Zaonce's Uncertainty
02 Apr 2024Diedericque
Missed call by Mozi SilvaCalling back...
Me:
Evening mister Silva, this is commander Diedericque. How can I help you?
Silva:
Yes good evening sir, we need to talk. There is some commotion about some events that might unfold because of these hectic thargoid situations.
We can't discuss that right now, someone might be listening.
Me:
Yes, sure we can talk. At the Leclercq tower at Zaonce I'm guessing?
Silva:
Logically yes, the board will be attending too. I assured them that you would be able to come before midnight. Therefor I already requested permission for you to enter the airspace at Cartan Bastion. Does this work for you?
Me:
The engines are already running, I will see you in one hour. Is there anything else I should know before I go?
Silva:
Not really, can't discuss anything on the phone unfortunately.
To a meeting without subject
I rarely get called by a Councillor of Zaonce. I don't even know him that well, except for the thing that he's somewhat my boss. Every time I go to Zaonce for a meeting it's for something financial. I guess it makes sense, it's all they do around there. Keeping track of the financial records within the Elite universe and making sure that the economy runs steady.
I don't know what to say about Zaonce, a system not so big and not with that much beauty. But I definitely do like the architecture at the Cartan city, one of a kind. Occupation of Zaonce is old, 25th century I believe. When you read back the history it was somewhat a random decision that lead to the establishment of the financial heart. But it only became such 'official' economic heart after all superpowers voted unanimously yes around 2693. The name Bank of Zaonce was later on adopted in 2718.
Anyway, I now had to go to Zaonce, not knowing what it's about. You don't just get into Zaonce, it is very well secured. A visit to any station requires a permission card, normally one that you need to wait for at least a day. Now luckily I have it in advance.
Welcome to Zaonce
It's not necessary to go in some high-class style ship. Even though everything at Zaonce is expensive, you won't find the top luxury that you'd expect in a city like Dubai. Except for the temperatures, it is a desert on a desert around Cartan. Still, it looks bad to arrive in some diamondback junk, so I'm in my personal limousine, a Dolphin called the Avius. I don't care what people tell me about the looks, at least it is comfy, small but spatial and fitted with all features to feel like home. We're approaching Zaonce 6 b, a sand colored dot appears ahead.
Cartan doesn't look very welcoming seeing it from a distance, grey-white glass-filled skyscrapers and just a few artificial plants here and there are everything you can appreciate, but as most people stay out during the daytime because of the heat it feels very much like an unfinished city. After our landing we allow the Avius to have a steady cool down, these spaceships are in many ways not designed to land in thick and hot atmospheres. The reception is outstanding, I can remember the first time I arrived at Cartan, I was offered some coffee that was ice-cold. Normally you'd spit cold coffee right out but at Zaonce they make things you hate into something special you will appreciate. Also this time, there was this cold coffee again. Before we leave the landing base we have to leave everything electronic behind, because of security reasons as per usual.
Outside a Rolls Royce 1948 silver wraith waits, I look at it like it's just a car (which it is). Then I step in and I feel this force of age soften my senses. This car has lost the aspects of value, or I put it this way, it is priceless. On our way through the city we don't encounter many other cars, we do see some silver tin-plated boxes hovering above the surface. The Leclercq tower is many miles away from the city. We leave the highway (as far as you can call it a highway anyway) and with the last skyscraper behind us we instantly drive on sandstone.
Out of curiosity I ask the driver, 'There never was an actual road to the tower, am I right?'. He tells me the actual reason why there isn't a road to the Leclercq tower is for the same reason we drive in this car... No wanderers or modern technology allowed. Only after half an hour of driving I notice the tower in the distance, we are halfway. At this moment we pass through some sort of gate with two thin poles about three meters tall. I can only hear some buzzing noise as we pass and I now remember they upgraded the security protocols. On June 1, 3305, admiral Yamamoto was arrested for bankrolling the murder of Fazia Silva, which authorities believed was carried out to aid Kincaid's reelection campaign. Agencies were furious and headed for the tower to secure and satisfy the Credit's future. That didn't work, tensions at Zaonce reached up to a limit where every superpower had to show off their military might, who was going to be in control? Without the intervention by the Alliance Assembly and Alliance Interpol, a holy war would have erupted. Their propositions created the Zaonce commission today, where every party is equally well represented.
The Leclercq tower
1252 meters from top to bottom, the Leclercq tower is a large square peg-like structure. Standing in front of it the building is turned 45 degrees so you'll be looking at one edge. Straight up without any extending structures, the top is flanked about 68 degrees, showing the Leclercq tower logo.
This tower is the headquarters of the Bank of Zaonce. People don't go there for work, it's basically just a database. All financial information is stored and maintained, the system knows who has how much, where the credits are going to, whether credits are generated or terminated. The database also creates duplicates to send out to other systems, where the information and credits are automatically validated. Up top is the meeting floor, that's where I'll meet with the commission. Like I said, they upgraded the security. Although the data is safe in copies around the bubble, Leclercq tower is the essential component for allowing economic continuance.
We arrive, it's 52 degrees Celsius outside. Again we are welcomed at the tower, this time not with cold coffee but with water and a security card. We are just in time, up we go.
The meeting is long overdue
Passing a few more doors, there the members of the Zaonce commission are patiently waiting and chatting a bit. I suppose they already discussed a few things, because I see numerous documents and empty glasses on the table.
Mozi Silva smiles: We almost started to worry that the heat of the desert melted through the tires.
Me: Too bad, I worried that the coffee would have made me go number two on the way here.
I sit down and can't wait to ask, why are we here? Well a video connection just isn't our thing. We're here to discuss what is coming next. This thargoid invasion has been going on for a long time now. We all know where it brought us at, or do we?
Beasts they are, I remember much of the beginning against these beings. We started with zero effective defense against them, but now our advancements have seriously threatened their presence. Everyone agrees on this, we're not here to talk about how to further advance in this war. Besides, all we do is control the universal currency. No, we are here because of that new frame shift drive. That alien thing, we all agreed that the potential of this alien object will shift economic structures to something we didn't see before. These Titan drive components are suddenly very interesting. The Achilles company is requesting commanders to collect and donate them for research. They are going to make a new technological advancement, the hybrid thargoid/human hyperdrive. This advancement will be of significant impact for the human civilization. We all remember what happened when humans ever build the first frame shift drive. It was the largest step forward for colonizing the galaxy, finally it was a moment to spread to other worlds in a matter of minutes. Six years ago the Guardian technology was a big deal. This made the FSD more effective, with more range and less fuel consumption. The economy went booming, the industrial business was delighted to expand and produce the modules. Pilots could suddenly get from A to B much faster, transport took a leap forward and the Bank of Zaonce had to improvise. But the event of Guardian technology came well-timed, we knew how it was developing at that time, now we are not so sure... but it is coming fast. So yes, we want to prepare for this and take the steps to make sure the transaction system we build over the centuries can keep up with the potential economic boom. Cartan likely becomes more important once again, time to make new upgrades.
My deal
I was happy to find out we were discussing something that's probably positive to our galaxy. They told me that a distressing call usually works to get commanders over here quickly, that really made me laugh. The commission had only asked me (and many other) to think about investing in the new hyperdrive. If it is there, a new program should be fitted for the community so that everyone can benefit. I left Leclercq with a good feeling. The only thing I felt less good about was the trip back to my ship, all the way through the desert. I called with my directors at Parhelion, explained what was discussed. They are now designing possible scenarios, think through them, and get them ready to execute when the new Titan hyperdrive is finally there. I earlier planned on leaving the bubble for a new exploration trip, but I might want to wait a little. Who doesn't want more juicy range?
It seems after all that the cost of war sometimes turns into a reward.
Cartan Bastion, 1st April 3310,
- CMDR Diedericque -