Luminaries & Lies
Page 26
The second finely-dressed man then said: “The water you drink gives you one (1) power, by which you serve the false kings and princes and nobles.”
The first finely-dressed man then said: “The true leader – the Unfailing King – will lead you to an ocean with a water that will grant you all powers, and you shall be truly wealthy.”
The second finely-dressed man then said: “When you submit to his wise laws, then you will have peace and prosperity and justice.”
A woman in the crowd – who was powerful in her physique and intense in her anger – then spoke up, saying: “Show us this ocean.” It was Serafina, who remained in exile, but preferred to remain in Ihalik, as she knew the land.
The first finely-dressed man then said: “Only the Unfailing King can lead you to the greatest ocean and its waters. Proclaim your loyalty to him and you shall have it.”
“What is his name that I may do so? When will he arrive, that I may have this all powerful water?” Serafina asked.
“When the world is ready,” the second finely-dressed man said.
“I am ready. I don’t need the world. Show me the ocean with the all-powerful water, that I may have it,” Serafina said.
“The Unfailing King will decide the proper time, and who is ready,” the first finely-dressed man said.
“How can I know that your words are true?” Serafina asked.
“You will have to believe,” the second finely-dressed man said.
“How can I believe? Show me! Is this a religion?” Serafina asked, obviously angry and annoyed.
“No. This is belief in the Unfailing King,” the first finely-dressed man said.
“Show me! Then I’ll believe!” Serafina yelled.
“You must be patient. You are not the Unfailing King. It is he who sets the time, and makes the laws,” the second finely-dressed man said.
“There’s nothing to believe! You’re trying to trick us like the religions do,” Serafina yelled.
“You are empty if you have nothing to believe,” the first finely-dressed man said.
“We are here to give you hope,” the second finely-dressed man said.
“I hope to see both of you dead,” Serafina said, and she drew a heavy sword from a scabbard she carried. She drank anew of the waters from her vial – the Nabavodel Ocean waters – and she was energized. She then lunged forward with amazing speed, bringing her sword close and swinging it at their necks. The two (2) finely-dressed men drew back in fear, but the woman stopped her blade short of killing them both.
“Your king didn’t save you, did he? I just wanted to see you afraid, because it means you don’t really believe in this ‘unfailing king.’ He failed to show up when you needed him. Admit it!” Serafina said.
“If you mock the Unfailing King, he will defeat you in his time,” the first finely-dressed man said.
“He is just, and will bring prosperity to those who believe, but not to the disbelievers,” the second finely-dressed man said.
“Believing is for fools,” Serafina said and walked away. She had seen enough of great leaders, and realized that they were never all that great.
CHAPTER 28: Request to the Bankers of the World
In the continent of Baradaxa, Sebastian and a number of his guards had traveled into the city of Dalavar, by way of one of his many luxurious airships, to meet with the bankers of the Dalavar Central Bank.
Among Sebastian’s guards was a twenty-five (25) year old woman named Viveka, who drank of the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean. She thus hid in the darkness, watching for foul play against Sebastian. She also extended the cover of darkness over his other guards.
Another of Sebastian’s guards was thirty-two (32) year old man named Espen, who drank of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean. He thus had the power of light, yet he hid in the darkness cloak extended by Viveka.
Still another of Sebastian’s guards was a thirty-one (31) year old woman named Persephone, who drank of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean. She thus had the powers of telepathy and empathy, yet she hid in the darkness cloak extended by Viveka. She protected against intrusion into Sebastian’s thoughts by other telepaths. He had this power at a greater level than she did, but she was a useful reinforcement.
Sebastian sat in a great room – the Office of Loan Counseling – with ornate stone pillars covered in pearl, fine wooden beams coated in bright yellow topaz, all extending forty (40) feet up from marble floor to tiled marble ceiling. The bankers – central bankers, that is – were fabulously wealthy and had the building designed to highlight this fact.
Sebastian was the wealthiest man in the world – as far as many were aware – but that did not mean he held most of the world’s wealth. The bankers controlled it, and Sebastian wanted a loan. Not in the form of the pure currency, such as platinum. He wanted to borrow actual crystal, which was both a form of wealth and a natural resource.
Sitting across a table from him was a tall and extremely thin man with a thin mustache. He dressed in the quintessential banker’s attire – silver and white tunic, fine suede pants and various diamonds along the shirt sleeves. He appeared to be fifty (50) years of age or slightly less, with a hint of gray hair. Next to the tall and thin man was a woman who was similarly dressed. She appeared to be forty (40) years of age approximately.
“I am Counselor Adrian, administrator of requests for loans,” the tall and extremely thin man said. He drank anew from waters in the vial he carried. They were the Medathero Ocean waters, and they enhanced his mind and gave him a calm rationality.
“I am Counselor Becca, administrator of repayment planning,” the woman said. She drank anew from waters in the vial she carried. Like Adrian, she drank of the Medathero Ocean waters. This was essential for thinking cautiously about finances, so as not to be deluded by the false promises of a borrower. The bank insisted that all loan counselors drink of the Medathero Ocean waters.
The cloak of darkness concealed not only the guards of Sebastian, but also the bank appointed guards for the counselors. One was a forty-nine (49) year old man named Jostli who was a drinker of the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean waters, so that he concealed himself and another. The other guard was a fifty-one (51) year old woman named Torli, who was a drinker of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean. She was hidden by the cloak of darkness extended by Jostli.
On both sides, they guards watched for foul play or extortion. Torli, through her telepathy, knew about Persephone, and about Viveka and Espen, of whom Persephone was aware as she traveled with them. Persephone, through her own telepathy, sensed Torli in return. They were a match for each other, and it took all of Torli’s energy to watch Persephone and make sure that she did not try to manipulate the bank officers. Likewise, it required all of Persephone’s energy to watch Torli and make sure that she did not read or manipulate Sebastian through telepathy.
“What brings you here today, Sebastian?” Counselor Adrian asked.
“I’m here to discuss with you an opportunity – and a need. Certainly, you have been impacted, negatively, by the damage from the storms,” Sebastian said.
“We have registered losses, that is true,” Counselor Adrian said.
“They were not of unexpected scale,” Counselor Becca said.
Sebastian recently drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from his vial. The waters were highly purified by his personal alchemist so as to yield the greatest effect. He was reading the minds of the counselors to see what he might learn of them. Torli could not attend to this, however, because Persephone was locked in a telepathic struggle with her.
Sebastian was thus free to read the mind of Adrian and learned the truth of him – that Adrian was abandoned as a child by parents he never met and left to die of starvation and heat stroke. He nearly did die but he was rescued by an older man whose name he does not know and who brought him to a safe house where he was fed and cared for. He lived there until his was seventeen (17) when he was told that it was time to go out on his own and learn
a trade. He did, reluctantly, and went and learned the banking business as a money counter. Yet, Adrian feared abandonment. Sebastian knew that this man was weak.
Sebastian then read the mind of Becca and learned that she had a wealthy father in the shipping business who bought her mother expensive jewelry. Becca secretly arranged for the sale of her father’s fleet of ships and took the money and gambled it away. Her father was ruined, went into a deep depression and took his own life. Before Becca’s mother could sell her jewelry for money, Becca stole that and gambled it away as well. Her mother, who was left with nothing but the fine home that her husband provided, sold that and bought a smaller one so that she could have money off of which to live. Becca tried to steal that but her mother caught her and sent her away. Becca eventually had to surrender her gambling habit and was forced to work for the bank. She was overcharging borrowers in their repayment plans with excessive fees and interest. Becca planned on using this money to purchase land to build a casino where she would slant all the games. Sebastian saw her as a liability to everyone in this transaction.
Adrian considered the bank’s losses due to the tempest – at fifty-five billion (55000000000) platinum coins worth of property damage – to be substantial, yet they would not impact his personal compensation drastically. He actually didn’t seem to care at all. Becca considered the losses to be severe, and they would impact her own compensation in the form of lost bonuses. Yet, she concealed this behind her calm demeanor. She was not prepared to appear desperate for business, as that would have made her more vulnerable when negotiating loan repayment terms.
Sebastian realized that Counselor Becca was greatly troubled by the financial losses, and would be more inclined to agree to what he was about to suggest.
“I am here in pursuit of a large scale loan, of building material,” Sebastian said.
“What do you mean by large scale?” Counselor Adrian asked. He knew that Sebastian had vast wealth, so this would likely be a considerable undertaking. He stood to gain a great deal on commissions, if Counselor Becca would approve the repayment plan.
“I am interested in a quantity of diamond and sapphire, of construction quality,” Sebastian said.
“We deal primarily in platinum reserves. We can discuss the loan in those terms, and you can arrange the purchase of the materials,” Counselor Adrian said.
“Then the new structures will be the collateral, obviously. What is your repayment plan?” Counselor Becca asked.
“The first matter, however, is the quantity. What value of platinum bank note, then, will you need?” Counselor Adrian then asked.
“Eighteen point four seven two quintillion (18472000000000000000),” Sebastian said.
Counselor Adrian had a sudden bout of panic. The central bank did not have that much wealth. This request was outrageous. Yet, he planned on meeting it – with some creative financing.
Sebastian read his mind the entire time, and learned that Counselor Adrian was planning on engineering the money.
“This will need to be carefully arranged, and segmented into multiple loans, as our banking protocols limit the size of individual loans to one quadrillion (1000000000000000). This is not a problem. I just want you to be aware that there will be administrative expenses,” Counselor Adrian said.
Inside, Counselor Adrian was salivating at the thought, because those administrative fees would largely go to him to manage all those loans. He would find every way possible to charge Sebastian for every form of assistance he could. Managing a portfolio that would consist of eighteen thousand four hundred seventy-two (18472) individual loans, each at the maximum loan amount, would be an undertaking, but each one would have its fees. Even if he split it one hundred (100) ways among other counselors, he would be on a rapid path to retirement. He had no intention of splitting it, however.
Sebastian read Counselor Adrian on this, as well, and knew that he would cherish the chance to provide this loan.
“It’s time we discussed the collateral, and the repayment plan,” Counselor Becca then said. She found this to be outlandish – she doubted that anyone could possibly repay this. She had little intention of approving the loan – in fact, almost no intention. She was really just curious to hear the story behind it, and to negotiate down to something manageable.
“I intend to build a city, using innovative designs,” Sebastian said.
“Innovative? Tell me more,” Counselor Becca said.
“A protective structure, with conveniences and services to all the oceans, to all the farm lands, to all the resources that are within my land holdings in Baradaxa,” Sebastian said.
“Protective? What perils are you planning on protecting against?” Counselor Becca asked.
“Everything,” Sebastian said.
“Everything? That’s impossible. How can you imagine all possible dangers?” Counselor Becca asked.
“I have confidence in the greatest of all architects, who can design against any contingency,” Sebastian said.
“Nothing is perfect. Of course, the question is whether it’s profitable. How will you repay this loan? This city needs to generate income – at a rapid rate – in order to justify its scale,” Counselor Becca said.
“If you, personally, had died in the storms – there was a reason I was asking that earlier, of course – then what would it matter?” Sebastian asked.
“What does that question even mean? It would matter to the bank, whether or not I worked here,” Counselor Becca asked. She wondered why he was trying to make this personal. She wasn’t worried about her own death – she just wanted to be wealthy in her own life. This was sounding like a foolish idealistic utopian dream, and she was becoming annoyed at the irrationality of it.
Sebastian was reading her mind and finding her objections, and had made plans against them.
“People are tired of war, and environmental disasters, be it sun, or storm. They will pay to live there, even to move their homes and businesses to a safer place. The relative safety will be a magnet for businesses, and those that transact with them. The farmers will come first. They want to live away from the coast, and use inland irrigation. The crystal benders can mine in the mountain ranges. These will bring the other industries,” Sebastian said.
“A small city – with a loan at the level of one quadrillion (1000000000000000) – would be enough to do that. Let it prove itself, before scaling it up. That might be viable, but you have to locate it correctly, and attract adequate skilled trade investment. I would be willing to approve that,” Counselor Becca said. She knew that Sebastian was worth at least that much already, so collateral was not a problem.
Counselor Adrian then said: “It may be possible, if you can accelerate the investment, to scale that to ten (10) times. If you can demonstrate the viability, we would be open to an adjustment.” He did not want to lose this opportunity – if the loans defaulted, it was Counselor Becca’s problem, primarily.
“The viability will have to be sustained, however,” Counselor Becca said.
Sebastian read both their minds, and knew that they were – despite being colleagues who were employed by the same central bank – the most bitter of adversaries filled with distrust and contempt toward one another. The profit of the one could be the loss of the other.
“The viability should be obvious – moving industries to be collocated in the same region of the same continent will create opportunities and reduce costs,” Sebastian said.
“These claims are likely true, but the degree of truth needs to be measured. At this point, the largest amount I am willing to approve is the one quadrillion (1000000000000000). Significant repayment and evidence of future payoff will be needed before approving another. The scale of the initial request is far too great,” Counselor Becca said.
“I saw many die in the tempest. I saw the evil behind it. It would be the proper thing to do – the compassionate and wise course – to protect against such a dangerous situation again,” Sebastian said.
“I will return at a later time, and bring my evidence for a more compelling case, such that the full loan is approved, rather than a portion,” Sebastian said. Before he left, however, he planted a thought in the head of Counselor Adrian. He revealed to Counselor Adrian many things, all of which were meant to lead Counselor Becca to change her answer to one more favorable.
Sebastian then left their office and the grand building that was the bank. It was a massive structure – over eight hundred (800) feet wide and long, and ninety (90) feet in height, featuring pillars inscribed with the names of the bank’s founders.
On his way to return to his ship, Sebastian and his guard – who were concealed in the cloak of darkness – met with two (2) finely-dressed men. They each wore a ten (10)-sided medallion with gold coins at the corners and a carving of a key in the center.
The first finely-dressed man said: “These bankers lie and steal. They hold the wealth and keep the world poor.”
The second finely-dressed man said: “A true economy of justice will be brought by the Unfailing King.”
“These bankers have no king. They have only a deity – money itself,” Sebastian said.
The first finely-dressed man said: “They will be brought to an end, and their false money will be shown as worthless.”
The second finely-dressed man said: “Deal not with them, or you, too, will be made poor.”
“Don’t worry about me, or my money. I don’t need your help, or your king,” Sebastian said.
~~~
Inside the Office of Loan Counseling in the bank, Counselor Adrian was had a thought – one he believed to be his own – and turned to Counselor Becca and said: “Many helpless people are depending on this city, which is to be a great city. Many will live in it. If you stand against it, many will die in it. I want you to know that.”