[Diplomacy] Annual Conference of the Assembly

Alexander nodded and continued.

"Initially our colony was to land on a much more suitable planet within Kryses Star System, unfortunately the ship crash landed into Novalyse and without means of departure the settlers were forced to combat large, aggressive creatures that reside there. The Desert Demon, named by the first settlers, is the most hostile creature we face. They are nearly two stories tall and run the length of a small/medium space craft. These creatures are extremely territorial and will attack anything without hesitation. We are in a constant struggle at the borders of out establishment to keep the creatures at bay, and thus, we have developed cybernetic weaponry and enhancements to greatly increase our soldiers' chance of survival when encountering such threats."

William thoughtfully nodded and smiled slightly to himself 'these people could be very useful, the money would could make trading with them and copying their technology would be immense'. He nodded and said "Well, I can't speak for the Securion Division of the corporation, but I'm sure O.M.N.E Corporation would be willing to help in atleast some way"

"Don't misunderstand Mr. Simmons, we are not pleading for help. I am simply doing as the Assembly Agenda has requested, a 'Brief introduction of Assembly Representatives and Current state of affairs,'" he stated in a monotone voice as he transferred from his own words to what was stated on the datapad before him. "We have been handling the situation for the last several hundred years. Thank you however, for your concern but it is not necessary." With that Alexander sat back in his seat and leaned his mechanical cane against the table.

Markson had already reattached his telecommunication device and taken his seat. He's expression was precise smile, whether it was forced or not was indeterminable.

Simmons smiled and nodded "I meant no disrespect of any kind I assure you, i was merely expressing concern for my fellow man. It's quite evident you have handled yourselves wonderfully on your world." He looked around, waiting to see if anyone else wanted to say anything before he spoke on behalf of O.M.N.E

Clarity analyzed the discussion between Simmons and Chase. This Simmons was certainly an interesting character, she thought. She detected trace amounts of jack-assery, but was unsure of whether she was correct or not. She turned her attention back to Chase and modestly spoke up.

"Pardon me if I'm treading on ground that you've already covered, Mr. Overseer, but...what are the vulnerabilities of the wildlife that you've encountered? Maybe it's a possibility that you could find more specific ways to target them and boost defenses for your people. I might have a few ideas for you."

Alexander nodded to Clarity briefly and without rising answered her question.

"Most of the creatures we have encountered are quite large and have thick hide, rough hide over their back and legs. Often they have thick bone-like armor over their skulls thus, they are generally more vulnerable if our soldiers are capable of getting beneath them and attacking their underside, which is much less guarded."

Nodding, Clarity tapped down a few notes onto the keypad of her databook. "If you could arrange to have some specimens shipped to our lab at Rescenta, I'd personally put a motion through to our Biology committee at the University to get you full physical reports. There may be some other information about them that could prove valuable."

Alexander simply smiles back to Clarity as he continues.

"Unfortunately the expense of shipping such large creatures would outweigh the benefits for the moment. Only infantile and small creatures could be shipped reasonably however, those tend to be the most dangerous due to the drastic size difference between them and their prey. I would prefer not to put your researchers at risk by sending foreign species into their midst."

"That's fair enough, Mr. Overseer, but our labs are equipped with the appropriate security precautions for dangerous small creatures if you do decide to change your mind." She paused as she weighed the risks of the situation - a particularly dramatic incident with a novice intern and a Rezan frilled lizard came to mind - but the information would still be valuable to the ADR. "But, perhaps it would be more practical for a team of our researchers to visit Novalyse?"

Alexander nodded.  

"I have no doubt that your facilities are fully equipped to handle such tasks Ms. Davis.  These creatures however, are extremely dangerous and I would not be comfortable forcing that upon another in the case of an accident," he paused.  "I would have to consult General St.John before agreeing to allow you into the planet for safety purposes.  If he agrees I will contact you and your team will be assigned our most capable security unit to ensure their safe return to their homes."

Clarity nodded, seeming to be pleased with the response. She then glanced around the table and down at her agenda to see who was next to present their concerns to the Assembly.

William assumed this was as good a time as any to stand up and speak, so he did. He stood up and smiled, looking between everyone in the room saying "Hello my friends, as i've already said my name is William Simmons, the chosen rep from O.M.N.E Corporation. As you are all well aware, O.M.N.E stepped out of the galactic market a few years ago to consolidate resources to use in a massive expansion plan, creating more outposts on Eli-3 for mining and sending out various types of unmanned space craft to survey planets and moons inside our system and in the surrounding systems." He stopped for a second and then continued after gathering his thoughts "Our CEO Richard Conners believes it is now time for us to step back into the market, at full force and capacity. Producing and trading more than we ever have before! So, once again, O.M.N.E Corporation is happy to trade with any of you present and of course any of the independent colonies and cities."

"I'll be sure to present that to our Director of Economics. We've traded with O.M.N.E in the past, and I think it'd be beneficial for the both of us to continue to do so." Clarity smiled, but was still skeptical of Simmons.

Alexander smiled politely and waited for Clarity to finish before he spoke.

"Mr. Simmons, as the representative for my entire colony I must present more than simply a trade offer.  Without knowledge of what it is that you are willing and have available for trade I doubt Administrator Grey will even consider your offer.  If you could, please elaborate on the details of your proposal," he said directly.  His tone showed no discontent but rather an peeked interest in what the O.M.N.E Corp. may have to offer.

"Oh-ho, I'm awfully glad to hear that. I've been waiting for the databook version of Grand Theft Spacecruiser IV for almost a decade, and I was beginning to think I'd never get my hands on another one of your delicious O.M.N.E bars again!" Prime Minister Paras chuckled jovially. He was sold. "Mr. Chase, the O.M.N.E Corporation sells everything. I'd highly recommend them."

"I'll be putting my personal seal of approval on full trade rights between Deysha-II and the O.M.N.E Corporation." He nudged Carros Deyn, who seemed less enthusiastic. "Jot that down, would you? Mmm, I can almost taste those om-noms now..."

Alexander nodded to the Prime Minister.

"I'm sure they do Prime Minister however, I'd like to know what everything includes."

The Prime Minister leaned back in his chair ever so slightly as he lit a cigar. He suddenly seemed pleased wth the direction the meeting was taking, and remained smugly silent as he watched to see who would speak up next.

William smiled at the prime minister and nodded "I'll make sure to let the trade department know, Richard is bound to be thrilled to open trade between O.M.N.E and Deysha-II again." He then looked over at Alexander and smiled with a chuckle "Well, the Prime minister is correct we do make most of what people out here in the colonies need or want. But saying that, O.M.N.E Corp knew of the rough terrain of your planet and suggested i show you this." he put a new model O.M.N.E Book ((special brand of data book)) on the table and the image of the O.M.N.E heavy transport vehicle appeared. "He thought that these would interest you, built for the rugged terrain of planet like Eli-3 and your home world. It weighs 2 tons, its about 4.1 meters tall, its length is 12.2 meters,  and its engine is 2 uranium and Omnium based turbines. We also make variants of this made to be faster and hold people instead of materials, some to hold heavier loads but are a bit slower. I hope these do interest you, also their hull is incredibly powerful, made to be able to withstand rock slides and avalanches on Eli-3, both of which hit with quite alot of force."

Alexander studied the image for a moment before referring back to William.

"You said that you have models designed to carry personnel?" he asked, typing down a note about its statistics. "St. John will be more than interested in those... am I safe to assume that these are manually driven?"

William nodded and said "They come in both. With automatic, just punch in the coordinates and is uses its sensors to detect the best route, or they come in manual drive. We can deliver either to you depending on what you prefer."

Clarity saw that it was her turn to present the most pressing issues of the A.D.R next, so she tapped her datapad to look over her points.

"I suppose I'll go, then?" She waited a moment for any objections, and then continued.

"The ADR is currently doing better economically. We went through a rough phase for a few years, but our economy is starting to pick up due to our population increase." She continued prattling through the usual sociological information, explaining that the ADR was sustaining themselves fairly well and their colony was quite stable. Then, she paused, referring to her datapad for a moment before she continued. She seemed to almost expect some controversy, but continued as neutrally as possible.

"Some of you might be familiar with the Eosa, a pseudo-indigenous Rezan population that originated in 2313 as a result of our genetics program, Genera." She was referring to the very conflicted gene-splicing project that took place twenty-six years ago. There was much controversy in the ADR and beyond about the aftermath, and particularly about whether the several thousand not-quite-fully-human individuals should be afforded the same rights and priviledges. "I'd like to announce that our Bioethics Committee has officially released a study on the adult Eosa which proves that they are functioning at full cognitive capacity, at a rate which is within the range of human intelligence - just a few notches lower than human average - despite their different physiology, neurology, and cognitive functions. As a result of that, our Genetics Committee has formalized the release of all Eosa as protected study subjects under the Sentience Rights Act, which grants them the legal capacity of any non-citizen within our colony. Basically, it differentiates them from animal studies or non-functioning subjects. In addition, the Senate is currently preparing a bill to grant full citizenship to all participating Eosa. If it passes, the Eosa will be a huge step further towards integrating into the ADR with the full sovereign rights of any full human. If it is declined, the Eosa will be barred from full citizenship and will instead be recognized as 'incomplete' citizens. They would be restricted from owning property, participating in the Demarchy or Committees, receiving higher education, or traveling off of Reza and Rescenta. Supporters of the bill claim that the Eosa are fully sentient, and although they are the result of unethical experimentation, they are capable of integrating into society. Opponents claim that they are a danger to society and are a testament to the risks of experimentation with human genetics, and should be restricted in their rights because of the biological and ethical threat that they pose. Our studies have shown that Eosa can only successfully reproduce with other Eosa. Outside of that, their offspring with humans have a high chance of genetic deformities, as high as 50% actually, and they are infertile. These are just the most noticeable risks that we have studied so far of the Eosenic and human gene pools merging, which will be inevitable if they are granted full rights."

Clarity then tapped the datapad in front of her, and accessed an image taken from a physiology study to show on all of the datapads across the table. It showed a graphic of a young male Eos - he looked quite human, aside from his facial structure, which had slender angles and a more pronounced skull. The image included an imploded view of an Eosan neurological framework and cerebral cortex, which was quite different from that of the average human. It showed fewer neural connections to higher psychological processes, such as processing complex mathematics, reading, and linguistics, and more associations with primal instincts.

"I wanted to take into account your perspectives of this issue to present at our next Senate hearing on this bill. The ADR wants to know the positions of the other colonies of the Assembly." She gestured across the table, waiting to hear any responses.

William thoughtfully stroked his beard for a few moments before sighing and nodding then reply with "I don't feel quite comfortable giving an opinion like this without having people from O.M.N.E see them first hand, no offense to your data or researchers i would just feel better making a judgement based on what my own employees tell me. If you would allow a small group of O.M.N.E personnel to go and observe them along side your researchers it would be very much appreciated, and O.M.N.E will give on official statement of our position on the Eosa"

Alexander listened patiently as Clarity spoke and then to William before speaking himself.

"Speaking as a representative the idea of allowing an inhuman species full citizenship into human society is unethical. They are not human, nor could they ever intertwine their DNA, from what you have said, thus Novalyse would stand on the side of Incomplete citizenship," he said decisively, glancing from Clarity to William and back. "William makes a good point, although I have no doubt that your findings are correct it seems there is division among your people's consensus. With further observation from outside source there may be more to be seen." Alexander spoke diplomatically, never once alluding to his own thought on the matter.

"Therein lies the problem," Clarity smiled uncomfortably. "There are very few willing subjects. You see, about half of them have decided to take their perception of justice into their own hands. They are rioting. Most of the others have gone into hiding, for fear that they will be harmed - either for unethical research which we strictly forbid, or as penance by the public for what the more outspoken ones of their kind have been doing. It's a rather divisive and unfortunate situation. There are a few Eosa who understand the gravity of the issue, and are working with us cooperatively to try and come to a good conclusion. We have a few in safe harbor at the University." She bit her lip. "And I assure you, despite what the statistics might lead you to believe, they are strikingly intelligent. If you'd like, I can arrange for you to meet them, and hear what they have to say."

William tapped his fingers on the table and then nodded "I would like for some of my people to be able to meet them and speak with them first hand. In situations like this we can not allow ourselves to simply jump on a band wagon, so to speak, without any information we have gathered personally."