Embassy to Team Sirius

[SilentConfusion]

nabaxo, do you want to draft the letter that will accompany and introduce the ETTT? The basic thing we want to convey is that want to work with them and that we won't stiff them on the Alphabet trade, of course you can't just say it like that.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Bah... Double post

 

[Sommerswerd]

I would advise against wating for an acompanying letter. We should send the ETTT to Q and Sirius right away. For Quatronia, the acompanying language is good because we just met them, but for Sirius, we have already sent 2 letters to them that they have not responded to... they dont need another letter, divulging even more info.

I would say a simple note like this at the beginning should suffice:

Enclosed is a proposed agreement to formalize our relationship, that we mentioned in our last letter to you. I have also appointed AMAZON nabaxo the Special Diplomatic Envoy to your glorious nation, so that you have one contact devoted solely to you. Diplomatic Envoy nabaxo will contact you soon with a more elaborate proposal to join the Sirians and The AMAZON in eternal friendship. Until then, we would like to formalize our agreement to share knowledge.

That will give nabaxo time to write a more detailed letter of introduction to say whatever he wants to Sirius, when we send the ASP, and it will also give Sirius AND Quatronia time to respond to the treaty proposal THIS TURN.

EDIT:
At least that way... IF Sirius is balking, we could possibly have a tech alliance with Quatronia BEFORE metting Merlot. It is possible that Merlot is ALREADY allied with CDZ. If that is the case, then we have our 4 right there and its game over... unless Sirius wants to be 5th wheel. Best case scenario is Sirus AND Quatronia agree THIS TURN, and so we have a 3-way already when we meet Merlot and Mavericks. Then in that scenario, one will join the 4-way, and the other will die... simple.

 

[SilentConfusion]

I propose to send the following:

Greetings to our Sirian friends,

Enclosed is a proposed agreement to formalize our trading relationship, that we mentioned in our last letter to you. I have also appointed AMAZON nabaxo the Special Diplomatic Envoy to your glorious nation, so that you have one contact devoted solely to you. Diplomatic Envoy nabaxo will contact you soon with a more elaborate proposal to join the Sirians and The AMAZON in eternal friendship. Until then, we would like to formalize our agreement to share knowledge. We have Mysticism, Masonry, Polytheism, and will have Monotheism in a few turns. We will then tech Monarchy. All will be gifted when possible as per this treaty. It is our desire that we continue to work together cooperatively with regards to researching technologies. We would also like to add one or two teams to this agreement to solidify a Tech Trading Alliance.

Here is the proposed treaty:

The ETTT​

The Exclusive Tech-Trading Treaty​

The Exclusive Tech Trading Treaty is the governing treaty of the Exclusive Tech Trading Alliance (ETTA), which is composed of the members of the ETTT.

Section 1. Members of the ETTT

1.1. The AMAZON

1.2. Team Sirius​

Section 2. Addition and Subtraction of Members

2.1. New members may be added by unanimous agreement of all current members.

2.2. A member may be removed by unanimous consent of all other current members.

2.3. A member may be removed at any time if they are proved to have violated any of the terms of this treaty.​

Section 3. Treaty Duration and Cancellation Terms

3.1. The treaty continues indefinitely until it is canceled.

3.2. The treaty can be canceled at any time by the mutual agreement of all members.​

Section 4. Trading Policies

4.1. Members agree to trade freely and generously with all other members.

4.2. Members agree to trade with non-members only with unanimous consent from all other current members.

4.3. Members will be open and forthright about research plans to avoid duplication of effort and ensure rapid progress.

4.4. All technology shall be shared openly, upon request, without regard to beaker value.​

Section 5. Amendments

5.1. A proposed amendment may be submitted by any member. The proposed amendment must be sent to all members.

5.2. A proposed amendment will be adopted upon the agreement of all members.​

If you have concerns about the treaty, please let us know so that we can address them quickly and get back to you.

We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Sincerely yours,
SilentConfusion, AMAZON diplomat

 

[nabaxo]

I think the ETTT needs to have a set period where the treaty cannot be broken for that duration. As it is, the treaty is not very attractive for those who will bear the brunt of the research (i.e. the FIN Civs).

 

[SilentConfusion]

I think the ETTT needs to have a set period where the treaty cannot be broken for that duration. As it is, the treaty is not very attractive for those who will bear the brunt of the research (i.e. the FIN Civs).

I agree that they may want this. I suggest I use the same line I put in for Q (should have been there in the first place):

"If you have concerns about the treaty please let us know so we can address them because working together is the most important thing to us"

instead of what we have:

"If you have concerns about the treaty, please let us know so that we can address them quickly and get back to you."

It sounds more willing to work with them and we are willing to change the terms if it means having them on board.

This way they can suggest to us any changes they want.

If they and Q both have concerns we can change it to address both concerns (hopefully they're not conflicting concerns). If only one has a concern and the other accepts, we can approach the one who accepted and tell them the other's concern and suggest that we should agree to it so that we can add them. This seems fair and preferable, in my opinion, to sending two different treaties to the two of them.

 

[SilentConfusion]

Since we have a question about whether to change the wording of the ETTT, I have not sent it out yet, although we need to send it soon. Any other feedback about this?

I think sending two different versions is bad, but if they're not going to accept it as it that will take a little time too to hear back and change it. I just think we have to get it in their hands, even if it's not the final version, so they know we're trying to work it out with them.

 

[Sommerswerd]

I agree that we should not send different versions. If Quatronia signs one version and Sirius signs another, it will be a mess. We can't have a situation where Quatronia is expecting free and open tech gifting and Sirius wants beaker equivalents. The alliance won't work.

I realize that especially initially, the FIN civs contribute the most in terms of tech. That is why WE want free gifting.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Arguing over beaker equivalents will stall out any attempt to form an alliance. We can't match them in tech right now so it would be pointless for them to ask us to. We don't even have pottery yet.

Bottom line... if Sirius (or any other team) is too short sighted to see the value of a quick tech sharing alliance, then they will probably be left out. I'm sure Quatronia and Mavericks and probably Merlot will want to share tech.

 

[SilentConfusion]

I am going to send it now to give them some time to look at it before the end of the turn.

We are putting it together with our contacts and effort. That is worth something. And if we really do as we plan get more cities placed than them I really think we can rival the FIN tech rate. FIN adds 1 commerce per tile with 2 already. An extra city that yields commerce will tip the scales back a little into our direction. I think we can even it out or even surpass the FIN civs eventually. Just not initially.

 

[SilentConfusion]

I am about to send this. If there are no objections very soon, it will be sent. It has to get out.

EDIT: It has been sent with 6 hours left in the turn. Team Sirius has not ended their turn yet. I will also send a PM to Irgy letting him know they have mail.

Greetings to our Sirian friends,

We hope that our neighbors have been well since we last heard from them and that everything is running smoothly and without incident over there.

Enclosed is a proposed agreement to formalize our trading relationship, that we mentioned in our last letter to you. I have also appointed AMAZON nabaxo the Special Diplomatic Envoy to your glorious nation, so that you have one contact devoted solely to you. Diplomatic Envoy nabaxo will contact you soon with a more elaborate proposal to join the Sirians and The AMAZON in eternal friendship. Until then, we would like to formalize our agreement to share knowledge. We have Mysticism, Masonry, Polytheism, and will have Monotheism in a few turns. We will then tech Monarchy. All will be gifted when possible as per this treaty. It is our desire that we continue to work together cooperatively in all regards. We would also like to add one or two teams to this agreement to solidify a Tech Trading Alliance to ensure neither of us winds up on the wrong end of a Trade Alliance.

Here is the proposed treaty (it is formated so when it is copy-pasted into a post it will be formated):

The ETTT​

The Exclusive Tech-Trading Treaty​

The Exclusive Tech Trading Treaty is the governing treaty of the Exclusive Tech Trading Alliance (ETTA), which is composed of the members of the ETTT.

Section 1. Members of the ETTT

1.1. The AMAZON

1.2. Team Sirius​

Section 2. Addition and Subtraction of Members

2.1. New members may be added by unanimous agreement of all current members.

2.2. A member may be removed by unanimous consent of all other current members.

2.3. A member may be removed at any time if they are proved to have violated any of the terms of this treaty.​

Section 3. Treaty Duration and Cancellation Terms

3.1. The treaty continues indefinitely until it is canceled.

3.2. The treaty can be canceled at any time by the mutual agreement of all members.​

Section 4. Trading Policies

4.1. Members agree to trade freely and generously with all other members.

4.2. Members agree to trade with non-members only with unanimous consent from all other current members.

4.3. Members will be open and forthright about research plans to avoid duplication of effort and ensure rapid progress.

4.4. All technology shall be shared openly, upon request, without regard to beaker value.​

Section 5. Amendments

5.1. A proposed amendment may be submitted by any member. The proposed amendment must be sent to all members.

5.2. A proposed amendment will be adopted upon the agreement of all members.​

If you have concerns about the treaty please let us know so we can address them because working together is the most important thing to us.

We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Sincerely yours,
SilentConfusion, AMAZON diplomat

 

[SilentConfusion]

We got this from Irgy 30 minutes after our last message to them:

Greetings again SilentConfusion and The AMAZON, and a warm welcome to Naxabo.

You are too fast for our slow democratic process. This is not a complaint by the way but a compliment. Each time we are about to send a correspondence, new input from you has sent us into another round of discussion, consensus and confirmation which delays our response. In order to avoid treating you with unwarranted silence, I will send the bulk of what we had prepared with just a few comments first on the differences it raises.

Firstly, we had evisaged the technology alliance as an agreement of free, unrestricted, but balanced trades, as contrasted to your proposal of complete tech equality. We appreciate the co-operative spirit of the proposal, but we need to discuss and consider amongs ourselves, and potentially negotiate the consequences of this difference. The suggestion we make below of no-brokering would obviously not apply in a situation like you propose of complete tech equality, as the need for this would no longer exist.

Secondly, I'll just promote the importance of a minor point previously hidden in the text below. The bonus that Priesthood provides for Monarchy almost pays for the cost of Priesthood, and the bonus it will later provide to researching Code of Laws makes it quite profitable, even without the (admitedly minor) benefits that the technology provides on its own. We advise that skipping this technology would be inefficient.

Below is the state of our thoughts prior to receiving your latest correspondence:

We thank you for letting us know about your meeting with Quatronia. This sort of openness inspires us with confidence. We had our own suspicions about a star shaped map, indeed one team member proposed it a long time ago and must be feeling very clever now. We eagerly await any further news from you about Quatronia. We are happy to reciprocate on the assignment of EPs, as soon as we have contacted another civ ourselves. By the looks of things we may both contact a civ to the east before Quatronia reach Sirian borders.

We were indeed wondering how it was that we had managed to catch up to Martha. We're sorry to hear about her unfortunate delay, but the crew of Voyager are indeed glad to have some company. We agree that Voyager and Martha should eventually part ways to explore in different directions once that becomes possible. In the meantime at least it will mean that we discover any civilisation in this next area at around the same time.

We have had an initial look at a first technology trade, and have come up with the following. We hope this seems fair to your people.
Team Sirius provides:
The Wheel (60) + Pottery (80) + Writing (120) + Alphabet (300) = 560 beakers
AMAZON provides:
Hunting (40) + Mysticism (50) + Polytheism (100) + Priesthood (60) + Monarchy (300) = 550 beakers

We are glad to hear you are attempting to discover Monotheism, and wish you the best of luck in that. We are currently planning to pursue Mathematics next, with an intention to use this to help develop standard units of trade known as Currency.

We would like to consider an agreement to avoid brokering each other's technology to third parties, to prevent one of us setting themselves up in an unfair trading position. This has become even more important since meeting another team. Our proposal is as follows. The exact number of turns is considered negotiable.
* When receiving a technology in trade, the other team will not trade that technology on to a third party, until at least 30 turns have passed since the trade occurred.

It appears to be almost standard practise to perform technology trades as separate gifts, to avoid a score increase appearing for both teams simultaneously, as well as avoiding a score increase for one team while the only other is logged in. Although it's not foolproof, it at least prevents other teams from immediately knowing for certain that technology trading has taken place and exactly which teams were involved. Let us know your thoughts on this.

Finally, thanks for your correspondence, and we apologise for the delay in ours. We look forward to further discussions.

Irgy, on behalf of Team Sirius.

 

[SilentConfusion]

This is good news. The silence is simply the slow democratic process and us keeping new information heaped on them. They do not have a work boat ahead of and are not secretly planning a counter alliance with Q and the Mavs. They are appreciative of our openness and do seem to want to work with us.

They are concerned about us tech brokering with other teams that we have met whom they haven't (namely Quatronia). But they weren't trying to hold out for a better partner it seems.

They say they will consider our proposal. I think the Alliance aspect of it might make the potentially unequal beakers more acceptable to them.

I would certainly say we can agree to that tech trade right now and agree not to broker the techs they would give us while we work out a Tech Alliance. But the idea of a Tech Alliance which puts 3 or 4 teams on the same side is what we're looking for.

I am convinced now that we can work with them and they will be amenable to an Alliance agreement, but I am a little concerned that they will keep being this slow, but that probably means they have a decent amount of participation if they're discussing takes this long.

We can do as they suggest (makes sense) and go for Priesthood before Monarchy. And interestingly they didn't ask for Masonry. We were prepared to give it to them, in our open tech trading deal, but by following their beaker count method they don't get it, at least right away. This clearly means they don't intend to build GWall or 'Mids. The fact that they don't want it makes it actually ok to give it away as we won't be gaining a competitor if we want to build the GWall.

They aren't angry that we slipped out a work boat in front of them, or so it seems.

They will weigh the difference of their tech brokering plan versus our multi-team tech alliance plan. The difference in my mind is that their brokering plan is fair between two teams, but will be way too complicated for a Tech Alliance. A Tech Alliance is taking a larger view of world relations, while the tech brokering is only looking towards relations between two teams. I think they need to consider the long term benefits of a 3- or 4-way tech alliance and see that it outweighs the need for beaker counts.

 

[SilentConfusion]

Irgy sent me this PM, in response to my PM informing them that they had mail in the way of explanation for the delay.

Team Sirius has a new message from us in their Gmail account.

SilentConfusion, AMAZON diplomat

Yep, thanks. I have the gmail account forwarded to work, so during the day (in Sydney) I get the emails straight away. You probably haven't noticed but I'm actually also sending (most of) the emails from work, but basically spoofing the gmail account. Sorry we've been so slow responding in general, I'm probably spending too long letting the rest of the team review everything before I send it.

 

[Sommerswerd]

This is what was to be expected. When we told them we met Quatronia, they became worried about us brokering their tech. We told them about Quatronia to foster trust not suspicion... and they claim that they appreciate the gesture and trusts more because of it. However, their actions do not support their statements... at least not yet. Ironically, if we had concealed the fact that we had met the Q, they would have trusted us more with a trade.

Anyway, there are a couple of problems with their trade proposal...

1. It requires us to tech something else... they already have all the tech they propose to trade while we have to tech 2 more things... we can never be equal partners this way.

2. If they wanted us to get Priesthood they should have told us before, when they asked for us to tech Monarchy. We had no real need for Poly or Monotheism, we were teching these primarily to get them Monarchy. Now they want Priesthood too? This is a bad precedent... them sending us on wild tech goosechases, while they dictate tech choices to us, and then cherry pick which of our techs they want and turn up their noses at the others.

3. Call it a hunch, but something tells me they intend to withhold Alpha until AFTER we tech Monarchy. That is totally unacceptable. I would rather tech Alpha ourselves, waiting that long to get it is far far too risky. What if they decide later that they want something else?

4. Staggering tech exchanges to hide alliances does not work. All it does is needlessly limit your teching options. Other teams will not be fooled by this tactic. Saturn was not fooled last game when Team Cav was doing it... why would anyone be fooled in this game... and anyway, WE WANT other teams to know we have an alliance, so that they are pressured to join us. Why would we hide the alliance while teams form other alliances?

5. Finally, and most importantly, Sirius is trying to negotiate individual tech trades, with individual conditions on each trade. This makes perfect sense, because they are a FIN civ, so there are probably members of their team who are focused on the inequality of teching ability.

However, An alliance can't work that way... Either they want equality and partnership, or they want arms-length trading, where each side is looking to gain comparative advantage. Either one is fine, but they can't have the no-brokering, security that a tech alliance provides, at the same time as the beaker-counting comparative advantage that arms-length single-deal-trading provides. If we agree to their brokering clause, what incentive do they have to enter the ETTT? None.

I recommend we give them a choice again. A one time trade, with no strings attached, or the ETTT. If they reject both, then we can consider cancelling the NAP, that way we will be able to use the Immortals to keep them off Jennilund and South Andromeda right about the time they are looking to expand.

I hope they just accept the ETTT, but no use being unprepared. I will draft the language of the "choice" we are offering, the general idea being exchanging whatever we have for Writing Wheel and Pottery. They keep Alpha. That way, they don't have to worry about us brokering their tech. We can then start teching Alpha ourselves.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Incorporating some of Envoy nabaxo's concerns, I would send the following to Sirius

(I did not use a quote block to make editing easier):

We appreciate the long and deliberative process that is democracy, and we are hopeful that our Sirian friends are making inroads towards a decision on our recently proposed Tech Alliance. We have also made the same offer to the Q Continuum, in the hopes that our 3-way alliance will soon be complete. The only question to address then, will be whether we will seek to truly dominate the world by making our alliance of 3, an alliance of 4.

Another matter, is that of our intrepid explorers, Martha and Voyager. We have spotted a point where Martha and Voyager might part ways... one to determine if there is a path North through the center of the Map, and one to continue West. We are aware, of course, that the one who continues West is in the best position to meet new civilizations first, but we also see great value in the detection of a more direct route from our Northern islands to the Southern ones. We would like to hear your thoughts on this.

We have some sad news to report to our friends. Unfortunately, Monotheism was snatched from us, and our high hopes of founding a religion of our own have been dashed. This development presents us with a pressing dilemma. As your last message reflected a desire to have Priesthood, we are considering halting our pursuit of Monotheism in favor of Priesthood, however in order to make such a commitment, we first must consult with you.

We directed our research towards Monarchy at your behest, with the expectation that we would triumphantly enter into a Tech-Sharing Alliance this very turn. However, your last message has given us pause, and we wish to better understand your intentions.

Do you wish to enter a Tech Alliance, where all Alliance Partners share knowledge freely, enjoying equal footing and complete technological parity?... Or do you wish to engage in at-arms-length Tech Trading, where knowledge costs are carefully counted and each advance is paid for as one would a sheepskin vest?

In a Tech Alliance, as we understand it, (our Nation, afterall, is an Alliance of Matriarchal tribes) the partners enjoy equal footing,... All are treated the same, as part of one nation. In a Tech Alliance, no knowledge is shared outside the alliance, unless it is the will of the entire Alliance to do so.

However, your proposal seems to be more in the flavor of a single trade, to possibly be followed by additional trades, each carefully calculated to protect the comparative advantages of each party. In such an arrangement, exclusivity is counterintuitive, because each traded morsel of knowledge is fully paid for... thus additional conditions on the trade are not paid for and consequently innapropriate. For example, would you buy a sheepskin vest, if the merchant told you, that you would not be allowed to give it to your sister as a birthday present? Of course not, because you had fully paid for the vest and thus it was yours, to do with as you wished.

Also, exclusivity runs counter to comparative advantage in trading. For example, it is known to The AMAZON, that Sirians are skilled in the nature of finance (FIN) and therefore have a proclivity towards garnering new knowledge. With your unique skills, it is unlikely that The AMAZON could ever hope to acheive knowledge parity with the Sirians in the near future.

It was therefore puzzling to us that you would consider offering us an exchange based upon that imbalance, while denying us the benefit of the resources we invested towards meeting other trading partners. Such an arrangement would inevitably relegate The AMAZON to perpetual backwardness relative to the wise Sirians. What we offer, is our loyalty, forthrightness and worthiness as an ally, in the hope that we can make what the Sirians feel is a valuable contribution to our alliance, as the nature of our friendship grows and expands.

As is our custom, to help us articulate our thoughts, we have consulted first, with our Princess, Diana, and next with our Goddesses. As always, the wise Diana presented a deal:

Diana's Deal​

On this turn (51) we will provide you with Hunting (40) + Mysticism (50 and next turn (52) we will provide you with Polytheism (100 = 190total

in exchange for,

The Wheel (60) + Writing (120) = 180total (the extra 10 being compensation for the 1 turn delay on Polytheism)

Next, of our many Goddesses, the radiant Aphrodite was first to reply, in the form of a whisper, to one of our Preistesses:

The Path of Conditional Love - (Aphrodite's Whisper)​

Sirius will immediately (turn 51) accept the ETTT, commencing the full and free sharing of technology between our peoples. However, if The AMAZON or Sirius is unable to secure a third partner for the ETTT before Sirius is offered entry into another alliance of 2 or more teams, Sirius shall be free to leave the ETTT immediately if Sirius so desires, with 1 turn notice. The AMAZON will not be free to leave the ETTT, except according to the express terms of the ETTT.

As per Diana's instructions, we are only authorized to extend this offer until the conclusion of the current turn, after which, we will be forced to direct our technological efforts in disparate directions, possibly away from Priesthood and Monarchy.

Why the rush you might ask? As we never keep anything from our Sirian friends, we can happily reply that the answer is quite simple. You will make contact with the Kingdom of Merlot soon, and we need to ascertain whether you truly intend to form an alliance with us, or whether you intend to wait, in the hopes of brokering a better deal with our neighbor to the South, effectively shutting us out and isolating us. Of course we would consider this most unfortunate, and it would leave us with very few options. However we understand that you seek only the best for your people, and we bear no grudge towards you whatsoever, regardless of what you may choose.

We are saddened to have to be this blunt, and we hope you can forgive us, for what must seem like high-pressure tactics, but we have faith that our past conduct towards our Sirian friends speaks for itself. We wish now to place all our cards on the table, in a full, open-handed offer of lasting friendship. We hope that you accept.

End of Letter

As our Diplomat is currently unavailable, I will post the letter with 24hours left on the game clock so that Sirius has time to respond... unless the majority objects.

 

[SilentConfusion]

I love that whole letter. It is respectful, yet forceful, which you have to be in international relations. I think it puts it fairly and logically, which is great. As far as the content I agree with everything.

I see a few things I would fix regarding form, not content. You would probably catch some of these before sending it, but pointing this out can only make it easier.

"a point where Martha an Voyager": "an" --> "and"

"This development presents us with a pressing dilemna": "dilemna" --> "dilemma"

"invested towards meeting other tradign partners.": "tradign" --> "trading"

I would add another line space about "Diana's Deal" and "Aphrodite's Whisper." In the case of the latter it looks a little squished with the line above it.

I would say "On this turn (51) we will provide you with Hunting (40:beakers + Mysticism (50:beakers and next turn (52) we will provide you with Polytheism (100:beakers = 190:beakers:total," instead of "On this turn (51) we will provide you with Hunting (40) + Mysticism (50) + Polytheism (on turn 52, 100) = 190total," just because the "on turn 52" in the parentheses is a bit less clear than it could be.

I would say "(the extra 10:beakers: being compensation for the 1 turn delay on Polytheism)" instead of just (the extra 10 being compensation for the 1 turn delay) just to make it absolutely clear what delay we're talking about. I'm sure it's fine the way it is, but it took me a second to figure it out and that could be eliminated.

"brokering a better deal with our neighgor to the South,": "neighgor" --> "neighbor"

A spell check would get most of it, but since we have to get it out soon, I thought it wouldn't hurt to read through it carefully. I would appreciate it if you would send this out Sommerswerd, with 24 hours left as you suggested. I may or may not be back by then (probably not).

 

[Sommerswerd]

The following was sent to Sirius:

Sirian Friends,

Our Diplomatic Offices are closed for the night, and so I, the Captain, have been authorized to relay information on behalf of our Diplomatic Offices,

We appreciate the long and deliberative process that is democracy, and we are hopeful that our Sirian friends are making inroads towards a decision on our recently proposed Tech Alliance. We have also made the same offer to the Q Continuum, in the hopes that our 3-way alliance will soon be complete. The only question to address then, will be whether we will seek to truly dominate the world by making our alliance of 3, an alliance of 4.
Another matter, is that of our intrepid explorers, Martha and Voyager. We have spotted a point where Martha and Voyager might part ways... one to determine if there is a path North through the center of the Map, and one to continue West. We are aware, of course, that the one who continues West is in the best position to meet new civilizations first, but we also see great value in the detection of a more direct route from our Northern islands to the Southern ones. We would like to hear your thoughts on this.

We have some sad news to report to our friends. Unfortunately, Monotheism was snatched from us, and our high hopes of founding a religion of our own have been dashed. This development presents us with a pressing dilemma. As your last message reflected a desire to have Priesthood, we are considering halting our pursuit of Monotheism in favor of Priesthood, however in order to make such a commitment, we first must consult with you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We directed our research towards Monarchy at your behest, with the expectation that we would triumphantly enter into a Tech-Sharing Alliance this very turn. However, your last message has given us pause, and we wish to better understand your intentions.
Do you wish to enter a Tech Alliance, where all Alliance Partners share knowledge freely, enjoying equal footing and complete technological parity?... Or do you wish to engage in at-arms-length Tech Trading, where knowledge costs are carefully counted and each advance is paid for as one would a sheepskin vest?

In a Tech Alliance, as we understand it, (our Nation, afterall, is an Alliance of Matriarchal tribes) the partners enjoy equal footing,... All are treated the same, as part of one nation. In a Tech Alliance, no knowledge is shared outside the alliance, unless it is the will of the entire Alliance to do so.

However, your proposal seems to be more in the flavor of a single trade, to possibly be followed by additional trades, each carefully calculated to protect the comparative advantages of each party. In such an arrangement, exclusivity is counterintuitive, because each traded morsel of knowledge is fully paid for... thus additional conditions on the trade are not paid for and consequently innapropriate. For example, would you buy a sheepskin vest, if the merchant told you, that you would not be allowed to give it to your sister as a birthday present? Of course not, because you had fully paid for the vest and thus it was yours, to do with as you wished.

Also, exclusivity runs counter to comparative advantage in trading. For example, it is known to The AMAZON, that Sirians are skilled in the nature of finance (FIN) and therefore have a proclivity towards garnering new knowledge. With your unique skills, it is unlikely that The AMAZON could ever hope to acheive knowledge parity with the Sirians in the near future.

It was therefore puzzling to us that you would consider offering us an exchange based upon that imbalance, while denying us the benefit of the resources we invested towards meeting other trading partners. Such an arrangement would inevitably relegate The AMAZON to perpetual backwardness relative to the wise Sirians. What we offer, is our loyalty, forthrightness and worthiness as an ally, in the hope that we can make what the Sirians feel is a valuable contribution to our alliance, as the nature of our friendship grows and expands.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As is our custom, to help us articulate our thoughts, we have consulted first, with our Princess, Diana, and next with our Goddesses. As always, the wise Diana presented a deal:

Diana's Deal​

On this turn (51) we will provide you with Hunting (40) + Mysticism (50 and next turn (52) we will provide you with Polytheism (100 = 190total

in exchange for,

The Wheel (60) + Writing (120) = 180total (the extra 10 being compensation for the 1 turn delay on Polytheism)

Next, of our many Goddesses, the radiant Aphrodite was first to reply, in the form of a whisper, to one of our Preistesses:

The Path of Conditional Love - (Aphrodite's Whisper)​

Sirius will immediately (turn 51) accept the ETTT, commencing the full and free sharing of technology between our peoples. However, if The AMAZON or Sirius is unable to secure a third partner for the ETTT before Sirius is offered entry into another alliance of 2 or more teams, Sirius shall be free to leave the ETTT immediately if Sirius so desires, with 1 turn notice. The AMAZON will not be free to leave the ETTT, except according to the express terms of the ETTT.

Time Is Of The Essence​

As per Diana's instructions, we are only authorized to extend this offer until the conclusion of the current turn, after which, we will be forced to direct our technological efforts in disparate directions, possibly away from Priesthood and Monarchy.
Why the rush you might ask? As we never keep anything from our Sirian friends, we can happily reply that the answer is quite simple. You will make contact with the Kingdom of Merlot soon, and we need to ascertain whether you truly intend to form an alliance with us, or whether you intend to wait, in the hopes of brokering a better deal with our neighbor to the South, effectively shutting us out and isolating us. Of course we would consider this most unfortunate, and it would leave us with very few options. However we understand that you seek only the best for your people, and we bear no grudge towards you whatsoever, regardless of what you may choose.

We are saddened to have to be this blunt, and we hope you can forgive us, for what must seem like high-pressure tactics, but we have faith that our past conduct towards our Sirian friends speaks for itself. We wish now to place all our cards on the table, in a full, open-handed offer of lasting friendship. We hope that you accept.

Truly Yours in Friendship,

Sommerswerd, Captain of The AMAZON
on behalf of
SilentConfusion, Diplomat of The AMAZON

I also PM'ed the following to Irgy and Lord Parkin

We sent email to your gmail account. In case it was unclear, we invite you to choose one of the options provided. Diana's Deal or Aphrodite's Whisper.

Thanks so much,

Sommerswerd

 

[nabaxo]

Looks good to me. I prefer to be blunt and honest rather than being a push-over and naive.

 

[Sommerswerd]

While I was dealing with the Merlot stuff I a couple letters from Sirius in our mailbox. Here is the first:

I'll get a couple of smaller issues out of the way first, before diving into the big issue in a separate message.

We agree that Martha and Voyager parting ways in the directions you suggest is quite wise, however we would like to ensure that we both meet the team on the island our vessels are currently near first. You mentioned us making contact with Merlot soon, can we take this to mean their borders are nearby?

We give our condolences on missing the religion from Monotheism. Do you know who it might have been that took it? Is it a team without a religion of their own, or is one team trying to horde religions? As for Priesthood, we consider Code of Laws to be at least a medium term goal (possibly higher since you missed your chance at a religion), so gaining Priesthood has benefits in that respect. However my point about efficiency of research was mostly meant simply on face value. Depending on how far into Monotheism you have researched, the same argument about the pre-requisite bonus would apply to researching the remainder of Monothiesm before starting on Monarchy, even if you were to take Priesthood first.

We see no reason not to at least trade the technologies we have already, so as not to delay your access to Writing and The Wheel. As such, we will offer these technologies to you in-game, some time shortly after sending this message.