A Modern Nemo 20

The young man climbed the stage, nervous but impelled by a desire to please someone he highly respected. Shoji Kawamura glanced back at the curtains for reassurance and saw Konstantiniadis and Chidori give him the thumbs-up.

Smiling, Shoji turned back to the audience. He pulled out a sheet from his jacket and began to read it out at the podium.

"Hello and welcome, ladies and gentlemen," he began, "My name is Shoji Kawamura. I come from Japan. I am like many of you. I chose to leave my home and my country because I believe in a vision of a new society which is free from the constraints and conventions that everyday life has forced on us."

He stopped a moment. Everybody's eyes were turned on him.Wait, he thought. This isn't right. It's like I'm just parroting everything in Konstantiniadis' book.

He looked around. Everybody was expecting him to say more, but he was paralyzed with such nervousness that he was speechless. He panicked.

"Go on, Shoji!" shouted someone.

"Yeah! You can do it!"

"Shoji! Shoji! Shoji!"

He looked back and saw Konstantiniadis still giving him the thumbs-up.

"You can do it, Shoji-kun!" cried Chidori.

Instantly, something kicked in Shoji's brain. Of course! he thought. I can't just depend on this!

He folded the paper and put it back in his pocket. Then, with a new and powerful voice, he gave a new speech.

"Listen to me, everybody! We have all gathered here to put into action a dream; a dream that will change, not just ourselves, but the world as well!"

The crowd applauded as Shoji went on, "we are among those who wish to live in a world free from war, from prejudice, from hatred. But since the world does not share our dream, we have to build it with our bare hands. We cam here to build a new nation that is different from the rest; and to do that, we need land. But the world won't give us any land!"

Many nodded and expressed agreement.

"If the world won't give us land, then we have to create our own: It will be land that will not be hampered by events driving the world crazy. It will be land that is free, literally. We will build this nation on the waters of the world, and we will show them that we are capable of standing on our own two feet, and we will not live by their rules! I want you all to come with me, and together, we will build this new world!"

The audience responded with thunderous applause. Konstantiniadis and Chidori  ran from the backstage and threw their arms around Shoji. "You did it, Shoji!" the businessman exclaimed, "you did it! You've inspired everybody, just as I've inspired you!"

"I'm so proud of you, Shoji-kun!" said Chidori as she held to him tightly.

"Yeah, Shoji!" roared Simon as he clapped  and later raised a fist. "You da man!"

Shoji couldn't help the feeling of euphoria that had come over him. He was so happy. As he, Konstantiniadis and Chidori danced on the stage, Shoji noticed the North Korean clapping and looking at him very intently.

A Modern Nemo 19

Shoji Kawamura found himself standing right in the midst of a vast crowd numbering more than two thousand and all gathered together under one roof. The gathering of like minds in the huge convention center owned by Green Oceans was an amazing and overwhelming experience for Shoji. Here, in this convention center, were people who thought like him.

They believed that all deserved to live in a fair society and that the only way to create one was to start from scratch and in a way that conventional thought never conceived.

Shoji had no idea where to begin. So many people; so many faces. Chidori herself was at a loss at what to do and merely stood right next to him.

A big hand landed on Shoji's shoulder. He looked behind; it was Konstantiniadis.

"Hey Shoji," the businessman said, "So how do you like the place?"

Shoji turned to face his benefactor. "It's amazing," he replied. "I don't know what to say."

"I'll tell you what you can say," said Konstantiniadis as he put one arm around Shoji's shoulders and the other around Chidori's. "You can get up on the podium and and give a speech."

"A speech?" mumbled Shoji, nervous. "Me? What?"

"Don't worry," said Konstantiniadis reassuringly and he brought both of them to the backstage. "I'll give you a crash course."

The news that Petrov was in town reached Eric's ears; he wasn't supposed to be in Cagayan de Oro. The taipan was in his office doing overtime and was wondering what caused the sudden commotion. He sent a message to the general's iPhone.

What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with the task force.

The reply came:

I'm here on your son's orders. I'll be going back to Russia later.

Maximilian was in his condominium and had just finished his supper which he had cooked himself. His phone rang. "Dad" was on the screen.

Oh that was fast, he thought. Well, here we go.

He lifted the phone to his ear. "Dad?"

"Maximilian!" roared Eric. "What the hell are you up to? I want you in my office now!"

A Modern Nemo 18

"It's about time your arrived," said Linus Ong irritably as the three commanders of the Sniper Division entered the lobby.

"Our apologies, Mr. Ong," said Onodera with a raised hand. "It was the driver's fault."

"No, it wasn't exactly," said Cyrus as he came up from behind the three officers. "Apparently he was the wrong guy for the job but the only one available."

The three officers saluted as Maximilian approached them. "We were supposed to discuss this matter over afternoon coffee," said the eldest of the Ong brothers. "But I think we'll have it with dinner instead."

He signaled the concierge to prepare a private dining room.

"This has to be extremely important for you to have called us here," said Petrov. "Normally it would be your father who would  make the call, not you."

Maximilian nodded.

"Does he know about this?"

"He doesn't-"

"Yet." finished Cyrus. "He will, eventually."

"You'd better make sure that we don't get into trouble when your father finds out," said Petrov, grinning.

"He'll approve of it when he does," said Maximilian reassuringly.

"Mr. Ong?" said the concierge, approaching Maximilian. "Your room's ready," he gestured to the restaurant, "this way please."

They followed the man into the large French restaurant, which was filled with guests, and into a small, all glass, soundproof room. Over a dinner of bouillabaisse, coq au vin, mille-feuilles and chenin blanc, Petrov came to the subject halfway past the chicken. "So," he said, "what is this assignment of yours?"

Maximilian put his cigar in the ashtray and took a sip of the wine. "We need you to do some intelligence-gathering missions for us on Green Oceans, General Petrov," he replied.

Petrov smirked. "You know that Konstantiniadis  is up to something but you can't say what, don't you?" he concluded.

"We have a vague idea that he's up to no good," Maximilian continued, "it took reading his book and comparing it to Jules Verne's."

Onodera and Hayashi looked at each other. "Jules Verne?" asked Onodera.

"An old science fiction author," Hayashi clarified.

"So what's the connection between a hundred year-old novel and a billionaire shipping magnate like Konstantiniadis?" continued Petrov.

Maximilian held out a book, it was the copy of The Dream of the Oceans. "Since you seem familiar with Jules Verne, the next piece of the puzzle is right here. You can fill yourself with the information here then scout for more of the details."

"Konstantiniadis has been signing shipbuilding contracts left and right," added Linus as Petrov took the book and scanned its pages. "He's already signed contracts with manufacturers in China and he's heading for Russia and eastern Europe next. We figure you might be able to start from there."

"So you want to send me home for a while, eh?" said Petrov, grinning.

"We're going to put together a team," said Cyrus, "it's going to be a massive effort not just involving you and your men. While you're gathering intel, the rest of the team will be following the movements of Konstantiniadis' ships. We'll be looking at cargo, passengers, materials and the like."

"This is a major operation, then," said Petrov, still skimming through the pages of the book, "it will not be something your father will turn a blind eye to-"

A group of words caught the general's eye: a nation floating free and unencumbered upon the vast reaches of the ocean.

The general turned his eyes to Maximilian. "I see what you mean, Mr.Ong," he said.

Maximilian nodded.