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From: John Darts <johndarts@gmail.com>
Subject: {ASSM} The Shangri-La Islands Ch 15 (By: The Search4)
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Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:10:03 -0500
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This is a work of fiction and is to be read that way. It is somewhat science
based and also religion based. So you should learn some of both areas when
reading it. Is there sex? Yes some but if your looking for hard core look
else where. This as all novels is meant for entertainment. There will be
just one chapter each week as much research is going into this as I write.


Chapter 15

The weeks had been kind to Joji and with Dink's help he was where he hoped
to be a year from now. The finances were much better than even Dink had
expected, as he had bought very wisely. With the payment for the new
military vehicles they were now down to just a three billion debt. They had
seven billion in the bank on the Island and the equivalent of that in
several other places. Most local currencies were sound enough to buy and
sell in that country with them. There was no inflation or deflation in the
countries they dealt in. With countries not running on debt financing the
currencies were much more stable.

But taxes on profits were higher now days inside the country. For exporters
and importers there just was no tax. You had to be registered to be left
alone on taxes on profits. It was the import/export business that stimulated
trade inside the country. They fed the job market and keep people working
who without them would not be.

China tried to squeeze Joji into paying a lot of money to sell them oil. So
he shutdown his operation. It was just a few weeks and they were begging him
to restore his imports. He negotiated a very nice three year deal with them
that would guarantee a given amount of oil to them each month. But they were
required to pay him in gold, silver and gemstones for 50% of the value. It
allowed him to take some profits that he could bank in the Islands. None of
the oil sold would come from the Islands supply. It all would be Arab crude.


Joji called his friend and asked if the group was interested in the deal he
had just cut. He was not told about the gold, sliver or gemstones. But was
offered cloth, food, cars, computers, cell phones and many other items they
wanted. He set a price for the oil that would allow him a 25% profit and he
got a 5% profit for the delivery of the trade items. So ITI would become
much richer over the contract. But each person knew they would live up to
their agreement completely.

One man he had worked with to put the oil deal together called him. "Joji
there are questions being asked why your people are asking about the war
with Russia."

"In my position would you not be asking the same questions? I have made
commitments to buy oil that I must be able to sell. People are investing
money to expand their output and I must be sure I fill my part of the
agreement. So I don't sell to or buy anything from Russia. If I am going to
know you have a problem I must find out there."

The man was shocked at Joji's honesty. That was not the way his people or
most Japanese would have handled the question. "It is causing some large
concerns here Joji."

"Fine it is not to late to cancel the contract. I can shutdown my
import/export business there and move it to another country. There is no
reason for you to be worried if you're not in trouble. I can if I work
quickly sell that contract in four pieces to other countries. I am sorry you
felt it was not my business, but you did tell me you're in trouble. So good
luck and my people will be leaving tomorrow." Joji was very calm and never
raised his voice.

"Wait Joji we are not in trouble at all. We are winning right now. The gold
we agreed to pay you is coming from mines there. I understand your worry and
will make sure your keep informed of events in that war. But don't close
your office and my people will stay off yours over chasing knowledge.
Looking at the money I understand your worries."

"You need to understand you have never fought a real war. Russia has several
times as has Japan. In war governments never tell the truth. That is just a
fact of life. So your telling me things are going well does not settle my
mind. I like you but we both know you would lie to me until a bomb was
dropped on you."

The man chuckled at Joji and how well he knew governments. "Your right of
course and I will let one of your people travel to the war zone once a
month, to see for them selves. That way it is not government hot air. Please
make sure that man is a military trained officer."

"I have a colonel who should do nicely. He was trained in the US and was a
division commander of tanks. Of course he was Japanese American and now is
just Japanese."

That was even better the man thought. "Then he has seen fighting?"

"Oh yes and lots of it. He was totally pissed at the politicians there, you
just can't believe how much he hated them. The politicians killed more men
than the enemy did he said. Now he also really hated Russians as well."

This would be a very good man to bring him back reports on what he saw. "I
will approve his travel here and give him an escort to smooth the way. Just
have him stop by my office when he gets here."

"I will do that and know I will get the same reports he gives you." Joji
laughed and enjoyed this. He knew the man would be questioned and
intensively.

"Yes I will be interested in his opinions. It is hard not to listen to
experienced people. So I thank you for the knowledge he will provide me."
There the call ended.

Joji called Carlton and got him right away. "My friend I brought you a good
tank commander from Japan. Now I need to borrow him back."

"What for Joji?"

"He will be going to China and traveling under the Premiers orders to the
Russian front. He will be allowed up there a week each month. Of course he
will be briefing the premier when he gets back. But we also get his take on
the war and it is first hand data."

"That is amazing Joji and I will gratefully give your man back for as long
as you need him. Getting first hand reports back on that war will be of
great help to me. I follow the satellite reports each day, but that is
limited and you get no insights."

"I covered my worry by the new contract I just signed with China. I am
selling them Arab oil and it will be well over twelve billion credits total.
So I had every right to worry about the possibility of their not being able
to fulfill the contract. When my people got called on the questions they
asked, I tried to pull my people out and cancel the contract. That was when
things changed. Now they want us to feel comfortable and in return we get
some good feed back for an experienced division tank commander. Of course
they will get that as well. But we both need to brief him on what not to
tell them. It is more critical they end up in a stalemate than a major
victory." Joji was sure this fit Carlton as well.

"To some degree your right. But I would like to see some of the land out
there taken from Russia. If China had the resources to develop they would be
to busy to fight other places and defend there as well."

"Well they are paying me partly with gold they are mining there. The rest
will be in goods we can move other places."

"So they do have some of the better resource land?"

"I was told that just a few minutes ago by the Premier. So I assume he knew
what he was saying. I know he is not directly over the army, but he does
have a lot of influence administratively." Joji was not that knowledgeable
yet on China's political structure.

"No one in the army would cross him in any way. The last general that did
that is in Tibet now." That story Carlton really liked.

"I assume that is not a good place to be sent?"

"It is the end of your service life. Some have never gotten back to China.
Many feel if the Earth was to get an enema that is where the tube would be
stuck in."

"I see your point now. Well I need to get my plan working and make
arrangements to get our man there. He will have Japanese uniforms with US
eagles."

Joji worked and got the uniforms, the tickets and had Chinese money that
would be waiting for him when he reached the office there. He had assumed
the plane trips to both China and India from Tokyo at half the price Japan
Air was willing to accept. Because of the lower cost his flights were always
full with a waiting list. He was almost ready to add another flight each
week for both countries. His flights to China or India did not make milk
runs with many stops. He had one flight each week that was nothing but a
milk run. That flight he was sure would never make money. But it did give
him one ticket agent in each country to watch and listen. If any country had
more than one or two people buying tickets it was a big week. Mostly it was
government people flying to other countries on business.

What you found in these small countries was money went a long way. So often
special things were purchased to draw down the bank accounts and shipped
back on the plane. If an artist was making the equal of ten credits a month
they were doing well here. So buying hand painted silk scarves for the equal
of one credit each was common. They had some in patterns and some with
pictures on them. They sold for twenty credits on the Islands and in many
developed countries. A woman in the Arab countries would kill to get one of
these. So they brought a very high price there. This was what made the
planes trips profitable for Joji. Each agent made at least two shipments
each month, of something special from their country.

Dink had created a web site of all the special goods that Kei had in the
warehouse on Okinawa. This was update as soon as people ordered goods from
it. New items were inserted each day. It had carved jade, hand painted silk
scarves, painted silk fabric, pillows, silk sheets, laces, spices and the
item list was long. These were looked at by the different sellers and
quantities of each were selected as part of the payments for oil. It seemed
there was always over five million credits taken in these goods. Which
helped the profits stay high for ITI.

The hard part of ITI was the fact they had no contact from much of Europe.
They knew they would have to try making contact. The station chief in Kuwait
was talking to people who had traveled to countries there. So he had a good
idea of what things were like and what countries were somewhat functional.
The only one in good shape was the Swiss. You had Germany and England in bad
shape but still functional. Poland and the Baltic countries were doing well.
Russia was so busy with China they had no time to try to assume power in
those. Then there was Norway, Sweden and Finland all doing just fine. They
were not rich, but they also had not lost many people and seemed to be
producing goods needed just fine.

The report was well received by Joji and he passed it on to John, David and
Carlton, so they were all on the same page. All were surprised at the
quantity of knowledge Joji was producing now. His information often called
into question interpretations of the analysis. It did keep people really
studying the satellite photos to be sure of what they said. Coming to a fast
conclusion could make you look like a fool later.

The high mountain border areas between India and China were very much a
battleground. It seemed each week some reports were filed of another fight
in those areas. China was still pushing on India and would not stop until
someone hurt them there. The number of troops between India and China were
unbelievable at 12 Chinese to each Indian in uniform. China knew right now
they could not fight Russia and India in full scale wars. But they could
fight Russia and hurt India in a few areas. So that was what the military
was doing.

The military had a way of not hearing what the government said. It was the
shadow government within the government. It had been grown so large that it
dwarfed the government. But it was the refuge of the many boys that could
not find wives, due to polices to control population. Many female children
were killed and never reported until a boy came to the couple. Girls had
little value in China until there were not enough for wives. But the army
benefited from this and became the major controlling factor in much of the
policy.

The damage to the naval vessels, aircraft and areas to build these left the
land army stronger. It never said it attacked anyone, but it was always
defending the country. It stopped others from taking China's land, never
saying it had taken the land from another country. It played with words and
never looked aggressive to most people inside China. The way they played
with words kept the real image from being seen.

It was a shock to make of the army brass, when all China broadcast stations
started to show the destruction of two villages in India by the army. It was
well documented even with interviews with the men and officers of the China
army. Then the people were shown how the army reported this mass murder. The
big question is what else is our army hiding from us? That was the question
asked over and over.

This caused protests and marches all over the country. People were angry
they had been lied to and were not in a forgiving mood. The government tried
their best to figure out how this had been done and who did it? They had
lost some control of their media and of the people now. That was not good
here as the party was not at the strength it once was. Police could not stop
an attack on the government, so the army would have to be called in. It was
weaker now as many troops were in Russia fighting there. That left the main
government having to keep the people calm and basically happy. No
confrontation could be allowed to happen right now.

The general whose troops had done as they were told, was brought in and
shot. Government made sure people were satisfied for the moment. They
labeled this as a rogue action by one general. But now generals would not
move without written orders. Many withdrew from areas they had been holding
for months. The fight on the India border was for now over. It had simply
taken directing the people's attention to what was happening.

"I saw your experiment with the TV in China and was impressed. You never
showed your hand and still got the result you wanted." John was pleased with
this.

"Showing any hand was just not needed. The government was vulnerable as the
army is fight a war and most troops are in the north. When they killed the
general to appease the people it made the army's other generals mad. So they
made the government pay for that action. It is not nearly over John. This is
going to always be a problem with a country this size." Joji was one never
to be too open.

"You see a civil war as being required to divide China?"

"Really you have five China's pulled together as one. With the war in the
Russian Asian area it will make for six. The party and army was the glue
that kept it held together. But capitalism has driven a wedge into that. It
will take some time but I expect to see an implosion with people bringing
down the party, army and government. What will come from that I have no
idea? But I don't believe it will be a single country." Joji was not
comfortable yet guessing at the long term. The economy was just too fluid
and could change in a just a few days time.

John considered Joji's thoughts. "I see the army ending up fighting the
people to try to keep the country together. There will be a fracturing of
the military in that many men will not shoot their own people. China was not
easy to build into what it is today. It will come apart just as difficult as
it was to build. You won't see the final product until it is done. But I
expect to see many warlords running different areas like back many years
ago."

"That will kill the technology growth of China." Joji was now seeing what
John did.

"It opens it up to being taken over. That could be by Russia, India, Japan
or any of several countries. It could mean they all get a piece of it? But
that will leave millions of people to die from starvation and lack of warm
clothing or fuels to stay warm in winter. It will not be pretty Joji and
will make the collapse of the US look like it was easy."  John knew it would
not be pretty for him to watch. But it was way beyond his control to stop.
It was like a freight train moving down the tracks with no brakes. You could
see the train wreck coming.

"Who long do you think it is going to take for this?"

"My guess is two to three years. There will be many events happen between
now and then. But the start of the implosion will be in two to three years.
It may take another two or more years to finish the job." John was sure he
had it pegged right.

"What will happen with Russia?"

"It will still be very feudal and will have to operate with a dictatorial
government. They never had the technology and were required to steal it. Now
they have no one to steal it from and independent thinking is not part of
the Russian abilities."

That statement caused Joji to laugh. "You mean your not going to invite them
to put an embassy here? It will mean I don't need guards for all our
complexes. So your cutting employment options for lazy people."

Now he had John going and the two enjoyed the humor. "We have not had a
visitor from even Japan here this year. So I see no reason to open our doors
to anyone we really don't like. There is no UN any more and we are most
likely the best armed and protected country? We don't have the people, but
we do have the technology. I am happy with just that."

They discussed the projects John had going in the technology section of ITI.
It was amazing what they were into and building. Joji had companies in
Japan, India, China and some small countries building parts for the new
spacecraft. The one quarter scale model was a success and now the full size
ships were being built. The first to launch would be in one year. That would
give them the ability to place satellites and repair them. It also mean a
lot of the junk out there could be cleared out of the way.

The new laser was being tested and would be set up for Island defense in
less than a year. It was deadly for aircraft and missiles. If it got within
one hundred miles of the Islands it was tracked by this system. It saw
everything even the stealth aircraft.

"You seem to have things pretty well under control Joji."

"No not really as Dink keeps me going in the right direction. She has the
files on every job we have in technology now. They are placed on a schedule
and as they are started, man loaded to reach the projected date and follow
to assure it is on time. It was all her idea and design. I keep up to date
on where things are and get into problems. If there are no problems people
just don't see me. When there are I know where it started and normally how
to fix it. There Dink has done the research for me, so I don't get tied up
forever. It makes me look a lot smarter than I really am."

John liked the way Dink and Joji worked together. It was almost like their
minds worked in different areas but fit together. She knew what he needed
and made sure he had it. He never had to ask her as she was always in front
of his needs.

"I heard from Hideki yesterday. He is doing well and has started phase two
of your plan. Kei sent us the people he needed and they were transported
last night. He should start the next phase in less than a week. Where you
told him to settle has turned out to be good land, with reasonable
protective mountains between him and aggressive people. So his city is built
and the land secured. Farming is very productive and now he is ready to
build the port."

"I have been working on the models he will need for small manufacturing
plants. He cannot afford to go with computer controlled equipment, as the
people there will not be ready for it. So we have the older machines that
require trained machinist to operate. Those people can be trained to run. He
also will have either electric induction welds or stick welding only. He
just will not have the gasses to handle other types of welding. We have kind
of placed him in the early 1930-1950's for technology. That is all
pre-computer." Joji had made some hard decisions.

"I see why you have them set at that point technology wise. We can't send
them everything we can make now here, as they will lack the people to
design, plan and make it. So I assume your picking the technologies they can
survive with?"

"Yes like heating for rooms or a home. Refrigeration and freezing technology
for foods was critical. Freeze drying for other kinds of foods to assure
people can store food long term. So electric motors, compressors,
refrigerant gasses and all kinds of electrical controls had to be built. We
have had to find ways to do some of this far differently than it is done
now. They just will not have our knowledge or technology to use. We had to
make a way for gunpowder to be made safely. Then for shell for weapons to be
made and assembled. So if they can handle food for long periods and make
weapons and ammunition we have provide the basic technology they had to
have. But for them to make it they must not depend on us for any of the
needed materials."

Now John saw the full extent of the difficulty Joji's people were faced
with. You had a lot of different technologies in each part of the process
for any one item. This was not easy to do where no technology really existed
at this level. "I see the main problem. In the early stages your really
limited."

"If the gate allows passage for many years that will not be a problem. But
if it closes tomorrow then he must be able to run on his own. We can't leave
him with technology that cannot be used. My people have a twenty year plan.
If we can make it work, at the end of that time he will be in very good
shape needing little from here. But I worry the next trip might never
happen?"

It was the best approach you could take. To do anything else was insanity he
knew from past stories. "Your following a reasonable plan Joji. I just worry
that Hideki needs more and we are going to fail to handle it?"

"With his people and engineers he is where he could survive if he had to. It
would leave him far behind the plan and us but he should survive. Over years
they would develop much of what was in the plan themselves. We have supplied
the books they need to reach these goals. So Hideki knows just where he is
at every step of the way. There is no way for me to do it for him."

"That is the best we can hope to give him. Life is no sure bet on anything.
So we will discuss things next week again. Don't take my worries as personal
they aren't at all."

Joji left and headed to his office.

Dink saw him slip into his office. So she got up and went in. "How did your
meeting go?"

"We discussed things I had already sent to him. There was nothing new and
yet it was all discussed."

"Joji he reinforces his own feelings by seeing just how your react to the
discussions you have. There may not be any new data, but your face shows
much and feelings do come out when you talk. That is what he is looking
for."

That he had not considered before. "OK at least he gets some value. But what
do we get out of it?"

"It is just the interest on the loan he made and never charged us. We owe
him far more than he owes us. Of course he is always concerned with the
technology side of ITI. If John were Japanese American he would be doing
your job and letting someone else run the corporation. Here is where his
real interest is. So husband your just going to have to let him enjoy the
meetings the two of you have. It is all he gets of this side of the
business."

That did soften Joji and he was not nearly as upset. "I see your point and
will not do anything to show my displeasure. For sure I own him much and you
are a major part of my debt. It was his comment that opened my eyes to how I
felt about you."

"Here I thought it was my beauty that got you." Dink was now laughing and
enjoying Joji's discomfort.

"You just love to get me upset don't you? If this is how I am going to be
treated here I'll start working in the tech labs. They did give me a nice
office where people can't hear, see or bug me. I doubt you could even find
it."

"I know where it is and no I can't get in there. They let you set the
security for it and no one can enter that office but you. But unless your
going to sleep there you will have to come home eventually and that is my
domain."

"I give up as you have me out gunned. Why do the ladies have it so easy?"

"Because we carry the babies and make men fathers. So daddy what is your son
going to think of you now? Treating his mother badly."

"You're pregnant and are going to have a child?"

"Normally that is what happens when a woman is pregnant. I sure hope it is
not a puppy."

Joji was now laughing and enjoying the knowledge he just got. "That did
sound dumb didn't it? But I am in shock as being a father never crossed my
mind."

"You do know what causes babies right?"

"Of course, but you just don't think about that end result until it happens.
Well the doctor said it did happen. I am about a month into the pregnancy.
If I get any jokes about my weight I will be kicking someone's ass. Is that
clear?"

"Very dear and there will be no jokes. But we need to go out and celebrate
tonight OK?"

"It sounds good to me and understand I am off any alcohol until after the
birth. It was highly recommended to me. I did opt for a C section to speed
my return to work. My office at home will need expanded to let me do
everything I normally do here."

"Just call the IT guys at tech and they will get it done the way you want
it. I have not put an office at home, as it was the one place we could be
without work intruding."

"Mine will be there to let me work from home when I am feeling bad, after
the birth or when the baby needs me due to his being sick. So it is not for
everyday use or evenings or weekends. We are going to have to hire a woman
to look after our son during the day. She will have to be closely checked
out. I am needed at ITI and will not walk away from my job." This was said
in a flat voice that never was raised or lowered. It was just a flat
statement of fact.

"It would take me several people dear to start to replace you. Then I would
not be organized at all. No one sees how I think except you. I told John I
would not nearly be ready for his questions, were it not for you making me
look smart."

"I may make you more organized, but never smarter. Joji this child is going
to be one smart one. We both are going to be pushed to provide it with the
love, knowledge and stability it will require. Children in their growth
years don't handle change, uncertainty or unstable environments."

"Your forgetting dear you had that stable life and I did not. So I
understand more of what I missed and needed that you will ever know. This
child will never go through what I did." The feelings he had showed for just
a fleeting moment on his face.

Dink saw his true feeling pass quickly by. Then back into that deep well,
where he kept things he did not want shown. There was much Joji would never
talk about in his past. She was sure it had been very painful.

"Well husband if your going to feed me I think it might be time to go home
and change. I feel like a fast shower and dressing up some. We need to
celebrate a little."

Joji knew this was very different from Dink's normal ideas. She did not care
much for going out to dinner or getting dressed up. Her idea of a good night
was one of a nice quiet dinner together and curled up with him watching
something they both enjoyed. After her parents death she had lost that close
contact with anyone. That door was just never opened again until she married
him. So was this another door he had just never seen behind?

People he knew had many doors in their personality or some said compartments
in the mind. Some were opened and others closed. Things that were painful in
a persons past often were stored behind a closed door in their minds. If you
looked deeply into anyone's mind they had many closed doors. Pain was just
not something people learned to live with. It was just easier to shut it
away than deal with it. If you failed to do that you became a martyr complex
personality or just went off the deep end.

Life was not easy for most and it for sure was not fair. The way the
economic crash had hit people worldwide showed just how hard life was. He
poorer you were the more the crash hurt. Poor in this new world was not
money, as most currencies were worth nothing. People with land, food, goods
and the likes could be seen as rich today. Those with gold, silver,
gemstones and any high value tradable commodity had wealth. Here the oil and
natural gas were real wealth and it was managed by John for all islanders.
Being a light sweet crude make it even more valuable. This made the people
here almost forget just how bad it was out there is the real world.

But Joji saw the problems each day and did what one man could with the
resources he had to create small changes. He knew there was no way to solve
all the problems, but the few he could impact were enough to bring him
pleasure.




-- 
John
Old age is the most unexpected of things that can happen to a man.
 - Leon Trotsky
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