Technocrat Cocci Farcin was in a panic.
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Why wouldn't he be? Technologenisa, a proud city of Innovation by the banks of the River Seiros not far from the magnificent Technate of Cloc, had been sent reeling by a blow from the BCU.
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The chairman`s weapon of choice was quite a nasty one even by Umbracresti standards: Fungal Rheumatism, caused by the infectious spores of Fungalmyces rheumatica.
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It had taken more than two months to completely clear the city of the spores, a process which involved incineration of everything in the area, but the infected were still suffering.
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Luckily, it wasn't contagious. The symptoms included dry coughing, fatigue, fever, and joint pain in mild cases. In severe infections,
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Unluckily for the Technocracy of Vorantis, this was only a warning. The eleven Technocrats and twenty-one Technocrat-Controllers (Who managed the seven autonomous cities known as Technates in groups of three) who made up the Technocratic Directorate of Vorantis had each received an identical letter from the BCU.
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Cocci Farcin looked at his copy once more, it read:
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Greetings Technocrat,
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The testing of Fungalmyces rheumatica on the Urbanate of Technologenisa was merely a show of force to get the attention of the thirty-two members of the Directorate. We, the Board of the BCU, will not hesitate to order a far more devastating strike upon the Technates of Blix, Cloc, Cognor, Ekholm, Quintessencena & Nouveau, Ravillion, and Sandroc if the mines in sections of the River Uurimaarin and its distributaries are not disarmed immediately or if the rightfully elected archducal family of Umbracrest, the House of Hessen-Rostov, continues to be slandered by Vorantine officials. We humbly ask that Thomas Norik, Technocrat pro tempore of Austerium, sends a response under a diplomatic banner promptly.
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Glory to His Grace, Archcount-Khagan Urlic IV & I
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– Margrave Anuax Hessen, Chairman of the Biotechnological Commission of Umbracrest ☣
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Thomas Norik, temporary leader of Vorantis as Technocrat pro tempore of Austerium, had been sent a barrage of horrified communications from the other thirty-one members of the Directorate demanding protection for their constituent settlements either from the Regional Government or the Union. Norik had responded by permitting the Technates to raise Technocratic Gaurd Units for their defence.
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Cocci, who was not representative of a Technate but rather an Urbanate, had no such powers and was forced to seek assistance from the Meritocrat of Artè and acting regional leader for Aquiloria, Ezra Mylo.
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Mylo was sat in a comfortable chair in the Technocrat`s office, slowly draining a glass of rum – the regional beverage of the South.
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Aqulioria was governed similarly to Vorantis but had some key differences such as appointment based on talent and perceived merit instead of proven knowledge and intelligence scores.
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Mylo finished his rum and spoke, "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Technocrat Farcin, you are truly a credit to your City." He said in his nasal voice.
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"We can skip the pleasantries." The Vorantine replied simply, his eyes narrowing in irritation at Ezra's dry politeness.
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"Of course. What do you need from me?"
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"Firstly, I need information on Umbracrest. I must know everything that goes on within the West; in particular, anything involving Erzherzogin Xuana, her father, and their respective circles." He began.
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"Done," Mylo said through a great yawn,
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"And secondly, I need help with ensuring they don't strike any more Vorantine cities. I'm surprised they chose Technologenisa...or were able to hit it in the first place considering we are 3307 miles¹ away from the nearest BCU site unless...it was spread from the skies?" Farcin continued, a note of confusion creeping into his voice as he spoke aloud what had been bothering him all day.
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"We still don't know, some of the Academies have been looking into it, though. You will have both of these things if possible but I have more important things to be doing."
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With that Meritocrat Ezra Mylo of Artè got up and left rudely.
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"These Aquilorians..." Grumbled Farcin to himself.
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¹ *Empyrea is roughly ten times the size of the earth hence the large distances and the preference for air over sea travel. Why is this the case? I made a mistake in Azgaar's and didn't know how to fix it until it was too late. The same distance on Earth would be 330.7 miles which is roughly the distance from Milan, Italy to Munich, Germany*
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