“In a way, she was right. Kara married me though she didn’t love me. During the attack, she was the bravest person on stage. Me? I was on my knees in tears most of the time. I made a choice to honor her courage and my family’s sacrifice by growing a spine and being worthy of the seamasters. Now, I think it’s time both our families do the same.”

  “Well done,” Bonju said. “Telling the truth does have its uses.”

  Li-Ann sipped her tea and set down the cup.

  “I admire your spirit, Ya-Li, but you speak from a position of leverage. You do not have to hear the whispers or worse … the silence. Your neighbors are not turning their backs.”

  Now they came to the heart of it. Ya-Li steered them to this point faster than expected.

  “I recognize the complications,” he told Li-Ann. “The revelations we heard that day cannot be unheard. The Syung and Taron households know what happened to your son Lang. They know Ja Yuan ordered the killing, and Perr allowed his youngest son to be murdered. This will always be a stain, given Perr’s suicide.”

  “A stain? It runs far deeper. They are trying to take away everything from us. It’s social refinery all over.”

  “Yes. Except this time, the Syungs are on the receiving end. I suspect some will consider it justice, especially the Baek family, which lost a daughter. I’ve heard the stories that leaked about Perr’s role in the post-Collectorate reprisals.”

  “None of them true.”

  “Does it matter? You know how the elite families react to these sorts of things. Assumption of guilt is automatic. However, I believe you can survive this without incurring any public shame.”

  Dae scoffed. “You’re not being serious, Ya-Li.”

  “I am. The only people who know what happened on stage were Syungs and Tarons. Everyone else was under guard inside the estate house. We reached a deal to preserve our lifestyle. We vowed to the terrorists to remain silent about what we heard on stage and accuse Green Sun of the attack. In exchange, they promised not to reveal our role in the Alliance or in the poisoning of the continent. Except for a few on the fringe, no one suspects the truth.

  “If the elite houses are wagging about the Syungs, either they are guessing or someone in my household or yours broke the deal. Either way, I propose a process to rehabilitate your name.”

  Dae and Li-Ann glared at each other with a hopeful gleam that said this was better than anything they could have anticipated.

  “A process?” The mother asked.

  “Yes. It will reestablish your position publicly and among the social fabric of Haansu. The first step involves assets. The House of Syung holds a thirty-two percent stake in Nantou Global. Your holdings have been deeply threaded through intermarriage with the House of Taron. This was, after all, the basis for Dae’s marriage to Luyn. Correct?”

  “It was,” she said.

  “My marriage to Kara was furtherance of that goal. The formal asset exchange was never completed, but if it holds to tradition, I would have been threaded into a ten percent stake of Nantou.”

  Dae interjected. “What does any of this matter now?”

  “It matters that I am trying to stabilize our industry before we’re thrown into disarray. Nantou is devoid of leadership. There is an internal fight, with many claims to the interim Presidency. The Nantou Charter is not clear-cut on Rites of Succession. Assets are so tightly threaded among multiple households that claims will be argued for months, if not years. We can resolve it in ten days.

  “How?”

  “Thread me into your entire asset package.”

  They leaned forward, jaws slipping.

  “Hear me out,” Ya-Li continued. “You maintain control, but you assign me sole proxy power. This way, no amount of refinery or pressure from Nantou’s executive board can diminish your wealth. Do this, and I will publicly defend you against any scandalous accusations. No one will threaten the House of Syung without coming through me.”

  Dae grunted. “This makes no sense. Why would you expose yourself to our scandal? You won’t have the votes to elect a new president. Moreover, threading gains you nothing financially.”

  “Two things are about to happen, Dae. I will become arguably the most loved person on Hokkaido. Nantou Global’s stakes on the Gangzon Market will collapse. The second will happen as a direct consequence of the first. If I am threaded into your full holdings, you will become the strongest stakeholders in Nantou.”

  They were flustered, perhaps beginning to understand the true implications of Ya-Li’s words. Either way, they weren’t raging at him. They knew a good move when they heard it.

  “What aren’t you telling us, Ya-Li?” Dae said.

  “I’m being a man worthy of the seamasters. Just like my family wanted. Like Kara wanted.”

  “If we don’t go along with this?”

  Ya-Li shrugged. “I’ve told you what’s coming. If you don’t sign on, I can’t protect you. I have a company of my own to look after.”

  Li-Ann smiled for the first time.

  “I worked too hard to lose everything now,” she said. “You can promise to cover for the Syungs?”

  “We have much to atone, Li-Ann. I’ll make our sins go away.”

  Dae buried his face in his hands. “Don’t you see, Mother? This is blackmail. If we don’t go along, he’ll destroy what’s left of us.”

  “No, Son. It’s an offer we …”

  “Stop, Mother. Just stop. Some days I hate you.”

  Ya-Li did not want the moment to devolve.

  “The last thing I’d ever do is hurt the House of Syung. I married into it. I loved Kara. All I want is to protect the seamasters and Hokkaido. Think it over. Give me your response by the end of tomorrow. The papers will be ready.”

  Dae was seething.

  He’s smarter than I thought, but he won’t talk his mother out of it. He’s wondering how much more I know about the family. Do I know about Perr’s secret contracts with the Chancellors? Do I know about the extent of Perr’s role during reprisals? Do I know Dae killed the Green Sun agent, Mei Durin? Or their countless other sins?

  Li-Ann Syung agreed to talk it over with her son, who stared at Ya-Li with murderous eyes. He would not be the last.

  “Everyone who changes history has enemies,” he told Bonju.

  “Such is the fate of great men,” Bonju replied.

  7

  T HE SYUNGS REPLIED THE NEXT morning, five minutes before Ya-Li sat down with his Chief Financial Officer. He took in the moment and relinquished evidence of smug satisfaction when Len-Ho Doon arrived with Park. Ya-Li spent the first ten minutes apologizing for putting off the CFO this long and for broadsiding him at the Hotai Convocation. He seemed a reasonable man – like Park said, fair and pragmatic.

  “We have our jobs to do,” Len-Ho said, “in difficult times and good. I find animosity and suspicion disrupt those jobs unnecessarily.”

  Ya-Li sat behind Signet, his ancient desk, across from the Doons. His chair was a few inches higher. Just enough.

  “I appreciate your approach. I’m sure not everyone shares it, at least not these days. I also hope you have an open mind, Len-Ho.”

  The father smiled, wry and reflective.

  “In other words, President Taron, when you make a bold proposal, I should never object then utter the fatal line, ‘We have always done it a certain way.’”

  “With the implication being we always will,” Ya-Li replied. “I have no use for such men.”

  “So Park tells me. You will find most seamasters cling heartily to tradition. Whatever comes of your bold proposal, expect considerable trouble to follow.”

  “I do.” Ya-Li slid his tablet across the desk. “Feel free to read this then tell me how much trouble. Take your time, Len-Ho.”

  The Doons struck Ya-Li as a matching pair separated by twenty years. Their business dress drew from the same conservative trend. They parted their hair in the same location, though Park’s was considerably longer. Each wore a blue neck scarf. However, the father crossed his legs with the confidence of a man who’d seen it all; Park sat stiff, his swagger muted by need for Father’s approval.

  Ya-Li felt a scratch beneath his ear lobe, a sensation heralding the arrival of a certain counterpart.

  “What is going on here?” Sebu asked.

  “A business meeting. They gave you time away from your violin?”

  The boy appeared alongside a lake, walking on piles of driftwood.

  “I finished my run. When I stopped hiding inside myself, I decided to visit you. I want to know more about your life.”

  “This is an important moment, Sebu. I am about to change my world. It’s very complex.”

  “Can I learn?”

  “Of course. Listen and observe. We’ll talk more later, if they allow you the freedom.”

  Sebu laughed. “Freedom? Strange word.”

  Len-Ho finished Ya-Li’s proposal. He was not laughing. The CFO shifted to his son.

  “Did you know about this?”

  “Yes, Father. I helped Ya-Li craft it.”

  Len-Ho slid the tablet across the desk into Ya-Li’s hands.

  “Which do you want first? My honest opinion or my resignation?”

  “You’re not going to resign, Len-Ho. You’re much too valuable. And I could predict your opinion all but word for word. Still, I want you to say it. Hold nothing back.”

  Len-Ho uncrossed his legs and balled his fists.

  “Oh, youth.” He turned to Park. “Son, pour me a glass of the strongest anything.”

  “Yes, Father.” He retreated to the bar.

  “Ya-Li … you said I could be friendly in this setting, correct?”

  “I did, and you can. Always.”

  “There’s not one item here that isn’t noble. As a marketing tool, it will produce short-term love for Hotai, especially on the continent. You will be lauded. But in practical terms, this will be a disaster.”

  “Why?”

  “If we slash prices on all product lines by thirty-five percent and guarantee a price cap for three years, the supply chain will collapse within weeks. We will not be able to keep up with demand. As it is, we already run a tight operation. Our resources are maxed. Every ship in our fleet operates at peak efficiency. Now, we will need to do more. Purchase more ships, increase payroll – which will be on top of the twenty-percent raises you propose for all ships’ crews.”

  Park handed his father a drink, which he sipped with relish.

  “We may be young,” Ya-Li said, “but Park and I realized all these things as we developed the proposal. Here is what else we know. Hotai has capital reserves of more than three hundred million Dims. We charge our contractors a two hundred percent markup. Our retail customers pay ten times what our products should be worth on a free, open market. This is no coincidence. This is collusion. The seamasters have been feeding this planet and raping Hokki credit accounts for decades. First, with the help of the Chancellors. Then on our own. I intend to reverse this madness.”

  Len-Ho finished the drink and set the glass on the desk.

  “That’s why your proposal is noble. Every working-class Hokki on this planet will love you. But the ones that matter … they will have your head and carve it up like so much Kohlna. Yes, the seamasters collude. We do so to maintain an economic peace.”

  “Another way of saying you suppress all competition. Len-Ho, I don’t intend to get into an economics discussion. I have another meeting soon. You fear the other seamasters will conspire against Hotai, disrupt our supply chains, and invent scandal in the major houses of our executives. Yes. That will be their knee-jerk approach. But they will be forced to adapt. Quickly. Their valuations will collapse. The Gangzon Market will not be kind to them. And then, if they persist in coming after us, I will play the card they fear above all else. The truth they cannot escape.”

  Len-Ho grimaced. Ya-Li realized his CFO was flummoxed. Was it possible he didn’t know?

  “I’m not sure what …”

  “The continent, Len-Ho. The poisoning of arable land.”

  “What of it?”

  Park leaned over. “Father, do you not know the true cause?”

  “Of course. The acenomite in the Kye-Do rings.”

  Ya-Li shared an anxious glance with Park.

  “It’s not true, Father. The seamasters and Chancellors conspired almost a century ago. The program continued after the Chancellors retreated to Earth. Our corporations have been slowly seeding the continent with toxins.”

  “Insanity! That is a fringe conspiracy theory. What would …?”

  “I have the data,” Ya-Li said. “It’s indisputable. Ban-Ho was one of the earliest conspirators. I’d show you the proof, but I don’t wish to sicken you further. Suffice, if this proof were released to the public, ninety percent of Hokkaido’s population would rage against these islands. The seamasters as we know them would collapse along with the global economy. Like I said, the other seamasters will adapt to our new strategy.”

  “You will hold this over them,” Len-Ho said. “They will be forced to price match Hotai or fold. And those that resist …”

  “We will have the short-term profits to poach all the additional resources we need to meet demand. I suspect life in Haansu will be uncomfortable for a while.”

  “Ya-Li, every aspect of the economy will be shocked by these changes. Dominoes will fall in places you have never considered.”

  “You’re likely right, but I am not proposing paradise. I am offering a small justice for my people. Hotai will survive, but the wealth might not arrive in such great abundance. This is what I wish to do, Len-Ho. The old ways must end for a new Hokkaido to rise. We can build on this and reestablish interstellar trade. My question to you is simple: Will you support these changes?”

  Park reached for his father’s glass.

  “Would you like a refill, Father?”

  “No. I need a clear mind. Ya-Li, I’ve sat in many meetings where a question like yours was a veiled edict. I’m under no illusions as to what you intend to do, regardless of my answer. What you ask is whether I will remain compliant and send out the necessary directives to my subordinates. Yes, I will do my job and try to hold together Hotai’s ledgers. But the Charter requires sweeping payroll hikes to be approved by the President’s Board.”

  “I’ll have the votes. My six will toe the line. I’ll break any ties.”

  “When do you plan to announce this?”

  “Three days. I’ll deliver a public address.”

  “You’re moving too fast, but I won’t stand in your way. I’ll hold tight for the storm that follows.”

  Ya-Li walked around the desk and shook his CFO’s hand.

  “Thank you, Len-Ho. You and your son will be working closely together the next several days. I hope you appreciate this opportunity.”

  The CFO turned to Park. “Son, we are putting our family’s reputation on the line here. Do not let me down.”

  Park hugged him. “You’ll see, Father. We’ll make Hokkaido a better world for everyone.”

  As the CFO turned to leave, Ya-Li caught him.

  “One final concern. This plan is known to four Hokkis. If the information should reach our competitors beforehand, I’ll know how it leaked. This is not a question of trust, Len-Ho. I’m being practical.”

  “Aren’t we all?”

  Ya-Li asked Park to stay behind.

  “That went better than I thought possible,” Park said.

  “Too well, perhaps?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Stay close to him, Park. He did not seem shocked when you told him about the poisoned land. It’s possible he suspected it but needed to hear confirmation.”

  “Father is loyal to the old ways. He’s afraid.”

  “He should be. This will be bloody for a while.”

  “In the figurative or literal sense?”

  “Both.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Park, it’s time for you to know about Project Coda. I created it with Weeb. I’m sorry I didn’t bring you in sooner, but I needed to have a sense of your father’s loyalty. The most dangerous part of this journey was not the wedding. In the next three days, someone will try to kill me. If I’m not careful, that someone will succeed.”

  He proceeded to lay out the details. Park’s features turned white as he listened, though none of it should have come as a terrible surprise. He understood, like Weeb, that more people would have to die for Ya-Li’s grand vision to become reality.

  Sube, on the other hand, understood none of this. He shouted from along the lakeshore after having been quiet throughout the meeting. Ya-Li, who had forgotten Sube was present, thought to shoo him away.

  Maybe it’s time he knew everything, Ya-Li thought. He taught me about finding peace. Maybe I should show him how to grow a spine and stand up for himself against his elders.

  To date, Ya-Li kept the boy away during the darkest moments. Sube did not know Ya-Li arranged the wedding massacre. He knew only of the noble man who wanted a better life for all Hokkis. Perhaps the time had come to show Sube what had to be done to change history in a meaningful way.

  Sometimes, the hardest lessons are the best lessons.

  8

  T HE IDEA FOR THE BOY’S NEXT LESSON arose from a question Ya-Li asked Sebu about the traditions of his society. The answers took Ya-Li down an unexpected path.

  “What is your age of manhood, Sebu?”

  “It is when the elders decide your time has come,” the boy said.

  “Do they choose a partner for you as well?”

  “You mean a woman to lay with?”

  “Not the phrase I would use, but yes.”

  “It depends upon my role and who they believe is compatible.”

  “And what happens if you lay with someone not chosen?”

  “We will be disfigured. We will be forced to marry and bear witness to our physical horrors until the end of our days.”

  When he first met Sebu, he thought the boy lived in an agrarian paradise. A simple existence, for sure, divorced from the elitism and social conflict of Ya-Li’s world. Paradise, he realized, was a fiction.