Chapter 7131: Implacable Stance The Astral Octagon had turned into a hive of activity. Many different events caused the members of the Red Collective to become swamped with work. From the return to the Cybernetic Empire to the emergence of the mutated voribugs, the new superorganization had to scramble in order to stay on top of the situation. The Lower Council spent long hours debating on new legislation meant to form a unified response to the latest events. This immediately resulted in a lot of arguing as the lower councilors all comprised people elected from different territories. Those who hailed from Rubarthan space loudly screamed for the RC to put its full weight behind reinforcing the Rubarthan Pact. Others were much more hesitant about squandering so much manpower and resources against an opponent that could overwhelm most defensive measures by relying on overwhelming numbers. Then there were the headaches caused by the Cybernetic Empire. When Ves navigated through the crystalline corridors and finally entered the office that he had not visited in person for quite a while, his chief of staff dutifully stood up and greeted him with great deference. "Welcome back to the Office of the Chief Councilor, sir. We have long been waiting for your return." Eliza Mo Ragadan did not behave much differently from last time they met in person, but Ves could immediately spot a lot of differences. For one, Eliza carried herself with greater confidence. The months she spent while standing in for Ves had increased her sense of importance, causing her to gain an invisible momentum that made it easier for others to take her seriously. Her qi cultivation had also progressed considerably. The Minister series of qi cultivation methods rewarded its practitioners for properly doing their jobs in government institutions. Her relatively high position also granted her access to the Red Collective’s exclusive cultivation resources. These were newly developed elixirs and other reagents that had proven to be effective at accelerating progress... though usually at a hefty price. The fast pace of progress meant that the most effective solutions also tended to be experimental. Although the RC was not stupid enough to place completely untested products onto their internal exchange, there simply was not enough time and manpower to test everything to the strictest standards. The collies eventually chose to put products that had passed the initial trials up for exchange. This allowed for members such as Eliza Mo Ragadan to make their own consideration whether to brave the risks in exchange for faster progress. This was a rather dangerous but highly effective policy. Eliza was hardly the only qi cultivator that Ves had encountered in the halls of the Astral Octagon that had made rapid progress in their cultivation. From what Ves could tell with his sharp senses, Eliza had already reached the later stage of the first major cultivation rank. That was roughly equivalent to a Senior Mech Designer such as Ves! He had worked earnestly as a mech designer for more than 15 years, yet Eliza was able to catch up in less than a year! This was a testament to her talent, discipline, the quality of her modern qi cultivation method as well as the reagents she expended. It was only a matter of time before the Red Collective produced a mass wave of qi cultivators of the second major cultivation rank. This was an important divide as those who had become powerful enough to reach this stage usually became powerful enough to affect battlefields with their extraordinary capabilities. That did not necessarily mean that they could beat up mechs by themselves, but they became a lot more useful than before. Given that the headquarters of the RC was filled with people who had doped themselves on reagents, this was clearly a matter of great importance. As Ves moved to his desk and sat on the seat that had remained empty for a long time, he briefly closed his eyes and tasted the air of tension and unease. "So..." He said. "You know why I am here. I only have 5 days or so to take care of business before I need to depart." His chief of staff’s expression grew tight. "We will have to make the most out of your stay here. The good news is that many different collies wish to speak to you in person. I have taken the liberty of filtering out the vast majority of requests, taking your objectives into account. Your first appointment is already on the way. Now that you have become more engaged in our affairs, it is vital that you become aware of our growing problems. You urgently need to become apprised of certain pieces of classified intelligence that the Secret Department do not dare to spread too far." Ves nodded in understanding. "The Secret Department has been expanding rapidly, right?" "Secrets have become more and more important." She affirmed. "I am not ignorant of the fact that this goes against the founding principles of the Red Collective, but we have no choice. We are constantly locked in division as many different stakeholders already exert too much influence on our internal affairs. Their interference is causing our operations to turn into political battlefields." Ves formed a wry smile. "That is one of the reasons why I have deliberately maintained my distance from all of those acrimonious disputes. It is better to be disregarded than to be forced to pick a side." "Everyone else has noticed. Your refusal to take their sides has reduced the weight of your name. Nobody likes a fence sitter. Since you have not done anything for them, they will not go out of their way to help you. The advantage is that no one outright hates you. The other department heads and councilors at least respect your neutrality, even if it is mostly a result of your disinterest and strategic inaction." "I am told that there are certain colliest that want to leverage my neutrality, correct?" "Yes, sir. You will probably receive a request from your next appointment or the one after that. This is a delicate situation that has been allowed to fester for too long. We need to find a resolution before a rift can occur." They continued to speak for a while longer. Ves periodically kept in touch with Eliza over the galactic net, but this was a highly secure means of communication. He was able to gain more sensitive information by possessing Argent, but even then he and the collies did not dare to assume it was impervious. In fact, they were right to be paranoid. Just the Web Mistress alone should have easily been able to intercept messages if she felt inclined to do so. This only further emphasized the importance of holding meetings in person. Their conversation finally paused when a visitor arrived. The dark-robed figure kept his head hidden underneath his hood. He could have been mistaken for a cultist if he did not exude an atmosphere that made it easier for people to cast their attention elsewhere. Curious. While this trick worked for most people, it did not work for Ves and Eliza. The latter had already grown familiar with the antics of the Secret Keepers while Ves was resistant towards these kinds of effects. The new arrival made a shallow bow. "Secret Keeper Zariel-775. I shall be briefing you on a collection of urgent dossiers today." Ves waved his arm. "Charmed. Please go ahead. I am eager to learn what is truly going on inside the Red Collective these days." The robed figure did just that. "Let me start with the most immediate external problem. This is a subject that has caused a great amount of polarization within our ranks. The Red Collective has formally extended an invitation to the Cybernetic Empire to become a part of our cooperative effort." Ves could already foresee how that went. "I take it the Cybers did not say yes." The male secret keeper nodded underneath his hood. "The Cybernetic Empire has rebuffed our offers. We have made repeated concessions, allowing the Cybers to maintain a greater autonomy and control over their own cultivators so long as they take responsibility for the consequences. This is similar to the special arrangements that we have made to accommodate the Red Association and the Red Fleet. Unfortunately, the Cybernetic Empire has refused our well-meaning accommodations." "Are the Cybers principally opposed to the Red Collective?" "Not entirely." Zariel-775 replied. "After pushing the matter, the representatives of the Cybernetic Empire have expressed a desire to gain access to our services and gain representation in the Lower and Upper Councils. What is problematic is their refusal to allow our people and organization to gain a foothold in their empire. The latest terms they have made state that they want to establish their own branches of the RC that are staffed by their own personnel. They want to maintain separate databases and gain veto power over all of the rules and orders issued from the Astral Octagon." Ves snorted. "You might as well call them freeloaders! The Cybers want to gain access to everything good within the RC, but they do not want to share any of their own good stuff. It is all about control for them. The Cybernetic Empire is a highly centralized polity by design. The Polymath has completely rejected the authority of the Red Association and the Red Fleet. Her policy towards the RC is not much different. Anything that threatens to compromise her absolute control over her own star empire is unacceptable." Zariel-775 remained silent for a moment. Ves could somehow feel that the spy was staring harder. "You have intersected with the Polymath numerous times. You have a good understanding of her... personality." "I do not dare to make that claim." Ves quickly defended himself. "I am sure that your Secret Department has conducted a much more thorough analysis of her. Based on what little I know about the Polymath, she thinks she is the smartest individual in the Red Ocean, which means that only she knows how to best lead our race to victory. She cannot stand the thought of letting others wander into her well-laid plans and completely ruin her layout due to reasons that she finds idiotic. Now that she is finally able to lead her own little empire, she will never relinquish control to anyone." "What you have described... largely falls in line with our analysis." The secret keeper spoke in his emotionless voice. "As hopeless as it may seem, do you have any suggestion that might persuade the Cybernetic Empress to reconsider her stance towards the Red Collective?" "Yes, but you won’t like the answer. The only viable solution that I can think of is to put her in charge of the Red Collective. As long as she is in charge, she will no longer have any objections." "That is unacceptable. We are a collective. We are accountable to the very same people that we are responsible for. To answer to only a single individual goes against everything we stand for. Star Designer or not, she is only a single person." Ves nodded in agreement. "That is what you and I think, but the Polymath is cut from a different cloth. This is an ideological dispute. The RC’s governance model stands in opposition to the Cybernetic Empire’s governance model. Whereas the RC tries its best to be more accountable to the masses, the Cybernetic Empire is run by technocrats appointed by the smartest of them all. The former has adopted a bottom-up approach, while the latter is the epitome of a top-down approach." When put in those terms, it was no surprise that the Cybernetic Empire did not get along with the Red Collective. "So are you able to offer any reasonable alternative or suggestion that could persuade the Cybers and their sovereign to reconsider their stance towards the RC?" Ves spent a few seconds of thought. He could not think of any way to apply enough pressure to the Polymath to persuade her into giving up on her principled stance. "...No. I am sorry, secret keeper. I think that the Cybernetic Empire will never become a part of the Red Collective so long as the Polymath is in charge. We will just have to get used to this reality."