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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Reader mode
Vaermina said:
I kind of doubt Grayven has any intention of actually following through with that.
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I imagine Grayven isn't quite dumb enough to give Constantine mystical leverage in the form of a favor owed and 100% have no intention on going through with it.

Constantine might not be of the Sidhe, but I imagine he could leverage a favor owed nearly as well.
 
The Other Half (supplementary, SI option)
12th July 2012
09:27 GMT

I frown as I leaf through the paper copy of the presentation before me, then look up at my fellow meeting attendees.

Oliver looks mildly pensive, while Conrad -the current Chief Executive of Cadbury- is keeping his face carefully blank.

"Gentlemen, I was pretty clear when I acquired Cadbury that I wasn't interested in having any direct involvement in setting company policy. I don't know enough about the business to do that. My purchase was purely a pride thing."

Oliver briefly glances at Conrad and then returns his attention to me.

"So what's the issue?"

Oliver adjusts his position in his seat.

"It's because it's not just about candy anymore." He sighs. "The Sheeda targeted container ships and transport airplanes. Long distance shipping worldwide is a fraction of what it was before the war, and for countries like Britain which are net food importers that's a big problem."

"Good for carbon emissions. And it's not like Britain can't increase the acreage it farms. Or.. are we actually looking at starvation?"

Oliver leans back a little.

"They're gunna be short of bananas for a while, but we're not talking about that kinda shortage. It's just stuff people have gotten used to having."

I nod. "But Cadbury is still fine, because your distribution network uses Dolmen Gates."

Conrad nods. "More than that, we tied our suppliers into our Gate network. Unlike a lot of companies in our position, we've been able to maintain both production and sales."

"Good. Great. That was why I had the company buy them in the first place. I mean, not in expectation that the Sheeda would invade, but for the added speed and security."

He nods again. "But we're not using them twenty four seven. Even bringing everything in and out by Dolmen Gates, there is plenty of time where they're not active. And we've already got the contacts with the Atlanteans if we wanted to expand the network."

"Do you?"

"We've been thinking about going into mass transit. We've had a few approaches from other firms interested in using our routes, and the Department for International Trade has been quite helpful. But so far it's all been ad-hoc. We've spent a little time talking to other businesses operating in the same geographic areas that we do, but we haven't really been looking at it in a holistic way. Obviously, there's a very big market in mass transit, and we could try to capitalise on it more fully."

"If you think it's a good idea, you'll have my support."

"The problem is that this is well outside of our core competences. We don't… We don't have the expertise in-house to manage something like… Well, like replacing global shipping entirely."

"So you want to set up a company dedicated to international freight shipping through Dolmen Gates?"

"We can keep going as we do now. But if you want us to maximise revenue, yes, that would be the best way to go about it."

I nod, smiling.

"Did you ever listen to the speech I gave in February last year? The one where I complained at length about how people weren't using technology properly."

He nods. "I watched it when you started bidding against Kraft. So I take it that you're… Enthusiastic about the prospect?"

"Extremely so. But…" I frown. "Do you think that dedicated rail links might be better than road?"

"As I.. said, it's outside of my area of expertise."

"I mean, I… Read a book once where a company ran heavy goods trains through wormhole portals. Once they arrived at the local terminus the locals could ship whatever they were carrying out. The company ended up as an effective monopoly. Their trains didn't even travel that far."

"We wouldn't be a monopoly. The Atlanteans are selling to a variety of buyers."

And I imagine that my stock in Poseidonis isn't enough to get more than our fair share of new orders. Boris… Has quite a few. They haven't quite been able to replace the entire London Underground yet, but public acceptance is high and last time I checked in they were trying to head in that direction. It might be possible to talk him into switching back to-. No. No, those are all person-sized. The Gates we've been using for heavy goods transportation are lorry-sized, the next diameter size up. We could probably do something with them, but if we don't even have a company to do it with yet…

"Is anyone else trying to set up this kind of network?"

Oliver shakes his head.

"Just like it's not easy to move freight around, it's not all that easy to actually get the Dolmen Gates to where they need to go. The Atlanteans can handle coastal deliveries just fine, but any further in land and they can't deliver. And the wizards have to be on-site, and Atlanteans aren't all that great at handling hot or dry conditions."

"Alright. I've got no idea who could handle something like this, and I certainly can't run it myself. What do you want from me other than my approval?"

Conrad smiles like a bank manag-. Of course.

"With the state of international banking, normal business loans are-."

"You want me to fund the company?"

"Ideally. Not all of the start up costs; with your approval Cadbury can invest directly as a shareholder. Though since you.. fully own the-."

I nod.

"Yes, I spotted that."

It's not quite the sort of self-directed uplift I've wanted to see happen, not if I'm paying for it. But it's a start.

"Any reason not to that I'm not seeing?"

Oliver shrugs. "Last year I'd have said something about putting people out of work. But the Sheeda already put the sailors and dock workers out of work, and from the sounds of things you're planning on hiring plenty of loading dock workers."

"Economic change can be painful, but that's no reason not to carry it out." I nod. "Alright, I'm game. Talk to the Atlanteans about sizes… I think that customer sized heavy goods trains will be the best bet, but it's even less my area of core competence than it is yours."

Conrad nods. "Unless you have someone in mind to lead the project, I think it would work best to get the initial exploration done in-house, and recruit a management team once we've got a definite idea of what we want them to do."

"Sounds good to me. Oliver, are you alright to continue keeping an eye on things?"

"Yeah. I've actually liked getting back into the corporate world. There's a lot less pressure in this sort of role, and I don't have to hide my-" He winks at me. "-charity work."

"And have we convinced you to stop eating chocolate made with curdled milk?"

He smiles, raising his right hand defensively.

"Now let's not go crazy."
 
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Mr Zoat said:
setting company police
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'policy'

Mr Zoat said:
They're gunna be short of bananas for a while, but we're not talking about that kinda shortage. It's just stuff people have gotten used to having."
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missing opening quotation

Mr Zoat said:
It's not quite the sort of self-directed uplift I've wanted to see happen, not if I'm paying for it. But it's a start.
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Heh. The Orange is showing, Paul.
 
Mr Zoat said:
12th July 2012
09:27 GMT

I frown as I leaf through the paper copy of the presentation before me, then look up and my fellow meeting attendees.

Oliver looks mildly pensive, while Conrad -the current Chief Executive of Cadbury- is keeping his face carefully blank.
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Interesting. I wonder what concerns they have that needs the attention of their silent majority shareholder? And presumably we see this in order to skip a long boring debriefing to General Lane and company by the Renegade.

"Gentlemen, I was pretty clear when I acquired Cadbury that I wasn't interested in having any direct involvement in setting company police. I don't know enough about the business to do that. My purchase was purely a pride thing."

Oliver briefly glances at Conrad and then returns his attention to me.
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As a reminder: In our world, Cadbury's was bought out by Kraft, and the resulting reorganisation saw the recipe of major products changed to cheaper options. Naturally, our dear Author saw an opportunity to correct that in the DC Universe...

"So what's the issue?"

Oliver adjusts his position in his seat.

"It's because it's not just about candy anymore." He sighs. "The Sheeda targeted container ships and transport airplanes. Long distance shipping worldwide is a fraction of what it was before the war, and for countries like Britain which are net food importers that's a big problem."
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Huh. Did the discussion in the thread prompt this, Mr Zoat? Because it is a logical result of the Sheeda invasion. International trade is so ingrained to modern companies that any disruption messes things up something fierce. It's a major world-building point in 'Worm', too.

"Good for carbon emissions. And it's not like Britain can't increase the acreage it farms. Or.. are we actually looking at starvation?"

Oliver leans back a little.
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An honest consideration in recent decades. Some countries just don't produce quite enough food to feed all their citizens... Which leads to rationing or famine, depending on how much control the government can exercise. And it's been that way since World War II at the latest.

They're gunna be short of bananas for a while, but we're not talking about that kinda shortage. It's just stuff people have gotten used to having."

I nod. "But Cadbury is still fine, because your distribution network uses Dolmen Gates."
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Completely removing the whole issue of international shipping. Handy. Let me guess...

Conrad nods. "More than that, we tied our suppliers into our Gate network. Unlike a lot of companies in our position, we're been able to maintain both production and sales."

"Good. Great. That was why I had the company buy them in the first place. I mean, not in expectation that the Sheeda would invade, but for the added speed and security."
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...Cadbury's is thinking they can make themselves useful and turn a profit leasing Gates out, eh?

He nods again. "But we're not using them twenty four seven. Even bringing everything in and out by Dolmen Gates, there is plenty of time where they're not active. And we've already got the contacts with the Atlanteans if we wanted to expand the network."

"Do you?"
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They aren't really up to mass-producing Gates yet, are they? They're still somewhat of an Artisanal product, what with the needs for mages to assist in crafting and setup...

"We've been thinking about going into mass transit. We've had a few approaches from other firms interested in using our routes, and the Department for International Trade has been quite helpful. But so far it's all been ad-hoc. We've spent a little time talking to other businesses operating in the same geographic areas that we do, but we haven't really been looking at it in a holistic way. Obviously, there's a very big market in mass transit, and we could try to capitalise on it more fully."
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And as Gates become more widespread, the idea will catch on more. I doubt the Shipping companies will be happy with it, but there's always the fact they can carry more, if slower.

"If you think it's a good idea, you'll have my support."

"The problem is that this is well outside of our core competences. We don't… We don't have the expertise in-house to manage something like… Well, like replacing global shipping entirely."
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Yeah, that is an issue. At least the company itself won't have to eat the cost of setting such an organisation up. Not with Mr moneybags sitting right there. :p

"So you want to set up a company dedicated to international freight shipping through Dolmen Gates?"

"We can keep going as we do now. But if you want us to maximise revenue, yes, that would be the best way to go about it."
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I mean, it's not like OL needs more money. Except maybe to encourage people thinking outside the shipping container and beyond the canal.

I nod, smiling.

"Did you ever listen to the speech I gave in February last year? The one where I complained at length about how people weren't using technology properly."
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I bet quite a few companies were paying attention, seeing Cadbury's improvements. The hard part would be finding the technologies others have ignored. Or haven't been bought at the Patent stage and sat on till they go away.

He nods. "I watched it when you started bidding against Kraft. So I take it that you're… Enthusiastic about the prospect?"

"Extremely so. But…" I frown. "Do you think that dedicated rail links might be better than road?"
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Oooh, good point...

"As I.. said, it's outside of my area of expertise."

"I mean, I… Read a book once where a company ran heavy goods trains through wormhole portals. Once they arrived at the local terminus the locals could ship whatever they were carrying out. The company ended up as an effective monopoly. Their trains didn't even travel that far."

"We wouldn't be a monopoly. The Atlanteans are selling to a variety of buyers."
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Hmm... Any name for that book? Because it kind of reminds me of a Doctor Who novel, 'Transit', where humanity created, and subsequently made itself dependent on a warp-portal network for transporting nearly everything. Until they attempt to open a super-long-distance link and inadvertently pull an alien visitor into their network... Naturally, the Seventh Doctor gets involved.

And I imagine that my stock in Poseidonis isn't enough to get more than our fair share of new orders. Boris… Has quite a few. They haven't quite been able to replace the entire London Underground yet, but public acceptance is high and last time I checked in they were trying to head in that direction. It might be possible to talk him into switching back to-. No. No, those are all person-sized. The Gates we've been using for heavy goods transportation are lorry-sized, the next diameter size up. We could probably do something with them, but if we don't even have a company to do it with yet…
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I mean, how hard is it to make a gate large enough for freight trains? Not that much larger than a truck-sized one, I suspect. If at all. The bottleneck simply seems to be the mages...

"Is anyone else trying to set up this kind of network?"

Oliver shakes his head.
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Because of old-fashioned thinking, or just the gate production bottleneck?

"Just like it's not easy to move freight around, it's not all that easy to actually get the Dolmen Gates to where they need to go. The Atlanteans can handle coastal deliveries just fine, but any further in land and they can't deliver. And the wizards have to be on-site, and Atlanteans aren't all that great at handling hot or dry conditions."

"Alright. I've got no idea who could handle something like this, and I certainly can't run it myself. What do you want from me other than my approval?"
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So organise special training in the specific spells needed to set up the gates, find people capable of casting them... Surely you can rent heavy-lift helicopters to carry stuff some of the way... Worst case, find some superhumans willing to put in a hard day's work now and again.

Conrad smiles like a bank manag-. Of course.

"With the state of international banking, normal business loans are-."
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What was that analogy going to be: A bank manager seeing a lottery winner walking into his branch? :D And honestly, OL can provide several services, when he's on Earth at least..

"You want me to fund the company?"

"Ideally. Not all of the start up costs; with your approval Cadbury can invest directly as a shareholder. Though since you.. fully own the-.
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Let me guess, because he basically owns Cadbury's solely. There might be some complaints from legal departments worldwide...

I nod.

"Yes, I spotted that."

It's not quite the sort of self-directed uplift I've wanted to see happen, not if I'm paying for it. But it's a start.
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And it's not like you're going to be overseeing it personally. Best case, you simply have one more batch of reports to read.

"Any reason not to that I'm not seeing?"

Oliver shrugs. "Last year I'd have said something about putting people out of work. But the Sheeda already put the sailors and dock workers out of work, and from the sounds of things you're planning on hiring plenty of loading dock workers."
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Trained personnel, after all. I doubt the Unions will complain much.

"Economic change can be painful, but that's no reason not to carry it out." I nod. "Alright, I'm game. Talk to the Atlanteans about sizes… I think that customer sized heavy goods trains will be the best bet, but it's even less my area of core competence than it is yours."

Conrad nods. "Unless you have someone in mind to lead the project, I think it would work best to get the initial exploration done in-house, and recruit a management team once we've got a definite idea of what we want them to do."
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Man, who could you find to handle that shit? :p Danny Hebert? To some degree, they're going to be reinventing international trade...

"Sounds good to me. Oliver, are you alright to continue keeping an eye on things?"

"Yeah. I've actually liked getting back into the corporate world. There's a lot less pressure in this sort of role, and I don't have to hide my-" He winks at me. "-charity work."
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:confused: Am I missing something?

"And have we convinced you to stop eating chocolate made with curdled milk?"

He smiles, raising his right hand defensively.

"Now let's not go crazy."
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:rolleyes: Americans.

Well, that was entertaining. It's not often we see OL in the boardroom, after all. And he's still getting to nudge humanity out of its comfort zone of complacency. o_O Who'd have thought buying Cadbury's way back when would lead to this? Now, back to the Renegade verse, I expect, and perhaps a chapter of General Samuel Lane being shouty and military? :D
 
So I take it Paragon's Cadbury's hasn't started using curdled milk under Oliver's management?
 
Chojin Patriarch said:
I mean, how hard is it to make a gate large enough for freight trains? Not that much larger than a truck-sized one, I suspect. If at all. The bottleneck simply seems to be the mages...
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Are we talking the British loading gauge or the American gauge? For that matter, could the gates be additionally enchanted to swap parts mid-transit i.e. to overcome change-of-track-gauges?

I'm also wondering what the passenger gates are doing to commute times and resultant land prices (in conjunction with the change in population due to the Sheeda), per Marchetti's Constant.
 
Chojin Patriarch said:
Hmm... Any name for that book? Because it kind of reminds me of a Doctor Who novel, 'Transit', where humanity created, and subsequently made itself dependent on a warp-portal network for transporting nearly everything. Until they attempt to open a super-long-distance link and inadvertently pull an alien visitor into their network... Naturally, the Seventh Doctor gets involved.
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The Commonwealth Sage.


:confused: Am I missing something?
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Oliver Queen is a member of the Justice League.
Signaller said:
How long till Cadbury acquires Kraft just for shits and giggles?
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I don't know, when was the last time you ate a literal turd sandwich?
DAT_NOOB said:
So I take it Paragon's Cadbury's hasn't started using curdled milk under Oliver's management?
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They have, but only for chocolate clearly marked as 'American'. It's made in a separate factory so that it doesn't infect their other products.
 
When it's something you've grown up with and gotten used to, you honestly don't even taste it anymore. To the point that for awhile I couldn't actually taste any difference when eating other kinds of chocolate.

Then I basically spent the better part of a year eating dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. Had some milk chocolate again and was like, "What the fuck is this flavor?"

Then realization hit because I'd already heard why American chocolate is different from other places chocolate.
 
I am not a fan of whatever they do to chocolate in Vienna and Germany. It tastes weird.

Here chocolate is done with powered milk and is... ok

My country actually makes decent to awesome powered milk and is not like you want fresh milk for something that's supposed to last like a year.
 
Mr Zoat said:
They have, but only for chocolate clearly marked as 'American'. It's made in a separate factory so that it doesn't infect their other products.
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Shame on paul, HOW DARE he allow that transgression against all that is good and chocolate!
 
The quickest way I can think of to setup a Dolman Gates tranport system would be to (ab)use the existing port/train interface hub's and trainyards. If you put gates on the exits you effectively remove to distance between all the loading/unloading facilities.

For trans-continental shipping you'll still have to build a few miles of each gauge track in each port, parallel to your existing loading track, but at least all the cranes are already in place.
 
So trains, are actually a waste of time and effort entirely, if the dolman gate has no depth or travel time your real goal is maximize the speed at which you can pass things through it rather than moving the largest possible container through at any given time.

Best option would be an automated sliding mount system to pass shipping containers through between fully automated shipping centers.
I'd suggest two dolman gates per production center, one incoming, one outgoing, then just setup a constant conveyer of goods through.



Once its through the dolman gate, hook it into existing land distribution networks.
 
Chojin Patriarch said:
Did the discussion in the thread prompt this, Mr Zoat?
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Current events demonstrating the vulnerability of global supply chains to small damage in the right place probably helped. I can't imagine the Suez got through the Sheeda invasion unscathed, though if it was just wedged ships that would be one of the rare economic problems where Superman is actually an ideal solution. Or in this case, Teth Adom, since he's right there and Kahndahq will directly benefit from the fix.
 
There was actually no need for Paul to make those bleed torsion generators. With the way Dolmen gates make distance irrelevant, countries could set up massive singular solar farms or nuclear plants, and use Dolmen gates to transport power everywhere. The gates themselves wouldn't even need to be large, just big enough for the cables to fit through. Hell, if countries can cooperate a little, they could share solar power between them across the globe, and then they don't even need to worry about energy storage, because it's always sunny somewhere.

If you combine that with the freeze rays and room temperature superconductor/heat spread from the Amazons, you'd have 100% clean power within a few years.

I totally agree with the above poster, trains don't make any sense for such a short trip.
 
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