Three men shook my hand tensely, and we sat down at a table placed on the Osiris teltak, as mine had been moved back to Urvashi, to be rebuilt in small batches on Prakiti. In front of me sat the President of Guatemala, Juan José Arvalo, and two leaders of the Caribbean Legion, José Figueres Ferrer and Juan Bosch. Jaffa lifted the teltak, and it quickly appeared in space. Then I showed it to the Earth hologram.
"I think that's sufficient evidence that President Arvalo isn't insane. You can go into the control room and look at Earth through the portholes, although they're not actually glass at all."
"I have to admit that your method differs from mine," the president remarked with a touch of irony. The other two exchanged puzzled glances.
"I usually have trouble convincing earthlings of my extraterrestrial nature," I explained. "That's why I often have to resort to shock therapy. For which, I'm afraid, my wife will hardly forgive me."
"Did they also deliver her to you in her pajamas?" the president asked.
"Yes, although that time it was an accident, unlike yours. Lord Ra commanded that resource extraction begin on a certain forgotten planet. I descended on Urvashi at night and ordered that the planet's leader be brought to me. Isara appeared before me in nothing but a nightgown. Then I realized that the soldiers needed clearer instructions."
"That's all very well, of course, but what do you need?" Juan Bosch asked.
— Trade. And also use you as a financial intermediary to obtain various equipment from Earth without attracting the attention of major powers like the USA, Great Britain, and the USSR.
— But what can Earth give to a space civilization?
"The galaxy is awash in feudalism, not even colonialism. There's a dominant race—the Goa'uld—to which I belong. In fact, I look like a snake coiled around a human's spine, connected to their brain, and completely controlling it. My race discovered Earth approximately 11,000 years ago and dispersed humanity across the galaxy as slaves. The situation isn't much different from your countries. High technology is available only to my race. No one is allowed to advance beyond medieval levels of technology. The most powerful System Lords are very old, some reaching twenty thousand years of age, and they rule with an iron fist, refusing to tolerate any new ideas or concepts. Essentially, I rule a remote planet, not far removed from your countries. Far from those who might punish me, I want to develop my planet. But the traditional method would take too long. Therefore, I am interested in trade with Earth."
— Why us, and not the USA or the USSR?
"Stalin himself is more like a Goa'uld with serious mental problems. Besides, he'll definitely try to deceive me, seize the gate, then start dialing various addresses and spreading communism across the planets. This will enrage the System Lords; they'll remember Earth and send ships to punish the entire planet. The US will do the same, but, believing that most Goa'uld planets are at a medieval level of development, they've become arrogant and will mindlessly attack everyone. The result will be the same. Not to mention that another world war will break out for control of the gate. I'm looking for allies who are much more down-to-earth, who will be interested in their own countries and will want to profit from me in order to acquire additional resources for the development of their states. The Dominican Republic and Costa Rica may still be ruled by tyrants, but I'm sure you will become prominent figures in your governments once you achieve liberation."
"With your help," Bosch said affirmatively. The fact is, the Caribbean Legion had recently failed in its attempt to liberate the Dominican Republic from a dictator. The US and the dictator had paid a Cuban general to disarm 1,200 rebels. Bosch had just gotten out of prison himself. "But what are the terms of the deal?"
"I'll provide you with gold. Half will go toward purchasing equipment for me, and half will remain yours. Also, a separate item is your goods produced by your countries. I'll buy them in exchange for gold or silver. Also, if some military man tries to stage another coup, you can count on my secret support. It's more profitable for me to have people developing the country, since this allows my machine tools, rails, and other equipment to be 'lost' among the general procurement items. Classic dictatorial regimes, focused on exploiting agriculture, which is highly susceptible to market fluctuations, will profit handsomely while holding on to power, but they'll be just another colony with little prospects. This doesn't fit my concept of development."
"However, let's say we manage to establish trade through the gate. It needs to be located somewhere, preferably in a secluded area with limited human access," Ferrer remarked sensibly.
"A mountain range would be fine for me. I'll set up my base there with my people, who will conduct trade operations. But secrecy is a priority. I'd prefer that only the leaders of the countries know about the entire situation. As for the three of you as my trading partners, either there will be a warehouse in each of the three countries that will be stocked and accessed by a ship with a gate, or another option: I'll loan each warehouse teleportation rings large enough to handle large cargo.
"Teleportation rings?" my guests didn't understand.
"Instantaneous travel technology, if there's a sending and receiving station. This simplifies things greatly, and it allows us to maintain the secrecy of all our operations."
— Can you tell us in more detail how you will help the Caribbean Legion overthrow Trujillo?
"You have two problems: the means of transporting people and the presence of a political leadership, as well as the location of that political leadership's air force. The second problem is solved by precision bombing. The first is a classic Trojan horse. We take a large ship bound for the Dominican Republic. My people board this ship, install a gate there, and transport through it all the military equipment you need. Then your supporters put to sea in small groups, using, for example, light boats. They are picked up by a ship already filled to the brim with all the weapons you need. When the ship approaches port, Trujillo, his air force, and the army's central command will be destroyed by bombing. After that, your troops will take control of the port and begin an offensive, capturing the most important facilities in the city. I will also provide you with access to the encrypted radio communications of your enemy's command.
"And you can help Costa Rica in the same way?" Ferrer asked.
"Yes. At the same time, when you take office, I will hand over to you geological survey maps of your countries. This will help diversify the economy and also serve as a justification for acquiring geological equipment."
I had no problem helping the Central American states, because, objectively, I need allies other than Israel. And right now, Israel is in no position to place orders. Two months before the Arab-Israeli War, they supplied me with a significant amount of technological equipment, but now there's a war there, and I need to find more contractors. At the same time, I'll do something good and strike a blow against the US, against their fruit companies, which were sending CIA agents whenever life in Latin America started to improve.
Central America isn't a critical point in history. I can help these people, unlike China, Korea, Vietnam, and so many other places where injustice will continue. It saddens me. I'm not a good person to occupy the body of a Goa'uld fanatic, but I'd like to do something good. It's a form of atonement for everything that's now in my head: the Goa'uld memories, their terror... It's disgusting. If I can save someone, I will. I'd be ready to change the entire history of Earth if World War II were going on right now...
But now there's a civil war in China, and in the future, the Korean and Vietnamese wars... And the lives of those who die there matter less in my mind. Yes, helping these countries isn't just about profit, but also about redemption. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I wonder, what is the road to heaven paved with then? Don't care about lives? It seems I'm going both ways at once.
"But we're all here for a change of power. How do you plan to ensure the fulfillment of agreements with our successors?" Arvalo asked.
"Simply inform your successor of all the information and call me. Along with this, I will give you certain equipment that will facilitate your work in various areas. I will also provide telephones that will allow you to contact me in the event of a critical situation, such as a military coup. I will order my warriors to protect each of you, as well as your successors."
— What volume of gold are you talking about that you are ready to transfer to us for use?
"I am the ruler of a sovereign planet with sophisticated equipment. I'll tell you more: my ship is shaped like a pyramid, significantly larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza, and its entire outer hull is covered in several millimeters of gold. So, after some manipulation, I have no problems with the gold. However, to avoid collapsing your planet's economy and drawing attention to you, I'm prepared to start with 10 tons. This, incidentally, will help strengthen your currency, allow you to take out loans, and so on. Essentially, everyone will start getting richer."
"US fruit companies will be staunchly opposed to the strengthening of local governments. They did everything they could to preserve Trujillo and the Nicaraguan government."
"The US is unlikely to take any action other than diplomatic demarches and supporting your enemies with weapons. Costa Rica seems to have a pro-communist president. They're unlikely to interfere with your fight against him; they'll likely even help. They'll do their utmost to hinder you in the Dominican Republic, but realizing they don't have a proven ally in Trujillo, they'll opt for a wait-and-see approach. In Nicaragua..."
After the rapid elimination of prominent figures, the country will be in a state of anarchy and therefore vulnerable to attack.
Although I have my suspicions that if the Caribbean Legion, which the US has suspicions about, overthrows three governments in the next year or two, two of which were US-controlled brutes, it could influence their decision-making. And when Arvalo's successor comes to power, they could stage the same military coup they did last time. They really didn't like the oppression of their fruit company, which had 85% of its land taken away—well, not really taken away. The widow was paid for it at its full value, but the land simply wasn't used, which is a form of schizophrenia. It would be amusing if my efforts lead to the formation of the Central American States. It's worth noting that such a country existed in the 19th century, but it quickly fell apart.
In 10 years, maybe at that point there will be a chance for these countries. I think that with a single promise to destroy anyone who tries to overthrow the legitimately elected government, I brought far more stability to this region than ever could have been. And of course, I will reap substantial profits from this stability. If six countries purchase equipment, seven if Israel is involved, this will blur any scrutiny of the purchases. Oh, and I mentioned other countries because it's clear that Honduras will also become an ally. That country currently has a democratic government.
Of course, I don't think all these games will bring me any joy in the long term, but creating a foothold on Earth had a certain value.
- Well, if preliminary agreements have been reached, I would like to go about my business.
After that, I handed them the computers and phones, along with instructions on how to use them, and dropped them off where I'd picked them up. I still need to check out the private investigator looking for Seth. I gave him enough motivation to do so. $100,000 just for the search itself, and a million for finding Seth. So Sam was a very motivated man who didn't ask unnecessary questions about why I needed this man and this cult.
It's worth noting that he worked well, literally 24/7. Over the course of two months, he covered the easiest states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Aklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas. Why the easiest? What's the population like there, from 300,000 to 2-3 million? Agricultural communities, which are fairly easy to check. You show up at the sheriff's department or local police station and say, "Looking for a missing girl who joined a strange cult. Do you know if there's anything similar in your area?" And you can also give the local sheriff a good coffee. Technically, what Sam did wasn't complicated; it was methodical. Plus, he knows the US system, and he's much more charismatic than me, and I hope he doesn't kidnap people from their beds in their pajamas.
Although I found him in New York, he decided to first survey the center and west of the country. In principle, this logical decision allows for resource savings by serving the least populous states, eliminating them from the sample. Before moving on to the most difficult —the southern states, and then the northern ones.
I really hope Seth is in the US and not Canada. That would be awkward.