Testing the Waters
© 2024 by Walter Reimer



The corsac fox bowed. “Your Majesty.”

“Thank you for coming to see me, Sir,” the twelve-year old Indochinese leopard said diffidently. He gestured to a chair. “Won’t you sit down, please?” Vladmir asked, and as the fox sat down the younger fur wondered who was watching and listening in.

He might have been twelve going on thirteen, but he was no fool. He’d known for at least five years that he was being watched.

He reminded himself to work the problem before asking, “Have you thought about what I spoke about a while back?”

The fox frowned briefly before smiling. “Ah, yes,” he said. “Something about greening Terra, I believe?”

Vladmir smiled. “Yes.”

“Well, Sir, you do know – “

The young leopard raised a paw and the fox shut up. “I’m almost thirteen, Prime Minister, not eighteen. I can’t order you killed.” The tod’s ears swiveled in alarm and Vladmir added, “So you can tell me the truth. I can’t do anything about it.”

A calculating look came to the corsac’s eyes as he weighed what Vladmir said against the fact that their conversation was being recorded. “No,” he finally said. “Nothing’s been discussed.”

Another child might have gotten petulant, might have started yelling. Vladmir simply sat back, his tail swishing back and forth slowly, and asked, “Why?”

The fox’s brush twitched back and forth in unconscious counterpoint to his sovereign’s tail. “Truthfully?”

“Please.”

“Truthfully, no one wants to be seen as abandoning Terra. Any government that has suggested it ended up overthrown,” the Prime Minister explained, “probably because – well, I’m not sure about this, but it might be because the races of Terra want to keep at least one foot on the planet we all came from.”

Vladmir nodded, recalling the studying he’d done before arranging this conversation. “But we can do it.”

“Yes,” the tod said. “The technology’s been available for centuries. Afrodite’s terraformed, as is Ares, you know that.” The younger mel nodded. “The other reason is money. We’re rebuilding after the war with the Kashlani – “

Stay calm, Vladmir reminded himself. Anger clouds your judgment.

“ – And the money simply isn’t there yet,” the corsac fox concluded.

“I see,” the young leopard nodded, and was silent for a moment before he asked, “Can we at least look into it?” Vulpine ears swiveled forward. “A . . . a study? To see just how much it would cost and how long it would take?”

The Prime Minister smiled broadly. “That we can do, Sir. It won’t cost much, and it can be a basis for further discussion. Would that be acceptable to you?”

Vladmir thought for a moment before he nodded. “I want a copy of it when you’re done,” he said, getting to his feet.

“Of course,” the Prime Minister said as he stood.

“Thank you,” and the younger fur turned away to look out the windows at the gardens that stretched away from his family’s home.

The Prime Minister bowed himself out, ears flicking as he pondered who to shove this job on to. Hmm, Chen, perhaps; the junior aide was chafing for something more to do.

And he could have Chen personally present the results of the study to the Emperor. It would sound better coming from someone closer to him in age anyway. Perfect.

The door to the room closed and Vladmir ibn Felix al-Sakai gave a long, slow exhale, resting his forehead against the armorplast of the window.

After Moka had told him about how to solve a problem, he had taken the problem of making Terra a beautiful planet once more and had broken it into a series of steps. It had taken him a while because every time he thought about each step, smaller steps were needed.

Still, the first step had been taken, and he smiled at the thought.