Hao Ren had walked through the whole process in his mind. Although theoritically, there was no problem, he still had cold feet. "Will it really work?"
"Nothing is impossible." The Mobile Data Terminal, MDT buzzed near his ear. "All processes are within the limits of our regulations. And honestly, the situation of the Aerymian elves almost meets the criteria for civilisation preservation. Since you're the inspector in-charge of the case, you have a certain qualitative authority. Remember, the laws of the Empire are strict, but at the same time, we're not machines; we'd be better off finding the core of the matter rather than following the law to the letter. There are no more than three core provisions for the preservation of civilisation: One, guarantee the diversity of a civilisation, thus ensuring overall development is in order; two, preserve the potential civilisation so that new blood and standby forces are constantly available in the Empire; three, prevent meaningless conflict between different civilisations. Let me explain more on the last sentence: the Empire will not intervene in the war between mortal civilisations. However, to protect the first two core provisions, we will intervene in extinction-level wars and meaningless conflict. These provisions form 80% of the core work requirement under the Space Administration. All other regulations exist below the premise of these three core provisions. If any conflict arises during the operation of the law, the three core provisions shall prevail. Of course, the smartest way is to apply the existing provisions to avoid any conflict. This will greatly help your inspector appraisal later. Plus, Madam Raven would be impressed too."
Hao Ren pondered for a while and said, "I suddenly have this feeling that no matter how high the appraisal is, if it's from Raven 12345, it's nothing to shout about..."
The MDT agreed shamelessly. "That's so true."
Hao Ren hemmed. "Ehem, ehem, let's stick to business. That means, it's okay for Aerymian elves to go to our universe?"
"Yup." The MDT descended slowly back onto the table. "In fact, we can also find them a new home in this universe, which would be a lot nearer for them. But, we want to make light work of it since there's already an existing planet in our universe. To evacuate them 8,000 light years away, or to another universe makes no difference to the Empire—to us, distance has been a long forgotten concept. And there's another advantage: the Empire likes young races like the Aerymian elves, who have great potential. It's better to relocate them to a region nearer to other civilisations so that they may be able to interact with other races quickly, rather than leaving them in a remote region of the universe. It would be a waste of their youthful dash and intelligence."
Hao Ren lowered his head, and was in deep thought: beyond a shadow of a doubt, they had to move; but the question was, who was going to help them?
He had a turtle... The Petrachelys came equipped with an expanding container space. But as big as it could get, the extra space couldn't possibly fit the entire army of one billion elves and their luggages in one go; multiple trips would probably take all the time in the world to complete the evacuation. And he didn't have the authority yet to ask for help from the empire's official colonial fleet. Perhaps, he could report the matter to his superior first but he wasn't prepared to do that.
Since day one, he had been thinking of looking for civilian's help. He turned his head upside down but still couldn't recall someone in the Macroworld he knew who could be of help. Then suddenly, something crossed his mind. "Hey, MDT, do you recall the captain of the transport vessel which took us to our first interstellar trip? Do you think you could still contact him?"
"You mean vessel No. 883?" the MDT replied as it suddenly rang a bell. "Of course. He shoved me a heck of a lot advertisement materials when we first boarded his vessel. These bunch of long-distance transporters is very aggressive."
Hao Ren let the MDT contact the captain immediately. A rough voice of a baritone answered. "Hi, Mr. Agent? What can I do for you? Government mission?"
They hadn't seen each other since they last met, Hao Ren felt a little awkward to ask for help from the captain. "Yeah, right but not entirely. Is your vessel's available?"
"It's currently in-flight." said the captain of vessel No. 883. He could still be heard giving instructions onboard his spacecraft. "Enzo, go check out in the container warehouse, is cargo split ready? We've two hours before we dock. Oh, hi, Mr. Agent, I was talking to my subordinate just now. I'm busy right now. But we'll be having our downtime after tomorrow. Do you need help? What type of cargo?"
"Just call me by my name, Mr. Agent sounds weird." Hao Ren felt half-relived as the timing was just right. "Here's the thing: I'm now in another universe, and I need to send some refugees back... isn't you vessel licensed to carry passengers? So I need your help. The refugees will pay you with their remaining assets in hand. I'll get the cross-world flight permit for you."
The captain of vessel No. 883 laughed heartily. "You're welcomed. Transport fee's negotiable. How many persons?"
"One billion, plus some luggages, scientific research materials, equipment and supplies..."
The transmission suddenly went silent. After a long wait, Hao Ren heard another stranger's voice at the other end. "Our captain has passed out, you—"
Then, the quivering voice of the 883 captain spoke, "I'm fine, I'm fine, I just lost my balance. By the way, how many persons did you just say?"
Hao Ren hallowly laughed. "One billion..."
Silence. Then the captain said, "What wrong have I done to you that—"
"Please. I'm serious."
"OK. Please tell me you're not moving the entire civilisation."
"Yes, I am. The migration of an entire race." Hao Ren nodded. "I heard there's a moving company in Macroworld which specialises in the business of moving entire race but I've never approached them nor known whether they're reliable. So I thought it'd better to get some opinions from people I know and I recalled you too specialise in moving business—"
"Firstly, you've to tell me the background of the refugees." 883 interrupted him. "What happen to them?"
Hao Ren briefly related the circumstances the Aerymian elves were facing, and explained why he had to seek civilian help. To the 883 captain, for agents of the empire—the medium between the empire and the mortals—to seek help from the civilian when they faced problems wasn't something out of his expectation, it was already a norm rather than an exception; it was Hao Ren who was being ignorant. The 883 captain lamented. "Born in a stray galaxy? That's tragic... How are they going to pay for the fare?"
"They'd pay with anything." Hao Ren knew it because Hilda had confirmed it with him. "Nothing they won't let go."
"In that case, what about their floating islands and the components of the eco-dome?"
Hao Ren was dumbfounded. "...I think they're willing to let go that too. Are you interested in those things?"
"Deal! I'll take that in lieu of money." The 883 captain sounded elated. "Dismantle everything they can't bring along to pay for their fare, and they could travel light to their beautiful new home. I've them covered."
"Wait for a second. Is that all you want?" This was totally out of Hao Ren's expectation. "Those things are mostly scraps. Let me be honest with you, the propulsion drives on the floating islands have all malfunctioned and they could blow up anytime. What use you have for them?"
"I'll replace those propulsion drives and redevelop it into a space city. According to what you say, the value of the floating islands and the installations they're going to scrap would be astronomical, so you think I couldn't even at least convert some cash out of these junks? How much you expect the fare is?"
Hao Ren was elated; he had been worried about how the poor elves were going to pay for the fare until he learned that trash could be turned into cash. But at the same time, he was still in disbelief as he spoke to those around him. "Things have turned out quite differently from what I've expected... I was expecting it was going to cost the elves a bomb and even if they were allowed to pay in installments, it'd probably take them a thousand years to repay..."
Vivian listened on. She had been as disbelieving as Hao Ren was, she hadn't expected the problem was solved just like that. But then, something bothered her as she came to her senses. "Landlord, while you were worrying about the fare, did you ask for rental?"
A light-bulb moment.
"So, deal! Let's make a date to meet up. Meanwhile, send me your location." The 883 captain sounded extremely happy as if he had got the best deal in his life. Hao Ren had no clue about the economic condition of Macroworld. But one thing was sure: the long-haul transporter wouldn't let himself get the short end of the stick while the elves in desperation couldn't care less if they were shortchanged by the profiteers, so he couldn't care less too. But still, a question hung over his head. "Don't tell me that you're going to do it solo."
"Of course, not! I'd find others, they specialise in flying big vessels." The 883 captain said happily. "You don't have to worry about the shipping cost, I'll deal with them myself. Oh ya, please remind the elves to mark any floating isles and installations they'd like to retain; they might want to keep some as memory. I'll get an energy-field barge to help them haul a few isles for them, well, free-of-charge."
"I'm counting on you then. Meanwhile, please hold on while I discuss with the elves. I'll give you a buzz when they finally agree."
"Alright then!"
The great migration in the history of the Aerymian elves thus began as the rookie agent and the old long-haul driver had struck a deal.
Hao Ren had walked through the whole process in his mind. Although theoritically, there was no problem, he still had cold feet. "Will it really work?"
"Nothing is impossible." The Mobile Data Terminal, MDT buzzed near his ear. "All processes are within the limits of our regulations. And honestly, the situation of the Aerymian elves almost meets the criteria for civilisation preservation. Since you're the inspector in-charge of the case, you have a certain qualitative authority. Remember, the laws of the Empire are strict, but at the same time, we're not machines; we'd be better off finding the core of the matter rather than following the law to the letter. There are no more than three core provisions for the preservation of civilisation: One, guarantee the diversity of a civilisation, thus ensuring overall development is in order; two, preserve the potential civilisation so that new blood and standby forces are constantly available in the Empire; three, prevent meaningless conflict between different civilisations. Let me explain more on the last sentence: the Empire will not intervene in the war between mortal civilisations. However, to protect the first two core provisions, we will intervene in extinction-level wars and meaningless conflict. These provisions form 80% of the core work requirement under the Space Administration. All other regulations exist below the premise of these three core provisions. If any conflict arises during the operation of the law, the three core provisions shall prevail. Of course, the smartest way is to apply the existing provisions to avoid any conflict. This will greatly help your inspector appraisal later. Plus, Madam Raven would be impressed too."
Hao Ren pondered for a while and said, "I suddenly have this feeling that no matter how high the appraisal is, if it's from Raven 12345, it's nothing to shout about..."
The MDT agreed shamelessly. "That's so true."
Hao Ren hemmed. "Ehem, ehem, let's stick to business. That means, it's okay for Aerymian elves to go to our universe?"
"Yup." The MDT descended slowly back onto the table. "In fact, we can also find them a new home in this universe, which would be a lot nearer for them. But, we want to make light work of it since there's already an existing planet in our universe. To evacuate them 8,000 light years away, or to another universe makes no difference to the Empire—to us, distance has been a long forgotten concept. And there's another advantage: the Empire likes young races like the Aerymian elves, who have great potential. It's better to relocate them to a region nearer to other civilisations so that they may be able to interact with other races quickly, rather than leaving them in a remote region of the universe. It would be a waste of their youthful dash and intelligence."
Hao Ren lowered his head, and was in deep thought: beyond a shadow of a doubt, they had to move; but the question was, who was going to help them?
He had a turtle... The Petrachelys came equipped with an expanding container space. But as big as it could get, the extra space couldn't possibly fit the entire army of one billion elves and their luggages in one go; multiple trips would probably take all the time in the world to complete the evacuation. And he didn't have the authority yet to ask for help from the empire's official colonial fleet. Perhaps, he could report the matter to his superior first but he wasn't prepared to do that.
Since day one, he had been thinking of looking for civilian's help. He turned his head upside down but still couldn't recall someone in the Macroworld he knew who could be of help. Then suddenly, something crossed his mind. "Hey, MDT, do you recall the captain of the transport vessel which took us to our first interstellar trip? Do you think you could still contact him?"
"You mean vessel No. 883?" the MDT replied as it suddenly rang a bell. "Of course. He shoved me a heck of a lot advertisement materials when we first boarded his vessel. These bunch of long-distance transporters is very aggressive."
Hao Ren let the MDT contact the captain immediately. A rough voice of a baritone answered. "Hi, Mr. Agent? What can I do for you? Government mission?"
They hadn't seen each other since they last met, Hao Ren felt a little awkward to ask for help from the captain. "Yeah, right but not entirely. Is your vessel's available?"
"It's currently in-flight." said the captain of vessel No. 883. He could still be heard giving instructions onboard his spacecraft. "Enzo, go check out in the container warehouse, is cargo split ready? We've two hours before we dock. Oh, hi, Mr. Agent, I was talking to my subordinate just now. I'm busy right now. But we'll be having our downtime after tomorrow. Do you need help? What type of cargo?"
"Just call me by my name, Mr. Agent sounds weird." Hao Ren felt half-relived as the timing was just right. "Here's the thing: I'm now in another universe, and I need to send some refugees back... isn't you vessel licensed to carry passengers? So I need your help. The refugees will pay you with their remaining assets in hand. I'll get the cross-world flight permit for you."
The captain of vessel No. 883 laughed heartily. "You're welcomed. Transport fee's negotiable. How many persons?"
"One billion, plus some luggages, scientific research materials, equipment and supplies..."
The transmission suddenly went silent. After a long wait, Hao Ren heard another stranger's voice at the other end. "Our captain has passed out, you—"
Then, the quivering voice of the 883 captain spoke, "I'm fine, I'm fine, I just lost my balance. By the way, how many persons did you just say?"
Hao Ren hallowly laughed. "One billion..."
Silence. Then the captain said, "What wrong have I done to you that—"
"Please. I'm serious."
"OK. Please tell me you're not moving the entire civilisation."
"Yes, I am. The migration of an entire race." Hao Ren nodded. "I heard there's a moving company in Macroworld which specialises in the business of moving entire race but I've never approached them nor known whether they're reliable. So I thought it'd better to get some opinions from people I know and I recalled you too specialise in moving business—"
"Firstly, you've to tell me the background of the refugees." 883 interrupted him. "What happen to them?"
Hao Ren briefly related the circumstances the Aerymian elves were facing, and explained why he had to seek civilian help. To the 883 captain, for agents of the empire—the medium between the empire and the mortals—to seek help from the civilian when they faced problems wasn't something out of his expectation, it was already a norm rather than an exception; it was Hao Ren who was being ignorant. The 883 captain lamented. "Born in a stray galaxy? That's tragic... How are they going to pay for the fare?"
"They'd pay with anything." Hao Ren knew it because Hilda had confirmed it with him. "Nothing they won't let go."
"In that case, what about their floating islands and the components of the eco-dome?"
Hao Ren was dumbfounded. "...I think they're willing to let go that too. Are you interested in those things?"
"Deal! I'll take that in lieu of money." The 883 captain sounded elated. "Dismantle everything they can't bring along to pay for their fare, and they could travel light to their beautiful new home. I've them covered."
"Wait for a second. Is that all you want?" This was totally out of Hao Ren's expectation. "Those things are mostly scraps. Let me be honest with you, the propulsion drives on the floating islands have all malfunctioned and they could blow up anytime. What use you have for them?"
"I'll replace those propulsion drives and redevelop it into a space city. According to what you say, the value of the floating islands and the installations they're going to scrap would be astronomical, so you think I couldn't even at least convert some cash out of these junks? How much you expect the fare is?"
Hao Ren was elated; he had been worried about how the poor elves were going to pay for the fare until he learned that trash could be turned into cash. But at the same time, he was still in disbelief as he spoke to those around him. "Things have turned out quite differently from what I've expected... I was expecting it was going to cost the elves a bomb and even if they were allowed to pay in installments, it'd probably take them a thousand years to repay..."
Vivian listened on. She had been as disbelieving as Hao Ren was, she hadn't expected the problem was solved just like that. But then, something bothered her as she came to her senses. "Landlord, while you were worrying about the fare, did you ask for rental?"
A light-bulb moment.
"So, deal! Let's make a date to meet up. Meanwhile, send me your location." The 883 captain sounded extremely happy as if he had got the best deal in his life. Hao Ren had no clue about the economic condition of Macroworld. But one thing was sure: the long-haul transporter wouldn't let himself get the short end of the stick while the elves in desperation couldn't care less if they were shortchanged by the profiteers, so he couldn't care less too. But still, a question hung over his head. "Don't tell me that you're going to do it solo."
"Of course, not! I'd find others, they specialise in flying big vessels." The 883 captain said happily. "You don't have to worry about the shipping cost, I'll deal with them myself. Oh ya, please remind the elves to mark any floating isles and installations they'd like to retain; they might want to keep some as memory. I'll get an energy-field barge to help them haul a few isles for them, well, free-of-charge."
"I'm counting on you then. Meanwhile, please hold on while I discuss with the elves. I'll give you a buzz when they finally agree."
"Alright then!"
The great migration in the history of the Aerymian elves thus began as the rookie agent and the old long-haul driver had struck a deal.
