DIPLOMATIC EFFECTS / CH. 17:REACTIONS
OUTSIDE THE COUNCIL ASSEMBLY HALL, DOME 2, MARS.
The small crowd had a variety of hastily made placards. Svetlana surveyed the signs as she looked out of the doorway. Lots of them had '55%' on them, referring to number of deaths that had been ascribed to Russia. 'Down with Russia!', 'Tsar = Murderer', 'Sorry Restoration, we should have aimed at Moscow', 'Never forget Russian death plan', 'No welcome for murderess!', 'Send her to Olympus with her fiend Koscheff!', 'Vengeance is God's work, but God works through his people!'
“Someone can't spell, I see,” Svetlana said, in grim humour.
“They didn't hear your speech, highness,” Ruth said.
“I know. Thank you, Ruth, for your support. That one on the right is the most disturbing, I think.”
“I recognise that man,” Ruth said, “He was the flight controller when you landed. He blames Russia for his father's death.”
“Lots of people have similar pain, I'm sure. I did think of sending my message from Space, before I landed.”
“I think it was a lot more effective in person, highness.”
“That was my hope. I just hope people like that listen. Fifty five percent is the fraction of breather failures they're ascribing to us?”
“Yes. India and China are officially not saying anything, but they're whispering that number.”
“Lies and distortion, repeated enough, is viewed as unassailable truth,” Svetlana said sadly.
“You have true information?”
“It won't be believed, but I have it. I'll speak to my father about releasing it.”
“Shall we go?”
“Please, but let's start with correcting that woman's spelling. Leonid, can you do the honours?”
“Of course highness, my marker pen is at the ready.”
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BLOG ENTRY, 4PM, MONSOL 11TH MARCH, 2278
Bodyguard corrects libel, leaves execution demand
After giving an impassioned speech in which she condemned the tripartite plan, and while acknowledging Russia's involvement in it firmly denied that most of the deaths were caused by Russian agents, princess Svetlana surprised everyone once more, and sent one of her bodyguards to talk politely to a woman waving a placard outside the council hall. The bodyguard then corrected the spelling on it, and changed 'her' to 'the'.
Probably the woman had wanted to write 'and her friend Koschev', but she'd spelt his name with a double f instead of the v, and also written 'fiend'. The bodyguard was very happy with that designation, so at the princess's request made it read 'and the fiend Koschev'.
Interviewed immediately afterwards the protester said that the bodyguard had explained princess objected very strongly to being named as any friend of Koschev (who she'd just declared an outlaw and legally dead), but her imperial highness guessed that calling for her execution wasn't libel. Though he did wonder in passing what capital crime the princess had committed, other than having the wrong great-grandfather. The protester also stated that, having listened to the recording of the princess's speech, she felt very ashamed for what she'd written on the sign, and entirely retracted the bit about the princess.
Another protester got challenged on the theology of his placard by the Mer ambassador, who also told him that the princess recognised that a lot of people had suffered from the tripartite plan.
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ARTICLE FOR SOLAR-SYSTEM WIDE PUBLICATION, BY ALICE F-B AND VLADIMIR VLADIMIROVICH, PUBLISHED 6PM, MONSOL 11TH MARCH, 2278.
Alice writes As reported elsewhere, Her imperial highness, Crown Princess Svetlana of Russia has stepped off her Peace Submarine and onto Mars. The Mer ambassador got about an hour's notice, the Council slightly less. My co-author Vladimir was a passenger on board the small submarine-spaceship, sharing a room with Leonid the body guard. If you've seen pictures, Leonid is the one with the moustache. And the arms that look like they could bend steel pipe in knots. You never guessed he was a bodyguard, did you? Leonid has a good sense of humour too, claims it's not fair and he was type-cast. According to his story, when he was sixteen he joined the queue to audition as a ballet dancer, but was told he'd queued up at the wrong door, and found himself enrolled in the Imperial Protection Service instead. Having seen him try to pirouette... he's in the right job.
What a day of revelations! A member of the one of the most closely guarded royal families — in both the private and bodyguard sense — invites open questions and puts herself at the disposal of the Mars council for more questioning. But she has her own questions, too. Who sent so many assassins, for instance? She doesn't deny they thought they were sent officially, but according to her Imperial Highness, the Russian authorities sent precisely one agent with the sabotage fluid. Then the general who'd re-started the sabotage was fired by the Tsar for breaking with a policy the Tsar had convinced his father to adopt. Someone else sent most of the others. The general had been sacked by then, and the Tsar's son who took over afterwards swears it wasn't him. According to Tsarevna Svetlana, lie-detector tests were done on everyone in that department, and there was no evidence one of them sent anyone extra either. No other department had the authority. Her guess? Someone accepted a bribe from a foreign power and sent some extras who'd watched too many spy films. Vladimir writes: You probably don't believe this. Maybe you are kind, and believe the Tsarevna has been duped. Also, you probably think there was only ever one sort of assassin on Mars, ones who can secretly spray (once-)invisible chemicals onto breathers. The Tsarevna corrected my co-author on this matter also, so you're in good company. But you actually already know differently; Vasile Vladimirovich Gorbachev, the reluctant almost-assassin of the Mer ambassador, for instance, was sent by Russia. He was sent because he was an expert in unusual and improvised weapons, just like the other officially sent assassins still on Mars; special forces operatives each one of them. There were some Secret Service people on the same transport as Mr Gorbachev, who we can guess might have had training in spraying nasty chemicals. But they left soon after the shareholder's meeting. They had no role on a Mars made free by the United Nations, since their role was internal affairs.
Alice writes Internal affairs? Another revelation! Under Russian law, 26% of non-independent Mars counted as Russian. Which 26%? No one knew, and therefore in effect the whole planet was considered to be under Russian law where local law enforcement processes were deemed ineffective. For centuries, the Russian Secret Service has operated a policy of internal and 'swift justice' for certain classes of crime inside Russia. For example, open discussion of official secrets. Which, shockingly, the missing clauses were classed as.
Vladimir writes That's right. The tripartite plan, which I've had the last few days to study, says that all parties will declare the clauses dealing with eventual independence for Mars as official secrets.
Outrageous! But true.
Her Imperial Highness Svetlana declared “The ability to classify previously public information as an official secret is a loophole that seriously needs closing, I think, but it's there,” Where is it? International law regarding assassinations. Or rather, it's not — In international law, there's an acceptance of international state-sponsored assassinations in cases of a threat to the safety of a royal or high official or of the dissemination of official-secrets, but there is no restriction of what can be declared an official secret. A head of state might declare their birthday an official secret, and thus be entitled to assassinate anyone who mentioned it or sent them a birthday card. Not that Mars counted as international, in Russian eyes.
Soon after addressing the Council, the princess expanded on her mother's intervention, and the effect it had. Twenty five years ago, she pointed out that secret laws make a mockery of justice, and the Martians had no knowledge that the missing clauses were official secrets. After pondering this, the then Tsar agreed, and the 'swift justice' sabotage of breathers by Russian agents was officially halted in the summer of 2253. After that, no deaths to breather failure should be directly attributed to Russian policy, though of course other parties to the tripartite agreement continued their involvement. I chose my words carefully. It was not policy, but at least one agent carried on: a Russian Secret Service agent was tried and executed for insubordination and murder in 2255 after continuing to collaborate with the assassination programs of other nations. Probably he was the only person tried on Earth in connection to the breather sabotage. Why was that murder, when the earlier ones were not? For exactly the same reason that a soldier cannot shoot without orders.
As soon as the Tsarina read of the re-started sabotage my co-author almost fell victim to, the general who authorised it was removed from power.
The Tsarevna has made records available substantiating all of these claims.
Alice writes
Maybe you think that the Tsarevna is deliberately providing false documentation? Or perhaps that she's been fed a clever string of lies? I made some enquiries using my other role, and the palace back home authorised a quick search of old confusing intercept records. I can report that the international listening branch of Security in the Restored Kingdom can confirm the recall of the person named in the court records, on a charge of failing to obey imperial orders ending the programme 'fresh air perfume'. They can also confirm that the programme was cancelled before the marriage of the present Tsar, as the Tsarevna asserted. They also inform me that there were a number of other messages linked to this — until now meaningless — code:
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1. Operational start in 2226, accompanied with reminders that 'no matter what others consider normal, the Tsar requires documentation and tracking of effectiveness.'
2. Regulations in 2231 banning 'ineffective' low-level use, and specifying a minimum concentration of perfume in gift-bottles. 'What's the point of a perfume when you only notice it when all the guests have left the party, and might have even picked up the wrong coat?'
3. Records stating that certain people had tested and whether they were or were not deemed candidates. These were nameless and referenced by a number.
4. A report in 2245 saying 'Although Frank Ghandi has been deemed not a candidate to receive the perfume, others want to reward him regardless'. Immediately a reply was given 'only eligible contestants get to compete. If possible, tell him he's not eligible and should not seek to take part.'
I asked Frank if that report recorded triggered any memories. It did: in 2245 an 'almost-gorgeous forty year old blond jit with a Russian accent' he remembers, asked him about the missing verses once. He thinks he said something dismissive about conspiracy theories not interesting him, and carried on trying to chat her up. He didn't succeed, but a few days later at the same bar and she walked up to him, greeted him with a kiss to the cheek and while he was thinking maybe he had made a conquest after all, she whispered, 'Coming here is a jit thing to do, Mr Ghandi, they know you by sight. Hide, hide well.” And he did.
What do I conclude? I conclude we've misjudged Russia and laid the blame unfairly. We might not like Russia's use of assassination, but they were being true to their laws. The Russian Secret Service of the 30s and 40s was not indiscriminate. They did not want a sabotaged breather to accidentally change hands. Nor did they have orders to assassinate every firster or seconder, only those who were heard to talk about the missing clauses. Registering was a jit thing to do, but it seems if you were on Russia's list, then not talking about the missing clauses might keep you alive when they did find you. At least until someone else did.
To the people who were waving placards saying 'murderess' to a nineteen year old girl who's just vowed she'd rather die than send assassins here this afternoon, I ask two questions. Do you plan on saying sorry? The Tsarevna hasn't killed anyone, and her parents worked to end the assassination program. My second question is what's the biggest risk you have ever taken? Was it, by any chance coming to Mars? To my mind, for the Tsarevna to come here at all was a massive risk. She knows, after all, how many deaths have been laid at Russia's door. For her to announce her arrival as she did, making her presence known to the public, was a bigger gamble. For her to request a truthsayer as she addressed the council, ask for reporters to be present, and then invite open questions... wow! And to top it all off, she opened the question of assassinations and has released the tripartite pact.
She expected crowds screaming hatred at her because of her great-grandfather's actions.
She expected her words to be treated with scorn. But she came, because she thought it was right. Russia is not like my home country, not like most people's home country. It is ruled by an absolute monarch. The Tsar does not often change laws, but he has the absolute right to. Or perhaps it is better to say his word is law. The Tsarevna described that as a trap: if he intervenes, it is painted by the outside world as him throwing his weight around, if he is passive, he is seen as condoning things he does not approve of. People only rarely present alternative points of view, because it might viewed as criticism, and when his word is law, criticising the Tsar is treason. This is not his will, it is the interpretation of the courts, and if the Tsar tries to override it, as an ancestor once did, he invites other forms of treason in the mind of the ordinary Russian. The members of the princess's entourage confirm this: Russians expect a firm hand from their rulers in dealing with criminals. So, the Tsar is stuck with absolute power. People wisely fear his displeasure, so hide behind policies, and the Tsar cannot chide without it being taken as changing policy. So, he relies on those who he can speak to privately — his immediate family — to interpret and pass on his will with less authority, and more possibility that they will obtain a truthful explanation and real information. Most of all, for this role, the Tsar relied upon his wife, who sadly is still suffering the consequences of an assassination attempt, and rarely leaves her well-guarded rooms. Did the foolish ruler who ordered that attack know how hard he struck Russia's government? We'll never know, of course, since Russian agents avoided the almost certain war with their retaliatory strike.
Does her imperial highness take a risk telling us these things? Probably, yes.
But she feels that not being understood is the bigger risk for all Russia. She seeks peace as much as it depends on her, as she vowed she would. I don't know any of us expected she would carry it this far, when we heard recordings of her taking that vow.
Her Imperial Highness Tsarevna Svetlana grew up with certainty that even among friends, no place was truly safe. Yet she came here, and made herself new enemies. But she has also made new friends. I hope and pray that the enemies are few and her friends are many.
Vladimir writes
I just want to add that her Imperial highness was totally shocked to hear, just after releasing the tripartite agreement this afternoon, that the long-debated trade deals are due to be signed with China and India at the end of this week. Like everyone else, she'd thought there were still months of negotiation to go, and when they announced they were accepting Mars' position we were more than half way here, reducing our already minuscule radar signature by coming straight at Mars from the sun. Alice and the Mer ambassador witnessed her shock and a truthsayer confirmed it. Their announcement had no effect on the timing of her visit.
As ambassador as well as journalist, Alice of course must be doubly careful what she says about this. I however am just a Russian journalist who's studied the tripartite agreement, and because I've had the joy of getting to know another member of the princess' party over the past year and a half, I've also heard unguarded words spoken at the palace concerning the reliability or otherwise of India and China as partners in other agreements as well as the tripartite Mars plan. I'm allowed to say be careful what you sign, Mars. These countries plan very very carefully. Their surprising to-you decision was probably planned at least a year ago.
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PRESS RELEASE FROM MARS COUNCIL, TUESOL 12TH MARCH 2278
It is with regret that the Mars Council has informed its negotiating partners, the governments of India and China that, given yesterday's surprising and detailed revelations by the Tsarevna Svetlana, the Council has not been able to give the time and attention it planned to the final version of the trade deal that has been proposed by these two states. We trust they will be gracious to us as we postpone the signing of the deal until we've had time to scrutinise and discuss all its points in the detail deserved by such a significant treaty.
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PRESS RELEASE FOR SOLAR SYSTEM DISTRIBUTION, 12TH MARCH
The Federal Kingdom calls upon all Nations to support their measure in the United Nations to close the loophole identified by HRH Svetlana of Russia, and applauds her raising of this issue and her rejection of assassination as a tool of political oppression, and calls on all governments and future heads of state to do likewise.
The government of the Federal Kingdom is also pleased to confirm that analysis of our historic intercept reports confirms the recently reported data from the Restored Kingdom regarding Russian activity on Mars. Our analysts also concur with press reports that describe the Russian attitude towards Mars (pre-independence) as consistent with them viewing the colony as being part of Russia.
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NEWS REPORT, FOR MARS AND EARTH CIRCULATION, NOON TUESOL 12TH MARCH
Protests across the planet Yesterday's protests against Tsarevna Svetlana's presence on Mars continued overnight, with small groups outside the embassies of Atlantis and the Restored Kingdom as well as at the Council Offices and the spaceport. As is to be expected, numbers went down during the night, however there has been little or no recovery so far this morning.
Despite speculation earlier, their excellencies the ambassadors of India and China have not cut short their formal inspection of the Hellas rice field project.
While the flag-flying project was always going to be a gamble, it has recently come under criticism amid revelations that the transparent 'storm covers', intended to protect the plants from being shredded by a dust storm, are being used on a permanent basis to increase temperatures and reduce water loss. While not totally invalidating the experiment, as the covers are not totally airtight and provide no pressure differential, there have been concerns raised by the designers that the covers were never intended to be resistant to prolonged ultraviolet radiation, and if they are used to make 'green houses' they will degrade quickly and fail to perform in case of a dust storm. The second accusation, that the covers are being used to reduce the massively underestimated water losses and the inefficiencies of the recovery systems, seem to have been confirmed by data published by the site manager as he resigned his post yesterday, just before the official visit began. In resigning, he also accused China and India of attempting to suppress and even destroy records of water losses with and without the covers in place.
Some people have clearly made a link between these accusations and the claimed lack of records in the tripartite assassination campaign. Protesters with placards questioning statements those governments had made about 'no one keeping records' were in evidence outside the embassies of India and China.
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BLOG ENTRY, ALMOST MIDNIGHT, 12TH MARCH, BY EDWIN FLYNN
Soup and answers given to protesters
An hour ago, I witnessed an exercise of Christian kindness, when protesters outside the embassies of the Mer and Restored Kingdom were given soup, by embassy staff and a Russian woman called Tanya.
As well as soup, they also delivered something even more precious: answers. As the dozen protesters were given soup, they were also asked if they had a particular person or people they wanted facts about.
Grinding assertions by China and India that no-one had any records firmly into dust, the soup-providers were, thanks to information released to them by the Russian delegation, able to look up which of the three countries had that person on their list, and if it was Russia then Tanya was able to provide some further details. Tanya and some of the others then offered to pray for the people, that the information would help them to mourn and come through that process.
The protesters I questioned, said they did feel that the answers they'd had would eventually help them come to terms with their pain, and each said they'd felt genuine remorse from Tanya for the things her country had done before her birth. Some mentioned the irony of that information coming from Russia, and one of the protesters said he was fairly sure that 'Tanya' was actually the princess. Unlike the bulk of those protesting, his father was shown in the records as having been killed by a Russian agent. However, he learned that this was after Russia had ended it's 'enforcement' of the secret status of the missing clauses, and so it was he was informed that the Russian agent had been tried for murder, found guilty, and executed.