08-27-2019, 07:16 AM
Palace of Flowers
“I don’t care what they’re demanding, they’re not getting it. Do they not understand what the word final in ‘final offer’ means? If they still want to strike, just fire the idiots and hire new workers. Yes, even if we have to train new ones. It’s cheaper to take a temporary hit on the training budget than increase salaries long-term....I don’t care. The factory in Huehuetoca is our biggest site for tablet production, and I am not going to let our production stop and give anyone else a chance to shoehorn into our market. They can either get back to work, or they can get lost, period. Get this solved quickly, or you’ll be joining them in looking for a new job.”
Xocolcōza, the CEO of Cala Computer Corporation and Chairman of the Xiomeran Business Association, hung up and placed his top-of-the-line Cala XL smartphone back into his suit pocket. His assistant wordlessly handed him a folder with a set of briefing notes as they were escorted by a pair of Shorn Ones to the Rose Chamber.
The Emperor’s office was named that due to the particularly breathtaking sight of the rose section of the famed palace gardens. Roses of many colors and varieties, arranged along paths and water features in an elegant pinwheel pattern, were easily seen through the long window on the outside wall of the Rose Chamber. It was a view to die for (and, if legends held true, some had). But the scenery wasn’t why the leader of one of Xiomera’s largest corporations, and the spokesperson for its business community, was there.
As Xocolcōza was escorted into the office, the two men seated inside rose from their chairs to greet him. Tepilcayotl was the Security Secretary, but he was also the Emperor’s closest confidant, which explained his presence. As for Topilpopoca, his presence in the office needed no explanation, and most wouldn’t dare think of asking.
Unlike most of the people who entered this office, however, Xocolcōza wasn’t overly awed or impressed. For one, it was hardly the first time he had been to the Palace of Flowers. For another, Xocolcōza carried his own power with him into these rarified chambers.
After the usual pleasantries and serving of refreshments, Xocolcōza got to the point. “We need you to force the GCL and the others working with them to end their boycotts, and we need you to end this trade war, as soon as possible.”
“It is not customary for citizens to make demands of the Emperor,” Tepilcayotl replied pointedly. “I also do not seem to see anyone else with you, Xocolcōza. Who is this we you speak of?”
Xocolcōza looked at Tepilcayotl with the unique impatience of someone quite young and rich dealing with someone who was older and, to them, lower on the social scale. “You know who I represent. Let’s not play games, the situation is too urgent for that. Our stock market has been declining for some time now - ”
“Minor declines at best, which can be easily reversed with positive trade deals,” Tepilcayotl interrupted.
“I was not aware I was speaking with the Secretary of Trade. You certainly don’t look like Tlanextia. At least, not much,” Xocolcōza snapped dismissively. “But as I was saying, all of our trade indicators are trending negatively. The stock market is slumping. Growth is slowing, and we could well be facing a recession. And now, those idiots at the GCL have added Lauchenoiria to their boycott. Enough is enough. The Xiomeran business community is not prepared to just sit and watch as our economy goes off a cliff. You must take measures now to reverse this madness.”
As Tepilcayotl silently fumed, Topilpopoca sighed. “We are waiting for the trade talks in Eiria to begin. Until that happens, there is not much we can do, now is there?”
“You can force the GCL to end the boycotts. You can make a public statement calling for them to end, and privately warn the GCL to back off. Call it a gesture of good faith. It will provide a nice springboard in our favor going into the trade talks. Pulling back on some of our sanctions would help also. We need to be the bigger country here,” Xocolcōza said.
“If we reverse course and begin pulling back on our retaliatory measures, or end the boycotts, before Zamastan has made any concessions at all, or even before the trade talks have begun, we will be seen as weak and indecisive. That will invite other countries to try to bully us in this manner or push us around. From a security standpoint alone, we simply cannot and must not allow that,” Tepilcayotl said grimly.
“Oh please. Do you really want to know what threatens a nation’s security? People being poor, not having jobs, not having a functioning economy. You know fully well what keeps our system and our society running, and what keeps the people from storming this very palace with torches and pitchforks. I keep it running, along with my colleagues in the XBA. You rely on the prosperity we generate to keep this whole house of cards from falling down. If you’re smart, you’ll stop doing things that keep us from delivering that prosperity. Ugh, why am I even explaining this to you? You’re not the one making the decisions,” Xocolcōza said pointedly, turning away from Tepilcayotl and back towards Topilpopoca. “The XBA, and the ihuicatls that it controls, have been instrumental in making you Emperor, and keeping you in power, for a very long time now. We expect that you will honor your commitments to us, in return for our loyalty. It would be a shame, after all, if we had to support someone else the next time the Great Selection happens - or even call for an early vote, if the economic situation gets dire enough.”
“You would dare threaten the Emperor?” Tepilcayotl said, a dark tone entering his voice as Topilpopoca sat back in his chair. “If you wish to talk about things that would be a shame, it would be most unfortunate if something were to happen to you leaving your office one of these evenings. Tlālacuetztla can be a dangerous city at night, after all.”
To their surprise, Xocolcōza laughed outright at the veiled threat. “Don’t bother trying to cow me with that nonsense. Most people may be scared of the Secretariat of Security, but I have pretty good security of my own. Some of them used to work for the ASI and the Secretariat. And also, you know fully well if ‘something happened to me’ as you state, someone just like me will take charge of the XBA. And they will see to it a new Emperor is chosen. And what happens to you, Tepilcayotl, under a new regime? It would also be a shame if a new Emperor felt the need to investigate what you, and the ASI, have been doing for the past two decades.”
“Enough,” Topilpopoca said, cutting off Tepilcayotl and Xocolcōza before they could go for another round or two of exchanging more veiled threats and dire consequences. “We will take your concerns, and those of the XBA, under advisement.”
“That is all we ask,” Xocolcōza said, rising from his chair to leave. “The partnership between you and the Xiomeran business community has been a profitable and successful one for two decades now for both of us, Emperor. All we ask is that you stop doing things that threaten to make it stop being profitable, or successful. We do not believe that is too much to ask in order to remain on the Obsidian Throne.”
As Topilpopoca and Tepilcayotl watched silently, Xocolcōza walked out of the Rose Chamber, already on his phone again to discuss other business matters.
“I don’t care what they’re demanding, they’re not getting it. Do they not understand what the word final in ‘final offer’ means? If they still want to strike, just fire the idiots and hire new workers. Yes, even if we have to train new ones. It’s cheaper to take a temporary hit on the training budget than increase salaries long-term....I don’t care. The factory in Huehuetoca is our biggest site for tablet production, and I am not going to let our production stop and give anyone else a chance to shoehorn into our market. They can either get back to work, or they can get lost, period. Get this solved quickly, or you’ll be joining them in looking for a new job.”
Xocolcōza, the CEO of Cala Computer Corporation and Chairman of the Xiomeran Business Association, hung up and placed his top-of-the-line Cala XL smartphone back into his suit pocket. His assistant wordlessly handed him a folder with a set of briefing notes as they were escorted by a pair of Shorn Ones to the Rose Chamber.
The Emperor’s office was named that due to the particularly breathtaking sight of the rose section of the famed palace gardens. Roses of many colors and varieties, arranged along paths and water features in an elegant pinwheel pattern, were easily seen through the long window on the outside wall of the Rose Chamber. It was a view to die for (and, if legends held true, some had). But the scenery wasn’t why the leader of one of Xiomera’s largest corporations, and the spokesperson for its business community, was there.
As Xocolcōza was escorted into the office, the two men seated inside rose from their chairs to greet him. Tepilcayotl was the Security Secretary, but he was also the Emperor’s closest confidant, which explained his presence. As for Topilpopoca, his presence in the office needed no explanation, and most wouldn’t dare think of asking.
Unlike most of the people who entered this office, however, Xocolcōza wasn’t overly awed or impressed. For one, it was hardly the first time he had been to the Palace of Flowers. For another, Xocolcōza carried his own power with him into these rarified chambers.
After the usual pleasantries and serving of refreshments, Xocolcōza got to the point. “We need you to force the GCL and the others working with them to end their boycotts, and we need you to end this trade war, as soon as possible.”
“It is not customary for citizens to make demands of the Emperor,” Tepilcayotl replied pointedly. “I also do not seem to see anyone else with you, Xocolcōza. Who is this we you speak of?”
Xocolcōza looked at Tepilcayotl with the unique impatience of someone quite young and rich dealing with someone who was older and, to them, lower on the social scale. “You know who I represent. Let’s not play games, the situation is too urgent for that. Our stock market has been declining for some time now - ”
“Minor declines at best, which can be easily reversed with positive trade deals,” Tepilcayotl interrupted.
“I was not aware I was speaking with the Secretary of Trade. You certainly don’t look like Tlanextia. At least, not much,” Xocolcōza snapped dismissively. “But as I was saying, all of our trade indicators are trending negatively. The stock market is slumping. Growth is slowing, and we could well be facing a recession. And now, those idiots at the GCL have added Lauchenoiria to their boycott. Enough is enough. The Xiomeran business community is not prepared to just sit and watch as our economy goes off a cliff. You must take measures now to reverse this madness.”
As Tepilcayotl silently fumed, Topilpopoca sighed. “We are waiting for the trade talks in Eiria to begin. Until that happens, there is not much we can do, now is there?”
“You can force the GCL to end the boycotts. You can make a public statement calling for them to end, and privately warn the GCL to back off. Call it a gesture of good faith. It will provide a nice springboard in our favor going into the trade talks. Pulling back on some of our sanctions would help also. We need to be the bigger country here,” Xocolcōza said.
“If we reverse course and begin pulling back on our retaliatory measures, or end the boycotts, before Zamastan has made any concessions at all, or even before the trade talks have begun, we will be seen as weak and indecisive. That will invite other countries to try to bully us in this manner or push us around. From a security standpoint alone, we simply cannot and must not allow that,” Tepilcayotl said grimly.
“Oh please. Do you really want to know what threatens a nation’s security? People being poor, not having jobs, not having a functioning economy. You know fully well what keeps our system and our society running, and what keeps the people from storming this very palace with torches and pitchforks. I keep it running, along with my colleagues in the XBA. You rely on the prosperity we generate to keep this whole house of cards from falling down. If you’re smart, you’ll stop doing things that keep us from delivering that prosperity. Ugh, why am I even explaining this to you? You’re not the one making the decisions,” Xocolcōza said pointedly, turning away from Tepilcayotl and back towards Topilpopoca. “The XBA, and the ihuicatls that it controls, have been instrumental in making you Emperor, and keeping you in power, for a very long time now. We expect that you will honor your commitments to us, in return for our loyalty. It would be a shame, after all, if we had to support someone else the next time the Great Selection happens - or even call for an early vote, if the economic situation gets dire enough.”
“You would dare threaten the Emperor?” Tepilcayotl said, a dark tone entering his voice as Topilpopoca sat back in his chair. “If you wish to talk about things that would be a shame, it would be most unfortunate if something were to happen to you leaving your office one of these evenings. Tlālacuetztla can be a dangerous city at night, after all.”
To their surprise, Xocolcōza laughed outright at the veiled threat. “Don’t bother trying to cow me with that nonsense. Most people may be scared of the Secretariat of Security, but I have pretty good security of my own. Some of them used to work for the ASI and the Secretariat. And also, you know fully well if ‘something happened to me’ as you state, someone just like me will take charge of the XBA. And they will see to it a new Emperor is chosen. And what happens to you, Tepilcayotl, under a new regime? It would also be a shame if a new Emperor felt the need to investigate what you, and the ASI, have been doing for the past two decades.”
“Enough,” Topilpopoca said, cutting off Tepilcayotl and Xocolcōza before they could go for another round or two of exchanging more veiled threats and dire consequences. “We will take your concerns, and those of the XBA, under advisement.”
“That is all we ask,” Xocolcōza said, rising from his chair to leave. “The partnership between you and the Xiomeran business community has been a profitable and successful one for two decades now for both of us, Emperor. All we ask is that you stop doing things that threaten to make it stop being profitable, or successful. We do not believe that is too much to ask in order to remain on the Obsidian Throne.”
As Topilpopoca and Tepilcayotl watched silently, Xocolcōza walked out of the Rose Chamber, already on his phone again to discuss other business matters.
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