Chapter 485 Two Numb Asses
After the meet and greet with the rest of the council was over and everyone had familiarized themselves with each other, the council room was left empty and dissolved into the qubits from which it had been created.
The two new ministers were in turmoil, each of them considering many different things.
The meeting itself had been extremely productive, which surprised Youssef; he was too used to meetings where the main focus was on snatching credit and being seen by upper management rather than resolving issues and enacting plans. Conversely, the emperor, despite his lofty position, was willing to involve himself in even the most minor details of the operation of the empire. Not that he was a micromanager, either, but he had actually listened to the advice and suggestions of his advisory council instead of stubbornly insisting that his was the only voice that mattered.
Jeremy, on the other hand, had no experience in society and had felt that the council meeting was more akin to a group of college friends planning an extended trip after they graduated. It was nothing like he had imagined; there was no politicking, there were no dark rooms, and though the meeting was held privately, no favors were traded or any of the other Hollywood political tropes that were so common in the movies he'd watched growing up. Investigate the source of this data, deeply rooted in n0v(lbin★
According to both men's understanding of how former leaders worked, nothing that had just taken place was anything that even approached the word 'normal'. They didn't expect that issues would be raised, suggestions gathered, plans formed, and solutions enacted, all in the space of a single working day. Perhaps there was something to the empire after all, rather than it being a single powerful man's individual power fantasy that he had forced the entire human race to capitulate to.
"So... Jeremy, right?" Youssef began.
Jeremy nodded and waited for him to continue.
"Why do you suppose the emperor chose us? There are many reputable politicians he could've chosen for ministerial positions... but instead, he gave them to a youth with no experience beyond retail jobs and a middle-aged dead-ender who was treading water in middle management," Youssef asked. He didn't have enough fingers to count the politicians that were actually good at the job of governing.
"Easy. We have yet to be corrupted. Once you've been exposed to the corruption in politics, it's almost impossible to not fall into that spiral again. Even if you weren't corrupt to begin with, just the idea of the things you can take from the people to benefit yourself will constantly be whispering in the back of your mind like your own personal devil," the young man answered, setting aside the files he was reading at the moment. The conversation Youssef had begun was interesting to the much younger man, and besides, the information contained in the "imperial data dump", as he chose to call it, was quite frankly terrifying.
Youssef thought for a moment, then called up a screen and began searching for information on politicians, from the highest halls of power to the lowest Karen on her school board. "Hmm.... It seems that most of the world leaders are either on house arrest or in the deepest, darkest holes the empire could find, awaiting trials for crimes committed during their time in office. The same holds true for those at all levels of power," Youssef said after reading the result of his search. "So perhaps you've got a point."
"Of course. It's only natural.... After all, you know as well as I do the tools that the government has to detect people breaking the law." Jeremy was referring to the brain data archived in the classified sections of the Akashic Record. "The fight against corruption and abuse of power will never end, but at least the empire has the tools to effectively combat it," the young man said with a content smile on his face. He had already seen his salary and, when combined with the benefits of imperial citizenship alone, he would be living a life he couldn't even have begun to dream about when he was in the swamp in Louisiana. Both he and his mother could live their entire lives without any worries at all.
Changing topics, he asked, "By the way... when do you think His Majesty became an awakener?"