BXBX NOVEL Chapter 79 - Negotiation Failed
That was what frustrated them the most. But they felt more anger than frustration.
The Moonian scientists had worked for them for thirty years. During that time, they had made significant contributions, and their research had supported their economy. Instead of showing gratitude, they were asking for compensation now.
And the amount was in trillions.
That was outrageous! How preposterous!
Koji said, “We won’t ask for too much. One trillion will do.”
“Woodia wants a trillion, too.”
“The same with Winland.”
“Soilia values scientific research and has invested heavily in this field. Therefore, we’ll ask for one and a half trillion. Director Lang, General Marlow, please make the payment as quickly as you can manage.”
Henry was so angry that he laughed. He no longer cared about the shelter. He only wanted to argue with these people about the compensation.
If the compensation had to be paid, their countries needed to pay Moon!
“What? Three trillion? One trillion? And one and a half trillion?” Henry pointed at the other officials, his face blushing from anger. “Are you going to pay Moon?”
Maruse’s face darkened. “No, you’re going to pay us!”
“Bullshit! My people have worked for you for over thirty years, and you’re asking us for money?! You’ve got to be kidding me! Have you lost your goddamn mind?”
“Director Lang, we’d appreciate some respect!”
“You’ve shown us no respect at all!”
“Yes, we have! We’ve been polite the whole time!”
“What you said has nothing to do with respect!” Henry shouted at Maruse.
Gordon tugged at his sleeve. “That’s enough! Let’s get down to business!”
Henry took a deep breath, trying to calm down.
No matter how frustrating the other side was, the Moonians decided that they should remain polite, which was their tradition. They believed that one had to have the ability to tell right from wrong.
The compensation and the shelter were two different matters.
That was how a responsible country should behave.
“The compensation can wait. Once we get through this catastrophe and Earth is safe again, we can talk about it then. Is that alright? Now, let’s get back to the construction of the shelter and the space cannon…”
“No more shelters or space cannons! Shut up, you idiot! We’re not shooting a movie here!” Gordon was displeased as well and said with a darkened face, “Mr. Maruse, we don’t have time for such nonsense. If everything goes as planned, you’ll all spot the super meteorite in a week. By then, you’ll only have seven days left, and you won’t have enough time to build a shelter. Without your help, we won’t be able to complete the space cannon either. “It’s time that we work together to defend our planet. We can’t afford internal strife now. I hope you can keep a clear mind on major issues like this. If Earth doesn’t exist anymore, what good will money do?”
Henry added, “That’s right! Gentlemen, this is a major issue! We’re not joking! We’re perfectly aware of the nature of our jobs, and we’ll never try to pull a prank under such an occasion!”
Park said, “Shut up already! Listen. I’ll say one last time. I don’t want to hear about f*cking meteorites, disasters, or shelters again! Understood? If you can’t understand English, get your president here!”
“Mr. Park, that’s enough!” Gordon finally lost his temper. “We’ve been deadly serious, but you kept insulting us and wouldn’t show us any respect or trust! The meeting is over! If you don’t-“
“General!” Now, it was Henry’s turn to calm Gordon down. “We need to look at the big picture!”
If other countries didn’t believe them, they should try to convince them instead of getting angry. Gordon sighed. “Guys, we’ll buy the materials from you, okay? Just ship the goods. If what we said would happen doesn’t happen in the next two weeks, we’ll pay you ten times the original price! If the meteorite does hit us, you’ll be helping humanity as a whole. How does that sound?”
“No!” Maruse refused.
“Pay the three trillion you owe us; then we’ll sell you the materials!”
“Yes! Pay up. We’ll talk about the rest after that!”
“I agree! Pay the 1.5 trillion you owe Soilia, and we’ll ship you the goods you need in the next 15 days!”
Gordon stomped his foot in frustration. “You people are incorrigible! We don’t have time for this! This is not the time to talk about who owes who what! If you ask me, you all owe my country! Can we put that aside for now?!”
“That’s not an option!” Maruse refused again. “The sole purpose of this meeting is to talk about compensation. What else do you want to talk about? The meteorite that is supposed to hit Earth in two weeks? The shelter? I’m not a three-year-old! You can’t fool me!”
Koji said, “If we have to talk about that, we’ll do it after you pay us!”
Park said, “That’s right! Pay up!”
Gordon and Henry sighed. It seemed they weren’t going to persuade these people today.
They couldn’t be blamed either. Even Gordon and Henry found it hard to believe at first. If they hadn’t heard it from Himmel Soan himself, they would take it as a joke, too. However, it came from Himmel Soan. The man had lived for hundreds of years and could revive. He had spent his life making contributions to the country. He wouldn’t lie to them.
“If you don’t pay us, we may resort to means that you won’t like to get our money back,” Maruse said grimly when he saw that Henry and Gordon had stopped talking.
Henry nodded, still angry. “Mr. Maruse, I think your purpose today is to make things difficult for my country. Money is just an excuse, isn’t it?”
“Mr. Lang, if you think that way, there’s nothing I can do. Your best option is to cough out the money.”