold back on going after the entire defense procurement system for now, though. She’ll probably use weapons acquisition as a test case for defense procurement, and put the bigger problem off for a while. She clearly wants to do it, though.”

  “Damn. That’s going to cause real problems,” Pomeroy said.

  “But at least you’re off the hook for now, Pomeroy. At least on the bigger issue. The other thing she’s taking an interest in is the justice system. She said she would likely start with a simple memo reminding everyone of the corruption laws, and leave enforcement to a later time.”

  “What do you advise I do about it?” Galbraith asked.

  “Well, there’s no sense in twisting someone’s arm for a small bribe in a case where it’s going to be decided fairly anyway. I mean, if someone has a wrongful death or injury case against a large corporation, and they’ll get a million or two in reparations, taking a bribe to turn that for the corporation is a really crappy thing to do, for small potatoes, and it creates a victim. That will get you Imperial oversight. Big cases between corporate behemoths, where nobody cares w
ho wins except them, that’s different, and that’s where the big money is anyway. So clean up your act on the small stuff that hurts little people, and you can probably avoid the worst of it.”

  “I see what you’re saying. We can probably take care of that. Most of it, anyway.”

  “See that you do, because to the extent you don’t you’re going to attract her attention.”

  “What about all the new hiring?” Falmouth asked.

  “She says she’s building a research staff. She believes that some of us were less than forthcoming with honest answers to her predecessor’s questions, shading them to favor our interests. She wants her own research staff so she can be better prepared for countering our arguments.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Indeed. We will have to be less obviously self-serving in our dealings with her. Depending on how good this new research staff is, of course.”

  “What about the new building?” Austin asked.

  “She says she needs it for the new research staff. They’re overcrowded as it is, and the new hiring will make it worse.”

  “But that’s a huge building.”

  “It’s actually a copy of this building.”

  “There’s a message there, I think.”

  “She says not. The Imperial Palace is symmetric, so a matching building on the other side of the palace is more aesthetic than something entirely different. She says it will be too big for their current needs, but it will look nicer than a smaller, unmatching building.” Saaret shrugged. “I think she has a point.”

  “So what do we do now?” Ralston asked.

  “We keep on doing what we’re doing. Administering the Empire. That’s our job, after all. There will be some changes in weapons acquisition, and she will expect changes in Justice in response to her memo. The previous reforms will continue to roll out in other areas. And, like always, we do the best job we can within Imperial guidelines.”

  Lord Pomeroy and Chief Stanier were at one of their occasional dinners together.