The Evolution of Vaughn, page 19
Frasier opened the door. “I have gathered the capsules from all over my property. They’re all contained in my garage out back, please, follow me.”
Frasier walked them to the back of the property. As he neared, his garage door opened, revealing several crates of small, burned capsules, each containing ten grams of Argimonium. “I have eleven hundred capsules. By rights, I may keep eleven of them, correct?” Frasier picked eleven capsules out of the small container.
“You have done well, citizen. The Emperor, may he guide us safely through, is in your debt.”
“I’m just glad to see someone taking control. This much free power would lead to lawlessness and anarchy. I am a good and loyal servant to The Emperor. May he guide us safely through.”
When they’d left, Frasier breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe there would be some value in the five kilograms Vaughn had given him after all. In the back of the garage, a similar but much larger capsule lay in the middle of a pile of scrap.
Savye:
Holdan Jackstone liquidated nearly all of his assets, selling guns, parts, ammunition and all of his property save one remote warehouse. Over two months, he acquired ninety-eight percent of the now worthless Argimonium on the planet. His compatriots thought he was crazy, selling himself into poverty to corner the market. When he was finished, his warehouse was the most secure facility on all of Savye. Six months later, when the remaining two percent of the Argimonium on the planet was used, he started selling small quantities. Five years later, Holdan owned half of Savye.
Loe:
Nathan Rotelle sat at his desk. He’d made a gamble and lost. He had orchestrated this entire plan to set the Fogerians and E’Clei back on a path to war to escalate the value of Argimonium and to end the E’Clei threat forever. He stared blankly at the red pill and small silver cup on his desk. He placed the pill on the back of his tongue and washed it down. “Nathan Rotelle, Supreme High Chancellor of The Order of The Maxists for one million years is a failure.”
The next morning, Archbishop Turner found him dead in his chair, still holding the empty cup. The Archbishop pressed a button on the console. “Activate sixteen six seventy-two.” In the basement of The Cathedral, a huge computer churned over. Robotic arms measured chemical compounds into a large pool and stimulated it with carefully controlled bursts of electricity. Minutes later, Supreme High Chancellor Nathan Rotelle the Sixteen thousand six hundred seventy-second stepped out of the bath.
Cardinal Rosen met him with a fresh robe. “Good morning, Supreme High Chancellor. Did you have a nice bath?”
The Maxists gathered as much as they could, but the puppet government headed by the Continuum had more employees. The Geraldinian hoarded as much of the mineral as he could, seizing political power from The Maxists. The energy created was distributed evenly and plentifully to all citizens of Loe.
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Kirk Allmond, The Evolution of Vaughn
