Charis
Realms Beyond
"Hammer, you had me wetting my pants! I thought those plans were for real!!"
"Well, we DID not only start, but complete, the Manhattan Project. We had
the capability, and the government brought in a leader that others knew
would not cringe from pushing the button."
"But sir, that was... devious. The Iroquois ambassador turned pale, oh so
pale, and Cleopatra, her eyes popped out of her head. They didn't know whether
to believe the 'plans'. That was rather clever to have the Babylonian
Left Wing green party leader give a not-so-anonymous tip that these were your
genuine plans, and leak a copy to the undersecretaries in Egypt. It had just
enough ring of truth, but was done at a low level, easily and plausibly deniable."
"Clarify again, what happened, Mr. Secretary!"
"Oh my, it was dreadfully simple. I completed the Manhattan project, and
let all my governors handle affairs -- I knew they would pick a huge military
buildup, leading further credence to the story. Then in 1680, I talked personally
to Cleopatra and Hiwatha, assured them that such 'leaked' plans were ludicrous,
and that I was a deep and true friend. So much so, that I laid bare our
secrets. I shared with them our computer network, knowledge of the transistors,
and other absolute marvels of technology. And I established a fund, earmarked
for benevolence programs for their very children and education system, and
seeded these programs out of my own pockets. Cleopatra was gracious *instantly*,
while Hiawatha required some extra prodding. He was a much better bargainer,
getting several techs. But with him, I laughed in a very casual way, "Iroquois
lands lighting up the night sky, haha!!! That's hilarious! That would NEVER,
EVER happen. I mean, well, sure it COULD, that we had an arsenal capable of
it, but really, why would I, the gentle Hammer, ever do such a thing." The room
then went silent. Coldly, starkly silent. He understood."
If it were not for the need to 'persuade' the rest of the world of our
tremendous culture, I would never have built the 'Project'. Far too dangerous.
Xerces is a wild man, he would not have had the restraint I did.
We were, in the end, far too cultured for anything but a diplomatic victory.
The elections were held in my final year (they come every 10 turns, or so did
I think), and it was unanimous except for Xerces himself. 5-1, a landslide.
"Our bards will write ballads of your deeds and accomplishments!" entoned Cleo
"What a splendid display of tact and strategy!" said Joanie, with a smile.
Indeed, Babylon is now the top city in all the world. Cattle Crossing and...
would you believe it... Silkton, are also in the top five! (London and
Salamanca somehow snuck in) We were by far the dominant culture as well.
"Thank you Mr. Secretary! You will forever be remembered as...
... Hammurabi the Magnificent!!"
"Oh please, I winked... call me Hammer!"
Charis
(On this final turn, everyone should download and load, hit enter, then take any default choices and hit "YES" when it asks if you want to have a UN vote)
"Well, we DID not only start, but complete, the Manhattan Project. We had
the capability, and the government brought in a leader that others knew
would not cringe from pushing the button."
"But sir, that was... devious. The Iroquois ambassador turned pale, oh so
pale, and Cleopatra, her eyes popped out of her head. They didn't know whether
to believe the 'plans'. That was rather clever to have the Babylonian
Left Wing green party leader give a not-so-anonymous tip that these were your
genuine plans, and leak a copy to the undersecretaries in Egypt. It had just
enough ring of truth, but was done at a low level, easily and plausibly deniable."
"Clarify again, what happened, Mr. Secretary!"
"Oh my, it was dreadfully simple. I completed the Manhattan project, and
let all my governors handle affairs -- I knew they would pick a huge military
buildup, leading further credence to the story. Then in 1680, I talked personally
to Cleopatra and Hiwatha, assured them that such 'leaked' plans were ludicrous,
and that I was a deep and true friend. So much so, that I laid bare our
secrets. I shared with them our computer network, knowledge of the transistors,
and other absolute marvels of technology. And I established a fund, earmarked
for benevolence programs for their very children and education system, and
seeded these programs out of my own pockets. Cleopatra was gracious *instantly*,
while Hiawatha required some extra prodding. He was a much better bargainer,
getting several techs. But with him, I laughed in a very casual way, "Iroquois
lands lighting up the night sky, haha!!! That's hilarious! That would NEVER,
EVER happen. I mean, well, sure it COULD, that we had an arsenal capable of
it, but really, why would I, the gentle Hammer, ever do such a thing." The room
then went silent. Coldly, starkly silent. He understood."
If it were not for the need to 'persuade' the rest of the world of our
tremendous culture, I would never have built the 'Project'. Far too dangerous.
Xerces is a wild man, he would not have had the restraint I did.
We were, in the end, far too cultured for anything but a diplomatic victory.
The elections were held in my final year (they come every 10 turns, or so did
I think), and it was unanimous except for Xerces himself. 5-1, a landslide.
"Our bards will write ballads of your deeds and accomplishments!" entoned Cleo
"What a splendid display of tact and strategy!" said Joanie, with a smile.
Indeed, Babylon is now the top city in all the world. Cattle Crossing and...
would you believe it... Silkton, are also in the top five! (London and
Salamanca somehow snuck in) We were by far the dominant culture as well.
"Thank you Mr. Secretary! You will forever be remembered as...
... Hammurabi the Magnificent!!"
"Oh please, I winked... call me Hammer!"
Charis
(On this final turn, everyone should download and load, hit enter, then take any default choices and hit "YES" when it asks if you want to have a UN vote)
And great posts! 
Devious. 
