February 10

Washington D.C.

Cool air conditioning seemed like something that every American building contained. Sitting on a bench in the hallway, Gesta mused on the energy costs of having such appliances running all the time as he waited for the Americans. He and his team — which consisted of Cielia, Dallas, and some minor personnel — arrived punctually. They reflected Gra Valkan manners; even Dallas arrived with a clean haircut and tailored clothing.

“This meeting will be dictated by myself and my counterpart,” Gesta reminded his team, taking their attention away from the various paintings that adorned the white walls of the building. “If you have something to say, stand up and whisper it to me. I will request a sidebar and we can discuss the matter.”

The Gra Valkans nodded, understanding the rules laid out by their superior.

Soon enough, the door beside them opened. An aide invited them inside, where Secretary Heiden and his colleagues were already seated. They all wore neat suits with ties, similar to the one Gesta himself was wearing. Gesta scanned the room and it’s occupants as he walked toward his seat, recognizing only Heiden. Several other important-looking figures sat beside him, introducing themselves as soon as Heiden announced the start of the meeting.

Heiden cleared his throat before speaking, “Greetings, delegates from the Gra Valkas Empire. On behalf of all Americans, I humbly welcome you to the United States of America. I hope that today, we are able to establish the foundations of a great friendship. I am Secretary of State Gordon Heiden; I will be representing the United States of America in our discussions today. Beside me are my colleagues, figures from other departments who will help guide any decisions relating to their respective fields.”

The Americans stood up to shake the hands of the Gra Valkans as they proceeded with introductions.

“Elijah Hubbard, Secretary of Commerce,” a gray-haired man stood up.

“Robert Hill,” a black man introduced himself, “Secretary of Defense.”

Gesta and his colleagues followed suit, exchanging pleasantries before getting on with the meeting.

I

“Now then,” Heiden said. “Director Gesta, the United States of America is open to relations, although I must emphasize that we require certain concessions; rules and regulations that we expect other civilized countries to abide by.”

“And what might these concessions be?” Gesta asked.

Heiden spoke plainly, staring straight at Gesta. His neutral, professional expression gave no hint with regards to his emotions. “They’re fairly straightforward. Things like sapient rights, the abolition of slavery, and so on. Depending on the type of relation or types of agreements you seek, we can provide you with the necessary documents.”

Gesta felt a bit relieved. There were discussions about bringing back slavery due to the Elysian’s low level of technology and the prevalence of the practice, but ultimately decided against it. Slavery, as they had learned during their conquest of Yggdra, led to inevitable instability. They feared what slaves might do to expensive infrastructure and machines. They feared the existence of magic, which could lead to terrorism.

Talk of rights, however, reminded him of the debilitating geopolitics of Yggdra. It annoyed him, but he expertly suppressed small twitches that were beginning to form along his mouth. “I reckon some sort of agreement regarding rules of war will be included?”

Heiden nodded. “Indeed they will. I planned to discuss that later actually, but we can do that now. Would you like to go over our proposal?”

Restrictive rules of war held the Gra Valkas Empire back. Political dissidence grew as they continued to consume more nations, bringing the rest of Yggdra into their fold. Kain’s cultural warfare campaign against the impressionable Gra Valkan youth left scars that were still present. Only consistent propaganda efforts highlighting the barbarism of Elysia’s primitives were able to stave off the popularity of pacifist ideals. If the pacifists found out that there exists a country with rules of war, it would dismantle the barbaric image they’ve created of the Elysians. It would provide fuel that they could use to grow their movements. As an authoritarian, he lamented the unavoidable choices he had to make. He only hoped that the propagandists back home could deal with the fallout. “Very well, Mister Secretary. Let us begin.”

Heiden’s aides distributed thick packets to the Gra Valkans as he summarized its contents. “Most of these rules are sourced from regulations we’ve had back on Earth. The most important of these rules dictate proper protocol with regards to civilians.”

The Gra Valkas Empire once had rules, but abandoned them when they discovered the brutal barbarism of Elysia. For several months, they had free reign over punishing their enemies, even plundering their cities and women. Giving up a freedom they had just been exposed to was something that his countrymen might not like. However, not enough time had passed for them to become accustomed to this freedom; hence, reverting back to civilized, regulated warfare shouldn’t be that much of an issue. Although becoming a signatory would limit his department’s options with regards to diplomacy, the benefit of non-aggression with the Americans would certainly outweigh the losses incurred by the inability to thoroughly subjugate their Elysian vassals.

“I understand,” Gesta responded. “We too had rules of war on Yggdra. It seems that this is a commonality amongst civilized nations, eh?”

“It’s a commonality amongst nations who have experienced the horrors of war,” Heiden countered grimly. “Horrors that the glory-seeking nations of this world know little about.” He leaned forward as he spoke, his words sounding more like a warning than a suggestion or fact.

Shivers went down Gesta’s spine. He felt the urge to scratch his skin, but fought against it. Finding no words on his tongue, he simply nodded in response and continued to read through the proposed regulations. The implications of Heiden’s statement were reflected clearly on the regulations, exemplified by the passages on the use of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Oddly enough, they only banned the use of these ‘weapons of mass destruction’ against civilian targets. This contrasted with the treaties he read up on using the Internet; these treaties banned the use of these weapons against all targets. He subsequently surmised that the Americans wanted to keep the option open of using these weapons against the Gra Valkans.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, turning around to see Cielia.

“Sir, a moment?” She asked.

He gave her a slight nod before turning back toward the Americans. “Mister Secretary, I’d like to have some time to discuss this document with my peers.”

“Very well. Does a fifteen minute recess sound alright?” Heiden asked.

“Yes,” Gesta replied.

The Gra Valkan delegation left the room to discuss in the hallway while the Americans stayed inside. Averse to wasting time, Cielia immediately pointed out her concerns, “Sir, I would like to propose an amendment to their regulations.”

“Hmm, what is it?” Gesta asked.

Cielia showed Gesta the packet, pointing to a specific set of lines. “Sir, their rules only prohibit the use of these weapons against civilians. With their technology, I fear that they want to deal severe casualties to our military using chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. I want to propose a clause that prohibits the use of these weapons entirely.”

Gesta wanted to agree, but considered the opinion of Emperor Gra Lux. “Cielia, your insight is reasonable indeed — and I even agree, to an extent — however,” he sighed, “A decision like this is something I cannot make without prior approval from His Excellency. I cannot take away his ability to use such weapons unless he himself agrees to this. Unfortunately, I never discussed this possibility with him so your proposal must wait until we receive word from His Excellency.”

“But - But sir!” Cielia stammered out. “We may not have the time necessary to wait! What if the Americans want to finalize these agreements now?”

“Then there is nothing we can do.” Gesta noticed the look in Cielia’s eyes, sympathizing with her concerns. “I will not act outside the boundaries set by His Excellency. Do you have anything else you’d like to discuss?”

Cielia paused for a moment, thinking of an answer. “No,” she finally said, unable to pose any other concerns.

“Let’s get back to the meeting.”

The delegates returned to their seats and upon Heiden’s announcement, their discussions resumed.

Gesta placed his hand on the packet as he spoke, “We find these regulations to be reasonable.”

“Excellent,” Heiden smiled politely, relieved that the Gra Valkans accepted the regulations. “With that out of the way, we can now begin discussing broader agreements. What would you like to start with?”

Gesta decided to first discuss minor agreements, so that the Americans would be more willing to accept non-aggression later on. He answered confidently, “Let us begin with a trade agreement.” Gesta signaled to one of his aides, who then gave each person a packet on Gra Valkan economic data. Once the papers were distributed, he continued, “These documents detail important Gra Valkan economic indicators, including gross domestic product, inflation levels, and the value of our currency with respect to certain rare metals, like gold and silver. Thanks to some of your professionals, we’ve been able to establish an estimated exchange rate based on the values of basic commodities in both of our nations.”

After reading through the document a bit, Heiden looked over toward Secretary Hubbard, who gave him a nod, confirming the reasonability of the provided estimates. “Very well. We need to have the Department of Commerce conduct some final reviews, but all of this data looks solid. We can open our economy to your imports, but due to our policy on technological outflow, we have to restrict our exports to certain goods.”

Gesta sighed internally, knowing this barrier would show itself sooner or later. “I see. What such restrictions are there? Is there any possibility of lifting these restrictions?”

Heiden responded, “Most of the restrictions relate to firearms and consumer technologies that contain computers. General consumer goods such as foods, furniture, and household appliances like refrigerators and microwaves will be allowed for purchase. These restrictions can be lifted over time through building trust. I must also stress that the United States believes heavily in free trade, so all trade agreements come with the caveat of no tariffs.”

Although Gesta recognized that the Americans were proponents of free trade, even on Earth, he couldn’t help but see the downside of agreeing to this. If the Gra Valkan Empire couldn’t place tariffs on American goods, their superior quality and industrial capacity could compete — perhaps even dwarf — the goods produced by native Gra Valkan industries. However, securing a trade agreement could not only improve relations with the Americans, but eventually result in the acquisition of advanced technologies, which the Gra Valkans could then study and maybe even replicate. Finding the latter consideration to be more important, Gesta concluded that the deal was acceptable. “The Gra Valkan Empire accepts this agreement.”

With commercial relations established, Gesta moved on to minor matters such as tourism. The two parties quickly established a system for visas, which would be handled primarily by embassies established in both countries. Because most of Elysia wasn’t technologically advanced enough to maintain such a system, the United States and Gra Valkan Empire agreed to grant visas on the shores of their respective nations.

Upon Heiden’s request, they also agreed to an exchange of basic information, such as history and culture. American scholars had discovered similarities between Gra Valkan culture and that of Terran cultures. Considering Yggdran origin myths, they too were curious about the similarities.

Finally, the two parties were left with the topic of non-aggression. Gesta spared a glance at Dallas, who seemed to radiate disgust and anger. He prayed that Dallas wouldn’t erupt as he pandered to the Americans, “The Gra Valkan Empire recognizes the advanced technology owned by the Americans and thus, we wish to secure a non-aggression pact.”

Gesta’s heart began to beat and sweat began to roll down his back as he awaited Heiden’s response. Cielia’s anxiety was even more pronounced, although she kept it hidden well. To the Gra Valkans’ surprise, Heiden’s answer was fairly straightforward. “We can do that,” he said.

The Gra Valkans all relaxed themselves in relief, only to be whiplashed by Heiden’s following words. “On the condition that the Gra Valkan Empire ceases its research into nuclear weapons and delivery methods.”

Maintaining his composure, Gesta quickly countered, “Our research has already been completed, with production in the works. The Gra Valkas Empire requires these weapons to defend our sovereignty against potential adversaries! Unfortunately, we cannot agree to those terms.”

The attitude of the Americans seemed to darken, despite their faces reflecting no divergence from their neutral expressions. Silence befell the room, adding to the heightening tensions. “That is unfortunate indeed. If that is the consensus of the Gra Valkas Empire, then know that these weapons are also subject to the regulations that you agreed to prior to this conversation. The United States will not condone the use of these weapons, but will not hesitate to retaliate with full force if threatened by these weapons.”

“The Gra Valkan Empire understands this.” Gesta felt his heart sink upon hearing Heiden’s warning. He could barely imagine how Cielia must be feeling at this moment. He reassured himself, thinking that such devastation wouldn’t be brought down upon his country as long as his people didn’t use these weapons against the Americans. Only now did he remember the concept discussed by Naguano and Prince Gra Cabal during their studies: the concept of mutually assured destruction. In this case however, only the Gra Valkas Empire would receive assured destruction. Gesta could only pray that his superiors refrain from using nuclear weapons, lest they be wiped off the face of Elysia.