Post by StaolDerg on Apr 25, 2021 11:57:25 GMT -5
As the meeting of the Homebound Commission gathered for the third time in the week, Sowa nervously gripped the stack of pages in his hands, a proposal that he’d only written overnight with the help of the Chamber Supreme, Ostia Kalvs, and the Chief Archivist, Yalti-Marrad Welat. In his defense, he’d only joined the ranks of the nation’s highest leadership only months ago. His first impression had been one of deadlock and constant dispute, shooting down each other’s proposals at every opportunity, save some ocassional miracle when an agreement could be reached through much debate or through an official declaring a temporary dictatorship, watched closely by fellow politicians. High hopes were very much out of the question.
He hoped his bill would be one of the latter, the prospect of a rather obnoxiously-long argument with the Far-Elenrians much more preferable than the simple and stubborn denial of his project, which he had held to a critical priority. Nevertheless, he remained cautious- his “allies” in the matter, the same people who had helped him draft his proposal were people he’d only met the day before, even if they too were Areman natives. He knew too little about them for his own comfort, save that their interests served alongside with his… or for now, at least. With that reassuring thought, he headed into the council room, steeling himself to present his case before his new peers.
“To my fellow members, I have a proposal to make.”
The eleven others in the room watched him with their full attention as he readied his papers, his allies among them giving him encouraging nods from their seats. He cleared his throat, straightening his papers before continuing.
“Elenria Horizon has suffered much recently from the bacterial pandemic recently. Despite our investment into researching a treatment, it cannot be denied that we lack modern understanding of medicine. There is only so much we can glean from espionage in TAKPOE, known to be vastly underdeveloped in comparison to the rest of Ouhiri. If the reports made by Spymaster Ilkvari are to be referenced, then even the Territorial Army is multiple decades behind in tactics alone. As much of our standing doctrine stems from the Elenria since our foreign policy leaves us deeply isolated, we are left with the assumption that we are critically behind in all aspects of modern education.”
He paused, which proved to be a mistake as his anxiety momentarily left the words stuck in his throat. To his surprise, the other members of the room had stayed surprisingly quiet, some frowning, and a few seemingly haven taken the lapse to be a time to ask questions as an Inselni spoke up.
“I think that information is clear enough to the members of the Commission. What do you propose, Supreme Headmaster?”
Delighted by the unexpected interest, his nervousness melted away, forgotten as he quickly responded.
“I propose that we send students abroad to any schools that will take them so we can glean the maximum amount of knowledge possible from Ouhiri. They can bring back newer, modern information and teach their peers at home so we can further develop understanding of the wider world, not to mention form connections abroad for future sources of resources and markets.”
Realizing that what he was about to say might very well be a bone of contention, he drew a short breath before adding, “What I am saying, is that in the sense of being Elenrian, we must learn what the Kumo had to make them strong beyond raw firepower. We must understand how to prevent another Silk Bind, so that the… homeland may be free someday.
The words felt strange and awkward for an Areman to say to the Far-Elenrians who had simply shown up and occupied his people’s islands decades ago, but that seemed to be completely disregarded as the others in the room quietly discussed among or by themselves, thinking over the extent of the Supreme Headmaster’s plan.
“There is punch-card computing technology abroad that we could make use of to vastly improve our nation’s processing abilities,” Welat added. “That is not to mention better grasp of infrastructure to improve any mobilization efforts in the future, nor the ability to better desgin domestic weaponry.”
“Such computing may help break Kumo codes,” the Spymaster added, slowly nodding. “But secrecy will be an issue. I believe that we should send the students with plausible deniability by officially attaching them to their families and sending them out with tuition funds. They may even serve well as diplomatic channels to communicate with other nations.”
“No need for that. If we send the students as they are, we will be able to gauge support for our cause from the international community. We already know that Kumosenkan considers us a non-threat to their power, so any deal we make should be in relative safety. There is much to gain from appealing to international education.”
“Very well then, Supreme Headmaster. Let us hold your proposal to a vote.”
A full dozen hands and claws rose to the relief of Sowa- unanimous approval.
“Uncontested. Your proposal is cleared for execution, Supreme Headmaster Sowa. Draft a detailed plan and present it before the commission by the soonest possible date.”
Applications for just about every notable educational institution that could be thought to be open to the prospect of Far-Elenrians were submitted to any willing nation that would accept them. The students chosen for the program would be taken from prospective graduates of the local colleges, each one to be sent with a tuition fund and some spare to learn the local language. The funds themselves were diverted from the scholarship funds regularly allocated for the same students.
As the messages were dispatched, the best Sowa could do was simbly sit back and wait for replies. With luck, at least a few would respond.
He hoped his bill would be one of the latter, the prospect of a rather obnoxiously-long argument with the Far-Elenrians much more preferable than the simple and stubborn denial of his project, which he had held to a critical priority. Nevertheless, he remained cautious- his “allies” in the matter, the same people who had helped him draft his proposal were people he’d only met the day before, even if they too were Areman natives. He knew too little about them for his own comfort, save that their interests served alongside with his… or for now, at least. With that reassuring thought, he headed into the council room, steeling himself to present his case before his new peers.
“To my fellow members, I have a proposal to make.”
The eleven others in the room watched him with their full attention as he readied his papers, his allies among them giving him encouraging nods from their seats. He cleared his throat, straightening his papers before continuing.
“Elenria Horizon has suffered much recently from the bacterial pandemic recently. Despite our investment into researching a treatment, it cannot be denied that we lack modern understanding of medicine. There is only so much we can glean from espionage in TAKPOE, known to be vastly underdeveloped in comparison to the rest of Ouhiri. If the reports made by Spymaster Ilkvari are to be referenced, then even the Territorial Army is multiple decades behind in tactics alone. As much of our standing doctrine stems from the Elenria since our foreign policy leaves us deeply isolated, we are left with the assumption that we are critically behind in all aspects of modern education.”
He paused, which proved to be a mistake as his anxiety momentarily left the words stuck in his throat. To his surprise, the other members of the room had stayed surprisingly quiet, some frowning, and a few seemingly haven taken the lapse to be a time to ask questions as an Inselni spoke up.
“I think that information is clear enough to the members of the Commission. What do you propose, Supreme Headmaster?”
Delighted by the unexpected interest, his nervousness melted away, forgotten as he quickly responded.
“I propose that we send students abroad to any schools that will take them so we can glean the maximum amount of knowledge possible from Ouhiri. They can bring back newer, modern information and teach their peers at home so we can further develop understanding of the wider world, not to mention form connections abroad for future sources of resources and markets.”
Realizing that what he was about to say might very well be a bone of contention, he drew a short breath before adding, “What I am saying, is that in the sense of being Elenrian, we must learn what the Kumo had to make them strong beyond raw firepower. We must understand how to prevent another Silk Bind, so that the… homeland may be free someday.
The words felt strange and awkward for an Areman to say to the Far-Elenrians who had simply shown up and occupied his people’s islands decades ago, but that seemed to be completely disregarded as the others in the room quietly discussed among or by themselves, thinking over the extent of the Supreme Headmaster’s plan.
“There is punch-card computing technology abroad that we could make use of to vastly improve our nation’s processing abilities,” Welat added. “That is not to mention better grasp of infrastructure to improve any mobilization efforts in the future, nor the ability to better desgin domestic weaponry.”
“Such computing may help break Kumo codes,” the Spymaster added, slowly nodding. “But secrecy will be an issue. I believe that we should send the students with plausible deniability by officially attaching them to their families and sending them out with tuition funds. They may even serve well as diplomatic channels to communicate with other nations.”
“No need for that. If we send the students as they are, we will be able to gauge support for our cause from the international community. We already know that Kumosenkan considers us a non-threat to their power, so any deal we make should be in relative safety. There is much to gain from appealing to international education.”
“Very well then, Supreme Headmaster. Let us hold your proposal to a vote.”
A full dozen hands and claws rose to the relief of Sowa- unanimous approval.
“Uncontested. Your proposal is cleared for execution, Supreme Headmaster Sowa. Draft a detailed plan and present it before the commission by the soonest possible date.”
Applications for just about every notable educational institution that could be thought to be open to the prospect of Far-Elenrians were submitted to any willing nation that would accept them. The students chosen for the program would be taken from prospective graduates of the local colleges, each one to be sent with a tuition fund and some spare to learn the local language. The funds themselves were diverted from the scholarship funds regularly allocated for the same students.
As the messages were dispatched, the best Sowa could do was simbly sit back and wait for replies. With luck, at least a few would respond.
