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Coordination and council within ▙◀ was constant and in depth.

Genuine Stalwart Type Altruism (just "altruism" for short) was still riding strong and rich in Internal Market Points and favors both from their many successes in the polity of Redweed and interaction with its many ministries. It had been ultimately enough to put both the previous greater power blocks of Reproduction and Greed into a near ruinous debt to it.

There had of course been many bubbles and crashes in the internal market, body access, neurological field access and processing cycle resources. After all the sub-sub polity incorporation known as ▙◀ was a fallible conglomeration.

But in the communal focused world of Redweed’s culture Altruism triumphed again and again and the long payouts from those endeavors were what had ridden and buffeted them to this new posting.

Reproduction had of course voted for a franchising of ▙◀ into the new position with a sub organization of all the various weighty market states and parties and the landscape of chassis design. They argued it was trivial to duplicate themselves and the internal market. However, Lawfullness and Kin Selection pointed out several regulations and market trends within Redweed that indicated saturation of their professional niches that would soon grow more severe, and scrutiny brought upon their sisters from already having done this to often in the past, calculating that on average it'd lead to 3.78 less Equivalent Clone Instantiations within the next two generations.

Altruism's situation was of course complicated by the Existential Depth to its early investors, who had recently been getting increasingly worried and pushed for a constitutional amendment against value drift that would retroactively cripple it, and several contracts - the most notable one with Self Preservation - in which it'd be forced to sell several types of influence at ruinous prices should the credence of certain events on the prediction markets go over critical values. Further, while it might be rich in hard assets, since the announcement ▙◀ would be leaving the socio political environment so well suited for the demiurge their stocks had plummeted.

However reproduction and Kin Selection had weighed in as strong supporters for the move to a trade vessel. As the motioning and primary demiurge moving for taking up the position (regardless of internal reasoning and motivation behind such) Altruism was currently backed as the leader of that loose coalition and as such could probably weather the uncertainty of this move.

If they could prove themselves.

Altruism was a young addition to the ▙◀ and their sister franchises. Created to facilitate a strong and highly tuned interface with the Redweed policies. It had succeeded well in that ecosphere as was expected.

But now they were entering new pressures and environmental factors the inner market between the demiurges was in flux.

If their policies could be shown to continue to fruit success and furthering of all the other demiurge’s interests even in this new external landscape of a interstellar freighter and perhaps even beyond to habitats and ports varied? If Altruism could be proven as a demiurge ensuring sister and daughter franchises were spread and insulated from extinction level collapses?

The alliance that would forge with Reproduction might very well be strong enough that it could end up subsuming both of them into a brand new power block to last for ages after. Kin Selection probably would stay separate as they had ever since the fission of Reproduction into the two parties. But even so it would be a coup that had incredible stability. An empire of motivation and policy unheard of in all corporate record or charter going back generations of franchises and incorporations.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

But to do that Altruism had to be successful and so it was purchasing several blocks of activity and plans and spending from reserves to keep the attention and work ethic up for the dealings of ▙◀ with the exterior, as well as secret deals with the Internal Politics expert system and Rationalization.

In this particular case the care and well being of the clerk refugees were a mixed interest of Lawfulness and via it the more nebulous goals of Self Preservation. It was not purely altruistic and so there was a lot of parties pushing with them. But for Altruism to be the follower in this would be a disaster. They had to be a leader among the Demiurges and the primary driver of action and leverage Rationalization to prevent any subversions.

Altruism had the clout for it, there was solid hard Trust Tokens and Internal Market Points to spare even if the speculatives were expecting their relevance to future action to plummet in favor of the old guard of demiurges.

But many of those old primordial rulers of the charter had grown used to Altruism taking the brunt of direct action and dealing. Self Preservation of course had a massive reserve accumulated and saved for emergency actions. Not to mention its long dealings with Rationalization to feed and bend every other demiurge’s actions to be somehow related to their own interests.

As did the others, but most had to scrimp and save for the necessary points for even minor overrides or action plan amendments.

While times were good this was weathered.

But now there was a lot of opportunity. Things were shifting and although Kin Selection, Reproduction and Altruism had reigned all but supreme in ▙◀ while their home was Redweed with its majority population of the Stalwart.

That was changing and many a policy maker was plotting ways to perhaps rise to prominence as the primary demiurge.

There had already been proposals and bids for individual external actions, time with the Long Term Planning dedicated wetware, and even goal shifts of major external interaction policy. None that Altruism couldn’t outbid handily with their reserves. But it was signs that pressure was mounting, and if the ▙◀ was to survive the downturn in the speculation market it had to spend wisely. Lest the other demiurges simultaneously lose all trust and counter bid their every action in order to bleed them dry.

Compromise and mutualism were needed in these trying times. Thinking of which, in this environment with much fewer individuals, Mutualism stock had been soaring and they might make an excellent ally as well.

They had been less able to shine within the vastness of Redweed’s population. Mutualism and Empathy had suffered under the unavoidable inefficiencies.

But Altruism could like everyone see in the markets and prices that they could be a new shining star in this cozier social structure, and a bit more investment and support to both could help it weather the storm of this shake up.

A comunique went through evaluation and approval of the demiurges, peripherally most gave it little heed. Or some antagonistic but ultimately irrelevant counter bids. But Altruism assigned special flags and even a few bribes of Trust and Market points that Empathy and Mutualism weigh in on if it met their own satisfaction.

It might weaken their position in the market temporarily while raising Empathy and Mutualism even higher in their speculated value.

But it was for the greater good.

After all they were Altruism.

So the communication was passed, with amendments by Empathy and Mutualism and so ▙◀ gently spoke to a juvenile clerk.

“Do you need anything Little one?”