amaotonovel Chapter 63 New atmosphere
Chapter 63 New atmosphere
With the new year bringing a fresh start, Alice declared that temporary laws should be established immediately, as a country cannot exist without laws. She consulted the Civil Code, convened a meeting, and began the initial drafting of Amelia's legal system.
"The spirit of the Emilia Civil Code is to protect the interests of all citizens. Its core principle is that all men are created equal. On this basis, the monarchy is retained as the central authority of the state, a civil government is established, and national examinations are used as the means of government selection."
Since vampires have such long lifespans as royalty, the current rulers can accept it, at least that's what the current attendees think. After all, Alice, as one of the rulers, has already ushered in a new era, so as an enlightened monarch, the existing system is acceptable.
"...Private property is sacred and inviolable, and private property includes personal real estate, personal belongings, and personal wealth...but does not include the means of production, namely, hired laborers and production machinery. The system of the means of production is discussed in Chapter 4—the Law of Production Relations."
Some legal scholars agreed with Alice's proposal, while others disagreed, but after discussion, the two girls concluded that it was necessary.
The means of production must be subject to the influence of state power, at least for the system Alice wants to establish.
"The state recognizes the existence of non-governmental trade unions, which are independently organized and operated by workers. They adhere to three principles in their activities: they are prohibited from accepting foreign funding, are prohibited from being led by foreign citizens, and operate independently."
Everyone frowned. A union was obviously a workers' association, and not everyone understood this new concept. The law committee passed the law concerning unions by abstaining from voting.
"Next--"
The drafting of laws is an extremely tedious task, yet it requires everyone's focus. The data collected from local governments is often extremely vague. Alice even struggles to know exactly how many people and livestock a village has. The local investigation committee of the Planning Bureau is also slow to be established, and sometimes the bureau faces pressure from both local and central authorities.
"Doing this kind of thing is really difficult..."
Alice stretched, her bones creaking. It wouldn't be impossible to do without the law as in the past, but with industrial progress, humanity must eventually keep pace with productivity. If the hidden dangers are not eliminated sooner or later, they will become a bomb.
"Miss, someone has come to visit."
"Who?"
"Well, I can't really say exactly what it is, but she said she was a siren."
"Sirens?"
Alicia walked in. She remembered the siren. Looking at Alice, she nodded, indicating that she could let her in.
"Let her in."
Alicia approached Alice and said, "The children of the ocean... the siren, have existed since I was a child, and even now, no one dares to say that they understand the ocean."
“I once guided her for a while, and I will use this as a window to understand the ocean.”
"it is good."
Alice nodded. On this continent, the treasures of the deep sea usually existed only in legends—pearls, gems, gold. But in Alice's eyes, the treasures of the deep sea did exist: oil, natural gas, methane hydrate, sea sand, deuterium, sea salt—each one extremely important to industry.
We must understand the deep sea in order to find a way to obtain it.
When the sirens were brought in, Alice had expected them to look strange, like the fish-men in cartoons. But when she saw them in person, Alice couldn't tell the difference between them and ordinary people, except for their oily skin and slightly slender figure.
“I am Isa Tara, and this is my sister Isa Mara. We belong to the Deep Blue and have come to visit the earth as visitors.”
The two blue-haired girls bowed to Alice, who then gestured for them to leave, pointing to the sofa.
“Alice de la Leah, this is our mother, Alicia de la Leah.”
After some pleasantries, Alice was about to ask a question, but the Sirens were clearly more inquisitive. Issa Mara took out a peculiar board with a picture painted on it.
"Boat?"
"To be precise, it's the Flying Fish-class trade clipper. Let me think... you're not asking about Miss Olina Christopher, are you?"
“That’s right, Your Highness Alice. The land civilization sailed towards the deep blue, and the deep blue came ashore. We have had exchanges with each other. However, we came ashore to seek the antidote for the deep blue. So what about the land?”
The sirens looked at the land people, who gazed curiously at the earth. For hundreds of years, they had rarely interacted with the land, and the land people rarely ventured into the deep sea.
"For the future."
"future?"
“Our nation, the future of our civilization, needs knowledge, needs discovery, needs every possible opportunity. Therefore, I authorize Miss Olina Christopher to assemble an exploration fleet to find new continents and, if possible, to circumnavigate the globe.”
"The future? Aren't we all living for the future—the future of our deep sea?"
Issa Mara sighed. In the past century, the deep sea has undergone a strange change. A pollution caused a sudden change in deep-sea pressure and also polluted the seawater. A strange, black, oily substance spread from the seabed, polluting hundreds of nautical miles of water.
A small bottle was handed to Alice; it was a sample of the contamination, taken from the most dangerous dark waters. Alice took the bottle; she couldn't see anything strange about it. The black liquid reminded her of oil, but the probability of finding oil in the deep ocean was extremely low; it was usually found in shallow continental shelf areas.
"Rafis".
"Yes, ma'am."
"Take this to a chemical laboratory for testing, and check the composition."
If it were oil, then things would be much easier; the two sides could simply exchange what they had. But how exactly did oil spread across the seabed? Alice was completely baffled.
"If the test results match our expectations, we will help you with this, but..."
Alice deliberately drew out her words, and the two sirens nodded, indicating their agreement. In their view, this pollution required a huge cost to clean up, so it was reasonable for the other party to ask for some compensation.
But from Alice's industrial perspective, this is oil! Oil! Oil is already a precious resource. Alice deliberately doesn't reveal what it is, simply wanting to maximize profits and manipulate these pre-industrial maritime civilizations.
“Deep Blue will reveal the story of this sea to you, starting from the beginning—from the Sirens, as a gift for your help to the ocean.”
Being sold out and still helping the seller count the money—this couldn't be more true. Alice thought to herself, leaning back on the sofa.