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Crystal Guardian
Arc 3: Perversion of the Light
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Chapter 21: Perspective
Casara called it "Stubbornness", but Naole preferred to call it "An insurmountable will power", and after almost three years of near absolute solitude Naole was still refusing to submit to the will of the Council of Elders. The only human contact permitted to Naole was on the occasion of his University Examinations, and that was because Casara had convinced the Council of Elders to allow Naole to continue his correspondence studies with the University of South Africa & the new Crystal Valley University.
In the three years he was incarcerated Naole had completed his second Bsc, completed his BscHon in Applied Mathematics and his BscHon in Computer Science simultaneously, and was now working simultaneously on a Masters Degree in Applied Mathematics and a Masters Degree in Computer Science. Naole's brilliant mind allowed him to focus despite his situation, and because of the massive knowledge contained in his Computer Naole was gaining the kind of knowledge that would rival that of even those on the Crystalorb Research Division.
The abilities of his Deep Blue Chest Crystal were growing with every passing day, and he was developing the ability to interface with the computer wirelessly. Naole's defiance of the Council of Elders and Crystalorb Leadership was ushering in a new era of challenge to the authority of the Crystalorb Leadership. Many of the Crystalans without Chest Crystals were beginning to see those with Chest Crystals as having too much power.
Many felt that those with Chest Crystals were treated better than those without Chest Crystals, and there were consistent questions on why all the Sector Guardians were those with Chest Crystals. Crystalorb had changed, and those with Chest Crystals made up just 17% of the Crystalorb population, but the Crystalorb Leadership still reflected a situation before thousands of former Hodians 〘HOD members〙 came to Crystalorb.
Life in Crystalorb continued, and Enala gave birth to a daughter who she named Canala, and even though it was a great shame for the family they welcomed the child, but it may have been that Canala's Red Chest Crystal brought the prospect of great hope for more Red Guardians. Casara also moved on, and after her 20th birthday she married Kato, and a few months later gave birth to a daughter who she named Nasara. Casara was promoted to second in command of the Expeditionary Recognisance, although she still held the rank of Vanglead, but she was hopeful.
The Intrepid laid an egg, and the egg was being fed Spirit Stone energy to finalize its development, and upon hatching the baby Ship would be called Leba 〘meaning Dove in Setlokwa〙. Because of Casara's special abilities the Expeditionary Guardian recommended Casara to take command of the Leba under the command of the Expeditionary Recognisance Commander Nasan who was also the Captain of the Intrepid.
The Council of Elders was eager to resolve the situation with Naole, so they turned to Casara to come up with compromise terms that could be acceptable to both Naole and the Crystalorb Leadership. Casara knew her brother would never apologize, and she would not ask him to abandon his principles, but she also knew that Naole would grow tired of his captivity. As Crystalans got older, they become stronger, and for someone like Naole every day increased his power to new levels, and such power creates arrogance.
Casara feared that Naole would over time achieve the kind of power that might allow him to find methods to escape from his imprisonment with deadly consequences for him and those who tried to stand in his way; however powerful Naole might become he was no match for an Armoured Vanglead, and less so for an Armoured Guardian.
As Casara came before the Council of Elders she prepared herself to once again make the case for her brother's justice.
Gaurdius : " Casara; We are ready to hear your suggestion"
Casara : " My mother once told me that Naole is a powerful and gentle force, but I fear that events have conspired to change him into a destructive force. I fear a time will come when even I would not be able to contain his rage, and his incarceration only serves to fuel his rage."
Isis : " Then how do you propose we act?"
Casara : " You have to release him"
Jalen : " That's just not possible! We won’t allow him to defy our authority"
Tshego: " Naole holds the keys to his freedom, and he knows what he has to do in order to regain his freedom"
Cyris : " And what if he decides to seek his freedom by force"
Lerata : " He won’t succeed"
Isis : " All I know for certain is that he has become the centre of the rallying call for change."
Hamun : " And those who use his imprisonment for political gain are growing stronger."
Casara : " By keeping him locked up you are fuelling his anger, you need to take away the fuel to extinguish the flame."
Lumen : " But how do we do that without it being perceived as a victory for Naole and those who would seek to use him to weaken the authority of this Council?"
Casara : " I share my brother's disappointment with the Council of Elders, and I also have very little confidence in the Crystalorb Leadership, so I'm guided only by the principles contained in the Crystalorb Charter and Vows of Honour. By acknowledging that the Crystalorb Leadership will never control both Naole and I, the Crystalorb Leadership will have to put their faith in the Crystalorb Charter and the Vows of Honour. The Crystalorb Leadership will have to trust in our Honour."
Gaurdius : " But how would we get Naole to submit to our laws?"
Casara : " The short answer is that you can't; Nothing you do will force Naole to do anything he does not want to do!"
Isis : " Are you suggesting that we expel Naole from Crystalorb?"
Casara : " I'm talking about giving him a Choice! Either he submits to the Laws or he leaves until such time that he is ready to submit to the Law."
Cyris : " That seems a little Harsh!"
Casara : " He is my brother, and I love him. I am perhaps the only person left in the world that truly loves him, and I've come to understand that in his grief he has allowed his rage to cloud his judgement. Naole needs to spend time in the world, and he needs to see for himself that the Council of Elders is just as flawed as other world authorities. Once he comes to understand that the Council of Elders is not that different from other forms of governance, he'll be ready; when that happens he will be ready to come to terms with what happened to our parents."
Lumen : " Now there is new impetus for Naole to be freed, many Crystalans are beginning to question the judgment of the Council of Elders. There's even talk of a legislative body to rein in the powers of the Council of Elders."
Lerata : " Many think that the time has come for lawmaking to shift to a more representative body"
Jalen : " This whole business with Naole has eroded our people’s confidence in the Council of Elders."
Isis : " Yes it has! And Crystalorb will never be the same again! The creation of the legislative body is inevitable, an unavoidable reality, and Naole was the catalyst."
Cyris : " And what about his daughter?"
Casara : " Naole is in no condition to be a father to Canala, and while we hope that when he finds out that he has a child he might calm down the contrary is also possible. Naole might decide that he won't suffer his child to be oppressed by what he still feels are destructive influences of the Crystalorb Leadership. Kato and I will help to raise and guide this child to the best of our abilities, and when Naole is ready he will take his natural place in her life. But for now Canala will be like an older sister to my daughter Nasara."
Gaurdius : " What will Enala and Cyris tell the child of her father?"
Casara : " The Truth! We will just have to hope that in time she will come to understand that we made the only correct decision we could take under the circumstances."
Isis : " We accept your recommendations, and we will implement them forthwith. I sincerely hope that Naole can find his way back to Crystalorb. We hope that he can find some peace."
Cyris : " Indeed we hope that he can find peace"
Casara : " So do I my Lord; So do I."
Lumen : " Thank you Casara!"
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As Casara left the Council Chambers she was hopeful that Naole would soon leave his solitude; the forced solace and once again rejoin the world. As preparations for Naole's release got underway rumours began to spread that Naole was about to be released, and amongst the despondent Naole had become a symbol of resistance against the Crystalorb social elite, but there were some who were more apprehensive about Naole's release.
Many who had seen Naole's power during his fight with Amun wondered if Naole could be controlled, and there was concern that Naole might turn his rage on the general populous. On the day of Naole's release a large crowd gathered to see the infamous Naole. By then Naole had become the only Crystalan to defy the authority of the Crystalorb Leadership, and he was very popular amongst those who believed that the Council of Elders had become unresponsive to the aspirations of Crystalorb's citizens.
To everyone's surprise Naole Had grown a little, and was now 1.8 meters tall, his body had become much more muscular, his hair was in dreadlocks, but he was still without a prosthetic leg though. Naole was quickly rushed to the Council Chambers where the Council of Elders was waiting for him. Naole was told of the compromise plan proposed by Casara, and after hearing all the terms and conditions Naole paused to consider his next move.
Gaurdius : " Well? What is your answer?"
Naole : " I don't know!"
Isis : " Naole; The Council of Elders has acknowledged that there were mistakes, and we now work to implement reforms that will hopefully prevent such errors in the future."
Naole : " Mistakes? Their actions were malevolent!"
Casara : " Naole please! Father and Mother would not have wanted this for you! Search your feelings; You know I'm right!"
Naole : " Ok! I will do as you ask Casara. But there is a price to pay; I may not be here to help you when the Chaos returns."
Isis : " Chaos?..."
Cyris : " You understand the terms?"
Naole : " Yes!" after a brief pause "I have just one condition; I would need to take my reserve energy sphere with me, without it I would be vulnerable to HOD and rogue Hybrid attacks."
Lumen : " You can take it with you; we won’t leave you unprotected, and for that reason you will be based at our Ship Building facilities on the western coast."
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Moments later Naole took the Vows of Honour, and this process was witnessed by a large crowd. Naole retrieved his reserve energy sphere and as he was leaving the gates of Crystalorb he saw that Enala was waiting to talk to him.
Naole : " What could you possibly want from me?"
Enala : " I can't help feeling responsible for what's happened to you"
Naole : " Believe me when I tell you that what has happened was the consequence of my decision to make a stand against the self indulgent whims of the Crystalorb Leadership."
Enala : " Nevertheless I bear some responsibility"
Naole : " The responsibility you bear is for the decisions you took; The choice to deceive, to betray, to mislead and to harm!"
Enala : " Mislead?"
Naole : " You had me convinced! But...!"
Enala : " But?"
Naole : " Even now; you would have me believe that you care? The bigger the lie and all that?"
Enala : " What are you saying?"
Naole : " I don't believe this!" shaking his head "Haven't you done enough? What else could you possibly take from me? Is my humiliation not enough for you?"
Enala : " I never meant to Hurt you. I ..."
Naole : " Stop!" Naole interrupts Enala "No more! Please; No more!"
Enala : " Don't let this change your Beautiful Heart." Now with tears running down her face "Remember who you are!"
Naole : " Like you care?"
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Enala : " I just...!"
Naole : " Enough!" Naole once again interrupts Enala "I know who I am!"
Enala : " Do you?"
Naole : " I'm a fool; for ever Loving you!"
Enala : " Naole; I'm the fool." she takes deep breaths "I do love you; I will always love you."
Naole : " Do you ever stop lying?"
Enala : " I have always loved you; Naole! That has always been true!"
Naole : " Love is more than what one feels; It's what one does!"
Naole then activates his Chest Crystal and produces Repulsive Electromagnetic Radiation energy that then allows him to hover, and then Naole briefly looks Enala in the eyes and then rapidly accelerates into the sky vanishing into the darkness of the night. Enala stood there and watched Naole disappear into the sky, and a moment later Casara joined her to hear how things went between Enala and Naole.
Casara : " How did it go?"
Enala : " He's still so angry"
Casara : " Yes"
Enala : " Such pain in his eyes; I will never forgive myself if he never recovers."
Casara : " I talked to him earlier"
Enala : " Yes?"
Casara : " He asked me to never mention you or anything that has to do with you to him ever again”
Enala : " He's not ready to be a father to our daughter"
Casara : " Hopefully with time...!"
Enala : " Hopefully"
Casara : " He's not likely to ever forgive you"
Enala : " I know."
The two then went back into Crystalorb. Naole was on his way to the ship building facility where he would be based for the foreseeable future. The Council of Elders was relieved to have resolved the situation, but momentum for legislative reforms was already advanced, and the process to change the way Crystalorb was governed would have to run its course. In the coming months the authority of the Council of Elders and that of the Guardian Council would be curtailed by a newly created legislative arm called the General Council.
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The Crystalorb General Council would consist of Councilmen and Councilwomen who would serve a fixed elected 9 year term. The Councillors would not be allowed to run for consecutive terms of office, and to guarantee this there was a 9 year cooling off period between terms of office. Casara kept Naole informed of the developments in Crystalorb Via Holographic Communications, and during the times when her ship the Leba was in port Casara would travel to see her brother at the ship building facility.
Naole had adapted well to his new environment, and he was working on his PhD in Applied Mathematics while also assisting in the construction of the new warships for the South African Navy. Since Naole was not allowed to take any Crystalorb technology when he left he used his own Brain tissue combined with Crystal fragments from his reserve energy sphere to construct his own Bio-Organic Crystal based computer. Naole then used his knowledge of Crystalorb technology to duplicate many of the Crystalorb technology he was familiar with.
Because of Naole's heritage the Council of Elders took a resolution to protect Naole at all times. The Council of Elders felt that being the son of two Red Guardians would make Naole a target for many Hodians who suffered a loss as a direct result of Esara and Nalen. So as part of Naole's release conditions he received 24 hour protection from the Mobile Assets Defence Division.
When the first two warship prototypes were finished with their testing faze they entered service on 20 April 2013, and the South African Government ordered 20 more ships to meet its maritime security needs at a projected cost of R6 Billion each. It was in that same year that 20 year old Naole Olen met 24 year old Tuo Lesedi of the Mobile Assets Defence Division. Tuo Lesedi; Born without a Chest Crystal, and with a keen interest in science. Lord Cyris requested that his niece Tuo be reassigned from the Mobile Assets Defence to Naole's protection detail, and because Tuo was a marine biologist by profession she immediately formed a scientific connection with Naole.
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With the death of their Viceroy the HOD was going through an Era of change, and the remaining members of the High Council of the HOD would have to conduct the search for the new Viceroy. HOD tradition demanded that the Viceroy be chosen by tournament, and anyone who participated had the possibility of becoming the new Viceroy. The process was difficult and took a long time to complete, and no weapons were permitted during the contest.
HOD tradition indicated that the most capable warrior who emerged victorious without the aid of any weapon would be the new Viceroy. When Lord Tsela ascended to Viceroy of the Hand of Destiny the tournament lasted 7 months, and Once the Viceroy is determined he or she is in the position until death. Historically the strongest members of the HOD tended to come from the Hodian social elite.
The HOD social elite are in many ways similar to Crystalan social elite, and that meant that they were some of the most direct descendents to Ralefa and Lesedi respectively. Since the HOD had many breeding programs over the previous Hundred years the main component of the HOD social elite came from descendents of Ralefa's grandchildren. When Ralefa's grandchildren intermarried they produced a DNA strain that was very similar to that of Ralefa himself, and that gave them a clear physical advantage over the others.
The HOD social elite were stronger and faster than the other Hodians; they are stronger, faster and have more responsive regenerative capabilities. Like the Crystalans the HOD had a trust known as the Ralefa Trust that owned a company called the Ralefa Holdings. The HOD made great efforts to keep their individual identity hidden, but Ralefa Holdings was their primary investment vehicle, and Ralefa Holdings continued to have interests in every commercial and industrial sector.
Many of the members of the Ralefa Trust used dividends from the Ralefa Holdings to establish their own personal companies, and for obvious reasons many chose the agricultural livestock so they could have an endless supply of life-force energy to improve the power of their Manacle of Destiny. The more energy the Manacle of Destiny absorbed the greater the power output, and this was how the Manacle of Destiny allowed the transformation to Grandlord.
The Manacle of Destiny was increasing it’s power capacity as more life-force energy was fed into it, and because the Manacles could be passed on from one generation to another, the older the Manacle of Destiny the greater the power output.
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Once ArmsCorp officially handed over the two warships to the South African Navy it immediately started construction of the rest of the fleet, and using advanced Crystalorb technology ArmsCorp designed and constructed advanced robotic manufacturing facilities that produced the main systems of the warships and the planes, but the hull and assembly work was done by Crystal Valley Industries at their ship building facility.
Crystal Valley Industries was using advanced Crystalorb technology that included welding robots and other metal bonding techniques to produce 2 warships every 4 months, but integrating the rest of the systems from ArmsCorp took a further 10 months. Since the warships were operational when they left the Crystal Valley Industries construction facilities after 4 months they could be moved out of the build Dock and fitted with ArmsCorp systems at a port that was being expanded for these purposes.
With a general election on the horizon the governing party wanted to show the nation that the decision to purchase these weapons was not a mistake, and they wanted to show the general public that their ArmsCorp partner Crystal Valley Industries was not a profit driven capitalist entity but an investment driver and an important social investor in the South African community. And so the government arranged a meeting with the Crystalorb Leadership to discuss future projects that could promote job creation.
Once again Lord Cyris travelled to Pretoria to meet with the President of the Republic of South Africa at his official residence. They arranged the meeting to talk about some of the concerns of the African National Movement 〘ANM〙.
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Lord Cyris awaits the arrival of the President, and stands up as the President enters the room.
President Mbuto : " Thank you for coming Lord Cyris; It's good to see you again"
Cyris : " It's good to see you Mr President"
President Mbuto : " I hear that Lord Gaurdius is unwell; We wish him a speedy recovery"
Cyris : " Thank you Mr President"
President Mbuto : " I assume you read our brief?"
Cyris : " Yes Mr President"
President Mbuto : " Then you understand our concerns"
Cyris : " Mr President I have to admit that many on the Crystalorb Leadership don't quite understand why this is of such concern to the African National Movement."
President Mbuto : " Crystalorb is a strategic partner and ally of the ANM, and our concern centres around the levels of the profits of your Crystal Valley Industries."
Cyris : " But Mr President more profits means more taxes for the Government."
President Mbuto : " Not that we don't like receiving the increasing revenue, but in the last financial year you paid R54.7 Billion in taxes, and the government received a further a R8 Billion as dividends from our 10% holding of Crystal Valley Industries."
Cyris : " Mr President now that our expansion projects are 40% complete our production has tripled"
President Mbuto : " You are doing something completely unusual. While others refine crude oil you have found a way to refine sea water, and you are doing it more efficiently than anyone else."
Cyris : " We thought you wanted us to earn more foreign currency to equalize the current account deficit?"
President Mbuto : " We do; We do. But your rapid success has brought with it new challenges, and the tax revenue is creating all sorts of expectations from our people."
Cyris : " Expectations?"
President Mbuto : " From the tax we collect from your employees and corporate tax we have seen our budget increase by R88 Billion per year in the past 2 years and it is now expected to increase by another R110 Billion this year."
Cyris : " Mr President; we still don't see the problem?"
President Mbuto : " Jobless growth! Your success is generating growth in the economy, and we welcome that growth, but the growth has come at great cost for the poorest segment of the population. Your manufacturing is automated and does not create many jobs, and all your other businesses don't create many jobs because of your advanced technology, but the biggest problem has been the Crystal Valley Investment Bank."
Cyris : " Why?"
President Mbuto : " The Crystal Valley Investment Bank is holding some of the largest cash reserves in the country, and before long it will begin to rival even the largest banks in the world, but because Crystal Valley Investment Bank is an Investment Bank it tends to be primarily focused on Stock markets and therefore does not support many entrepreneurial projects. Most of the Crystal Valley Industries profits end up at the bank and that is what concerns us. From the tax that you pay it's easy for anyone to see that you are making enormous profits, and our movement my be perceived as pro-capitalist if we continue to have such close relations with Crystal Valley Industries."
Cyris : " Are you saying you want us to produce less?"
President Mbuto : " Not at all; We just want you to generate less profits, and that means that we want the Crystal Valley Industries to invest more"
Cyris : " Mr President; why is it that every time we meet you have something else that you want us to invest in?"
President Mbuto : " I'm a politician Lord Cyris"
Cyris : " You are indeed Mr President"
There is some laughter.
President Mbuto : " We want you to invest in underwater sea bed mining operations."
Cyris : " What?"
President Mbuto : " The way we see things; there are large mineral resources that lie outside the Economic Exclusion Zones of any nation, and many of these resources are beyond the technical capabilities of standard mining companies. We think that you might be up to the task of reaching these resources, and we also know that you need to excess large amounts of minerals for your Crystal manufacturing processes."
Cyris : " But why would you want us to produce minerals that would result in no royalty for the South African Government?"
President Mbuto : " We hope to benefit from the jobs resulting from the processing and trade of these minerals"
Cyris : " The investment cost would be enormous, and the operating cost would be equivalently high"
President Mbuto : " Are you saying that this would be beyond your capabilities?"
Cyris : " Not at all."
President Mbuto : " Let me explain why we want you to do this! There is another reason why we want you to get involved in the mining sector."
Cyris : " What reason?"
President Mbuto : " Having seen the collapse of the Zimbabwean Economy in the past, we have come to understand that the collapse of any economy is directly linked with the economy's ability to generate foreign currency. We want to protect our economy from possible sabotage by hostile foreign powers, and we've come to understand that by just efficiently duplicating our currency our foes could permanently damage our economy. At our Party executive council we resolved to put in a protection against such problems."
Cyris : " How?"
President Mbuto : " We plan to introduce a parallel currency that would be impossible to duplicate."
Cyris : " The minerals!"
President Mbuto : " Yes!" after brief pause "We are introducing coins made from industrial minerals as legal tender. The value of the coins would be the value of the mineral plus the cost of producing the coin. This will guarantee that the value of the coins can only be changed by the value of the industrial mineral, and this will help us protect our economy from those who would wish to do us harm."
Cyris : " When are you planning to rollout this plan?"
President Mbuto : " In 7 days the South African Reserve Bank will make an announcement about this. The bank will transform all the gold, silver, bronze, chrome reserves into the coins of 2 centimetre diameter and 1.5 millimetre thickness. We want our public to get used to using the coins alongside the Rand. People will decide what their bank will hold their deposits in, and if the value of the rand changes in relation to that particular mineral they will either gain or loose depending on the change."
Cyris : " I have to say Mr President, this is truly inspired, and the Crystalorb Leadership will be happy to support this plan"
President Mbuto : " What is your international debt position?"
Cyris : " We still have R189 Billion in debt, but because of increased production we are ahead of the curve with all our creditors, and they would be happy to lend the R300 Billion or so we would need to develop the sea bed mining technology that would reach the industrial minerals required. We did explore the sea mining possibilities some years back and that's how I’m able to generate the R300 Billion figure. Our main concept revolved around the use of large submarines that could operate in any sea weather."
President Mbuto : " Submarines?"
Cyris : " Yes Mr President! We built a small working prototype several years back, but because the technology was Crystal based we encountered problems adapting common industrial materials. However since the partnership with ArmsCorp we have developed some new fabrication techniques that would work."
President Mbuto : " Understand we need this to be purely your operation"
Cyris : " I understand"
President Mbuto : " I have to inform you that in the near future we will have to consider selling our 10% stake in Crystal Valley Industries."
Cyris : " Some in Crystalorb will be happy to hear that you would sell that back to us"
President Mbuto : " The reason for this is that when you begin mining in international waters the South African Government cannot be directly associated with you without causing an international incident"
Cyris : " You could in the meantime transfer the 10% ownership to ArmsCorp"
President Mbuto : " Yes, but that would only be a temporary measure"
Cyris : " The value of that equity has doubled since you acquired it and because of our expenditure in the operation we won’t have the resources to buy the shares in the next 5 years"
President Mbuto : " My people tell me that the 10% is worth more than R180 Billion, but because Crystal Valley Industries is not listed it's difficult to get an accurate figure"
Cyris : " In time we would be in a position to meet that price Mr President"
President Mbuto : " I'm sure you will. Well; Thank you for coming Lord Cyris, and once again our talks have been fruitful."
Cyris : " Good night Mr President"
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When Cyris arrived back at Crystalorb he gave a full briefing to the Crystalorb Leadership, and the South African Government plan was welcomed. The plan brought the hope of much needed jobs for the country and Crystal Valley City. The Crystalorb Leadership knew that the submarines and mining operations would have to be staffed by the Crystalans and Hybrids because of their special abilities, and the minerals processing facilities would provide Hundreds of thousands of jobs to the larger South African public.
The Council of Elders recognized that the security of Crystalorb was linked with the prosperity of the people of the Republic of South Africa. If the people of the country received better services, better education and lived more productive lives they are less likely to perceive the Crystalans as a possible threat but an asset. While the Crystalorb Leadership along with the newly formed General Council designed plans to meet the new objectives laid out by the South African Government Naole was making plans of his own.
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