Stephron laughs. "If only it were so easy. I suspect you underestimate the bad blood and the leverage the Zhodoni have on your former people. They use their insights to inflame tensions because it suits their strategic needs. I don't see a calming on that front until the over picture there changes."helvorn wrote: ↑Fri Oct 11, 2024 4:06 amWilliam will gladly spend a good deal of time talking with the empress. He will tell her about his upbringing and show her the lucky talisman while explaining that his people hold onto the old customs without denying the existence of the larger universe. William will invite Strephon and Iolanthe to visit his home clan hold. His family would love to meet them and his mother's chicken and dumplings is to die for. He will also ask for any embarrassing stories of Ciencia that her mother might share quietly.terrymixon wrote: ↑Mon Oct 07, 2024 5:33 pm Dinner is an interesting affair. The empress is gracious, and you can definitely see the resemblance between Ciencia and her mother. The conversation is kept to non-business things and more a matter of just getting to know each other. It doesn't feel like you are being judged, though William is getting a lot of questions from the empress. She seemingly wants to know a lot about him.
She is fascinated. She says they would love to visit, but the logistics of officially doing so would be challenging. Perhaps an off the books visit via teleportal where they don't have to drag the Imperial Court with them all the way to the Marches would be best.
So far as embarrassing stories, she does have a few but it's obvious that she's holding out on the really juicy ones.
William will start by spending a good deal of time talking about growing up with a double handful of aunts and uncles as well as a swarm of younger and older cousins. They live a tech level 7 or lifestyle but are not Luddites and have higher technology where it makes sense. The family hold is a large ranch with farming to provide feed for the animals. The family is large so they don't need or really want a lot of high-tech automation. William grew up cleaning out stables and in the saddle. He admits his education suffered because he was always outside working or getting in trouble with his cousins or siblings. Almost everyone in the family served in one of the Imperial services but most came back after a few years or a career. He tells Stephon that perhaps he can leverage his background to try to reduce tension with the Sword Worlds.helvorn wrote: ↑Fri Oct 11, 2024 4:06 am Once the meal is done, Stephron will take each of you to his private study and sit down one-on-one to talk about what you'd like to accomplish and what he could do to assist you in that. He wants to create a partnership between his family and all of you. Not one where there are obligations but one where he can help where he can and you can do the same if he has a problem.
Not the kind of problem that Garvin probably anticipates, but more along the lines of providing assistance were normal groups could not do so. Not to kill others, but to help the Imperium as a whole without being assassins. He doesn't want his daughter involved with something like that and so that kind of thing is off the table.
Once he starts sitting down with each of you, he'll give you each a small talk about who he is and how he grew up. He realizes that as a noble his upbringing was not nearly the same as yours, but it is something that can help you understand who he is as a person. He speaks about his dedication to the Imperium and his desire to see humanity continue to thrive and flourish. He talks about his worries about war with the Zhodoni, K'Kree, or Alsan.
The Imperium is more fragile than many would believe because of its vast size and the fact that one and doesn't know what the other is up to because of the communications time it takes to get information from one place to another. That's been limitation since the very beginning and he worries that the Imperium will grow so large at some point that it fractures. It seems he has a lot of worries about that sort of thing and he's grateful that some of the technological breakthroughs that you're bringing to the table might alleviate some of his concerns.
Once he's explained who he is and what he cares about, he digs more deeply into who you are and what your goals might be. His understanding that you are new to this is obvious because he asks probing questions trying to get you to think about goals and ideals that would mean something to you and that you could work toward. Those are different for each person, but the common theme seems to be that you want to help people, and he is completely fine with that. In fact, he definitely wants to help.
For William, he wants to know everything about the man's family. He knows about them in general but he wants to know them as people. Then he wants to know what he wants to accomplish with his daughter at his side. He is no longer simply an individual but the Prince consort and that carries certain responsibilities even if no one knows about it yet. William's life is going to be split between helping his friends and the endeavors they are trying to do and supporting Ciencia in her work. At this point, he has no idea what his daughter intends to do but she is destined one day to sit up on the Iridium Throne and William needs to figure out how he will be part of that.
As the leader of this group, he will also end up being the leader of whatever nation they form inside the reft. It will be good experience for when the time comes to help rule over the 11,000 worlds. He offers himself as a source of guidance for that sort of thing. With the ability to communicate at a distance, Stephron can offer advice and guidance when it comes time for the group to implement their plans to try and avoid any catastrophic mistakes.
They will undoubtedly come into conflict with Sternmetal Horizons and managing that is going to be an interesting thing. The company is vast and they have resources beyond imagining. On the other hand, the technology that this group can bring to bear on any problem is also something amazing. It will be interesting to watch and he will be paying close attention.
"I wouldn't complain, but she would. Perhaps the use of your advanced technology to create artificial wombs would change the calculus. This has been attempted in the past with some success, but they process still has shortcomings. If those could be addressed, you'd have a product that would find wide acceptance among the women of the Imperium and beyond."helvorn wrote: ↑Fri Oct 11, 2024 4:06 am He will readily admit that he has no idea exactly what to do as Prince Consort other than supporting Ciencia with advice and love. William hopes that his different upbringing and experiences can meld with Ciencia's to create some thing greater than the sum of the pieces. He plans on nurturing and encouraging her love of adventure and learning. William thinks for a bit and frowned. "I know that my wife will be my liege and she will carry the weight of the Iridium Throne. The Marines taught me discipline and chain of command. My family taught me how to love, experience joy in a relationship and give of yourself to your spouse and family. I hope to use those experiences to see me through not only my official duties and conflicts but to create a safe and loving family and care for my wife. The details I can learn along the way from you and your wife, Ciencia and my friends." William chuckled. "I hope to give you at least a half-dozen grandchildren but then that may be a matter of negotiation with your daughter."
"No good ideal survives contact with the closed minded. Plan for great things but count on those with entrenched interests to fight you tooth and nail. I suggested earlier that you could be a client state but remember that has some negatives to go along with the positives. If you want to grow beyond the worlds you are initially looking at, then being truly independent might be a better choice. You can have the under the table benefits of our relationship without the baggage that an official connection might bring with it.helvorn wrote: ↑Fri Oct 11, 2024 4:06 am William sees himself as an intermediary between the Guild and his friends and the Empire as well as the larger universe. He is not worried about things going haywire as they have a good group. His own goals are to bring the improvements of technology to the Empire and surrounding populations in a controlled and humane fashion. He intends to support his friends in their individual tasks to make something really special William doesn't want to remake the Imperium from above but rather transform it by raising the standards of living and the horizons of the people within it. "It may take lifetimes but we have the time and power to do so. My worry is that we fly too close to the sun and fall to our own hubris. At least we can start small in our own client state."
"The Aslan in particular will resent a direct connection and work against you. If you are not officially affiliated with the Imperium, then their stance will be officially neutral. They might scheme behind the scenes, but not directly move against you. Contrary to public perceptions, there are times they might make for good friends. For example, the Solomani Confederation is active in the Deeps. They are direct enemies of both the Imperium and the Hierate. An enemy of your enemy might not be a friend, but he won't kick you when you're down, either."
