An Impossible Arrangement (Closed)

[Doppio Giudici]

Something was different about the air, the sea, and land. Something was not quite right about pretty much everything. The High Quinovitum was staring off into the distance.

"Blood, I see blood." He said to himself "Oh by his name will there be a day where I see anything but blood?"

He was speaking of the wars and conflicts he predicted, but was forbidden to speak about. Fate was fate and only special people could change it, people he would never meet or know. The nation was strong once more, it's economy was flourishing and the government budget swelled with Terran Credits. The people who lived there were from many different places and came in many different colors. Yet they were united in one cause, the destruction of all that pained and weakened mankind. Every hour of every day a nation or two fell apart, at the same time another was formed from the ashes of others. The world was chaos and millions died weekly because of it, there was only so much you could do.

The NTA reached it's hands out and pulled in the helpless, while strangling the greedy and selfish. It armies marched over nation after small nation, for different reasons. This nation needed to leadership, that one needed to stop fighting over religion. This one killed others who were black or red and this one invaded places for sport. They all fell to the might of The NTA, but that didn't mean their wasn't losses along the way. Sure you could say it was a "Golden Age", that everything was going well. However people still died and it would still be forever before that changed. Seth was dead, he had died trying to bring change and he did.

It was now time for more change, for the new President Vigor to bring change. The High Quinovitum walked to Vigor's office to speak to him about this. He slowly opened the door with his key and closed it behind him.

"Vigor my friend, I sense something is about to happen." He said

Vigor spun his chair around and looked at him surprised. He sat there with his clothing a bit messed up and wrinkled, not to mention four empty cups of coffee on a nearby table.

"What do you mean?" Vigor said

"Something is going to happen in this room." The High Quinovitum said "Something impossible."

Vigor clutched his rifle, he was ready for something like this. Yet he was suddenly blinded by a light.

OOC How did I do?

[YellowApple]

Not bad.

IC:

YellowApple, Inc. Headquarters, International Commerce Wing
Manzanopolis Prime, YellowApple

Colgate's horn glowed, her spider silk two-piece equine-optimized suit seeming to adjust itself with her levitation, as she stepped through the automatic doors leading into the International Commerce Wing, a large section of the Headquarters of the YellowApple Department of Corporate Operations. She was immediately surrounded by the clamor of a large quantity of equine and humanoid clerical workers at their translucent-graphene cubicles, typing away at network terminals as they processed many terabytes of international economic and sales data each waking second. Among them were Corporate Representatives like herself, meandering among the many cubicles as they conversed with clerical employees to evaluate sales probabilities in the seemingly-infinite number of markets and locales YellowApple, Inc. sold to and bought from.

Colgate herself proceeded directly to the back of the large room, an automatic door sliding open to reveal the office of Senior Executive Filip "Filthy" Rich, who managed the Marketing Division and all the other Divisions associated with it, including the International Commerce Division. Unlike most Corporate Representatives assigned to the International Commerce Division, Colgate was assigned directly to Senior Executive Rich, essentially acting as the "face" of YellowApple, Inc.'s business presence. It was her that negotiated major commercial transactions with large-scale foreign entities on Rich's behalf, and her who traveled the most abroad to meet with diplomats and economic leaders personally.

Rich was quick to greet her as the doors slid shut behind her, nearly clipping the hairs of her tail.

"¡Good day, dear Colgate! ¿How are you faring?"

"Good, sir," Colgate replied confidently. "The clerical employees seem busier than normal today."

"That is because they are busier than normal today," Rich confirmed. "YellowApple, Inc. is closer to securing that cóntract with the Asmira Conglomerate-"

"¿The one regarding the CMRAA for our current international-retail civilian aerospace craft?"

"Yes, that one. You will need to compose a response sometime within the next twenty kiloseconds. Also, Administrator Manzano is currently meeting with the Legokillerans in Drop Point, which is your assignment."

"¿Pardon?"

"You are to procéed directly to Drop Point and rendezvous with both Administrator Manzano and their President Littlepip - I suspect that is the name, but I am not certain - so that our Division has proper sales representation. This is the prime opportunity to acquire an excellent economic agreement, you know."

"¿What time am I expected?"

"About two kiloseconds ago."

"¿So I'm late?"

"¿Do you truly suspéct I would give you an assignment that is already past due?"

"To be quite honest, yes, I do."

Rich laughed a little.

"Well, this time you will not be late. Résearch and Development Division's Superluminal Transit Systems Team has lent us a state-of-the-art dynamic superluminal transit node."

"¿Is it safe?"

"¡Of course it is! ¿Do you genuinely postulate that I would have you attempt to travel backwards in time through an experimental transit node prototype if I did not suspect it to be perfectly safe?"

"Yes."

"Well you should not fret. According to Dr. Pearmain, the transit node we are receiving has performed over alph-hundred successful transmissions to Lunaville."

"¿And how many of those transmissions were not successful?"

"Two."

"Oh, for the love of Luna and Celestia..."

"I do hope you are not contemplating turning down this opportunity."

"Oh fine, I'll do it. When am I needed?"

"Right away."

"But it goes back in time; ¿don't I have all cycle?"

"Well we only have it until the end of this kilosecond, when it has to be returned to Research and Development Division."

"Of course it does..."

"Hurry along, and may the Sisters protect you. The node is in the storage room."

"Will do."

Colgate proceeded out the door and to the left, heading down the hall-ish space between a wall and the back row of cubicles until she reached a door that read "Storage". She pressed her hoof against a button beside the door, prompting it to slide open and reveal a spherical contraption, with a young human male - clearly a student from the University of Manzanopolis Prime hired as an intern - at the control panel.

"Good day, ma'am. Please step into the transit node."

Colgate cautiously entered the strange machine, flinching reflexively as the doors slammed shut behind her and encased her within. The intern continued.

"Alright, starting transmission. Destination set to Drop Point, home universe, negative-two kiloseconds from t-origin."

Colgate took a deep breath. The young man continued.

"Payload transmitting in three... two... one... oh fuc-"

Whatever the young man was saying, Colgate didn't hear him finish; by the time he began to say what sounded like a profanity, Colgate was surrounded by bright white light. As the light dissipated, she found herself face-to-face with a humanoid man holding a rifle, the two of them - and another man she had yet to even glance at - in some strange room.

Luna damn it... Colgate thought to herself. This obviously wasn't Drop Point.

[Doppio Giudici]

President Vigor stood perfectly still except for his lips, which moved to ask his friend a question.

"Do you see a small pony like being in front of you?" Vigor said

"Aye." The priest said nodding "Can you see it's face?"

"Yeth, I can see it's face." Vigor said "It seems a tad blurry, but I think it's confused."

He clicked a button behind him and two devices popped out to scan the beast or whatever it was. The twin rays of light scanned it one inch at a time, from bottom to top slowly moving toward the wall. Then secondary rays ran along it, on the same path as the earlier ones.

"Object detected is not a hologram." It said in a crisp, feminine voice "Object detected is of the Animal kingdom, has a back bone, and appears to have skin cells. Scanning reports it is related to a creature known as the Horse, origin of this creature is unsure."

"It seems harmless." The priest said

The number of rays suddenly doubled and they all ran faster, as if checking for something. Then half of them went away and the scanning slowed down.

"'Harmless' scan is complete." The feminine voice said "No claws or sharp teeth are detected, but scans show it is not from backward or to the right."

"Meaning?" The priest said

"It's not from Heaven or The Past." Vigor said

"Ah." The priest said "I already could tell about the first two."

The scanning beams changed color to blue and ran a second faster scan.

"Scan show it is not from below or here." The voice said "Chances are high it is from left, up, or forward."

"Mean-?" The priest asked before he was cut off

"It's a alien, crossed over from another dimension, or is from the future." Vigor said

"Correct Presidenta." A macho voice said "It's not stable, recommend particle bombardment.

"Do it." President Vigor ordered

A stream of quick, atom sized particle were launched at the pony. Shortly afterward it's image became less blurry and it's breathing could be heard. Vigor looked carefully at the creature, it was much shorter then him. Vigor was Fenostrum and as such was a monster of a man. He was six foot four and towered over everyone he met, not to mention his thick muscular build. He took a few steps toward the creature and got down to it's level.

"Hello, I am President Vigor; Second President of The Neo-Terran Republic of Doppio Giudici." Vigor said "Who by chance would you be? Are you lost?"

[YellowApple]

Colgate's perception of reality seemed to "pop", meaning that the damn intern back in Manzanopolis Prime, in his own likely panic, decided to attempt to abort the superluminal jump mid-transit. Luckily for her, the destination she somehow ended up in - and the individuals located in said destination - were well-enough aware about superluminal transit to bombard her half-transferred stuck-in-between-the-fabric-of-spacetime mass with an ion stream, like what should have happened if the transit procedures had actually been completed.

She took a good long look at the large man; even when stooping down to roughly her level, the man still towered above her. Despite the intimidating stature of her greeter, she calmly replied, extending her hoof for a handshake - or hoofshake - or handhoofshake - with this national leader.

"Good day, President Vigor. I am Corporate Representative Colgate of the YellowApple, Inc. International Commerce Division. Yes, I do seem to be lost; I reckon it to be a safe assumption that we are not in Drop Point, YellowApple. I am not familiar with a nation by the name of 'Doppio Giudici'; I suspect that a glitch in the superluminal transit processes dropped me off in some alternate universe and/or timeline. ¿Do you have some dihydrogen monoxi-I mean, water that I could drink? I suspéct that some fluids were not properly transferred during my state of superluminal limbo."

[Doppio Giudici]

Vigor took the hoof and firmly shook it, but only out of custom. No one said you had to shake the front limbs of other organisms. No one said he had to talk to this thing, whatever gender it was. Till he figured out if Colgate was it's name and what pronouns to use, he'd have to wing it. Something he knew a little bit about at this time, from earlier experience.

"Well at least it's not a assassination attempt." Vigor said

"The lawyers of corporations can't be shot at, thus they are a greater threat." The High Q stated

"I don't think it would have been productive to use such words when you could have just said water right off the back." Vigor mentioned as he walked over to the table and got a 32 oz cup, filling it with a water cooler he kept in his office. "If some of your fluids are missing, I think you might be missing brain or skin cells."

He walked back to he, she, it, whatever gender it was. Vigor was beginning to hate being confused. How was this horse going to drink this?

"Comrade could you go get that hat I used to drink and work at the same time with?" Vigor asked The High Q

"Sure, the one for sports?" The priest said back

"Aye." Vigor said as he turned back to the horse,pony,thing,whatever it was. "My apologizes but I can't tell what gender you are or what species. Is Colgate a title or your name? What do you plan on doing till you can get back to.....that corporation you spoke of?"

[YellowApple]

Colgate smiled a bit; sure, she was in a mostly-unknown location, stuck with individuals who were just as bewildered to see her as she was to see them, but there was no use in being negative about it.

"The hat will not be necessary," Colgate stated. Her horn lit up slightly, causing the cup to hover over to her lips; it then tilted back slightly, allowing her to sip, before returning upright and allowing her to speak again.

"To clarify, Colgate is my name, and my species and subspecies is Equus sapiens rinocerotis. I am female. Also, to clarify further, no, I am not a 'lawyer'. 'Salespony' would be more accurate of a description, though even that is not necessarily accurate at all."

Colgate took a much larger couple gulps of water before continuing.

"Since I have no official assignment here, there is no plan per se. However, I do have authorization to negotiate economic agreements between YellowApple, Inc. and other political/economic entities, so I suppose that - if my location is actually ascertained at home - this would be an excellent time to discuss a potential commerce agreement, if this is something yourself and your nation would be interested in."

[Doppio Giudici]

Vigor stood there trying to hide his disbelief, creature had a horn that could glow and could make things hover to it. This is why they never thought about how they came into being as religious as they were, it would just make things to complicated. At least she had a name and such to go by, that seemed to make some sense.

"Well Colgate, I recommend you stay here till we find out how to sneak you somewhere else." Vigor said "Our people may be some of the most compassionate welcoming people there are, but I only to Terrans sadly. It's best they not know of your existance."

He stood there patiently with his hands behind his back as she drank.

"Well, I don't know if we could trust a organization founded to make money." Vigor said "However if you have a good reputation we can work something out. We are mostly a culture of soldiers, but weapons and farming are something we are experts of.

[YellowApple]

Colgate nodded with understanding.

"Got it. Unfortunate that equine tolerance has not reached your nation yet, but it's quite understandable."

She took yet another long drink of the water before continuing.

"Agricultural expertise is most excellent; YellowApple, Inc. lacks land entirely, let alone arable land, so we are certainly in high demand of agricultural products to feed our people. This is especially true as we prepare for our first forays into interstellar travel. Speaking of which, ¿does your nation possess the capability of faster-than-light or interdimensional travel? I suspect you would if you were able to pull me out of temporal stasis and into energy stability, and perhaps one of the first steps we could take toward a potential partnership would be the establishment of a static interdimensional transit node; this way, our nations would be able to exchange goods with minimal difficulty, cultural differences aside."

[Doppio Giudici]

President Vigor stared ahead for a few seconds, this explained everything. This person was from the future and/or another reality, which would explain why they were a talking pony. The future had a nasty habit of being random and chaotic, every hundred years something weird would happen.

"As much as our land is large and fertile now, I think it would be best to come back later for that." Vigor said "We haven't even left this rock, we have enough issues on it as is. Our calendar says it is 1010, but that is unimportant as everyone else swears the year is 2027. I don't want to know about the future and I don't want to ruin our chances of victory. Seth, the founder and the president who's term I am finishing, was paranoid; that is why we have particle bombardiers installed in this room."

He then paced and turned to a propaganda picture of a bright horizon.

"However, if you showed up later I'm sure we would have more to offer and so would our close friends abroad." President Vigor stated "Many smaller nations appreciate our assistance and many wish to slowly merge with us. Right now we are on the road to a federation of two strong nations and a number of weaker protectorates. Perhaps our faith will someday spread, 'The New Way' is becoming quite popular now."

[YellowApple]

The New Way... Colgate thought to herself. ¿Why does that sound so familiar?

Colgate momentarily recalled overhearing some engineers in her department discussing the findings of one of YellowApple, Inc.'s first interdimensional probes; one such finding was transmissions regarding a so-called "New Way"; though the precise origin was unknown, she did recall that it described five tenets to "enlightenment". What "enlightenment" was or what those tenets precisely were, she could not recall. However, this had her curiosity piqued.

"¿'New Way'? I have encountered some writings from our first interdimensional probes regarding a 'New Way'. I do not recall the entire name of the author... it had 'Max' in the name. ¿Maxwell? ¿Maxmillian? Something similar to that. ¿Is your nation the origin of these writings?

"And I believe you have little to worry about exposure to your future; it seems that our worlds exist in separate universes, given that, in the universe of my own origin, there was no nation by the name of 'Doppio Guidici' in 2017 Gregorian, nor was there one in 1010 Gregorian. I reckon you to be safe in interacting with me on those grounds."

[Doppio Giudici]

"The belief that a monotheistic deity arranged a pact with a people known as the Timathins long ago." The High Q said "Said pact was that such people would gain power and great wisdom in exchange for complete loyalty. It started after a man who became the first 'Wise One' ate a strange flower after a series of visions. He became infected with a virus and it spread by blood as well as relations to several other peoples. All such peoples live mostly in two allied nations and have strange brain chemistry due to said virus. All infected feel close to one another and all infected have intensely powerful feelings of empathy, so much that crime is unheard of here. Said faith was reformed into the 'The Way' and later on the 'New Way'. It was very popular all these years due to how it is ahead of it's time, making people equals to the common white man quicker then other beliefs. All races and genders have been equal for over 100 and 12 years, decades ahead of the rest."

He stopped for a second and waited for it to soak in.

"Do you wish to know more?" He finished

[YellowApple]

Colgate continued to sip water as the older man spoke. These people certainly were ahead of their time, if what the man said was true.

"'Tis fascinating," Colgate stated. "In my universe, very few religious faiths encourage such equality, and I have yet to encounter a monotheistic faith that does. The few religions that do encourage such equality, however, are widespread throughout YellowApple, Inc."

She then stopped herself, desiring for her host to resume his descriptions. Even if an economic agreement would be difficult at best, given the hesitance to establish a permanent gateway, her current position of documenting first-hand the customs of an entirely-new universe was - to say the least - ideal.

"So, ¿what are the two allied nations that the descendants of the Timathins - ¿am I saying that right? - reside in? I presume your nation is one of them."

[Doppio Giudici]

"The concept of science was based off of the belief that knowledge was holy." The High Q said "That is why we call him or her 'The Enlightened One', we are found of our deities all knowing mind."

He nodded once and responded to her other question.

"You said it correct and this nation is one of them, the other is Vadia." Vigor said "Both are as close as two nations can be and are currently use force to try to reform the world. Most of it is to make sure that as many people as possible are fed, clothed, safe, and can speak their minds. I know this will damage our image in front of you but I can't lie. We have become so used to fighting greedy warmongers who wanted our things, that now we fight the same who want others. I know it isn't always the 'right' thing, but not doing it would be 'wrong'. If we sit back the world isn't going to put itself out on it's own. Till we can stop we will welcome refugees from all over the world here and treat them as kin."

[YellowApple]

Colgate nodded with approval and agreement.

"I am certainly not one to pass judgement upon more... 'assertive' means of world reform," she replied. "YellowApple, Inc. acts similarly in many cases, acting upon its economic and military dominance over nations which deny their citizens basic rights. Although the 'Right Thing' is certainly preferred, we frequently are faced with little choice but to act with aggression for the sake of innocent lives."

She finished her water, allowing the cup to float to a nearby surface before she resumed speaking.

"To put it frankly, in our eyes, the image of your people is hardly tarnished at all. Effectiveness and efficiency take precedent over politeness when it comes to preserving the liberties all sapient beings are entitled to."

[Doppio Giudici]

"No need to be evasive, we simply call it 'liberation'." Vigor said "I understand what you mean, if victory can be won without death then it is just as sweet and much cheaper."

She finished her drink and he thought about what it would be like in the coming days. The golden age was bright and seemed to be filled with glory. Nothing could really oppose them, but perhaps one day a power of greater force would attack again. If that happened it would bring them close to destruction once more, peace was needed for the refuges who live here. That simply could not happen, the soil had to remain bloodless as long as it could.

"Aye, every second of slavery is abomination to everything that is and will be." President Vigor stated "The future will not view such things lightly. So that is why we are impatient and act so quickly, over and over. Yet someday someone who isn't weaker will oppose us and we will have a war that will kill far to many. I fear that day for I grew up in that world and was glad to see it over."

[YellowApple]

"Then perhaps YellowApple, Inc. can help in that regard," Colgate responded. "I understand that you - and understandably your nation - would be reluctant to engage in a formal military agreement until the non-relation between our universes is confirmed, but - at the very least - we can help evacuate civilians and get them out of harm's way, into the safety of our own jurisdiction. Of course, that would mean YellowApple, Inc. figuring out how to replicate the accident that seemed to get me here to begin with..."

---

Manzanopolis Prime

"¿She went where?"

Rich was fuming. The young University of Manzanopolis Prime intern-turned-wormhole-operator-turned-scapegoat stammered in reply.

"S-she's in Universe 004A, sir."

"¿And how in the name of Celestia's Royally-Blessed Genitals did Corporate Representative Colgate end up in Universe 004A?"

"I-I-I accidentall-"

"¿Accidentally what, Mr. Pearmain?"

"¡Something was buggy with the controller! I told Mark to double-check his code in the electrical regulator's firmware, but no; ¡he said the thing would never have to account for dirty power! There was a voltage sag and that crufted-together monstrosity compensated with a voltage spike to the control subsystems, forcing a chunk of the destination register's bits to be pushed high."

"¿And why was there not a Luna-damn UPS between the regulator and the controller?"

"Hey, ¡not my fault that you suits and marketroids can't give us enough funding to research your products!"

"Well fuck... none of this answers the questions we should be asking ourselves that are actually important. ¿Is she still alive?"

An old, white-haired human male professor by the name of Dr. Fuji entered Rich's office, returning from the scene of what could very well have been a bloody mess.

"Yes," he stated with some excitement and joy. "Corporate Representative Colgate was quite lucky; the odds of arriving on the terrestrial surface of a parallel Earth are infinitesimal, yet she also not only arrived on solid ground, but at a destination that knew to force her matter back into regular existence."

Rich gave a sigh of relief as he responded.

"Thank the Sisters, she's alright. ¿Can we replicate her superluminal pathway and extract her?"

"Perhaps, but it seemed she arrived inside a structure, based on matter resonance readings from the incomplete transit. I'd recommend keeping an extraction team both small and - preferably - unarmed, just to be safe. There's reason to believe that she is in the company of another civilization entirely, and posing a threat is not wise."

"¿How long will it take to repair the dynamic node-puncher and prepare a pair of static nodes for a stable connection?"

"Approximately two kiloseconds, I reckon."

"Good, ¿and how many if we throw in a preliminary probe to establish contact first?"

"Four at most."

"¿Then what are we waiting for? Let's get this underway."

The intern and his professor exited Rich's office. Rich, in the meantime, donned a BitType oral typing device, beginning to compose a memo to authorize additional funding for additional safety measures on future prototype systems.

[Doppio Giudici]

Vigor shook his head. He knew how his people where and how they behaved.

"I'm afraid you are looking at a nation of zealots, it is likely we will fight to the last man." Vigor said "I don't know how safe where you live is, this whole planet is a mess but there are regions that are beyond stable. This nation is one of them, one of the strongest there is for at least a few thousand miles. I haven't heard of any murders in over a month, people are beginning to forget what they are. There is however the eternal arms race of course, stockpiling weapons from day one. After all for ever one of us, there is three of them."

[YellowApple]

"I'm not necessarily talking about your own people," Colgate clarified. "I am instead referring to those you liberate; I wouldn't expect them to be nearly as zealous, and we could at the very least provide assistance in getting refugees to a safe plac-"

Colgate's speaking was interrupted by a sudden flash of light from behind her. She turned around to find a grey rectangular box, constructed of nanotube-reinforced rubber and graphene, lying down on the floor.

"Oh good, it looks like I've got a way to phone home."

She approached the box, tapping her hoof against the nanotube-reinforced touchscreen facing up toward the ceiling. The screen displayed some indicators of its progress as it connected to another line.

YellowApple, Inc. VoIP System v.5D.33-29
Waiting for call confirmation...done.
Attaching to eth0...done.
Pinging "frich.voip.doca.gov.ypl"...done.
Connecting to "frich.voip.doca.gov.ypl"...done.
Dialing...done.

A voice then sounded from the box.

Senior Executive Filip Rich speaking.  Colgate, ¿is that you?

"Yes it is," Colgate replied. "I'm here with President Vigor of the Neo-Terran Republic of Doppio Giudici. I see you were able to reproduce my destination."

Yes, we were.  We're dispatching a Diplomatic Representative from the Department of International
Relations, and we'd like to establish a static node at your location.  ¿Is that alright with your hosts?

Colgate turned to Vigor to explain.

"That's my supervisor, Senior Executive Filip Rich. He's asking if my nation can send a diplomat and a more permanent portal back to our universe."

[Doppio Giudici]

The High Q looked at Vigor and the president coughed once. Things really couldn't get much weirder at this point, could they? This seemed to be the price for dealing with things like fate and the universe, that things would slowly make less and less sense.

"I would prefer nether it that is possible." Vigor said "First if there is to be solid portal, it needs to be somewhere hidden and well guarded. That's going to take some funding from our government surplus, which I can't seem to dent for the life of me. At the same time, we know any diplomats you send will make small talk and lie to us to be polite. This is why we don't have many ambassadors, because we prefer to tell people what we think of them to their face. Unless of course diplomats are different where your from, which is possible but not likely."

He pulled out something small that looked like a cigarette and proceeded to smoke it. It didn't make any fumes at all, which was odd considering that wasn't normal. It was like he was just smoking paper or something.

"I'm also worried that he's going to be making more then I do and thus would have no idea how the common man lives." Vigor said as he did a very small puff. "So I would prefer you ether send someone at the very top of the top, or they let you stay here. You seem like a good example of the common man....er pony from your nation, you seem to know your sky and ground just fine."

The priest leaned in and explained the expression.

"He means to say that your educated enough to know what your people need and poor enough to be one of them." The High Q stated "Vigor makes more then almost everyone in this country and it's about enough to buy a house in one year."

"Just one two story house, but luckily taxes kicked in and I make only three times what most people make." Vigor said "Glad that happened, making more money just meant problems."

"Aye." The other man said

[YellowApple]

The voice from the box responded to Vigor's concerns.

"Your concerns are understandable.  YellowApple, Inc. can assist with that defense; won't cost you a 
thing.  Regardless, we'd at least like to send a static node to extract Corporate Representative
Colgate.  Whether you keep it operational or destroy it is up to you."

Before Colgate could continue, the voice interjected again.

"Oh, and perhaps we can send someone who fits your preferences more precisely.  One moment."

Colgate then attempted to speak again, this time with some success.

"I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to stay here," Colgate explained. "Not without a permanent connection to home, at least. However, YellowApple, Inc. has often been criticized for having atypical diplomatic conventions. I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed with a Diplomatic Represen-"

The box spoke again, but this time with a distinctly feminine voice.

"Show me her coordinates.

...

...okay, stand back."

A third - and final - flash of light then appeared adjacent to the box, revealing the silhouette of a much taller equine. As the light dissipated, her white coat and crimson mane and tail were much more visible, as were her wings - protruding through a dark grey suit - and her horn emerging through her bangs. She certainly dwarfed Colgate - nearly a meter taller - but still wasn't quite as tall as Vigor, who she extended her right hoof toward in a hoofshake - er, handshake -

Okay, ¡that's it! We need to figure out what in the hell to call this gesture. There's a hand and a hoof. ¿Handoofshake? ¿Hoofandshake? ¿Simply 'shake'? We've got to figure something out.

¿How about "gesture of concordance"?

Screw it. Good enough. ¿Where was I...?

She certainly dwarfed Colgate - nearly a meter taller - but still wasn't quite as tall as Vigor, who she extended her right hoof toward for a gesture of concordance.

"¿President Vigor? My name is Fostera Manzano, Administrator and Voice of YellowApple. 'Frankie' is my nickname, and you may refer to me as such if you so desire. ¿Is 'Vigor' your forename or surname?"

[Doppio Giudici]

Vigor cleared his throat after everyone had spoken. He then spoke his mind about all this, he was not pleased.

"We're trying to use up our money without wasting it, lately there has been notorious cases where we gave billions to others in aid." Vigor said as he kept smoking his joint "Second."

He put up one finger in his left hand and then reached forward with his right hand to shake. He finished his sentence as he did.

"Hello Fostera, voice of YellowApple." he said as he shook "Vigor is my birth-name, my last name is Vadia as I was raised in on that nation's orphanages."

He then stood straight as he always did and tilted his head to the size, his face looking puzzled.

"They have one voice?" Vigor asked "If your nation is anything as diverse or large like ours, you would need dozens to speak for you. I also find it odd that they managed to send someone of your qualifications, considering how busy you would be."

He gave a small puff and put it out with his other hand, the flame wasn't that hot in his mind and he liked to point out his pain tolerance. He found that allies and enemies sometimes needed a little intimidation, everyone had a huge ego about their nation and sometimes you needed to show them what you where made of. Remind them that your people were something that people had nightmares of. The masses of the world were lead around by very stupid people, to stupid to be just and noble. You had to scare them and make me show fear before you could get your point across. It was a sad world and twisted, but only outside Doppio and Vadia. Some people preferred to be told what to do, then to have to struggle to get by and not be sure if their wishes would be done.

In order to make civilization fair to the masses you didn't split the money evenly amongst them, you took what they could spare and you gave it to who needed it. If you were lucky you could make twice to four times as much, but it meant lots of work. If you had horrible luck then you still had a fairly good living, so long as you were willing to take a job. There was a huge labor shortage in both nations, they found it vital to take in refugees and immigrants in swarms. All of them were giving the banner and told to serve under it, that was all that was needed to join. Slaves were bought and freed, knowing that they would earn more 10 times as much as they were bought for every year. If they worked in a company that sold overseas, that meant money was flowing in.

Now seemed to be the time to pile up the weapons, spend trillions in armaments. It seemed to be the time to arm friends and allies, to show support for noble causes. It was the golden age, it was a time of glory.

[YellowApple]

"'Vigor Vadia'. Your name is noted. I presume your forename is representative of your character. Strong. Active. Intense. Precisely the sort of leadership ideal for a nation of might, built upon merit and action rather than empty promises. Quite admirable if my postulations are accurate."

Frankie smiled a bit in response to Vigor's remark about YellowApplan complexity.

"YellowApple, Inc. has become increasingly decentralized as the population has grown. My voice is certainly not the only voice representing YellowApplans in an increasingly turbulent multiverse, though it remains the most influential, for better or for worse. 'Tis still time consuming, but quite manageable with the Administrative Council managing their own respective departments with relative autonomy. Likewise, 'tis not every day that I am presented with the opportunity to meet the leader of a nation which exists in a dimension separate from that of YellowApplan origin; this is an occasion which warrants an interruption of my typical routine."

Colgate then spoke to Frankie.

"I apologize for my absence from the meeting I was supposed to attend."

"Disregard it," Frankie stated. "It went well regardless, and I suspect this to be more important."

Frankie then returned her attention to Vigor.

"Regardless, I am not exactly sure what to discuss, to be bluntly honest. Encountering anything from a universe separate from our own at all - let alone any kind of organized governmental entity - is a rather novel experience, and one that -while we had planned for it - was not expected to occur so soon. ¿Would it be appropriate for me to receive a tour of sorts of your nation? I do not intend nosiness, merely to see this unexpected destination more fully."

[Doppio Giudici]

Vigor shifted his footing, he was just starting to warm up to Colgate when suddenly he had to speak to Frankie instead.

"I can't let you do that I'm afraid." Vigor said "All of this will be classified and you two officially don't exist. My people have enough they have to except as reality, this send many of them over the edge. Then you have our enemies that would try to use this against us."

He shook his head and went on.

"This has to be kept secret, I know a place we can build the portal and keep it under wraps." Fa-Tev said "High Q, do we have access to extra areas?"

"I consider this a religious matter, so yes you do." The High Q said "You have permission to use spare areas of my Tunnel complex, which as you might now know, is right next to the one Vadia keeps it's highest government officials in besides the Emperor."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to visit more then once a week and for about 5 hours at a time." Vigor said to Frankie "Is that acceptable?"

[YellowApple]

Frankie nodded with understanding.

"Your reasoning is understandable. We certainly will not argue against it. And yes, the restrictions imposed upon your ability to visit us are quite acceptable."

Colgate then spoke up.

"Ma'am, ¿do we have have any human Diplomatic Representatives on reserve for ambassadorial duty?"

"I believe we do," Frankie replied.

"¿One that satisfies the requests presented by President Vigor?"

"¿Would that not be the majority of our diplomats?"

"You have a point, ma'am."

Frankie addressed Vigor again.

"Once our meeting here concludes I will see if we can assign a human ambassador, in order to make the connection between our nations less apparent. It would also be appreciated if documentation regarding the languages and customs of your nation could be provided, so as to facilitate easier integration of our personnel without causing any kind of suspicion. We will further restrict our personnel visiting here - if any - to those of the species Homo sapiens, at least until you feel your nation is ready for our existence to be official.

"¿Is this acceptable, Vigor?"

[Doppio Giudici]

Vigor switched his footing again and thought about it, it was a good idea but it needed editing.

"I'm still making the facility so I can move large goods back and forth between us, as well as to learn about any other races besides my own." Vigor said "I request that any human ambassadors you send be ether down to earth and having served at some point, or well educated and have a good understanding of religion. I would ask for all four characteristics, but I don't know anyone who had time to finish college with a bachelors and serve without getting so far ahead that they can't be spared. Heck, I don't even have a bachelors, I spent so much time in the military as a supply officer that I was able to take courses after work. Full Class 6 Education, with a side of Class 1 and Class 4."

"So politics, faith, and history?" The High Q asked

"Aye, how did you know?" Vigor wondered

"Took two courses on religion from a military camp, the church and universities had some gaps in their teachings." The High Q said

Vigor turned his head and put one hand up.

"Back on topic, Can you bring a 50 Terrabyte drive back to your bosses in one piece?" Vigor asked "I have a lot of infomation I can put on it, from all of our documentaries to 5000 songs that are organized, and finally page after page of books. We have a database that keeps this stuff incase the people wish to see it."