Interlude 12. Divine Conference

Interlude 12. Divine Conference

Thump. Thump. Thump!

Orlag set the hammer aside and cast a look over the table. Satisfied with the level of quietness and attention, he nodded sagely and cleared his throat.

"I hereby announce this divine meeting open." - he stated, opening the folder in front of him - "Does anyone have any emergent issues to be brought up?"

He examined the table yet again. Assorted gods shuffled in their seats, but no one piped up.

"Excellent. In that case, let us proceed with the first item on agenda." - he proclaimed - "Manoc, what is the status of season change?"

God of winds and weather shrugged lightly. "Everything proceeding according to schedule." - he proffered confidently - "There was a slight issue with monsoon winds exceeding expected speeds, but they were safely vented through the supercell. The storm shall pass through the southern ocean and disperse in a series of thunderstorms well away from populated areas. Cumulus saturation is nominal and proceeds according to projection C. Bharat will experience a short heatwave, but it will be offset by rains at the onset of winter. Other countries are within climactic optimum without further need for adjustments."

God of sun and crops nodded, crossing the first line off - "That is heartening to hear. How about solar coverage projection? Do you require any adjustments?"

"Not at the moment, thank you. The dispersion grid update will be in your inbox this evening, but I do not foresee any need for direct changes." - Manoc demurred - "Sineval's scheme of using oceanic flows for temperature regulation continues to pay dividends, so barring any unforeseen developments, we're tentatively at the self-regulating stage."

She tilted her head towards Kinov, who nodded and began to speak - "Economical situation is very promising. Project Archon already began to disseminate the concepts of labor distribution and mechanization, which resulted in a vast number of new wares on the market. Coupled with her incessant focus on logistics and timely introduction of assorted free market principles, I predict an increase of interest in luxury items and foods, as well as a boom in domestic convenience wares. Development of viable aerial vehicle this early will further contribute to increased interest in logistics spreading out from Champagne and across the whole continent, simply by the dint of shock and awe experienced by any other polity witnessing the dirigible. While I do not expect any independent development in aeronautics to occur for at least another decade, it is entirely likely that polities would compete for a chance to commission a dirigible of their own from project Archon, and therefore, make themselves amenable to her economic overtures. I have distributed my preliminary figures yesterday, but I am already working on a revision that takes into account dirigibles being used for diplomacy, major landbound tract being reopened and renovated and an impending introduction of Champagne and Kraut kingdoms to concrete. Early availability of advanced construction material coupled with impending populace boom reported by colleague Marra implies a number of pleasant things across the board."

Orlag nodded with satisfaction. "Project Archon is really showing potential, I see." - he concluded - "Very well. Does anyone else have any comments about project Archon and her impact on the world?"

He did not expect much out of that question and therefore seeing Memiri raise her hand was a surprise. He gestured towards the goddess of sleep, wordlessly requesting an elaboration. "I have concerns about project Archon's metaphysical stability." - she stated bluntly - "I have already raised this issue at the last meeting, and I am sorry to report that palliative measures did not pan out as well as I have hoped. While project Archon is in no danger of losing bond cohesion, the metaphysical connection to Ur-World's plegmagnosis remains a problem. I believe that at this point, our best option is to anchor down the connection and synch it in with project Archon, ramping up the bandwidth until the gnostic pressure on project Archon evens out. Unfortunately, we have missed the window of opportunity where anchoring could be done inconspicuously. If we are to put it in action within the next week, project Archon will experience an arcanochtonic event. Past that, gnostic pressure might increase to the point of project Archon manifesting arcanochtonic events spontaneously until it is alleviated, either by anchoring or severing the connection. I must stress that severing the connection will severely impact project Archon's productivity and mental capacity."

"Well, we certainly don't want that." - Orlag retorted - "And one arcanochtonic event is certainly better than several of them at random. But... could we possibly do something to mitigate the event impact?"

Gia rose her hand suddenly, suggesting - "Mayhaps we need not the mitigation... Merely a direction."

Memiri consulted her papers. "Hm. That is an intriguing proposition. What if we take a cue from project Archon herself on the direction? That might be the easiest solution to let her subconsciousness decide on what it should dream into existence. My evaluation of project Archon suggests she is not prone to self-flagellation or confidence issues, so chances are better than even the end result of event would be something beneficial for her." - she replied thoughtfully - "I ask for the vote. All in favor of anchoring the connection at the earliest opportunity within this week, please say aye."

"Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!"

"All in favor? Wonderful. We have our course of action then." - Orlag summed up, jotting down the resolution and passing it around the table to collect signatures - "With this, I believe our meeting is concluded, unless someone else has an issue to bring up. No? Very well. Gentlemen, ladies... let's make this world even better."