Isara. Earth.
– Greetings, President Arevalo.
"And to you too, Queen Isara," the man smiled and invited her to sit.
"Queen is your equivalent of my title of phaetarch, but we didn't have any Carrollings to give that word a foothold," the girl explained and sat down at the table.
- So what problems did you want to talk to me about?
"The first are purely organizational. Szareh has acquired technologies to ensure traceable communications for the System Lords. A relay station will be located on this planet, and instead of such personal nighttime visits, we will communicate with you via a hologram system. This will speed up our response to any encroachments on your authority by various groups. I predict there may be problems within a couple of years, especially with this agrarian reform."
"Do you find it wrong?" the president tensed.
"No. It's not my place to advise you on how to lead your people to prosperity. But I think the large landowners will be dissatisfied, and among them is the American fruit company. I just want to express my personal opinion: I agree with the provisions of this reform. Urvashi isn't fully colonized, there's plenty of free land, but the problem is the roads. The harvest must be delivered to consumers in the cities. That's why my predecessors focused on developing transport logistics, so settlers can move forward and develop new territories, rather than becoming poor farm laborers."
"Your predecessors were intelligent. However, Szarekh said that your planet's development is comparable to that of Ancient Egypt."
Isara winced. It irritated her a little that people considered her planet undeveloped. After all, it was better to be such a planet than to form Units 731 or engage in slavery.
"But nevertheless, before the arrival of Szarekh, my planet surpassed your Middle Ages and was an absolute monarchy, without an aristocracy, but with the institution of governors. The closest and most accurate analogue is the Byzantine Empire. So, 300 years separate us."
"I didn't mean to offend," the President quickly realized that he had touched on a sore subject.
"It's not because of you, but my own personal demons. As ruler, I was supposed to allocate funds for the development of my state. Szarekh, using Earth as an example, unknowingly showed me where I was wrong. This upsets me."
"He who does nothing makes no mistakes." Isara thought at that moment of Szarekh, who constantly shoots someone with an intar, and then has to attend twenty banquets to appease Pangar. Of course, saving Egeria was important, and it would be the key to victory, but his diplomatic approach made her wince. "Couldn't he have just threatened them instead of seizing the capital and the government?" she wondered then.
"Yes, we have a similar saying. The one who knows most about fishing is the one who has never caught a fish." The woman composed herself and said, "Now I will speak as the Phaetrarch of the Tetrarchy. Your agrarian reform has greatly interested my master because you will be able to purchase much more agricultural equipment. At the same time, this will increase our secret trade relations. However, you must understand that over time, my planet will begin its own production, and you will be pointless as suppliers. Szarekh wishes to maintain relations with you even after your secret procurement services are no longer needed. Therefore, he welcomes your desire for industrialization. This way, we will be able to place production orders with you, and you will continue to be considered our trading partner. Your planet has entered the nuclear age. Major countries are now experimenting with nuclear energy. The Goa'uld are long past that stage. Once this no longer arouses suspicion, Szarekh intends to transfer similar technologies to you."
Arevalo nodded seriously.
"Phaeron Szarekh has done much to grant independence to a number of countries, and the leaders of these countries have provided certain guarantees. But as a man of vision, he sees that his ultimate goal is the unification of the countries of Central America."
"Yes, that's his goal. But he respects the will of your peoples. It's important to him to have a major player in his debt. You're not becoming our vassal state; we need a flow of technological products, as well as a foothold. And also a vacation spot. For example, representatives from the planet Tollan asked me to contact your government. They're descended from the Maya, and they'd like to explore their roots. Considering they're not secret operatives, but rather standard archaeologists, they prefer to have contact with the local government."
– We will be happy to welcome these people as dear guests.
"I'll fill you in on the rest of the information," Isara smiled, then picked up a standard briefcase and handed it to the president. "Phaeron Szarekh would like to show how much he values your efforts and friendship. The briefcase contains bracelets containing computers. The jar contains pills containing nanites. Nanites are cutting-edge medical technology, essentially microscopic machines that heal the human body. The bracelet-computer controls these nanites, and the results are astounding. According to laboratory data from the scientist who created these devices, up to 90% of diseases can be cured with them, and life expectancy will increase to 300 years."
- How many?
"300 years. However, if used on a baby, it would give you another hundred years. I'm 200. Phaeron Szarekh values you highly, so he has decided to grant you and your families access to the technology, which will become standard on my planet. We are unable to organize mass production due to politics."
- Yes, I understand. And I am grateful.
"That's very good. Sareh knows how to be grateful. Even with your retirement from politics, he values your relationship, and if you need work, he's ready to provide it."
The President nodded.
"This is also a personal request from me: with my money, which I will transfer to you in gold, you must commission several economic studies from leading Western institutes. Szarekh unites the worlds under his rule and rules not as a feudal lord, but insists on economic development. This already presupposes multi-stage commodity-money relations. I want to ensure that the Tetrarchy does not fall into a Great Depression."
The President shuddered, remembering this period, and only nodded.
"Thank you. And once again, I apologize for constantly showing up at night when you should be resting. With the new system, that will be kept to a minimum."
"It was worth getting up and staying longer for news like that," he said, pointing to the diplomat.
"See you soon," Isara nodded politely and left the president's office. She needed to visit all of Szareh's allies and distribute the nanites, while also getting some consultations from the scientists.
A few hours later.
Isara sat in her office, reviewing various reports, both on paper and on her computer. Her office was now illuminated by electric lamps, and seven holographic screens surrounded her, displaying various data.
"Madam, here's the data on Trella," her assistant came in and handed over everything they had managed to find out about the planet, not only through orbital scanning, but also by confiscating various documents.
"Thank you," the ruler replied, opening the folder and immersing herself in the book. Trella is a planet in Ra's domain. Abandoned. According to the computers, the previous Goa'uld who ruled this planet was an official of Ra and stole the planet from him, simply deleting all information about it from the electronic databases, including tax records, and then ruled as a god with a small contingent of loyal Jaffa. But he was killed by the previous ruler, who had already been killed by Szarekh. No miracle happened; the planet where the naquadah were sent belonged to a Goa'uld lord.
Most likely, the official Ra had a buyer, who supplied him with equipment. And apparently, he was pleased that the naquadah continued to flow for 600 years. The Goa'uld weren't stupid, and a slave rebellion scenario wasn't uncommon; he was simply taking advantage of the situation. Now another 3 million souls would be under her control. Naturally, they immediately announced a multitude of edicts, the general gist of which was intended to reform the situation on the planet without breaking anything. The previous ruler had been driven mad by the sarcophagus, so some of his laws were meaningless.
Essentially, she abolished naquadah mining and standardized taxes. Peasants were now required to hand over 10% of their harvest, while artisans were simplified—they mostly managed themselves in the cities. It was a classic medieval era, with 95% of the population in the fields and 5% in the cities. Cities typically had populations of 3,000–4,000. In the Middle Ages, feudal lords emerged to collect tribute from the peasants and simultaneously protect them from other feudal lords. This didn't happen here, thanks to the hundreds of staffs that only the ruler issued to loyalists.
This created a centralized structure. Guards were only in the naquadah mines, as everyone knew: if you didn't pay your taxes, I'd kill everyone with my staffs. A hundred men could do that to a small town or settlement fairly quickly, even if it was weak. And they also had Jaffa armor, which left the people defenseless. Much of the governor's job was overseeing the deployment of orbital satellites, softening the previous government, and assessing how much resources he needed to maintain the planet.
As she said earlier, it's impossible to begin mining naquadah right away. The Trellis must understand that the Tetrarchy's rule is much more lenient, and they don't have to adhere to rigid regulations. The governor must quickly improve the lives of local residents. The number of potential candidates for this position dwindled as the Tetrarchy expanded; it already governed 12 worlds, and this was straining Urvashi's bureaucratic apparatus. Sure, there were many educated people on the planet, but not enough administrators capable of overseeing so many people.
On Pangar, despite the abundance of bureaucrats, language and cultural barriers undermined any hope of standardization and efficiency. Isara, seeking a deeper understanding of the economic realities of her people, initiated a series of scientific studies. Every day, she immersed herself in thickets of economics textbooks, attempting to synthesize Earthly knowledge with the unique challenges of her situation. She realized she was destined to be a pioneer, for her situation was unprecedented. This is why Isara cursed Szarekh daily. Not as a person, no... as a Goa'uld, he was quite tolerant, and wonderful in bed with him, but he literally dumped all the responsibility on her. Egeria, whose plans certainly did not include a Tok'ra victory, remained indifferent, letting events unfold. Damn snakes. If they were going to build their own better galaxy, let them do it themselves.
Egeria, her faithful friend, and Szarekh—that kind man who, like the mythical—or perhaps not quite mythical, considering the reality of Lord Zeus—Prometheus, brought light to humanity. But, as the legends say, he paid for it. Her husband brought not fire, but stars, seeking to doom the System Lords with them, and he himself is in no less, if not greater, danger. Orbital bombardment awaits them all, but Szarekh will try to save Egeria for the sake of the future. He himself will be killed millions of times. Every breath he takes is a betrayal of his entire race and the only chance for humanity to live without false gods.