Fecundity Initiative: Bjornoya's Destiny (E2)

[Bjornoya]

Recent land acquisition bordering the Bjornoyan mainland had left the Bjornoyan herrgotts somewhat bewildered. Such an enormous region, and it only contained a little over 1 million people. Herrgott Jacksehn Hegel had the Bjornoyan Federals scout the area thoroughly, Fraugott Lucy Rand had advised the Patriarch of regions to establish national parks, and Herrgott Wilhelm Kaufmann had Visara move into designated areas to begin mining the earth for valuable metals in the region.

Patriarch Sedaht Rand sighed, something was missing. Aside from all this tedious process he felt a certain emptiness, and it disturbed him. Power, the power to be, the power to become… that’s what was missing in all the little tasks performed by his little people. Bjornoya had a chance to expand and even Wilhelm seemed to have forgotten it, probably because he was already happy. The Patriarch however was always wanting, he wanted more. Some viewed this as a bad thing, but without it he never would have reached his position of power. Those who are content never grow, never become, and they seem to forget one of natures’ first laws, ‘one must acquire more in order to become more.’

The Patriarch summoned the Bjornoyan national leaders to discuss matters. The plan was simple; allow for the once uninhabitable regions of Komi to be settled. The plan would require a tremendous amount of energy, energy that could not be supplied by Visara alone. Instead the Patriarch would ask Wilhelm to negotiate with many national leaders and prominent businessmen from around the world. The needs were many; the purchasing of a constant and reliable oil supply to be used in constructing the sprawling cities that would fill the region, importation of large quantities of food supplies from various nations, hiring of tens of thousands of workers for mining and construction, and a vast trade route throughout neighboring countries to efficiently transport supplies to and from Bjornoya.

Oil could be purchased from Elephanti based corporations, and negotiations were already underway. Cheap manual labor could be found throughout Bjornoyan Africa. Food importation would have to be negotiated between several countries. Much needed grains could be imported from Russia while agricultural regions in Africa could supply meats, fruits, and vegetables. Fisheries along the northern Scandinavian and Russian coasts were another possibility, but would need to be discussed with foreign nations. All of these grandiose plans would come to naught if the supplies could not be sent to the aforementioned regions efficiently. The plan to construct such a large infrastructure would not merely serve Bjornoya’s interests but could potentially make the region millions of dollars. A successful transportation line would decrease the costs of transportation making business much easier to conduct. The plan would include either the construction of new ports or additions to existing ones throughout Scandinavia, construction of major airports to assist in transporting necessities and perishables, and vast roadways primarily to and from Archangelsk into Komi.

Wilhelm picked up the phone and began making his phone calls.

[Bjornoya]

One of the first calls made was to the Norwegian Prime Minister. The deals required to accomplish the Patriarch's goals would be many. Amongst them was the transfer of the island named after his own country; Bjornoya.

Being mildly disputed for centuries the tiny island had been under both Germanian and Bjornoyan control. The only consistency about the region was its populace which although small remained solidly Norwegian with a Bjornoyan minority. Centuries ago the region had been settled unsuccesfully by Bjornoyan explorers who all perished from lack of supplies from the mainland. It is not sure if this happened before or after the Vikings arrived.

In anycase as a part of the deal Bjornoya would offer the island of Bjornoya to the Kingdom of Norway under a few conditions.

First, there was to be a strict DMZ a covering a 24 mile radius about the island. Merchant vessels from either naiton could transverse the waters. Secondly, Bjornoyan heritage and culture would be preserved for the citizens who were of Bjornoyan decent. Teachings of Bjornoyan language and histroy would an option in the schools and would be well funded by the Bjornoyan Federal Government. The Bjornoyan flag would be flown alongside the Norwegians' on the island.

Further deals would involve the construction and maintainance of Norwegian fisheries based from the island to send surplus food to Komi. More such deals would be made later involving regions of the Norwegian coastline as well.

[Cotland]

The C-130J Hercules transport aircraft gently touched down at the only airstrip on Bjornoya, or Bjørnøya as it was named in Norwegian text books and maps. At least the airstrip was made of asphalt. The first priority will be to upgrade the system here, Stian Hilleren thought. Hilleren was to be the new Norwegian governor of Bjørnøya, and he brought with him his family, a few assistants and officials from Oslo and a lot of equipment. As the Hercules, which belonged to Squadron 335 based at Gardermoen Int'l Airport outside Oslo taxied over to the small arrivals building, Hilleren and the rest of the people inside started getting up from their uncomfortable seats. After a few minutes, the Hercules stopped and the crew chief opened the loading door in the rear of the aircraft to let fresh air in and to get the cargo offloaded. Meanwhile, Hilleren exited though the side door in the front of the aircraft, wearing a parka as protection against the cold elements. A small Bjornoyan delegation stood there, waiting.

"Gentlemen, pleased to meet you," Hilleren said in a moderately accented English. "I'm Stian Hilleren, the Norwegian envoy."

[Bjornoya]

The Bjornoyan Governor, a man by the name of Cid Rufus cordially greeted the Norwegian envoy alongside his secretary and a handful of other prominent citizens on the embarrassingly shoddy airstrip that offered the only avial access to the island. The elderly gentleman knew he was leaving and felt a bit saddened, but Bjornoya needed governors of his qualifications elsewhere. Having led the small community for nearly 5 years he had come to know all of the inhabitants.

He had been appointed a governor by an unseen group run by the Bjornoyan Patriarchal Federal Government, selected for his superior leadership and character qualities there were few objections amongst the Bjornoyan population to his role. Amongst the Bjornoyan populace much of the local delegations and politicking was taken care of by the Federals leaving the populace to spend their time worrying about more important things. He was going to be transferred to a new city yet to be founded within Komi to help start operations there.

Cid invited Stian Hilleren to tour the single city that made up the majority of the island's population. Within it was a single Lutheran church with a lone cemetery, a school that served for education from kindergarten to high school level education following the compulsory Bjornoyan education. In a beautiful park the children played together cheerfully in the snow. Mainstreet contained a handful of shops, mostly fishing oriented. The port bustled with the activity of fishermen bringing their catches home to the family. The post office consisted of a single engine airplane that would make its tedious trip once a week. The largest disputes to break out were over who had caught the biggest fish. Nowhere on Earth could there have been a more perfect place.

The news of the Bjornoyan transfer of land left the Bjornoyan populace a bit hesitant and nervous. An extremely xenophobic people they rarely went out of their way to be friendly. This island was an exception, but the new governing council would have to work unnecessarily hard to prove itself to the skeptical Bjornoyans.

Cid explained in full honest detail the runnings of the island thus far to Stian Hilleren. Cid had gotten the addresses of nearly every household on the island and would be writing weekly to see how things were going. He would leave within a week on the next plane ride out, and he wanted to get to know who would be leading his people after he left.

[Cotland]

Hilleren liked what he saw. The small community of roughly 480 people, 80 of them of Bjornoyans, lived in a very nice place. The only thing the Norwegian government officials would have to do was to change the school curriculum for the 100 kids that attended school to the standard Norwegian curriculum, the citizens had to be informed of the Norwegian laws and the Police would have to be reformed, and a few new stores with something other than fish would have to be introduced. In time, they would probably build a larger port so they could accept cargo vessels too. As it was now, the whole reformation and construction required in the first phase wouldn't exceed K60 million, or $100 million. They would also get help from Oslo to open a new air route at least twice a week from Bjørnøya to Tromsø. That would probably cost a bit too, but Oslo would handle that. As they got back to the Governors office, Stian sat down in the guest chair, showing all due respect for the Governor.

"It seems like a very close-knit community," he opened. "Do you think the citizens of Bjornoyan decent will have any difficulties adjusting to a Norwegian rule?"

[Bjornoya]

Cid wondered how he could define the Bjornoyans point of view without appearing offensive or condescending. The language itself posed a large enough problem, the Bjornoyan language was extremely difficult to learn but in and of itself was a very simple language. The Patriarch in his infinite wisdom had allowed for freedom of speech, but within his country the freedom to speak the Bjornoyan language. He knew that just as there were certain substances that once introduced to the body could cause irreversible harm there also must be thoughts, ideas that once introduced to the mind could cause irreversible harm. Insofar as Bjornoyans could speak whatever they thought, they could not think of everything as their language did not permit. Words such as ‘war,’ ‘struggle,’ ‘conflict,’ and ‘opposition’ were removed from the language. The hope was that if one could not speak of such things one could not enact such things, and although the Bjornoyans were a much more gullible people than they should be they were also a much happier group as well. Although they were naïve they lived a better life than the cynics. They were still able to relate with their fellow man by covenants instead of contracts.

Furthermore Cid did not know well how to explain the Bjornoyan stance on civil liberties. Such a concepts as individual freedoms and destinies were not practiced by the Bjornoyans unless absolutely necessary. Children were not taught that when they grew up they could become anything they wanted to be, but rather when they grew up they would acquire a position that they deserved to be. The destinies of the Bjornoyans were dictated by their merit over their looks and luck, and although at times they might dream of becoming famous actors or powerful politicians they also knew also it was best they never got to touch their dreams.

How could he explain this? Even he did not understand it fully. Bjornoyans did not consciously strive for happiness, but rather completeness. Not surprisingly this ended up as happiness far more often than other societies’ attempts.

“Indeed we are a very intimate community. If you want to understand us better a good start might be to spend some time looking over the Bjornoyan educational curriculum. Many major atrocities of humanity are left out in our history books. Instead we try to portray humanity in the best possible light. Some call it brainwashing, I prefer brain cleanliness. You may not agree with how this works but please ask yourself before changing anything, ‘What good will come out of this?’ The truth means little to us Bjornoyans, more important to us is the happiness of ourselves and our families. If given the choice between knowing an uncertain truth or knowing a certain happiness we choose happiness any day.”

“On a different note the greatest complications will arise if major industries start moving in. As I recall I heard talks of expanding the fishing industries around here. All the citizens are very proud of the work they do, having some fancy machines come in and do better jobs than they have been doing will not bode well. A gradual acceptance might do better, maybe having a few upgraded fishing vessels brought one at a time. Expanding the police force and maintaining a common moral code will be very beneficial if the population expands as I expect it to in the near future. Much of the local problems can be overheard at the local church; I strongly suggest attendance even if it is not your creed. It is an excellent chance to know these citizens better.”

[Cotland]

Hilleren was appaled when he heard of the confirmation of the rumors about Bjornoyan brainwashing of their young. It was completely against both his beliefs, Norwegian law and moral ethics! It was going to stop when the Norwegians came to power and the new curriculum was introduced. If the teachers attempted to continue it after that, they would be arrested and procecuted.

"Governor, I have nothing but respect for Bjornoyan beliefs and traditions, but if these people are to become citizens of Norway, they must learn what all Norwegians must learn. We are a modern society which lives in a modern, international world, and as such, we must face reality, no matter how painful it is. This whole brainwashing procedure must end. It's against the Norwegian constitution to brainwash people. Instead, we rely on our children to find out what they want to be for themselves, and for them to be able to realize those dreams by themselves. They may not all reach their goals, but it's all up to themselves to figure it out. We expect these people to be fully integrated into the Norwegian society, and to put it simple, the Norwegian society doesn't consist of brainwashed people. Just so it's set straight and the people aren't caught by surprise.

"As for the modernization of the society here, we have no immediate plans for any extreme modernization or building any factories here. Just a few new stores and other small items which will help integrate the society to Norwegian 'standards'. Perhaps a new dock. New fishing boats will have to be bought by the individual citizens, although the Government may help pay for it. It all depends on the citizens and their wishes of success and profits.

"As for the church, I understand it's a Lutheran church. The Church of Norway which I am a member of is based on Luthers teachings, so it shouldn't be too far from the normal. I shall be certain to attend at the earliest opportunity."

[Bjornoya]

Cid shrugged and wondered why the Norwegians had chosen a person who focused so much on the big point-of-view for such a task. The island and its populace did not care about politics and would not respond positively to such useless debates. Furthermore the island was not involved with international quarrels or affairs. The citizens were happy living their own lives isolated from the rest of the world, isolated from 'civilization.' Such conversations only caused problems. Hilleren was not speaking like a Bjornoyan islander but like a Norwegian mainlander. Norway was a modern and international country, Bjornoya island was not. "We are not like you, Mr. Hilleren. We are neither modern or international, we are archaic and isolated. This is our island, speaking like that will not make you many friends. No-one here will understand you."

Cid just smiled at the Norwegian's retort and followed up with one of his own. 'Norwegians are not a brainwashed people' he chuckled and asked, "What do you mean by brainwashed? Is a brainwashed person one who has not chosen his own path, but instead had that path dictated by his society? How do you escape that? Looking at myself I know I have not created myself into who I am but rather by the beneficial influences of society. Was I responsible for learning the Bjornoyan language? As an infant I choose that? I think not. So far the man that sits beside you has been carefully constructed by his society. When I was young I dreamt of becoming an astronaut, but look at me now. Considering the good I have accomplished I know this was the right thing to do.”

"I know a girl, Stephanie, maybe 12 years old, just started junior high-school. So far she has received high notes in mathematics, Bjornoyan, science, religion, history, arts, and PE. Her favorite subjects are organic chemistry and calculus, a twelve year old! She knows and loves everyone on this island and not a single one of them will cause her any harm. She tells me every week at Sunday school how she wants to grow up and be a fisherman just like her father. Tell me, what good will these new truthful curriculums do for her? How will learning that Nazi's threw Jewish infants from their mothers and caught them on bayonets during their brief attempt at power, learning how the North Germanians treated the Poles during their insurrection, learning she could be happier as a multi-millionaire if she dressed in scanty cloths and sang crappy music, learning that having oral sex does not technically renounce your virginity, learning that she needs to carry a cell phone and pepper spray at night or she would be raped, or learning perhaps the violent rapes and pillagings that are your nation's history*... how the hell is this going to make her a better person? We in Bjornoya spend far more money on our education than any other nation on this planet, we value intelligence but we also value our morals. You say you value the right for a person to choose their own path in life? We have chosen ignorance in many matters, and this entire community has run just fine without being introduced to the horrors of the outside world. We 'brainwash' our children with a carefully set-up curriculum that portrays humanity in the best possible light, 'love one another, bear each-others burdens, set a good example, strive for perfection, be the better person.' Others 'brainwash' them with one that will destroy that ideal, sit them in their classrooms and teach them humanity is nothing more than an insignifigant, murderous, ugly creature, sit them in front of their television screens, tell them to buy fancy clothes and fancy cars, have sex and drink beer or they will never be happy, and they would call it freedom."

For the while Cid had maintained a calm tone, but in a brief moment glared viciously into the Norwegian's eyes and said, "I will destroy anyone who would dare harm those who I have sworn to protect, my loved ones. I don't care what the rationale is learning such things does not make humanity better, it is an unneccessary pain and burden. I have been honest in calling it brainwashing, but this is no tortourus procedure. This is merely censorship, a protective guidance of the populace. It is our duty as leaders to protect our citizens from all potential dangers including the ones they may inflict on themselves. Millions of dollars are being spent to combat drugs by various countries around the world, we too strive for such an elimination. We merely extended the definition of what a drug is. People talk of certain substances that poison the body, we Bjornoyans also speak of certain ideas that poison the mind. I have come across them in my studies as a leader, and I have done well to keep such information away from the innocent. You will not find how to produce vials of mustard gas or build an atomic bomb in any Bjornoyan educational textbooks or websites. Surely you would agree this is an intelligent decision?"

Cid resumed in his calm and saddened tone of voice, "Our teachers and preachers are not only the best trained in the world but are loved and respected by everyone in this community, both Norwegian and Bjornoyan. You would remove them simply for your nationalistic pride? I will advise my people to follow me in my return if this be the case."

"You want to try and enforce your language here? Go ahead and try. Give my kids 300 F's, they won't understand. Bjornoyans will leave before they become 'integrated,' forced to become something they're not. Under our regime we did not force the local Norwegians to speak Bjornoyan if they did not want to. As I recall part of the deal for this land transfer was to allow the Bjornyans to maintain our cultural heritage. To enforce your language and your customs here is a direct violation of that. I dare say we show far more respect and caring for our citizens than what you are proposing."

"Truth," he scoffed, "everyone wishes to condemn one another to their own special brand of it. Dogmatists, everyone of them. If ever you fall upon Truth in its entirety you would realize it is not something you would enforce upon those you love."

ooc: *These (except for the NG one) are all taught in public schools here in California, almost with a sadistic zeal. It's little wonder no-one trusts one-another and everyone is so alienated. My anger is against our educational system, don't know what yours is like. If its different I'll say that's the Bjornoyan stereotype of how a bad (foreign) educational system is run.
BTW Bjornoya spends 41% of its taxes on education. Although an 'objective' curriculum is not tought within our schools the Bjornoyan people are one of the most successful business-wise especially in areas like science and arts. Keep in mind NG was in control of this region before, I doubt he had a very 'objective' curriculum for education either.

[Cotland]

Hilleren was shocked by the ideas of the Bjornoyan. He had to think that the Norwegian school system was something like the Russian or Panthean one, where the government put so much pressure and terrorized the kids into doing drugs and skipping school, turning into dumbasses and losers when they grew up. No, not the Norwegian system. Here, they learned what was necessary to survive in the modern society. For instance, the history was taught with an emphasis on preventing history from repeating itself, with the really gory details reserved for High School and upwards. The kids were encouraged to do their best in all levels of the education "ladder", and all the teachers were tested every two years to weed out those who had issues learning away things. Quality control, to ensure the best possible education for the children. Schools were kept up to date, and all sorts of theories were taught in i.e. math, physics, chemistry and religion classes, just to mention a few. The education system was there to give the children the best possible preparation for the rest of their lives, and it had a very high success-rate. 99.96 percent of all children turned out alright. That meant that out of 10,000 kids, only 4 turned out bad. A very successful ideal indeed.

"By brainwashed I mean being taught only one side of the story, leaving the person who is brainwashed to believing that only his or her side of the story is the only correct one, and that everyone else are mistaken and wrong. Brainwashing is in essence telling a person that he has to do this and that, and ignore his own instinct. People must be allowed to choose their own paths in life." He paused for a second to let his point break through before he continued. "Sir, I have nothing but respect for your way of life and how your government deal with the various issues at hand, but I as a government official for the Kingdom of Norway is bound to follow the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway, just like anyone living in the Kingdom, and the Constitution is very clear about brainwashing. It is highly prohibited. I respect and commend Stephanies dreams and ambitions, and I am certain that she will get to do exactly what she wishes to do in the future. As will all the children, provided they earn it. Besides, if they are to attend universities, they need this basic education, do they not?"

"As for the brutal history of humanity, it is a sad yet necessary thing we all need to learn if we are to survive in this modern world. We Norwegians don't believe that learning the history will make us into worse people. We believe that by learning history, we prevent it from repeating itself. Let me give you an example. A thousand years ago, Norwegians were busy with bloodfeuds and slaughtering anything they saw if they wanted to. Now, we have learned that that practice is wrong, and it is outlawed. We have learned from history. We also practiced rapes earlier. Now, rape, murder and kidnapping, just to mention a few, are punished with the death penalty. Hanging. Hence, we have very little crime and there is no need for our children and young to carry a cellphone and pepper spray to protect themselves.

"I commend your intentions, but in my view, it is wrong. You censor the future of the children. I don't know about Bjornoya, but in Norway, we have freedom of speech and freedom of press written down in our Constitution. They are among our dearest rights, and everyone, from the King to the lowliest homeless man in the street enjoy them.

"You talk about how forcing our language on your citizens are a violation against our treaty. Perhaps it is, and in which case, we will need to look into it further. Norwegian will be the official language here, but perhaps if I talk to Oslo, they can sway Stortinget into allowing both Norwegian and Bjornoyan to be the official language here. Perhaps get them to pass a special law or something. But rest assured. We will do our best to try to keep these changes to a bare minimum, to try to keep the foreign influence as little as possible. That is why it is necessary that we talk about these things, so we know what the reactions would be. We see Bjørnøya as a new yet vital part in the massive puzzle which is the Kingdom, and we want nothing more than to let the citizens of Bjørnøya be integrated into our society. The intensity of this integration will have to be decided by the people. All Bjornoyans will be allowed to retain their cultural heritage, but we must look at this realistically. If that heritage violates the Norwegian Constitution, they will need to be altered to accomodate it. After all, without laws, there can be no society. Would you not agree?"

[Bjornoya]

"Ah, you must think I meant some sort of highly nationalistic curriculum when I said 'brainwashing.'" Cid smiled, "No, we are not patriots here which will make that part easy for your occupation. By 'brainwashing' I meant instilling the community with a common moral ground, and to say instill is perhaps the wrong word. This morality that we teach was here even before we arrived. Practiced here we made it a part of ourselves as well. You practice democratic ideals yes? We too are democractic nominally. The people vote to censor certain materials in Bjornoya. How would such a situation be resolved now? The people here barely allow Catholic hymnals to be brought into their church; will Norway enforce this objectivity and try to teach the ideas of the thousand religions of the world? What if they don't want to see both sides?"

"The problem with saying 'brainwashing' is teaching one side of the story is this, what is the alternative? Teach both sides of the story? I'm sure there's more than that; teach all sides of the story? The curriculum would take years and become completely unintelligible. The previous Bjornoyan Republic did want to teach one side of the story, the side of the truth. But who’s the judge of that, and how do we even know it exists? The Patriarch foresaw such complications and provided a guideline for creating healthy curriculums in various communities. The problem as I see it now with your curriculum is this, if you taught it objectively, if you merely presented the facts in a robotic, inhumane manner you would leave the populace very disillusioned with the ideals that have kept this community together. However, if you presented it in a moral context as is done in most major cities in the Bjornoyan mainland it would be acceptable. There's a big difference between saying, 'the Mayans practiced human sacrifices," or saying, "the Mayans practiced human sacrifices, and it was wrong."

"Sir I still think someone of your caliber is better suited for governing larger cities where things such as nationality, constitutions, and modernization need to be discussed by the populace. Here the only reason the citizens thought they were Bjornoyan was because our flag was flown here. And what good will come from bringing modernized talk? What do you mean by that? Surviving in it? Do they have something to fear? Here, no. Even if a nuclear holocaust broke out this very moment this island would be left unscathed."

"This is the major problem I see at the moment, when I came here I was just like you, I had my orders to 'modernize' the region, to not only teach but enforce the Bjornoyan language here, to educate the region with the morality of the Bjornoyan mainland. Everytime I attempted to do these things it either resulted in failure or left the citizens worse. I realized it was not my right to change this entire community to what either me or my country wanted it to be, but instead I had to change to accommodate what they wanted to be. They deserved to be free from such intrusions. I directly disobeyed the Patriarch's will by not enforcing the Bjornoyan language here. We leaders need to learn when to make laws, but also must need to know when to break them for something higher than the law, for morality." Cid chuckled, "I remember when the council sent by Visara came to inspect the region, they were appalled that Norwegian was still spoken. They told me I should pack my bags and get ready to return to the mainland for my punishment, in all probability banishment. Instead nothing came of it. I think the Patriarch must've had something to do with it."

"I apologize, I seem to have a very vague understanding of what the Norwegian educational system is like. I admire your nation's low crime statistics, but warn you of the fate of the old Bjornoyan Republic. We too had a 'Freedom of the Press,' 'Freedom of Speech,' and harsh laws for violent criminals, but the people abused their freedoms. They used the freedom of speech only to mock one another and used the freedom of press only to sell and consume. They used the harsh laws as a rationale for their violent lifestyle. If not for the Patriarch the entire nation would have been drowned by the wave of decadence engulfing our nation years ago. Indeed without laws their can be no society, but without morals there can be no community."

ooc: I love these sort of discourses, I usually go on forever though...

[Bjornoya]

*bump*

[Cotland]

"The thing with the Norwegian system is that we try to give the information to the children as objectivly as possible, and we rely on the parents to teach their children proper morals before they attend school. For instance, we tell from an objective point of view what the Kriegos did to the people they didn't like during the occupation, such as public executions, torture, murder, rape, random beatings and harrassment, and then ask what they feel about it. The majority believes that it is extremely wrong, and they debate the issue in class. It helps to put the issue under debate, and there is always going to be differing opinons, and that's the brilliance with the Norwegian system. People are allowed and encouraged to have differing opinions, as long as those opinions doesn't endanger lives or national security.

"As for the modernization of Bjørnøya, the only two things which will decide how much and how far modernization will proceed is the inhabitants of Bjørnøya and time. I am merely here to help the modernization process. I've been assured by the Ministry of the Interior that Bjørnøya will have the status of an autonomous area, where the people decide when, how and how far any modernization is to proceed.

"As for the freedom of press and speech, they are working well for us, and they have for the past two hundred years. We depend on the people to decide for themselves how far they are willing to go, although I must admit that laws exist to prevent abuse of those freedoms. For instance, if you insult someone, they have the right to press charges against the person for harrasment and insulting ones honor. Most such cases are settled in the Conflict Council and stay out of the courts though. We're quite happy with our system, but I'll be sure to keep in mind your warning sir."

[Bjornoya]

"If you wish to place that burden on the populace so be it. I have full faith that they shall maintain their community even if they become conscience of their alternatives or as you say, 'encouraged to hold differing opinions' There's a thin line between encouraging and enforcing. Do not cross it. Just food for thought, I have met some of the soldiers who fought in Bjornoyan Angola. They tell me of the horrors they encountered on the battlefield, how they wake up at night in a cold sweat, how they live a waking nightmare. They would do anything to get rid of those memories, yet you think it wise to thoroughly explain these tragedies through compulsory education? People have the right to not be condemned to other's pain and unhappiness." Outside the meeting hall Cid heard a phone ringing. "Excuse me."

The room fell silent for a few dull minutes. Glancing around the room Hilleren observed the handful of busts that surrounded his table, watching and listening. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Paramenides, Heraclitus, Augustine. Scattered about were historical paintings presumably created by the natives as the names and dates indicated they were relatively new. Upon the doorway there was an encryption, dating back centuries. It stated, "Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it."

Cid returned, "I have just received a call from Wilhelm Kaufmann. Visara is offering to upgrade the local fishing fleet to all those who are interested. His only condition is that the excess be sent to the mainland. I know many will reject the offer for their ships have been an essential part of their family heritage, but I will see if anyone is interested. I have also been informed I shall be the founding mayor of a new port called 'Dawn' which is in the planning stages. It is located in Novaya Zemlya. I shall tell my people where they can find safe haven should they have any problems."

[Elephantum]

Elephanti Commerce Department Statement

In addition to the talks about oil, which we have already discussed, the Indian Commerce Group has expressed interest in working in Africa. They buy goods from small or isolated communities, and sell them in a market where they will fetch a higher price. They also contribute signifigant amounts to local communities in the form of charitable donations. They would request permission to access those areas in Africa, along with rights to establish stores in Bjornoya. In return, they would maximize the percentage of Bjornoyan citizens employed, and offer Bjornoyan goods in Elephanti markets.

[Bjornoya]

ooc: this would be an entirely fair deal were it not for the way Visara is run which will get me in trouble in the future.

Response from Visara Co.

As much as we admire, appreciate, and respect the intentions of your company Visara must maintain a nation-wide monopoly in order to maintain national autonomy. Visara would be happy to make a deal so long as product sold by the Indian Commerce Group were sold to Visara Co. before they could be resold to the Bjornoyan citizens as we maintain strict product safety regulations that we must conduct before selling to Bjornoyan citizens.

Should you have some spare labor within your company Visara would also be happy to employee these specialist to work within Bjornoyan borders.

Respectfully,
Visara Co. CEO
Right Hand of State
Herrgott Wilhelm Kaufmann

ooc: I think a secret sacred Indian cow -> Bjornoyan hamburger deal would be funny and lead to a strange RP in the future.