Times were changing… No, times had just changed drastically, and it was leaving the residents of the Square struggling to cope with it. Sharon ‘Sherry’ Norris, head of the Norris trading company, was one of the many figuring how their merchant or mercenary families would fit in the new order of things.
Before this, the people of the Square were not only strengthened by the existential struggle against the raider city-state of Mad Square, but they had managed to thrive because of it. Fending off the raiders had made them a safe trading post, and as a result the route through the Square became the main trade route for caravans plying their trade in Manhattan. And that brought along wealth through tolls and tariffs, as well as enterprising local businesses.
The Square was a major player in the region, loaning out its hardened guards to other settlements and mediating trade disputes between caravan companies. It even led a coalition against smaller raider strongholds that sought to leech off the trade routes. At the height of its power, the mercantile dynasties who collectively ruled the Square actually cowed the Mad Square into a decade-long ceasefire, and orchestrated a civil war within the raider stronghold.
Was and were. Past tenses. All of that changed over the course of a day when a literal storm of robots descended upon Manhattan and tore through the streets and ruins. Traders and caravans were left untouched, but observers came running back with the news that the Mad Square and other raider encampments had fallen.
Then the more incredible news: the robots had passed through the Dead Zone in the north and in their wake the ratkin tribes that infested that black desert were completely purged. Shocked witnesses spoke of how the land was churned up and silver swarms dove underground. The shrieks of the rat people filled the air as every tribe was removed from the Dead Zone.
The primitive, dog-sized menaces that took years just to clear out of a half-scraper, were cleansed from the Dead Zone in no more than a week.
Sharon was there with the other family heads to meet the robotic envoy from the Nexus. They had agreed to put up a united, stoic front to the foreign power, terrifying as their first impression was. The initial message from the Nexus was surprisingly unintimidating.
“Greetings on behalf of the Nexus Severalty. We come to provide aid and security to this land.”
“What’s the price?” the ever-grouchy Regis Lampard asked, the mess of scars that was his face adding to the sour effect.
The assaultron answered without missing a beat. “Only that you do not interfere, and that you respect Nexus laws when you enter our territory.”
Anna Pike sniffed loudly at that, contempt heavy in her voice. “What makes you think Manhattan is yours?”
Again, the robot didn’t hesitate as it turned its red optics at her. “Is it yours?” The surprised silence lasted only for a few seconds before it continued. “The Nexus will respect the areas of influence of existing settlements, but otherwise will claim any and every territory by right of conquest. The Nexus is open to civil appeals and protests against our claims and are willing to discuss them.”
“The trade routes are ours!” Sharon butted in immediately. “You can’t just take them just ‘cause you blew through ‘hattan.”
This time the envoy actually paused for a moment before nodding. “Acknowledged. Kindly provide the extent of the Square’s property.”
The family heads shared faint smirks amongst themselves then, thinking they’d won a victory for themselves and the Square’s sovereignty, that maybe this Nexus was giving up the trade routes for future negotiations in their favor.
And so they produced their trade maps, claiming every route they operated and tolled, down to the nominally controlled dirt paths. Sharon and her peers pointed out every observation post and every toll gate, even if they might have been abandoned some years ago. The routes criss-crossed lower Manhattan, ensuring that no coherent, independent path could be carved between any one settlement to another. They’d see how much they could keep from the Nexus, and work from there.
Surprisingly, the robot did not contest any of the claims, simply accepting them with a final confirmation before leaving. The rest of Manhattan was the Nexus’, save for the other settlements that also retained their independence. The robot’s offer for other forms of aid was also refused for the time being, just to be safe. After all, the Square was well stocked, and had its own expert docs and advanced water purifiers.
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It took until she was about to sleep that Sharon realized that they might have just screwed themselves over.
Sure enough, within the week, the ruins beyond the Square were filled with rumbling and grinding, audible even in Sharon’s reinforced suite in the Norris’ half-scraper, and traders brought news of the Nexus leveling everything down to the foundation. They’d left the Square’s territories, which included their trade routes, alone. News also came that several towns and collectives had accepted the Nexus’ rule, and how immediate the robots were in repairing and improving everything.
And then the first Nexus humans visited the Square, a caravan of traders in actual shiny trucks, and through them Sharon finally learned more about the Nexus.
The traders spoke of lands cleansed of radiation and decay, where its people’s lives were cared for with a decadence that even the wealthiest families couldn’t attain, of medical wonders that could regrow limbs and cure all everything but old age and stupidity. They showed off far superior goods that were deemed ‘basic wares’, and new, clearly powerful weapons that were deemed obsolete by Nexus standards.
And then they spoke of Sev, the ruler of the Nexus, and the unbelievable feats he’d accomplished in raising his empire. Freeing slaves, killing monsters, breaking armies, creating miracles… If not for the fact that there was still a flood of robots out there, and the quality of clothing, food and water before her, Sharon would’ve thrown all the tales out as ludicrous without a second thought.
The real kicker was when Sharon learned of how the Nexus connected its integrated settlements. They built roads, but they also utilized an underground rail network, which was capable of transporting a lot of people across a lot of land in a short time. To the point that traveling by road was seen as a recreation.
Or when one needed to visit non-Nexus lands.
Fuck.
That was why the Nexus didn’t care about the Square’s trade routes, wasn’t it? They didn’t need overland trading when they could simply use their own underground network. And they could just distribute their wares through one of the towns that joined them. Wares that were far better, far more available, and far cheaper than anything the Square had. If tales of a robot-patrolled land were true, then the mercenary companies would be just about useless as well as the Nexus territories engulfed the Square.
It was a ruthlessly cunning move. Simply by leaving the existing settlements alone and working on the land they had, the Nexus could wield peace and security as a weapon to starve the development of independent settlements and get them begging for annexation. After all, if the average townsfolk could live a much better life in Nexus lands, with fully electrified homes with sparkling new appliances and air conditioning, and with an abundance of clean food and water, why stay in the Square?
Why trade with the Square?
An emergency meeting was convened between the dynasties the night after the Nexus traders’ arrival. More tales were brought up, from passing encounters from scouts and local traders with the odd Nexusfolk walking through the ruins of Manhattan for some reason or another. That none of these lone travelers had guards escorting them spoke volumes of Nexus security, even in newly claimed lands. That all their stories lined up with those from the traders spoke of just how screwed the Square would be.
The meeting was fast-paced and bereft of any of the usual subtext of threats and taunts, as everyone involved were reigning in their panic at the existential crisis they were facing. The families all wanted to keep their wealth and status, but they couldn’t think of a way to negotiate with the Nexus to do so. If they had the robots to clear out the Mad Square, the Square itself was likely a pushover as well, so trying to rattle sabers was immediately thrown out. The Nexus also produced practically everything, so the Square had nothing of value to offer as some sort of compromise. The Nexus was violently against slavery, so trying to bribe Sev with a pretty face would be suicidal, and he already had a harem so seduction would be highly unlikely to succeed (worse, it might backfire horrifically).
Night turned to morning, and the bedraggled representatives staggered out of the grand meeting room slumped in defeat. Sharon dragged herself back to her suite and slid onto her bed with a weary sigh. She’d need to get as much rest as she could and gather her wits; if the Nexus traders agreed to pass along the message, she’d soon be part of a diplomatic mission to gain an audience with Sev of the Nexus Severalty. Houses Pike and Lampard would contribute one of their debutantes, just in case seduction was on the table. In the meantime, houses Norris, Clayton and Avoy would gather more information about the Nexus, to gain a better picture of what they’d be dealing with.
Sharon honestly wished that this Sev or his advisors were more corruptible than their stories made them out to be. It’d make things so much easier if things could be solved by slipping a girl or two into bedchambers.
Or maybe she could offer up the keys to the Square itself in exchange for some guarantees to her station?