The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1922, the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-quarter of the world's population at the time, and covered more than 33,700,000 km2 (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous territories.
– Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Jem raced up the steps of the Simulation Center, into the empty classroom, and then through the double door that led into the laboratory. She was breathing hard by the time she reached their planet. “What happened, SimOne?” she demanded of the android, who was standing by the planet.
“A volcanic eruption.”
An icy fist closed around Jem’s heart. “Damn it. Where?”
“6.102°S 105.423°E” A topographical map flashed over the astral screen.
“The entire island’s gone,” Jem whispered, a stricken sound. “Zoom in.”
Huge plumes of steam and ash hung over the area. Bodies floated on rafts of volcanic pumice.
“What’s the death toll?” Jem asked.
“In excess of forty thousand, and expected to rise over the next few days.”
“What other effects?”
“Minimal. The explosion took place at some distance from major cities, or the toll would have been much higher.”
“Were you expecting it, SimOne, or could it be sabotage?” Jem asked.
“The geological area is fundamentally unstable. It would not take much more than a sneeze to trigger a volcanic eruption.”
Jem looked sharply at SimOne. Had the android actually made a joke?
“Are you concerned about sabotage?” the android asked.
“I want you to keep a close eye on the planet. Nothing, and I mean nothing gets through the atmosphere, not even a wayward asteroid. Kir’s making trouble out there, and I don’t want our planet caught in the backwash.”
“Understood.”
“How’s the Empire doing?” Jem asked. There was only one empire worth speaking of, and they both knew it. The Empire spanned the breadth of the globe, occupying a quarter of the total land area, encompassing a quarter of the world’s population. “It reminds me of the Shixar,” Jem said, almost to herself. “Large to the point of monstrosity.”
“The Empire’s influence continues to grow. Unchecked, it has the potential to occupy up to a third or half of the world’s land mass. Should we check it?” SimOne asked.
That was the real question, wasn’t it? Jem chewed on her lower lip. “No,” she said finally. “They’re not doing too badly, and while not exactly benevolent, they’re not stupidly cruel either.”
“They are business people,” SimOne observed.
“Right, and sometimes, business people are the best administrators,” Jem conceded. “War is bad for business, so they manage away from that possibility.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say that,” Kir said, walking up to join them.
“I wouldn’t have if I’d known you were around,” Jem said blandly. “How are things going?”
“Well enough. There’s enough momentum to keep things going without me standing around, just watching it. I thought I’d come back here and bug the both of you.”
“Always a pleasure to have you,” Jem said and meant it.
“What do we have here?” Kir asked.
“An empire, the biggest we’ve seen yet.”
Kir nodded. “Nice. What keeps it going, besides unfettered ambition?”
“Superior technology, including weapons. Superbly executed territorial management processes, and a kick-ass military, including an absolutely superb navy,” Jem said.
“Apt for an island nation.”
“Considering how tiny it is, it’s hugely impressive.”
“There are lots of other countries around it, though,” Kir observed.
“It’s a carryover from their era of exploration. The nations decided they didn’t want to fight with each other directly, so they fight with each other indirectly through their overseas dominions.”
Kir laughed. “That almost made sense.”
Jem snorted. “Logic’s not in high demand here. Either that, or they’re more skilled in diplomacy than I’m giving them credit for.”
“Probably the latter. They’ve amazed us before. They’ll probably do it again. Can we speed up time? I really want to see if they can get up into space,” Kir said.
“I guess so. SimOne?” Jem turned to the android.
“Accelerating star revolutions in real time.”
“It always freaks me out how she blows right past the space-time laws,” Kir said.
“It is just a simulation,” SimOne said. “Here, the laws are carefully worded suggestions.”
“I’m so proud. She’s learning from us,” Kir said with a grin.
“And that’s really scary,” Jem added wryly. She glanced up at the astral screen. Her dark eyes widened with alarm. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! What just happened?”
“What?” Kir jerked his gaze to the screen.
“Slow down, SimOne,” Jem ordered.
“Decelerating.”
“What the hell happened? Did fighting just break out all over the planet?” Jem asked.
“Yes,” SimOne said.
“But how? Why?”
“Empires got involved.” Kir stood next to Jem, peering over her shoulder as she scanned the information flowing into her astral workstation. “It’s no longer a fight between countries. A fight between empires involves every single damned inch of land they own elsewhere. Considering the far-flung reaches of all the empires on our planet, we had no chance of avoiding a world war.”
“What started it?” Jem asked.
“There were many factors, culminating in the assassination of a national leader,” SimOne said.
“They’re fighting because someone died?” Jem asked incredulously.
“That’s just an excuse,” Kir said. “They were probably spoiling for a fight before that. The Krey and Skrun went to war with the Shixar over far less.”
“This is the reason we can’t speed up the simulation. You can’t trust these suckers to behave for an instant.” Jem seethed. “Damn it.”
“Look, they’re going to need to start solving their own problems.” Kir shrugged
His nonchalance ground against her nerves. Jem threw her hand out at the planet. “Well, they’re making great progress, then. They’ve started making their own problems. We need to stop it.”
“We need to let it play out,” Kir said.
“That’s your answer for everything.”
“And interfering is your answer for everything.”
“At least I’m trying to do something,” Jem shot back. “You’re doing nothing.”
“Not true. I interfered plenty with the galactic empires.”
Jem’s brow furrowed. “And you’re drawing the line at your own planet?”
Kir shook his head. “They need to grow up, Jem. We’ve interfered plenty. Let’s give them a chance to work it out.”
“Or drive themselves into annihilation?”
“What are you going to do?” Kir challenged. “Toss water over them as if they’re kids in a schoolyard fight?”
She paused. “Now that’s an idea.”
“Really?” Kir smirked. “You’d drown them again?”
Jem scowled down at the planet. “Idiots.”
“Is this what world management is coming down to?” Professor Ptera’s familiar voice said from behind them. Jem and Kir spun around to see the professor emerge out of the darkness. “Are we reduced to calling the native life forms nasty names?” the professor asked, apparently amused.
“Only if they deserve it,” Jem muttered.
“What did they do this time?”
“Started a war and dragged the world into it.”
“It’s the nature of empires,” the professor said reasonably. “They never do anything on a small scale.” He looked at the android. “SimOne, a privacy shield please.”
“Executing.”
Jem cast Kir a panicked glance. Damn, they were in trouble.
Kir, however, looked calm. “Is something wrong, Professor?” he asked with polite curiosity.
The professor turned to them. Was that a smile playing on his lips? “I wanted to commend you on your innovative approach to world management.”
Jem stuttered. “Uh, so it wasn’t outside the rules?”
“No, of course not. There’s more to world management than just managing the world. Managing the environment in which the world exists, which is what you’ve done, is equally critical.”
“Thanks.” Kir grinned.
“Of course, it means dealing with the consequences of starting a galactic war among the three galactic empires. We’ll have to see how it plays out.”
Jem chewed on the inside of her cheek. The professor’s casual statement sounded like a warning.
“Proximity alert,” SimOne said. “Jor Eldo and Lara Hur from planet 475-563-3857-3858-486254, renamed Kryptos.”
“I’ll get going.” The professor dismissed the privacy shield with a wave of his hand. “Once again, nice job, team.”
Kir grinned at Jem.
She relaxed, but tensed again the moment she saw Lara. The young woman’s face was tear-streaked. Jor seemed similarly stricken. “If your little scheme wiped out another planet, we’re getting out of the business of galactic diplomacy,” Jem warned Kir under her breath.
Kir hesitated and then nodded in agreement. “I’m Kir.” He extended his hand as Jor and Lara closed the distance. “This is Jem, and this is SimOne. What brings you here?”
“We…our planet’s gone,” Jor said quietly.
“Gone?” Jem’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
“Several star revolutions ago, war broke out on our planet, and as a result, nuclear energy infused steadily into the planet’s core. We tried to stop it, but it couldn’t be undone. Our planet became unstable and imploded.”
“I’m so sorry,” Jem said softly.
“We have a survivor. Just one. And we…” Jor looked at Lara.
“We were wondering if you could take him, please,” Lara completed his sentence in a breathless rush. “He has nowhere else to go. We looked at all the other teams and the other planets. Your planet is the one we want for him. Your planet is what our planet was before technological advancement became the key to our downfall.”
“Wait, you want to send him here?” Jem asked.
“He’s just a baby,” Lara said.
“The last alien baby who came here was a plant by the Atlante to drag us into war with the Shixar.”
Lara shook her head. “There is no home planet for you to worry about anymore. We’re out of the game. Our planet is gone. We just want a home for him.”
Jem looked at SimOne. “Can you download the baby’s genetic data?”
“Downloading. Analysis complete. The infant’s genetic data suggests that crossbreeding is a possibility. Effects are uncertain due to lack of evidence. The infant is phenotypically identical to our humanoid infants.”
“He’ll just blend in,” Lara promised. “He’ll be no trouble at all.”
Jem sighed and looked at Kir. Kir shrugged.
The decision was hers. She opened her mouth to say “no” but saw the unvoiced plea on Lara’s face. “All right, we’ll give him a home.”
A weak smile crept over Jor’s face. “Thank you. You won’t regret it, we promise.”
“SimOne, is our little global inconvenience over?” Jem asked.
“Global inconvenience?” Lara echoed.
“A war,” SimOne said. “It has just ended.”
“We’ll put the baby in a place unaffected by the war,” Jem promised.
“We have the infant in an interstellar propulsion prototype. We’ll arrange for it to come here at whatever coordinates you decide,” Lara said.
Kir nodded. “We’ll take good care of him. SimOne, can you make sure this conversation goes into the records?” He looked down at the planet. A large continent in the northern hemisphere was unscathed by the war, protected by vast oceans on both coasts. “We’ll put him right down there.”
“Conveying coordinates to the central command system,” SimOne said.
Jem watched Lara and Jor leave. “I hope it won’t come back around to bite us in the ass.”
Kir shrugged. “He’s just a baby, and an orphan to boot. He’ll blend in completely and grow up to be just like everyone else. It’ll be no problem at all.”