Red Sun over the Pacific

[Triyun]

Maui, Hawaii

The resort city of Maui had become a major hub within the United Federation of the East. A monument to the glories of socialism, everyone in Maui had a hot wife, three kids who were both on the honor roll and star athletes, and lived in a beautiful home. Citizens all voluntarily built grand marble statues to the glory of the UFE leadership and their economic model which delivered full employment, trade surpluses, and low inflation. Indeed some may say it was a wonder nobody thought of such a perfect system before.

Well that is what the travel brochure said anyway. The actual city had seen better days. It was beautiful still, a testament to the natural wonder of the place, but it was also still a backwater of the Federation. The war with Tahoe and the long economic stagnation of Greater Pacifica had had an effect, which it had not yet recovered from. The resort where the meeting would take place was one of the first new ones on the island.

August Imperator Yuan Jia had come to the island city, to meet with the leader of the French. The mood of Revolutionary France seemed to be spreading to other parts of the world, in a way it had not in several years. While Revolution remained a theme within the UFE, it had largely accomplished the goals of its geographically oriented revolution. Only Tibet and Xinjiang now lay outside the conception of a East Asian commonwealth which had been envisioned. The potential for a new wave of revolution sweeping the world could either be a major strategic boon or liability to the United Federation of the East, which Jia would admit had developed some reactionary tendencies much like the Soviet Union before it as it integrated itself into the global community and developed preferences for stability in areas of national interest.

How new revolutionaries would behave, and how the Chinese delegation would behave towards them would be of interest. Hopefully they could be made strong allies. Jia was not unsympathetic to the position they would be in, afterall every Chinese knew the humiliation with which Stalin treated Mao. He did not see it as his role to do the same.

He sat back in his chair on a patio which extended onto the beach. Dressed in the white uniforms of the tropical commands, the Imperator read over his notes to prepare for the meeting, waiting for his grand vizier to indicate the guests arrival.

"Jia, they are here." a voice said behind him.

Jia looked up, "Very good, lets send them in." he said standing.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

After having met with both the Siberians and the Finnish Government, Simone's travels were not yet done and she found herself back on a plane crossing the Eurasian Continent towards the Pacific. The United Federation of the East was coined as one of the Revolutionary centers of the world. They had arisen from the decedent People's Republic of China, which while that regime shared the same ideology as the Commune, they were unable to implement it and thus failed the Chinese people. Over time the Federation had expanded from a small base on Formosa to being perhaps the undisputed voice in Asia. The Cochin War would solve that for all time and given the large alliance against Cochin, plus their Monarchic government, the Commune hoped that the Federation would be victorious. That said, the Federation's own history, especially the marriage of the August Imperator with the Hapsburg Imperial Family in Austria was suspicious. Simone disliked the European Royal Families and the recent merging of Socialism and Royalism as was the case with Athens and now with the Federation, made her question whether these were true Revolutionary Nations or just riding on the strength of their military and influence. That said, Simone was never one to refuse an invitation and made her way to Maui.

Arriving at the Federation base on Hawaii, Simone and the small entourage with her was led to a resort where the August Imperator was expecting her. Dismissing her entourage once she reached the resort, Simone was led by the Grand Vizer to a back patio where Jia was waiting for her. Dressed in a gray business suit and a gray skirt, she extended her hand once the Imperator rose from his seat.

"Monsieur, it is a pleasure to finally meet the man who unified Asia. I appreciate the invitation to come to Hawaii, it is a beautiful place."

[Triyun]

"Thank you for coming, we are honored to have you." Jia said taking a seat after shaking her hand. He motioned for her to have a seat followed by Wei. "This is my Grand Vizier, I assume you've met. Wei is the head of our administrative government, as well as party secretary since my resignation." Jia said.

"Your emergence onto the international stage is quite intriguing. No doubt you have questions about us. You're the first true revolutionaries to rise up on your own in quite a bit of time, without any sort of outside assistance. In that you much resemble our first socialist revolutions. Both Sun Yat-sen and Mao Zedong were able to assume power with relatively little foreign assistance, except of course at the very end. The key has always been once people make the revolution, can they keep it. Something that is an eternal struggle. I think France has been through similar experiences in the past." Jia continued.

He folded his arms as he leaned back, "So I am curious, then, how is your own revolution going? And how do you perceive other states that proclaim themselves revolutionary? Feel free to be honest."

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Simone sat back and pondered the questions. Jia wasted no time in getting to the point of the meeting and for that she was thankful, though the amount of thought he had placed into a simple opening did catch her a bit off guard. Pausing for a moment to get her own thoughts in line, the Chairwoman leaned over the table and interlaced her hands. "We our own revolution is going as expected, the Lizards, and I mean the term literally, were disposed of rather easily without virtually any cost to my forces. Unfortunately, the last remnants of White rule are still lingering in southern France. My hopes are that they will be crushed within the week. I don't have the time to deal with Monarchists who think they can fight." She sighed then and leaned back into the chair. "Of course if they prove to be a nuisance, I won't hesitate to burn the whole of Southern France and rebuild it to my liking.

As to the other states with whom France has allied with, both Finland and the Siberian Republic seem to be loyal allies in the face of reactionary movements. But their loyalty has yet to be tested." She smiled at this, "Though I feel that their courage in defending the Revolution will be tested soon enough. I have plans for Europe. Though I do feel that the true components of Socialism and Communism have been lost as of late. I mean no insult to you, Monsieur Yuan, but your own revolutionary state is perceived rather reactionary now, especially with the marriage to the Austrian Royal Family. It is reminiscent of Hellenic Socialism, which while part of the Marxist family per se, I wouldn't say that being Pink, is being Red. That is my honest opinion about the world at the moment, Monsieur, the flames of Revolution need to be rekindled."

Taking a breath, she looked back up at Jia and smiled. "Though I assure you, I mean know offense to your darling wife. I just never would have imagined a man bred of revolutionary ideas would take a Hapsburg as his bride."

[Triyun]

Jia leaned back. Wei looked at him, Jia was notoriously protective of his family. He steeled himself ready to diffuse the situation if Jia got angry. But to his surprise, Jia merely frowned.

"Mme. Chairwoman. We've been through several revolutions here in China. The last Emperor of Dynastic China, Puyi was born into the Forbidden City, he chose though to become one with the people, writing a book [i]From Emperor to Citizen[/i]. I think you'd find that my wife is a very humble person, and one of the people. She's not some Marie Antoinette obsessed with protecting the privilege of the aristocracy. As for why we choose who we marry, I don't believe that is really anyones business but my own.

I can say that our imperial branch, is not a monarchy like you may think. Policy is to be developed by the Socialist Party, the defense of the nation is to be lead by the People's Liberation Army, high stations of administration are not passed down by birth but by competency through our Meritocracy. We support all of these through generous provision of public goods education for the poorest peasant, free health care for the sick, living wages and protection from exploitation from the workers. The goal of the Imperial Branch, is to act as an overseer of all this. All previous revolutions have slowly come undone, through the jockeying of power. Stalin and Trotsky, Mao and Liu, etc. Rather we're seeking to create a system where the overseers of the revolution stay out of the day to day politics, leaving that to a system which the people can rise up through the ranks of. As we have equal access to education and health care, we are hoping that anyone can take exams and become a high official. In the military, anyone can join, and it can also be a career path to prominence. This is also in contrast to capitalist societies, which claim the ability for all to participate in government but create inequalities in training and advancement opportunities which perpetuate the ruling class.

Thus we can protect the ideals of the revolution, while also not creating a new class society. It is still an experiment, but one based on trying to fix what we previously have encountered."

[Sarah Tintagyl]

"As I said, Monsieur, I meant no offense. You're completely right that it is none of my business I only reflect the belief of my country that we are suspicious of the seeming, Pink World, that seems to be the mainstay ideology of the Great Powers of today. However, your explanation shows that the family and the state are different institutions entirely which is something I respect. I wouldn't want my actions in government to reflect what happens in my home in influencing what kind of mother or wife I become.

Though I have to say I am very impressed with the meritocratic system that you have implemented here in the Federation. It would be interesting to see the palette placed on top of the French experiment and see what comes out of it. Unfortunately, given the recent developments, a counter-revolution and our position in Europe not yet solidified, I must worried about our own survival rather than the direct application of the Revolution on the home front.

That said, Monsieur," Simone said sitting back. "We both seem to be on the same wave length, an ancient state preserving their revolution, and a newly-born regime that is only beginning to kindle the flames of what could become a world-wide inferno. The question I have is how can we help each other, not only survive, but fan the flames of the ideology that we hold so dear?"

[Triyun]

"My own view is that a true socialist system must be implemented over time. Our experiences with the Great Leap Forward have made me wary of trying to move Asia into true socialism before it is ready. At the moment we are in social capitalism which some may see as 'pink' but I see as transitional. We still have hundreds of millions of poor people. We will provision public goods for them to rise up and become upper working class and middle class, as well as educated first. Then we will begin the development of workers. We also feel we must still get Asians to forget their old petty rivalries and work together, forging a new identity which is that of a Commonwealth rather than feudalistic nations. I disagree with many who think socialism has been completely defined because no one has reached socialism yet, but I also disagree with those who say its impossible and capitalism should be the end goal.

Even capitalist economists agree capitalism is the latest economic system but there are those that predate it. Why should we assume it is the be all end all system? Afterall we do not assume that about physics, biology, chemistry, sociology, political science, why assume that about economics? To me this makes little sense. I hope that others that may seem pink to you share my world view, and I also encourage you to learn from China's bad experiences of the past, to jump economic systems requires careful planning and due diligence. There were those who wanted to repeat Mao's mistakes of the great leap forward at the founding of the UFE, we ended up having a severe struggle with them as they resorted to violence and cause much suffering throughout the nation. I prefer careful diligence, we all have the same goal in the end, if we damage the process through undue haste we discredit the ultimate goal.

As for your counter revolution..." Jia said pausing. "I believe this is something we can sympathize with. We faced Japanese Imperialists at our founding, and the Cochinese immediately afterwards. Though of course they were more cowardly and acted through the shadows. Ultimately war is a contest of wills. Those with the most vigorous human spirit triumph. My advise would be to tend to the moral of the common soldier who fights, the common peasant who feeds them, and the common worker who arms them. This is basic but it is key. Your own general Napoleon said morale is to the physical as three is to one, an army that is in high spirits, well equipped, and well fed who knows its leader cares for them fights harder, braver, and ultimately more successfully than the opposition. Further, the people will be loyal, there will be fewer spies if you see to them. While you do this, a poor leader will die, as his innards rot from corruption."

Jia smirked, "Heh. Now I'm sounding excessively Chinese." he said jokingly. "I would like to propose that we become the founding membersof a global socialist conference, as well as a full military alliance between our two nations. We can support you militarily and politically, but I think for your nation to survive in the world as it is today, we must also win the war of ideas and unify the global left. I firmly believe that solidarity and mutual respect amongst the left, is they key to both our long term goals."

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Simone listened through Jia's speech, it was lengthy and a bit verbose but it was clear that the Imperator knew his ideology like the back of his hand. He was a learned man who knew what he wanted out of an alliance and how to use it to spread the revolution further from France, China, and other countries which were receptive towards Leftist Ideology. It also put Simone on her guard, if she was dealing with someone this knowledgeable and this powerful, she needed to make sure that France did not become a secondary nation in partners with the United Federation. France had returned more powerful and influential than it had ever been in the recent past and she was not about to lose that momentum to take a back seat while the Federation and her allies ran the show like a well-strung marionette.

"I agree, Monsieur, and to be honest, you do my country and I too much honor in already offering founding membership to the Commune in this new project. Of course I would never refuse such an honor, but such unity is rather dangerous." Clearing her throat, Simone looked out over the patio railing towards the blue water of the Pacific Ocean below. "Communism in recent history, I know has been a strange creature. We have the emergence of Pink States and the old Leftist Alliances: The ComIntern and the Red Dawn Bloc both ended in failure because of a seeming 'Red Craze' if you will. There are regimes out there who I believe truly adhere to the philosophies of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Mao, and others. But at the same time, this recent spread of Leftism, I can't say that I trust it."

She continued, "More so, the Commune is a new nation in our period of French history at least and while we are brothers and sisters in ideology, I will reiterate what I told the President of the Siberian Republic. We do not want to become dependent on stronger, more powerful allies, like yourself. We value your friendship, but we would not value the strings that come with a friendship, if that is what you have in mind. For the first time in decades, France has achieved a place in Europe and the world once again. It is not something that I wish to see disappear. So I must ask you, Comrade, why partner with a new, untested nation?"

[Triyun]

"You have spunk." Jia replied dryly.

Wei paused seeing if Jia would say anything more before he cut in, "What the Imperator is saying, is that France seems to have the revolutionary spirit and zeal. Politics is a contest of wills, war is a continuation of politics by other means. If you have spirit and will power, you have the one ingredient to success that cannot be replicated. Remove the will from the largest army and it folds like ca house of cards.

But as for new allies, many are flavors of the month who have yet to show us their spirit. In Red Dawn we always abstained rather than vetoing membership, in a new arrangements we'd use the veto on the flavor of the month pinks."

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Simone smirked and looked down at the table as she interlaced her hands. "Spunk eh? Yes, we have a lot of spunk. We have a lot of desires too, probably ones that might not match up with the Federation as I'm sure the Federation has objectives which do not match up with how France sees the world. I think when allies have different perspectives, it makes them stronger. In that notion, I think if the Federation can handle our youthful fires, we can definitely cater to the grim and learned view point of the globe that the Imperator and yourself seem to have, Monsieur Wei."

She looked at Jia and smiled, perhaps even the same fiery smile that he had once seen years ago in Beijing on the face of an Austrian Princess. Extending her hand, the Frenchwoman's eyes brightened. "Comrades then?"

[Triyun]

"Heh, indeed." Jia said extending his hand to hers shaking it forcefully. "I am glad we could work something out. And I shall be sending help to France, to help you with your counter revolutionary problems. What do you need, men, equipment, intelligence? Name it and you shall have it."

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Simone held up her hand and politely waved Jia's gesture off. "That won't be necessary at the moment Comrade Imperator. Both Siberia and Finland have offered their services in quelling this rebellion, but seeking foreign help to solve France's internal problems would only make my regime seem weak and dependent. I cannot risk that at the present time. However, where the Federation can come into play is when our Revolution is taken abroad to other nations. I have various plans for France within Europe and then of course on other continents. The world is ours to divide, but as to our separate home fronts I think it would be best to leave well enough alone. Don't you agree Comrade?"

She smiled and bowed her head. "Though I am eternally grateful for the offer."

[Triyun]

"Very well, as you wish. I suppose our position globally is viewed such that we aren't as concerned with foreign perceptions of others influencing us. Thus we aren't as sensitive to the concern of other sometimes. We can do that. I will stick to keeping the enemies from the Pacific Rim away from France, as well as assistance on other fronts as you require it.

There is always though the offer of weapons to. We shall be ready to defer payments on any emergency equipment you need for the war." Jia offered.