Chapter 180: Chapter 179: Ascent

So, over two days, August 9th and 10th, the remaining tethers connected, and on the 11th, the passenger carriage completed integration tests and was attached to the first two tethers. They expect the first cargo carriage to be complete on Tuesday the 16th or Wednesday the 17th and they are busily transporting the other carriages to Suwanosejima so that they can begin finishing them. As you can guess, everyone is really excited to see the first ten carriages in operation.

The live stream for my ascent on the carriage and inspection of the station went swimmingly. Over 100 million viewers followed me as we made the ascent. The view was just as phenomenal as I thought it would be, and the feedback from the camera views of it were just as positive. I was amazed at the progress they had made on Highpoint station, and the construction supervisor that led our tour informed me that it would be completed within another 2 months, more than a month ahead of schedule.

Next point of business is Lone Star station. Yes, that is what the people wanted to call it. 293 million voted in the poll after 5000 plus names were submitted, and that had the most votes. The foundation is complete, and Helios is moving the orbital anchor for it later today, and then he’ll be heading back out for more asteroids.

I have to say that I’m really happy with how many people are behind everything we’re doing. Even more so when we announced the Side Step drive. People went crazy over that. There were over 220 million viewers during my live stream for the announcement, and Yui threw a comment up on my contact that they couldn’t even keep up with the comments because they were coming in so fast. Afterward, most comments were along the lines of, ‘You mean we can go to other solar systems soon?’.

So, we set up another design team. This time for the orbital ring. I told them the basics of what I wanted. Heavily armored, exactly like the orbital anchors, offensive/defensive emplacements no more than 5 km apart - yes, I know that means a lot of them -, and heavily shielded. Due to the resources it’s going to take to build this enormous structure, I’ve ordered them to build 10 more sister ships of Helios, except these will have huge cargo holds instead of towing the asteroids back to Earth.

As an aside, we’ve expanded our production facilities again. This time, we’re building new facilities in France, Korea, UK, Spain, and Russia. There were lots of complaints that they were only in first world nations, which George and Anne shut down immediately by telling the nations that IF they had the educated populace with the technical know-how to build high tech ships, then they would have been considered as well. Basically, they told them, you were too busy lining your pockets to create an educated population who could build them, so now you are paying the price for it.

Cameron took up station around 19274, and after doing a survey of it, they chose the sites for the navigational thrusters and deployed the nanites at the selected spots. They also deployed the ones to build the main engines, of which there are twenty. Yes, it’s overkill, but it also provides redundancy. After that, they deployed even more nanites to excavate the site for the AI and reactor.

Enrico and Jason drop by my office to again inform me that they reduced the power it takes to send transmissions. This time, from 50 megawatts down to 250 kilowatts, and they also further reduced the size of it overall. Enrico sat what looks like an older amplifier for a hifi stereo on my desk and told me that is the QC communicator they are using now. I’m not some weak little girl because of my workouts and training, but I tried to pick it up and found it to be rather heavy. I’d say around 50 kilograms. Still, that’s far smaller, and lighter, than the previous design. Finally, they explained that as small as this is, they believe they’ll be able to reduce its size and power requirements even further. I’m definitely impressed with their work, and I definitely want to see what they’ll be able to do.

[Friday, August 12]

This afternoon, I have a press conference to announce several proclamations I’ve signed.

Congress as a whole ended up irking the hell out of me by dragging their feet with getting the legislation done in a timely manner, and it’s not anything small. So, after several warnings from not only Anne and George, but me, that I wasn’t going to tolerate them playing political games with this, I signed them into law, which as you can guess irked several members, not that I give a damn since they had many chances to do the right thing.

Yui no longer works for Torchlight, and they no longer represent me, much to their displeasure. Yui is now my personal publicist/press secretary, and believe me, I like it this way.

Anyway, she proceeds onto the stage to the podium. “Good afternoon, everyone. Queen Sora has a few things to announce, and she’ll take a few questions afterward. It’s my pleasure to present to you, Queen Sora.”

Walking into the large conference room where we’re holding the press conference, everyone stands, and while most of them bow or curtsy as protocol states, several of them do not. If it were up to me, I’d let it go, but you know the deal, royal dignity and all that.

When I reach the podium, I state, “Good afternoon. You may be seated. Firstly, you have all been informed of the protocol for when I enter a room, most of you knew it beforehand, but several of you didn’t bow or curtsy when I entered. That will not be tolerated. This is your one time pass for getting away with it.” I look around at them as I continue, “Do it again and you will be banned from any future press conference where I am involved. Do I make myself clear?”

A loud, “Yes, Your Majesty,” comes from all of them.

I merely nod in response. “Alright. I’ve signed several proclamations into law that I consider to be essential since congress kept dragging their heels with the legislation. Yui will give you a handout detailing the proclamations I’ve signed after this, but I’m going to give a general overview of them. Please don’t interrupt me until I finish, and I’ll take questions then.

“Let’s begin with taxes.

“First off, states, counties, etc… will have a flat tax rate of 7.5%, and that will be divided up per capita for cities. Kingdom level will have a flat tax rate of 12.5%. This will be collected as a consumption tax. There will be no tax forms to fill out.

“Next, currency. As of now, there are approximately 180 types of currency in use. That will be changing as of January first. The US dollar will be the currency of the kingdom. With that said, the exchange rates are being frozen as of this moment. The kingdom reserve bank will be establishing banks in all territories and begin exchanging all other currencies immediately with the dollar to be the standard as of January first. At that time, all other currencies will be voided.

“After much discussion with my regents and advisors, we’re going to keep the pension fund much as it is with some modifications. To fund it, there will be a 5% tax that will be taken out as a deduction from paychecks with employers matching the 5%. That means self-employed people will have to pay 10%. As of January first, we will be issuing all pension checks for the retired, and the associated agencies in former countries will be dissolved. Checks will be based on what was paid into the system with a minimum check of 25% above poverty level. Yearly cost of living raises will be based on the inflation levels for that year. No more of our seniors’ checks slowly falling behind because inflation was 4% and they only got a 2% increase.” I look around the room as I adamantly state, “We will have no more of our seniors living in poverty and being reliant on the government because they are not getting anywhere near what they paid into the system.

“Water, power, trash and the like will be a government service.

“As was previously mentioned, the judicial system will be getting a complete overhaul. First up is the police. As of the end of the month, all police are nationalized. Officers, citizens are not dogs, and you will treat them with respect and dignity, even when they are being arrested.

“Here is one issue I have a major problem with: Internal Affairs. Basically, officers investigating other officers. That to me is like allowing someone who was arrested for something to try themselves. Do you really believe that they would convict themselves? Metis and Anubis have shown me many instances where an officer did something wrong and were never punished until the evidence of it became public. I’ve said it before, but I will not stand for citizens’ rights being violated by anyone, at any time, for any reason. I suggest that if you can’t do something legally, then you don’t do it. With that said; all forms of internal affairs are to be disbanded. There will be no more investigating themselves. The Crown oversight committee will be set up in all police offices, and all complaints will be handled through them. Trust me when I say that all complaints will be taken seriously, but false complaints will result in citizens being fined and quite likely jailed.

“Abusing citizens is at an end. If they are offering no resistance, throwing them to the ground and standing on them isn’t happening. Laying your hands on someone who has done nothing is a huge no-no as well. This will cost them their badge, their ability to ever be an officer again and might possibly send you to jail. No more lying to the public. If you aren’t sure of the law, then it’s best to keep your mouth shut rather than make up something to try to get your way. Again, this will cost you your badge, and you’ll never be an officer again.

“Random searches for no reason. This has been a major complaint of citizens, and it’s not happening anymore. If there is no probable cause, you will not perform searches. Same with detaining someone without an articulable offense.

“Next: deadly force. I understand the need for police to be armed, but there are far too many instances where I, and many of my advisors, believe that such force was unnecessary and unwarranted. That said, the fact that you were afraid is not a defense to hurt, maim, or kill someone. You’ll lose your badge and most likely end up in prison.

“Dash and body cams with audio are to be worn by all officers at all times when on duty. They will record the entire time and are not to be turned off or covered up. Any officer failing to wear one or found attempting to interfere with the recordings will find themselves out of a job and will never be able to be an officer again.

“Qualified immunity is gone. The concept of this is asinine and should have never been allowed in the first place. This means that when an officer abuses a citizen or violates their rights, they will be held accountable. Doing so could very well mean losing your badge, jail time depending on what happened, and/or being sued for it.

“Police will treat citizens with respect and dignity at all times, no matter how much of an ass they are being. Citizens, this doesn’t mean you will have free reign to verbally abuse them either. Respect goes both ways, and if you want to be treated fairly with respect and dignity, then you should treat them as you would wish to be treated.

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“Okay, onto prosecutors. You have no idea the amount of complaints about prosecutorial misconduct we’ve received. After much investigation by Metis and Anubis, I’ve made several conclusions: prosecutors are not being held accountable for their actions when they knowingly prosecute innocent citizens. That stops now, and their offices have until January first to review their cases and release those they wrongfully convicted, and appropriate compensation is to be provided along with all records of the case to be completely expunged from their records. After January first, Crown investigators from the Oversight committee will begin reviewing all cases and evidence. Any cases found where evidence was withheld or evidence had been found that exonerated them and the prosecutor’s office failed to correct it will result in the prosecution team being arrested and tried. Said team, if they are convicted, will receive the same sentence that the citizen did. If Metis and Anubis are correct, and they usually are, we will see a 65% reduction in prison population.

“Lastly, judges are being phased out as they will be replaced with Level 1 AI’s. Metis and Anubis have shown innumerable instances where judges have unfairly ruled in the prosecution’s favor when they shouldn’t have. Having a level 1 AI as the judge, that can’t be influenced or paid off, will result in much fairer trials for the accused. By the way, all persons giving testimony will be monitored, and if they are lying, they will be prosecuted for perjury. The number of complaints of officers lying on the stand are so numerous that it’s ridiculous. To me, that is an abuse of power, and I will not stand for it.

“Corruption by government officials is at an end. Any official or office holder that is found to have been taking bribes or extorting money will be prosecuted. Listen to me and pay heed, if you do so and are caught, you will be tried, and if convicted, will serve the remainder of your life in prison, and I do mean life in prison, there will be no parole for it. We will not tolerate corruption. The citizens deserve a government that they can trust, and we will be giving it to them. The full details of what is considered corruption are in the proclamation, and I suggest it be taken seriously.

“That’s enough said about the judicial system. The full details will be provided to you after this. There is much more that was signed into law by me, including healthcare reform, welfare reform, and most definitely the dissolution of many government agencies that are now redundant since the crown will be taking over all of their functions or completely dropping the agency.

“Now, I’ll take questions.”

There’s no need for me to relate all their questions to you, but I will say I spent another 3 hours answering their questions.

[Saturday, August 13]

Apparently, Katsuo and I are going to have to have a talk. Or, maybe not since it was a rather nice surprise. Cryptic I know, but I still feel a little blindsided by his visit on the morning of the 13th.

Sitting at my desk, I look up when he knocks on the open door and bows, then says, “Good morning, Your Majesty,” which makes me frown.

Setting down my tablet while puckering my lips unhappily, I ask, “How many times have I asked you to keep calling me Sora in private?”

He shrugs. “Your Majesty, I realize it makes you uncomfortable, but that is who you are now, so you need to get used to it.”

I sigh. “I take it you need something?”

“I have some good news for you. We have a new type of self-deploying space suit that I thought you might like to see and try out.”

Surprised, I quirk an eyebrow. “I don’t remember a project for a new space suit.”

He shrugs. “That’s because I didn’t tell you about it. I thought it’d be a nice surprise for you.” He smirks at me as he continues, “Be honest, even if I had told you, what would you have said?”

“I’d have told you to run with it since the suits they’re using are outdated.”

“Exactly. Now, remove thy royal posterior from thy seat and come with me,” which makes me giggle. Katsuo is a lot of things, and being funny is definitely one of them.

Smiling, I reply, “Fine, since nothing I’m doing is all that urgent.”

Getting up, I follow him across the campus to a new building that I didn’t even know had been built, and we enter.

He calls out, “Reg?”

A voice returns from the back, “Be there in a sec, Katsuo.”

A minute later, an older man comes out. Seeing me, he kneels and says, “Welcome, Your Majesty.”

Grumpily, I growl under my breath. I truly hate this part of what was asked of me. “You may rise.” He stands up, and I continue, “Katsuo says you have something to show me?”

He nods and replies, “Yes, Your Majesty.” He walks over to a bench, and we follow him. He then picks up a silvery package roughly the size of a dictionary, although it also has straps. Holding it up, he says, “Your Majesty, this is a space suit we developed. The package is nanites programmed to quickly form an armored suit around a person along with a computer to control both them and the suits functions. The armor will stop several direct hits from a 5 gigawatt laser or 30mm cannon shells. We’re working to integrate shields to improve their survivability for combat uses. The nanites provide up to 24 hours of oxygen and CO2 scrubbing as well as regulating the internal temperature.” He quirks an eyebrow as a thought seems to occur to him. “Would you care to try it, Your Majesty? I assure you, it’s been tested and is perfectly safe.”

I nod, replying, “I’d love to.”

He explains how it works, then helps me slip it on, all the while explaining that the suit would automatically deploy if the computer detected a sudden pressure loss or the oxygen levels fell low enough to cause hypoxia.

I activate the suit, and it completely forms around me in less than a second. There’s no visor to see out of. Instead, an internal screen displays the surroundings along with information about oxygen levels, remaining oxygen, and various other statuses. Walking around, I have to admit the suit is just as comfortable as my normal clothing and doesn’t restrict movement at all. I’m more than a little surprised when he tells me to pick up a steel container and squeeze it between my hands. I’m amazed when I easily crush it. He grins as he informs me that the suit also amplifies strength to up to 100 times of what a human is capable of.

After I deactivate the suit, he removes it. I thank him for the demo, and Katsuo and I leave to head back to the office. Along the way, I shake my head and smile over just how quickly things like this are being done. I suppose it’s to be expected since we pretty much give them free rein. As I reach my office, I think, ‘I wonder what they will come up with next.’

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