Agent047
patreon
893 - About the Nexus
🕑 Added 2025-04-23 03:29:09 +0000 UTCSince the top fifty representatives were already in agreement, the passing of the bill in the Conclave General Council was practically guaranteed, as long as none of the top ten civilizations used their veto power. Given the way voting was structured, those fifty civilizations alone could form a majority, despite the Conclave comprising over a hundred members.
Even if a few among the top fifty had voted against it, the remaining civilizations had every reason to support the resolution. Just being part of this agreement granted them access to the empire, more specifically, to mana stones directly from the source. That meant no longer being forced to purchase them at inflated prices from the top fifty civilizations who had secured favorable trade terms.
They would have voted in favor even if the promised technology had been underwhelming. But based on the test results and technical briefings, it was clear the benefits were real and significant. In the end, the resolution passed unanimously.
Just one day later, the selection of representatives from the lower-ranked civilizations was finalized, and they sent their first request to open the wormholes as they were ready to join the planning team immediately.
With the Empire supplying the mana stones necessary to open the wormholes—and promising a continuous supply to keep them active throughout the planning phase—the top fifty civilizations quickly divided the available quotas among themselves. The top ten civilizations secured nearly half of the total, but this came at the cost of certain concessions on unrelated matters. In exchange for those concessions, they gained control over the wormhole quotas originally allocated to other civilizations. It was a shrewd negotiation, as the Empire’s compensation in mana stones far exceeded the minimal amount needed to keep the wormholes operational, making the trade-offs worthwhile. Both sides walked away with a win.
As a result, by the end of the designated week, every civilization had a wormhole linking them directly to the Empire. These wormholes remained active and ready for use, provided the Empire granted permission, making the Empire, at least for now, the focal point of the entire Conclave.
With all representatives now on-site, each was provided with a long-stay VR pod. They immediately logged into the network, bringing along all relevant data from their home civilizations. Within the VR, planning commenced in a high-acceleration zone running at twenty times the acceleration.
………………
Haaaaaaah. A tired sigh echoed through the VR meeting room.
“I’m this close to regretting accepting this position,” Masimbi said, leaning back in his chair. He held his fingers a centimeter apart to illustrate just how close he was.
Without missing a beat, he added, “But when I think about the compensation—and the sheer importance of what we’re doing—I can’t bring myself to hand this opportunity over to someone else.”
His comment drew a round of laughter from the others present.
They had just wrapped up yet another meeting—one of many since the planning phase began. Masimbi and his current team weren’t responsible for attending every session. Their role was focused on final approvals and high-level decisions, while other teams handled the initial meetings, introducing the rules, protocols, and general framework to the broader Conclave delegation.
The number of meetings had ramped up significantly once the representatives realized the empire was planning to secure more benefits than they’d originally anticipated.
It all came to a head when the empire revealed its plans for the inter-civilization wormhole system—or rather, the lack thereof. Contrary to what many had assumed, the empire had no intention of opening direct wormholes connecting the civilizations to each other.
When the protests and requests for clarification came in, the empire’s explanation exposed their second major goal behind the proposed wormhole highway.
According to the empire, each civilization would have its largest wormhole connected to a specific location within imperial territory. This centralized hub would serve as a nexus—a travel and diplomacy point where all inter-civilization movement would be routed through. The idea was that every civilization would maintain an embassy at this nexus to grant permits for any ships seeking to enter their respective territories.
The justification sounded reasonable. Directly connecting all civilizations would require thousands of additional wormholes, an impractical solution. Without direct links, traveling from one civilization to another would involve passing through multiple territories, each requiring permission. A single denial could bring an entire journey to a halt. Centralizing access would eliminate this issue, streamline travel, and reduce political friction.
But despite the logic, one fact remained: there was no real need for the nexus to be in imperial space, except to give the empire a strategic advantage. As per the agreement, whoever hosted the wormhole connecting civilizations territories would hold a degree of default control, and since the empire had full discretion over the matter, the other civilizations were forced to accept the arrangement, even if they knew the real motive behind it.
“When is the next meeting?” he asked once the chuckles faded.
“In twenty minutes,” Lanesra replied, checking the packed timetable they were following.
“Let’s stretch our break,” he said without hesitation, already forming a time bubble around their VR zone. The acceleration was pushed to fifty times normal speed, turning the mere twenty-minute gap into what would feel like several hours, maybe even days.
Lanesra raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t we taking too many breaks?” she asked, noting it was already their third of the day.
He shrugged, already walking toward the growing open space that replaced the meeting room, fields expanding outward as cozy homes began materializing in the simulation.
“When you get the luxury of working a few hours and resting more, without it affecting results, why make life harder?” he said over his shoulder. “That twenty-minute window outside won’t change, whether we rest in here or just sit waiting.”
With that, he headed into one of the newly formed houses, clearly intending to rest, while the others were free to do whatever they pleased inside the time bubble.
Haaaaaah... Lanesra sighed as she followed suit, heading toward one of the houses.
Since there was no real harm in taking the break, no matter how much time passed inside the bubble, she chose not to argue further. Instead, she planned to use the time productively, settling in and pulling up the notes from the previous meetings. If nothing else, it was a good chance to make sure they weren’t missing any subtle implications or buried intentions in the proposals.
Even in rest, her mind remained on the task, just at a more comfortable pace.
Comments
GripenSupremacy
TYFTC
Sol_Invictus(Hail the Terran Empire)
TYFTC!
