Shavash was smiling. Bemish went cold. Really, incorporating Weia into the Federation of Nineteen would solve many if not all of its problems… But… Such a pile of money… Bemish imagined a barefoot street beggar getting minimal Federation unemployment benefits.
"But," the state secretary broke off, "there are no precedents…"
"That's not true," Shavash replied, "In the first century BC, Latin tribes declared a war on Rome trying to obtain Roman citizenship. During the Mexican War of 1848, the radical party of Mexico insisted that the country should be annexed by the United States. It's sad, gentlemen, that a Weian knows your history better than you do."
Bemish grinned. Referring to the past was indeed typical for a Weian official. Shavash continued, smiling.
"Imagine that you reject our proposal and continue the war. Accordingly to well-known reasons, your mobile tactical units are unreliable and you can't use them. There are too many Weians there. It means that you will have to destroy half of the Empire with strategic weapons. The reputation of the Federation of Nineteen will be horribly compromised!
At the same time, you will exhibit unspeakable cruelty destroying a completely powerless country and you will exhibit unspeakable weakness. Really, what's can you say about the fighting ability of the country when half of its shock troops comes from a potential enemy?! The Federation's authority will be shattered. Gera and other enemies of yours will obtain a moral advantage. The Federation members, that have been demanding independence, will hurry to leave the union — they will declare that they completely disagree with Earth's politics."
Shavash paused, sipped on his wine and continued.
"Let's imagine now that you agree to our proposal and the Federation of Nineteen becomes the Federation of Twenty. It will be a triumph of democracy and freedom! An empire, a whole planet voluntarily sheds its freedom and independence to become a member of the Federation! The Federation doesn't need any weapons — it simply wins hearts over!"
"It's crazy," the state secretary muttered.
"This century is the time of separatism. Maybe the Empire is fated to turn this process back. Vadda desires independence. Won't its people change their opinion after the Empire's example? In any case, local politicians will find it more difficult to assure the nation that real happiness will come when the politicians don't have to obey the metropolis any longer."
The state secretary's eyes lit up. He arrived at the Empire, having interrupted negotiations with Vadda. This planet was going to leave the Federation either with a scandal or with a huge scandal. Merry imps danced across the state secretary's eyes as he was thinking about Shavash's words.
Meanwhile, Shavash continued.
"What are the gains of winning a war? You take over a foreign country for the present and protect your future. What are the drawbacks of winning a war? The losers are embittered and they want revenge; the neighbors get wary. We offer you all the gains of a victorious war without its single drawback!
Our proposal takes care of a multitude of problems.
For instance, there is the problem of the lands surrounding the Empire. Their development has already started. It will clearly cause conflicts between the sovereign Empire and the Federation. If we are to join, the reasons for the conflicts will be gone.
If you let us get away with our actions, you will demonstrate your weakness. Having declared a war on us, you will exhibit weakness and cruelty simultaneously. Both winning and losing the war will be catastrophic for you
— you will find yourselves internationally isolated. You will look like demagogues instead of democrats. The Federation forces developing planets to respect the human rights. However, when the same planets ask it to uphold human rights, the Federation drops nuclear bombs on them having decided that upholding the human rights is just too expensive.
If you reject our proposal, even a victorious war will be catastrophic for you. If you accept it, you remain a beacon of democracy and freedom. In the case of war, you will find yourself without tactical troops but with a reputation of a militaristic state. In the case of peace, you will obtain again the most reliable soldiers in the Galaxy and the reputation of a peaceful country!"
"What will happen to the Emperor?" the state secretary asked.
"What's wrong about having an Emperor?" the official objected. "There are kings and emperors in various states of Earth — in Arabia, in Belgium. The Emperor will be the symbol of the nation and the country will have a first minister and universal elections."
"And Earth will be accused of forcing democracy on you, won't it?" the state secretary inquired.
Shavash spread his hands.
"It's unlikely," he said, "that Earth will be accused in forcing democracy on us in the current circumstances."
Somebody snickered.
"Also," the official added, "we have already silenced the most bellicose blabbermouths so that you won't get too upset."
"You did it as preliminary measure before instituting democracy," General Al Saad noted.
Shavash preferred to ignore the comment and continued, "We are not talking about Weia; we are talking about the Federation. Will it prefer to become internationally isolated and fall apart or to obtain a strategic stronghold and flourish? Take into account that in twenty years you will have to spend forty times more for a war against Gera than you would have to invest now into economics and infrastructure of the Federation's new state!"
"We will think your proposal over," the state secretary said.
Bemish left the hall together with Fifth Fleet commander Al Saad.
"What do you think about this?" Bemish inquired.
"Do you know," the general answered, "this joke? A man is walking down a forest and an old woman points a blaster at him. "Weren't you going to rape me, dearie?" — "Absolutely not, granny!" — "You don't have a choice, dearie!"
Bemish burst out in laughter.
Five minutes later, tired and hungry Bemish ascended into a small triangular hall. The tables for the delegation stood there, filled with appetizers and dishes. The guards were everywhere and a dozen of journalists waiting for the negotiations to finish, hunted the solitary delegates.
Having come in, Bemish discovered that the adroit journalists and attendants had already taken care of the food and only the most exotic dishes were left. Bemish made himself comfortable next to a dish of a sauteed dog and Al Saad, having hesitated for a moment, followed him.
A wide TV screen stood in the right corner of the hall. It showed a Weian meeting next to the palace walls, first, and the Geran envoy's speech, second. The Geran thanked Kissur and the selfless Weians for uncovering the intrigues of Earth warmongers. He confirmed that Gera was ready to assist the exploited and mislead Weian people if the Federation dared to attack them.
Then Shavash entered the hall accompanied by two or three attendants. Shavash probably didn't want to approach the Assalah director but he clearly wanted to eat. The only edible object left on the table was the sauteed dog that Bemish sat next to.
Shavash came to the dog and started cutting it with a knife. Bemish pointedly turned away.
The anchorman on the TV screen read the announcement of Geran president. The president promised assistance to Weians and everybody else. He suggested to everybody exploited by the Federation to unite in defense of the betrayed Weians and to join their ranks fighting "the corrupted democracy of the Federation."
The TV set was not performing well. An indistinct web of blue and green lines pulsated on the screen. It was an indication that a powerful two channel trans communication unit was working somewhere nearby. The state secretary was probably speaking directly to the Federation president. Bemish stared fixedly at the green lines on the screen as if he could figure the conversation's content out of them.
The palace servants came in, changed tablecloths and covered the tables with new dishes. However, Bemish was full. In about an hour, green and blue ripples disappeared and, almost immediately, envoy Severin entered the hall. Severin approached Shavash and asked him to walk upstairs.
"The Federation president would like to talk to you," he said quietly, "on the transcom."
Shavash walked upstairs; Bemish and the general followed him simultaneously. A number of people were present in the room upstairs — a dozen diplomats and the same number of technicians. Nobody stopped Bemish and the general when they entered the room following Shavash.
A simple computer with a transcom unit connected directly to the parallel port stood on the table. Shavash leaned over the keyboard, somebody quickly pushed a button and president's Kerry face appeared in front of Shavash on the wide monitor screen.
"Mr. Shavash?" the president said.
"I am listening to you," the small official replied.
"I discussed your proposal with the heads of the Federation states. We concluded that it would put the Federation in a difficult, almost critical financial situation. However, it is mutually profitable and honorable. The executive heads of the Federation will agree to your proposal on one condition."
"What is it?"
"Your personal actions, Mr. Shavash, are extraordinary, or more directly, monstrous. You obtained quite a scandalous reputation even on your own planet. It's possible that, thanks to your successful actions, the people will choose you as the head of the new Federation state. It will be very unpleasant for us to see you in the Assembly of the heads of the states. Our condition is the following — we will accept Weia into the Federation as long as you don't participate in the new elections. If you really care about your country's well-being, you will find it easy to agree to our condition."
For a while, Shavash expressionlessly looked at the screen. Bemish suddenly recalled with malice how the small official had regretted a while ago that the Federation hadn't conquered Weia and he, Shavash, couldn't become the Federation Emperor's slave and worm his way into the Assembly of the heads of the states.