XI - The Other Side
Waise and Arlowe rushed into the grand meeting hall – a large spacious room with a single large table and walls covered in screens. World maps, pictures, and alien words flew across the displays constantly, covering nearly every wall in the enclosure save where a small balcony protruded, providing a location where one could look down on the entire hall.
“Waise present!” Waise announced.
A yellow stood up, clearing his throat. “Now that the failure is here, I call that the First Seers of Garilend’s Extraterrestrial Report begins! As Overseer, I use the power invested in me by the Director to declare that nobody leaves this room until the proceedings are complete!” He sighed. “In case anyone’s been asleep for the last day, extraterrestrials crash-landed in the Arlican Ocean with some kind of crystal cushion, or as the public is calling it, the Ocean Crater. An apt name I suppose.”
He took a breath before continuing. “Nominally, we would have moved in and secured a presence through code 7-GX. Unfortunately the individual known as Lem Enel has managed to ruin this all with that headset of his that all attempts to jam have ultimately failed.”
A green harrumphed. “He came prepared.”
“Yes, he did,” The Overseer agreed. “While I would love to dwell on how he got ahold of a transmitter that powerful, the truth is it doesn’t matter. The damage is done. The public has seen their culture, and enough of them would get angry if we ‘trampled’ the visitors to cause serious unrest. So we have a few options…” He turned to a screen, pointing at a list that appeared.
“One, attempt to rile up public opinion to a negative enough state to declare war. Unlikely, seeing we were just given a magic show from an adorable blue horse.”
“The Internet has latched onto that horse like a wedding present,” A gray technician observed.
“Indeed,” The Overseer said. He pointed at the next item on the list. “Two, seclude them in their little crater for ‘safety reasons.’ Possible, but given how the public wants to meet them so badly, it likely would be a temporary measure at best.”
“And finally three, which I personally like best, help them fix their ship. This is merely a guise where we take all their technology in the process of getting them off our planet.” He smiled. “If they really are a major threat we can rig it to blow, and blame it on a technical error.”
“Um…” A young white spoke up – Waise realized she knew him, a somewhat idealistic agent named Forsoo. “Why don’t we just do what the public wants and try to be friendly?”
Waise let out a sharp laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She sneered at him. “Did you forget that we exist solely because the public never knows what’s best for it?”
A heavily distorted voice rang out from above them. “Waise. Reconsider your position.” Everyone looked up to see a figure clothed head to toe in brown leather – boots, gloves, bandana, vest, and even a folded brown hat resting atop a large pair of sunglasses. The gender and color of this individual was completely ambiguous, the effect being that everyone treated the individual with respect and authority.
“D-Director!” The Overseer stammered.
Waise stared in shock. That was the Director? Waise had never seen the organization's leader at all in her many years on the job! The Director never did anything as far as she knew – it was a mysterious part of the organization to say the least. She was startled. …But she wouldn’t let that falter her.
“Director!” She said, voice unwavering. “Why reconsider? That is our job is it not?”
The room gasped – she had the gall to say something like that to their leader? The Director raised a hand to quiet the resulting shouting. “The public will sometimes know what’s best for it. Their ideas and thoughts are heavily misinformed and idealistic, but simple math will tell you that it will hit the mark occasionally. It just usually doesn’t.” The Director leaned in. “Our job is to know when to control and when not to.”
Waise blinked, staying silent. That hadn’t gone well.
“Director,” The Overseer called. “Why have you graced us with your presence?”
“You need it. Forsoo is the only one thinking clearly here. The answer is not to get rid of them or forget them. We need to forge a relationship with them – get them to trust us.” The Director paused for a moment. “And then they will conform to us by choice.”
“Yes of course terribly sorry Director-“
The Director sighed. “You overestimate them. You fear them. They cannot destroy us, nor do they want to.”
“But they can change us,” Waise said.
“Change is not always a bad thing,” The Director responded. “All that matters is that we keep control. So you must know all you can. Hence this briefing. Pay attention, there may or may not be a test later,“ The Director chuckled. “You have the floor again Overseer.”
“Er... Yes. Yes of course.” The Overseer regained his composure. “Let us move on to what we know about them. Their civilization appears to operate on a chain of command, a monarchy of sorts. The one called Celestia is at the head, though footage suggests that Luna may have an equal rank. A large portion of the remaining individuals seem to have some authority over the others, which suggests that the leaders and their families, friends, and close advisors are all we see right now. Their general population is still sealed in those stasis pods, only to be let out if it is believed to be safe. They don’t trust us for obvious reasons.”
“Blow them out of the sky, they said, it’ll be easy, they said!” Someone shouted.
“We still do not know how they survived the attack,” The Overseer said. “Which leads us to our next segment, their tech level. It actually isn’t that far ahead of our own – with enough resources we could probably build their ship. However, there are a few key systems that we don’t understand. The way they ‘jumped’ into the system with their FTL is beyond us, as are the stasis pods, shields, and power management. The engineers can’t make sense of what’s going on – and everything we see that we understand implies that the ship should have been completely disintegrated. But it wasn’t.”
“Did the public ever find out where the Weapon is located?” A red asked.
“No. That secret is still safe. The public doesn’t know it was an attack for sure yet, and if they do find out, we have someone ready to take the fall.”
“Good.”
The Overseer continued on. “We also cannot grasp their biology – almost all the races visible seem to violate our laws of physics. The winged ones shouldn’t be able to fly. The reptiles should not be able to belch fire. And the telekinesis violates so many scientific principles it’s making our scientists scream their heads off. Not to mention that pink one that appears to just take the laws of physics as a suggestion.”
He took a big breath. “So far we have observed the following distinct races: Horses, the most common and varied; cat-birds, which act like soldiers; flying lizards, the largest; shifting bugs, the ones that change their appearance; bulls, the ones closest to us in posture; rock bats, a reclusive type; bull-horses, a possible hybrid race; and the thing we’re calling the chimera and has the name Discord. The fact that he has features of all or most of the races suggests that he may be of religious significance."
“What about the Tree?” Forsoo asked. “The Tree of Harmony we saw?”
“Definitely a religious icon,” The Overseer said. “Though the fact that it seems to be made of the same stuff as the Ocean Crater suggests it’s something more. Some claim it’s advanced technology, others just think it’s another example of bizarre biology. Whatever it is, they obviously worship, or at least revere it. We’re pretty sure it’s sapient.”
An orange spoke up. “So basically they brought their god with them and it’s uber-powerful?”
“…Yes.”
“That’s reassuring. I assume we have no real clue about its capabilities?”
“You assume correctly. The same goes for just about any of the Equi races. Some seem mundane just to reveal super strength later. We, for the first time in centuries, have a lack of information.” He put his hands to his forehead. “And those under our purview can no longer hold back. Diplomatic teams are already being organized worldwide. Some will be our personnel. Others, not. We will be able to commandeer most of the spots on the initial trip, but chancellor Emin Montreal has been demanding a seat and the public is on his side. The people we are sending are present in this room. The names are-“
The Director interrupted. “Send Forsoo, Arlowe, and Waise.”
The Observer dropped his remote. “…But Waise is due a demotion-“
“They know her,” The Director said. “And she is resourceful. I’m sure this isn’t a mistake.”
“…Alright then,” The Overseer said, gulping. “You three will be going. Keep a positive image for the public. Speaking of, it is time to consider their view of the situation…”
He turned to another screen with a pie chart. “61.7 percent believe the aliens come in peace, and that we should accept it. An alarming number of those want to treat them just like any other gari. 36.1 percent believe they are here to conquer and/or enslave us and that we should fight back. 7.9 percent think they are here to conquer but we should try to reason with them. 5.1 percent want to just destroy them, giving them no chance to attack us. 0.1 percent just don’t care.” He let out a deep breath. “it is a polarizing issue. But 69.6 percent of the population wants peace, so at least act like that’s what you’re doing.” He blinked. “I suppose that is what we’re doing now. But regardless, observe everything you can while there. Learn everything. Hopefully we will have figured out how to speak Equi by the time you get there.”
“I am making progress,” Arlowe said meekly. “Speak Equi yes.”
“Good. Try not to create a horrible misunderstanding. Those of you who have jobs are dismissed. The rest of you stay here for discussion.”
Waise stood up and left the room without saying a word. Just before she passed out of sight of the hall, she glanced back up at the balcony. The Director was gone.
She didn’t know what to think of this.
But she knew the Director was wrong. Those aliens were way too dangerous.
~~~
“Breaking news! We have finally received word on who is getting on the coveted ambassadorial flight to the Ocean Crater to meet with the Equi alongside Lem! To no one’s surprise, Emin Montreal was selected due to his political record and relation to Lem. But there are five other seats we now know of! From Krastia we have Chief Waise Leffin, and linguist Arlowe Loela. From the Status Intervention we have Forsoo Osgode, and from Dialo we have Minister Stratm.”
“And in a surprising turn of events a reporter was allowed on the flight, one of our own GLN reporters nonetheless! Regular viewers will be familiar with our young driven Orgis Smarilli! We here at GLN are honored to have been allowed this once-in-an-eon opportunity! Stay tuned for live updates!”
Lem pointed at the screen. “They are coming,” He said.
Twilight wrinkled her forehead, trying to understand what he said. “Good? Bad?” She managed to ask with a heavy accent.
Lem just shrugged. He didn’t know.
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Well, with Lem, they have at least one freind on the other side :p
Who are the rock bats and the bull-horses? I know what the others are but those two confused me. Otherwise an insight onto what the Gari think of their new guests. And the fact they actually shot them down. Which is troubling.
Friendship and Magic will persevere plus both culture will change, but will it be for better, or for worse?
7908422
Gargoyles and Centaurs.
Tirek and Scorpan came form a kingdom after all.
-GM, master of elementals.
May the gods have mercy upon this organization when it is discovered they were responsible for shooting down the ark, because the alicorns and Discord won't.
So there are a number of individuals within this organization that want to get rid of, or at least want control over the Equestrians. That is very troubling to say the least. The residents of The Ark just want somewhere to settle down and live, they don't want to conquer.
This beautcartic, secret organization need to get those sticks out of their asses. Then again, we wouldn't have much of antagonist to work with if that were the case.
Nice chapter, and I'm curious for the events of the next one.
~ Super-Brony12
Despite being the head of this world's Illuminati the director has the most reasonable position. Fighting the races of Equis would be insanity, best choice do everything to keep their position of power, enormous wars tend to expose shadow governments. Better to forge a peace then recruit some leaders of Equis into the organization.
the first time you mention Ocean Crater you actually called it Ocean Creator
7908651
Oh whoops! Fixed! Thanks for pointing it out!
-GM, master of carrots.
And you all just made it angry...
vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/4/4c/The_Tree_of_Harmony_sparkling_S4E26.png/revision/latest?cb=20140512182320
Very good story, nice work.
Yeah...I don't think they realize how close their species just came to extinction or at least a living Hell.
Their attack almost destroyed the ship. Almost.
It's rather unlikely that Discord would have perished.
What do you think the result of all of his friends and the last remnants of Equestria in general dying would be if he had a damn good idea of who the perpetrators were?
7908434 Huh, I always figured they were just some kinds of demons and demons are usually...varied, but having the two types does make it easier.
Also... no Diamond Dogs? Yaks? Or are they just no out yet?
*facepaws* Ooooooh boy let's run down the list. We have Discord who at a thought can turn the waters around the new city into anything he wants.........and the air as well. Tia who can just take control of the systems sun and could just flash broil entire land masses. Luna who could well a army that can't sleep and suffer crippling night terrors are doomed to fail. You know they really have no idea how bad a idea trying to fight.......anyone want popcorn and soda? This is going to go to shit soon and I want snacks on hand.
Even ignoring the obvious problem of magic, the Illuminati are forgetting a very important rule: if you're limited to a single planet, you do not make the spacefaring civilization angry.
Can the aliens sense things the same as ponies? Because I'm wondering why Lem could see the object float but not seem to see the aura around it and Starlight's horn.
7909980
They didn't mention zebras either - they're making the assumption that all "horse" (4 hooves) races are similar. Though I do admit, I did forget the Diamond Dogs. Just going to say there aren't any Diamond Dogs out yet.
-GM, master of 1001001.
7911021
He could see it - just a glowing horn isn't as odd as a floating object.
Bioluminescence is a thing.
-GM, master of fills.
7910442
Thanks! Will fix.
-GM, master of PK.
7908474
Quite, cause I'm pretty sure Discord can re-write the laws of physics.
Why are secret societies so silly about things like this in fiction. Why not just rub some shoulders, do some favours and see if there is kindred spirits with the new people!
I mean what is better than global conspiracy? Galactic Conspiracy!
Oh yay, a bunch of shadow government types who willfully control everything.......
This will end well.
Oh, awesome. They land on a planet inhabited by a bunch of Technicolor assholes
Finally some confirmation! Not human.
Well they probably can, but you are right that they probably don't want to.
Came across this story that I apparently read and don't remember anymore, but now I do remember this part. The people shooting down Equestria's ship to me is the weakest part of this story, lets say getting conquered was the first thing on everyone minds, why would they think that was the only ship and that they would do any damage whatsoever to it?
Just imagine if it were a ship from a union of planets here to reach out toward a budding civilization full of diplomats that gets shot down, that planet would have gotten glassed and had only themselves to blame. This shadow organization has the collective IQ of peanuts.