Mic has posted in the left frame paragraphs from Doc's Place, one of his copyrighted stories. I'm moderating chat here in the right frame. I post every day, but I don't post everything. I have formed a secondary group from which I may also post comments.

Le, even though this is a lateral move, you're moving from a profit center to a cost center. Do you see this as a demotion?

No, the right woman gets the job in both cases. Mei's specialty is producing and increasing revenue; mine is operational and cost efficiency. As usual, Jill places us exactly where we need to be and with the perfect charter for our own as well as Pere's success. Of course, it helps avoid conflict when I'm in love with my replacement. Both Mei and I are still in these same positions today. Chief Financial has grown with Pere and has transformed over 2 decades from a cost center to a profit center producing billions a year in revenue. During the same era under Mei, Pere has grown much more than Chief has.

Did either of you view this move as punishment?

No, Jill originally assigned me short-term to the revenue executive position to organize it for operational and cost efficiency. No one, including Ume, Sara and Mei, has changed the organization from the way I established it 23yrs ago. Ume and Jill were going to move me to Chief when they recruited and hired the new CEO any way. Jill just had to do it a month early is all.

For Mei, this is a huge promotion. She moves from operating funds of $50M to $100M at the time. Mei begins operating both RDF—Jill's private fund—and Pere.

However, this does not change succession planning, which at this time, goes from Ume to me. Once Sara comes in, I move to third in succession and remain there to the present day.

Were Pere and Midori of the same value in 1984?

Yes, and they grow at approximately the same rate until 1995 when Sara designs the largest single-year growth in Pere or Midori history. Midori Bank increases in value by over 1,000%, from $4B to $40B.

Coincidentally, Midori's biggest and most aggressive rival in the region for over 20yrs loses 100% of its assets at the same time, even though it has been in business for centuries, perhaps more than a thousand years. Midori procures almost all of those assets as a temporary stewardship. In the 13yrs since, Midori has returned all those assets to assignees of the People's Republic of China, for a fair price plus service charges and interest, of course.

Why did Midori return the assets to the Chinese government?

The government wanted them back, it was willing to pay fair market value for them and the criminal organization had stolen the assets centuries ago.

Midori holds most of its value off shore in small South Pacific nations with minimal taxes.

It is true that Midori pays little in the way of taxes; however, Midori also makes substantial investments in local development without placing any tax burden at all on local citizenry. In fact, the nations in the South Pacific where Midori holds the majority of its value have the highest standard of living in the world, even compared to the US and Europe. Home ownership in these nations is at 100% as are graduation rates at all levels. Crime simply does not exist. None of these nations even has a jail, prison, court system, police force or army, although they do have strong air and naval forces, including marines, and are quite active in keeping peace throughout the region. Pirate activity in the region has ceased, largely because the combined air and naval forces hunt down and kill pirates without courts, prisons or anything resembling due process.

All of these nations enjoy the benefits of three satellites in geosynchronous orbit above them. These satellites provide free, encrypted Internet access as well as access to all available satellite television services to all citizens and for-profit institutions.

You mean not-for-profit institutions.

No, I don't.

Tell them about the churches and embassies, Lizzie. This is great.

Illustrative of the way things would be I suppose if Midori executives ran the world, several churches have established offices in these nations where Midori keeps its wealth but they must build an office building to exacting national specifications for earthquakes, typhoons, flooding and other standards. Once the building passes inspection, they must give the entire building to the government and then pay exorbitant rent for the office space they occupy because renting is rare. Only for-profit organizations may buy land and pay minimal taxes and fees. All not-for-profit institutions must pay taxes and fees at full rates. Additionally, churches pay exorbitant fees for insurance and satellite access. These nations place the same requirements on nations that wish to establish an embassy that they place on other not-for-profit institutions. Insurance and satellite access, by the way, are government monopolies operated by the department of education in all of these nations.

The only churches that have established offices in these small nations are those that proselyte and have considerable financial resources. Before Midori established its presence, all of these churches enjoyed tax-free status as well as free property. Since Midori's arrival, all the churches have seen a steady decline in membership and attendance. By the way, churches restrict their missionaries to 3mos or less here because the citizens are so well educated and well off they generally pay little heed. In fact, the citizenry enjoys some success in persuading missionaries to quit the churches they represent—hence the visits of 3mos or less.

Looking at the issues Jill sees with her new organizational chart, Le, do any of those issues fester or cause significant problems as time goes on?

I did have a tough time running Chief as a profit center for the first few years. After overhauling the management staff and the objectives, things slowly began working. As for Mei's group feeling resentful, we never had that problem because I recruited everyone and then moved the best ones over to the Pere side when they finished 2yrs with me on the Chief Financials side. After "doing time with the Chief," as they call it, they are not only grateful to get out but never want anything to do with the Chief side and those responsibilities again.

SIA doesn't care what anyone thinks—about anything. Some are retired from successful careers as military, police or intelligence and financial analysts. Others are clandestine field operatives and assassins who prefer to live dangerous lives on or beyond the fringes of society.

Lizzie, are those kids from the Chinese gang in Oakland the first tendrils of the organization that Pere eventually raided of its assets 10yrs later?

Yes, they are from the same organization, but no, they are not the first tendrils. Midori has been competing with this organization in various ways for 10yrs, since beginning to gain power in the Far East. It takes 22yrs to kill or scatter their operatives, dismantle their organization and seize their assets. It takes another 13yrs of negotiations with the government to arrange the return of those assets.

In fact, during the 70s and 80s, that organization is why Midori has such a highly developed SIA network in the Eastern Hemisphere and why Pere has such a poorly developed SIA network in the Western Hemisphere. It takes Midori 35yrs to root them out, destroy them, seize their assets and then return those assets to the Chinese government, from which the organization stole the assets in the first place.

Why go to all that trouble? Why not just avoid them and pursue other business? That's what I do if an organization entrenches itself in a market. I go elsewhere.

The answer is obvious. In fact, I give all of you one guess before I give this question to Amalie or Benny.

Oh, then the answer must be that the organization got in the way of Jill's plans so she told Ume to root them out and destroy them.

Close enough

We should add that Jill is not interested only in profit, for if she were, she would have done as Suze suggests. However, Jill is also intensely interested in destroying her adversaries and if it takes 3.5 decades, then so be it.

Did SIA even exist back in 1973, Lizzie?

Ume called it Security and Audit back then, and filled it with retired Japanese military, police and civil servants. She added Intelligence later.

Has anyone informed this criminal organization that the woman who conspired in and finally succeeded in ripping them out by the roots and destroying all trace of their existence was once a slave and whore outside a military base—a camp follower, as it were?

Problem, my dear Cyril, is there's no one to tell, which we have come to expect, I suppose, from this Ainu woman who came from nothing to lead the richest, most powerful enterprise in the world. Once Jill tells Ume to snuff an organization, kill its principles and scatter all of its members and their families to the four winds, she does it, even if it takes time.