Beyond The Impossible

Karun, 47,000 light-years from Earth

This is the financial capital of the Olympian Galaxy. Its banking system is by far the oldest mortal independent organization in existence, and even gods are known to rely on it.

It might sound strange, since gods can literally create wealth out of nothing and lay waste to entire civilizations without batting an eye… but most gods are lazy.

Why waste even a tiny fraction of your immortal life worrying about something as boring as economics? At least, that’s the sales pitch that has kept the Karun Bank Group alive for eons.

Which is why, when the Slayer of Gods herself shows up at the bank’s headquarters, nobody finds it particularly noteworthy. Even she is a minor player in their eyes.

Still, the man greeting her at her arrival is somewhat surprised. She’s not dressed in her usual green leather jacket and jeans, but in an elegant black office suit complete with green tie.
Even in her formal attire, though, she opted for platform boots instead of high heels.

<Lady Null, pleasure to meet you again. I’m afraid I don’t recognize your associates.> the man says, looking at the Demon woman and the Lampyrian that are next to Null.

<Ladies, this is Shevan Alcor, President of the Karun Bank Group. Mr. Alcor, these are Lily Elosia, First Chief of Lampyria, and Agony, Lady Of All Demons of Hell.>

<Call me Shevan, please. This is a bit unusual… Hell doesn’t have a monetary system, and Lampyria is not part of the galactic community. In fact, I believe the planet is not currently located in the Olympian Galaxy.>

<Is your bank limited to business in your galaxy, Mr. Alcor?> Lily asks.

<Of course not, ma’am, the Karun Bank Group has branches in six different galaxies. But follow me this way, please, we can skip the formalities of the security check like last time and…>

<No. Check I’m really who I say I am. This must be on the books.> Noriko insists.

<Why, of course, the scanner is this way. I must also stress to your associate that weapons are not allowed inside the building, so I would kindly ask Mr. Agony to refrain from using her powers.>

Agony doesn’t even acknowledge his remark. To a Demon, all this talk of money is sheer nonsense.

Once the identity of Noriko Null is verified by the very best sensors money can buy, Shevan Alcor takes the visitors to his own office. Null is the only one to sit down: Lily can’t sit comfortably because of her wings, and Agony prefers to stay behind Noriko, keeping her arms crossed.

<Well, here we are, Lady Null. How can I help you?> he finally asks.

<I currently have an account of 12 trillion obols in your bank. Composed by the funds provided by the Church of Null, Tyche’s former account, plus my acquisition of Alexer Syzar’s shares on the Galactic Stock Exchange.> Null recounts. Everything was done by Leiko behind her back… but according to the books, Noriko is still the actual owner of that fortune.

<That is correct, it’s currently the largest account in our system. Well, excluding the gods.>

<I hope that is enough security to ask for a loan from your bank.>

<Of course! Our loan program is incredibly stable and fair. How much would you like to borrow?>

<Nine hundred and fifty-seven trillion, three hundred twenty-eight billion, one hundred seventy million, three hundred thousand, two hundred and thirty-nine obols.>

Shevan Alcor almost has a heart attack from just trying to visualize the number she just said.

<Lady Null, that is… that is nearly the amount of liquid assets of the Olympian Galaxy branch…>

<That’s not true, Mr. Alcor. It is exact amount of liquid assets of this branch.>

<Lady Null, this is outrageous! You expect us to give you all our money for free!?>

<Not at all. I expect you to give me the money with a 7% interest rate over the next 5 years, plus a 30% commission on all commercial transactions in the Middle Galaxy… as Lily and Agony can attest, I’ve already purchased the mining rights to the entire galaxy… and I’m also throwing in the offer to serve as the Minister of Finance of the new Mortal Republic government.>

<I… I’m going to need a minute. And talk to the Board of Directors. But I need to know, Lady Null… what possible use could you have for all that money!?>

Noriko Null can’t help but smile.

Midgard City, Antarctica

When Oluwa Kalu accepted to become the first mayor of the world’s latest city-state, he knew he would have to get used to the unexpected. The last few months have been a rollercoaster… with the collapse of Null Technologies the city’s economy received a major blow, and the complete lack of direction from Null herself made things challenging… but the former Nobel Peace Prize winner didn’t expect thing would only get crazier.

<Is she seriously going to be late?> he asks, checking his watch.

<Relax. We still have a couple of minutes.> a Kari Zel duplicate reassures him. She’s dressed unusually formal, with a pink pantsuit, but she’s still keeping her feet on the desk.

<What if she’s not here when the meeting starts?>

<Then we tell them to wait.> Kari replies nonchalantly. Then the meeting room is illuminated by the effect of a teleporter, announcing the arrival of Noriko.

<Sorry. It was a tougher negotiation than I thought.> she says, sitting between Oluwa and Kari.

<Did it work?> the Myridian asks.

<I got away with five hundred trillion; less than ideal, but it’ll be enough. And feet off the table, Kari… this is important. I’m recording the meeting for posterity.>

The purple-haired girl obliges just in time: the holographic projectors activate, and the images of five men halfway across the planet appear as if they were there.

Kari has only met the current President Warden from the United States, but her duplicates keep up with the news to recognize the others. The President of Russia, the President of Rance, the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, and the President of the People’s Republic of China.

<Gentlemen. Thank you for agreeing to this meeting. We’re all in simultaneous translation, so you’re not going to need interpreters.> Noriko begins.

<You have a lot of explaining to do, Null. Why did you put up that shield?> the President of Russia asks. Noriko has not forgotten that he was the one to exile Dmitry Voron, but she has to be diplomatic… at least for the moment.

<I needed to save the planet from certain destruction. You’re welcome, by the way.>

<Why were we not consulted? The treaties of the Global Defense Organization…> the Prime Minister of France starts, but Noriko interrupts him.

<…are meaningless when dealing with beings who barely recognize Earth as a sovereign planet, sir. But I’m pretty sure all your scientists have already figured out that there has been no negative impact caused by the shield, so it’s useless to debate about it now.>

<I respectfully disagree, miss Null. The world economy has been badly damaged.> President Warden reminds her.

<I noticed, and I’ll get to that in a second. But first I have an important announcement to make; you might recall that I built Midgard City in an area of Antarctica that doesn’t technically belong to any country, right? Well, that’s about to change.>

<Are you planning to sell it?> the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom asks.

<Quite the opposite. I’m declaring the independence of the sovereign state of Midgard.>

The five men reply all at the same time, creating an incomprehensible sound of confusion; most of it is made up of variations of “you can’t do that”.

<Actually, I can. Midgard has a permanent population, an elected government and a functioning economy. The only thing it’s missing to be a true country is to be recognized by other nations; and since you gentlemen represent the permanent members of the UN Security Council, your unanimous recognition will speed up the process.>

<Why would we do that? We should reclaim your illegal settlement! It is a violation of the Antarctic Treaty!> the President of Russia objects.

<With what army? You know I have access to military technology hundreds of years ahead of yours. Especially without the nuclear missiles you aimed at Midgard.>

<You sabotaged our nuclear arsenal!?>

<Please, like I would ever do something as petty as that. No, I just teleported your entire nuclear arsenal straight into the Sun.>

The holograms are so lifelike that Noriko can see the world leaders become noticeably pale.

<Did I hear that correctly? You eliminated Russia’s nuclear weapons?> President Warden asks.

<You know what is Earth’s biggest problem, mister President? It still thinks in terms of single nations. Nuclear weapons are more trouble than they’re worth, so I erased the problem: they’re just gone. From every single country on the planet.>

If her previous statement generated confusion, this lights up complete chaos. Noriko cuts off the audio from the statesmen, turning towards Kari.

<Maybe I should edit this part out of the historical record. I don’t want to look too full of myself.>

<You’re having the time of your life.> Kari notices, halfway between amused and concerned.

<I’m just getting started.> Noriko replies; her silver eyes shine when she reconnects the audio.

<…act of aggression! Your new country is going to be embargoed immediately!> the President of Russia threatens.

<Like it matters anymore. You’ve known we are not alone in the universe for years now! Earth’s problems are more than provincial now… all of the world’s resource don’t mean anything on the galactic stage. Which leads me to this.> Noriko says, projecting a map of the Olympian Galaxy: the Mortal Republic is highlighted, as well as several smaller areas next to its borders.

<This is the extent of the Galactic Stock Exchange. Thousands of planets that run on a post-scarcity meta-capitalist economy… it’s complex stuff. But the gist of it is that the Galaxy’s economy makes Earth look like a lemonade stand run by children.>

<What does this have to do with us? We have no interest to join this alien economy.> the President of China replies.

<Nearly limitless resources and innovations. We’re looking at the end of hunger, of poverty, of sickness. Nothing in the Galaxy is free, though, and the US dollar is worth exactly zero obols… that’s the main galactic currency, by the way. I have five hundred trillions of it, which I’m using to fund the Midgard Bank: if you want to trade with the rest of the Galaxy, all of you will have to go through me.>

<This is blackmail.> the President of Russia says, shaking his head.

<I suppose it is. I’ve tried to fix the planet one step at a time, but change is too slow… I may not be around by the time Earth catches up with me. You’re going to join the galactic community, like it or not; I’m just here to supervise the process to ensure you don’t screw it up.>

<By investing in your bank?> President Warden asks.

<Sort of. No Earth currency is going to be accepted out there… it’s a fundamentally different economic system. Midgard will have its own galactic currency; we’ll negotiate an acceptable exchange rate from the dollar to the voron.>

<The… what?> the President of Russia asks, fuming with anger.

<The voron. That’s what I’m calling the currency.>

<And what if we refuse to join this nonsense? If we want to stay out of the galactic community? If I understand properly, you are the only one pushing for integration.> the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom wonders.

<Right, that brings me to my last point. Kari, if you please?> Noriko says; a Kari Zel duplicate then proceeds to place a small statue of Athena at the center of the conference table.

<This is the Palladium. Thanks to this device, Earth is isolated: it prevents faster-than-light travel, which includes blocking most forms of interstellar communications. It’s been sitting on our planet for over two thousand years; if it wasn’t for this thing, dealing with the rest of the Galaxy would be exceedingly easy. For the longest time, I though it was a Drylon device.> she explains.

<It’s not!?> Kari exclaims; she has no idea where Noriko is going with this.

<Drylon tech requires a user to operate; even the Myridian Monolith is in constant use by millions of people. They can operate after the user is dead, sure but only for a while… as I’ve recently discovered myself. Not for thousand of years, as the Palladium has done… it’s just not consistent with what we know about Drylon tech. No, the Palladium is something else entirely. I’m sure this is was made by the Lar… in fact, I have a clear idea of who exactly built it.>

<How does this affect us?> the President of China asks.

<Drylon technology is nearly indestructible. Lar technology is not.> Noriko exclaims, drawing her Genius Gun and firing it directly at the small statue.

The Palladium explodes into a thousand pieces… or at least the Athena statue. Parts of the base still remain, but something rises from it. A glowing key.

<The third and last Key of Heaven. It’s been under our noses the whole time.> Noriko says.

<What does this mean?> President Warden asks.

<Three things. First, Earth is no longer invisible. Second, it’s defended by the most powerful weapon ever built by mortals. Third… welcome to the future, gentlemen.>