MmeMichika

January 30, 2008

Prologue

A wedding for political reasons is nothing more then an empty ceremony, a procession without meaning for the participants, a show for the masses. I was going to be participating in sham marriage, concocted on the basis of solidifying a trade agreement, to be truthful; it felt like bad medieval throwback. After much though I had resigned myself to think of the event as another social even I had grown up attending. After further introspection I had decided to stop putting the traditional importance and fears of marriage on the event, concluding that it was truly not a marriage, but a political move. Over weeks of preparations I taught myself to start believing it was an event to be attended as any other, and all done on an extended trip to an exotic place.

This "wedding" had been designed for the purpose of solidifying trade agreements and to improve the view of our trade partners held of us. This event was more for them then for us. Our trade agreement had been victim of a rocky start, each side had something the other wanted; yet both sides had been unable to come to a mutually satisfying agreement. We want protection, but not domination, and in exchange we are willing to exchange goods, services, and select technologies.

Accepting trade without our submission and domination was a foreign and unwelcome idea initially. After the threat of mutually assured destruction was brought to the bargaining table, other methods were discussed. Eventually the current arrangement had been settled upon. Our trading partner was an oligarchy, barely disguised as a monarchy. The caste system made up the basis of their society, and divided the population into ranks. Rank was decided by birth, power, and ability, and often determined a birth, but rarely one could rise in rank later in life. Their monarch was a man, still in the prime of his years. Behind his throne a council, the oligarchy, influenced decision, and wielded the bulk of the empire's powers.

We are a collection of countries; some ruled by democracy, others ruled differently. My organization and I however are not part of the government. We are members, if not the leader, of our technology industry. We are at the forefront of the development of new technology; we are the backbone, and its driving force. In short we are an unintended monopoly, perfectly positioned to barter and trade. After all there must be a reason for which our governments, and people have turned to us. We are an empire, albeit small, in our own right. My father owns the company, however he no longer bothers with the day-to-day upkeep. His desire is routed in the creation and development of inventions, content to pass off the small details to myself, his own child.

I manage details; I move my father's creations from prototype to consumer product. I also do my fair share of the design and creation of our products, however I do it on a smaller and more personal scale. I develop technologies as they apply to me; I leave the philanthropic creations to my father, choosing only to assist at this time. It is not that I do not desire to help others it is that I do not have the time to fully dedicate myself as my father has. Capsule Corporation has aided in defeating third-world conditions, relieved poverty, and brought environmental friendly manufacturing to the forefront of our practices. We are a trend-starter, a leader, a socially conscious and environmentally friendly company, in short we are what many strive to be, but never accomplish.

We developed and commercialized space travel, and all its accessories approximately 5 years ago. From the moment of launch our latest venture was a success. We moved slowly through our own star system, mapping and exploring in the name of science and discovery. Quickly though we reached further into space, encountering species both friendly and foe. A few short years into our initial space forays we began to hear receive and compile information on a grand scale about the political structures in place in the universe. So far removed was Chikyuu's galaxy that it was never thought, or considered that the reaches of the largest empires would make their way here so quickly. We developed trade, remaining selective in our offerings, slowly building a solid reputation for quality merchandise and innovative technologies.

As our reputation grew so did our offerings. Trade for technology was profitable, yet risky. Governments became further entrenched, determined to decide which technologies were allowed for trade, and which were acceptable as payment. Space travel and trade was becoming more and more regulated. We became complacent, we believed for a time that mutual peace and trade was the goal for most, including the large empires. As time went on we began to understand that the large empires were expanding, and through means less friendly and acceptable then was acceptable to us. The time came for us to fortify ourselves, and now we have come to a crossroads. Our own technologies began to seem insufficient to protect ourselves. Distasteful information about the expanding boarders of the Cold Empire quickly escalated from a trickle to an outright flashflood.

We have decided to take action now; we are preparing to align ourselves with the Saiyajin Empire, the lesser of two evils. For the exchange of our technologies, we are requesting the extension of their protection, without the extension of their boarders. We are striving to remain a free and self-ruled planet in a universe that is quickly choosing sides. I am Bulma Briefs, 26, young at heart, and off to marry an alien for the benefit of my planet. I am terrified.